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Onshore wind (excluding system costs) wins in international electricity generation cost comparison
22/9/2026
News
Electricity generation is getting more expensive. Only hydroelectricity, existing nuclear power plants, and onshore wind and solar (excluding system costs) are under $100/MWh in terms of levelised cost at 85% capacity factor, according to new analysis by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
The report, which provides comparable plant-level generation cost data for 23 technologies submitted by 21 countries, found that utility-scale onshore wind and solar photovoltaic technologies continue to offer attractive plant-level costs in many countries. Offshore wind continues to face relatively high costs despite strong capacity factors, while geothermal energy shows promising results where suitable resources are available.
The report authors also highlight growing interest in nuclear energy, with data submitted for large-scale reactors, small modular reactors (SMRs) and long-term operation of existing plants. One of the report’s key findings is the contrast between near-term projects and more mature ‘Nth-of-a-kind’ (NOAK) deployments. While first projects face higher costs linked to supply-chain rebuilding, workforce shortages and limited recent construction experience, costs decline significantly as designs are standardised and projects are repeated.
In a press conference, OECD NEA Secretary General William Magwood said: ‘Clearly one conclusion I draw is that nuclear is competitive. Particularly once we are able to get beyond the first of a kind, nuclear is very competitive... nuclear and renewables-plus-battery storage are ways to provide 24/7 electricity.’
Asked about the higher cost of SMRs compared to large-scale nuclear plant, Magwood replied: ‘The whole point of a lot of these small modular reactor technologies is really to drive costs down. The only rationale for having small modular reactors is to be able to build and deploy nuclear more quickly, more cost-effectively than we've done in the past... Our task ahead is to not think in terms of deploying one reactor. For deploying one reactor, we’re wasting everybody’s time, and we’ve done that for a while. We need to be deploying reactors literally by the dozen for these to be really successful.’
LCOE of coal, natural gas and nuclear technologies as a function of the capacity factor – it pays not to switch off dispatchable thermal power too often, as costs rise dramatically with reducing load factor for nuclear and coal. But much less so for gas.
Note: lines indicate median values, while lighter coloured bands surrounding the lines indicate the 50% central region.
Source: Nuclear Energy Agency
On the other hand, the report also shows how thermal plants (including nuclear, coal and gas) are far more economic when run continuously; when switched on and off frequently in response to variable renewables, their costs rise rapidly.
Reinforcing that point, the authors stress that levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) ‘does not capture how technologies interact within a broader electricity system or their contribution to reliability, flexibility, security of supply and decarbonisation objectives’.
The last time the report was published was in 2020, by the OECD.
