Around the world, more than half of renewable capacity additions in 2019 had lower electricity costs than their fossil fuel counterparts. Renewables have seen their costs drop dramatically over the last decade according to a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Most noticeably, the cost of solar PV globally dropped by 82% and fell by 13% in 2019 alone. Since 2010, the cost of concentrated solar power also dropped by 47%, while onshore wind costs fell 40% and offshore wind 29%.
Current News 3rd June 2020 read more »
Cost reductions in renewable energy sources including wind power and solar PV strengthens the case for making them a ‘key component’ of economic stimulus packages after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). Irena forecasts the global weighted-average electricity cost for onshore wind will fall by a further 18% between 2019 and 2021. This decrease follows a 39% drop between 2010 and 2019 – from $86/MWh to $53/MWh. Onshore wind now “consistently outcompetes even the cheapest fossil-fuel-fired source of new electricity”, Irena added. The global renewable power fleet has continued to grow in 2020 despite the Covid-19, pandemic but warns that total capacity additions will be lower than anticipated because of the virus. A “small number of onshore wind project commissioning dates may slip into 2021”, Irena suggests. Of the onshore projects expected to be commissioned in 2021, 62% (15GW) have electricity costs lower than the cheapest fossil fuel-fired new capacity option, which stands at $50/MWh, the report states. Offshore wind costs have also fallen, albeit at a slower pace than onshore wind, according to Irena’s research. The global weighted-average LCoE of offshore wind declined by 29% between 2010 and 2019, from $161.MWh to $115/MWh – including a 9% year-on-year fall in 2019 alone.
Windpower Monthly 3rd June 2020 read more »
“Since 2010, the cost of energy has dropped by 82% for photovoltaic solar, by 47% for concentrated solar energy (CSP), by 39% for onshore wind and by 29% for wind offshore.” Those remarkable price falls are quoted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) in its Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019 report. The figures were compiled from the costs and tariffs reported for 17,000 renewable energy project tenders last year which should eventually add up to 1.7 GW of clean power generation capacity. The cost reductions witnessed in the last decade were due to improved technology, economies of scale, supply chain competitiveness and the growing experience of developers, said Irena.
PV Magazine 3rd June 2020 read more »
Solar Power Portal 3rd June 2020 read more »
Falling cost of renewables provides emerging Europe with non-nuclear solution to coal exit. Renewable power is increasingly cheaper than any new electricity capacity based on fossil fuels, claims a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The report, Renewable Power Generation Costs 2019, shows that more than half of the renewable capacity added last year achieved lower power costs than the cheapest new coal plants. The report highlights that new renewable power generation projects now increasingly undercuts existing coal-fired plants. On average, new solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind power cost less than keeping many existing coal plants in operation, and auction results show this trend accelerating – reinforcing the case to phase-out coal entirely. Next year, up to 1,200 gigawatts (GW) of existing coal capacity could cost more to operate than the cost of new utility-scale solar PV, the report shows.
Emerging Europe 4th June 2020 read more »