Installed capacity of solar exceeding coal in China

[Hafar1014]

Easily refuted by reality.

Let me now how well it works at night. Energy that only works in daylight cant improve

 

[Anomalism]

Let me now how well it works at night. Energy that only works in daylight cant improve

The fact that it relies on sunlight doesn't make it useless or incapable of improvement.

 

[Hafar1014]

The fact that it relies on sunlight doesn't make it useless or incapable of improvement.

Yes it does you need an alternative source at night or on cloudy days. Who wants to pay more for another energy source because the first one wont work. This is beneath stupidity

 

[Anomalism]

Yes it does you need an alternative source at night or on cloudy days. Who wants to pay more for another energy source because the first one wont work. This is beneath stupidity

What if enough energy can be stored to get through the night? What if it just eases the need for other energy sources during the day? You're not thinking in nuance; you're thinking in binaries. Solar doesn't need to replace everything else to be useful.

 

[ding]

What if enough energy can be stored to get through the night?

Have you done the math?

What if it just eases the need for other energy sources during the day?

I would imagine that's all it will ever be.

 

[egp320i]

That is installed capacity, not actual generation. However, what is even more significant is that the increase in solar has put China ahead of demand. It is noted that they are still building coal plants that will obviously be not needed for present need. However, I think China is regarding these as security, in case they get into a protracted non-nuclear war with the US.

MSN

how much lush forest was wiped out for these ugly panels which will die in 15 years and go to the landfill?

put them on your tall buildings, not in fields

read in popular mechanics about solar window glass for use in sky scrapers

wonder what happened to that concept? basically a massive solar tower, win-win

 

[Leo123]

Well dumb ****, solar and wind clearly visible from space, and I have seen no one suggesting that China is fudging the data. Other than the senile old child rapist. "How come China has no windmills" Trump. LOL

Aww, Box 'O Rocks got triggered and belched out TDS.

 

[Stryder50]

That is installed capacity, not actual generation. However, what is even more significant is that the increase in solar has put China ahead of demand. It is noted that they are still building coal plants that will obviously be not needed for present need. However, I think China is regarding these as security, in case they get into a protracted non-nuclear war with the US.

MSN

Useless when the Sun isn't shining !

 

[Anomalism]

Useless when the Sun isn't shining !

Solar doesn't need to completely replace all other energy sources to be useful.

 

[Stryder50]

Solar doesn't need to completely replace all other energy sources to be useful.

I didn't say that.
I caution against over-reliance on a fickle source.

 

[Anomalism]

I didn't say that.
I caution against over-reliance on a fickle source.

I didn't say you said that. It's worth noting though.

 

[Cellblock2429]

That is installed capacity, not actual generation. However, what is even more significant is that the increase in solar has put China ahead of demand. It is noted that they are still building coal plants that will obviously be not needed for present need. However, I think China is regarding these as security, in case they get into a protracted non-nuclear war with the US.

MSN

/——/ I can’t stop laughing.

 

[Anomalism]

/——/ I can’t stop laughing.

I sense a lot of you actively want alternative energy to fail.

 

[Cellblock2429]

I sense a lot of you actively want alternative energy to fail.

/——/ What I want to fail is the left’s rabid insistence that one size fits all. There is a place for Nuclear, fossil, wind, solar and tidal. You insist we abandon nuke, oil and ng.

 

[Anomalism]

You insist we abandon nuke, oil and ng.

Where did I insist that? Is everybody that doesn't see it the way you do part of some monolith?

 

[Old Rocks]

Yes it does you need an alternative source at night or on cloudy days. Who wants to pay more for another energy source because the first one wont work. This is beneath stupidity

Apparently this dufus has never heard of storage, battery, pumped hydro, and many other methods. Right now, solar with battery storage is the least expensive and quickest to install and put into generation of all the methods of generating electricity.

Lazard’s 2025 LCOE+ report shows utility-scale solar and onshore wind as the most cost-competitive new-build energy sources, while gas and nuclear face higher costs due to supply chain and capital constraints.

Key​

Renewables Lead in Cost-Competitiveness: Utility-scale solar and onshore wind remain the lowest-cost options for new energy generation on an unsubsidized basis, making them the fastest-to-deploy and most economically attractive technologies in the U.S. energy market in 2025 (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).

