By Henry Lindon
Wind energy and solar energy are notably beating out conventional
generation modalities (coal, natural gas, nuclear, etc) with regard to
production costs and abatement as well, according to a new study from
the US investment bank Lazard.
The report notes that, despite recent drops in the cost of natural
gas in the US, solar and wind energy are still beating out conventional
modalities in most situations — partly owing to the fact that solar and
wind energy costs have dropped by 80% and 60% since 2009. Utility-scale
solar photovoltaic (PV) costs have actually even fallen by 25% just over
the last year, according to the new study. Here are a few graphs from the report illustrating important points, via RenewEconomy:
This first two graphs shows what’s happened to wind and solar energy
project costs since 2009 (in the US). It should be noted that these
numbers don’t include tax credits. This next one shows how these modalities compare to the conventional
ones. Worth noting is that, compared to earlier Lazard studies, the cost
of nuclear has actually climbed. As you can see, rooftop solar is also
notably higher in the US than in many other places.
And here’s a show of abatement comparisons:
Lazard notes: “(This) analysis … suggests that policies designed to
promote wind and utility scale solar deployment could be a particularly
cost effective way of limiting carbon emissions.” The reports provides a caveat on renewables though:
“Even though
alternative energy is increasingly cost-competitive and storage
technology holds great promise (see our study on its first storage costs
assessment) alternative energy systems alone will not be capable of
meeting the baseload generation needs of a developed economy for the
foreseeable future. Therefore, the optimal solution for many regions of
the world is to use complementary traditional and alternative energy
resources in a diversified generation fleet.”
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/12/03/wind-solar-cheaper-than-fossils-nuclear-now/
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