Abstract:

Considering the current growth trend of an increase in the share of renewable energy in the total energy supply, it is anticipated that the share of renewables in primary energy consumption to reach 40% by 2030. The most ubiquitous and thrifty type of renewable source is solar energy. Solar technologies around the globe are achieving auspicious results by yielding more and more energy over time due to technological advancements.

The Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) is a metric used to determine the average cost of producing electricity over the lifetime of a power plant. LCOE takes into account the total capital costs, operating costs, and the amount of electricity generated over the lifespan of the plant. In recent years, LCOE has become an important metric for comparing the cost-effectiveness of different sources of energy, including renewable energy sources. The LCOE method is utilized to compare the projects with diverse cost systems. It represents the cost of electricity produced over the lifetime of the project.

The current paper compares the utility-scale deployment of three solar energy technologies: a. fixed solar PV plant, b. solar-PV plant with the single-axis solar tracker, and c. Solar Stirling Dish Systems - concentrated solar power technology. Market prices are obtained from the project documents for the fixed solar PV and solar PV with solar trackers, while quotation prices of the suppliers are used for the Solar Stirling Dish Systems.

The result of the current study contributes to answering the question of whether Uzbekistan can benefit from technological leapfrogging or not.