Impact of weighted average cost of capital, capital expenditure, and other parameters on future utility‐scale PV levelised cost of electricity

Abstract Solar photovoltaics (PV) is already the cheapest form of electricity generation in many countries and market segments. Market prices of PV modules and systems have developed so fast that it is difficult to find reliable up to date public data on real PV capital (CAPEX) and operational expenditures (OPEX) on which to base the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) calculations. This paper projects the future utility‐scale PV LCOE until 2050 in several European countries. It uses the most recent and best available public input data for the PV LCOE calculations and future projections. Utility‐scale PV LCOE in 2019 in Europe with 7% nominal weighted average cost of capital (WACC) ranges from 24 €/MWh in…