Renewables Beat Even Cheapest Coal Competitors on Cost

Renewable power is increasingly cheaper than any new electricity capacity based on fossil fuels.

Most of the new renewable energy projects are now cheaper than even the cheapest coal-fired power plants. That’s the striking finding of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which has been crunching the data on 17,000 renewable power projects and more than 10,000 power deals signed in 2019. According to the report, the average cost of building new solar photovoltaic power plant is more than a fifth cheaper than the cheapest fossil-fuel competitor.

Since 2010, solar photovoltaic (PV) power has shown the sharpest cost decline at 82%, followed by concentrated solar power (CSP) at 47%, onshore wind at 39% and offshore wind at 29%.

Scientists say the attractive prices of renewables could help governments embrace green economic recoveries from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic. According to Francesco La Camera, Director-General of IRENA, the renewable energy sources have reached an important turning point in the energy transition.

Thus, renewable energy is increasingly the cheapest source of new electricity, offering tremendous potential to stimulate the global economy and get people back to work.