Renewables are beating out coal on cost
IRENA found the costs of renewable energy continues to rapidly decline. In the last decade, the cost of utility-scale solar has fallen 85%, onshore wind costs have declined 56%, and offshore wind costs have fallen 48%, the report says.
In many cases, IRENA says new renewable power is even cheaper than existing coal power, solidifying the case for retiring those power plants. IRENA finds that 61% of U.S. coal capacity costs more to operate than new renewable electricity. Replacing those existing coal plants with renewables would reduce U.S. emissions from coal by one-third, IRENA says.
“We are far beyond the tipping point of coal,” said Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s director general. “Following the latest commitment by G7 to net-zero and stop global coal funding abroad, it is now for G20 and emerging economies to match these measures