Renewable Power: Climate-safe energy competes on cost alone

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This brief prepared for COP24, the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), highlights the sharply falling costs of solar, wind and other renewable power-generation options, along with the growing viability of energy storage technologies. It builds on findings in IRENA’s comprehensive report, Renewable power generation costs in 2017.

The cost of electricity from renewables has fallen steadily, and in some cases dramatically, since 2008, when solar and wind power first broke through as viable commercial options. Consequently, renewable power generation has become increasingly competitive with, or in many situations less costly than, fossil-based or nuclear power.