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from the job-of-the-future-solar-panel-washer dept.
Most new wind and solar projects will be cheaper than coal, report finds:
Almost two-thirds of wind and solar projects built globally last year will be able to generate cheaper electricity than even the world's cheapest new coal plants, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).
The agency found that the falling cost of new windfarms and solar panels meant 62% of new renewable energy projects could undercut the cost of up to 800 gigawatts (GW) worth of coal plants, or almost enough to supply the UK's electricity needs 10 times over.
Solar power costs fell by 16% last year, according to the report, while the cost of onshore wind dropped 13% and offshore wind by 9%.
In less than a decade the cost of large-scale solar power has fallen by more than 85% while onshore wind has fallen almost 56% and offshore wind has declined by almost 48%. Francesco La Camera, Irena's director general, said the agency's latest research proved the world was "far beyond the tipping point of coal".
He said: "Today renewables are the cheapest source of power. Renewables present countries tied to coal with an economically attractive phase-out agenda that ensures they meet growing energy demand, while saving costs, adding jobs, boosting growth and meeting climate ambition."
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 24 2021, @11:45PM (3 children)
This has been studied and while there are some cons to it it's a fraction of what coal is like.
> Not to mention the child labor and slave labor used in the mining.
Slave labor is a problem to be solved but not a problem with solar technology. If solar panels didn't work unless slave flesh was ground up into the materials used to make them then you might have a point.
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 24 2021, @11:56PM (2 children)
https://news.yahoo.com/us-blocks-solar-components-china-131325523.html [yahoo.com]
If the low price of the solar panel depends on slave labor, banning it revises the cost analysis.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 25 2021, @12:29AM
OK, time to plug in the legendary automation into the American capitalism then. It will create plenty jobs for the horde of college graduates.
Point: the lowest cost does not implicitly require child slavery, other solutions may exist if you aren't a sociopath CEO in the hunt for a quick buck.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 25 2021, @02:51AM