Power Generation Costs
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The rapid deployment of renewable power generation technologies, combined with high learning rates, has driven down costs. This trend is projected to continue, making renewables increasingly competitive with fossil fuels in countries across the world and the least-cost option in a growing number of markets.
A landmark year for renewables, overall capacity additions in 2013 reached a new record high of more than 120 GW, with new solar deployment exceeding wind for the first time. These additions included 38 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV); 35 GW of new wind power capacity; 34 GW of hydropower; 6 GW of biomass; 1 GW of concentrating solar power (CSP); and 0.4 GW of geothermal power.
The cost competitiveness of renewable power has reached historic levels. Biomass for power, hydropower, geothermal and onshore wind can all now provide electricity competitively compared to fossil fuels at the utility scale. Further equipment cost reductions can be expected up to 2020, which will lower the weighted average LCOE (levelised cost of electricity) of renewables.
As a result, renewable technologies now represent the most economical solution for new capacity in a growing number of countries and regions and are typically the most economical solution for new grid-connected capacity where suitable resources are available.
For more details on power generation developments and technology-specific costs, performance and future trends, click on the applicable link below or to your right.
Power Generation:
Biomass | Solar Power | Geothermal | Hydropower | Wind | Battery Storage
Recent Publications
Featured
The Power to Change: Solar and Wind Cost Reduction Potential to 2025
Increasing economies of scale, more competitive supply chains and further technological improvements will continue reducing the costs of solar and wind power. The same factors will also boost the availability of these key renewable power sources at night and in varying weather conditions.- June 2016
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- Costs, Power
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Recent Publications
Related Work
Upcoming Events
Falling RE costs: How Can Modellers Keep up?
12 April 2019 |Bonn, Germany
Organized by IRENA and IEA PVPS, this workshop targets leading international and local renewable...
Past Events
Bonn Lecture Series: The True Costs of Renewables
25 January 2018 | Bonn, Germany
Up-to-date insights into the competitiveness trends of renewable power generation costs have...
Regional Workshop on Renewable Energy in Central Asia
26 April 2017 | Abu Dhabi, UAE
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) initiated a regional consultative process with the...