Finance Tools

Climate Project Break-Even Calculator

Estimate when a climate project breaks even by comparing upfront and ongoing costs against annual savings and financial benefits.

Climate Project Break-Even Calculator

Estimate when a climate project breaks even by comparing upfront and ongoing costs against annual savings and other financial benefits (incentives, avoided fees, credits).

One-time upfront investment required to start the project.
Ongoing annual cost to operate, maintain, monitor, or report the project.
Annual savings from energy efficiency, fuel reduction, lower waste, or process improvements.
Optional. Include annualized incentives, tax credits, avoided penalties, or other recurring benefits.

How it works

This calculator estimates break-even using a simple payback method: upfront cost divided by annual net benefit. It’s useful for quick screening and comparing projects. For capital budgeting, you may also consider NPV/IRR.

FAQ

What does “break-even” mean here?
It means the point where cumulative net benefits recover the upfront project cost (simple payback).

What if annual net benefit is negative?
Then the project does not break even under these assumptions. Re-check savings, incentives, or costs.

Does this include carbon price or avoided compliance costs?
You can include those in “Additional annual benefits” as long as they’re recurring and annualized.

How to use this climate project break-even calculator

  1. Enter your upfront project cost (capex).
  2. Enter the ongoing annual operating cost (opex).
  3. Enter the estimated annual savings (energy, fuel, efficiency).
  4. Enter any additional annual financial benefits (tax credits, incentives, avoided fees).
  5. Click Calculate to estimate annual net benefit and break-even (payback) period.

Example

A company estimates the break-even period for an energy-efficiency project.

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