April 17, 2020
...AND CHEAPER...:
Coronavirus accelerates coal's decline (Amy Harder, 4/17/20, Axios)
Rhodium analyzed hourly electricity data from the Energy Information Administration to conclude that wind and solar generated more electricity than coal for several days over the past week."That's never happened before," said Trevor Houser, a partner at the firm.Flashback: A decade ago, coal powered nearly 50% of America's electricity, by far the largest share.The one-two punch of cheap, cleaner-burning natural gas and tougher environmental regulations during the Obama administration pushed coal far from its traditional perch as America's top power source.Two factors are driving coal's relative demise now compared to other power sources.Existing wind and solar plants have fixed costs and no marginal cost, which means they "generally get priority" when deciding which types of plants to run, Houser said.
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 17, 2020 10:13 AM