For the first time ever, in April 2019, renewable energy outpaced coal by providing 23 percent of global power generation, compared to coal’s 20 percent share. In the first half of 2019, wind and solar together accounted for approximately 50 percent of total US renewable electricity generation, displacing hydroelectric power’s dominance. Declining costs and rising capacity factors of renewable energy sources, along with increased competitiveness of battery storage, drove growth in 2019. In the first half of the year, levelized cost of onshore wind and utility-scale solar declined by 10 percent and 18 percent, respectively, while offshore wind took a 24 percent dip.

The greatest decline was in lithium-ion battery storage, which fell 35 percent during the same period. This steady decline of prices for battery storage has begun to add value to renewables, making  solar increasingly competitive with traditional, “dispatchable” energy sources.