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[Usobuko]

Global average solar cost may fall below coal within 10 years. Solar power is now cheaper than coal in some parts of the world. In less than a decade, it's likely to be the lowest-cost option almost everywhere.

In 2016, countries from Chile to the United Arab Emirates broke records with deals to generate electricity from sunshine for less than 3 cents a kilowatt-hour, half the average global cost of coal power. Now, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Mexico are planning auctions and tenders for this year, aiming to drop prices even further. Taking advantage: Companies such as Italy's Enel SpA and Dublin's Mainstream Renewable Power, who gained experienced in Europe and now seek new markets abroad as subsidies dry up at home.

Since 2009, solar prices are down 62 percent, with every part of the supply chain trimming costs. That's help cut risk premiums on bank loans, and pushed manufacturing capacity to record levels. By 2025, solar may be cheaper than using coal on average globally, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

”These are game-changing numbers, and it's becoming normal in more and more markets," said Adnan Amin, International Renewable Energy Agency 's director general, an Abu Dhabi-based intergovernmental group. "Every time you double capacity, you reduce the price by 20 percent."

Better technology has been key in boosting the industry, from the use of diamond-wire saws that more efficiently cut wafers to better cells that provide more spark from the same amount of sun. It's also driven by economies of scale and manufacturing experience since the solar boom started more than a decade ago, giving the industry an increasing edge in the competition with fossil fuels.

The average 1 megawatt-plus ground mounted solar system will cost 73 cents a watt by 2025 compared with $1.14 now, a 36 percent drop, said Jenny Chase, head of solar analysis for New Energy Finance.

In China, the biggest solar market, will see costs falling below coal by 2030, according to New Energy Finance. The country has surpassed Germany as the nation with the most installed solar capacity as the government seeks to increase use to cut carbon emissions and boost home consumption of clean energy. Yet curtailment remains a problem, particularly in sunnier parts of the country as congestion on the grid forces some solar plants to switch off.

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[Souldriver]

Luckily Trump is all in on coal!

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Solar will beat coal to become the cheapest power on Earth.

 

[Ri'Orius]

Guess we better subsidize coal! Can't let those Americans lose their job, right?

 

[ReaperXL7]

Something that needs to happen in my opinion is that apprentiship programs need to become available that would help the labor force from coal plants transition into the industries that will eventually replace them. If you give people real opportunities to learn about the thing that they believe is coming for their way of life then I think they are more likely to be accepting.

There are always going to be stubborn fucks who just want to be angers dickbags but I do believe many who work in coal plants would be more likely to accept other possibilities if they believed they could transfer into these new fields without having to spend 4-8 years in collage which is just not realistic for many families.

 

[Tadaima]

Something that needs to happen in my opinion is that apprentiship programs need to become available that would help the labor force from coal plants transition into the industries that will eventually replace them. If you give people real opportunities to learn about the thing that they believe is coming for their way of life then I think they are more likely to be accepting.

There are always going to be stubborn fucks who just want to be angers dickbags but I do believe many who work in coal plants would be more likely to accept other possibilities if they believed they could transfer into these new fields without having to spend 4-8 years in collage which is just not realistic for many families.

This exactly.

 

[shnurgleton]

Something that needs to happen in my opinion is that apprentiship programs need to become available that would help the labor force from coal plants transition into the industries that will eventually replace them. If you give people real opportunities to learn about the thing that they believe is coming for their way of life then I think they are more likely to be accepting.

There are always going to be stubborn fucks who just want to be angers dickbags but I do believe many who work in coal plants would be more likely to accept other possibilities if they believed they could transfer into these new fields without having to spend 4-8 years in collage which is just not realistic for many families.

In the short term, bandaids are cheaper than surgery. In the long term, we're all dead.

 

[deadlast]

Coal is the god damn devil. All those people with black lung.

I hope Solar over takes it quicker.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Something that needs to happen in my opinion is that apprentiship programs need to become available that would help the labor force from coal plants transition into the industries that will eventually replace them. If you give people real opportunities to learn about the thing that they believe is coming for their way of life then I think they are more likely to be accepting.

There are always going to be stubborn fucks who just want to be angers dickbags but I do believe many who work in coal plants would be more likely to accept other possibilities if they believed they could transfer into these new fields without having to spend 4-8 years in collage which is just not realistic for many families.

Someone campaigned on a program similar to this

That person is not in office.

 

[HStallion]

Coal is the god damn devil. All those people with black lung.

I hope Solar over takes it quicker.

Wait for Solar Skin. Its the new Black Lung for the green age

 

[Timbuktu]

I really hope China succeeds with their bid to replace coal with solar a.s.a.p. Not sure if it would solve pollution problems in places like Beijing, but I guess it is a must for them for many other reasons.

