Renewable Energy cost and benefits #258013

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Differentiate between the various types of costs associated with renewable energy projects, including capital, operational, and integration costs.

• Calculate and interpret key financial metrics such as the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) and Return on Investment (ROI) for renewable projects.

• Quantify the environmental benefits of renewables, including reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, and their economic value.

• Analyze the broader socio-economic benefits, such as job creation, energy security, and public health improvements.

• Evaluate the impact of government policies, subsidies, and carbon pricing on project economics and market competitiveness.

• Build a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis (CBA) model to assess the viability of a renewable energy investment.

This course is designed for professionals who need to analyze, justify, or make decisions based on the economics of renewable energy:

• Project Developers and Financial Analysts

• Policy Makers and Government Energy Planners

• Sustainability Managers and Corporate Energy Buyers

• Investment Bankers and Venture Capitalists

• Utility Planners and Regulatory Affairs Managers

• Engineering and Consulting Professionals

• Students of economics, engineering, environmental science, or public policy

• Pre-assessment
• Live group instruction
• Use of real-world examples, case studies and exercises
• Interactive participation and discussion
• Power point presentation, LCD and flip chart
• Group activities and tests
• Each participant receives a binder containing a copy of the presentation
• slides and handouts
• Post-assessment

Day 1: Understanding the Cost Structure of Renewable Energy

• Morning Session: The Anatomy of Project Costs

  • Capital Expenditures (CapEx): Breaking down the costs of technology, hardware, soft costs, and installation.

  • Operational Expenditures (OpEx): Long-term maintenance, insurance, and land lease costs.

  • Workshop: Compare the CapEx and OpEx profiles for utility-scale solar PV, onshore wind, and offshore wind.

• Afternoon Session: Key Financial Metrics

  • Introduction to Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE): The fundamental metric for comparing energy sources.

  • Calculating Simple Payback Period and Return on Investment (ROI).

  • Practical Exercise: Calculate the LCOE for a given project using a provided template.

Day 2: The System Costs of Integration and Comparison

• Morning Session: Beyond the Generator: Grid Integration Costs

  • Balancing and Intermittency: The costs of managing variable generation (grid upgrades, storage, backup capacity).

  • Transmission Costs: Building new lines to connect remote renewable resources to demand centers.

• Afternoon Session: Comparing Apples to Apples

  • The Full Cost of Conventional Energy: Incorporating externalities and subsidies for fossil fuels.

  • Side-by-Side Comparison: Adjusted LCOE that includes system integration costs for different technologies.

  • Case Study: Analyze how grid integration costs impact the total cost of a high-renewables scenario.

Day 3: Quantifying the Benefits: Environment and Health

• Morning Session: Environmental Benefits and Carbon Accounting

  • Valuing Carbon: Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) and carbon pricing mechanisms (taxes, trading schemes).

  • Calculating Avoided Emissions: CO2, SOx, NOx, and particulate matter (PM2.5).

• Afternoon Session: Public Health and Economic Benefits

  • The Health Cost of Air Pollution: Methods for quantifying avoided healthcare costs and productivity gains.

  • Workshop: Use a simplified model to estimate the public health benefits of replacing a coal plant with a solar facility.

Day 4: Socio-Economic Benefits and Policy Levers

• Morning Session: Jobs, Security, and Development

  • Job Creation Analysis: Direct, indirect, and induced jobs in the renewable energy sector.

  • Energy Security: The economic benefit of reduced fuel import dependence and price volatility.

• Afternoon Session: The Role of Policy and Finance

  • How Policies Affect Economics: Investment Tax Credits (ITC), Production Tax Credits (PTC), feed-in tariffs, and auctions.

  • The Cost of Capital: How risk and policy certainty influence financing costs.

  • Debate: Discuss the pros and cons of different policy mechanisms from a cost-benefit perspective.

Day 5: Synthesis and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)

• Morning Session: Integrated Cost-Benefit Analysis

  • Building a Comprehensive CBA Model: Incorporating private costs, externalities, and socio-economic benefits.

  • Dealing with Uncertainty: Sensitivity analysis and discount rates.

• Afternoon Session: Capstone Project

  • Final Exercise: Teams conduct a full cost-benefit analysis for a proposed renewable energy project. They must present a business case recommending for or against the project, justifying their position with quantitative and qualitative analysis.

  • Presentation and Peer Feedback.

  • Course Recap: Making the Economic Case for the Energy Transition.

  • Certification of Completion.