India has emerged as the market leader with the lowest renewable energy costs among Asia Pacific countries, according to new data from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables on Monday. India’s levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) using solar photovoltaics (PV) has fallen to $38 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in 2019, 14% cheaper than coal-fired power, traditionally the cheapest source of power generation.
In a statement, Wood Mackenzie Research Director Alex Whitworth said that after China, India is the second-largest power market in the Asia Pacific region with an installed power capacity of 421 gigawatts (GW). "Solar capacity is expected to reach 38 GW this year. High-quality solar resources, market scale and competition have pushed solar costs down to half the level seen in many other Asia Pacific countries," he said.
- Australia's emerging solar market
According to Wood Mackenzie's data, Australia will see lower solar costs driven by more competitive pricing compared to gas power and coal power. "Solar LCOE has fallen 42% in the past three years and will reach $48 per MWh in 2020, beating out all fossil fuel competitors," Wood Mackenzie stated.
Commenting on the data, Whitworth stated that energy storage is one of the key options helping balance power demand in the country. By 2030, renewable power will have a discount to coal-fired power of around 17% on average across the region. "Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan will be the only countries with higher renewable LCOE compared to coal," the data shows.
(Anadolu Agency)
