A new study released in South Africa concludes that renewable energy is 40% cheaper than new baseload coal-fired power stations. The report was compiled by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Energy Centre.
“We now know from transparent, tariff-based procurement processes what the cost of new solar PV, wind and new coal baseload is. The result – new PV and wind is 40% cheaper than new baseload coal,” state CSIR’s head Dr. Tobias Bischof-Niemz and energy economist Ruan Fourie.
The study compares new bids for solar and wind power installations in South Africa versus recent coal bid prices. The data reveal that solar PV and wind are now at R0.61/kWh (USD0.04/kWh) while coal is at R1.03/kWh (USD0.07/kWh), with all the figures set in South African Rand.
The information on bid prices has been confirmed by South Africa’s Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office, an organization that oversees the procurement of new private generation capacity on behalf of the Department of Energy and the National Treasury.
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