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Author	Topic: ‘Game changer’: renewables now cheaper than coal, gas	Post a Reply Back to Topics

angel4me Champion Author San Jose Posts:2,814 Points:793,045 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 8:57:22 AM Ignore angel4me Report Abuse New analysis from research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance has concluded that electricity from unsubsidised renewable energy is already cheaper than electricity from new-build coal and gas-fired power stations in Australia. The modeling from the BNEF team in Sydney found that new wind farms could supply electricity at a cost of $80/MWh?—?compared with $143/MWh for new build coal and […] Visit Crickey for full article

angel4me

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Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 8:57:22 AM

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New analysis from research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance has concluded that electricity from unsubsidised renewable energy is already cheaper than electricity from new-build coal and gas-fired power stations in Australia.

The modeling from the BNEF team in Sydney found that new wind farms could supply electricity at a cost of $80/MWh?—?compared with $143/MWh for new build coal and […]
Visit Crickey for full article

REPLIES (newest first)Ignore Short Messages

FPLREP Champion Author Virginia Posts:8,238 Points:2,443,315 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2013 8:26:44 AM Ignore FPLREP Report Abuse One word...reliability.
Ahking Champion Author Orange County Posts:3,492 Points:600,445 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 10, 2013 3:16:16 AM Ignore Ahking Report Abuse good news.
BobBG All-Star Author Albany Posts:820 Points:806,960 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 11:06:07 PM Ignore BobBG Report Abuse This is great news.
MidNJ Champion Author New Jersey Posts:7,532 Points:1,169,255 Joined:Sep 2009	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 4:35:38 PM Ignore MidNJ Report Abuse Mass production = lower prices = more demand = greater mass production = even lower prices, etc.
NHLiveFree Champion Author New Hampshire Posts:11,066 Points:1,618,325 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 3:47:02 PM Ignore NHLiveFree Report Abuse Will all Big Oil shills please read this news article before ranting again and again! Great to read that both Texas(El Paso Power) and firms in Australia have both reached this major milestone for clean and renewable power from solar and wind power, respectively. With the now steady technology advancements, renewable energy expenses will continue to drop. Great news for our energy future, even without a national energy policy, that has been lacking since our first energy crisis in 1973.
teenitup Champion Author Houston Posts:1,585 Points:244,960 Joined:Sep 2012	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 1:14:43 PM Ignore teenitup Report Abuse That's nice for Australia, still some expensive power.
zachlCA Champion Author California Posts:3,474 Points:647,960 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 12:21:48 PM Ignore zachlCA Report Abuse This is sooooo trust worthy, because with a name like Bloomberg new energy finance, I am sure their research would never have an agenda of promoting green tech.
schatzila Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:4,924 Points:1,011,645 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 11:47:34 AM Ignore schatzila Report Abuse oh , really?
MrDeath666 Champion Author Houston Posts:1,591 Points:239,215 Joined:Sep 2012	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 11:21:11 AM Ignore MrDeath666 Report Abuse Bloomberg news is full of BS.
mitt4prez Champion Author Tacoma Posts:1,727 Points:1,242,150 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 11:00:07 AM Ignore mitt4prez Report Abuse Bunk. Load the same regulatory costs onto renewables and watch the price rise.
GingoutMD Champion Author Maryland Posts:3,495 Points:713,305 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 10:37:26 AM Ignore GingoutMD Report Abuse It makes sense to me as renewables don't require shipping of any fuel, nor does it require the massive cost of scrubbing smoke stacks of the by-product caused by burning fossil fuels.
merlinCO Champion Author Colorado Posts:1,615 Points:336,420 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 10:25:48 AM Ignore merlinCO Report Abuse Gee what a vision????? Where have they been for the past 40 years?
TripleHs Champion Author Austin Posts:3,355 Points:915,140 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 10:15:46 AM Ignore TripleHs Report Abuse no surprise and they should be
