Is it cheaper to generate electricity from wind or solar sources than from fossil fuels?
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.
