Advocates for clean energy resources have long talked about the social, environmental, and carbon benefits of moving away from fossil fuels. They have worked to convince utilities, regulators, legislators, and other decision makers that such benefits outweigh any additional costs of deploying clean generation.
Starting in the early 2000’s, policies such as Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), emission reduction goals, and carbon standards have been adopted by states to jumpstart the entry of more renewables into markets and build knowledge and experience of utilities. These policies have advanced the development and deployment of wind, solar, and storage technologies, leading to significant price reductions for clean energy.
As a result, projects for wind, solar – with and without battery storage, are being procured for record low prices, outperforming bids from coal and gas generators. For example, NextEra Energy set a new low for solar + battery storage in its bid to Tucson Electric Power in May 2017, offering a 100 megawatt (MW) solar array and a 30 MW storage facility at $.045 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Months later, Excel Energy attracted unprecedented low prices for wind and solar facilities paired with storage. Since then, utilities in several other Western states including Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah have also received similarly low-priced bids for dozens of wind, solar, and/or storage projects.
Click here – Prices by State – for the list of projects and publicly released prices.