Large solar parks are extremely cheap to build in Czechia, study says. Costs continue to fall

2023 marked a historic milestone in the transition to an energy system based on renewable energy sources. Newly installed capacity reached a record 473 GW, representing a 54% increase compared with 2022. It was also the largest annual increase since 2000. The cost of generating a unit of electricity from renewable sources continued to fall, most notably for photovoltaic power plants, where it declined by 12% year on year. According to IRENA, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria are the countries where large solar power plants can be built most cheaply.  

Renewables once again dominated the global energy sector. According to a detailed report by IRENA, installed renewable capacity is already approaching the 4 TW mark after 2023. Total installed renewable capacity rose from 3,391 GW in 2022 to 3,865 GW in 2023, representing a year-on-year increase of 14%.

This growth is primarily the result of the continued decline in the cost of building renewable energy projects, which are becoming increasingly competitive with their non-renewable counterparts. According to the IRENA report, as much as 81% of renewable capacity installed in 2023 generates electricity more cheaply than conventional fossil fuel-based sources.