IRENA Report on Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019

Renewables are increasingly cheaper than any new electricity capacity based on fossil fuels, a new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) finds. The report, ‘Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019’, shows that more than half of the renewable capacity added in 2019 achieved lower power costs than the cheapest new coal plants. The report highlights that new renewable power generation projects now increasingly undercut existing coal-fired plants. On average, new solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind power cost less than keeping many existing coal plants in operation, and auction results show this trend accelerating – reinforcing the case to phase-out coal entirely. Next year, up to 1 200 gigawatts (GW) of existing coal capacity could cost more to operate than the cost of new utility-scale solar PV, the report shows.