Capacity Factor & LCOE Explorer (2D)

This 2D companion measures the same real economics as the 3D version but shows the arithmetic happening in the open: a simulated hourly generation trace for solar, wind, nuclear and gas — each with its own physically distinct intermittency pattern — is averaged to obtain a genuinely measured capacity factor, then combined with user-adjustable capital and O&M cost sliders into a levelized cost of energy. A live line chart plots the selected source's generation trace as it scrolls through a simulated year, and a live bar chart compares LCOE across all four sources simultaneously, making it possible to watch a low-capacity-factor source like solar undercut a high-capacity-factor source like gas once its capital cost is low enough — the same non-obvious result the underlying economics predicts.