Utility-Scale Solar Power To Be Cost Competitive With Natural Gas By 2025

Solar Panel  on skyscaper solar windows

Utility-scale solar power is poised to become cost competitive with natural gas by 2025, according to a new report by Lux Research.

The report, “Cheap Natural Gas: Fracturing Dreams of a Solar Future,” evaluated the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for unsubsidized solar, natural gas, and hybrid solar/gas technologies through 2030 under a range of future natural gas price scenarios and across 10 different parts of the world.

The bottom-up cost model assumed a 39% decrease in utility-scale system costs by 2030 and a delay in shale gas production due to anti-fracking policies in Europe and high capital costs in South America.

The key take-away: the LCOE for unsubsidized utility-scale solar globally will be only about $0.02/kWh above the price of power produced by combined cycle gas turbines by 2025.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2013/12/03/utility-scale-solar-power-to-be-cost-competitive-with-natural-gas-by-2025/?ss=business%3Aenergy

2016-10-12T16:44:10-04:00