The economic realities of coal have nothing to do with renewables. They have to do with cheap natural gas. That cheap natural gas is a byproduct of fracking the

The economic realities of coal have nothing to do with renewables. They have to do with cheap natural gas. That cheap natural gas is a byproduct of fracking the bakkan field. A natural gas plant can be run with an operator and a tech or two for maintainance. A coal plant takes a huge team of people to keep running, not to mention the capex required to keep emissions in range. Coal is expensive because other fossil solutions are cheaper. Renewables without storage are in no way a threat to coal alone - they don't fulfill the same function.