Costs of clean energy falling, study says
Solar, wind power cheaper every year
ABU DHABI, U. A. E. — Power from renewable energy sources is getting cheaper every year, according to a study released Wednesday that challenges long- standing myths that clean energy technology is too expensive to adopt.
According to the study by the Abu Dhabi- based International Renewable Energy Agency, the costs associated with extracting power from solar panels have fallen as much as 60 per cent in just the past few years. The price of generating power from other renewables, including wind, hydro power, concentrating solar power and biomass, was also falling.
“One of the [ myths] out there perpetuated by industry lobby groups is that renewable energy is too expensive,” said Adnan Amin, the agency’s directorgeneral.
The numbers tell a different story however as “costs are falling … and will continue [ to do so] in the future,” said Amin arguing that electricity generation “is now cost competitive with many traditional fossil fuel technologies.”
According to Dolf Gielen, director of the innovation and technology centre at the agency, investment in renewables is no longer a niche but rather represents the “bulk of investments in global power generation,” accounting for half of the total annual capacity additions worldwide.
“The markets are growing very fast ... and further cost reductions are very likely,” he said adding that in 2011, investments in the supply side of renewable energy sources reached about $ 260 billion.
A second agency study released Wednesday estimates renewables will create a minimum of four million jobs just in the electricity sector in rural areas of the developing world.
Today, there are five million jobs worldwide in the renewable energy sector and more than 1.3 billion people, mainly in Africa and Asia, who do not have access to electricity, according to the agency.
“There is considerable employment potential,” said Amin.
Founded in 2009, the International Renewable Energy Agency is an intergovernmental organization established to promote the widespread use of renewable energy sources. It has more than 155 member states and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.