Evening Lecture – The economics of nuclear energy in an evolving electricity system: going beyond the Levelised Cost of Electricity
Many OECD member countries are pursuing ambitious objectives in term of both greenhouse gas emission reductions and deployment of variable renewable sources, in particular wind and solar PV. However, the transition towards a low-carbon energy mix and the integration of large shares of variable sources have a profound impact on electricity markets, on the value of existing assets and on the long-term structure of the electricity generation mix.
Classical metrics such as the Levelised Cost of Electricity are no longer sufficient to fully characterise the different attributes of generating technologies in this rapidly evolving landscape. This presentation highlights the most important outcomes of two recent OECD/NEA studies which go beyond plant-level generation costs. A first study looks at system-wide integration costs in decarbonised electricity systems. The second study compares the external costs associated with electricity generation.
Speaker
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Marco ComettoNuclear energy analyst at the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD
Marco Cometto is a nuclear energy analyst at the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD, where he works on the economics of nuclear power. Recent and on-going activities are system cost of nuclear energy and renewables, cost of nuclear accidents, financing and project structure of nuclear new built, projected cost of electricity generation and full cost of electricity.
He graduated with a degree in Nuclear Engineering from the Politecnico of Torino and holds a PhD in physics from the EPFL in Lausanne. In addition to his engineering background, Dr. Cometto has a strong interest for finance and economics and has earned the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation in 2015. Prior to joining the NEA he worked as an investment advisor for an Italian bank and as a research engineer at EDF and at the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).