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Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by SideburnsOfDoom on Saturday August 07, 2021 @06:51AM (#28097569)
Solar is now ‘cheapest electricity in history’

https://www.carbonbrief.org/solar-is-now-cheapest-electricit...

New solar is now often cheaper than keeping a coal plant running

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/23/most-new...

And we should expect solar to get even cheaper.

Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by horrified on Saturday August 07, 2021 @07:50AM (#28097855)
Can you explain to me then why China is still building new coal based power plants? If solar is cheaper, why would anybody build something else?
Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by nabla9 on Saturday August 07, 2021 @08:07AM (#28097965)
Because solar energy is not cheapest form of 24/7 energy source.

Baseload is the minimum level of demand on an electrical grid over some timespan. Providing that baseload with solar or wind is not as cheap as hydro, coal, natural gas or nuclear.

Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by PragmaticPulp on Saturday August 07, 2021 @08:48AM (#28098212)
Because solar only works when it’s sunny.

The quoted prices for cheap solar energy don’t include storage. Solar plus storage is still expensive.

Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by SideburnsOfDoom on Saturday August 07, 2021 @08:11AM (#28097996)
Inertia.
Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by belorn on Saturday August 07, 2021 @08:45AM (#28098200)
Solar is cheapest in a similar way that fish is the cheapest food on an island.

If you only look at the days when catches are high then it is the cheapest method to produce food. If fish are your primary source of food, and every day you don't get enough you will have to eat expensive imported food, you food cost over the year can be quite high for a primary fishing nation. The fish will still be cheapest, but as a strategy it is somewhat expensive or carry a high risk of starvation.

Nations will build as much solar/wind as there is peak demand, because it is the cheapest energy when it produce. Nation will also build coal, oil and gas power plants in order to be there when those solar and wind aren't producing. Economically that is the cheapest way to produce a stable energy grid. Environmentally it is far from the best. Falling solar and wind prices reinforces this model.

Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by chewz on Saturday August 07, 2021 @09:47AM (#28098552)
And yet coal and natural gas prices reach multiyear highs due to unsatiated demand...
Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by nabla9 on Saturday August 07, 2021 @08:09AM (#28097985)
Not for a baseload needs.
Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by hcurtiss on Saturday August 07, 2021 @07:09AM (#28097652)
When the sun is out. And when you’re blanketing literally 6 SQUARE MILES of beautiful Oregon ground[1] at a time with PV panels, it starts to look a lot less cheap.

[1] https://www.oregon.gov/energy/facilities-safety/facilities/P...

Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by roenxi on Saturday August 07, 2021 @07:18AM (#28097678)
Actually you'll find the economies of scale probably help keep the costs down.

Square miles of land are pretty common. Blanketing them with something useful is a good thing.

Re:World to hit temperature tipping point 10 years faster th... by hcurtiss on Saturday August 07, 2021 @08:17AM (#28098031)
If you had ever driven from Shaniko to Maupin in early June when the prairie lupine is blooming, I doubt you’d be so cavalier.