Wind Now Matching Coal In The Market

Wind Energy Now Directly Competing With Coal On Cost

Gregory Brew, March 27, 2017 (OilPrice.com)

“…[Increasingly, companies are finding that the wind-is-cheap argument] gets better traction from skeptical consumers and fidgety investors…[because its low price allows wind to compete with natural gas and overcome] promises of President Donald Trump to bring back American coal…[Analysts say the falling costs of wind power, which are now an estimated $20/MWh as against coal’s $30/MWh, directly threatens 56 GW of coal power…Total U.S. wind energy capacity grew 19 percent in 2016 and reached 5.5 percent of total generating capacity…Much of the surge in added capacity came from power companies and utilities eager to take advantage of the PTC before it is cut from 80 percent to 60 percent…The EIA estimates that without tax credits, the costs of constructing and maintaining equal capacity wind power and natural gas power plants are nearly the same: $58.50 per MW-hour versus $56.40…” click here for more

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