GRC Member Craig Dunn, spokesperson for Borealis Geopower, says it’s also important to note that many things aren’t factored into the levelized cost, because the calculation is based on using the electricity at the site and doesn’t include the costs of distributing it. Site C, for example, would cost more, he says, because of the cost of transmission lines to get the electricity to where it is needed, and the loss of electricity over distances. Costs for a plant in the Canoe Reach would be less because power is needed here, and there is already a transmission line.
Levelized cost also doesn’t take into account differences in reliability. For example, a geothermal plant can produce power more hours of any given day than a wind turbine – three times as much. Dunn says his plant will actually produce 8,300 megawatt hours a year for each megawatt the plant is rated at.
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