Solar power is having a hell of a year. China installed a jaw-dropping 24.4 GW of solar power in the first half of 2017. This amount is incredible by itself, as all of Canada has around 111 GW of installed electricity. But even more so, that amount represents around one-quarter of all installed solar capacity in China, installed in just half a year. Things are moving at lightning speed, and they aren't about to turn back now.
Just now, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory released a new report. It had some pretty stunning numbers in it, revealing a 30% drop in cost for just one year. Amazingly, the cost of utility-scale solar energy now rests at just $50-66/MWh for a fixed-tilt system, and $44-61/MWh for a tracking system. As recently as the end of 2016, solar costs were well above $70/MWh.
This number may seem meaningless, but it's actually very important. Natural gas costs around $53/MWh to produce. This means that for the first time in America's history, solar energy is directly competitive with natural gas. Solar is still dropping at a fast pace, and there is no telling where the floor is.
Of course, the main argument against solar is it's intermittent nature. This has been somewhat mitigated by the also fast falling prices of utlility-scale batteries, complete with some of the biggest installations the world has ever seen. However, even more good news is on the horizon. Concentrated solar power (CSP), another form of solar energy which has storage integrated, is dispatch-able, meaning it can fluctuate it's output like a natural gas plant to match demand. The technology was originally significantly more expensive than PV solar (the kind described above). However, major cost improvements have been made here as well. Australia recently inked a contract for dispatchable CSP at just 6 cents a KWh, fully competitive with natural gas plants.
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