Solar Energy vs Wind: Cost, Capacity Factor, Land Use

Solar and wind made up 669 GW of the 692 GW of renewable capacity the world added in 2025, per IRENA. They differ in what they cost per kWh, how much energy each kW makes, and how much land they need. This guide compares them using IRENA cost data and two US lab studies on land.

Last updated: November 2026.

Solar vs wind at a glance

IRENA is the International Renewable Energy Agency. Its 2025 cost report gives global averages for new plants. The land figures come from two US government lab studies by NREL (the lab is now called NLR).

How to read the table. LCOE means levelized cost of energy: the cost of building and running a plant, divided by the energy it makes over its life. One MWh is 1,000 kWh, so USD 44 per MWh is USD 0.044 per kWh. Solar installed cost is per kW of panels (DC). The land rows are US plants only. The wind land data is from 2009. The solar land data is from 2012. Wind running costs are IRENA’s 2025 range from India to Japan. The solar figure is IRENA’s global average.

Wind power vs solar power: cost per kWh

On the global average, new onshore wind costs less than new solar. IRENA reports USD 33 per MWh for onshore wind and USD 44 per MWh for solar PV in 2025. That is USD 11 per MWh more for solar, or about one third more.

Offshore wind costs more: USD 78 per MWh. Solar PV held at its 2024 level, while onshore wind fell by 4% and offshore wind by 3%.

Both are cheap next to the other options. IRENA says more than 90% of the new utility-scale renewable projects it tracked in 2025 cost less than the cheapest new fossil-fuel plant.

Wind costs more to build per kW (USD 976 against USD 667 for solar). It still costs less per kWh. A big reason is that a turbine makes much more energy from each kW.

What is capacity factor, and why does it matter?

Capacity factor is the share of its maximum output that a plant really delivers over a year. A plant that ran at full power all day and night would have a capacity factor of 100%.

IRENA reports a 2025 global average of 36% for new onshore wind. For new utility-scale solar PV it reports 16.5%. For solar, IRENA counts the energy that comes out as AC power against the DC size of the panels.

There are 8,760 hours in a year. So 1 kW of wind at 36% makes about 3,154 kWh (8,760 x 0.36). The same 1 kW of solar panels at 16.5% makes about 1,445 kWh (8,760 x 0.165).

Your site can be very different from the average. IRENA’s 2025 data shows 5th to 95th percentile ranges of 28% to 50% for onshore wind and 11.9% to 20.1% for solar. Always use local wind and sun data.

Is the cheaper option the same in every country?

No. IRENA’s 2025 figures for six markets show that wind is cheaper in five and solar is cheaper in India.

IRENA says costs in the United States and Germany are close to double those in China. It names permitting delays, grid connection delays and higher balance-of-system costs (everything except the panels or turbines). Costs also depend on how much it costs to borrow money in each country.

How much land do solar and wind need?

Solar uses land in a solid block. Wind spreads turbines far apart, so the total site is large, but little ground is actually covered.

NREL studied US solar plants built up to the third quarter of 2012. Large PV plants (over 20 MW) used 7.9 acres per MWac for the full fenced site. The area covered by panels, roads and buildings was 7.2 acres per MWac. One acre is about 0.4 hectares, so 7.9 acres is about 3.2 hectares.

NREL’s 2009 study of 172 US wind projects found an average total area of 34.5 hectares per MW, about 85 acres (34.5 x 2.471). The ground that turbines, pads and roads permanently cover was about 0.3 hectares per MW, about 0.74 acres.

NREL warns that total area alone can overstate wind’s land impact. A wind plant on farmland still leaves most of the ground in use.

Which one is growing faster?

Solar. IRENA’s 2026 capacity report says the world added a record 510 GW of solar and 159 GW of wind in 2025. That is about 3.2 times as much solar as wind (510 / 159). Total renewable additions were 692 GW.

By the end of 2025, IRENA counts 2,392 GW of solar and 1,291 GW of wind in operation worldwide.

