Economic trends

Levelized cost projection for solar PV in the EU (September 2011)[59]

Note: Germany already reached cost-range of 0.080.14/kWh in 2013.[60]

Renewable energy technologies are getting cheaper, through technological change and
through the benefits of mass production and market competition. A 2011 IEA report said: "A
portfolio of renewable energy technologies is becoming cost-competitive in an increasingly
broad range of circumstances, in some cases providing investment opportunities without the
need for specific economic support," and added that "cost reductions in critical
technologies, such as wind and solar, are set to continue." [61]
Hydro-electricity and geothermal electricity produced at favourable sites are now the
cheapest way to generate electricity. Renewable energy costs continue to drop, and the
levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) is declining for wind power, solar photovoltaic (PV),
concentrated solar power (CSP) and some biomass technologies.[62]

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory projects that the levelized cost of wind power will
decline 25% from 2012 to 2030.[63]

Renewable energy is also the most economic solution for new grid-connected capacity in
areas with good resources. As the cost of renewable power falls, the scope of economically
viable applications increases. Renewable technologies are now often the most economic
solution for new generating capacity. Where "oil-fired generation is the predominant power
generation source (e.g. on islands, off-grid and in some countries) a lower-cost renewable
solution almost always exists today".[62]

A series of studies by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory modeled the "grid in
the Western US under a number of different scenarios where intermittent renewables
accounted for 33 percent of the total power." In the models, inefficiencies in cycling the
fossil fuel plants to compensate for the variation in solar and wind energy resulted in an
additional cost of "between $0.47 and $1.28 to each MegaWatt hour generated"; however,
the savings in the cost of the fuels saved "adds up to $7 billion, meaning the added costs
are, at most, two percent of the savings." [64]

Hydroelectricity
See also: List of largest hydroelectric power stations
The Three Gorges Dam in Hubei, China, has the world's largest instantaneous generating
capacity (22,500 MW), with theItaipu Dam in Brazil/Paraguay in second place (14,000 MW).
The Three Gorges Dam is operated jointly with the much smaller Gezhouba Dam (3,115
MW). As of 2012, the total generating capacity of this two-dam complex is 25,615 MW. In
2008, this complex generated 98 TWh of electricity (81 TWh from the Three Gorges Dam
and 17 TWh from the Gezhouba Dam), which is 3% more power in one year than the 95
TWh generated by Itaipu in 2008.

Wind power development

Worldwide growth of wind capacity (19962014)[65]

Main article: Wind power by country

From 2004 to 2014, worldwide installed capacity of Wind power has been growing from
47 GW to 369 GWa more than seven fold increase within 10 years with 2014 breaking a
new record in global installations (51 GW).[65] Wind power is widely used in Europe, Asia,
and the United States.[66][67] Several countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind
power penetration, such as 21% of stationary electricity production in Denmark,[68] 18%
in Portugal,[68]16% in Spain,[68] 14% in Ireland[69] and 9% in Germany in 2010 and have since

continued to expand their installed capacity[68] More than 80 countries around the world are
using wind power on a commercial basis.[47]

Offshore wind power

As of 2014, offshore wind power amounted to 8,771 megawatt of global installed
capacity. Although offshore capacity doubled within three years (from 4,117 MW in
2011), it accounted for only 2.3% of the total wind power capacity. The United
Kingdom is the undisputed leader of offshore power with half of the world's installed
capacity ahead of Denmark, Germany, Belgium and China.
List of offshore and onshore wind farms
As of 2012, the Alta Wind Energy Center (California, 1,020 MW) is the world's
largest wind farm.[70] The London Array(630 MW) is the largest offshore wind farm in
the world. The United Kingdom is the world's leading generator of offshore wind
power, followed by Denmark.[71] There are several large wind farms under
construction and these include Anholt Offshore Wind Farm (400 MW), BARD
Offshore 1 (400 MW), Clyde Wind Farm (548 MW), Fntnele-Cogealac Wind
Farm (600 MW), Greater Gabbard wind farm (500 MW), Lincs Wind Farm (270
MW), London Array (1000 MW), Lower Snake River Wind Project (343
MW), Macarthur Wind Farm (420 MW), Shepherds Flat Wind Farm (845 MW), and
theSheringham Shoal (317 MW).
Top 10 windpower countries of 2014

Country

China

Capacity

% of

(MW)

Total

114,763

31.0

United States

65,879

17.8

Germany

39,165

10.6

Spain

22,987

6.2

India

22,465

6.1

United Kingdom

12,440

3.4

Canada

9,694

2.6

France

9,285

2.5

Italy

8,663

2.3

Brazil

5,939

1.6

58,275

15.8

(rest of world)

World total

369,553

100%

Source: GWECGlobal Wind Statistics 2014.[65] Note: Nameplate capacity is

shown. Figures by year-end; tentative for China and Brazil.

