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On Some Issues of Assessing the Efficiency of Renewable Energy Power Plants and the Share of Renewables in the World’s Electricity Generation



Author(s)

Pavel Pavlovith Bezrukikh

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DOI:10.17265/2328-2223/2018.02.004

The paper considers some issues related to the evaluation of power plants using renewable energy sources: energy efficiency, economic efficiency, the share of renewable energy in the world’s electricity generation. At one time in the world there was a myth that more energy is expended on the construction of wind and photoelectric power stations, than they produce for the service life. Adherents of this myth are still found in Russia. In response to this myth, numerous studies have been carried out for the manufacturers of wind turbines and photovoltaic modules. It was proved that these power plants spent energy on them are produced within a period of less than a year and the energy consumed by them cannot be taken into account, since it is renewable. The author showed that power plants on organic fuel and existing nuclear plants using depleted fuel with a coefficient less than unity fundamentally cannot compensate for the energy used during their construction. In the world, the concept of the LEC (Levelized Energy Cost) produced by any power plant is widely used to estimate economic efficiency. However, the formula for determining it, in the author’s opinion, contains an inaccuracy, which is proposed to be eliminated. At present, there are different opinions on the role of RES (Renewable Energy Sources) in the production of electricity. A summary indicator is the share of renewable energy in the world’s electricity generation. The determination of the actual share of RES and the forecast of its growth is of significant importance for the development of the world economy. The author shows the differences in the estimates and suggests an approach for establishing agreed estimates.

Energy efficiency, EPBT (energy payback time), LEC, growth rate, weighted capacity factor, share of RES in electricity production.