Joeski1 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:9,967 Points:1,736,860 Joined:Dec 2004	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 10:13:51 AM Ignore Joeski1 Report Abuse no surprise.... and less damaging to us and the planet overall..... more sustainable..... and the technology isn't a 100 years old and non progressive.... like the fossil foolers sell.....
200porter Champion Author Toronto Posts:2,040 Points:537,160 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 10:09:21 AM Ignore 200porter Report Abuse Good.
bsnort Veteran Author Huntsville Posts:412 Points:230,015 Joined:Aug 2012	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 10:02:53 AM Ignore bsnort Report Abuse Humblepie - well said!
orphancarguyPE Champion Author PEI Posts:3,821 Points:730,015 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 9:51:11 AM Ignore orphancarguyPE Report Abuse For people still thinking 'bovine excrement' there is another project closer to home, in El Paso Texas. Article is posted a few up from this one, and I'll quote from it: "This new 50 megawatt (MW) project in New Mexico comes in at 5.79¢/kilowatt hour (kWh), which is almost half the cost of a new “advanced” coal power plant (12-14¢/kWh), according to the Energy Information Administration. It is helpful to note that the deal did benefit from subsidies, as detailed in an article by Renewable Energy World, including the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) – which provides renewable energy projects with a tax credit equal to roughly 30 percent of a project’s costs. If we were to remove that credit and the benefit of local incentives, the project would come in right around the cost of a new advanced coal plant, even if the coal plant lacks carbon capture and storage technology." Yup, incentives aside, same cost as a coal plant WITHOUT the coal plant having the 'carbon capture and storage technology'. That, by the way, has yet to be successfully used in any production scale coal-fired plant to date, as far as I am aware. It has been demonstrated in smaller prototypes, but it lacks the surety that it will operate as planned without expensive or crippling outages or breakdowns in the real world. So, dollar for dollar, and stripped out of any incentives pollution free PV solar triumphs over same cost per kW/hour net coal 'pollution included'. That is right now, in the USA, not Australia. [Edited by: orphancarguyPE at 2/9/2013 9:51:41 AM EST]
orphancarguyPE Champion Author PEI Posts:3,821 Points:730,015 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 9:35:36 AM Ignore orphancarguyPE Report Abuse Large swaths of Australia are both hot and very sunny, making it an excellent place for solar PV. By comparison, Australian coal is extremely 'dirty' coal, like China's soft coal and the filthy smoky lignite (not actually coal as most people think of it) they use in parts of Texas. So, when you 'pay for the damage' as you are using it, instead of somewhere down the line, of course Australian coal makes little sense for new power plants. What the naysayers don't realize that failed US startups with new untested technology aside, solar PV has become extremely inexpensive compared to where it was even a few years ago. I look at my own house on not so sunny Prince Edward Island, and having priced it out, a 'retail' install of Solar PV to cover the equivalent of my own usage would now cost $6000-$8000, compared to $18,000-$24,000 just 7 years ago. That means it would pay itself off completely in half the replacement warranty time, and the other half would be free electricity. Or, looked at another way, just putting aside the monthly amount would pay for a complete new reinstall if every component failed when the warranty period was over. Or, it it didn't, then I could double up and make steady income each month as well as have free clean electricity. So, if it makes sense retail here in PEI at the 46th parallel, how much more sense does it make in sunny Australia at large scale wholesale prices? Several times more sense.
deputydog082 Champion Author Detroit Posts:1,761 Points:655,385 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 9:16:08 AM Ignore deputydog082 Report Abuse will it lower cost to consumers or just put more $$ in pockets of CEOs?
humblepie Champion Author Toledo Posts:34,031 Points:2,366,395 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 9:13:48 AM Ignore humblepie Report Abuse bovine excrement
cheapchickKY Champion Author Lexington Posts:3,997 Points:792,290 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 9:13:38 AM Ignore cheapchickKY Report Abuse Okay.
tmon6219 Rookie Author Colorado Springs Posts:23 Points:91,235 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Feb 9, 2013 9:11:13 AM Ignore tmon6219 Report Abuse Could supply! Also are they going to turn all of their pretty mountains into wind farms?