Renewable energy costs are already on par with fossil fuels - and only getting cheaper
In 2015, when the Paris Agreement on climate change was signed, countries made commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming in this century to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), ideally 1.5C, compared to preindustrial levels, Reuters reports. One way to achieve that goal is to reduce energy-related carbon dioxide emissions by scaling up the use of renewable energy resources, such as solar and wind power instead of fossil fuels, such as coal or oil. Critics have argued the cost of developing and deploying these renewable energy sources is expensive, but research shows that renewable energy sources are cost-competitive with fossil fuels and are getting cheaper each year, as multiple news outlets and international organizations report. There are also other long-term, cost-saving benefits to implementing renewable energy sources, Vox reports.
renewable energy facts
What you need to know
- New wind and solar power projects produce cleaner and cheaper energy than new coal power plants, The Guardian and Bloomberg reports
- Technology development in both solar and wind are part of what make them cost-effective sources, according to Ars Technica
- There are also "positive externalities" - or social value to using solar and wind power like billions of dollars saved in health costs, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists
renewable energy sources
"Past projections of energy costs have consistently underestimated just how cheap renewable energy would be in the future, as well as the benefits of rolling them out quickly, according to a new report out of the Institute of New Economic Thinking at the University of Oxford." — Ars Technica
"Subsidies for renewables are meant to remedy [a] market failure, to make the market value of renewables more accurately reflect their total social value...So, if you add up those central estimates, wind and solar saved Americans around $88 billion in health and environmental costs over eight years." — Vox
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"Analyzing more than a dozen studies conducted over the past decade, the [environmental research group World Resources Institute's] report projected that $1 million in green investments would create more near-term jobs than the same amount invested in roads and fossil fuels." — Global Citizen
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