solar power Archives - the patient investor

October 27, 2014

Solar Struggles To Compete With Other Renewables On Cost

Andy Tully discusses a study by Ecofys, a renewable energy consultancy based in Utrecht, Netherlands:

…..The Ecofys study concludes that new coal and natural gas plants in the EU, running at maximum capacity, have levelized costs of just over $64 in 2012 dollars per megawatt-hour. Onshore wind costs about $102 per megawatt-hour.

On the higher end, the Ecofys says, nuclear power costs about $115 per megawatt-hour and solar photovoltaic systems cost about $127. At the low end, the cost of hydroelectric power costs about $12.

August 6, 2014

Solar And Wind Power More Expensive Than Thought

A new paper from Charles Frank an economist at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, argues that wind and solar power are not economically viable:

The paper examined four kinds of carbon-free energy – solar, wind, hydroelectric and nuclear – as well as low-carbon gas generation, and compared them with generators that burn fossil fuels. It also posited a value of $50 per metric ton of reduced carbon emissions and $16 per million BTUs of gas.

Frank calculated that electricity generated by a combination of nuclear, hydro and natural gas have much greater benefits than either wind or solar energy because wind and solar generators cost more to operate even though they require no fuel.

For example, nuclear plants run at about 90 percent of capacity compared with wind turbines, which are only about 25 percent efficient, and solar plants with only 15 percent efficiency. As a result, Frank wrote, nuclear plants avoid almost four times as much CO2 per unit of capacity as wind turbines, and six times as much as solar generators….

Hat tip to Oilprice.com

October 15, 2013

The US corporate boom in solar power explained in five charts – Quartz

Todd Woody writes:

While electricity prices are expected to continue to rise in the years ahead, the installed cost of a photovoltaic system continues to drop.

The plummeting price for photovoltaic electricity means that installations are spreading beyond states like California that feature both high electricity prices and generous subsidies for solar.

I suspect that generous subsidies are the primary motivation. Even at $3500 per KW and 300 sunny days a year, the payback period is more than 10 years when compared to the average commercial cost of 14 cents/KWH. The cost of PV systems would have to halve again to make them commercially viable without subsidies.