{"id":491339,"date":"2026-06-19T03:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T09:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/?p=491339"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:16:08","slug":"solar-energy-versus-fossil-fuels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2026\/06\/19\/solar-energy-versus-fossil-fuels\/","title":{"rendered":"Does solar energy need subsidies to compete with fossil fuels?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n\n

No.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

Unsubsidized utility-scale solar is now generally cheaper than building fossil fuel power plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costs are often compared using \u201clevelized cost of energy,\u201d the average lifetime cost to build and run a power plant divided by the electricity it produces. A 2025 analysis estimates the mean LCOE of utility-scale solar at about $58 per megawatt-hour without subsidies, compared to $79 for new natural gas plants and $128 for new coal. The International Energy Agency reports solar energy is the cheapest source of new electricity generation in most parts of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solar costs have fallen sharply over the past decade as panel prices have dropped and the industry has grown. Subsidies can further lower costs, but solar is not dependent on them to compete with fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See a full discussion of this at Skeptical Science<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

See full source list below.<\/p>\n\n\n

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

The Colorado Sun partners with Gigafact<\/a> to produce fact briefs \u2014 bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology<\/a> to learn how we check claims.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No. Unsubsidized utility-scale solar is now generally cheaper than building fossil fuel power plants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":385789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"credibility_indicators":{"original_reporting":false,"on_the_ground":false,"sources_cited":false,"subject_specialist":false},"gigafact_has_fact_brief":true,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"1781862487","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"Failed","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"{\"errors\":[\"Sources have missing or invalid values.\"],\"message\":\"Fact brief has errors.\",\"statusCode\":422}","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-06-19T09:48:12Z","apple_news_api_id":"10cee61d-f90d-4f51-a3c2-ce77462c0418","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-06-19T09:48:12Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AEM7mHfkNT1Gjws53RiwEGA","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"Solar costs have fallen sharply over the past decade as panel prices have dropped and the industry has grown","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[274,21236,30],"tags":[21181],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"type-of-work":[20873],"coauthors":[22803],"class_list":["post-491339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","category-fact-brief","category-news","tag-fact-brief","type-of-work-fact-check","entry"],"credibility_indicators":[{"description":"This article contains firsthand information gathered by reporters. This includes directly interviewing sources and analyzing primary source documents.","label":"Original Reporting","slug":"original_reporting","icon":"<\/svg>"},{"description":"A journalist was physically present to report the article from some or all of the locations it concerns.","label":"On the Ground","slug":"on_the_ground","icon":"<\/svg>"},{"description":"This article includes a list of source material, including documents and people, so you can follow the story further.","label":"References","slug":"sources_cited","icon":"<\/g><\/svg>\n"},{"description":"The journalist and\/or newsroom have\/has a deep knowledge of the topic, location or community group covered in this article.","label":"Subject Specialist","slug":"subject_specialist","icon":"<\/svg>"}],"fact_brief":{"destination_url":"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2026\/06\/19\/solar-energy-versus-fossil-fuels\/","domain_name":"https:\/\/coloradosun.com","factbrief_corrections":"","factbrief_details":"

Unsubsidized utility-scale solar is now generally cheaper than building fossil fuel power plants.<\/p>

Costs are often compared using \u201clevelized cost of energy,\u201d the average lifetime cost to build and run a power plant divided by the electricity it produces. A 2025 analysis estimates the mean LCOE of utility-scale solar at about $58 per megawatt-hour without subsidies, compared to $79 for new natural gas plants and $128 for new coal. The International Energy Agency reports solar energy is the cheapest source of new electricity generation in most parts of the world.<\/p>

Solar costs have fallen sharply over the past decade as panel prices have dropped and the industry has grown. Subsidies can further lower costs, but solar is not dependent on them to compete with fossil fuels.<\/p>

See a full discussion of this at Skeptical Science<\/a><\/p>","featured_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-coloradosun.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Copy-of-Environment-1.png?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1","long_form_article_url":"","newsroom_name":"The Colorado Sun","post_archive_url":"https:\/\/perma.cc\/63GB-ZQ3B","post_date":"2026-06-19T03:45:00-06:00","post_id":"491339","post_original_thread":"https:\/\/perma.cc\/63GB-ZQ3B","post_slug":"solar-energy-versus-fossil-fuels","post_time":"2026-06-19T09:45:00+00:00","post_title":"Does solar energy need subsidies to compete with fossil fuels?","post_yes_no":"No","is_local_angle":false,"publish_status":"publish","published_url":"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2026\/06\/19\/solar-energy-versus-fossil-fuels\/","sources":[],"tags":[],"tip_id":0,"should_email_tip_submitter_on_first_publish":true,"post_author_email":"","post_author":{"display_name":"Sue Bin Park, Skeptical 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