Wood Mackenzie: China reduces solar production costs
The cost of producing solar modules in China has dropped by 42% in the last 12 months to US$0.15/W giving manufacturers in the country an enormous cost advantage over international rivals according to a new Horizons report from Wood Mackenzie.
The report: ‘Top of the charts: ‘Five low-carbon tech trends worth tracking’ looks at five key charts and identifies some key underlying trends across the low-carbon landscape.
Alongside the fall in Chinese solar hardware costs the report looks at the meteoric rise of renewable energy, the efforts being made to diversify battery raw materials supply, the progress of carbon capture and storage and the growth of domestic heat pumps.
“With delegates at COP28 making a commitment to phase out fossil fuels, these five charts highlight the vital importance of all facets of the energy transition process,” said co-author Dr Steven Knell, Vice President, Power & Renewables at Wood Mackenzie. “The charts [in the report] show the progress that is being made, but also underline how much still needs to be done.”
The report also states that policy is widening to support the build-out of domestic supply chains for low-carbon technologies and to develop new sources of critical minerals to reduce global dependence on China. While in some cases such as Chinese solar module production, costs are coming down, in others they will remain high.
“The charts contained in the report indicate the global scale of the energy transition process and identifies some of the challenges,” added co-author Malcolm Forbes-Cable, Vice President, Upstream and Carbon Management Consulting. “With US$70 billion needed to be invested in global carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) transport and sequestration infrastructure before 2030, the financial implications alone will require global solutions.”
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global’s Winter 2023 issue
The Winter 2023 issue of Energy Global hosts an array of technical articles weather analysis, geothermal solutions, energy storage technology, and more. This issue also features a regional report looking at the future of renewables in North America, and a report from Théodore Reed-Martin, Editorial Assistant, Energy Global, on how Iceland utilises its unique geology for renewable energy.
Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/26122023/wood-mackenzie-chinas-solar-productions-costs-reduce/
