India emerges as one of the lowest-cost major solar power markets globally

India emerged as one of the world’s lowest-cost major solar power markets in 2025 and ranked third globally in installed solar power capacity, fourth in wind power capacity, and fourth in total renewable energy capacity, according to a report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

According to the report, the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) from solar PV in India stood at $35 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in 2025, compared with $36 per MWh in China and $37 in Brazil, and the global weighted average was significantly higher at $44 per MWh.

Advertisement

Notably, since 2010, the cost of solar PV has declined by 89 per cent, while onshore and offshore wind costs have fallen by 71 per cent and 63 per cent, respectively. More than 90 per cent of newly commissioned utility-scale renewable projects in 2025 generated electricity at a lower cost than the cheapest new fossil-fuel alternative.

The IRENA report comes as global renewable power costs begin to stabilise after more than a decade of steep declines. The global average cost of solar power remained unchanged at $44 per MWh in 2025, while onshore wind costs fell to $33 per MWh and offshore wind costs declined to $78 per MWh.

The installed cost of four-hour utility-scale batteries declined by nearly 30 per cent in 2025 to around $140 per kilowatt hour, about 95 per cent below 2010 levels. Costs in China fell below $70 per kWh.

Falling battery prices are enabling the installation of hybrid renewable energy systems. The cost of solar-plus-battery systems offering 95 per cent reliability fell below $85 per MWh at high-quality sites in 2025, from more than $100 per MWh in 2020, the report estimated.

Global renewable power additions crossed 690 GW in 2025, about one-fifth higher than the previous year. Solar accounted for more than 500 GW of the new capacity additions, while wind contributed around 160 GW.

“The use of renewables avoided 8.4 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and saved $480 billion in fossil fuel costs in 2025,” the IRENA report claimed.