Jubilee Post News & Views
Dr. Seema Javed
A report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) showed that the majority of newly commissioned renewable energy is more cost-effective for electricity generation than most fossil fuels worldwide .
91% of large renewable projects commissioned last year were more cost-effective than fossil fuel alternatives. Solar PV was 41% cheaper than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives, while onshore wind projects were 53% cheaper and battery storage systems costs have declined by 93% since 2010.
solar and wind are now almost always the least expensive and fastest option for new energy generation, according to the UN. Fossil fuels are “running out of road” due to the falling cost of renewables, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
A target was set at the COP28 U.N. climate conference in 2023 to triple the amount of renewables, such as wind and solar, to keep a 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) warming limit this century within reach.
The costs of renewable technologies have been decreasing since 2010 due to technological advances and economies of scale.Last year, 582 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity, such as hydropower, solar, wind and geothermal, was added globally. This was nearly 20% higher than in 2023. Around 91% of the utility-scale projects commissioned were more cost effective than fossil fuel alternatives, the report said.
Given the huge cost competitiveness of renewables, India has hit its goal of 50% installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources five years ahead of its target.In 2024, data reveals that additions to global renewable energy capacity reached 582 gigawatts – a nearly 20 per cent increase from 2023 and the highest annual expansion since records began.
Almost all new power capacity built around the world came from renewables, and almost every continent on Earth added more renewables capacity than fossil fuels last year.
Nearly three-quarters of the growth in electricity generated worldwide was from wind, solar and other green sources, according to the UN’s report, called Seizing the Moment of Opportunity.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said it shows “how far we have come in the decade since the Paris Agreement sparked a clean energy revolution.”
