New Solar and Wind Cheaper than 80% of Existing Coal in the US, Report Finds
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for c0lo:
New solar and wind cheaper than 80% of existing coal in the US, report finds - PV Tech:
New solar and wind assets in the US are now cheaper to operate than nearly 80% of existing coal-fired generators in the country and could replace the asset class while delivering numerous benefits to consumers, a report has found.
The 'Coal Cost Crossover 2.0' report, published by thinktank Energy Innovation, provides an update on the previous version of the report published in 2018, using new datasets to produce new Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) figures for solar, wind and coal.
For solar, Energy Innovation has produced LCOE projections using data from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Regional Energy Deployment System model, which itself utilises datasets that vary based on regionality and irradiance.
Using that data, Energy Innovation has determined the LCOE of utility-scale solar in the US to fall in the region of US$25.80 - US$42.22/MWh, with an average cost of generation of US$33.96/MWh. While the LCOE of wind generation varies more widely, its average LCOE in the US is not too dissimilar at US$36.49/MWh, albeit more expensive than utility-scale PV.
Using those costs in comparison with the costs of operating various coal facilities in the US, the report concludes that of 239GW of the coal-fired generation capacity online in the US in 2019, around 166GW - roughly 77% - is either uneconomical compared to wind or solar, or slated for retirement by 2025.
Out of a total of 235 operational facilities that make up the US coal fleet, just 53 remain cheaper to run than the all-in cost of new build solar and wind.
The full report, including detailed analysis of its data inputs and methodology, can be read here.
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