In the United States, wind and utility-scale solar made 17% of electricity in 2025, up from less than 1% in 2005, says the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Adding small-scale solar, such as rooftop systems, brings the share to 19%.

Can solar and wind work together?

Yes, and it can cut cost. Wind and solar do not make power at the same times, so a mix is steadier than either one alone.

IRENA studied “firm” power, meaning steady power round the clock. At good sites, solar plus batteries reached USD 54 to 82 per MWh for 95% reliable power in 2025, down from over USD 100 in 2020. Wind plus batteries usually costs more, because wind can stay low for several days. IRENA says combining solar and wind lowers the cost of both.

A large project in Al Dhafra, United Arab Emirates, is set to pair 5.2 GW of solar with 19 GWh of storage. The goal is a firm 1 GW at around USD 70 per MWh, per IRENA.

About one quarter of all new utility-scale solar in 2025 was built with a battery on the same site. IRENA says sharing the grid connection, land and other equipment cuts capital cost by about one fifth.

How to choose between solar and wind

• Choose solar when you have a roof, a small site or a need to start small and add later. Solar fits many sizes, from one rooftop to a large farm.
• Choose wind when you have a large open site with strong, steady wind. Check local wind data first.
• Think about both when you need steady power all day and night and have good sun and wind.

Compare the cost per kWh at your site, not the world average. Use local sun and wind data, local prices for borrowing money, and local rules.

To see how the numbers change on your own project, book a SurgePV demo.

For a second view of this topic, read wind turbine vs solar. For land, see the solar farm design guide and agrivoltaics design, which puts crops or grazing under panels. For terms, see LCOE, capacity factor and utility-scale solar.

Model a solar site in SurgePV

SurgePV is solar design software. It supports 3D roof modeling, array layout, shading analysis, energy-yield modeling and financial modeling. It does not model wind turbines. See solar design software, or Book a Free Demo to see it on a real project.

Sources

• IRENA, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2025 (2026): LCOE, installed cost, capacity factor, O&M, market costs, firm solar-plus-storage costs (Figures S1 and S3, chapters 2 and 3).
• IRENA, Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026: 2025 capacity added and total capacity.
• U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Wind and solar generated a record 17% of U.S. electricity in 2025” (20 March 2026).
• NREL (NLR), Land-Use Requirements for Solar Power Plants in the United States (2013): Table ES-1.
• NREL (NLR), Land-Use Requirements of Modern Wind Power Plants in the United States (2009): Table 1.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is solar or wind cheaper per kWh?

On the global average for new plants in 2025, onshore wind is cheaper. IRENA puts onshore wind at USD 33 per MWh (USD 0.033 per kWh) and solar PV at USD 44 per MWh (USD 0.044 per kWh). The answer changes by country. In India, IRENA shows solar at USD 35 per MWh and onshore wind at USD 43 per MWh.

Which makes more power from the same size plant?

Wind makes more. IRENA reports a 2025 capacity factor of 36% for new onshore wind and 16.5% for new utility-scale solar PV. One kW of wind running at 36% makes about 3,154 kWh in a year. One kW of solar panels running at 16.5% makes about 1,445 kWh.

Which needs more land, solar or wind?

It depends on how you count. NREL found that large US solar plants use 7.9 acres per MWac of total site area. Wind plants use far more total area, 34.5 hectares per MW (about 85 acres), but the ground the turbines and roads actually cover is small, 0.3 hectares per MW (about 0.74 acres). The two NREL studies use different years and methods.

Which one is growing faster?

Solar. IRENA reports that the world added a record 510 GW of solar and 159 GW of wind in 2025. That is about 3.2 times as much solar as wind.

Can wind and solar work together?

Yes. IRENA says that combining solar and wind lowers the cost of both when a plant must deliver power all day and night. Wind-plus-battery plants cost more than solar-plus-battery plants because wind can stay low for several days in a row.

Is wind a good choice for a home?

This page has no sourced cost data for small home wind turbines. The IRENA numbers here are for large, utility-scale plants. For a home, ask for local quotes and check wind data for your site before you compare.