1. Study examines the real total costs of electricity from natural gas

A study by the Ecological Market Economy Forum (FÖS), carried out on behalf of the energy cooperative Green Planet Energy, suggests that electricity from new gas power plants could cause significantly higher overall costs than energy from renewable sources with appropriate backup solutions. The difference is particularly large when, in addition to the pure production costs, environmental and climate impacts are also taken into account.

The focus of the study is the question of what costs actually arise when new gas power plants are operated as a flexible reserve in the electricity system. The political discussion often focuses primarily on the direct costs of electricity production – such as investments in power plants, operating expenses or fuel prices.

The study significantly expands this perspective and also takes into account so-called external costs, including economic damage from greenhouse gas emissions and possible risks from rising gas prices in the coming years.

The authors of the analysis come to a clear conclusion:
“The true cost of electricity from gas-fired power plants is three times higher than the pure electricity production costs.”

Depending on the scenario, the total social costs of electricity production from new gas power plants could, according to the study, even be as high as 67 cents per year kilowatt hour to reach.

2. Fossil reserve power plants lose economic benefits

The results show that the economic evaluation of fossil power plants is increasingly changing. While they have long been considered a flexible complement to renewable energy, rising emissions costs and volatile fuel prices could significantly reduce this advantage.

In power systems with a growing share of wind and solar energy, reserve power plants often only run for a few hours a year. This means that investment costs are spread over a smaller amount of electricity, which increases the costs per kilowatt hour.

In addition, external factors such as CO₂ costs or import prices for fossil fuels can further influence economic viability. The analysis therefore suggests that new gas power plants could be less attractive in the long term than previously assumed.

3. Why renewable backups are becoming more economically attractive

A key difference between fossil and renewable electricity sources lies in the cost structure. While gas power plants require constant fuel, most of the costs for wind and solar systems arise during the construction phase.

Once commissioned, renewable systems generate electricity largely without additional fuel costs. This means they are less dependent on price fluctuations on international energy markets.

In combination with technologies to make the electricity system more flexible, renewable energies can also compensate for supply gaps. These include battery storage, flexible electricity demand in industry and households and, in the future, power plants based on green hydrogen.

Such solutions could be more cost-effective in the long term than additional fossil fuel reserve power plants.

Another advantage of renewable systems is their increasing technical maturity. In recent years, the costs for solar and wind systems as well as for Battery storage decreased significantly. At the same time, digital control systems and intelligent grids improve the integration of these technologies into the electricity system. This means that renewable energies can not only generate electricity more cheaply, but also contribute more and more reliably to the stability of the energy supply.

In the long term, this combination of falling investment costs, technological progress and flexible storage options could further increase the economic advantage over fossil fuel reserve power plants.

4. Conclusion: Economic viability of new gas power plants remains controversial

The study brings new aspects into the discussion about the role of gas power plants in the energy transition. It shows that electricity from such systems could cause significantly higher overall costs if environmental and climate impacts are taken into account in addition to production costs.

At the same time, securing the power supply remains a key challenge. Flexible power plants are designed to provide energy when renewable sources temporarily produce less electricity.

However, the analysis suggests that combinations of renewables, storage and other flexibility options could be more economical in the long term. For energy policy, this means that costs, climate goals and security of supply will be assessed more jointly in the future.