Solar thermal

Solar Towers of the PS10 and PS20solar thermal plants in Spain

Main article: List of solar thermal power stations

The United States conducted much early research in photovoltaics andconcentrated

solar power. The U.S. is among the top countries in the world in electricity generated
by the Sun and several of the world's largest utility-scale installations are located in
the desert Southwest.
The oldest solar thermal power plant in the world is the 354 megawatt (MW) SEGS
thermal power plant, in California.[72] The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Systemis
a solar thermal power project in the California Mojave Desert, 40 miles (64 km)
southwest of Las Vegas, with a gross capacity of 377 MW.[73] The 280 MW Solana
Generating Station is a solar power plant near Gila Bend, Arizona, about 70 miles
(110 km) southwest of Phoenix, completed in 2013. When commissioned it was the
largest parabolic trough plant in the world and the first U.S. solar plant with molten
salt thermal energy storage.[74]
The solar thermal power industry is growing rapidly with 1.3 GW under construction
in 2012 and more planned. Spain is the epicenter of solar thermal power
development with 873 MW under construction, and a further 271 MW under
development.[75] In the United States, 5,600 MW of solar thermal power projects have
been announced.[76] Several power plants have been constructed in the Mojave
Desert, Southwestern United States. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility being the
most recent. In developing countries, three World Bank projects for integrated solar
thermal/combined-cycle gas-turbine power plants in Egypt, Mexico,
and Morocco have been approved.[77]

Photovoltaic development
Worldwide Growth of Solar PV
in MW grouped by region[78]
25,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
125,000
150,000
2001
2007
2013

Europe
Asia-Pacific
Americas
China
Middle East and Africa

Main articles: Growth of photovoltaics and Solar power by country

Photovoltaics (PV) uses solar cells assembled into solar panels to convert sunlight
into electricity. It's a fast-growing technology doubling its worldwide installed
capacity every couple of years. PV systems range from small, residential and
commercialrooftop or building integrated installations, to large utility-scale solar
plants. The predominant PV technology is crystalline silicon, while thin-film solar
cell technology accounts for about 10 percent of global photovoltaic deployment. In
recent years, PV technology has improved its electricity generating efficiency,
reduced the installation cost per watt as well as its energy payback time (EPBT),
and has reached grid parity in at least 19 different markets by 2014. Financial
institutions are predicting a second solar "gold rush" in the near future. [79][80][81]
At the end of 2013, worldwide PV capacity reached 139,000 megawatts.
Photovoltaics grew fastest in China (+11.8 GW), followed by Japan (+6.9 GW) and
the United States (+4.75 GW), while Germany remains the world's largest overall
producer of photovoltaic power with a total capacity of 35.5 GW, contributing almost
6 percent to the overall electricity generation. Italy meets 7 percent of its electricity
demands with photovoltaic powerthe highest share worldwide.
For 2014, global photovoltaic capacity is estimated to increase by another 45
gigawatts (GW).[82] By 2018, worldwide capacity is projected to reach as much as
430 gigawatts. This corresponds to a tripling within five years. [78] Solar power is
expected to become the world's largest source of electricity by 2050, with solar
photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal (CSP) contributing 16% and 11% respectively.
This will require an increase of installed PV capacity from 139 GW to 4,600 GW, of
which more than half will be deployed in China and India.[83]

Photovoltaic power stations

Nellis Solar Power Plant,photovoltaic power plant in Nevada, USA

Main article: List of photovoltaic power stations

Many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built, mainly in Europe. [84] As of
May 2012, the largest photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the world are the Agua
Caliente Solar Project (USA, 247 MW), Charanka Solar Park (India, 214
MW),Golmud Solar Park (China, 200 MW), Perovo Solar Park (Ukraine, 100
MW), Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant (Canada, 97 MW), Brandenburg-Briest
Solarpark(Germany, 91 MW), Solarpark Finow Tower (Germany, 84.7 MW), Montalto
di Castro Photovoltaic Power Station (Italy, 84.2 MW), and the Eggebek Solar
Park (Germany, 83.6 MW).[84]
There are also many large plants under construction. The Desert Sunlight Solar
Farm is a 550 MW solar power plant under construction in Riverside County,
California, that will use thin-film solar photovoltaic modules made by First Solar.
The Topaz Solar Farm is a 550 MW photovoltaic power plant, being built in San

[85]

Luis Obispo County, California.[86] TheBlythe Solar Power Project is a 500 MW

photovoltaic station under construction in Riverside County, California. TheCalifornia
Valley Solar Ranch (CVSR) is a 250 MW solar photovoltaic power plant, which is
being built by SunPower in theCarrizo Plain, northeast of California Valley.[87] The
230 MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch is a First Solar photovoltaic project which is
under construction in the Antelope Valley area of the Western Mojave Desert, and
due to be completed in 2013.[88]
Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use tracking systems
that follow the sun's daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than fixedmounted systems. There are no fuel cost