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Firm Renewables Challenge Fossil Power
Coverage from The New York Times, Carbon Credits, and others
Articles
14
Active Days
366
The Topic
Solar and wind are increasingly undercutting new coal and gas on cost, while battery storage and hybrid system design are making renewable electricity more dependable around the clock. IRENA reports that more than 90% of large-scale renewable capacity added in 2025 was cheaper than the lowest-cost new fossil alternative, with further declines expected for firm solar and wind through 2035. The main barriers are now less about generation costs than grid upgrades, project timelines, financing access, and sectors where low-carbon alternatives remain limited.
First Article: 07/03/25
Latest Article: 07/03/26
Summary
- More than 90% of large-scale renewable capacity added in 2025 reportedly cost less than the cheapest new fossil alternative.
- IRENA put 2025 costs at about $44/MWh for solar PV, $33/MWh for onshore wind, and $78/MWh for offshore wind.
- Battery storage costs have fallen 93% since 2010, improving the ability of solar and wind systems to supply power beyond periods of generation.
- Firm solar-plus-storage costs in strong resource regions fell to roughly $54-$82/MWh by 2025, with the best sites potentially below $50/MWh by 2035.
- Combining wind and solar can reduce storage needs because their generation patterns are often complementary.
- Renewables reduced exposure to fuel-price volatility and were estimated to avoid hundreds of billions of dollars in fossil-fuel costs in 2025.
- Grid modernization, affordable capital, long construction timelines, and limited alternatives for aviation and cement remain significant constraints.
History
The story now places more emphasis on renewables’ cost advantage over new fossil power and adds a new quantified claim about avoided fossil-fuel spending. It also sharpens the framing of the main constraints as grid modernization, financing, and hard-to-abate sectors rather than broader deployment challenges.
The story broadens from a narrow focus on firm solar-and-storage economics to a wider view of renewable power as a firm, competitive electricity source across hybrid systems and hard-to-electrify applications. The current version also adds new stakeholder emphasis on utilities and industrial users, and explicitly identifies aviation and cement as sectors still lacking easy renewable substitutes.
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Timeline: 366 Days
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