QAZAQ GREEN.  The era of “intermittent” renewables is coming to an end. A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) finds that hybrid systems combining solar, wind and battery storage can now deliver round-the-clock power at costs that are competitive with coal and gas.

Between 2010 and 2024, the cost of solar panels fell by 87%, onshore wind by 55% and battery storage by 93%. In high-resource regions, the cost of firm solar-plus-storage has already dropped to $54–82 per MWh. In China, the most efficient projects are delivering firm electricity at just $30 per MWh — well below new coal ($70–85) and gas-fired plants ($100+).

Beyond cost, hybrid renewable systems offer a speed advantage: they can be built and commissioned within one to two years, while global supply chain bottlenecks have pushed lead times for new gas turbines to five to seven years.

The most cost-effective path to reliability, the report argues, is combining solar and wind with storage — a mix that naturally reduces the need for expensive batteries by around one third. By 2035, the cost of firm renewable electricity is projected to fall by a further 40%, cementing its role as the foundation of energy security and industrial competitiveness.

https://qazaqgreen.com/en/news/world/3572/