Seite - 37 - in Clean Water Using Solar and Wind - Outside the Power Grid

The renewable energy revolution 37 There have been auctions to implement renewable energy in many countries. At the end of 2016, 67 countries had arranged such auctions and record low prices had been achieved for both solar PV and wind. For example, in Morocco a median price for solar PV of 30 USD per MW (or 0.03 USD/W) was achieved, while a record low of 24.2 USD/MW (or 0.024 USD/W) was offered for 300 MW in Abu Dhabi (IRENA, 2017a). This also means that there have been record low energy prices in auctions, as low as 30 USD/MWh or 0.03 USD/kWh (IEA, 2017a). Solar PV is the most realistic and least expensive power source, and not only for remote areas outside the electric grids (compare Figure 1.2). Already today, in several countries electricity from small-scale distributed PV is cheaper than power from the grid. Solar PV has become cheaper than diesel-fuelled generation or lighting provided by kerosene. At the same time, it saves the user from the social and environmental problems associated with fossil fuels, including the transportation costs to provide them. The cost of wind energy is also competitive with conventional power production (Figure 1.2). For example, in New Zealand in 2011 the long- term marginal cost for existing wind farms was in the range of 56–75 USD per MWh. The comparable electric energy price in the same period was 53–60 USD per MWh. Since then the cost of wind power has declined much more (WEC, 2016, Chapter 10). Several experts were interviewed concerning the future of renewables compared to fossil fuels (REN21, 2017b). One question was whether or not the cost for renewables would continue to fall and will outpace all fossil fuels within the next ten years. Among the experts 67% agreed or strongly agreed with this statement and only 13% disagreed, while 20% neither agreed nor disagreed. The experts were quite uncertain about future oil prices. In contrast, future renewable energy costs were considered predictable and certain. Even if solar PV and wind energy are already cheaper than diesel generator energy, it will be a challenging task to replace traditional generators in many places. The reason is that diesel generators have long been the technology of choice in off-grid areas. The diesel generator market and its supply chain are mature. In 2015, developing countries bought and installed some 600,000 units with a total capacity of 29 GW. About half of the power comes from units smaller than 0.3 MW (Climatescope, 2017). Furthermore, the carbon footprint from Downloaded from https://iwaponline.com/ebooks/book-pdf/520710/wio9781780409443.pdf by IWA Publishing user