Onshore Wind Power in Europe now Cheaper than Gas, Coal or Nuclear

[pampango]

The falling cost of renewables is not news to those who have paid attention to analysis from green-focused think tanks, or groups like Bloomberg New Energy Finance. But it is when a major European utility, with equal exposure to fossil fuels, wind, and hydro, says that onshore wind is the cheapest of any new utility-scale technology.

In a recent presentation to analysts, EDP’s head of renewables Joao Manso Neto presented this slide below, which shows that the levellised cost of electricity of onshore win in Europe is 20 per cent cheaper than gas and one third cheaper than coal. (The figure assumes 25 per cent wind capacity factor - the norm is now much higher than 25%).

These estimates are for Europe, but Neto suggested the cost difference is even greater in the US, where recent contracts have been struck between $20/MWh and $40/MWh. That’s despite the so-called shale gas boom, which brought down costs of gas-fired generation for a short period, but still cannot compete with wind.

“Wind is not only competitive, it is prepared to compete,” Neto says. But to do that, it would need an equal playing field, such as the removal of the fossil fuel subsidies that add to half a trillion dollars worldwide. If the world is to decarbonise, and accelerate the withdrawal of polluting power stations, then wind will clearly be a winner.

http://www.juancole.com/2014/05/onshore-cheaper-nuclear.html

It is not a level playing field because subsidies go not to environmentally-friendly wind and solar power but to harmful, old-school fossil-fuel based energy.

[newfie11]

1. And here in America we fight over a pipeline and continue fracking

[exboyfil]

2. We are also bringing lots of wind power on line

The problem in Iowa is that a lot of the wind is not where it is needed. Transmission losses are heavy as well as dealing with base load issues and obtaining easements. We currently get over a quarter of our energy from wind. The head of the renewable energy effort at Iowa State sees more future potential in solar. I would not go so far as to say that.

[cantbeserious]

3. In America - Corporations Are More Important Than People And The Climate

eom

[newfie11]

4. +1

[jwirr]

5. The US has the capability to use renewable energy we just do not have the will and a lot of that

has to do with the control the big energy companies have over congress.

[They_Live]

8. absolutely

+ 1000

[DeSwiss]

6. K&R

[cantbeserious]

10. A Hollow Country - For A Hollow Government - Bought And Paid For By Hollow Men

eom

[packman]

7. Let me be a Republican/lobbyist for fossil fuel

(1) Wind power slows down the earth's rotation and is responsible for increased tornado/hurricane activity because it changes the direction that the wind wants to go

(2) Solar power is draining all the energy from the sun - look at those solar flares reaching out to those panels on earth and increasing those sun spots. Solar panels mean more skin cancers.

(3) Tidal Power will cause the tides to slow down as energy is drained from them and will slow down the earth's spin. Bill O'Really said that tides are mysterious and if we fool around with them, they'll affect the moon and such because, he said, the tide goes in and the tide goes out. We shouldn't mess with that.

[cantbeserious]

9. But, But - Oil From Dead Dinosaurs Means That The Earth Is Older Than 6,000 Years - Heads Explode

eom

[packman]

11. Nope-they just haven't discovered the Oilsaur yet

It was a huge, glob-like monster that on its death immediately dissolved into oil and it roamed the earth 6,000 years ago around what is now the Middle East and Texas. It's close cousin Petrosaur had rock like bones and became what is known as shale oil today.

[cantbeserious]

12. Chuckles

eom

[Enthusiast]

15. +1!

[KamaAina]

13. Great! That means they can tell Putin to take his gas and shove it.

And we could stop invading every wide place in the road that has a drop of oil.

[hunter]

14. The accounting is wrong if you don't include the cost of load matching.

The gas industry is quite fond of wind. Typically gas fired power plants fill in when the wind isn't blowing.

In spite of aggressive wind and solar development the high energy economy of Germany (for example) is still powered by coal, nuclear, and natural gas, and it will remain so.

Whenever I do the math I don't see any way for solar and wind to power a high energy, industrialized consumer society such as those we now call "First World."

But rather than accepting the continued use of nuclear power and fossil fuels as some kind of inevitability, I think we might be able to slow down and create a comfortable lower energy society powered entirely by renewable forms of energy. Such a society would be nothing like the society we have now.

My rough model would be a lively urban society without the cars, but it might develop in many ways; not as a top-down, centrally planned redevelopment process, but an evolving democratic process where individuals, families, and small communities would develop the sustainable, low energy economies that suit them best. The internationalization that puts a McDonalds in every major city and a Toyota on every street would fade away.