Cost Of Fossil Fuels Vs Renewable Energy

The ultimate way to compare solar energy to fossil fuels is by cost where solar has quickly caught up with its non renewable counterparts.

Cost of fossil fuels vs renewable energy.

Some solar panel projects can even generate power at roughly half the cost of fossil. However the idea that fossil fuels produce cheaper power is still very common. By 2020 the renewable power generation technologies now in use will be at the lower end of the fossil fuel cost range or even cheaper than fossil fuels. Although renewable energy is growing it still needs extra investment up front in comparison to non renewable energy.

In 2020 the average cost of residential solar was about 16 per kilowatt hour kwh and the national average for conventional electricity was 13 28 kwh. As time progresses renewable energy technologies generally get cheaper while fossil fuels generally get more expensive. The best way to do so is to look at average prices in the united states for each. Even the most expensive renewable energy technology concentrated solar power csp is competitive against fossil fuels in some circumstances.

The cost of developing a csp plant ranges from. The cost of renewable energy has decreased significantly over the past decade. These days the energy produced by renewables is just as affordable as energy produced by fossil fuels if not cheaper in some cases. In terms of reliable application coal and natural gas have the edge.

And which is cheaper. These indirect and external costs can be harder to calculate but should certainly be considered. In terms of environmental impact solar power is a much more optimal resource than fossil fuels. Other than capital and operational running costs which are the main costs discussed in most studies and publications there are indirect and external costs to consider with renewable energy compared to fossil fuels and nuclear.

So how does the cost of these two types of energy compare. Well there are now solar and wind farms producing electricity at a lower cost than coal which has long been considered the cheapest source of power. A new report from the international renewable energy agency predicts the price of renewable energy will be equal to or less than fossil fuels by 2020. The less solar power costs the more favorably it compares to conventional power and the more attractive it becomes to utilities and energy users around the globe.