Value chain · CLM-1221
In plain terms
IRENA now prices solar power with batteries built to a 95% reliability level, which its summary does not define. At the best sites, it puts this below 8.5 US cents per kilowatt hour in 2025, down from over 10 cents in 2020.
The claim as recorded
IRENA reports that the firm LCOE of solar-plus-battery systems with 95% reliability fell from more than USD 100/MWh in 2020 to below USD 85/MWh in 2025 at high-quality sites, and projects further reductions of around 30% by 2030 and 40% by 2035.
Scope and limits
A bound ("below"), not a point value, for high-quality sites only, so it is not a global average. The meaning of 95% reliability (of hours, of energy, or against a load shape) is not stated in the summary, and the full report is not held. Do not compare it with a 100% firm source as if like for like. The 2030 and 2035 reductions are projections. It does not say the storage duration or the battery-to-PV ratio.
What it assumes
"95% reliability" and "high-quality sites" as IRENA defines them; the executive summary does not define either.
Where it comes from
p.3 (render): "IRENA's new cost comparisons for high-reliability hybrid systems show that the firm LCOE of solar-plus-battery systems with a 95% reliability fell from more than USD 100/MWh in 2020 to below USD 85/MWh in 2025 at high-quality sites. Further reductions of around 30% by 2030 and 40% by 2035 are projected."
Basis: USD2025/MWh, FIRMED at 95% reliability, high-quality sites
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-021 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-1221
CLM-1221, Energy Aperture, as of 2025.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-598
- CLM-0267In 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...CLM-0269In 2025, IRENA put the cost of building a large battery that can supply power for four hours at about 140 US dollars per kilowatt hour of...