TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Eskom ramps up load shedding as crisis deepens

      30 June 2022

      Alviva shares leap higher on R3-billion take-private offer

      30 June 2022

      Huawei, MTN to help build 5G-powered ‘smart mine’

      30 June 2022

      Clear the regulatory fog, ISPs urge Icasa

      30 June 2022

      Datatec to sell Analysys Mason for as much as R4.1-billion

      30 June 2022
    • World

      Bitcoin just had its worst quarter in a decade

      30 June 2022

      The NFT party is over

      30 June 2022

      Samsung beats TSMC to 3nm chip production

      30 June 2022

      Napster plots crypto comeback

      29 June 2022

      Pictures: Chinese spacecraft acquires images of entire planet of Mars

      29 June 2022
    • In-depth

      The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

      22 June 2022

      Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

      19 June 2022

      Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

      13 June 2022

      Everything Apple announced at WWDC – in less than 500 words

      7 June 2022

      Sheryl Sandberg’s ad empire leaves a complicated legacy

      2 June 2022
    • Podcasts

      How your organisation can triage its information security risk

      22 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E06 – ‘Apple Silicon’

      15 June 2022

      The youth might just save us

      15 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E05 – ‘Nvidia: The Green Goblin’

      8 June 2022

      Everything PC S01E04 – ‘The story of Intel – part 2’

      1 June 2022
    • Opinion

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»In-depth»Solar energy will soon be cheaper than coal

    Solar energy will soon be cheaper than coal

    In-depth By Agency Staff22 June 2016
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    solar-panel-hut-640

    The amount of electricity generated using solar panels worldwide stands to expand as much as sixfold by 2030 as the cost of production falls below competing natural gas and coal-fired plants, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

    Solar plants using photovoltaic technology could account for 8% to 13% of global electricity produced in 2030, compared to 1,2% at the end of last year, the Abu Dhabi-based industry group said in a report Wednesday.

    The average cost of electricity from a photovoltaic system is forecast to plunge by as much as 59% by 2025, making solar the cheapest form of power generation “in an increasing number of cases”, it said.

    Renewables are replacing nuclear energy and curbing electricity production from gas and coal in developed areas such as Europe and the US, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

    California’s PG&E Corp is proposing to close two nuclear reactors as wind and solar costs decline.

    Even as supply gluts depress coal and gas prices, solar and wind technologies will be the cheapest ways to produce electricity in most parts of the world in the 2030s, New Energy Finance said in a report this month.

    solar-640

    “The renewable energy transition is well underway, with solar playing a key role,” Irena director-general Adnan Amin said in a statement. “Cost reductions, in combination with other enabling factors, can create a dramatic expansion of solar power globally.”

    Bloomberg New Energy Finance also forecasts growth in solar photovoltaics, reaching 15% of total electricity output by 2040, according to Jenny Chase, head of solar analysis in Zurich. “Irena’s assumptions are reasonable,” she said. “Solar just gets so cheap under any reasonable scenario.”

    The “most attractive” markets for solar panels up to 2020 are Brazil, Chile, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, according to Irena. Global capacity could reach 1 760GW to 2 500GW in 2030, compared with 227GW at the end of 2015, it said.

    Smart grids, or power networks capable of handling and distributing electricity from different sources, and new types of storage technologies will encourage further use of solar power, Irena said.

    As of 2015, the average cost of electricity from a utility-scale solar photovoltaic system was $0,13/kWh. That’s more than coal and gas-fired plants that averaged $0,05-$0,10/kWh, according to Irena. The average cost of building a solar-powered electricity utility could fall to $0,79c/W in 2025 from $1,80/W last year, it said. Coal-fired power generation costs are about $3/W, while gas plants cost $1 to $1,30/W, according to Irena.

    The record for the world’s cheapest solar tariff was set in Dubai last month in an auction. Meed reported that a consortium including Masdar Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co and Saudi Arabia’s Abdul Latif Jameel bid $0,0299/kWh, 15% cheaper than the previous record.  — (c) 2016 Bloomberg LP

    Adnan Amin International Renewable Energy Agency Irena
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleMTN BEE shareholders set to score big
    Next Article Telkom walks away from Infraco

    Related Posts

    The great crypto crash: the fallout, and what happens next

    22 June 2022

    Goodbye, Internet Explorer – you really won’t be missed

    19 June 2022

    Oracle’s database dominance threatened by rise of cloud-first rivals

    13 June 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Think herding cats is tricky? Try herding a cloud

    29 June 2022

    How your business can help hybrid workers effectively

    28 June 2022

    Hands off our satellite spectrum!

    27 June 2022
    Opinion

    Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

    21 June 2022

    Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

    13 June 2022

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.