Soaring Oil & Gas Prices Made Renewables Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels In 2022
By Charles Kennedy
click here to read the original article at Oilprice.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas
The surge in fossil fuel prices last year made renewable energy sources more competitive, with 86% of all new installed renewable capacity exhibiting lower costs in 2022 compared to electricity powered by fossil fuels, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said in a new report on Tuesday.
In 2022, 187 gigawatts (GW), or 86% of all the newly commissioned renewable capacity, had lower costs than fossil fuel-fired electricity, the agency said.
Renewable energy capacity added over the past two decades helped to reduce the electricity sector fuel bill by at least $520 billion in 2022, according to IRENA. In developing countries, just the saving over the lifetime of new capacity additions in 2022 will reduce costs by up to $580 billion, according to the agency.
“IRENA sees 2022 as a veritable turning point in the deployment for renewables as its cost-competitiveness has never been greater despite the lingering commodity and equipment cost inflation around the world,” the agency’s Director-General Francesco La Camera said.
“The most affected regions by the historic price shock were remarkably resilient, in large part thanks to the massive increase of solar and wind in the last decade.”
The weighted-average cost of electricity fell for utility-scale solar PV by 3%, for onshore wind by 5%, for concentrating solar power by 2%, for bioenergy by 13%, and for geothermal by 22%, IRENA’s report showed.
The costs for offshore wind and hydropower increased by 2% and 18%, respectively, due to the reduced share of China in offshore wind deployment in 2022 and cost overruns in a number of large hydropower projects.
While the business case for renewable energy becomes increasingly compelling, the world must more than triple annual capacity installations by 2030 to keep the 1.5-degree Celsius scenario within reach, La Camera said.
By Charles Kennedy
click here to read the original article at Oilprice.com
*this article was not written by Roseland Oil & Gas