European Commission study shines light on the true cost of energy
The European Commission study on "Energy subsidies and costs in the EU", released this week, demonstrates that the direct total cost of conventional energy technologies, such as coal and nuclear, is much higher than the direct cost for solar energy.
The study proves that solar energy is cost effective today, and is improving competitiveness at a rate that conventional technologies will never be able to achieve. This is a wakeup call for policymakers to prioritise the most cost effective energies - such as solar. Policymakers need to stop protecting the past and begin to shape the future, which is clearly based on renewable energies on the evidence of the report.
"Despite decades of heavy subsidies, mature coal and nuclear energy technologies still rely on similar levels of public support as innovative solar energy is getting today. However, support to solar electricity is already coming down, in line with the rapid technology cost reduction, as opposed to coal and nuclear energy which remain locked into subsidies as they have been for the last 40 years," commented Frauke Thies, EPIA Policy Director. "With its increasing cost-effectiveness, solar is set to overtake conventional technologies in the short term," she added.
The Commission also released a progress report on the Internal Energy Market that reveals slow progress
"The Internal Energy Market report confirms that limited progress has been made towards transparency and flexibility. Europe still has a long way to go to achieve a real internal energy market that provides fair conditions and a level playing field for solar power and other innovative solutions in the electricity sector," concluded Thies.
