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The International Renewable Energy Agency's new report — "24/7 Renewables: The Economics of Firm Solar and Wind" — finds that round-the-clock solar and wind paired with battery storage now delivers power at lower cost than new fossil fuel generation in high-quality resource regions.

Firm levelised costs of electricity (LCOE) for solar-plus-storage range from $54/MWh to $82/MWh at high-irradiance sites, compared to $70–$85/MWh for new coal in China and more than $100/MWh for new gas globally.

Since 2010, total installed costs declined by 87% for solar and 55% for onshore wind, while battery storage costs fell 93%. Firm solar-plus-storage costs dropped from above $100/MWh in 2020 to $54–$82/MWh by 2025. IRENA projects a further 30% reduction by 2030 and around 40% by 2035.

"24/7 renewable power is now cost-competitive with fossil fuels," said IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera. "The long-standing argument that renewables lack reliability no longer holds. As oil and gas markets remain exposed to geopolitical shocks — including ongoing disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz — we must insulate our economies with resilient renewable systems."

The UAE's Al Dhafra complex, pairing PV with battery storage, delivers a firm 1 GW of clean electricity at around $70/MWh — illustrating real-world viability at scale.

The U.S. electric grid is on track for a record-breaking year. Developers plan to add 86 GW of new utility-scale capacity in 2026, according to the latest U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data — with solar and battery storage accounting for the vast majority of all planned additions.

Utility-scale solar remains the largest driver of new capacity, with 43.4 GW planned for 2026, a 60% increase over 2025 installations. Battery storage is keeping pace, with a record 24 GW planned — up from 15 GW in 2025. By end of Q1 2027, total U.S. battery storage capacity is projected to surge from 44.6 GW to over 67 GW.

Generation from renewables increased by 10.8% in the first two months of 2026, providing 26% of total U.S. generation. Texas continues as the nation's solar hub, accounting for 40% of all new utility-scale projects, including the 837 MW Tehuacana Creek 1 — expected to be the largest solar PV facility commissioned this year.

Small-scale solar is also accelerating. As of February 2026, the U.S. reached over 60 GW of total small-scale capacity, with more than 6 GW added in the last 12 months alone.

The EIA projects the combined share of solar and wind generation will surpass 20% of the total U.S. mix by early 2027, while natural gas capacity share is set to drop below 39%.

The UK reached a landmark milestone in March 2026: 2,003,000 certified solar installations across the country. Total solar capacity stood at 22.1 GW at the end of March, according to provisional data from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), growing 11.7% year-on-year.

March 2026 recorded 27,607 installations accounting for 121 MW of capacity — the most installations in any calendar month since 2012. A total of 2.3 GW was added in the 12 months to March 2026.

The largest single contribution came from the 373 MW Cleve Hill plant, commissioned in July 2025 — the UK's largest solar facility to date. The government's latest CfD auction round, which closed in February 2026, secured a record 4.9 GW of solar capacity across 157 plants.

The UK government is targeting at least 45 GW of solar capacity by 2030. Arrays below 50 kW accounted for 99% of the total number of installations and 37% of deployed capacity, with residential installations representing 66% of all volume in March, adding 85 MW. Grant and loan support for smaller arrays is expected to drive further acceleration.

For installers in Central Europe: the UK trajectory closely mirrors expected Slovak and CEE demand patterns as electricity prices remain elevated and policy incentives continue to develop.