A long-term low price for coal and gas will not halt the march of renewables, according to a new report.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) has said the levelised cost of generation per megawatt hour for onshore wind will fall 41% and 60% for solar by 2040.
In its New Energy Outlook 2016 report, BNEF said renewables would continue to scoop the majority of global investment with $7.8 trillion being invested in the sector out to 2040 compared to around $2 trillion in coal and gas.
Some $3.1 trillion will be invested offshore wind, BNEF said, with a further $6.5 trillion going to utility scale, rooftop and small scale solar.
It also said the cost of lithium ion batteries would fall which will make potential storage systems more attractive.
Wind and other renewables will generate 70% of Europe’s power in 2040, the report concluded, up from 32% in 2015.
BNEF chief executive Jon Moore said: “The New Energy Outlook incorporates a significantly lower trajectory for coal and gas prices than the 2015 edition did a year ago but, strikingly, still shows rapid transition towards clean power over the next 25 years.”
Image: Nordex
