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Utility-scale solar PV and onshore wind are often the lowest-cost new power sources.

The Claim

Solar and wind power are the cheapest sources of new electricity generation in most major markets.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Current evidence broadly supports the statement for utility-scale solar PV and onshore wind. Major recent analyses from the IEA, EIA, BloombergNEF, Wood Mackenzie, and Lazard generally find them to be the cheapest new-build options in many large markets. The key limitation is that this is mostly an LCOE comparison; full system costs and some regional gas markets can change the ranking.

Caveats

  • “Cheapest” usually refers to plant-level levelized cost of energy for utility-scale solar PV and onshore wind, not total system cost after storage, balancing, and grid upgrades.
  • The claim does not apply equally to all technologies: offshore wind and rooftop solar are often much more expensive than utility-scale onshore wind and utility-scale solar.
  • Some major-market regions, especially gas-rich areas, can still favor new gas generation, and subsidies or tax credits can materially affect comparisons.

The Receipts

  1. World Energy Outlook 2023

    International Energy Agency (IEA)

  2. Levelized Costs of New Generation Resources in the Annual Energy Outlook 2025

    U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

  3. Annual Energy Outlook 2026 - Electricity Generation

    U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

  4. Annual Energy Outlook 2025 Electricity Assumptions

    U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

  5. Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis—Version 17.0 (June 2024)

    Lazard

  6. Levelized Cost of Energy+ (LCOE+)

    Lazard

  7. World Energy Outlook 2025

    International Energy Agency (IEA)

  8. Lazard's Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis—Version 17.0

    U.S. Department of Energy

  9. Solar is now 'cheapest electricity in history', confirms IEA

    Skeptical Science

  10. Solar and Wind: Cheapest Sources of Power in Most of the World

    BloombergNEF

+ 8 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

electricity generationsolar energywind power

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