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IRENA opens renewable energy cost analysis portal

IRENA opens renewable energy cost analysis portal Levelized Cost of Electricity ranges and averages (source: IRENA)
Alexander Richter 11 Dec 2013

In a recent presentation and now launched via a new web portal, IRENA provided a great analysis on the levelized cost of electricity generation with renewable energy technologies and shows the competitiveness of geothermal particularly in non-OECD countries.

At the recently held GeoPower Global Markets event in Amsterdam, International Renewable Energy Agency  (IRENA) analyst Michael Taylor gave an interesting presentation on a cost analysis of renewable energy technology options.

IRENA_technologycosts_2013

The presentation provided some interesting insights into geothermal energy technology cost, also the development of cost in the different geothermal power generation technologies. The interesting fact is to see the huge difference in the cost for geothermal power generation based on geographic location, here highlighted by OECD member countries and non-member countries.

IRENA_powertechnologycosts_2013

Yesterday, IRENA launched a web portal that provides an overview on renewable energy cost analysis. (www.irena.org/costs). The portal provides access to IRENA’s data and analysis at no cost to users.

“IRENA has developed the most current and comprehensive global database of renewable energy project costs available to the public. Our new portal makes this resource available for policy makers, businesses and the renewable energy community worldwide,” said Dolf Gielen, Director of the IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre in Bonn, Germany, and project leader for this initiative.

“The data shows that the costs of renewable energy are declining, sometimes rapidly. Investment and policy decisions can now be based on the latest, verified data from a trusted source,” added Mr Gielen. “Recent cost reductions, notably for solar photovoltaics, have profound implications for social and economic development opportunities and for millions of people’s aspirations for a better life. On economic grounds, their access to modern energy should be renewable based,” he said.

The new portal showcases IRENA’s position as the global source for cost and performance data of all renewable energy technologies. The web portal makes the latest and best cost data, as well as the Agency’s analysis, publications, presentations and charts accessible to the public. It provides an important service for the further development of renewable energy globally. Often, the lack of up-to-date, accurate and reliable data on cost and performance was seen as a barrier to the uptake of renewable energy technologies. IRENA’s new web portal is ensuring that this will not be the case in the future and the debate about the role of renewable energy technologies in the energy sector can be based on the facts.

The portal is accessible to the public at www.irena.org/costs, free for all users.

Source: Presentation by Michael Taylor and IRENA