Cost of Renewable Energy Starts to Near Parity



Bloomberg in October 2015 posted some numbers on the levelized cost of energy production by technology from calendar year 2015. These numbers refute the myth that folks cannot afford renewable energy. The LCOE for onshore wind is now 83 USD/MWhr and coal in Europe is 105USD/MWhr. The European Commission figures for 2014 were 80 Eur/MWhr for onshore wind, coal at 75 Euro/MWhr, and nuclear energy at 90 Euro/MWhr. Natural gas was 100 Euro/MWhr in the EC data. See Gramwzielony, January 18, 2016.

The cost of renewable energy continues to significantly fall. Increased environmental concerns are mostly raising the price of traditional energy at the same time. 

Another point missed by just looking at LCOE figures is that renewable energy is dispersed, often closer to the end-user and generally carries lower cost of transmission (which is about 40%  of the end-users cost).

You do not need to be an environmentalist or global warming advocate to believe that the future is in renewable energy. It is a matter of technology and economics more than anything else.




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