Transparent Cost Database

Tool Summary
LAUNCH TOOL
Name:	Transparent Cost Database
Agency/Company /Organization:	Department of Energy
Partner:	National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Sector:	Energy
Focus Area:	Renewable Energy, Non-renewable Energy, Biomass, - Biofuels, - Biomass Combustion, - Biomass Gasification, - Biomass Pyrolysis, - Landfill Gas, Fuels & Efficiency, Geothermal, Ground Source Heat Pumps, Hydrogen, Solar, - Concentrating Solar Power, - Solar Hot Water, - Solar PV, Transportation, Vehicles, Water Power, Wind
Phase:	Evaluate Options, Develop Finance and Implement Projects, Evaluate Effectiveness and Revise as Needed
Topics:	Analysis Tools, Baseline projection, Datasets, Finance, Low emission development planning, -LEDS, Market analysis, Resource assessment, Technology characterizations
Resource Type:	Dataset, Lessons learned/best practices, Online calculator, Publications, Software/modeling tools
User Interface:	Website
Complexity/Ease of Use:	Simple
Website:	en.openei.org/apps/TCDB/
Country:	United States
Web Application Link:	en.openei.org/apps/TCDB/
Cost:	Free
OpenEI Keyword(s):	Featured
UN Region:	Northern America
Equivalent URI:	en.openei.org/apps/TCDB/
Language:	English

For emerging energy technologies, a variety of cost and performance numbers are cited in presentations and reports for present-day characteristics and potential improvements. Amid a variety of sources and methods for these data, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s technology development programs determine estimates for use in program planning.

The Transparent Cost Database collects program cost and performance estimates for EERE technologies in a public forum where they can be viewed and compared to other published estimates. The database includes literature on technology cost, performance estimates and levelized costs (both current and future projections) for:

electricity generation
biofuels
vehicles

All data are downloadable for full transparency.

Levelized cost calculation parameters for all three areas can be adjusted and the dynamic results can be downloaded in CSV or as a formatted spreadsheet.

This project is under active development and we welcome user suggestions for additional features or modifications to enhance usability for the energy community. The database also allows nomination of data sets for inclusion in the database or comments on the estimates used by interested users.