Quantitative Aspects of Energy Beyond LCOE

With Lazard’s 18th Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) report out, many are asking: are we still relying too heavily on a single metric to guide complex energy decisions?

Even quantitatively, LCOE has limits; it doesn’t value availability, dispatchability, or grid integration costs. It offers a snapshot, not a systems view.

And beyond the numbers, there are crucial qualitative factors: land use, resilience, climate alignment, and equity. These aren’t “nice to haves” they must be considered as key factors that shape the long-term success of our energy systems.

As we plan and regulate the next generation of infrastructure, it is time to move beyond “least cost” and start asking: what delivers the greatest value?