Utility-Scale Renewable Energy

The document outlines the criteria for determining when utility-scale renewable energy is cost-competitive compared to traditional power sources, emphasizing the importance of the perspective used for comparison. It defines cost parity from three viewpoints: for end-use consumers via Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), against other technologies filling the same capacity need based on average cost of energy or risk, and against the current wholesale market generation mix based on average wholesale prices during production times.

• For end-use consumers, a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is considered cost-competitive if the total price of electricity paid is less than or equal to the retail electricity price throughout the project or contract's duration.
• In traditional markets, renewable energy projects achieve cost-competitiveness against alternative technologies for the same capacity if they possess a lower or equal risk profile or average cost of energy, which may be derived from the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) or past projects.
• To be profitable for the owner, a renewable energy project must have an average cost of energy that is lower than or equal to the average wholesale prices during the periods when the project is generating power.
• Renewable energy can reduce retail electricity prices for consumers by lowering wholesale generation prices through a lower marginal cost of production.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Utility-Scale Renewable Energy. https://www.wri.org/research/utility-scale-renewable-energy

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Utility-Scale Renewable Energy. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/utility-scale-renewable-energy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Utility-Scale Renewable Energy |url=https://www.wri.org/research/utility-scale-renewable-energy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendutilityscale, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Utility-Scale Renewable Energy}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/utility-scale-renewable-energy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }