Renewable energy is booming across emerging economies, where the economic viability of wind and solar power has made them the obvious choice in most national and regional contexts. More importantly, the rapid shift in renewable-energy economics is not only saving developing countries money but could also deliver substantial financial gains in the coming years.

A recent study from the University of Oxford indicates that low- and middle-income countries stand to benefit the most from adopting renewable energy, with potential GDP gains of around 10% over the next 20 to 25 years if they pursue a rapid transition. The report notes that this renewable-driven economic growth has already begun: investments in renewable energy across the worlds 100 largest developing nations (excluding China) contributed roughly 1.2 trillion dollars to GDP growth between 2017 and 2022 equivalent to around 2% to 5% of GDP in most of these economies.

The reports executive summary states: Renewable energy drives prosperity and when implemented properly, it can expand affordable energy access, attract investment, create new jobs, and raise productivity across the entire economy.

Several interconnected factors explain this trend. First, renewable-energy sources have become dramatically cheaper to install and operate. Solar power, in particular, has undergone a remarkable economic transformation, with prices falling by 90% since 2010. Sam Stranks, Professor of Energy and Optoelectronic Materials at the University of Cambridge, told New Scientist: Solar panels made from silicon now cost roughly the same as plywood. As a result, renewable energy now delivers far higher investment returns than fossil fuels. The report also notes that green-energy spending tends to remain within the local economy, supporting domestic supply chains and directly increasing local income unlike the fossil-fuel sector.

Renewables also offer better solutions for rural and underserved areas. Decentralized energy solutions such as small-scale solar systems or rooftop panels can reach rural regions where electricity grids are costly and unreliable, Semafor reported.

Pakistan provides a clear example, experiencing a solar-power revolution as households increasingly adopt solar-plus-battery systems as a reliable and affordable alternative to local grids, which are expensive, unstable, and often inaccessible. Pakistan has rapidly become one of the worlds major new adopters of solar power. Jan Rsner, Head of Energy Programmes at Oxfords Environmental Change Institute, said: The scale of solar installations being rolled out in such a short time is unlike anything weve seen elsewhere.

Pakistan is far from alone. Emerging markets are adding renewable capacity at a stunning pace. In recent years, countries such as Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Morocco, Kenya, and Namibia have surpassed the United States in their clean-energy transition, with 63% of markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America relying more heavily on solar power for electricity generation than the US does. CNN reported that some countries are implementing energy transitions at astonishing speed, adding solar capacity so quickly that it has become a major source of electricity within just a few years not decades.

This global shift has been enabled largely by Chinas low-cost renewable-energy components. Despite concerns about Chinas growing influence over the energy sectors of low- and middle-income countries, its affordable supply chains have transformed global energy markets in critical ways. Without access to inexpensive clean energy, many developing economies would have required massive financial support to achieve sustainable growth funding repeatedly promised by Western powers through climate finance but often not delivered.

Despite ongoing challenges in the clean-energy transition, and even amid political pushback against renewables in the worlds largest economy, renewable energy has simply become too cheap to fail. As New Scientist wrote: We now have an abundant, cheap electricity source that can be built quickly almost anywhere in the world Is it really far-fetched to imagine solar providing power for everything one day?