Construction cost data for electric generators installed in 2013
Release date: June 3, 2016 | Next release date: November 2016
In 2014, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) began collecting construction cost information for new electric generators. Presented below are graphs and tables of the cost data for generators installed in 2013. The cost data for certain generation technologies were omitted to avoid disclosure of individual company data. Although future releases of this publication will normally accompany the annual release of the EIA-860 data, EIA expects to publish construction cost information for generators installed in 2014 in November 2016 before catching up with the annual 2015 data release planned for later.
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All generators by: major energy source | prime mover | Census region | top 5 states in capacity additions
By selected sources and type: natural gas by plant type | natural gas combined-cycle by prime mover | biomass by fuel type |
solar photovoltaic by Census region | solar photovoltaic by top 5 states in capacity additions | solar photovoltaic by tracking type | solar photovoltaic by panel material
Generators installed in 2013 by major energy source
| All plants by major energy source |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| natural gas |
965 |
| solar PV |
3,705 |
| wind |
1,895 |
| biomass |
3,495 |
| hydro |
2,294 |
| geothermal |
2,851 |
| petroleum liquids |
765 |
| Total capacity (MW) |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| natural gas |
4,566 |
2,845 |
| solar PV |
2,325 |
309 |
| wind |
788 |
71 |
| biomass |
631 |
169 |
| hydro |
19 |
405 |
| geothermal |
77 |
14 |
| petroleum liquids |
36 |
35 |
| Number of plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| natural gas |
22 |
20 |
| solar PV |
191 |
10 |
| wind |
11 |
4 |
| biomass |
47 |
16 |
| hydro |
7 |
12 |
| geothermal |
3 |
1 |
| petroleum liquids |
2 |
14 |
| All plants by major energy source |
total cost (billion $) |
| natural gas |
7.2 |
| solar PV |
9.8 |
| wind |
1.6 |
| biomass |
2.8 |
| hydro |
1.0 |
| geothermal |
0.3 |
| petroleum liquids |
0.1 |
| Number of generators by major energy source |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| natural gas |
51 |
35 |
| solar PV |
231 |
19 |
| wind |
17 |
5 |
| biomass |
79 |
26 |
| hydro |
7 |
14 |
| geothermal |
9 |
1 |
| petroleum liquids |
5 |
22 |
| Average new plants capacity or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| natural gas |
208 |
142 |
| solar PV |
12 |
31 |
| wind |
72 |
18 |
| biomass |
13 |
11 |
| hydro |
3 |
34 |
| geothermal |
26 |
14 |
| petroleum liquids |
18 |
2 |
Generators installed in 2013 by prime mover
↓ notes
↑ top
| Capacity-weighted average cost per kilowatt of installed namepate capacity ($/kW) |
capacity weighted-average cost ($/kW) |
| steam turbine |
3,543 |
| combustion turbine |
736 |
| combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
1,040 |
| steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
1,293 |
| internal combustion engine |
2,170 |
| hydroelectric turbine |
2,294 |
| onshore wind turbine |
1,895 |
| photovoltaic |
3,705 |
| geothermal turbines |
2,851 |
| fuel cell |
7,648 |
| Total included capacity(MW) |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| steam turbine |
508 |
122 |
| combustion turbine |
2,432 |
1,355 |
| combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
1,408 |
795 |
| steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
752 |
666 |
| internal combustion engine |
99 |
84 |
| hydroelectric turbine |
19 |
405 |
| onshore wind turbine |
788 |
71 |
| photovoltaic |
2,325 |
309 |
| geothermal turbines |
77 |
14 |
| fuel cell |
33 |
27 |
| number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| steam turbine |
14 |
2 |
| combustion turbine |
24 |
17 |
| combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
13 |
3 |
| steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
6 |
3 |
| internal combustion engine |
64 |
51 |
| hydroelectric turbine |
7 |
14 |
| onshore wind turbine |
17 |
5 |
| photovoltaic |
231 |
19 |
| geothermal turbines |
9 |
1 |
| fuel cell |
14 |
7 |
| Average generator capacity at new or existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| steam turbine |
61 |
36 |
| combustion turbine |
80 |
101 |
| combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
265 |
108 |
| steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
222 |
125 |
| internal combustion engine |
2 |
2 |
| hydroelectric turbine |
29 |
3 |
| onshore wind turbine |
14 |
46 |
| photovoltaic |
16 |
10 |
| geothermal turbines |
14 |
9 |
| fuel cell |
4 |
2 |
| Total construction cost |
total cost (billion $) |
| steam turbine |
2.2 |
| combustion turbine |
2.8 |
| combustion turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
2.3 |
| steam turbine(as part of combined cycle) |
