Large amounts of wind and solar drive down market prices — a phenomenon known as the merit-order effect. And if wind and solar producers are dependent on those market prices for their income, they will also drive down their own revenues. In other words, the more wind and solar we have, the less value they offer in reducing costs from other sources.
In a new paper in Nature Energy, Shayle Kann of Greentech Media and Varun Sivaram of the Council on Foreign Relations sound the alarm, arguing that solar will face economic troubles as it becomes a significant part of the power supply.
In a new paper in Nature Energy, Shayle Kann of Greentech Media and Varun Sivaram of the Council on Foreign Relations sound the alarm, arguing that solar will face economic troubles as it becomes a significant part of the power supply.
