The Sun Is Winning. And the Numbers Prove It.
On 22 July 2025, UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a clear message to world leaders in New York: “The greatest threat to energy security today is fossil fuels.” His speech, A Moment of Opportunity: Supercharging the New Energy Era, reframed renewables not as a moral choice, but as an economic and strategic one. Fossil fuels, he argued, expose nations to volatile prices, supply shocks and geopolitical instability, while renewables bring stability, affordability and independence (United Nations, 2025).
The new economics of energy
That shift in framing is backed by data. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), more than 90 % of all new renewable projects in 2024 produced electricity at a lower cost than the cheapest fossil fuel alternatives (IRENA, 2025).
The cost advantage is no longer driven by subsidies but by scale, innovation and competition. Solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind are now the world’s most cost-competitive sources of new power, 41% and 53% cheaper on average than fossil fuels, respectively.
These aren’t outliers. Hydropower, offshore wind and bioenergy continue to fall steadily in cost as supply chains mature and financing terms improve. The result is a structural, global energy transformation where clean power is now the default economic choice, not the expensive alternative.
The data behind the shift
Between 2010 and 2024, the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from renewables declined faster than any technology class in modern history (IRENA, 2025).
Solar PV: ↓ 92% (USD 0.417 → 0.034 per kWh)
Onshore wind: ↓ 73% (USD 0.113 → 0.043 per kWh)
Offshore wind: ↓ 64%
Concentrated solar power (CSP): ↓ > 90%
Hydropower, geothermal and bioenergy: modest but consistent reductions
A turning point for the global energy system
Renewables are now driving energy security. Nations dependent on imported fossil fuels are investing in domestic solar and wind to stabilise costs and enhance resilience (International Energy Agency, 2025).
The market has spoken. Global investment in clean energy hit USD 2.2 trillion in 2024, nearly double fossil fuel investment (BloombergNEF, 2025). The largest capital inflows went to solar manufacturing, grid storage and transmission upgrades, evidence of how fast new systems are scaling.
For investors, it’s a portfolio pivot. Lower capital risk, faster deployment and predictable operating costs make renewables the superior long-term asset class. The economics of energy have flipped: the cheaper, cleaner option is now also the safer one.
References
BloombergNEF (2025). Clean Energy Investment Trends 2025. https://about.bnef.com/insights/finance/energy-transition-investment-trends/
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2025). Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024. July 2025. https://www.irena.org/Publications/2025/Jun/Renewable-Power-Generation-Costs-in-2024
International Energy Agency (IEA) (2025). World Energy Investment 2025. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2025
United Nations (2025). A Moment of Opportunity: Supercharging the New Energy Era. Speech by António Guterres, New York, 22 July 2025. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/moment-opportunity-2025
