612 research outputs found
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Benchmarking Utility-Scale PV Operational Expenses and Project Lifetimes: Results from a Survey of U.S. Solar Industry Professionals
This paper draws on a survey of solar industry professionals and other sources to clarify trends in the expected useful life and operational expenditure (OpEx) of utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) plants in the United States.
Solar project developers, sponsors, long-term owners, and consultants have increased project-life assumptions over time, from an average of ~21.5 years in 2007 to ~32.5 years in 2019. Current assumptions range from 25 years to more than 35 years depending on the organization; 17 out of 19 organizations surveyed or reviewed use 30 years or more.
Levelized, lifetime OpEx estimates have declined from an average of ~17/kWDC-yr in 2019. Across 13 sources, the range in average lifetime OpEx for projects built in 2019 is broad, from 25/kWDC-yr. Operations and maintenance (O&M) costs—one component of OpEx—have declined precipitously in recent years, to 305/MWh. Using 2019 values for all parameters yields an average LCOE of 305/MWh to 22/MWh) of the overall decline is due to improvements in project life and OpEx. Project life extensions and OpEx reductions have had similarly sized impacts on LCOE over this period, at 73/MWh—43% higher.
Given the limited quantity and comparability of previously available data on these cost drivers, the data and trends presented here may inform assumptions used by electric system planners, modelers, and analysts. The results may also provide useful benchmarks to the solar industry, helping developers and assets owners compare their expectations for project life and OpEx with those of their peers
Study of chiral symmetry restoration in linear and nonlinear O(N) models using the auxiliary field method
We consider the O(N) linear {\sigma} model and introduce an auxiliary field
to eliminate the scalar self-interaction. Using a suitable limiting process
this model can be continuously transformed into the nonlinear version of the
O(N) model. We demonstrate that, up to two-loop order in the CJT formalism, the
effective potential of the model with auxiliary field is identical to the one
of the standard O(N) linear {\sigma} model, if the auxiliary field is
eliminated using the stationary values for the corresponding one- and two-point
functions. We numerically compute the chiral condensate and the {\sigma}- and
{\pi}-meson masses at nonzero temperature in the one-loop approximation of the
CJT formalism. The order of the chiral phase transition depends sensitively on
the choice of the renormalization scheme. In the linear version of the model
and for explicitly broken chiral symmetry, it turns from crossover to first
order as the mass of the {\sigma} particle increases. In the nonlinear case,
the order of the phase transition turns out to be of first order. In the region
where the parameter space of the model allows for physical solutions,
Goldstone's theorem is always fulfilled.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, improved versio
The O(2) model in polar coordinates at nonzero temperature
We study the restoration of spontaneously broken symmetry at nonzero
temperature in the framework of the O(2) model using polar coordinates. We
apply the CJT formalism to calculate the masses and the condensate in the
double-bubble approximation, both with and without a term that explicitly
breaks the O(2) symmetry. We find that, in the case with explicitly broken
symmetry, the mass of the angular degree of freedom becomes tachyonic above a
temperature of about 300 MeV. Taking the term that explicitly breaks the
symmetry to be infinitesimally small, we find that the Goldstone theorem is
respected below the critical temperature. However, this limit cannot be
performed for temperatures above the phase transition. We find that, no matter
whether we break the symmetry explicitly or not, there is no region of
temperature in which the radial and the angular degree of freedom become
degenerate in mass. These results hold also when the mass of the radial mode is
sent to infinity.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure
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Impacts of High Variable Renewable Energy Futures on Electric-Sector Decision Making: Demand-Side Effects
Previous work by the Berkeley Lab describes how high shares of variable renewable energy (VRE) such as wind and solar power could change wholesale electricity price dynamics. These include the timing of when electricity is cheap or expensive, locational differences in the cost of electricity, and the degree of regularity or predictability in those costs. Many decentralized decision-makers on the demand-side may not yet have considered the implications of these possible future changes.
In this report, we evaluate the sensitivity of a set of demand-side decisions to different levels of VRE penetration ranging from a low of 5-20% to a high of 40-50%. The analysis builds on hourly wholesale energy and capacity prices in different VRE scenarios for four wholesale markets in the United States for the year 2030 (CAISO, ERCOT, NYISO, and SPP). The principal question for this exploration is whether private and public electric-sector decisions that are made based on assumptions reflecting low VRE levels still achieve their intended objective in a high VRE scenario with 40-50% wind and solar?
This scoping report evaluates the impacts of changing patterns of peak system needs on the benefits of demand reductions by examining the altered value of different energy efficiency (EE) measures. Similarly, we investigate new opportunities for large energy consumers that may arise from periods with very low wholesale electricity prices. We calculate the value of new process investments (e.g., hydrogen production and other generalized electro-commodities), showcase the varying value of new product storage investments (such as reservoir extensions at a desalination plant), and estimate the benefits of increased process flexibility that uses electricity as a process-input in addition to traditional fossil fuels (e.g., district energy systems). Finally, many decentralized decision-makers and end-use customers are not directly exposed to wholesale electricity prices but instead receive price signals from their retail electricity rates. As wind and solar shares increase, we compare the economic efficiency of flat retail rates relative to more dynamic time-of-use tariffs with and without critical peak-pricing events
Finite temperature density matrix and two-point correlations in the antiferromagnetic XXZ chain
We derive finite temperature versions of integral formulae for the two-point
correlation functions in the antiferromagnetic XXZ chain. The derivation is
based on the summation of density matrix elements characterizing a finite chain
segment of length . On this occasion we also supply a proof of the basic
integral formula for the density matrix presented in an earlier publication.Comment: 35 page
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Impact of Wind, Solar, and Other Factors on Wholesale Power Prices: An Historical Analysis—2008 through 2017
Wholesale power markets have evolved. Some of the most prominent changes over the last decade in the United States include growth in wind and solar, a reduction in the price of natural gas, weakened load growth, and an increase in the retirement of thermal power plants. Here we empirically assess the degree to which wind and solar—among other factors—have influenced wholesale electricity prices. We show that wind and solar have contributed to reductions in overall average annual wholesale electricity prices since 2008, but that natural gas prices have had the largest impact. More notable is that expansion of variable renewable energy has led to significant changes in locational, time of day, and seasonal pricing patterns in some regions. These altered pricing patterns reflect a fundamental shift, and hold important implications for the grid-system value of wind and solar, and for other electric-sector planning and operating decisions
Integral representations for correlation functions of the XXZ chain at finite temperature
We derive a novel multiple integral representation for a generating function
of the \s^z-\s^z correlation functions of the spin-\2 XXZ chain at finite
temperature and finite, longitudinal magnetic field. Our work combines
algebraic Bethe ansatz techniques for the calculation of matrix elements with
the quantum transfer matrix approach to thermodynamics.Comment: 33 pages, 2 figures, v2: 2 typos corrected, 1 figure adde
Form factor expansion for thermal correlators
We consider finite temperature correlation functions in massive integrable
Quantum Field Theory. Using a regularization by putting the system in finite
volume, we develop a novel approach (based on multi-dimensional residues) to
the form factor expansion for thermal correlators. The first few terms are
obtained explicitly in theories with diagonal scattering. We also discuss the
validity of the LeClair-Mussardo proposal.Comment: 41 pages; v2: minor corrections, v3: minor correction
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