Business Wire+2

Natural Gas and Combined Cycle Costs: The cost of building new combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) has reached a 10-year high due to turbine shortages, rising material costs, and long delivery times. While existing baseload gas plants remain competitive, new gas projects face steep near-term LCOE increases, though long-term productivity improvements and supply chain normalization may mitigate these costs (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).

Business Wire+1

Nuclear Energy: Nuclear LCOE is influenced by scale and development efficiencies. For example, Vogtle units 3 and 4 demonstrate a ~30% cost learning curve, with projected LCOE for the CVOW nuclear project at $91/MWh in 2027 dollars, assuming a 2.2 GW capacity, 97% capacity factor, and 70-year operating life (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).

Lazard

Energy Storage: Battery energy storage systems (both hybrid and standalone) show notable declines in levelized cost of storage (LCOS) due to technological improvements, increased cell capacity, and energy density. Storage adoption is expanding beyond wholesale markets into municipal and data center applications in states like Arizona, Colorado, and Florida (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).

Business Wire+1

System-Level Considerations: As renewable penetration increases, firming costs rise due to the need for grid reliability. Independent system operators are refining capacity accreditation methodologies, incorporating seasonal adjustments and diversity benefits, which can affect the effective cost of integrating intermittent resources (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).

Business Wire+1

Policy and Market Impacts: The report notes that factors such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), tariffs, transmission constraints, and environmental compliance costs can influence LCOE outcomes. Lazard emphasizes that the 2025 LCOE+ analysis is a snapshot in time and not a forecasting tool, reflecting current market and technological conditions (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).

Lazard+1

Summary​

In 2025, renewable energy remains the most cost-effective option for new generation, while new gas and nuclear projects face higher capital and operational costs. Energy storage costs are declining, supporting grid integration of intermittent renewables. System-level planning, policy incentives, and technological advancements continue to shape the relative competitiveness of different energy technologies, highlighting the importance of diverse generation portfolios for a reliable and sustainable energy future (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).

Business Wire+2

 

[Old Rocks]

/——/ What I want to fail is the left’s rabid insistence that one size fits all. There is a place for Nuclear, fossil, wind, solar and tidal. You insist we abandon nuke, oil and ng.

The flap yap reply that all the idiot denialists use. No, we cannot do that, and the switch to renewables will be gradual, as the ever increasing demand of the data centers will force us to use all the generation we have. But the economics of renewables versus gas, nuclear, coal, and oil will decide the issue in the favor of renewables.

 

[Old Rocks]

/——/ I can’t stop laughing.

My, but you like to lie.

"Often funded by competing energy sources, opponents of renewable energy use misleading pseudo-science to stir up local opposition to projects. By scaring constituents with misleading information and inaccurate risk assessments, they hope to keep consumers hooked on dirtier, more expensive energy resources. One of the arguments they make most often involves “hazardous chemicals” in solar panels.

One chemical often maligned is Cadmium Telluride, (CdTe). The cadmium telluride (CdTe) layer of the solar panel is 3% of the thickness of a human hair and is sealed between two sheets of heat strengthened glass that are bonded together by an industrial laminate at greater than 700 pounds of pressure per square inch. The encapsulated panel design and the fact that CdTe does not dissolve in water prevents leaching in the event of panel breakage or natural disasters.

See our post, “What’s in a Solar Panel?”

Solar panels are consistently characterized as non-hazardous under the EPA’s Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) which tests leaching of toxic chemicals. Such testing creates conditions much more extreme than in the field: chopping up solar panels into tiny pieces, submerging them in an acidic solvent, then agitating them. Even in these extreme conditions, solar panels do not represent a significant risk.’"

 

[Hafar1014]

Apparently this dufus has never heard of storage, battery, pumped hydro, and many other methods. Right now, solar with battery storage is the least expensive and quickest to install and put into generation of all the methods of generating electricity.

Lazard’s 2025 LCOE+ report shows utility-scale solar and onshore wind as the most cost-competitive new-build energy sources, while gas and nuclear face higher costs due to supply chain and capital constraints.

