THE ECONOMICS OFFIRM SOLAR AND WIND © IRENA 2026 Unless otherwise stated, material in this publication may be freely used, shared, copied, reproduced, printed and/or stored, providedthat appropriate acknowledgement is given of IRENA as the source and copyright holder. Material in this publication that is attributed tothird parties may be subject to separate terms of use and restrictions, and appropriate permissions from these third parties may need tobe secured before any use of such material. ISBN: 978-92-9260-736-4 Citation:IRENA (2026),24/7 renewables: The economics of firm solar and wind,International Renewable Energy Agency,Abu Dhabi. About IRENA TheInternational Renewable Energy Agency(IRENA)is an intergovernmental organisationthat supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future and serves as theprincipal platform for international co-operation, a centre of excellence, and a repository ofpolicy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA promotes thewidespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy,geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy, in the pursuit of sustainable development,energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity.www.irena.org Acknowledgements This report was authored by Saied Dardour, Deborah Ayres and Lourdes Zamora, under the guidance of Norela Constantinescu. The authors are grateful for the valuable contributions of IRENA colleagues Francisco Gafaro, Adrian Gonzalez, Bilal Hussain,Gayathri Nair, Danial Saleem, Himalaya Bir Shrestha, Binu Parthan and Yasuhiro Sakuma in the preparation of this study. The report benefited from peer review and comments by: A. Andrade (Directorate-General for Energy and Geology,Portugal); M.B. Ben Ticha and Y. Li (International Atomic Energy Agency); R. Bhattacharyya (BARC); M. Bianciotto and R. Ellis(International Hydropower Association); T. Bjøndal (Ørsted); S. Cathalau (consultant); Y. Chen (consultant); K. Daly (EnergyTag);A. Das (consultant); K. Das (Technical University of Denmark); M. de l’Épine and D. Mugnier (IEA Photovoltaic Power SystemsProgramme); P. González, F. Laverón Simavilla and I. Nanclares Gutiérrez (Iberdrola); A. Jaeger-Waldau and C. Kirchsteiger(European Commission Joint Research Centre); G. Kaur (International Solar Alliance); M.D. Kristiansen and C. Wolter (DanishEnergy Agency); J. Lee, T. Singh and F. Zhao (Global Wind Energy Council); G. Masson (Becquerel Institute); S. Pelland andY. Poissant (Natural Resources Canada); F. Perdu (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission); R. Perez(State University of New York); F.B. Quansah (consultant): M. Quero (Sunntics); K. Rangelova (Ember); J. Seel (LawrenceBerkeley National Laboratory); J. Souder (Long Duration Energy Storage Council); I. Suarez (TransitionZero); M. Taylor(consultant); H. Turton (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre); S. Urquhart (Aegir Insights); and Y. Xie andX. Zhou (China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute). Technical review was provided by Paul Komor (IRENA). Editing and production were managed by Francis Field with the support of Stephanie Clarke. The report was edited byJonathan Gorvett and Lisa Mastny, with graphic design by Nacho Sanz. Communications and additional support wereprovided by Daria Gazzola, Nicole Bockstaller and Ling Ling Federhen. For further information or to provide feedback:publications@irena.orgThis report is available for download:www.irena.org/publications Disclaimer This publication and the material herein are provided “as is”. All reasonable precautions have been taken by IRENA to verify the reliability of the material inthis publication. However, neither IRENA nor any of its officials, agents, data or other third-party content providers provides a warranty of any kind, eitherexpressed or implied, and they accept no responsibility or liability for any consequence of use of the publication or material herein. The information contained herein does not necessarily represent the views of all Members of IRENA. The mention of specific companies or certain projectsor products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by IRENA in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Thedesignations employed and the presentation of material herein do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of IRENA concerning the legal statusof any region, country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. CONTENTS Figures, tables and boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 THE RISE OF ROUND-THE-CLOCK RENEWABLE POWER . . . . . . . . . . .