WORLD: Wind, photovoltaic and battery technology will get cheaper this year, no matter what Trump does
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The global cost of clean energy technologies will continue to fall in 2025, with wind, solar and battery technologies set to see further declines of between 2% and 11%, according to a report by BloombergNEF (BNEF), cited by the trade press.
According to the BNEF Levelised Cost of Electricity report, the global benchmark cost for battery storage projects fell by a third in 2024 to €100 per MWh, while the cost of a typical fixed-axis photovoltaic park fell by 21%.
China’s massive production capacity was a key factor behind last year’s cost reductions, the company explained.
This year, batteries are expected to fall below $100 per MWh, while global benchmarks for wind and solar power generation will fall by 4% and 2% respectively.
China’s overcapacity has prompted countries to consider trade barriers, which could temporarily block the decline in costs, but BNEF still expects the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) to fall by 26% for onshore wind, 22% for offshore wind, 31% for fixed-axis photovoltaics and almost 50% for battery storage by 2035.
The report says new wind and solar farms are already more cost-competitive than new coal and gas plants in almost all markets around the world.
“New solar plants, even without subsidies, are not far behind new gas plants in the US. This is remarkable, as US gas prices are four times lower than gas prices in Europe and Asia. “This really raises the bar for what is possible even in today’s market,” said Amar Vasdev, the report’s lead author.
According to Matthias Kimmel, head of Energy Economics at BNEF, “the overall cost-cutting trend is so strong that no one, not even President Trump, will be able to stop it.”
