The High Cost of Sun and Wind

ENODA’s Chief Economist, Professor Ryan Williams, talks to leading German newspaper about the growing costs of balancing an energy system with ever-increasing levels of renewables.

Read the full article here.

English excerpts below.

“He [Ryan Williams] has examined the power grids in five European countries and presented his findings at the largest economics conference in the world. They are clear: Even when Russian gas still flowed to Europe, electricity became more expensive - despite wind and solar energy becoming cheaper and more common, and the cost of electricity production actually decreasing. This is because balancing supply and demand became more expensive…”

“Williams has now precisely investigated how the [balancing] costs are related to the expansion of wind and solar power, and the result is clear: Every percentage point of solar and wind power in the grid makes balancing more expensive by around eight euros per consumed megawatt-hour. In Sweden, grid balancing was achieved rather cheaply for two euros, while in the Netherlands, it came at the cost of more than 15 euros…”

“The first 10 percent of renewable energies in the grid are particularly expensive, as Williams calculates. After that, it becomes cheaper, precisely because the practice turns into a routine. However, when the share of wind and solar power exceeds 30 percent, initial data suggests that balancing supply and demand suddenly becomes much more expensive again – and an endpoint to this process has not been reached, at least not yet…”