Renewable agency: Cost of solar power fell 3% in 2022, 89% since 2010
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has published a report into the cost of producing power in 2022, finding that the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) in the solar PV sector fell by 3% in 2022, and 89% between 2010 and 2022.
The report, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2022, found that individual countries saw their LCOE in the PV sector fall by between 76-89%. The global weighted average LCOE for solar PV fell from US$0.445/kWh in 2020 to US$0.049/kWh in 2022, around half of the LCOE associated with offshore wind.
Much of this fall stems from the declining costs of solar module manufacturing and solar panel installation. The report notes that the cost of crystalline solar PV modules sold in Europe fell by 91% between 2009 and 2022, while the average cost of installing projects in 2022 was 4% lower than in 2021 and 83% lower than in 2010.
Indeed, this latest figure reversed a slight increase in the price of crystalline modules in the previous year, with the average price increasing by 4-6% between 2020 and 2021, suggesting that prices across the sector are returning to the established trend of decreasing over time.
