A recent survey report released by the financial consulting firm Lazard indicated that the cost of renewable energy will continue to fall, while the downward trend in the cost of energy storage is mixed.

George Bilicic, Vice Chairman and Global Head of Lazard’s Power, Energy and Infrastructure Group, said in a statement, “Our research has proven the continued acceleration of the energy transition. We also see that the energy transition will not be dominated by any solution, but a new “all” approach that includes renewable energy, energy storage systems, hydrogen, and other solutions is the key to achieving a permanent transition to improved energy efficiency and sustainability."

The development trend of renewable energy cost

An analysis report recently released by Lazard shows that the cost of onshore wind power and utility-scale solar power generation continues to be competitive with the marginal cost of coal, nuclear and combined cycle gas power generation.

The Lazard report proposes that if government subsidies are included, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for onshore wind power generation is $25/MWh, and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for utility-scale solar energy is $27/MWh. MWh, while the average marginal cost of coal-fired power generation is US$42/MWh, the average marginal cost of nuclear power is US$29/MWh, and the average marginal cost of combined-cycle gas-fired power generation is US$24/MWh. Offshore wind power generation is leveled without subsidies The cost of energy (LCOE) is $83/MWh.

Lazard warned that rising commodity costs, supply chain disruption, and accelerated downstream demand for renewable energy may put upward pressure on project investment costs, which may become apparent in the company’s future iterations of LCOE, although these increases may It does not necessarily translate into higher relative costs.

The development trend of energy storage system cost

Lazard's recent report shows that the cost changes of energy storage systems are mixed, partly because of the constraints of the emerging supply chain and the transformation of the battery product industry.

The report stated: “The industry is increasingly turning to lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP). Lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP) are cheaper than ternary lithium-ion batteries, especially in applications with shorter continuous discharge times, and It has more favorable thermal properties, despite its relatively low energy density."

In addition, other factors such as supply constraints in the commodity market and manufacturing activities are exacerbating inflation and putting upward pressure on the investment cost of energy storage systems.

The report also pointed out that, for example, the combination of energy storage systems and solar power generation facilities to reduce the intermittency of renewable energy generation, as grid operators begin to use the effective carrying capacity (ELCC) method to assess the value of resources, it is becoming more and more extensively valuable.

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) has become the main energy storage solution in modern social life. Among them, lithium iron phosphate batteries are a perfect substitute for lead-acid batteries, and are the first choice for grid-connected peak shaving, off-grid energy storage, photovoltaic energy storage, UPS, data center and other industries.

Solar power generation system with lithium battery energy storage system is a very promising clean energy.