Pairing solar and wind with battery storage already delivers electricity at prices that match new coal and beat new gas costs across much of the world, according to a recent International Renewable Energy Agency report. The findings address one of the most enduring objections to renewable power: that intermittent generation makes clean energy unsuitable as a reliable primary source.
Researchers focused on firm renewable systems, meaning setups that pair solar panels and wind farms with batteries to guarantee supply at any hour. Where sunlight and wind resources are plentiful, solar combined with storage runs between roughly $55 and $83 per megawatt-hour. Coal-fired plants built in China cost $66 to $83 per megawatt-hour, while gas-fired generation runs above $97 worldwide. The figures suggest the reliability premium once attributed to fossil fuels is narrowing fast.
Battery storage is 93% cheaper than it was in 2010, per IRENA, with solar panels down 87% and onshore wind 55%. The agency expects costs to keep falling. By 2035, top solar-storage systems could deliver uninterrupted power for under $50 per megawatt-hour in the best markets. That trajectory puts round-the-clock renewable electricity within reach of energy-intensive industries such as data centers.
Fossil fuel dependence exposes grids to supply shocks at critical chokepoints, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran has shown. The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes, is one such flashpoint. Domestically generated renewable power sidesteps that exposure entirely, insulating consumers from price swings driven by conflict thousands of miles away.
Europe is feeling both sides of this shift, still absorbing fuel cost shocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the current Middle East conflict. At the same time, gains from cleaner generation are becoming measurable. Positive Money, an advocacy group, found that clean energy knocked nearly 25% off electricity prices in parts of Europe over the two years to 2025. In March alone, solar output reduced European gas imports enough to generate roughly $3.3 billion in savings.
Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden, and Slovakia could collectively save $9.4 billion on energy costs this year, thanks to cleaner power grids. Nations that still lean heavily on fossil fuels are paying a steep premium by comparison. SolarPower Europe calculates that European savings could top $74 billion over the year should gas prices hold at current levels.
Francesco La Camera, IRENA’s director general, said the idea that clean energy cannot be depended on has been overtaken by the evidence. The agency’s report frames firm renewable systems not as a future aspiration but as a present-day commercial reality across a growing number of markets. Both findings point to a market that has moved faster than most policy frameworks anticipated.
As renewables take a firmer position in the energy mix of different markets, related technologies such as those championed by Vision Marine Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: VMAR) could see their market penetration grow significantly.
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