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Can Renewables overcome Covid-19 priced oil?

As #Covid-19 continues to disrupt the world as we knew it, #economies are battling to return to a "new" normal having been literally halted by the pandemic. The #pandemic has created the perfect storm of reduced #demand along with the instability of supplies and supply chains. 



Utilities have not been spared and so some utilities have seen excess #generation where they previously would have had supply #constraints. A consequence of this is that #renewables (accounting for USD 2.6 trillion invested in 2010-2019) as part of the energy mix have in some cases become too expensive under a least cost regime and some #renewable #contracts have received requests for re-contracting  of terms or poor performance on the #trading platforms.

Oil on the other hand has made the unexpected comeback in terms of pricing and makes renewables immediately "expensive" due to the over supply of #oil based on the lockdowns and other factors. From a levelized cost of energy stand point, it is cheaper to produce oil based generated electricity and with uncertainty, it seems these low oil prices are here for awhile. 

Added to this is the pressure placed on #budgets to first secure #health and #life before looking at other factors that would have helped accelerate the return to the new normal.

The conversation continues: www.rdjconsulting.co.za https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/29752/GTR2019.pdf 

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