Falling Renewable Energy Costs Should Force Policy Rethink

A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency has found that renewable energy has entered what they are calling a “new virtuous cycle of falling costs, increasing deployment, and accelerated technological progress.” 

The report, ‘Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2012: An Overview’, was launched during the recent International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) annual assembly and at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. It detailed a comprehensive analysis of the costs and performance of renewable power generation currently capable today.

One of the problems renewable energy is facing, according to the report, is what they describe as “outdated perception” of its ability to compete. This perception forms a “significant and unnecessary barrier to its deployment.”

One example to the contrary of this perception is the cost of solar energy. The cost of solar energy has dropped below the cost of diesel generation worldwide for communities living beyond access to the electrical grid.

The report’s analysis of 8000 medium- to large-scale renewable power generation projects shows that not only are renewable energy projects becoming one of the most competitive options in the field of new electricity grid supply, but they are already the default economic solution for off-the-grid power generation.

“The past two years have seen a remarkable increase in the competitiveness of renewable energy,” says Adnan Amin, IRENA Director General. “2012 was the year when renewables came of age – able to compete with other power generation technologies, and increasingly without subsidies. It is time for the public debate to reflect this changing reality.” 

Back at the beginning of December I reported on IRENA’s policy brief that looked at the fact that renewable energy is the easiest way to generate electricity for those not on the electric grid. Every renewable option is a likely option for millions of people around the world: whether it be biomass or hydropower, concentrated or PV solar, or offshore and onshore wind farms. These renewable options are not only feasible for the millions not on major electrical grids, they are cost-effective and energy-efficient.

One need only troll through the masses of clean power stories we have here at CT to see that renewable energy is becoming, more and more, the only smart option left to us.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates–Renewable energy has entered into a new virtuous cycle of falling costs, increasing deployment, and accelerated technological progress, a ground-breaking report by the International Renewable Energy Agency has found.

“The past two years have seen a remarkable increase in the competitiveness of renewable energy”
The cost of solar energy, for example, has dropped below the cost of diesel generation worldwide for communities living away from the electricity grid.

The public debate around renewable energy, however, continues to suffer from an outdated perception that renewable energy is not competitive, forming a significant and unnecessary barrier to its deployment.

Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2012: An Overview, launched during the IRENA annual Assembly and at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, is the most current, comprehensive analysis of the costs and performance of renewable power generation today. It can be found on www.irena.org.

Its analysis of 8000 medium- to large-scale renewable power generation projects reveals that renewables are fast becoming the most competitive option for new electricity grid supply and swift grid extension, and are already the default economic solution for off-grid power supply.

“The past two years have seen a remarkable increase in the competitiveness of renewable energy,” says Adnan Amin, IRENA Director General. “2012 was the year when renewables came of age – able to compete with other power generation technologies, and increasingly without subsidies. It is time for the public debate to reflect this changing reality.”

IRENA is launching the Renewable Costing Alliance to raise awareness of falling costs, and to collect more data. It will bring together government agencies, financial institutions, equipment manufacturers, project developers, utilities and research institutions.

Falling Renewable Energy Costs Should Force Policy Rethink was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.

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