Giving Compass' Take:

• According to a new study discussed by The Guardian, a majority of the US' coal production is now more expensive than solar and wind energy in providing electricity to American households.

• How can funders work to increase the production of clean energy at scale? What does this mean for the economy?

• Learn about why fossil fuels are harmful in other ways besides climate change.  

“Even without major policy shift we will continue to see coal retire pretty rapidly,” said Mike O’Boyle, the co-author of the report for Energy Innovation, a renewables analysis firm. “Our analysis shows that we can move a lot faster to replace coal with wind and solar. The fact that so much coal could be retired right now shows we are off the pace.”

The study’s authors used public financial filings and data from the EnergyInformation Agency (EIA) to work out the cost of energy from coal plants compared with wind and solar options within a 35-mile radius. They found that 211 gigawatts of current US coal capacity, 74% of the coal fleet, is providing electricity that’s more expensive than wind or solar.

By 2025 the picture becomes even clearer, with nearly the entire US coal system out-competed on cost by wind and solar, even when factoring in the construction of new wind turbines and solar panels.

Read the full article on coals rising prices over solar or wind power by Oliver Milman at The Guardian