Solar-PV Cost Models based on ATB-Formatted Cost Data

NREL's Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) is commonly referenced for technology costs such as overnight capital cost, fixed operations and maintenance costs, and capital expenditures. Two solar-PV cost models are available in H2I that are intended to be easily used with cost values pulled from NREL's ATB Excel workbook.

Note

The Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) is updated annually. While we do our best to update our documentation regularly, be sure that you're using the most recent version of the ATB in case our links are pointing to an older version.

As mentioned on the Utility-Scale PV ATB page, the costs for utility-scale PV have been published in $/kW-AC since 2020. The costs for Commercial PV and Residential PV are published in $/kW-DC. The only difference between the two cost models in H2I are whether costs are input in $/kW-AC or $/kW-DC.

• The "atb_utility_pv_cost" model has costs input in $/kW-AC to match the ATB and the outputted capacity in kW-AC from the PV performance model. Example usage of this cost model in the tech_config.yaml file is shown in the first section below.

• The "atb_comm_res_pv_cost" model has costs input in $/kW-DC and the PV capacity is input in kW-DC from the shared input parameter of the PV performance model. Example usage of this cost model in the tech_config.yaml file is shown in the second section below.

Utility-Scale PV Cost Model

The inputs for cost_parameters are capex_per_kWac and opex_per_kWac_per_year. From the ATB workbook, a value for capex_per_kWac can be found on the Solar - Utility PV sheet under the "Overnight Capital Cost" section or the "CAPEX" section. The values in the "CAPEX" section include overnight capital costs, construction finance factor, and grid connection costs. A value for opex_per_kWac_per_year can be found on the Solar - Utility PV sheet under the "Fixed Operation and Maintenance Expenses" section.

Here is an example of how to use the atb_utility_pv_cost model in the tech_config.yaml file:

technologies:
  solar:
    performance_model:
      model: "pysam_solar_plant_performance"
    cost_model:
      model: "atb_utility_pv_cost"
    model_inputs:
        performance_parameters:
            pv_capacity_kWdc: 100000
            dc_ac_ratio: 1.34
            ...
        cost_parameters:
            capex_per_kWac: 1044
            opex_per_kWac_per_year: 18

Commercial and Residential PV Cost Model

The inputs for cost_parameters are capex_per_kWdc and opex_per_kWdc_per_year. From the ATB workbook, a value for capex_per_kWdc can be found on the Solar - PV Dist. Comm or Solar - PV Dist. Res sheet under the "Overnight Capital Cost" section or the "CAPEX" section. The values in the "CAPEX" section include overnight capital costs, construction finance factor, and grid connection costs. A value for opex_per_kWdc_per_year can be found on the Solar - PV Dist. Comm or Solar - PV Dist. Res sheet under the "Fixed Operation and Maintenance Expenses" section.

Note

Since the commercial and residential PV values in the ATB are in kW-DC the parameter pv_capacity_kWdc should be included in the shared_parameters when using the pysam_solar_plant_performance and atb_comm_res_pv_cost models.

Here is an example of how to use the atb_comm_res_pv_cost model in the tech_config.yaml file:

technologies:
  solar:
    performance_model:
      model: "pysam_solar_plant_performance"
    cost_model:
      model: "atb_comm_res_pv_cost"
    model_inputs:
        shared_parameters:
            pv_capacity_kWdc: 200
        performance_parameters:
            dc_ac_ratio: 1.23
            create_model_from: "default"
            config_name: "PVWattsCommercial"
        cost_parameters:
            capex_per_kWdc: 1439
            opex_per_kWdc_per_year: 16