According to a new report released by Wood Mackenzie, combined-cycle gas has fallen behind solar-plus-storage in Morocco. The report indicates that solar is still competitive to most efficient forms of gas generation in the world. The world's most efficient forms of gas generation are falling behind solar-plus-storage in Morocco, according to a report published on January the 16th by UK-based chemicals company Wood Mackenzie. Quoted by its subsidiary Greentech Media, Wood Mackenzie stresses that solar is becoming «competitive» in the energy market when compared to the most recent gas generation technologies out there. This conclusion applies to both Morocco and Jordan, another country that is assessed by Mackenzie's report. The latter entitled «Solar-Plus-Storage in the Middle East and Africa» reveals that after adding batterie storage to it, solar has become cheaper than combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs), utilized in the Kingdom. Solar-plus-storage and CCGTs on level footing in Morocco To put it in other words, Mackenzie's latest figures indicate that the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), the net present value of the unit-cost of electricity over the lifetime of a generating asset, for solar-plus-storage ranges between $60 and $100 per megawatt-hour across five Middle East and African countries, including Morocco. «This puts the combination of solar and batteries on level footing today with CCGTs in Morocco, which have a fuel cost of $6.90 to $9 per million btu», the same source added. «For gas-poor countries like Morocco and Jordan, solar-plus-storage will be driven by the need to reduce reliance on expensive gas imports», stressed the authors of the report. According to senior storage analyst for Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables Rory McCarthy, «solar-plus-storage, which was a very expensive combination until recently is beating the most cost-effective fossil-fuel plants in areas where fossil fuels are among the cheapest in the world». «Five years ago, you would have been called crazy to say this was in the cards for 2019». Senior storage analyst for Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables Rory McCarthy For the record, the Mackenzie report was conducted to assess the price competition of solar-plus storage against gas out to 2023, the wrote the firm on its website. The report has also assessed the markets structured to support and compensate the solar-plus-storage value stack, particularly in light of heavily subsidized domestic power and fuels, the same source added.
