Citing a publication in the journal Energy and Environmental Materials, the source claims that electricity generated from solar energy is cheaper than electricity generated by coal-fired power plants.
The basis for this assertion was a study conducted by the International Energy Agency (IEA). It says: “In most markets, photovoltaic solar or wind power currently represents the cheapest source of new electricity generation available.”
The source recalls that the IEA, created during the oil crisis of the 1970s to provide statistics on the oil market, has been criticized in the past for "downplaying the speed with which the world can switch to renewable energy." All the more weighty is the fact that the IEA promotes renewable energy not on environmental grounds, but on the basis of economic calculations.
In some cases, building a new solar power plant is even cheaper than continuing to operate an existing coal or natural gas power plant. IRENA estimates that operating 61% of US coal capacity is more expensive than building new renewable energy plants. Decommissioning these coal-fired power plants and replacing them with renewables would save $5.6 billion in costs and reduce CO2 emissions by 332 million tons per year.
Decommissioning all unprofitable coal-fired power plants worldwide and replacing them with renewables would save $32 billion annually and 9% of all energy-related CO2 emissions.
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