Abstract
In order to make sensible decisions about energy policy for the UK, policy makers need to be able to compare the costs and benefits of different types of electricity generating technologies on a like for like basis. Unfortunately, the UK electricity market is complex. The relationship between the cost of generating electrical power from various sources and the price that consumers pay is blurred by direct and indirect subsidies, market mechanisms, transmission and distribution costs. The true costs of generating electrical power are often obscured by commercial sensitivities and competing claims make the determination of sensible energy policy difficult and often imprecise.
The Royal Academy of Engineering has taken a keen interest in energy policy and has often been concerned about the lack of clarity between competing claims over what is the best mix of generation and how the electricity market should be manipulated to achieve the aims of the Governments current energy policy. To help improve understanding, the Academy has attempted to compare the costs of generating electricity from a number of different technologies in an even-handed and dispassionate manner and commissioned PB Power to carry out a study.
The complex financial structures of commercial projects mean that it is often impossible to compare the capital costs of generating plant in a meaningful manner. This study has taken what we know to be the actual costs of building, maintaining and running various types of power station in the UK and derived costs of producing electricity by using a common financing model with a nominal discount rate of 7.5%. It compares new build power stations on a level playing field and examines their sensitivities to emissions costs and fuel prices. The figures presented here are therefore indicative rather than predictive. However, unlike many other compilations of costs, they compare like with like and therefore will be of immense use to policy makers.
The issues to be addressed when considering an energy policy include: security of supply, environmental impact, national competitiveness and social concerns. Each technology examined in this study has its own set of characteristics that are valued to more or lesser extents depending on the context and which have a bearing on four issues above. Hence, the mix of generation cannot and should not be determined solely by cost, but a rigorous understanding of those costs will enable policy makers to understand the levels of subsidy or market manipulation that is required to give a desired outcome. Furthermore, those market mechanisms and subsidies should relate directly to the particular form of generation and the perceived benefit rather than being smoothed across the system, giving rise to cross subsidies.
This examination of the costs of generating electricity is a foundation upon which discussion
about future energy policy including subsidies and market mechanisms can be based.