According to the British energy giant BP, the cost of generating power by capturing the sun’s energy will fall about 10 percent a year in the next decade until it equals the expense of producing electricity by burning fossil fuels.
As conventional fuel prices rise and solar power falls, generation costs may reach parity in as little as five years for some fossil energy sources, Vahid Fotuhi, Middle East director of BP Solar, said at a conference in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Solar power costs about 20 cents a kilowatt-hour now, he said.
BP’s conviction about this shift in energy parity is evident in their own policies. They installed about 200 megawatts of solar capacity last year and intend to add 300 megawatts of that generation source this year. BP is also looking at pursuing large-scale solar projects in the Middle East.
To read more about BP’s plans to move forward renewable energy projects in the Middle East, click here.
