Bloomberg New Energy Finance: In the first half of 2017, the global cost of photovoltaic electricity continued to decline

Bloomberg New Energy Finance published a series of forecast reports on the change trend of electricity costs in the first half of 2017, mainly based on country-level data, and analyzed
from three regions: the Americas (AMER), Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and the Asia-Pacific (AMER).
Below is a summary section
of the global section.

The cost of new PV projects worldwide continues to fall: module prices are down 30% compared to 2016; Operation and maintenance costs and financing costs in developed countries are declining
.
In the first half of 2017, Bloomberg New Energy Finance believes that the global benchmark (fix-axis) photovoltaic kWh cost has dropped from $100/MWh in the second half of 2016 to $86/MWh, and the (single-axis) PV kWh cost has fallen by 33% to $56/MWh
.
For the first time, Bloomberg New Energy Finance's analysis shows that the cost of electricity for photovoltaic systems with trackers can be reduced to a lower level
than onshore wind.

In Bloomberg New Energy Finance's view, the global benchmark kWh cost of onshore and offshore wind remains relatively stable, at around
$67/MWh and $124/MWh respectively.
Competitive auctions began to appear in EMEA and some emerging markets in Latin America, the downward pressure on the cost of photovoltaic power assets strengthened, and project economics began to move closer to some traditional wind power markets
.

Coal and gas costs in EMEA and the Americas remained largely flat
.
In the Americas, low natural gas prices mean that gas turbine combined cycle (CCGT) remains the most cost-competitive power generation technology
here.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Bloomberg New Energy Finance has raised its forecast for future coal price trends, which has put some pressure on Bloomberg New Energy Finance to continue to increase the cost of electricity - the cost of electricity in all countries except China has risen by about
15%.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the cost of building new gas turbine combined cycle power plants remains relatively high, and price fluctuations in LNG play a decisive role in the price competitiveness of power plants
.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance believes that considering the sharp decline in equipment costs and the weakening of development and financing activities, by 2040, the global cost of electricity for photovoltaics will fall by 66%, and the global cost of onshore wind power will fall by 48%.

In developed countries such as Germany and Japan, the cost of electricity per kilowattage will increase in the cost of electricity for power plants due to the increase
in renewable energy and weak demand for electricity.
In contrast, electricity demand in emerging markets such as India is still rising
.
Therefore, even if renewable energy capacity expands, the power generation hours of local power plants will most likely remain the same, and the cost of electricity per kilowattage will remain relatively flat (in the absence of new carbon emission policies).