Overview

• A University of Surrey analysis reports solar can cost as little as £0.02 per kilowatt-hour in the sunniest regions, undercutting coal, gas and wind.
• Global installed solar capacity surpassed 1.5 terawatts in 2024, roughly double the 2020 level and enough to supply hundreds of millions of homes.
• Lithium-ion battery prices have fallen about 89% since 2010, enabling widespread solar-plus-storage projects that deliver dispatchable power.
• Researchers identify grid integration as the main near-term hurdle, citing congestion and curtailment in places such as California and China.
• The study points to smart grids, AI forecasting, stronger interconnections and perovskite advances—along with policies like the IRA, REPowerEU and India’s PLI—as key to sustaining reliable growth.