Effects of the Environmental Cost of Electricity Generation, Considering the LCOE Model

Human life is dependent on natural resources. Water shortage results from Climate change and population growth and societies worry about this complication. In addition to water supply in today s growing societies, energy provision and the consequences of their extraction are significant. The current study aimed to estimate the environmental costs of electricity generation and to analyze the impact of environmental costs on the price of electricity generation. The quantity of virtual water per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated from thermal power plants and renewable energies was estimated. Afterward, the quantity of particulate matter and greenhouse gases emitted from thermal power plants were determined. Within the final section, the price of electricity was computed by implementing the LCOE model under two different circumstances. The results reveal that the environmental costs of electricity generation affect the final price of electricity. Environmental costs of electricity generation, including the cost of fossil fuel, emissions, and virtual water costs in the steam turbine, gas turbine, and CCGT power plants are 3.03, 2.44, and 1.24 cent per kWh, respectively. The external cost of renewable energy is negligible. In alternative words, electricity from wind and photovoltaic keeps more than 10 million tons of particulate matter and greenhouse gases from emitting into the atmosphere each year. Therefore, to develop the Iran power industry, choosing the type of power plant and especially the type of cooling system has a key role in reducing water consumption. The results showed that the wind farms and photovoltaic energy are the most eco-friendly energy for controlling environmental issues.