“Energiewende cheaper than dirty power”

The latest figures published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) refute US president-elect Donald Trump’s claim that solar power is particularly expensive, Bernhard Pötter writes in leftist daily taz. According to the IRENA report “REthinking Energy 2017” released over the weekend, modern solar parks can offer power at 3 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), comparable to the price of coal-fired power, Pötter writes. Without subsidies, several renewable energy sources, such as onshore wind and hydropower, are even cheaper than coal, oil or natural gas plants despite low fossil fuel prices, he adds. According to a study by German energy think tank Agora Energiewende*, a near-complete shift towards renewables by 2050 is likely to make power in Germany even cheaper than under a scenario without any further renewables expansion, Pötter adds.

For more information on costs of the energy transition, read the CLEW dossier Energiewende effects on power prices, costs and industry and the CLEW factsheet What German households pay for power.

*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.