In Australia, Wind Power Is Already Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels, And Solar Is Right Behind

[one...two...tree 2,762]

According to the latest research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, electricity from wind power can now be supplied more cheaply in Australia than power from either coal or natural gas — and solar and other forms of renewable energy aren't far behind.

Older coal-fired power plants from the 70s and 80s still compete at lower prices than renewables — but only because their construction costs have depreciated. For the deployment of any new power generation in Australia, renewables now appear to be the way to go.

Australia currently charges polluters $23 in Australian dollars per metric ton of carbon they emit, but the study concluded that wind power would still undercut fossil fuels even without that correction of the market's failure to properly build in the costs of carbon pollution:

The study shows that electricity can be supplied from a new wind farm at a cost of [$80 per megawatt hour in Australian dollars], compared to [$143 per megawatt hour] from a new coal plant or [$116 per megawatt hour] from a new baseload gas plant, including the cost of emissions under the Gillard government's carbon pricing scheme. However even without a carbon price (the most efficient way to reduce economy-wide emissions) wind energy is 14% cheaper than new coal and 18% cheaper than new gas.

…

Bloomberg New Energy Finance's research on Australia shows that since 2011, the cost of wind generation has fallen by 10% and the cost of solar photovoltaics by 29%. In contrast, the cost of energy from new fossil-fuelled plants is high and rising. New coal is made expensive by high financing costs. The study surveyed Australia's four largest banks and found that lenders are unlikely to finance new coal without a substantial risk premium due to the reputational damage of emissions-intensive investments – if they are to finance coal at all.

Here's a graphic of BNEF's findings, courtesy of Renew Economy:

So the study expects both coal and natural gas to rise in cost over the next two decades. Among other things, coal power consumes more water than any other source of energy. That will drive up coal's cost, as fresh water becomes scarcer due to the very climate change driven by coal power's carbon emissions. And in America, at least, there's evidence that the major proven natural gas reserves will peak out within the time frame of BNEF's analysis, rendering the boom in that energy source decidedly temporary.

Meanwhile, while the costs of solar and other forms of renewables are currently lagging, they're dropping fast:

BNEF's analysts conclude that by 2020, large-scale solar PV will also be cheaper than coal and gas, when carbon prices are factored in. By 2030, dispatchable renewable generating technologies such as biomass and solar thermal could also be cost-competitive.

According to companies like Ratch Australia, the cost of deploying new solar photovoltaics is already down to between $120 and $150 per megawatt hour, suggesting it may be dropping even faster than BNEF concluded. Kobad Bhavnagri, head of BNEF's clean energy research in Australia, expects that by 2020 or 2030 "we will be finding new and innovative ways to deal with the intermittency of wind and solar." And since Australia is most likely set for baseload capacity until at least 2020, when solar as well as wind will be undercutting fossil fuels, "it is quite conceivable that we could leapfrog straight from coal to renewables to reduce emissions as carbon prices rise."

The world's biggest manufacturer of wind turbines already has 50 percent of Australia's market,which it expects to hold. And China's largest manufacturer is eyeing the market as well. The deployment of rooftop solar is already dramatically reshaping the energy market in southern Australia, and the Green Party in Western Australia recently proposed installing solar panels on all public housing homes.

And while a move towards renewable energy by Australia's economy certainly won't fix global warming on its own, it's a step in the right direction, away from the rash of heat waves and wildfires — worsened by the climate change driven by fossil fuels' carbon emissions — that have recently slammed the nation.

http://thinkprogress...s-right-behind/

Edited February 11, 2013 by Lincolns mullet

[spookyturtle 9,465]

It looks like Booyah was right all along.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

It looks like Booyah was right all along.

eventually.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

eventually.

He was a legend in his own mind. Hopefully he is happily back in the Merry Old Land of Oz so he doesn't have to try to convince everyone how much better Oz is than the rest of the world. He can now share his patriotism with no worries. Booyah will live on in infamy.

[himher 634]

Yeah - carbon taxes make wind power "cheaper"

Welcome to the world of liberal economic management

[spookyturtle 9,465]

With conservative economic management we'd still be living in caves.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

With conservative economic management we'd still be living in caves.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

With conservative economic management we'd still be living in caves.

Caves are cool. Really, and warm in the winter.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

But it takes liberal thinking to build what you have shown.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

But it takes liberal thinking to build what you have shown.

You mean, they let the government borrow the money from the Chinese to pay a minority owned company that hired undocumented workers to build it for them?

[spookyturtle 9,465]

You mean, they let the government borrow the money from the Chinese to pay a minority owned company that hired undocumented workers to build it for them?

It's difficult for a conservative to comprehend that liberal thinking doesn't have anything to do with the government.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

With conservative economic management we'd still be living in caves.

I live in one of the most conservative states there is.. We have the highest percentage of renewable electrical generation in the U.S. .. we hit 100% in the 1990s but with all the Californians moving in it has dropped to 86%.. As of 2011 my state is also the cheapest in the U.S. Cleanest, highest percentage renewable, and cheapest.. Go team!

When it makes sense to go to green technologies it will happen - between 2009 and 2011 (2 years) solar output in the US doubled - prices dropped by nearly 50% when the recession kicked in and solar became an option in some places. Another good drop and it will explode. No need for politicizing it.

[Danno 1,228]

Yeah - carbon taxes make wind power "cheaper"

Welcome to the world of liberal economic management

My thoughts exactly, lets see what the numbers are minus the added Gov't taxes and in the case of wind power.... gov't "investments."

Already we see the price savings of fuel efficient cars getting ready to start evaporating as they want to start taxing you on the miles driven rather than the gallons burned.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Talk about a BS headline. We taxed the hell out of product A and product B is now cheaper because of it....

That's like saying A Big Mac is $1.99 and a whopper is $1.99 but the government decides to tax the Big Mac $20, so now the Whopper is magically cheaper. It's a load of BS and toying with the market. Liberal voodoo economics to make products work that actually completely suck. It's telling people what to do without actually 'telling' people what to do. You don't like it, so tax it. You like it, subsidize the hell out of it until MAYBE one day it might turn a profit without expecting those monies to be paid back.

[^_^ 5,021]

silly libs