Lazard’s Levelized (factoring in subsidies) Cost Of Energy Version 12.0 Is Here!
The Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) takes into account not only the price of energy as it goes to market, but also the values of any subsidies it gets. The financial advisers at Lazard issue their analysis annually to help us maintain a picture of what the real costs of energy are.
By using the data in Lazard’s analysis, we can see how various forms of energy used to generate electric power stack up against each other. In the past, we have seen LCOE figures that show the cost of electricity from solar and wind falling to meet the costs of what is generated by coal, nuclear, and natural gas. Now, we can see that trend has continued pretty much as it had, but in doing so, it is hitting new milestones. The costs of renewable energy are getting into territory where fossil fuels are no longer competitive.
The cost of electricity from crystalline solar PVs has fallen 88% over the past nine years, providing a really beautiful picture of an exponential decline. We might note that this suggests a fairly steady rate of decline at 21% per year. In the same time, wind power has fallen 69%, implying an annual rate of decline of about 12%.
At the same time, the cost of nuclear power has increased by 23%, and the cost of power from coal has decreased by 9% over nine years. The cost of power from combined cycle natural gas (CCNG) has declined about 30%, but this is largely due to increased use of fracking, which cannot be counted on to continue to drive the cost down.
Looking at the figures, we can see even more clearly that the least expensive electricity now comes from renewable technologies. On the basis of cost per megawatt-hour for solar PVs, it ranges from $36 to $44, and for onshore wind power, it ranges from $29 to $56. By contrast, for CCNG, it ranges from $41 to $74, for coal, the range is from $60 to $143, and for nuclear, it is from $112 to $189. Windpower and solar PVs might compete with each other nearly head-on, but both will often beat CCNG, and both are always likely to beat both coal and nuclear.
What this means is that the costs of PVs and wind power are getting so low that it is now often cheaper to get power from new renewables than it is to produce it from an old coal-burning or nuclear power plant, even if that plant is fully paid down. It is often less expensive to close the old coal plant, or even sometimes a nuclear plant, than it is to finance, build, and operate the new renewable plant that will replace it.
And so politics and emotions aside... economics now kick in and the tipping point approaches all by itself.
See https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/12/whoo-hoo-lazards-levelized-cost-of-energy-version-12-0-is-here/
#renewableenergy
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via IFTTT
The Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) takes into account not only the price of energy as it goes to market, but also the values of any subsidies it gets. The financial advisers at Lazard issue their analysis annually to help us maintain a picture of what the real costs of energy are.
By using the data in Lazard’s analysis, we can see how various forms of energy used to generate electric power stack up against each other. In the past, we have seen LCOE figures that show the cost of electricity from solar and wind falling to meet the costs of what is generated by coal, nuclear, and natural gas. Now, we can see that trend has continued pretty much as it had, but in doing so, it is hitting new milestones. The costs of renewable energy are getting into territory where fossil fuels are no longer competitive.
The cost of electricity from crystalline solar PVs has fallen 88% over the past nine years, providing a really beautiful picture of an exponential decline. We might note that this suggests a fairly steady rate of decline at 21% per year. In the same time, wind power has fallen 69%, implying an annual rate of decline of about 12%.
At the same time, the cost of nuclear power has increased by 23%, and the cost of power from coal has decreased by 9% over nine years. The cost of power from combined cycle natural gas (CCNG) has declined about 30%, but this is largely due to increased use of fracking, which cannot be counted on to continue to drive the cost down.
Looking at the figures, we can see even more clearly that the least expensive electricity now comes from renewable technologies. On the basis of cost per megawatt-hour for solar PVs, it ranges from $36 to $44, and for onshore wind power, it ranges from $29 to $56. By contrast, for CCNG, it ranges from $41 to $74, for coal, the range is from $60 to $143, and for nuclear, it is from $112 to $189. Windpower and solar PVs might compete with each other nearly head-on, but both will often beat CCNG, and both are always likely to beat both coal and nuclear.
What this means is that the costs of PVs and wind power are getting so low that it is now often cheaper to get power from new renewables than it is to produce it from an old coal-burning or nuclear power plant, even if that plant is fully paid down. It is often less expensive to close the old coal plant, or even sometimes a nuclear plant, than it is to finance, build, and operate the new renewable plant that will replace it.
And so politics and emotions aside... economics now kick in and the tipping point approaches all by itself.
See https://cleantechnica.com/2018/11/12/whoo-hoo-lazards-levelized-cost-of-energy-version-12-0-is-here/
#renewableenergy
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Whoo-Hoo! Lazard’s Levelized Cost Of Energy Version 12.0 Is Here! | CleanTechnica We have a reason to cheer! Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis – Version 12.0 has been released. There are times that I love numbers. And these are great numbers |
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