Value chain · CLM-0267
In plain terms
In 2025, IRENA estimated that new solar power around the world cost about 4.4 US cents per kilowatt hour on average, and onshore wind about 3.3 cents. Other renewables cost more. Each figure is the cost of that technology on its own.
The claim as recorded
IRENA's global weighted-average LCOE in 2025 was USD 44/MWh for solar PV, USD 33/MWh for onshore wind, USD 78/MWh for offshore wind, USD 115/MWh for CSP, USD 62/MWh for hydropower, USD 89/MWh for geothermal and USD 86/MWh for bioenergy, all in 2025 USD and all for each technology on its own.
Scope and limits
A global weighted average, not a UK or European figure. p.8 gives a solar PV range from USD 35/MWh in India to USD 65/MWh in Germany. An unfirmed generation cost only: do not compare it with a firm or dispatchable source without adding storage and balancing. The executive summary does not restate what the LCOE excludes. SRC-153's Annex I (2023 edition) excludes subsidies, system balancing costs and merit-order savings, and that is assumed but not verified for this edition, because the full 2025 report is not held. Excludes any carbon price. Each IRENA edition restates earlier years in its own currency year, so do not mix these figures with SRC-153 or SRC-597.
What it assumes
capacity factors in 2025 from Figure S1 (p.6, render): onshore wind 36%, solar PV 16%, offshore wind 41%, CSP 22%, hydropower 43%, geothermal 85%, bioenergy 78%. WACC and asset life are not given in the executive summary; p.10 says a higher cost of capital offset cheaper equipment for solar PV in 2025.
Where it comes from
p.5: "In 2025, the global, weighted-average levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) for solar PV remained unchanged compared to 2024, at USD 44 per megawatt hour (MWh)." "Over the same period, the LCOE of onshore wind decreased to USD 33/MWh and offshore wind to USD 78/MWh." "Hydropower rose to USD 62/MWh, geothermal to USD 89/MWh and concentrated solar power (CSP) to USD 115/MWh. Bioenergy was the exception, with LCOE declining to USD 86/MWh due to increased output." Note 3: "All values in 2025 USD." Figure S1 (p.6, render) prints the same seven LCOEs.
Basis: USD2025 ("All values in 2025 USD", p.5 note 3), UNFIRMED (generation cost of each technology alone; the firm hybrid LCOE is a separate figure, CLM-1221)
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-021 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0267
CLM-0267, Energy Aperture, as of 2025.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-598
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