Renewable energy harnesses the wind's strength and sun's heat to generate electricity. (Image credit: Peter Cade/Getty Images)

In the first quarter of 2020, renewables accounted for 28% of global electricity generation, according to the International Energy Agency, an autonomous intergovernmental organization. Coal and gas, however, remain the global mainstays, representing 60% of global electricity supply.

A major impediment to the uptake of renewable energy has been its price tag, but as these technologies mature, their costs have decreased significantly. Between 2010 and 2019, the cost of solar panel technology dropped 82%, followed by concentrating solar power at 47%, onshore wind at 40% and offshore wind at 29%, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), an intergovernmental organization.

More than half of the renewable capacity added in 2019 achieved lower electricity costs than new coal generation, and new solar and wind projects are undercutting the cheapest of existing coal-fired plants, according to IRENA's 2019 report.

Tomas Kåberger, a technology management and economics expert and affiliated professor at Chalmers University in Sweden said renewable energy can replace fossil fuels. The major reason is that industrial technology development has pushed down the price of renewables, particularly wind and solar, allowing them to compete with fossil fuels, Kåberger said. Commercial advances in efficient battery technology, driven by cellphones, laptops and automotive manufacturers, has also led to cost decreases.

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