Converting megawatt hours to megabytes – the next disruptive shift for renewables?
OPINION | The data generated by interconnected renewables systems could one day be more valuable than the energy itself, writes David Halligan, co-founder of Datawatt Energy
The global weighted average cost of onshore wind and PV solar have respectively dropped to $0.06/kWh and $0.10/kWh, per a recently issued report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In fact, recent renewable energy PPA tenders in Mexico and Alberta, Canada have yielded average costs of $0.021/kWh and $0.029/kWh, respectively.
Per the IRENA report, “these cost declines across technologies are unprecedented and representative of the degree to which renewable energy is disrupting the global energy system."
The largest global IPPs and developers are all but dominating global renewable energy markets. These players rely on competitive advantages such as access to efficient capital, purchasing muscle and global influence to be successful in ever-aggressive tenders.