WEMO 2025 (complet) - Flipbook - Page 13
W E M O 202 5
O U T LO O K
69https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2024/overview-and-key-findings
70https://www.power-technology.com/news/china-clean-energy-investments/?cf-view
71https://carboncredits.com/china-sets-clean-energy-record-in-early-2025-with-951-tw/
72https://www.carbonbrief.org/
analysis-clean-energy-just-put-chinas-CO2-emissions-into-reverse-for-first-time/
73LCOE: Levelized Cost Of Electricity
74https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/2024-press-releases/
global-competitiveness-of-renewable-lcoe-continues-to-accelerate/
75https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/global-cost-of-renewables-to-continue-falling-in2025-as-china-extends-manufacturing-lead-bloombergnef/
76https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2024/Sep/IRENA_Renewable_
power_generation_costs_in_2023_executive_summary.pdf
In contrast, onshore wind global average LCOE amounted to
$75/MWh. O昀昀shore wind, particularly 昀氀oating systems, remains
expensive, with 昀椀xed installations averaging $230/MWh and
昀氀oating systems at $320/MWh. These costs are expected to
fall over time.
LCOE for solar and wind varied across regions (China75, the U.S.,
and Europe) due to di昀昀erences in technology, labor, and policies.
China’s LCOEs were the lowest, with on average utility-scale
solar at $36/MWh, onshore wind at $38/MWh, o昀昀shore wind
at$87/MWh. 76
• Grid system additional costs make renewables less
competitive than standard LCOE suggests, emphasizing
the need for schedulable generation to ensure grid
reliability. Intermittent renewables like solar and wind
incur additional grid system costs77, particularly as their
share in the electricity mix grows. These “System LCOE”
costs include additional storage for grid balancing needs,
grid expansion, and backup generation. They increase strongly
with higher renewable penetration. For example, in the U.S.,
solar with storage LCOE ranges from $38–$217/MWh and
wind with storage from $37–$157/MWh, re昀氀ecting di昀昀erent
“System LCOE” according to renewables penetration rates.
In China, curtailment rates of 20–40% in some regions due
to grid constraints add to costs, though low battery storage
prices 79 can help store excess electricity. Europe faces high
transmission grids upgrade costs (e.g., Germany’s having to
invest €659 billion by 204580), increasing “System LCOE” at
high penetration levels in the absence of dispatchable sources
(like clean nuclear or gas plants).
77https://www.lazard.com/research-insights/levelized-cost-of-energyplus-lcoeplus/
78https://www.lazard.com/media/uounhon4/lazards-lcoeplus-june-2025.pdf$170
79$296/MWh for a 4-hour system)
80https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/
electricity-grid-upgrades-will-cost-germany-650-billion-euros-2045-report
WEMO 2025
• In 2024, LCOEs 73 for renewables declined with
strong variations by regions and technologies:
Solar PV in China being the most competitive74 .
Altogether, renewables LCOE dropped the most in China,
compared to other regions (-16% in China compared to -4.2%
in the US and only -0.2% in Europe). For solar PV, 昀椀xed-axis
system LCOE was $66/MWh globally while single-axis tracking
PV systems averaged lower at $60/MWh, reinforcing their
growing role in utility-scale projects.
12
• China was the largest investor in wind and solar new
capacities and should continue to be dominant: In 2024,
global investments in clean energy (renewables, grids and
storage, nuclear power and energy efficiency) reached
$2000bn.69 nearly double the investments in fossil energies
($1116 bn). China70 was the largest investor with around
$650bn. Renewable energies investments totalled $771bn,
out of which China contributed for $350 bn, with solar
photovoltaic investments exceeded $500 billion globally,
surpassing all other generation sources. During the first
three months of 202571, China produced 951 TWh of clean
electricity which is 19% more than during the same period in
2024, accounting for 39% of all electricity produced in China.
Despite the new wind and solar pricing policy that went into
e昀昀ect in June 2025, the growth in wind and solar energy will
likely continue throughout the year.72
