
FRANKFURT, Germany -- Renewable energy is growing cheaper to produce, with bid prices for solar and wind power projects in Europe and the Middle East dropping to levels comparable with coal-fired thermal power.
Renewable energy has been notoriously costly in the past, but many countries began to subsidize it in the 2000s in an effort to fight global warming and diversify their energy sources. Costs of equipment and construction have slid as the market expands, pushed further down by the migration toward a bidding system for construction projects in Europe and elsewhere.