Renewables are beating even the cheapest coal on cost, a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) concluded. More than half the renewable capacity added last year worldwide achieved lower electricity costs than coal, the agency said.
The report, “Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019,” analyzed costs over the past decade. One of the most dramatic dips was the cost of utility-scale solar power, which has gone down 82% since 2010, according to IRENA, an intergovernmental organization that supports countries as they transition to a sustainable energy future.
Concentrating solar power went down by 47%, onshore wind by 40%, and offshore wind by 29% over the 2010–2019 period, the report said.
“Renewable electricity costs have fallen sharply over the past decade driven by improving technologies, economies of scale, increasingly competitive supply chains, and growing developer experience,” the agency noted.
Additional findings:
- Replacing the costliest 500 gigawatts of coal capacity with solar and wind would cut annual system costs by as much as $23 billion per year and yield a stimulus worth $940 billion, or around 1% of global GDP.
- Replacing the costliest coal capacity with renewables would also reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by around 1.8 metric gigatons, or 5% of last year’s global total.
- By 2021, as much as 1,200 gigawatts of existing coal-fired capacity would cost more to operate than new utility-scale solar PV would cost to install.
“Renewable investments are stable, cost-effective, and attractive, offering consistent and predictable returns while delivering benefits to the wider economy,” said Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s director-general.
