Sector · 29.4% of the indexinteractive version →
Energy.
Utility-scale solar PV, global weighted-average levelized cost (IRENA).
-84.1%
since 2010
-11.6%/yr
annual rate
$100
buys: 2,270 kWh of solar
Then: A solar kilowatt-hour cost 28 cents in 2010 (in 2010 dollars).
Now: 4.4 cents — and the decline has plateaued.
IRENA measures an 89% real-terms decline since 2010; in nominal dollars — the basis every sector here uses — it is 84%. And honestly: the curve has flattened, and in nominal terms solar LCOE has risen since 2023. We report the plateau too.
The series, year by year
| Year | Energy | CPI-U |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | — | 100.0 |
| 1991 | — | 105.4 |
| 1992 | — | 109.8 |
| 1993 | — | 113.1 |
| 1994 | — | 116.1 |
| 1995 | — | 119.3 |
| 1996 | — | 121.9 |
| 1997 | — | 124.7 |
| 1998 | — | 128.0 |
| 1999 | — | 132.4 |
| 2000 | — | 136.0 |
| 2001 | — | 138.9 |
| 2002 | — | 141.1 |
| 2003 | — | 143.3 |
| 2004 | — | 143.4 |
| 2005 | — | 144.4 |
| 2006 | — | 146.3 |
| 2007 | — | 149.3 |
| 2008 | — | 152.9 |
| 2009 | — | 155.7 |
| 2010 | 100.0 | 159.3 |
| 2011 | 81.04 | 161.2 |
| 2012 | 65.68 | 163.5 |
| 2013 | 53.22 | 165.9 |
| 2014 | 43.13 | 168.6 |
| 2015 | 34.95 | 175.5 |
| 2016 | 30.40 | 181.5 |
| 2017 | 26.45 | 187.3 |
| 2018 | 23.00 | 192.7 |
| 2019 | 20.01 | 197.3 |
| 2020 | 17.41 | 201.5 |
| 2021 | 16.52 | 210.9 |
| 2022 | 15.68 | 227.8 |
| 2023 | 14.88 | 237.1 |
| 2024 | 15.35 | 243.5 |
| 2025 | 15.86 | 250.1 |
Sources
IRENA. Every datapoint's provenance and verification status is public in the anchor ledger on GitHub.