1.8 |
| internal combustion engine |
0.4 |
| hydroelectric turbine |
1 |
| onshore wind turbine |
1.6 |
| photovoltaic |
9.8 |
| geothermal turbines |
0.3 |
| fuel cell |
0.5 |
Generators installed in 2013 by Census region
↓ notes
↑ top
| Census regions |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| West |
1,952 |
| South |
1,303 |
| Midwest |
1,878 |
| Northeast |
3,400 |
| Total included capacity |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| West |
5,583 |
1,526 |
| South |
1,608 |
1,924 |
| Midwest |
785 |
179 |
| Northeast |
465 |
218 |
| Number of plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| West |
113 |
31 |
| South |
73 |
19 |
| Midwest |
28 |
16 |
| Northeast |
69 |
11 |
| Number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| West |
187 |
51 |
| South |
87 |
32 |
| Midwest |
39 |
25 |
| Northeast |
86 |
14 |
| Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| West |
49 |
49 |
| South |
22 |
101 |
| Midwest |
28 |
11 |
| Northeast |
7 |
20 |
| Census region |
total cost (billion $) |
| West |
13.9 |
| South |
4.6 |
| Midwest |
1.8 |
| Northeast |
2.3 |
Generators installed in 2013 by top 5 states in capacity additions
↓ notes
↑ top
| States |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| CA |
1,824 |
| FL |
1,014 |
| NC |
1,349 |
| TX |
943 |
| AK |
2,028 |
| Total included capacity |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| CA |
4,886 |
1,083 |
| FL |
127 |
1,297 |
| NC |
952 |
96 |
| TX |
303 |
356 |
| AK |
229 |
51 |
| Number of plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| CA |
77 |
9 |
| FL |
4 |
2 |
| NC |
47 |
6 |
| TX |
4 |
3 |
| AK |
2 |
9 |
| Number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| CA |
130 |
24 |
| FL |
5 |
6 |
| NC |
56 |
7 |
| TX |
4 |
6 |
| AK |
5 |
13 |
| Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| CA |
120 |
63 |
| FL |
649 |
32 |
| NC |
16 |
20 |
| TX |
119 |
76 |
| AK |
6 |
114 |
| State |
total cost (billion $) |
| CA |
10.9 |
| FL |
1.4 |
| NC |
1.4 |
| TX |
0.6 |
| AK |
0.6 |
Natural gas generators installed in 2013 by plant type
↓ notes
↑ top
| Natural gas plants by type |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| combustion turbine |
728 |
| combined cycle |
1,110 |
| fuel cell |
7,771 |
| internal combustion engine |
1,572 |
| Total included capacity (MW) |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| combustion turbine |
2,404 |
1,341 |
| combined cycle |
2,126 |
1,461 |
| fuel cell |
30 |
22 |
| internal combustion engine |
6 |
22 |
| Number of plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| combustion turbine |
8 |
9 |
| combined cycle |
4 |
3 |
| fuel cell |
8 |
2 |
| internal combustion engine |
2 |
6 |
| Number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| combustion turbine |
22 |
14 |
| combined cycle |
14 |
6 |
| fuel cell |
13 |
6 |
| internal combustion engine |
2 |
9 |
| Average new plants capacity or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| combustion turbine |
300 |
149 |
| combined cycle |
532 |
487 |
| fuel cell |
4 |
11 |
| internal combustion engine |
3 |
4 |
| Total construction cost |
total cost (billion $) |
| combustion turbine |
2.7 |
| combined cycle |
4.0 |
| fuel cell |
0.4 |
| internal combustion engine |
0.04 |
Natural gas generators installed in 2013 at combined-cycle plants by prime mover
| Natural gas combined cycle plants by component |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| combustion turbine |
1,006 |
| steam turbine |
1,272 |
| Total capacity |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| combustion turbine |
1,384 |
795 |
| steam turbine |
742 |
666 |
| Number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| combustion turbine |
9 |
3 |
| steam turbine |
5 |
3 |
| Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| combustion turbine |
154 |
265 |
| steam turbine |
148 |
222 |
| Solar PV plants by tracking system |
total cost (billion $) |
| combustion turbine |
2.2 |
| steam turbine |
1.8 |
↓ notes
↑ top
Biomass generators installed in 2013 by fuel type
↓ notes
↑ top
| Solar PV plants by tracking system |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| solid biomass |
3,573 |
| gaseous biomass |
3,217 |
| Total included capacity |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| solid biomass |
501 |
122 |
| gaseous biomass |
129 |
47 |
| Number of plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| solid biomass |
13 |
2 |
| gaseous biomass |
34 |
14 |
| Number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| solid biomass |
13 |
2 |
| gaseous biomass |
66 |
24 |
| Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| solid biomass |
39 |
61 |
| gaseous biomass |
4 |
3 |
| Solar PV plants by tracking system |
total cost (billion $) |
| solid biomass |
2.2 |
| gaseous biomass |
0.6 |
Solar PV generators installed in 2013 by Census region
↓ notes
