Solar is far cheaper than Coal and Nuclear !

A New World is coming.

The cost of wind and solar continue to decline and are now at the point where they beat (or at least match) even the marginal costs of coal-fired generation and nuclear power, according to the 13th and latest edition of Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis (2019), one of the most highly regarded assessments in the world.

The new Lazard report puts the unsubsidised levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of large scale wind and solar at a fraction of the cost of new coal or nuclear generators, even if the cost of decommissioning or the ongoing maintenance for nuclear is excluded.

a global average prices:

Wind: $US28-$US54/MWh

Solar: $US32-$US42/MWh

Coal: $US66-$US152/MWh

Nuclear: $US118-$US192/MWh

Solar is also cheaper than peaking gas.

The cost of solar, has fallen 89 per cent over the past decade, and is still falling at an average rate of 13 per cent a year. The more mature wind technology has fallen 70 per cent over the same period of time, and is still falling at around 7 per cent.

The first nuclear reactor being built in France is now more than a decade late and at least three times its original cost after yet another blowout, and the first reactors to be built in the UK and the US in decades are suffering similar delays and cost blowouts.

Lazard has also released its latest and fifth version of its Levellised Cost of Storage report, which notes continuing declines in the of lithium-ion batteries.

It analyses a range of different scenarios and uses for battery storage, both in wholesale markets and behind the meter. For large-scale solar and lithium-ion batteries, it puts the cost of solar plus four-hour storage at $US102-$139/MWh. It beats the cost of peaking gas – $US150-$US199/MWh.

Source: https://www.lazard.com/perspective/lcoe2019