 

[human5892]

Coal is forever. Solar is just a fad. What happens when the sun explodes?

 

[pswii60]

All those countries listed have something in common. What about countries that don't see as much sunshine, in northern Europe for example? Are we going to see under-sea powerlines from sunnier climates exporting electricity? Or is that not feasible?

 

[Ishan]

Recent articles I read indicate in India large scale solar already win out ... Bad part is India still has huge consumption which needs coal it seems but it seems the tread it taking over worldwide overall

 

[HStallion]

Coal is forever. Solar is just a fad. What happens when the sun explodes?

Will keep the earth warm by burning all the coal at once.

 

[E-Cat]

Luckily Trump is all in on coal!

It won't matter; Nothing stops this train.

Per Swanson's Law, the price of solar photovoltaic modules drops 20 percent for every doubling of cumulative shipped volume. And that has been doubling every three years. We just added 77 GW last year, which comprises a quarter of the entire cumulative solar capacity installed thus far! That'll give you an idea of the magnitude of the exponential progress we're making.

 

[chadskin]

All those countries listed have something in common. What about countries that don't see as much sunshine, in northern Europe for example? Are we going to see under-sea powerlines from sunnier climates exporting electricity? Or is that not feasible?

Northern European countries rely more on wind and water energy I'd assume. Issue is just not less sunshine but also the inability to store the energy over longer periods of time due to the shortcomings of current battery technologies.

 

[Ishan]

Coal is forever. Solar is just a fad. What happens when the sun explodes?

Supernova dyson sphere well let the aliens who see us think it's some complicated asteroid belt thingy

 

[MrChocolate]

Well, electricity hasn't been cheaper (and cleaner) in a long time over here. So yeah, I agree with the OP.

 

[offtopic]

Guess we better subsidize coal! Can't let those Americans lose their job, right?

We already do. It more heavily subsidized than any other fossil fuel (which are also subsidized).

 

[Skellig Gra]

UK and Ireland am cry. Ain't no sun over there.

 

[Tugatrix]

UK and Ireland am cry. Ain't no sun over there.

you just need more solar panels to compensate, sorry guys where the sun don't shine

 

[E-Cat]

UK and Ireland am cry. Ain't no sun over there.

Actually, the UK has the sixth-highest installed solar capacity in the world - subject to change promptly, I'm sure.

 

[Gallbaro]

Something that needs to happen in my opinion is that apprentiship programs need to become available that would help the labor force from coal plants transition into the industries that will eventually replace them. If you give people real opportunities to learn about the thing that they believe is coming for their way of life then I think they are more likely to be accepting.

There are always going to be stubborn fucks who just want to be angers dickbags but I do believe many who work in coal plants would be more likely to accept other possibilities if they believed they could transfer into these new fields without having to spend 4-8 years in collage which is just not realistic for many families.

You are still killing their community and destroying their real estate value when you target individual retraining. They will still vote Republican, still vote for coal, still be angry. "Retraining" programs will not help progressive politics.

Minimum Income would have...

 

[AnotherDayAnotherDollar]

Guess we better subsidize coal! Can't let those Americans lose their job, right?

We already subsidize corn and put it on everything....Sure, why not?

 

[nailbombxx]

Great news. When we going to push nuclear tho

Something that needs to happen in my opinion is that apprentiship programs need to become available that would help the labor force from coal plants transition into the industries that will eventually replace them. If you give people real opportunities to learn about the thing that they believe is coming for their way of life then I think they are more likely to be accepting.

There are always going to be stubborn fucks who just want to be angers dickbags but I do believe many who work in coal plants would be more likely to accept other possibilities if they believed they could transfer into these new fields without having to spend 4-8 years in collage which is just not realistic for many families.

This. Im from an Appalachian county where most of the towns have been based on coal mining from the start, and little anything else other than farming/livestock. For the average person, coal mining was THE main blue collar money maker even though every worker knows its a shitty job that kills you.

But there are no programs to to train displaced coal miners for renewable energy jobs because they don't exist around here, they are not bothered with because everyone still dreams about all the coal mines opening up in a blaze of glory someday. And no one wants to go to college or can afford it.

Coal is dead, has been for years and isn't coming back. Good riddance.

You are still killing their community and destroying their real estate value when you target individual retraining. They will still vote Republican, still vote for coal, still be angry. "Retraining" programs will not help progressive politics.

Minimum Income would have...

What now?

 

[Man-is-Obsolete]

I mean yea. We've had solar panel on dirt cheap calculators for decades not sure why anyone thought solar power should ever be that expensive if mass produced for use on the electrical grid.

