Lazard, an investment bank, last year provided estimates for electricity generation costs that factored out the effect of any subsidies. At the lower bounds of its "levelized" estimates, renewable sources had a clear advantage. The cost of wind power ranged from $28 to $54 per megawatt hour and "utility-scale" solar power from $32 to $42/MWh. Estimates for coal-sourced power ranged between $66 and $152/MWh and gas-turbine power at $44–$68/MWh.
In 2019, more than half of new renewable-energy sources generated electricity at a lower cost than coal, as the price of wind and solar has fallen precipitously in the past 10 years. Globally, renewables will meet 80% of global electricity demand growth during the next decade, overtaking coal by 2025 as the primary way to generate electricity, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.