'No rise' for business electricity costs with low-carbon alternatives

13/04/2010

Replacing the current energy infrastructure in Europe with low-carbon alternatives should not result in a rise in business electricity costs, it has been claimed.

Consultancy firm McKinsey has co-authored that Roadmap 2050 report, which has looked at ways that the European Union (EU) can meet its targets of decarbonising the electricity supply on the continent by 2050.

The aim is for greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by more than 80 per cent, compared with the levels recorded in 1990, to avoid further climate change.

In the long term, business electricity prices are not expected to rise. However, short-term costs will be large due to wind and solar power investments being costly.

Business electricity costs should remain at the same level due to lower operating costs being incurred by using renewable energy sources in comparison to fossil-fuel sources.

Last month, a report was released by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) with evidence showing that if a single European united power market were created, the entire continent could be powered by renewable electricity by 2050.

Affordable business electricity would be achieved across the whole of Europe if renewable technologies were deployed at scale, according to the PwC report.

Posted by Alison Smith