Combining solar PV with energy storage creates additional value.
Mirroring the rapid reduction of PV module costs worldwide, which fell by 75% from 2009 to 2015, the levelized costs of electricity of best practices for African utility-scale projects in the continent has also rapidly fallen. The levelized cost of utility-scale solar is nearly identical to the marginal cost of coal, at USD 36/MWh.
Combining solar PV either with energy storage or thermal plant creates value. The economics for solar PV plus storage systems are to become very attractive over the short and medium run. An advantage of hybridization is that the power plant can be made dispatchable and this allows generation of electricity on demand which is more economically run.