Introduction and general considerations
Technology assumption datasets list costs, efficiencies, emissions and lifetimes of energy conversion, storage and transmission technologies. Costs include investment costs, fuel costs, emission costs and variable and fixed operational and maintenance (VOM and FOM) costs.
Typically the datasets provide an analysis of historical values and project future values (e.g. for 2030, 2050) with appropriate uncertainty ranges. Projections must be treated with caution given that the costs of some technologies (solar, offshore wind and batteries) are changing fast.
The databases have very different scope, with some covering only renewable technologies, while others include all generation, heating and storage technologies.
Values may be region-specific, reflecting local experience with the technologies and local conditions that may e.g. affect costs (such as the distance of offshore wind sites from the shore).
Technology assumption datasets by origin
Danish Energy Agency (DEA) and Energinet.dk Technology Data
https://ens.dk/en/our-services/projections-and-models/technology-data
https://ens.dk/en/our-services/projections-and-models/technology-data/technology-data-generation-electricity-and
Last updated 2018. 300 pages of detailed analysis. Includes generation, heating, sector-coupling, storage, grid and CCS technologies. Most information is in English. Projections for 2020, 2030 and 2050.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), US, Annual Technology Baseline (ATB)
https://atb.nrel.gov/
Last updated October 2018. "The ATB represents a populated framework to identify technology-specific cost and performance parameters or other investment decision metrics across a range of resource characteristics, sites, or fuel price assumptions for electricity generation technologies both at present and with projections through 2050."
IEA-ETSAP
https://iea-etsap.org/index.php/energy-technology-data
Updated over last 10 years. Covers supply (electricity, storage, heating, transmission) and demand technologies.
IRENA
http://www.irena.org/costs
Every ~3 years IRENA publishes a report on renewable power generation costs based on the IRENA Renewable Cost Database which contains ~15,000 data points for LCOE from projects for different generation technologies. A download link for the data used to produce the charts of the report can be requested online: http://www.irena.org/publications/2018/Jan/Renewable-power-generation-costs-in-2017
EnergyPLAN database from Aalborg University, Denmark
https://www.energyplan.eu/useful_resources/costdatabase/
Requires registration. Last updated October 2018. Includes generation, heating, storage and transmission technologies.
German Renewable Energy Law (EEG) experience reports (Erfahrungsberichte)
https://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/EE/Navigation/DE/Recht-Politik/Das_EEG/EEG-Erfahrungsberichte-und-Studien/eeg-erfahrungsberichte-und-studien.html
Values for offshore wind (from 2018):
https://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/EE/Redaktion/DE/Downloads/bmwi_de/bericht-eeg-7-wind-auf-see.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=6
German Fraunhofer ISE Electricity Production Costs
https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/de/veroeffentlichungen/studien/studie-stromgestehungskosten-erneuerbare-energien.html
In German, last updated 2018.
DIW Current and Prospective Costs of Electricity Generation until 2050
https://www.diw.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=diw_01.c.424588.de
Last updated 2013. Focuses on electricity generation. Projections up to 2050.
Swiss Hydro Production Costs
https://www.bfe.admin.ch/bfe/de/home/versorgung/erneuerbare-energien/wasserkraft/grosswasserkraft.exturl.html/aHR0cHM6Ly9wdWJkYi5iZmUuYWRtaW4uY2gvZGUvcHVibGljYX/Rpb24vZG93bmxvYWQvOTAxMw==.html
In German, last updated 2017.
