Solar power will soon be cheaper than coal

South Africa is highly dependent on coal as an energy source as approximately 77% of the country’s primary energy needs are supplied by coal.

LEADING COAL PRODUCING COUNTRIES

China, India, US, Australia and Indonesia make up the five leading coal producing countries in the world. South Africa was ranked as the seventh largest coal producer in 2017.

GOVERMENTS SHOULD INVEST IN SOLAR POWER

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) which advises countries on curbing their fossil fuels said: “New solar and wind farms will soon cost less than many of the world’s coal fired power plants and governments should invest in them to boost economies amid the coronavirus. Coal plants with a capacity of up to 1,200 gigawatts will probably be more expensive to run by next year than new, large-scale photovoltaic solar plants.”

IMPORTANT TURNING POINT IN ENERGY TRANSITION

IRENA director general Francesco La Camera in a report on Tuesday said: “Renewables must be the backbone of national efforts to restart economies in the wake of the outbreak. We have reached an important turning point in the energy transition. Replacing 500 gigawatts of high-cost coal plants with solar and wind farms would reduce carbon emissions by about 1.8 gigatons, equivalent to 5% of CO2 emissions in 2019, and save consumers billions of dollars.”

TREND ACCELERATION REINFORCES THE CASE TO PHASE OUT COAL

IRENA expects the cost of installing renewables to continue falling in 2021 to $0.043 (0,73c) kilowatt hour for onshore wind, down 18% from 2019, and to $0.039 (0,66c) kWh for large photovoltaic plants, 42% lower than last year.

“Auction results show this trend accelerating, reinforcing the case to phase out coal entirely,” IRENA said.

COST OF SOLAR COULD BE CONSISTENTLY CHEAPER BY 2030

IRENA research suggests new power from wind and solar will fall this year for the first time in two decades.

IRENA said: “The cost of solar and wind energy could be consistently cheaper than conventional supplies by 2030. The trend is largely down to advances in technology and the increasing scale of projects. Photovoltaic power has seen an 82% decline in costs since 2010 and onshore wind 39%.”