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The costs of wind power have declined to levels on par with or below those of conventional sources in many parts of the world. Wind power has become one of the fastest‐growing sources of new electricity generation. We take stock of wind power cost evolution over the past 20 years, review methodologies commonly used for cost assessment, discuss the potential for continued cost reduction, and identify anticipated cost and value drivers. Our scope includes both onshore and offshore wind technologies. We draw from a vast body of literature on these topics to highlight key trends, approaches, and limitations. Furthermore, we discuss strategies for wind power assets to enhance their marginal economic value to the broader power system and consumers. We identify a myriad of factors that are expected to influence the future cost and value of wind power, including siting, project scale, turbine size, operational synergies, commodity prices, advancements in turbine technologies, enhanced management of the wind resource, and novel control technologies that provide value for the electricity grid. Because the common methods for forecasting future costs each have their own strengths and weaknesses, we find the best insights are elicited from a combination of methods. Overall, researchers and analysts anticipate further sizable cost reductions for onshore and offshore wind. Midrange forecasts for levelized cost of energy in 2050 are generally between $20 and $30/MWh for onshore wind and $40 and $60/MWh for offshore wind, a reduction to approximately half of today's levels. Optimistic forecasts anticipate these levels as early as 2030. This article is categorized under:Wind Power > Economics and Policy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a detailed economic analysis is combined with an ecological analysis of electricity storage systems. On the economic side, a “Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS)” analysis is conducted, which assesses the cost of stored electricity. The LCOS is determined for a specific case of a private household in combination with a PV system. On the ecological side a “Life Cycle Assessment” (LCA) is used to calculate the environmental impact of electricity storage as well as the CO 2 abatement costs. In the parameterized LCA the energy generation process used to feed the storage system, the material and the energy demand during the life cycle of the storage options is considered. With the parameterized LCA approach, the ecologically most rational storage systems can be identified. Results show that PV storage systems at household level are an environmental friendly option to increase the self-consumption and will be economically attractive in about ten years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]