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It's instructive to compare this list comparing the carbon intensity of electricity generation by state: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carbon_Intensity_of_
by wysinwyw 7y ago
It's instructive to compare this list comparing the carbon intensity of electricity generation by state:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carbon_Intensity_of_Eletricity_by_State.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carbon_Intensity_of_Eletr...
to this list of the cost of electricity by state:
http://www.neo.ne.gov/programs/stats/inf/204.htm http://www.neo.ne.gov/programs/stats/inf/204.htm
Objectively, electricity costs the most in states that have the lowest carbon intensity of generation, i.e. the highest share of wind and solar. The correlation is off the charts. Any analysis that says that wind and solar are cheaper than fossil fuels that doesn't address this simple, objective fact is a snow job.
(The outliers are Washington and Oregon -- because those states use hydropower instead of solar or wind.)
- pacerwpg 7y agoThe article was comparing coal costs vs Solar and Wind. Carbon output from fossil fuels suggests not only coal, but also oil and natural gas.
- wysinwyw 7y agoCoal is much cheaper than oil and comparable to natural gas. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/resource_use.php https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/resource_use....
- woodandsteel 7y agoOil is a very small part of electric generation. Natural gas has gotten a lot cheaper than coal, which is why so many coal plants are being shut down. More recently, renewable has started to get cheaper than natural gas.
- woodandsteel 7y agoYou need to remember that wind and solar (and storage for them) have been getting cheaper at a regular rate. The current total costs include older renewable energy installations that were much more expensive than recently built ones, and future ones will be even more cost efficient.