SOLAR THREATENS COAL IN EUROPE

Solar could be cheaper than coal and gas by 2025, study says

24 February 2015 (EurActiv)

“Solar power will be cheaper than coal or gas by 2025 in sunnier regions of the EU, according to [Current and Future Cost of Photovoltaics] by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems…But high-risk premiums or bad regulation can increase the costs of plants by half…The cost of producing solar power in central and southern Europe will have dropped to between €0.04 and €0.06 per kilowatt hour by 2025, the study [using conservative assumptions] found…[It] revealed that cost would plummet to between two to four cents by 2050…

"Currently, large solar plants in Germany currently deliver power for less than nine cents. According to the study, electricity from new coal and gas-fired plants costs between five and ten cents per kilowatt hour. Nuclear plants charge 11 cents…Solar photovoltaic energy has only been granted a very limited role in the EU, due to its high cost when compare to other low-carbon sources…[but] the study showed that solar panels could compete with coal and gas, which are seen as cheaper…That meant that solar could play an important and financially viable role in reducing the EU’s energy dependence and in hitting its climate and energy targets…” click here for more

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