According to the study by the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency, the costs associated with extracting power from solar panels has fallen as much as 60 percent in just the past few years.
The price of generating power from other renewables, including wind, hydro power, concentrating solar power and biomass, was also falling.
"One of the (myths) out there perpetuated by industry lobby groups is that renewable energy is too expensive," said Adnan Amin, IRENA's director general.
The numbers tell a different story however as "costs are falling exponentially... and will continue (to do so) in the future," said Amin arguing that electricity generation "is now cost competitive with many traditional fossil fuel technologies."
According to Dolf Gielen, director of IRENA's innovation and technology centre, investment in renewables is no longer a niche but rather represents the "bulk of investments in global power generation," accounting for half of the total annual capacity additions worldwide.
"The markets are growing very fast... and further cost reductions are very likely," he said adding that in 2011, investments in the supply side of renewable energy sources reached about $260 billion.
A second IRENA study released Wednesday estimates renewables will create a minimum of four million jobs just in the electricity sector in rural areas of the developing world.
Today, there are five million jobs world-wide in the renewable energy sector and more than 1.3 billion people, mainly in Africa and Asia, who do not have access to electricity, according to IRENA.
"There is considerable employment potential," said Amin.
Founded in 2009, IRENA is an intergovernmental organisation established to promote the widespread use of renewable energy sources. It has more than 155 member states and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.
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No surprise here. We can be absolutely sure of 2 things. 1. The price of fossil fuels will continue to rise for the rest of human history... and 2. Renewable options will continue to get cheaper the more they are embraced and utilized. So a smart investor/citizen of the world, would push for more renewables today, so that we aren't forced to catch up once fossil fuels reach outrageous, and unaffordable prices.
To do so we've got to get excited about the newest innovations, and emerging technologies. Solar and wind are great, but they aren't enough to change the world. Look for things like Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). It creates an endless flow of clean power from the temperature difference in shallow and deep water, plus the only byproduct is clean drinking water by the millions of gallons.
That's the kind of energy source that will change the lives of millions around the world, and the kind of thing that is already happening today. See for yourself how OTEC works, and the people making it happen at The On Project.
http://www.theonproject.org/otec/?utmsource=tribune&utmmedium=web&utm_campaign=mscomment