One of the big problems has always been what do you do with all of the jobs displaced by solar and other renewable energy uses and republicans. A good start would be to raise the federal minimum wage to $13-$15 per hour so these people can make as much or close working at McDonald's than they use to at a coal mine. This problem has happened already without solar as natural gas prices have fallen and coal miners have lost their jobs because of decreased demand. Solar just has the potential to disrupt all fossil fuel industries.

Instead republicans are going to ignore the problem and as solar gets cheaper and cheaper despite them, then those people who work in the fossil fuel industry will be stuck in poverty and left behind.

This nation could have been at the forefront of solar and renewable energy and had enough wealth to redistribute it appropriately. But like everything else people are ignorant and voted against their self interest.

 

[E-Cat]

I find it funny that we're so disproportionately 'worried' about coal miners. They're a relatively marginal group compared to, say, truck drivers; And that profession is about to get automated up the ass over the next 5-10 years.

 

[DrROBschiz]

Economics was always the only way to make the transition

At least they had several subsidies from various governments to jumpstart the industry but they were always going to need to iterate to a competitive place

Glad to see its finally happening cuz you were never gonna beat the right wingers on this argument otherwise

 

[Krakatoa]

Coal miners can train again to become Solar installers.

Can't wait to get my house running on Solar power.

 

[theepicoftyler]

Sad!

 

[XOMTOR]

Not in Canada. Our morons in office started imposing tariffs on Chinese panels to protect domestic manufacturers so our price per watt is way too high to be feasible in our climate.

 

[HStallion]

I imagine a future were coal miners are replaced with solar powered installers and workers and still have the same ignorant, short term, one track mindset on everything but about solar energy,"What's this fission reaction you coastal elites keep talking about that's going to take away all of our solar energy jobs!"

 

[FreedomFighter]

So excited for renewable energies.

 

[ezrarh]

This will be great as the rest of the world continues developing. Hopefully we don't regress too far in the states.

 

[evilromero]

Too bad US energy companies are in the oil and gas business, rather than the energy business.

 

[Frankfurter]

All those countries listed have something in common. What about countries that don't see as much sunshine, in northern Europe for example? Are we going to see under-sea powerlines from sunnier climates exporting electricity? Or is that not feasible?

You mean countries like Germany?

 

[HStallion]

You mean countries like Germany?

He means the country of the mole people living under the earth.

 

[Horns]

It will happen a lot sooner than anyone thinks. Let's work on retraining coal miners rather than lying to them.

 

[offtopic]

Too bad US energy companies are in the oil and gas business, rather than the energy business.

In Elon we trust (tesla is not primarily a car business).

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Good, starve out the coal industry.

 

[always crazy bacon]

Coal is forever. Solar is just a fad. What happens when the sun explodes?

Bet they didnt think about that!

 

[NobleXenon]

Heh, I recently started getting quotes for a 10KW system for my new home. I'm surprised how inexpensive they're getting. I thought it was because I lived in a sunny state of Nevada, but it must be a global phenomena.

 

[LegendofJoe]

I hope solar roof shingles will be in my price range in 7 to 10 years. I really, really want to be energy independent and have an electric car powered by my own solar power.

 

[HStallion]

It will happen a lot sooner than anyone thinks. Let's work on retraining coal miners rather than lying to them.

The only ones who are lying to them are the ones saying coal is making a big come back.

 

[pulsemyne]

The Uk, just like Germany is interconnected with the french power grid so we already share electricity when countries need a bit extra. Intergrating europe's electricity system even more is perfectly possible and with Solar seeing increased demand as well as Wind power (which the UK has a huge capability of expanding) we should, hopefully see the demise of coal for power generation soon, at least in europe.

 

[pulsemyne]

Heh, I recently started getting quotes for a 10KW system for my new home. I'm surprised how inexpensive they're getting. I thought it was because I lived in a sunny state of Nevada, but it must be a global phenomena.

You can thank China for that. They have driven down solar costs becuase they recognise that they need to do something about all the coal fired plants polluting their air.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Economics was always the only way to make the transition

At least they had several subsidies from various governments to jumpstart the industry but they were always going to need to iterate to a competitive place

Glad to see its finally happening cuz you were never gonna beat the right wingers on this argument otherwise

Oil production is heavily subsidized (5.3 trillion, 6.5% of global GDP)

 

[Cappa]

Heh, I recently started getting quotes for a 10KW system for my new home. I'm surprised how inexpensive they're getting. I thought it was because I lived in a sunny state of Nevada, but it must be a global phenomena.

Out of curiousity, what are the prices you are being quoted? Rough ballpark figure.

 

[E-Cat]

Not in Canada. Our morons in office started imposing tariffs on Chinese panels to protect domestic manufacturers so our price per watt is way too high to be feasible in our climate.

Same thing in Europe. Though they recently reduced the Chinese tariffs by a few percent. Meh.