There is a transformation happening in global energy markets that is worth noting as 2016 comes to an end: Solar power, for the first time, is becoming the cheapest form of new electricity.
There have been isolated projects in the past where this happened: An especially competitive auction in the Middle East, for example, resulting in record-cheap solar costs. But now unsubsidized solar is beginning to out-compete coal and natural gas on a larger scale, and notably, new solar projects in emerging markets are costing less on average than wind projects, according to fresh data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
For the first time, solar prices have fallen below wind. While this was bound to happen eventually, given that solar-panel prices are falling faster than more-established wind turbines, few predicted it would happen this soon.