Why Is Cheap Electricity So D@mn Expensive?

[rangerrebew]

Renewable energy
Why Is Cheap Electricity So D@mn Expensive?
19 hours ago Willis Eschenbach 126 Comments
Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach

We’ve been told over and over by very serious people that wind and solar are far cheaper than natural gas and coal … and yet the more renewables we add to the grid, the more our electricity bills keep going up and up. Ever wonder why that is?

If you want to see how to lie with numbers while wearing a suit and a straight face, look no further than Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy—LCOE, for those fond of acronyms and allergic to reality. LCOE is the financial world’s favorite energy cost yardstick: strip-mined of context, it tells you—supposedly—how much it costs to generate a megawatt-hour from any shiny new wind turbine, solar panel, or gas plant, averaged over its life.

Currently, Lazard says:

“Despite facing macro challenges and headwinds, utility-scale solar and onshore wind remain the most cost-effective forms of new-build energy generation on an unsubsidized basis (i.e., without tax subsidies). As such, renewable energy will continue to play a key role in the buildout of new power generation in the U.S. as the lowest-cost and quickest-to-deploy generation.”

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/08/06/why-is-cheap-electricity-so-dmn-expensive/

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Hint:  It's not cheap at all.

[Fishrrman]

The "greenest" element of "green energy" is all the $$$$ that the scammers are making from it with government grants and "green promises" which never get delivered.

There will also be a "lot of green" made when it comes time to dismantle and dispose of all this stuff, from worn-out windmills to used-up solar panels...

[roamer_1]

Hydro, hydro, hydro. We need legitimate fish ladders constructed, and wetlands constructed to buffer generation overflows (see beavers).

We need stream-side intermittent micro generation installed on/with any interstate bridge that crosses a viable creek or river with a connection to grid nearby.

All of this operates not only as the cheapest electrical generation, but also flood mitigation, and provides reservoir water for thirsty cities (cheap water). This is a friggin no-brainer.