Wood Mackenzie records solar LCOE of $37/MWh in MENA region

Wood Mackenzie records solar LCOE of $37/MWh in MENA region



by bfire123

3 comments
  1. >The consultancy’s latest work reviews the LCOE for renewables in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa (MENA).


    >It found single-axis tracker systems in the MENA region to be the most cost-competitive power generation source at $37/MWh.

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    >**In Europe**, the LCOE of renewables fell by 7% in 2025 as capital costs dropped 8% versus the 2020 to 2024 average. **Utility-scale solar PV with single-axis tracking currently offers Europe’s lowest average LCOE**, Wood Mackenzie said, with declining module prices contributing to 10% of the cost reductions against 2024.

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    >In the Asia Pacific, utility-scale solar delivers the lowest generation costs region-wide, with its **LCOE spanning $27/MWh in China to $118/MWh in Japan.**

    Also Intersting how large the diffrence can be.

  2. And yes – I am aware that LCOE doesn’t cover everything but that doesn’t mean that it is meaningless.

    One thing i like to do is comparing the LCOE of solar with the variable operating costs (per kWh) of e. g. a coal or natural gas power plant.

    If the LCOE of solar beats the variable operating cost of e. g. a natural gas power plant than it means that **it is more economical to use the natural gas power plant just as backup!**
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    The same can be done with coal. For example international traded coal costs 105 $ per ton. Thats around 1.5 cents per kWh of coal. If you burn that in a 40 % efficient coal plant, than the variable price per kWH of electricity would be 3.8 cent (= 38 $ per MWh)!

  3. The change is coming, no matter what Trump or the fossil fuel industry tries to do. Thanks for sharing OP, good report!

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