disdaniel

Renewable Energy Cost Curves: 1980-2020

@ Suncatcher: electricity "about 5.75- 7.5 cents per KWH"

Who and where is the customer that is only paying 6c-7c/kwh? I believe the average us retail price is between 9-10c/kwh (oh I'm sure someone in the Dakota's might be under 7c/kwh)

"The above price comparisons ignore tax rebates and incentives because I think it is more appropriate to compare the real costs- not rebated costs."

So fossil fuel sources that spew out CO2 (implicit subsidy which we don't account for in $ or cents) contain the real costs, but alternative sources should be compared without their subsidy?

Oh yeah that is fair!

Slightly OT

"Many people have be heralding stunning breakthroughs ahead for the thirty years I have been doing this but there hasn't been any."

I've got three different inventions (all patent pending) that will lower the cost of PV solar by as much as ~10% (each).

One is described/pictured here:
time-is-energy.blogspo...

I know lots of wild claims are made, but this example is pretty easy to verify. FWIW it works with solar thermal systems too--i.e. uses ~30% less copper per thermal watt--although I think the raw material cost of PV is a larger percent of the panel/installed cost than for thermal.

Renewable Energy Cost Curves: 1980-2020

did you read the footnote on the charts?

It says 2002 (constant dollars) these are historical cost trends only.

For that I would assume they were fairly accurate up to 2002.

Solarbuzz.com puts current day levelized cost of PV at just under 21c/kwh. I'm not sure how that regresses to 2002 constant dollars or if that is even what you are asking.

I would say that the relative costs (i.e. between charts) seems to remain resonable.

Prometheus Institute: Renewables Likely to Represent 90% of New Capacity by 2012

"Solar and wind together represented only 6 percent of the seven percent."

Solar and wind may count for 2 percent (I thought it was ~1%) but certainly not 6 percent of all energy consumed in the US.

Solar's Dead Cat Bounce May Be Over

"one company offered a price of $0.69/kW"

It is hard to take an article seriously with errors/misprints like this! At best the author is off by a factor of 1000.