New Energy Beating Old Energy In The Market, Part 1

Plunging Prices Mean Building New Renewable Energy Is Cheaper Than Running Existing Coal

Megan Mahajan, December 3, 2018 (Forbes)

A new report reveals 42% of global coal capacity is currently unprofitable, and the United States could save $78 billion by closing coal-fired power plants in line with the Paris Climate Accord’s climate goals. This industry-disrupting trend comes down to dollars and cent…The price to build new wind and solar has fallen below the cost of running existing coal-fired power plants in Red and Blue states…Colorado’s Xcel will retire 660 megawatts (MW) of coal capacity ahead of schedule in favor of renewable sources and battery storage, and reduce costs in the process. Midwestern utility MidAmerican will be the first utility to reach 100% renewable energy by 2020 without increasing customer rates, and Indiana’s NIPSCO will replace 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of coal with wind and solar…

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…[This is] dimming the prospects for struggling coal and nuclear plants. The U.S. is on pace for a record 15.4 GW of coal closures in 2018, could close an additional 24.1 GW of coal capacity by 2024, and the U.S. Energy Information Administration projects a 65 GW decline through 2030. Carbon Tracker forecasts that by that time, 100% of U.S. coal capacity will have higher long-run operating costs than renewables…[The proposed White House bailout of Old Energy] was dropped after intense scrutiny from multiple fronts…[because of its] backward-looking approach to keep dirty and expensive energy sources online instead of embracing clean and cheap energy sources…” click here for more

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