Wind and solar energy are reportedly cheap because the wind blows for free and the sun shines for free. But the reality is completely different. After the offshore debacle, the British government is now drastically increasing price guarantees. Citizens and companies will have to pay anyway.
Hardly anyone buys the myth of cheap green electricity anymore. The further decarbonization plans advance in terms of electricity generation progress, the more apparent the problems associated with wind and solar power will become. With the current skyrocketing costs of building (and operating) wind turbines and the inefficiency of the technology as a whole, expansion of the supply network is no longer progressing the way politicians would like.
In Great Britain they are now trying to take countermeasures. With new maximum prices in renewable energy auctions. These rise to about a third across the board – even up to two thirds in the case of offshore wind power. From next year, operators of such systems at sea will receive a maximum price of 73 pounds (about 83 euros) per megawatt hour (MWh) instead of the previous 44. It will also be £176 for floating offshore wind projects next year. Instead of 116 pounds. These are glorious prices. In the future the prices for solar power plants will be 61 instead of 47 pounds per MWh (or about 70 euros).
Wind and sun themselves may not cost anything, but using them to generate electricity does. And as you can see from the Real Price Guarantee in the UK, it’s not cheap. Rather, consumers there will have to be prepared for electricity prices to continue rising, because at some point there will no longer be enough fossil energy to be used, which can be made artificially more expensive with taxes and fees.
(tags to translate)auction
