By choosing to compare, for example, onshore wind and coal for the year 2010 and projected costs for 2020, the tool shows that in 2010 wind cost €65.7 per MWh, compared to coal’s €69.4, and by 2020 the gap should be even wider – €58.2 for wind and €82.5 for coal.
Meanwhile, the tool shows that nuclear will cost €102/MWh in 2020 – the average price across Europe taking into account the fact that nuclear plants take a long time to build which pushes up the initial capital cost. Onshore wind energy meanwhile will see a price drop by 2020 falling to €58/MWh and offshore wind will cost €75/MWh.
Global Wind Day
The results of using this tool and of several studies on the true cost of wind power will no doubt form part of the various debates taking place around the world on 15 June as part of Global Wind Day.
EWEA and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) coordinate the Global Wind Day through a network of partners, and the event is described as “a day for discovering wind, its power and the possibilities it holds to change our world”.
It is also a day for discovery of the work that has already begun by pioneers around the world. In more than 75 countries around the world, wind farms are in operation, generating energy from a clean and renewable source.
“Thousands of individuals are involved in the production of energy from the wind, but for many people, wind energy is a mystery. Global Wind Day is the day when you can visit wind farms, meet experts, attend events and find out everything you want to know about wind energy,” say the organisers, who arranged more than 230 events in 40 countries all around the globe during last year’s event.
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