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\n 08\/05\/2026 – 8:01 GMT+2\n <\/p>\n
Clean energy can provide reliable, around-the-clock electricity at prices that rival fossil fuels, as the war on Iran forces Europe to re-think its reliance.<\/p>\n
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A new report<\/a> from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) found that when solar and wind power are combined with battery storage, they can already compete with new coal plants on cost. In many parts of the world, this mix of renewables and storage can even undercut new gas power.<\/p>\n The findings challenge one of the fossil fuel industry\u2019s longest-running arguments against renewables: that they cannot provide reliable, 24\/7 electricity when the sun isn\u2019t shining or the wind isn\u2019t blowing.<\/p>\n Can renewables now outcompete fossil fuels?<\/p>\n According to IRENA, the answer is yes.<\/p>\n The report examined so-called \u201cfirm\u201d renewable systems<\/a> \u2013 combinations of solar panels, wind farms and battery storage capable of providing round-the-clock electricity.<\/p>\n In regions with strong sunlight and wind resources, solar power paired with batteries now costs between about \u20ac50 and \u20ac75 per megawatt-hour, the report found.<\/p>\n That compares with about \u20ac60 to \u20ac75 per megawatt-hour for new coal plants in China and more than \u20ac88 globally for new gas power.<\/p>\n A steep drop in battery prices has helped drive the change. Since 2010, the cost of battery storage has fallen by 93 per cent, according to IRENA, while solar panel costs dropped by 87 per cent and onshore wind costs by 55 per cent.<\/p>\n The agency says combining wind, solar and batteries can also reduce exposure to geopolitical shocks, such as Iran\u2019s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a vital fossil fuel chokepoint that carries around one fifth (I think) of global oil supplies.<\/p>\n Europe is already seeing the impact<\/p>\n The report comes at a particularly relevant moment. Europe is still facing fossil fuel price shocks linked to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and renewed instability around the US-Israel conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Advocacy group Positive Money recently found that renewables helped cut electricity prices<\/a> in some European countries by almost 25 per cent between 2023 and 2025.<\/p>\n Another report revealed that consumers in Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden and Slovakia could save up to \u20ac8.5 billion<\/a> on energy bills this year because of their cleaner electricity mixes, while countries still more reliant on fossil fuels face significantly higher costs.<\/p>\n