New wind and solar generation costs fall below existing coal plants

The cost of new solar and wind power generation has dropped below the cost of running existing coal-fired plants in many parts of the US.

The Financial Times says that the calculations threaten “to wreck Trump’s hopes of reviving the mining industry”, and that the news suggests that the closures of coal-fired plants are “likely to continue”. US coal power output has fallen by more than 40 percent since 2007, and retirements of US coal-fired plants are expected to hit a record high this year, the Financial Times adds.