Looking through Lazard’s recent LCOE (levelized cost of energy) report, in addition to the key headline points on renewable energy costs vs. fossil fuel and nuclear energy costs, I ran across some interesting notes the analysts made about energy storage projects in the USA. In particular, Lazard highlighted some effects … [continued]
Lazard recently released its latests analysis of LCOE (levelized cost of energy) for different power sources. As has been the case for the past several years, solar and wind power remain highly competitive (aka cheap). However, estimates on the high end of the price range have come down a bit … [continued]
Wind and solar are far and away the least expensive sources of electricity available today, leading to major increases in both.
We recently saw the International Energy Agency (IEA) report that solar power offers the cheapest electricity in history. That was a global report. A US-focused report from Lazard recently reported something similar, but even better news.
We are making great progress, with costs of solar, wind, and batteries continuing their decline. But we are not moving fast enough to turn the tide on human-caused climate change. One study I saw recently said we need to be installing wind and solar at triple the current rate to get to 90% renewable just for electricity by 2035.
A brief decade held considerable cost-efficiency gains in wind and solar. These sustainable technologies are now more cost-effective than any other power generation technologies in general, according to Lazard. Solar and wind technologies simply make more sense.
We have a reason to cheer! Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis – Version 12.0 has been released. There are times that I love numbers. And these are great numbers.
Solar and wind power are absolutely predictable when it comes to variable costs. By contrast, coal and gas power are altogether too variable to be reliable.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has been much in the news since it released its report Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2017. Article after article has told us that it said we could see the costs of renewable energy drop to meet those of fossil fuels by 2020.
… And What it Might Have Missed …
Lazard has produced its latest analysis of energy production costs in Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis – Version 11.0. Lazard is one of a small group of organizations whose incomes are dependent on customers who are investors and need the most accurate information possible. If Lazard makes a statement that is widely off the mark, it means that investors will not make the money they feel they should, and in fact they may even lose money. So Lazard has a powerful vested interest in being right. This is what makes its Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) information so important.
