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The BrightVolt Take: Solar and Wind Got More Expensive

The BrightVolt Take: Solar and Wind Got More Expensive

Oct 1, 2026 | Battery Technology, Policy & Regulations, Renewable Energy

For about fifteen years the cost of new solar and wind electricity fell almost every year. In 2025 it rose. BloombergNEF puts its global benchmark for utility solar up 6% and offshore wind up 12% over the year, and Lazard has the levelized cost of US solar up 18%. The...
LCOE Explained: What the Cheapest-Power Number Leaves Out

LCOE Explained: What the Cheapest-Power Number Leaves Out

Sep 15, 2026 | Policy & Regulations, Renewable Energy

The levelized cost of energy, or LCOE, is a single number: a power plant’s total lifetime cost divided by the total electricity it produces over its life, usually quoted in dollars per megawatt-hour. It is the most-cited figure in energy — and the most misused....
Capacity Factor: Why 1 GW of Solar Isn’t 1 GW of Gas

Capacity Factor: Why 1 GW of Solar Isn’t 1 GW of Gas

Sep 12, 2026 | Renewable Energy, Smartgrids

A power plant’s capacity factor is the share of its theoretical maximum output it actually delivers over a year. It is also why the grid’s headline numbers mislead. In 2025, US nuclear plants supplied about 18% of the country’s electricity from just...
Cost of Capital: Why It Sets the Price of Clean Power

Cost of Capital: Why It Sets the Price of Clean Power

Sep 9, 2026 | Policy & Regulations, Renewable Energy

A wind farm burns no fuel, so almost everything it will ever cost is spent before it sends out a single kilowatt-hour — and most of that money is borrowed. This is why the cost of capital, not the turbine, sets the price of clean power. For a utility-scale solar...
Peaker Plants: Why the Grid’s Priciest Power Runs Least

Peaker Plants: Why the Grid’s Priciest Power Runs Least

Aug 15, 2026 | Renewable Energy, Smartgrids

A peaker plant is a power station built to sit idle. It earns its keep by running a few hours a year, on the evenings when demand spikes and everything cheaper is already maxed out — and that scarcity is exactly why it produces the most expensive electricity on the...