Fact brief - Does solar energy need subsidies to compete with fossil fuels?

Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline . Does solar energy need subsidies to compete with fossil fuels? Unsubsidized utility-scale solar is now generally cheaper than building fossil fuel power plants. Costs are often compared using “levelized cost of energy,” the average lifetime cost to build and run a power plant divided by the electricity it produces. A 202