Solar energy is the cheapest source of electricity in history

Solar energy is officially the cheapest way to generate electricity today.

This was confirmed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its recently published World Energy Outlook 2020 annual report.

“With drastic cost reductions in the last decade, photovoltaic solar energy is consistently cheaper than new coal or gas plants in most countries, and solar projects now offer some of the lower electricity costs already seen,” the document says.

The agency points out that, in new solar projects, in Europe and the United States, the average cost is US$ 30-60/MWh, while in China and India it is around US$ 20-40/MWh.

This year’s report affirms that the solar source is about 20 to 50% cheaper today than what the agency estimated itself in 2019.

Reductions in the estimated costs of onshore and offshore wind energy were also noted.

“I see solar energy becoming the new king of the global electricity markets.

Based on today’s policy configurations, it is moving towards setting new deployment records,” said Dr. Fatih Birol, Diretor Executivo da IEA. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of IEA. “If governments and investors intensified their clean-energy efforts, solar and wind energy growth would be even more spectacular – and extremely encouraging to overcome the global climate challenge,” he completed.

For Birol, “the era of growth in global oil demand will come to an end in the next decade”, just as coal demand will fall 20% by 2040 – which would be historical achievements.

In addition to reducing pollutant emissions, investment in renewable energy can result in increased job creation – as already pointed out by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Renewable energy for the future

Source of global energy projections, this year’s World Energy Outlook can help map new possibilities for a sustainable future.

The study points to four alternative routes for 2040, always aiming to an increased share of renewable energy.

The document points out that, amid the deep uncertainties caused by Covid-19, well-crafted energy policies will be indispensable to create resilient energy systems that can meet climate targets.

But, as the activist Greta Thunberg said in an interview with The Guardian, we need to start now.

For Greta, it is necessary to act as quickly as the world is acting to end the
pandemic.

“Leaders are happy to set goals for the coming decades, but they retreat
when immediate action is needed,” he said.

The transition to “clean” energy can be accelerated, but that will depend on
how governments will act from now on.

The World Energy Outlook details short-term actions for an increasingly
closer sustainable future.

Source: ABSOLAR