The cost of solar power has fallen by 87%, and battery storage by 85% in the past decade, according to a new study

Berlin-based scientific think tank Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) has released a new study in the journal Energy Research & Social Science:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629623003365

They found that despite the ongoing use of fossil fuels and biomass in the near future, clean energy is ultimately going to change the energy game.

The study focuses on solar and battery storage, but the researchers note that wind power, heat pumps, and other clean technologies are also seeing a sharp drop in prices, too.

Technological advances are making solar and battery storage smarter and more efficient. Globally, production of solar components and battery storage are being ramped up commercially, and that’s being spurred on by both private and public financial backing and government policy support in response to the global effort to limit global warming to well below 2C. And as a result, the clean energy industry’s economy of scale is causing prices to plummet.

When clean energy is deployed, electricity prices drop.

For example, the study notes, battery storage already cost less than $100 per kilowatt hour, which is significantly less than was predicted for 2030 in a study two years ago. They assert that the price premium for battery storage will drop from 100% at present to only 28% in 2030.

And in 2050, experts expect 63,000 terawatt hours of solar energy to be available globally – that’s twice as much clean energy as is supplied by coal today. And 80% of private investments in new energy capacity are now fossil-free.

The researchers point out, however, that coal is still hanging around like a bad smell because “considerations such as jobs, tax payments, political constraints, or financial liquidity keep governments investing in coal even when renewables actually have a better pay-off.”

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