Battery prices have now become cheap enough to allow solar energy to deliver cost-competitive electricity nearly round-the-clock in the world’s sunniest regions, claims a new Ember report. This ‘24/365 solar generation’ is already cheaper than coal or nuclear power in several parts of the world. 

Global energy think tank Ember finds that combining solar panels with battery storage can now deliver cost-competitive electricity nearly every hour of the year in the world’s sunniest regions. Achieving at least 90% and up to 97% of the way to constant 24/365 solar generation is now possible at around $100/MWh, 22% less than a year ago. In comparison, the global levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for coal stands at $118/MWh in many regions, and for nuclear it is around $182/MWh. 

Battery technology prices fell around 40% in 2024, reaching a record $165/kWh for a full battery system, minus EPC and grid connection costs. Recent auction results in Saudi Arabia in 2025 show that the prices have fallen further to $72/kWh, according to the report writers. 

As per the report, with an emphatic title Solar electricity every hour of every day is here and it changes everything, Ember explains that 1 kW of stable power can be achieved across 24 hours of an average day in sunny Las Vegas with 5 kW of fixed solar panels and a 17 kWh battery. 

Oman’s Muscat can reach 99% of the way to a constant solar energy supply using 6 GW of solar panels and a 17 GWh battery. On the other hand, cloudier cities like Birmingham can get 62% of the way to a constant 24x7 supply. 

“While this may not solve every challenge at the grid level, since not all places are as sunny and the electricity demand varies hourly and seasonally, it provides a pathway for solar to become the backbone of a clean power system in sunny regions and to play a much bigger role in less sunny regions,” opines Ember.