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Construction cost data for electric generators installed in 2014

Release date:  January 23, 2017  |  Next release date: February 2017   

Presented below are graphs and tables of the cost data for generators installed in 2014 based on data collected by the 2014 Annual Electric Generator Report, Form EIA-860. The cost data for certain generation technologies were omitted to avoid disclosure of individual company data.

EIA expects to publish construction cost data for generators installed in 2015 in February 2017. 2014 Tables                  

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All generators by: major energy source  |  prime mover  |  Census region
By selected sources and type: natural gas by technology  |  natural gas combined-cycle by prime mover
solar photovoltaic by Census region |  solar PV plants by PV panel type and tracking system  |  wind generators by Census region  |  wind generators by plant size


Generators installed in 2014 by major energy source

    

All plants by major energy source capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
natural gas 1,488
solar PV 3,492
wind 1,754
biomass 1,990
hydro 1,221
petroleum liquids 1,226
Total capacity (MW) at new plants at existing plants
natural gas 5,228 4,039
solar PV 2,296 760
wind 4,684 2
biomass 125 116
hydro 29 149
petroleum liquids 11 51
Number of plants at new plants at existing plants
natural gas 12 15
solar PV 258 7
wind 46 1
biomass 19 12
hydro 5 3
petroleum liquids 2 10
All plants by major energy source total cost (billion $)
natural gas 13.8
solar PV 10.7
wind 8.2
biomass 0.5
hydro 0.22
petroleum liquids 0.08
Number of generators by major energy source at new plants at existing plants
natural gas 50 35
solar PV 311 18
wind 49 1
biomass 31 39
hydro 8 11
petroleum liquids 11 23
Average new plants capacity or additional capacity at existing plants at new plants at existing plants
natural gas 436 269
solar PV 9 109
wind 102 2
biomass 7 10
hydro 5 3
petroleum liquids 2 10
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Generators installed in 2014 by prime mover


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Capacity-weighted average cost per kilowatt of installed namepate capacity ($/kW) capacity weighted-average cost ($/kW)
steam turbine 1,790
combustion turbine 1,103
combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) 1,602
steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) 1,394
internal combustion engine 1,445
hydroelectric turbine 1,221
onshore wind turbine 1,754
photovoltaic 3,492
Total included capacity(MW) at new plants at existing plants
steam turbine 52 81
combustion turbine 152 365
combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) 2,822 2,364
steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) 1,951 1,276
internal combustion engine 388 121
hydroelectric turbine 29 149
onshore wind turbine 4,684 2
photovoltaic 2,296 760
number of generators at new plants at existing plants
steam turbine 2 2
combustion turbine 13 9
combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) 13 13
steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) 6 5
internal combustion engine 60 55
hydroelectric turbine 11 5
onshore wind turbine 49 1
photovoltaic 311 18
Average generator capacity at new or existing plants at new plants at existing plants
steam turbine 26 40
combustion turbine 12 41
combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) 217 182
steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) 325 255
internal combustion engine 6 2
hydroelectric turbine 3 30
onshore wind turbine 96 2
photovoltaic 7 42
Total construction cost total cost (billion $)
steam turbine 0.2
combustion turbine 0.56
combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) 8.3
steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) 4.5
internal combustion engine 0.74
hydroelectric turbine 0.22
onshore wind turbine 8.2
photovoltaic 10.7
Generators installed in 2014 by Census region

     

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Census regions capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
West 2,901
South 1,546
Midwest 1,671
Northeast 1410
Total included capacity at new plants at existing plants
West 2,902 1,753
South 6,828 3,093
Midwest 1,656 272
Northeast 987 0
Number of plants at new plants at existing plants
West 133 21
South 101 12
Midwest 37 14
Northeast 71 0
Number of generators at new plants at existing plants
West 193 50
South 137 28
Midwest 39 25
Northeast 86 14
Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants at new plants at existing plants
West 193 50
South 137 28
Midwest 58 30
Northeast 77 0
Census region total cost (billion $)
West 13.5
South 15.3
Midwest 3.2
Northeast 1.4
Natural gas generators installed in 2014 by techonolgy

     

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Natural gas plants by type capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
combined cycle 1,521
combustion turbine 990
internal combustion engine 1,336
Total included capacity (MW) at new plants at existing plants
combined cycle 4,813 3,640
combustion turbine 89 365
internal combustion engine 327 34
Number of plants at new plants at existing plants
combined cycle 6 7
combustion turbine 4 7
internal combustion engine 2 2
Number of generators at new plants at existing plants
combined cycle 19 18
combustion turbine 8 9
internal combustion engine 23 8
Average new plants capacity or additional capacity at existing plants at new plants at existing plants
combined cycle 802 520
combustion turbine 22 52
internal combustion engine 163 17
Total construction cost total cost (billion $)
combined cycle 12.9
combustion turbine 0.45
internal combustion engine 0.48
Natural gas generators installed in 2014 at combined-cycle plants by prime mover
Natural gas combined cycle plants by component capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
combustion turbine 1,602
steam turbine 1,394
Total capacity at new plants at existing plants
combustion turbine 2,822 2,364
steam turbine 1,951 1,276
Number of generators at new plants at existing plants
combustion turbine 13 13
steam turbine 6 5
Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants at new plants at existing plants
combustion turbine 217 182
steam turbine 325 255
Natural gas generators at combined-cycle plants by prime mover total cost (billion $)
combustion turbine 8.3
steam turbine 4.5

