Solar is cost-competitive with oil, and would still be even if prices fell to US$10 per barrel, according to a report released this week by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East.
The report, co-authored with Masdar, the University of Cambridge, and PwC, “says the vast bulk of the $US48 trillion needed to meet global power demand over the next two decades will come from renewables,” RenewEconomy reports.
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“The latest solar PV project tendered in Dubai returned a low bid that set a new global benchmark and is competitive with oil at US$10/barrel and gas at US$5/MMBtu [million Btu],” NBAD states. “As government and utilities are driven to bring new generation capacity onstream, this new reality presents a significant opportunity to make savings, reduce fuel cost risks, achieve climate ambitions and, at the same time, keep more oil and gas available for export.”
“The bank says intermittency of wind and solar is not an issue, notes that fossil fuels resources are finite and becoming increasing hard to reach, notes that governments want local supplies and want to disconnect from the volatility of the oil price, and says policy frameworks are seeking to decarbonize economies in response to climate and pollution concerns,” Parkinson writes.
“Remember, this is coming from a leading bank in the oil-rich Gulf, the most emissions-intensive countries in the world, and where energy demand is rising so quickly it risks overwhelming domestic production, turning states such as Kuwait and UAE into importers of energy rather than exporters.” (h/t to the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal for first pointing us to this story)
