Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Shock Fact: Lazard Study Concludes Wind Power Costs Down 50% In Last 4 Years

A key to the booming wind industry in the USA and around the world is declining cost.  As cost declines, wind becomes competitive in more locations. Now Lazard finds that the cost of wind power is down an incredible 50% just in the last 4 years. That is shockingly good performance by the wind industry!
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/ce17780900c3d223633ecfa59/files/Lazard_Global_PEI_08_13_LCOE_v7.0.1.pdf.

Declines in cost has not meant stalled innovation. A whole array of technical advances are improving wind turbine performance in all kinds of wind conditions. Especially important are advances that increase power production in areas of modest wind resources.

While the wind remains the same or the fuel does not change, wind power gets more productive and cheaper every year. And that is why wind has a bright future, even after 10 years of a global wind boom.









2 comments:

  1. John,

    Given the apparently strong fundamentals behind wind, does this serve as justification for continued extensions of the PTC? Or are the improving economics in the wind energy proof that they can exist without the PTC?

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    1. The only new source of power with which wind is not clearly cheaper is gas. Of course, one must make heroic assumptions about the price of gas over 25 years to compare the costs of wind power and natural gas generation. At this point, no energy portfolio is cost or economically prudent without a substantial portion coming from wind.

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