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Solar is now 41% cheaper than fossil fuels, UN report shows (www.euronews.com)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/energy@slrpnk.net
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[–] 20 points 7 months ago (4 children)

How do you even compare something that generates energy for decades and can then be recycled and generate energy for further decades vs something that you use once and then it’s gone forever?

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  • [–] [S] 12 points 7 months ago*

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levelized_cost_of_electricity

    calculate total costs of power plant + fuels over the power plant's lifetime, divide by total kWh produced --> that gives you the average cost per kWh.

    it is key here to see that even if solar panels produce energy over and over again, they still have a finite lifetime so they only produce a finite amount of energy per panel. so you can still calculate the cost per kWh by dividing panel cost by total kWh produced. the result then is non-zero because total kWh produced is not infinite.

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  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    By price, obviously!

    /s (but a little bit not /s?)

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

    I mean, sure, but it’s comparing $ per kWh vs $ per kW

    Edit: To be clear, I do understand that consumer pricing is kWh across the board. My point is that the producer side for solar doesn’t actually scale per hour the way it does for fossil fuels. So while $/kWh is a convenient metric to shove renewables into the existing market, it kinda stacks the deck in favor of fossil fuels.

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  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago*

    (Total cost of install + total expected maintenance + fuel costs) / expected lifespan

    Then divide that by kwh or mwh or GWh expected to be produced during that lifespan

    The catch is that solar is outliving the expected lifespan estimated and warranty periods which means things still tilt towards legacy fuels (doesn't tip enough in their favor to make them less expensive though)

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