Could we see U.S. solar electricity for $0 per kWh?

[Caribbeans]

Could we see U.S. solar electricity for $0 per kWh?

A Credit Suisse report suggests that from 2025 through 2032, the United States could see solar and wind PPAs regularly signed for under 1¢/kWh, due to a combination of manufacturing and project tax credits.

PV-Magazine-usa.com | October 14, 2022 | John Fitzgerald Weaver

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) may become a transformative document, enabling a grand experiment in energy generation at a national level. A report from Credit Suisse suggests as much. The organization believes that the United States has an opportunity to become a global leader in clean energy, much like it is already in the fossil industry.

Among the many ideas discussed in the document is a striking prediction – there may be solar power projects whose levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) drops below a penny per kilowatt hour, bottoming around 0.4¢/kWh ($4/MWh) in 2029. We could see these prices as soon as 2025, and they could persist beyond 2030.



If we combine a few data points, we can see how this number is possible – and might even have room to go lower...

...Consider that it has only been a few years since First Solar told Bloomberg that their manufacturing costs were around 20¢/W – with the IRA, they’re on a pathway to a 2¢/W product. Since First Solar has nearly sold out for the upcoming few years, and may not feel enough pressure to reach pricing that low, this author doesn’t expect the most extreme lows to materialize. But according to this report, there are plenty of other solar module manufacturers that could get to an essential cost of 6-10¢/W. more:
https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/10/14/could-we-see-u-s-solar-electricity-for-0-per-kwh/

RELATED: This Nation Is Building the World's Cheapest Solar Farm

Popular Mechanics | Caroline Delbert | MAY 1, 2020

A collaboration in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) will help to install the world's cheapest solar farm in 2022. The public electric utility in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the U.A.E., chose a bid that will bring the cost of solar power down to 1.35 cents per kilowatt hour. The U.A.E. is home to many of the world’s biggest solar farms because of its extremely abundant sunshine and wide, flat, empty stretches of land...more
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a30266828/worlds-cheapest-solar-farm/