The developing countries are usually putting most of their energy eggs inside the coal basket simply because coal is still the cheapest energy option. But since coal is also the dirtiest energy option these countries are also on the lookout for other, cleaner energy options.
Solar and wind power are two the most popular clean energy options. But which one of these two is better for developing countries? According to the latest study published in the Nature Climate Change magazine wind power should get nod ahead of solar power.
The main reason for this is that wind power is more cost-competitive than solar power. According to this study generating wind power is more than twice as cheap when compared to solar photovoltaic (PV) energy production.
The study authors said that in 2010 solar electricity costs were in average 2.2 to 4.5 times higher than those of wind power in developing countries, and that the cost gap between these two top renewable energy technologies will likely continue until at least 2020.
This however does not mean that wind power is always the better renewable energy option for developing countries because in some of them solar power still might have the edge.
Whether developing countries choose solar or wind doesn't really matter that much in the end, the most important thing is that they actually make transition to renewable energy sources.
In order to make a switch to renewable energy sources developing countries first need to create an attractive environment for renewable energy investments, and this will be almost impossible to achieve without the big international funding.
