Solar Power Is Now Cheaper Than Coal in 43 Countries

An International Energy Agency briefing confirms utility-scale solar has become the lowest-cost electricity source in most of the world — a shift few predicted a decade ago.

In 43 countries, building a new solar power plant is now cheaper than building a coal-fired one — a threshold reached far sooner than most energy modelers expected a decade ago.

The International Energy Agency briefing released this week confirms that the levelized cost of solar has dropped by roughly 85 percent since 2010. The declines have accelerated since 2020 as manufacturing scale expanded in India, Vietnam and Morocco.

"Solar is now the default option for new electricity capacity in most emerging economies," the report says, though grid integration and battery storage remain limiting factors in some regions.

In the past two years, more than half of all new electricity generation added globally has been solar or wind. Coal capacity has continued to shrink in most OECD countries, though it remains significant in China and India.

For utility planners, the implications are already reshaping investment decisions. Several US states are cancelling coal plant refurbishments in favor of solar-plus-storage contracts.

The trend does not solve the harder problem of decarbonising steel, cement, aviation and shipping. But for electricity generation, the cost curve has moved decisively.

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