New Record Set for World's Cheapest Solar, Now Undercutting Coal

  • 2.99 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour is 15% lower than old record
  • Cheaper than new coal-fired electricity in the Gulf emirate

LAKEWOOD, CO - DECEMBER 11: Solar panels cover the roof at CityScape at Belmar on December 11, 2015, in Lakewood, Colorado. CityScape at Belmar, a recently opened 130-unit senior community, incorporates sustainable features including a solar panel array that provides 49 percent of the buildings energy needs.

Photographer: Anya Semenoff/Denver Post via Getty Images
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Solar power set another record-low price as renewable energy developers working in the United Arab Emirates shrugged off financial turmoil in the industry to promise projects costs that undercut even coal-fired generators.

Developers bid as little as 2.99 cents a kilowatt-hour to develop 800 megawatts of solar-power projects for the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, the utility for the Persian Gulf emirate, announced on Sunday. That’s 15 percent lower than the previous record set in Mexico last month, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.