Costs: Key Stats

  • 27%: Drop in the average installed cost of a PV system during 2012. Includes a drop of at least 13% in each market segment. Large-scale solar averaged $2.27 per watt at the end of 2012. (Source: GTM Research, http://bit.ly/wx3xK4)
  • 17%: Drop in the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for solar voltaic technology in Q4 of 2012, allowing solar to compete with fossil fuels on cost. (Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, http://bit.ly/15I58uE)
  • $82.54: Cost per megawatt hour (mWh) of new renewable energy contracts in Michigan. New coal-fired generation clocks in at $133/mWh. When combined with the state’s energy optimization standard, the cost of renewables drops to $45.98/mWh – cheaper than all new fossil fuel generation. (Source: Michigan Public Service Commission, http://1.usa.gov/ZhiN8e)
  • $2.6 billion: Amount of money that North Carolina could save by switching from fossil fuels to offshore wind. (Source: Oceana, http://bit.ly/YU8f2w)
  • 5.79 cents : The cost of power per kilowatt hour (kWh) from First Solar’s 50-megawatt Macho Springs project as agreed to by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, El Paso Electric Co. (EE). By comparison, that’s less than half the 12.8 cents a kilowatt-hour for power from typical new coal plants. (Source: Bloomberg, http://bloom.bg/XXdZm3)
  • 38%: Decrease in price of operation and maintenance costs for wind projects during the past four years (Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance , http://bit.ly/XNSZNP)
  • 20: Numbers of years that solar and wind will be cheaper than natural gas in Texas (Source: Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), http://bit.ly/VfPg1z)
  • 45%: Rate at which the Macho Springs project in New Mexico is producing cheaper electricity than new coal plants. (Source: Sustainable Business, http://bit.ly/XOZWjX)
  • 75%: Drop in price of polysilicon, a key component of photovoltaic solar panels, since 2008. (Source: Bloomberg, Credit Suisse, http://bit.ly/LaOjNf)
  • 50%: The decrease in maintenance costs of electric drive vehicles compared to traditional gasoline vehicles. (Source: Center for Automotive Research, http://bit.ly/L07he8)
  • Lowest: The rank of hydropower when its levelized cost is compared to all other electricity generation options. (Source: Navigant Consulting / American Council On Renewable Energy, http://bit.ly/pxLXzW)
  • 12%: Projected decline in the cost of U.S. electricity from wind power over the next five years. (Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, http://bit.ly/JBHhVx)
  • $1.09 per gallon: The reduction in the price of a gallon of gas in 2011 attributed to the production of domestic biofuels. (Source: Iowa State University, http://bit.ly/Kdoudi)
  • 2017: Year by which cost for new onshore wind farms will be lower than new advanced or conventional coal plants. (Source: Energy Information Administration, http://bit.ly/lp2udF)
  • 33%: Projected decline of installed costs for solar PV system by 2021. (Source: CleanEdge, http://bit.ly/xXtqxH)
Return to Costs

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