Firm-levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for solar plus storage solutions fell to $54-82/MWh by 2025 in high-irradiance solar regions and strong wind corridors globally from over $100/MWh in 2020, according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

IRENA projects a further 30% reduction in the cost of solar-plus-storage solutions by 2030 and around 40% by 2035, bringing firm LCOE at the best-performing sites below $50/MWh.

Between 2010 and 2024, installation costs declined by 87% for solar to $708/kW and by 55% for onshore wind to $1066/kW, with global LCOE for onshore wind declining by 70% to $35/MWh.

Firm LCOE for solar projects declined by around 30% by 2025, and the trend is expected to continue, with firm LCOE for solar ranging from $33/MWh in China to $59/MWh in the U.S by 2035.

For onshore wind, firm LCOE ranged from $59/MWh in China to $110/MWh in the U.S. in 2025 at a 95% reliability target. By 2030, these costs are expected to fall between $49/MWh and $85/MWh, and by 2035 between $46/MWh and $73/MWh.

Battery Storage Costs

By 2024, battery storage costs had fallen sharply, by 93%, to $197/kWh from $2,634/kWh in 2010.

The report stated that continued technology learning, manufacturing scale, and supply chain maturation are expected to drive further cost reductions across all solar, wind, and battery storage over the next five to ten years.

According to IRENA’s simulation applied to 252 utility-scale solar projects commissioned in 2024, the minimum firm LCOE in China ranged s low as $30/MWh at 90% reliability and around $46/MWh at 99% reliability. In other renewable-rich areas, it ranged from $65/MWh to $82/MWh in 2025. By 2030, the firm costs of solar-storage solutions are expected to range from $44/MWh to $58/MWh in these regions.

The report stated that globally, firm LCOEs for solar-plus-storage remain higher than in China but are declining rapidly

However, in the U.S., higher financing costs, interconnection charges, and permitting complexity have kept costs elevated, and firm solar-plus-storage LCOE remained higher than in other regions.

According to BNEF, the global benchmark cost for a four-hour battery project fell 27% year-over-year to $78/MWh in 2025, a significant drop from battery storage prices in 2009.

Wind Plus Storage

Firm LCOE for wind-plus-storage solutions was higher than that of solar-plus-storage projects, despite onshore wind being cheaper than solar.

According to IRENA estimates, firm wind plus storage LCOE ranged from $59/MWh in China in 2025 to around $88/MWh in Brazil and $94/MWh in Germany and Australia. Costs of wind-plus-storage solutions across Brazil, Germany, and Australia are expected to fall to roughly $49/MWh to $75/MWh by 2030.

Cost Competitiveness

In China, firm solar plus storage costs fell below those of coal-fired generation, ranging from $70/MWh to $85/MWh, and below the costs of new gas-fired power projects, which exceed $100/MWh.

In the U.S., firm solar and wind costs were broadly in line with those of new combined-cycle gas turbines, which have reached $102/MWh.

In Saudi Arabia, solar-plus-storage systems provided a near-continuous supply at a firm LCOE of around $70/MWh, competitive with combined-cycle gas generation projects and lower than fossil-fuel-based projects.

While cost competitiveness can be a major enabler for deploying firm renewable energy solutions, the report highlighted the need for a regulatory framework tailored to these new solutions. It proposed administrative mandates that accelerate early deployment by requiring storage or firm supply as a condition of grid connection or market participation.

It also suggested fiscal incentives for storage-based solutions and their inclusion in the auction and power procurement design.

The report said demand-side regulation could create structural demand for firm renewable electricity by requiring consumers to source power from verified, time-matched clean generation.

IRENA noted that four developments are expected to further shape the growth of firm renewable power.

It said that long-duration energy storage solutions are maturing and declining in cost, and that the use of artificial intelligence-driven forecasting, predictive maintenance, and grid-forming inverter technology will enable hybrid renewable energy systems to expand their services to include grid support, which is expected to drive the adoption of firm renewables.

The report highlighted that expanding the interconnection network will improve the competitiveness of firm renewables by allowing land- and resource-constrained markets to access clean energy. A shift from annual to hourly and location-based reporting of corporate emissions would reinforce the investment case for firm renewables.

According to the 2H & Annual 2025 India’s Energy Storage Landscape Report by Mercom India Research, solar-plus energy storage systems accounted for more than 54% of the cumulative installed capacity, followed by about 23% from solar-plus-wind round-the-clock projects and nearly 21% from standalone battery energy storage systems.