<\/p>\n
Two reports this week set out contrasting perspectives on that question. On Monday the research group Energy Innovation published an analysis suggesting that the US was reaching the point of \u201ccoal cost crossover\u201d, meaning that electricity is cheaper from new wind and solar capacity than from existing coal-fired plants. Hal Harvey of Energy Innovation argued: \u201cUtilities and their regulators must adapt to ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.enerjigazetesi.ist\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/enerji-degisiminde-tahminde-bulunmak-300x187.jpg\")
changing energy economics before they\u2019re stuck with stranded assets.\u201d As a BNEF report also pointed out during the week, the costs of renewable energy and storage are continuing to fall, and Mr Harvey wrote that by 2025, 86 per cent of US coal-fired plants could be replaced by wind and solar power at a lower cost.<\/p>\n
The IEA\u2019s latest World Energy Outlook included a new measure of competitiveness called value-adjusted LCOE (or VALCOE), which takes into account other factors including the flexibility of the power supplied. Brent Wanner of the IEA argued in a recent note that in India, for example, solar power risked becoming less competitive in the 2030s, after its share of electricity generation rose above 10 per cent. He concluded that the future of solar power \u201cwill continue to depend largely on decisions made by governments\u201d, and warned that without the right support, \u201cthe annual market for solar PV may stagnate or decline, an unfortunate fate that has happened to many other promising technologies\u201d.<\/p>\n
A report on global construction of coal-fired plants from Global Energy Monitor and other environmental groups this week found a mixed picture. Worldwide, most leading indicators of coal power capacity growth declined in 2018 for a third successive year, as the number of permits for new coal plants in China and India dropped to record lows. However, satellite pictures of China have shown \u201congoing construction at a number of project sites previously reported as suspended under central government restrictions\u201d. China\u2019s use of coal has already been growing; its carbon dioxide emissions grew by about 3 per cent last year, their fastest pace since at least 2013, according to Unearthed. A new paper for Nature Communications concluded that the development of wind, solar and nuclear power meant that China\u2019s emissions were likely to peak \u201cwell in advance of 2030\u201d. However, as Ben Geman observed for Axios, \u201cnone of this can be taken for granted\u201d.<\/p>\n