Levelized Cost of Electricity for hydrokinetic turbines

Hydrokinetic turbines are an emerging technology capable of generating electricity through a renewable energy source. Due to the novelty, there is a lack of knowledge in this area, especially in the context of expenditures. In this way, the main goal of the present work is to develop a methodology to compute the costs and risks associated with this technology. The results are presented for two real turbines, manufactured by the Laboratory of Environment and Energy at the University of Brasilia and tested at two different sites. All expenditures are described, and the Levelized Cost of Electricity is analyzed for both turbines. © 2003-2012 IEEE.