Renewable sources at a price competitive with fossil

The dramatic decline in the price allows renewable energy to become increasingly competitive with fossil fuels worldwide, according to a recent survey conducted by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA ).

 The report, published at the time of holding the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, made projections that the cost of manufacturing technology for more types of renewable energy sources will continue increasing to fall in the coming years.

  More specifically, the technology for which is provided the biggest drop in the price is photovoltaic, concentrated solar power and windmills. Hydro-power technology, and also most technologies for biomass utilization are already developed technologies and it is not expected some big price drop here.

 Solar photovoltaic cells experienced a significant drop in price in recent years. They represent a safe source of energy with a high degree of stability and are not subject to fluctuations in fuel prices, achieving a parity of a number of markets. According the report, with a further decline in prices, parity will soon become the rule, not the exception.

 As far as the technology for wind power, the study reveals that there is a decrease in the total cost of the installation, after the period from 2004 till 2009 when we actually have increasing of the price. The cost of producing of wind turbines, because of the excessive production from the manufacturers of wind turbines, at this point is lower ¼ compared to the price in the U.S. in 2009. Further reduction in prices can cause current big differences in price between Chinese wind turbines and those of Western countries.

 Despite considerable cheaper technologies, the study indicates that the use of renewable energy sources continues to be obstructed, primarily because of the opinion that although viable, they are not economically feasible as fossil fuels.

 In order renewable to become the first option for energy production, it is necessary to continue this increasing of technology and improving its performance. If this happens, it is necessary to introduce and some supportive measures to overcome other obstacles that are not related to price, that undermine the widespread use of renewable energy.