EN 
PT_BR 
Solar photovoltaic and wind energy are the most affordable renewable sources. This is what the latest survey carried out by Lazard, an international financial consultancy company, showed.
The report is made up of comparative analyzes of LCOE (levelized cost of energy) for various generation technologies on a US$/MWh basis, including sensitivities to US federal tax subsidies, fuel prices, carbon pricing and capital costs.
According to Lazard, the cost is not represented by a concrete price, but rather by a range of estimated prices in the circumstances applied.
Drawing a comparison, without considering subsidies, fuel prices or carbon prices, the photovoltaic source, on a utility scale, thin film and crystalline silicon, as well as wind, have the lowest LCOE of all the sources considered.
Utility-scale crystalline silicon reaches somewhere between 31 and 42 US$/MWh, while thin film ranges from 29 to 38 US$/MWh. Utility-scale wind records the lowest possible LCOE in the widest range, from US$ 26 to 54 US$/MWh.
For comparison, under these same criteria, gas peaks at 151 to 198 US$/MWh, nuclear is 129 to 198 US$/MWh, coal is 65 to 159 US$/MWh, and gas combined cycle is 44 to 73 US$/MWh.
Cost of operation
According to the study, the numbers come from comparisons between the cost of building new renewable energy facilities and operating existing fossil and nuclear resources.
The only type of new renewable generation asset to have a higher LCOE per MWh than existing coal operation is unsubsidized onshore wind.
The LCOE range is higher at its peak than the maximum levelized cost of energy to operate existing coal. However, the lower end of the ranges favors wind, which comes in at a lowest possible LCOE of 26 US$/MWh, compared to 34 US$/MWh for coal.
New unsubsidized utility-scale solar projects reach an LCOE range of 29 to 39 US$/MWh, surpassing coal, although the LCOE of operating nuclear or combined cycle gas plants is slightly higher. , which range from 25 to 32 US$/MWh and 23 to 32 US$/MWh, respectively.
However, according to the consultancy, once subsidies are considered, utility-scale solar becomes much more competitive, at 24 to 32 US$/MWh.
Source: PV Magazine