Key​

Renewables Lead in Cost-Competitiveness: Utility-scale solar and onshore wind remain the lowest-cost options for new energy generation on an unsubsidized basis, making them the fastest-to-deploy and most economically attractive technologies in the U.S. energy market in 2025 (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).
Business Wire+2
Natural Gas and Combined Cycle Costs: The cost of building new combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) has reached a 10-year high due to turbine shortages, rising material costs, and long delivery times. While existing baseload gas plants remain competitive, new gas projects face steep near-term LCOE increases, though long-term productivity improvements and supply chain normalization may mitigate these costs (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).
Business Wire+1
Nuclear Energy: Nuclear LCOE is influenced by scale and development efficiencies. For example, Vogtle units 3 and 4 demonstrate a ~30% cost learning curve, with projected LCOE for the CVOW nuclear project at $91/MWh in 2027 dollars, assuming a 2.2 GW capacity, 97% capacity factor, and 70-year operating life (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).
Lazard
Energy Storage: Battery energy storage systems (both hybrid and standalone) show notable declines in levelized cost of storage (LCOS) due to technological improvements, increased cell capacity, and energy density. Storage adoption is expanding beyond wholesale markets into municipal and data center applications in states like Arizona, Colorado, and Florida (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).
Business Wire+1
System-Level Considerations: As renewable penetration increases, firming costs rise due to the need for grid reliability. Independent system operators are refining capacity accreditation methodologies, incorporating seasonal adjustments and diversity benefits, which can affect the effective cost of integrating intermittent resources (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).
Business Wire+1
Policy and Market Impacts: The report notes that factors such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), tariffs, transmission constraints, and environmental compliance costs can influence LCOE outcomes. Lazard emphasizes that the 2025 LCOE+ analysis is a snapshot in time and not a forecasting tool, reflecting current market and technological conditions (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).
Lazard+1

Summary​

In 2025, renewable energy remains the most cost-effective option for new generation, while new gas and nuclear projects face higher capital and operational costs. Energy storage costs are declining, supporting grid integration of intermittent renewables. System-level planning, policy incentives, and technological advancements continue to shape the relative competitiveness of different energy technologies, highlighting the importance of diverse generation portfolios for a reliable and sustainable energy future (Lazard 2025 LCOE+ report).
Business Wire+2

Solar with battery storage is the most expensive and manufacturing batteries pollutes with toxic wastes. They have to be replaced every 10 years as their capacity declines with age. They also cant support a long outage of surge as they will run out of power quickly. Nations with the most green energy have the highest costs and most shortages. In fact Green energy is destroying manufacturing in Europe. Its unreliable cost the most and will wreck the economy.
Fossil fuels nuclear and LNG are the way to prosperity and low cost reliable energy. Thats the direction America is going and manufacturing is coming here from Europe the low cost reliable energy.
Green energy cant meet the demand for AI and server data banks it cant even come close.

 

[Old Rocks]

/——/ I can’t stop laughing.

Now you show that damaged solar farm. But the mounting for the panels in mostly unharmed. And the electrical connections are still there. The panels themselves are not the primary cost in a big utility scale farm. Most of the infrastructure is unharmed, so that farm can be put back into service in a couple of months. And when they are built for storms, they survive well;

Solar​

Utility-scale solar farms in Florida have demonstrated remarkable resilience during hurricanes. For instance, during Hurricane Helene, Florida Power & Light's solar farms were virtually unscathed, helping nearly a million customers avoid power outages. Less than 0.05% of the nearly 16 million solar panels across 66 sites were damaged—none significantly. This resilience is attributed to the robust structures and safety measures in place, as well as the design improvements made to solar farms to withstand severe weather events.

The Invading Sea+2

In another instance, Duke Energy's solar farm experienced an EF-2 tornado during Hurricane Milton, shredding a swath of solar modules while leaving most of the facility intact. The facility was not hit by the hurricane's core winds but rather a rare EF2 tornado in the storm's outer bands. Amazingly, the solar farm resumed power generation just four days after the storm.

chambersforinnovation.com

These examples highlight the effectiveness of solar farms in Florida as a reliable energy source during hurricanes, providing power and stability even in the face of extreme weather conditions.

The Invading Sea+4