"Yet Another Misleading Report on 'Low-Cost' Wind and Solar"

"In a just-released report, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) claims that renewable energy is the most cost-competitive source of new electricity generation worldwide, The report further claims that '91% of new renewable power projects commissioned last year were more cost-effective than any new fossil fuel alternative” ...

"If those claims sound too good to be true, it’s because they are. IRENA’s boasts ignore a fundamental reality: the intermittent electricity generated from wind and solar is fundamentally different than electricity generated by traditional generating resources that are not subject to the whims of the weather. ...

"The inherent intermittency of wind and solar reduces the physical and economic value of their capacity relative to traditional generating resources, since sufficient reserves or storage must be maintained to meet demand when they are unavailable. Merely reporting total wind and solar capacity misleads because it does not account for the adequacy of the electrical energy generated to meet demand, and the actual costs to do so. ...

"Promoting misleading claims about wind and solar power distorts policymaking and will only exacerbate the growing inadequacy of electric supplies to meet increased demand .... It will lead to more frequent electricity rationing ...

"That may appeal to hairshirt environmentalists, but it won’t appeal to the broader populace ..."

~ Jonathan Lesser from his report 'The U.S. Energy Information Administration Needs to Fix How It Reports Renewable Power Capacity' (hat tip Watts Up With That?)