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Q: “Are we doomed?” A: “We would be, if not for the amazing developments in renewable energy.”
(powering-the-planet.ghost.io)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
I'm saying it does matter. When you go to a business and say you can buy a widget for $1000, or for $500, and they both do the same thing, the business will choose the cheaper one. Sure, lobbying will get businesses some favors, loosen some regulation, get some subsidies, but at a certain point it's not enough, the economics take over.
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The article I shared is about how solar is now the cheapest form of power. So that is what's happening.
Coal companies are literally going bankrupt as coal plants get decommissioned. When it comes to actual political power, the fossil fuel industry you want to watch out for is oil and gas, not coal.
Mine all the coal you want. If you don't have anyone willing to buy from you, at a price that covers the cost of extraction, you will fail.
So even though the coal companies' bankruptcies are getting them out of their cleanup and decommissioning obligations, the root cause of that is that coal just isn't competitive as an energy source.