Renewable energy saves $520 billion globally in 2022 – report

The renewable power deployed globally around $520 billion in fuel costs last year, owing to the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources, according to a report released on Tuesday by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

The report added that fossil fuel price crisis has accelerated the competitiveness of renewable power. Around 86 percent or 187 gigawatts of all the newly commissioned renewable capacity in 2022 had lower costs than fossil fuel-fired electricity.

In addition to these direct cost savings, there would be substantial economic benefits from reducing CO2 emissions and local air pollutants, according to the report, titled Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2022.

China was the main driver of the global fall in costs for solar photovoltaics (PV) and onshore wind in 2022, with other markets experiencing a much more heterogeneous set of outcomes that saw costs increase in many major markets.