Fossil fuels have reached an emperor’s new clothes moment – the reflection in the mirror is not looking good and there’s nary a fig leaf to hand. For years the industry has played up the high costs of renewables and painted a gloomy picture of the technological advancements required. But the technology has caught up – and both installation and generation costs of renewables have dived.
So even with oil prices at a historic low and coal still plentiful, renewables are giving fossil fuels a run for their money. In 2013 in Australia, the price of energy from wind power had fallen below that from new build coal- and gas-fired power stations. This is comparing like with like – energy from Australia’s old coal-fired power stations dating from the 1970s and 80s is cheaper, but only because their construction costs have been recouped.
