ATB Electricity Data Overview
The electricity sector ATB website provides consistent, freely-available technology-specific cost and performance
parameters across a range of R&D advancements scenarios, resource characteristics, sites, fuel prices, and
financial assumptions for electricity-generating technologies, both at present and with projections through 2050.
It includes capital expenditures, operations expenditures, and capacity factor and also the levelized cost of
energy, a summary metric for electricity-generating technologies.
Use the charts and table below to explore ranges, projections, and a tabular summary of ATB data. Interact with the chart, including selection of other parameters, by clicking "More Details" to explore the meaning of the data.
You can also download 2020 ATB data.
Range of LCOE shown initially. Click "more details" above the chart to select CAPEX, capacity factor, or O&M in the 2020 ATB.
Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is a summary metric with important limitations. See definitions for
Levelized cost of energy,
CAPEX,
capacity factor,
O&M,
and
all other terms used in the ATB.
Here, 2020 ATB cost and performance are summarized by technology for the year specified. For details, see the
Representative Technology section of each technology page. Monetary values are in 2018$. The ATB develops original data for
renewable technologies, and it relies on AEO2020
(EIA 2020) for fossil,
nuclear, and biopower plants. Orange bars reflect the representative ATB plant characteristics, and blue bars represent
the full range in the ATB. Natural gas, Coal, Nuclear, and Biopower scenarios are from AEO2020
(EIA 2020). See technology detail for additional information.
CC: combined cycle; CCS: carbon capture and storage; CSP: concentrating solar power; CT: combustion turbine; EGS:
enhanced geothermal systems; IGCC: integrated gasification combined cycle; NF: near-field; NSD: new stream-reach
development; NPD: non-powered dam; PC: pulverized coal; TES: thermal energy storage
Projections of LCOE shown initially. Click "more details" above the chart to select CAPEX, capacity factor, or O&M in the 2020 ATB.
Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is a summary metric with important limitations. See definitions for
Levelized cost of energy,
CAPEX,
capacity factor, and
O&M.
Here, 2020 ATB cost and performance are summarized by technology for the year specified. For details, see the Representative Technology section of each technology page. Monetary values are in 2018$. The ATB develops original data for
renewable technologies, and it relies on AEO2020
(EIA 2020) for fossil, nuclear, and biopower plants.
CC: combined cycle; CCS: carbon capture and storage; CSP: concentrating solar power; CT: combustion turbine; EGS: enhanced geothermal systems; IGCC: integrated gasification combined cycle; NF: near-field; NSD: new stream-reach
development; NPD: non-powered dam; PC: pulverized coal; TES: thermal energy storage
Summary of Minimum and Maximum Values of CAPEX, Capacity Factor, O&M and LCOE
Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is a summary metric with important limitations. See definitions for
Levelized cost of energy,
CAPEX,
capacity factor,
FCR, and
O&M.
Here, 2020 ATB cost and performance are summarized by technology for the year specified. For details, see the
Representative Technology section of each technology page. Monetary values are in 2018$. The ATB develops original data for
renewable technologies, and it relies on AEO2020
(EIA 2020) for fossil, nuclear, and biopower plants.
CC: combined cycle; CCS: carbon capture and storage; CSP: concentrating solar power; CT: combustion turbine; EGS: enhanced geothermal systems; IGCC: integrated gasification combined cycle; NF: near-field; NSD: new stream-reach
development; NPD: non-powered dam; PC: pulverized coal; TES: thermal energy storage
Assumptions
The figures and table illustrate the selected data dimensions, which are developed using the assumptions described briefly here with links to additional information.
Representative Technologies and Parameters
The specifics of representative technologies, parameter definitions, historical trends, current estimates, and future
projections used in the ATB are described in the respective technology section. Links to definitions provide
information that applies to all technologies
The levelized cost of energy is a summary metric that combines
capital expenditures (CAPEX),
operations expenditures (O&M),
capacity factor, and projections for
"conservative", "moderate", and "advanced" technology advancement scenarios. See
levelized cost of energy for information about important limitations of LCOE.
Select a link in the table below to jump to the technology-specific description of each parameter.
Links to Technology-Specific Documentation of CAPEX, O&M, Capacity Factor, and Representative Technology
Technology Innovation Scenarios
The ATB provides original technology advancement scenarios for renewable electricity-generating technologies. The
Conservative, Moderate, and
Advanced scenarios that appear in tables and figures refer to a range of assumptions about technology advancement and associated cost and performance. For reference, the
ATB provides natural gas, coal, nuclear, and biopower data.
Financial Assumptions Cases
Financial assumptions impact LCOE by changing the cost of capital to finance
electricity generation projects. Two project finance structures are used within the ATB:
a R&D Only Financial
Assumptions Case (R&D Only case) and a
Market
+ Policies Financial Assumptions Case (Market + Policies Case).
Independent power producer financing structure is assumed.
Year
The ATB includes current estimates (for the base year) and projections (for the
projected years) for each technology.
Cost Recovery Period
The ATB displays three cost recovery period options.
Technology
Each of the technology-specific pages describes the assumptions and methodologies used to develop the data.
Technology Detail
Technology detail indicates resource level and specific technology sub-categories.
Methodology
Please refer to the 2020 ATB Approach and Methodology for details about the methods used to develop the cost and performance projections.
References
The following references are specific to this page; for all references in this ATB, see References.
EIA (2020). Annual Energy Outlook 2020 with Projections to 2050. (No. AEO2020). U.S. Energy Information Administration. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/AEO2020.pdf