Wind, solar to be cheapest form of power generation by 2030 - Study
PTI reported that wind energy and solar power will be the cheapest form of power generation in every G20 country, including India, by the year 2030, a study said. With the G20 summit underway in Hamburg today, the study carried out by Greenpeace Germany said in about half of the G20 countries, renewable energy has been cheaper or equal in price to electricity generated from dirty coal or hazardous nuclear power plants since 2015.
The study said that "Wind energy and solar power will be the cheapest form of power generation in every G20 country by the year 2030 at the latest." It said that India has made significant progress towards it target of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022.
Solar tariffs quoted in the latest bid for the Bhadla solar power project in Rajasthan fell to a record low of INR 2.44 per unit and wind power tariffs also fell to a new low of INR 3.46 in the last auction, putting both technologies at or below the cost of electricity from new coal-fired or nuclear power plants.
Mr Ashish Fernandes, Greenpeace campaigner, said that "Any G20 country that is still investing in coal and nuclear power plants is wasting their money on technology that will not be competitive in coming years. The G20 now has a responsibility to send a clear signal that accelerating the clean energy transition is not only the right thing to do for the climate, but also for the economy."
The Finnish Lappeenranta University of Technology study, commissioned by Greenpeace, calculates the electricity generation costs in all G20 countries for the years 2015 and 2030.
The study found that wind farms already generate the cheapest form of electricity in 2015 in large parts of Europe, South America, the US, China and Australia.
Source : PTI