A new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency finds that round‑the‑clock solar and wind paired with battery energy storage deliver power at lower cost than new fossil fuel generation in high‑quality resource regions.
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Firm levelised costs of electricity for solar-plus-storage range from $75/MWh (USD 54) to $113/MWh (USD 82) in high-irradiance regions, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said in its new report, 24/7 Renewables: The Economics of Firm Solar and Wind. That compares with USD 70/MWh to USD 85/MWh for new coal in China and more than USD 100/MWh for new gas globally.
Since 2010, total installed costs declined by 87% for solar and 55% for onshore wind, while battery storage costs fell 93%. IRENA’s analysis shows firm solar-plus-storage costs dropped from above USD 100/MWh in 2020 to USD 54/MWh to USD 82/MWh by 2025 at high-quality resource sites. The agency projects further reductions of roughly 30% by 2030 and around 40% by 2035, bringing firm costs below USD 50/MWh at the best-performing sites.
Firm wind-plus-storage costs in 2025 ranged from around USD 59/MWh in Inner Mongolia to USD 88/MWh to USD 94/MWh across Brazil, Germany, and Australia, with costs projected to fall to roughly USD 49/MWh to USD 75/MWh across those markets by 2030. IRENA said costs decline further when wind is combined with solar PV, reducing storage requirements and overall system cost.
The United Arab Emirates’ Al Dhafra complex, which pairs PV with battery storage, delivers a firm 1 GW of clean electricity at around USD 70/MWh, said IRENA.
“24/7 renewable power is now cost-competitive with fossil fuels,” said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera. “The long-standing argument that renewables lack reliability no longer holds. Today, renewables can deliver reliable, round-the-clock power. As oil and gas markets remain exposed to geopolitical shocks, including ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, we must insulate our economies with resilient renewable systems. The economics of the entire energy system have shifted: the battery revolution has driven down costs while accelerating advances in storage. The advantage of renewables is not only economic but strategic, strengthening resilience, stability, and energy security in times of crisis.”
IRENA said 24/7 renewable systems optimise the use of constrained grid connections, shift electricity production to higher-value hours, and reduce exposure to price volatility. It said hybrid solutions are well positioned to serve high-demand users including artificial intelligence and data centres that require uninterrupted supply, and said firm renewables can enable clean fuel production for hard-to-abate sectors where economic viability depends on high utilisation rates.
Construction timelines are also shortening globally, with projects typically built within one to two years of securing permits and grid connection. The report provides a framework for evaluating and comparing the costs of round-the-clock renewable power across hybrid solar, wind, and storage systems, analyzing cost drivers and regional variations.
The IRENA report lands amid a period of historically low solar and storage costs, even though the pace of decline has slowed in many markets. IRENA’s own data put the global average solar levelised cost of electricity at USD 0.043/kWh in 2024, while a separate analysis found that declining battery capital costs have already made dispatchable “anytime” solar electricity commercially viable in regions with high PV potential.
From pv magazine Global
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