The levelised cost of energy (LCOE) is a measure of the average cost of generating electricity from a particular source over its lifetime. It takes into account the capital costs (e.g. building a new power plant) as well as the operating costs (e.g. fuel, maintenance, etc.) and divides them by the total amount of electricity that will be generated by the plant over its lifetime.The LCOE is often used to compare different sources of electricity generation, such as coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind, or solar. It can also be used to compare different technologies within each category, such as different types of coal-fired power plants or different types of solar panels.