↑ top
| Census regions |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| West |
3,757 |
| South |
3,309 |
| Midwest |
3,974 |
| Northeast |
3,143 |
| Total included capacity |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| West |
1,789 |
306 |
| South |
323 |
2 |
| Midwest |
167 |
1 |
| Northeast |
46 |
0 |
| Number of plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| West |
77 |
7 |
| South |
52 |
2 |
| Midwest |
54 |
1 |
| Northeast |
8 |
0 |
| Number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| West |
107 |
16 |
| South |
57 |
2 |
| Midwest |
59 |
1 |
| Northeast |
8 |
0 |
| Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| West |
23 |
44 |
| South |
6 |
1 |
| Midwest |
3 |
1 |
| Northeast |
0 |
0 |
| Region |
total cost (billion $) |
| West |
7.9 |
| South |
1.1 |
| Midwest |
0.7 |
| Northeast |
0.1 |
Solar PV generators installed in 2013 by top 5 states in solar PV capacity additions
↓ notes
↑ top
| States |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| CA |
3,694 |
| AZ |
4,310 |
| NC |
3,461 |
| MA |
3,453 |
| NJ |
4,658 |
| Total included capacity |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| CA |
1,493 |
299 |
| AZ |
240 |
0 |
| NC |
208 |
1 |
| MA |
80 |
0 |
| NJ |
65 |
1 |
| Number of plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| CA |
59 |
4 |
| AZ |
8 |
0 |
| NC |
41 |
1 |
| MA |
32 |
0 |
| NJ |
14 |
1 |
| Number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| CA |
84 |
13 |
| AZ |
13 |
0 |
| NC |
45 |
1 |
| MA |
35 |
0 |
| NJ |
16 |
1 |
| Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| CA |
25 |
75 |
| AZ |
30 |
0 |
| NC |
5 |
1 |
| MA |
3 |
0 |
| NJ |
5 |
1 |
| State |
total cost (billion $) |
| CA |
6.6 |
| AZ |
1.0 |
| NC |
0.7 |
| MA |
0.3 |
| NJ |
0.3 |
Solar PV generators installed in 2013 by tracking type
↓ notes
↑ top
| Solar PV plants by tracking system |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| fixed tilt |
3,550 |
| axis-based tracking |
3,906 |
| Total included capacity |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| fixed tilt |
1,413 |
79 |
| axis-based tracking |
912 |
230 |
| Number of plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| fixed tilt |
136 |
8 |
| axis-based tracking |
55 |
2 |
| Number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| fixed tilt |
163 |
14 |
| axis-based tracking |
68 |
5 |
| Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| fixed tilt |
10 |
10 |
| axis-based tracking |
17 |
115 |
| Solar PV plants by tracking system |
total cost (billion $) |
| fixed tilt |
5.3 |
| axis-based tracking |
4.5 |
Solar PV generators installed in 2013 by PV panel material
Notes:
- Data includes facilities with a total generator nameplate capacity of 1 megawatt (MW) or more. Solar data does not include distributed generation capacity.
- Government grants, tax benefits, or other incentives are excluded from these costs.
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) data are based on reported alternating current (AC) capacity and may differ from other cost and capacity estimates that use direct current (DC) ratings of PV panels.
- Biomass includes agricultural biomass, landfill gas, municipal solid waste, sludge waste, biomass and wood byproducts.
- Petroleum liquids includes distillate fuel oil, jet fuel, kerosene, residual fuel oil, and waste oil.
- Some generation technologies were excluded from this analysis to avoid disclosure of individual company data.
- Average construction cost is based on the nameplate capacity weighted average cost per kilowatt of installed nameplate capacity.
- Total capacity is the sum of the nameplate capacity of generators included in each group.
- Average new capacity is based on the nameplate capacity of new plants or new additions of nameplate capacity to existing plants. New plants did not previously have operable units and are typically recently constructed. Existing plants have at least one previously operable generator and are not newly constructed.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-860, Annual Electric Generator Report
↑ top
| Solar PV plants by tracking system |
capacity-weighted average cost ($/kW) |
| crystalline silicon |
3,717 |
| thin film |
3,690 |
| Total included capacity |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| crystalline silicon |
1,208 |
237 |
| thin film |
1,117 |
72 |
| Number of plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| crystalline silicon |
176 |
7 |
| thin film |
15 |
3 |
| Number of generators |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| crystalline silicon |
203 |
16 |
| thin film |
28 |
3 |
| Average new plant or additional capacity at existing plants |
at new plants |
at existing plants |
| crystalline silicon |
7 |
34 |
| thin film |
74 |
24 |
| Solar PV plants by tracking system |
total cost (billion $) |
| crystalline silicon |
5.4 |
| thin film |
4.4 |
