It's official: Solar is the cheapest form of electricity

Let's take a look at the key points of the report:

As per the World Energy Outlook 2020, it offers 'four pathways to 2040', all of which see a major rise in renewable sources.

Carbon Brief (CB) subtly summaries the report and elucidates, "The IEA’s main scenario has 43 percent more solar output by 2040 than it expected in 2018, partly due to detailed new analysis showing that solar power is 20 percent to 50 percent cheaper than thought.”

At the same time panel technology gets more efficient and prices for basic panels continue to fall, investors are getting better financing deals. Furthermore, CB explains, "Now, the IEA has reviewed the evidence internationally and finds that for solar, the cost of capital is much lower, at 2.6 percent to 5.0 percent in Europe and the US, 4.4 percent to 5.5 percent in China and 8.8 percent to 10.0 percent in India.”

This depends on several factors. As companies see emergence of more successful projects like Elon Musk's South Australia solar battery farm, their investment confidence grows.

According to IEA, Solar is well positioned to increase in the next 10 years due to it’s current low cost and increasing availability. All the pathways listed include a mix of renewable sources, nuclear and shrinking coal and gas power.

The IEA concludes that while the news is very good for solar, it’s still pretty good for all the other renewable sources and nuclear.