Zero Marginal Energy Cost: Difference between revisions
(Created page with "Deive the cost per kilowatt hour for PV panels that cost $200 per kilowatt - is that the current bulk cost? Assume the standard lifetime, and inverters that cost $100 per kilowatt - is that the correct cost? Assume no storage, and mounting cost of $10/kw because it is building-integrated. Chat says: https://chatgpt.com/share/6978447d-0958-8010-a31f-e4e788cab0bf Wiring is DC bus at 500V carrying 200A or 100kW, linear array say of 200 feet long, 10 panels deep, each pane...") |
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This is the cost of electricity derived from photovoltaics. No storage. | |||
Question: Derive the cost per kilowatt hour for PV panels that cost $200 per kilowatt - is that the current bulk cost? Assume the standard lifetime, and inverters that cost $100 per kilowatt - is that the correct cost? Assume no storage, and mounting cost of $10/kw because it is building-integrated. | |||
Chat says: https://chatgpt.com/share/6978447d-0958-8010-a31f-e4e788cab0bf | Chat says: https://chatgpt.com/share/6978447d-0958-8010-a31f-e4e788cab0bf | ||
Wiring is DC bus at 500V carrying 200A or 100kW, linear array say of 200 feet long, 10 panels deep, each panel connecting with a long ga 14 wire back to bus (30 wires *50'=1500 feet of 14 ga XHHW-2 at 28 cents per foot (https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/xhhw?srsltid=AfmBOooslPMla7YGEH_a-hYczUjDOT7sFuHo1TGrGclpjhzmGPIkSgPW)) and 4/0 cable at $2.5/foot makes for $500+$500. So I pay $1000 in wire for 100kw or $10/kW in wire, so wiring cost is negligible. Combiner is $55/6kW, or about $10/kw. Engineering is open source reference design. Conduit - is $340/100kW or $3/kw. So total not including labor is $333/kW for hardware. Labor is about 20 minutes per panel (4 mount points through panel, 4 screws to mounts, marking 20 long lines , and 3D printed mounts) for about 100 hours - or $2500 - for 100 kW - or $25/kw - making total with labor come out to under $400/kW. | Wiring is DC bus at 500V carrying 200A or 100kW, linear array say of 200 feet long, 10 panels deep, each panel connecting with a long ga 14 wire back to 300A bus (30 wires *50'=1500 feet of 14 ga XHHW-2 at 28 cents per foot (https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/xhhw?srsltid=AfmBOooslPMla7YGEH_a-hYczUjDOT7sFuHo1TGrGclpjhzmGPIkSgPW)) and 4/0 cable at $2.5/foot makes for $500+$500. So I pay $1000 in wire for 100kw or $10/kW in wire, so wiring cost is negligible. Combiner is $55/6kW, or about $10/kw. Engineering is open source reference design. Conduit - is $340/100kW or $3/kw. So total not including labor is $333/kW for hardware. Labor is about 20 minutes per panel (4 mount points through panel, 4 screws to mounts, marking 20 long lines , and 3D printed mounts) for about 100 hours - or $2500 - for 100 kW - or $25/kw - making total with labor come out to under $400/kW. | ||
Design rationale: use fat pipe of 4/0 aluminum for a DC bus carrying 150A (15 strings of 10A) on 2 sides, each side of long building. This way, no MC4 extenders are required. This eliminates the XHHW-2 above but adds a second 4/0 wire, at same cost. This is actually more robust than going to 350kcmil wire at higher cost. | |||
This makes cost of electricity 0.8 cents/kWhr. | This makes cost of electricity 0.8 cents/kWhr. https://chatgpt.com/share/6978447d-0958-8010-a31f-e4e788cab0bf | ||
'''But PV lasts more than 25 years. Under the assumption of lifetime design | '''But PV lasts more than 25 years. Under the assumption of lifetime design inverters - the cost drops to 1/2 of this - down to 0.4-0.5 cents per kWhr.''' | ||
This shows less than 1/2 the utility-scale cost structure, but executed on the microscale. | |||
Latest revision as of 05:17, 27 January 2026
This is the cost of electricity derived from photovoltaics. No storage.
Question: Derive the cost per kilowatt hour for PV panels that cost $200 per kilowatt - is that the current bulk cost? Assume the standard lifetime, and inverters that cost $100 per kilowatt - is that the correct cost? Assume no storage, and mounting cost of $10/kw because it is building-integrated.
Chat says: https://chatgpt.com/share/6978447d-0958-8010-a31f-e4e788cab0bf
Wiring is DC bus at 500V carrying 200A or 100kW, linear array say of 200 feet long, 10 panels deep, each panel connecting with a long ga 14 wire back to 300A bus (30 wires *50'=1500 feet of 14 ga XHHW-2 at 28 cents per foot (https://www.wireandcableyourway.com/xhhw?srsltid=AfmBOooslPMla7YGEH_a-hYczUjDOT7sFuHo1TGrGclpjhzmGPIkSgPW)) and 4/0 cable at $2.5/foot makes for $500+$500. So I pay $1000 in wire for 100kw or $10/kW in wire, so wiring cost is negligible. Combiner is $55/6kW, or about $10/kw. Engineering is open source reference design. Conduit - is $340/100kW or $3/kw. So total not including labor is $333/kW for hardware. Labor is about 20 minutes per panel (4 mount points through panel, 4 screws to mounts, marking 20 long lines , and 3D printed mounts) for about 100 hours - or $2500 - for 100 kW - or $25/kw - making total with labor come out to under $400/kW.
Design rationale: use fat pipe of 4/0 aluminum for a DC bus carrying 150A (15 strings of 10A) on 2 sides, each side of long building. This way, no MC4 extenders are required. This eliminates the XHHW-2 above but adds a second 4/0 wire, at same cost. This is actually more robust than going to 350kcmil wire at higher cost.
This makes cost of electricity 0.8 cents/kWhr. https://chatgpt.com/share/6978447d-0958-8010-a31f-e4e788cab0bf
But PV lasts more than 25 years. Under the assumption of lifetime design inverters - the cost drops to 1/2 of this - down to 0.4-0.5 cents per kWhr.
This shows less than 1/2 the utility-scale cost structure, but executed on the microscale.