     

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Solar PV plants by tracking system capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
solid biomass 3,573
gaseous biomass 3,217
Total included capacity at new plants at existing plants
solid biomass 501 122
gaseous biomass 129 47
Number of plants at new plants at existing plants
solid biomass 13 2
gaseous biomass 34 14
Number of generators at new plants at existing plants
solid biomass 13 2
gaseous biomass 66 24
Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants at new plants at existing plants
solid biomass 39 61
gaseous biomass 4 3
Solar PV plants by tracking system total cost (billion $)
solid biomass 2.2
gaseous biomass 0.6
Solar PV generators installed in 2014 by Census region

     

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Census regions capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
West 3,721
South 2,217
Northeast 3,626
Midwest 2,875
Total included capacity at new plants at existing plants
West 1,618 760
South 424 0
Northeast 203 0
Midwest 51 0
Number of plants at new plants at existing plants
West 103 7
South 74 0
Northeast 67 0
Midwest 14 0
Number of generators at new plants at existing plants
West 136 18
South 94 0
Northeast 67 0
Midwest 14 0
Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants at new plants at existing plants
West 16 109
South 6 0
Northeast 3 0
Midwest 4 0
Region total cost (billion $)
West 8.8
South 0.94
Northeast 0.74
Midwest 0.15
Solar PV generators installed in 2014 by PV panel type and tracking system

     

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Solar PV plants by tracking system capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
fixed tilt 2,837
axis-based tracking 3,608
Thin-film CdTe, all types 3,814
Total included capacity at new plants at existing plants
fixed tilt 776 8
axis-based tracking 1,014 46
Thin-film CdTe, all types 506 706
Number of plants at new plants at existing plants
fixed tilt 170 1
axis-based tracking 64 1
Thin-film CdTe, all types 24 5
Number of generators at new plants at existing plants
fixed tilt 213 1
axis-based tracking 74 2
Thin-film CdTe, all types 24 15
Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants at new plants at existing plants
fixed tilt 5 8
axis-based tracking 16 46
Thin-film CdTe, all types 21 141
Solar PV plants by tracking system total cost (billion $)
fixed tilt 2.2
axis-based tracking 3.8
Thin-film CdTe, all types 4.6
Wind generators installed in 2014 by Census region

     

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Census region capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
South 1,650
Midwest and Northeast 1,825
West 1,935
Total included capacity at new plants at existing plants
South 2,415 0
Midwest and Northeast 1,452 0
West 817 2
Number of plants at new plants at existing plants
South 15 0
Midwest and Northeast 16 0
West 15 1
Number of generators at new plants at existing plants
South 15 0
Midwest and Northeast 18 0
West 16 1
Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants at new plants at existing plants
South 161 0
Midwest and Northeast 91 0
West 54 2
Census region total cost (billion $)
South 4.0
Midwest and Northeast 2.6
West 1.6
Wind generators installed in 2014 by plant size

     

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Plant size capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW)
1-25 MW 2,113
25-100 MW 1,919
100-200 MW 1,771
200-300 MW 1,654
Total included capacity at new plants at existing plants
1-25 MW 132 2
25-100 MW 609 0
100-200 MW 2,100 0
200-300 MW 1,843 0
Number of plants at new plants at existing plants
1-25 MW 77 9
25-100 MW 4 2
100-200 MW 47 6
200-300 MW 4 3
Number of generators at new plants at existing plants
1-25 MW 17 1
25-100 MW 10 0
100-200 MW 14 0
200-300 MW 8 0
Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants at new plants at existing plants
1-25 MW 8 2
25-100 MW 68 0
100-200 MW 162 0
200-300 MW 230 0
Plant size total cost (billion $)
1-25 MW 0.3
25-100 MW 1.2
100-200 MW 3.7
200-300 MW 3.0

     

    Notes:
    • Data includes facilities with a total generator nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt (MW) or more. Solar data does not include distributed generation capacity.
    • Government grants, tax benefits, or other incentives are excluded from these costs.
    • Solar photovoltaic (PV) data are based on reported alternating current (AC) capacity and may differ from other cost and capacity estimates that use direct current (DC) ratings of PV panels.
    • Petroleum liquids includes distillate fuel oil, jet fuel, kerosene, residual fuel oil, and waste oil.
    • Some generation technologies were excluded from this analysis to avoid disclosure of individual company data.
    • Average construction cost is based on the nameplate capacity weighted average cost per kilowatt of installed nameplate capacity.
    • Total capacity is the sum of the nameplate capacity of generators included in each group.
    • Average new capacity is based on the nameplate capacity of new plants or new additions of nameplate capacity to existing plants. New plants did not previously have operable units and are typically recently constructed. Existing plants have at least one previously operable generator and are not newly constructed.
    • Totals may not equal sum of components due to independent rounding.
    Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860, Annual Electric Generator Report

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