Global New Energy Still Beating The Market

Renewable Power Remains Cost-Competitive amid Fossil Fuel Crisis

13 July 2022 International Renewable Energy Agency)

Costs for renewables continued to fall in 2021 as supply chain challenges and rising commodity prices have yet to show their full impact…The cost of electricity from onshore wind fell by 15%, offshore wind by 13% and solar PV by 13% compared to 2020…[The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) found] almost two-thirds or 163 gigawatts (GW) of newly installed renewable power in 2021 had lower costs than the world’s cheapest coal-fired option in the G20…[which likely] saves around USD 55 billion from global energy generation costs in 2022…

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In non-OECD countries, the 109 GW of renewable energy additions in 2021 that cost less than the cheapest new fossil fuel-fired option will reduce costs by at least USD 5.7 billion annually for the next 25-30 years…High coal and fossil gas prices in 2021 and 2022 will also profoundly deteriorate the competitiveness of fossil fuels and make solar and wind even more attractive…[N]ew fossil gas generation in Europe will increasingly become uneconomic over its lifetime, increasing the risk of stranded assets…[E]xisting gas plants [in Europe] might average four to six times more in 2022 than the lifetime cost of new solar PV and onshore wind commissioned in 2021.

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Between January and May 2022, the generation of solar and wind power may have saved Europe fossil fuel imports in the magnitude of no less than USD 50 billion, predominantly fossil gas…[N]ot all materials cost increases have been passed through into equipment prices and project costs yet. If material costs remain elevated, the price pressures in 2022 will be more pronounced…[But could] be dwarfed by the overall gains of cost-competitive renewables…” click here for more

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