While capital cost is an important economic parameter, it should be realized that the total ownership cost (including the impact of equipment life and O&M costs) is a much more meaningful index for a complete economic analysis. For example, while the capital cost of lead-acid batteries is relatively low, they may not necessarily be the least expensive option for energy management (load leveling) due to their relatively short life for this type of application.
The battery costs in this chart have been adjusted to exclude the cost of power conversion electronics. The cost per unit energy has also been divided by the storage efficiency to obtain the cost per output (useful) energy.
Installation cost also varies with the type and size of the storage. The information in the chart and table here should only be used as a guide not as detailed data.
Notes:
- The costs of storage technologies are changing as they evolve. The cost ranges in this chart include approximate values in 2002 and the expected mature values in a few years.
- The Metal-Air batteries may appear to be the best choice based on their high energy density and low cost, but the rechargeable types have a very limited life cycle and are still under development.
