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ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

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Figure 7-20<br />

U.S. Non-Hydro Renewable Energy Electric Power Sector Installed<br />

Thousand Megawatts Capacity, 2008–2015<br />

100<br />

Geothermal<br />

80<br />

60<br />

Wood and Wood Waste Biomass<br />

Solar Thermal and Solar PV<br />

Wind<br />

40<br />

20<br />

0<br />

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015<br />

Source: Energy Information Administration.<br />

from Federal tax incentives. Installation costs for solar PV have decreased by<br />

60 percent, and LCOE for solar has fallen by almost 70 percent. 28<br />

In Figures 7-21 and 7-22, the measure of LCOE does not include local,<br />

State and Federal tax credits or other incentives for renewable energy. When<br />

these incentives are also considered, the cost declines described above mean<br />

that in many locations renewable energy costs are at or below the cost of fossil<br />

fuels. Renewables are truly reaching “grid parity,” which means that the<br />

cost of renewables is on par with the cost of new fossil-generated electricity<br />

on the grid. Although wind and solar have been considered more expensive<br />

forms of new generation, current ranges of unsubsidized costs are showing<br />

some wind and solar projects coming in at lower costs than some coal<br />

generation. Further, forecasts show a trend toward increasing grid parity in<br />

the future. For example, forecasts for wind and solar PV costs from the EIA<br />

and the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggest that the unsubsidized<br />

technology cost of new wind and solar will be on par with or below that of<br />

new coal plants by 2020 (Figure 7-22).29 Moreover, there are already places<br />

28 LCOE for wind is estimated by average power-purchase agreement (PPA) prices plus<br />

estimated value of production tax credits available for wind, and average PPA prices for solar<br />

PV.<br />

29 The larger bounds in costs for some renewable technologies, such as solar and off-shore<br />

wind, reflect a range of potential technology options that are being considering for future<br />

commercial deployment of these developing technologies.<br />

Addressing Climate Change | 463

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