Renewables’ growing price advantage over fossil fuels paves way for industry dominance

The Hill ^ | December 10, 2023 | Saul Elbe

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Renewables are reaching the point where they are outcompeting fossil fuels on price — setting the stage for their predicted dominance of the energy sector by midcentury.

When it comes to the surging demand for new electric generation, wind and solar prices are now the cheapest options almost everywhere, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Building new wind and solar projects is also cheaper than running existing coal plants, according to a report from Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan climate policy think tank.

The fall in price has led to a global rush to install new wind and solar — which the IEA noted expanded by nearly 25 percent in 2023, powered by record installations.

And the IEA added that prices are falling further — particularly in the U.S., where the tax credits from the Democrats’ 2022 clean energy stimulus will begin to take full effect in 2024.

In 2021 — before the passage of the sweeping subsidies for clean energy included in that stimulus — the U.S. government estimated that no matter what, solar power was likely to make up half of U.S. electric generation by midcentury.

The country is passing a “tipping point” beyond which renewables are the status quo option, said Timothy Lenton, chair of the climate department at the University of Exeter.

Lenton said that by midcentury, even if climate policies remain no more generous than they are now, renewables will make up three-quarters of U.S. electricity production.

Lenton is a coauthor of a recent report by the Bezos Earth Fund that found power generation from renewables was doubling on average every 3 1/2 years worldwide.

This level of renewable adoption, he argued, is becoming the floor of global ambition, not the ceiling. At the United Nations climate conference (COP28) in Dubai last week, the U.S. joined 110 other nations in agreeing to triple renewable energy production.

“And if you add more climate policies, it will only go faster,” Lenton said, noting this level of growth was becoming both exponential and “hard to stop.”

“There’s a self-propelling, ever stronger feedback loop behind the transformation,” he said. The question now, he said, isn’t whether the change is going to happen. “Now it’s more about how fast or slow to go, and how hard are the incumbents going to fight to hold the status quo.”

[Does so]

Central Florida land formerly used to grow oranges has been converted to huge solar arrays.

Buy orange juice to subsidize ever-enlarging solar arrays...

[NetAddicted]

Thanks for your informative post.

[Robert DeLong]

Yeah, I am shocked & dismayed at the energy goals in Florida. What role is DeSantis playing in those plans? Is he just not paying attention, or is he complicit?

[Does so]

Maybe Ron DeSantis doesn’t buy—or care for—orange juice?

[ridesthemiles]

HAS SOLYNDRA EVER produced anything????

[Robert DeLong]

Does he not care about the energy being delivered, or not as the case will be if the energy plan they have committed themselves to is allowed to continue?

That was what I was talking about. I wasn't even talking about the environmental disaster the state will face as the solar panels need replacing, because let's just say that they become toxic junk.

Solar panels, which convert sunlight to electricity, are starting to die, leaving behind toxic waste. The panels contain toxic materials like lead that can leach out as they break down, creating new environmental hazards. Most solar manufacturers claim their panels will last for about 25 years.

However, the replacement rate of solar panels is faster than expected, and given the current high recycling costs, there is a real danger that all used panels will go straight to landfill, along with equally hard-to-recycle wind turbines.

And you though I was talking about the orange juice?? 🙂

Are you a DeSantis supporter, the Deep State's Trojan Horse who had to be replaced with the ineligible Nikki Haley Trojan Horse?

[Ronaldus Magnus III]

“”That does it for me, ALL Public Buildings shall use 100% renewable energy and shall be free of fossil fuels.””

AND, all of the toilets in these buildings will only flush once each week (we MUST conserve water, don’t you know). Any public employee expressing negative thoughts or feelings about the smell will immediately be sent to the University of Wokism for re-education.