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99_00·

If it's true that solar is cheaper than coal, how is it possible that countries are reluctant to move away from coal?

Either countries and companies like to burn money. Or the statement that solar is cheaper than coal is deceptive.

Plunging Prices Mean Building New Renewable Energy Is Cheaper Than Running Existing Coal

https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2018/12/03/plu...

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Solar is cheaper than coal only when sun shines brightest in the noon, while the peak demand is generally around sunset. Solar energy generation is anywhere from 30-50% of nameplate capacity depending on location. This necessitates, additional solar equivalent capacity installation of peaker plants, or base load plants to cater to sunlight unavailable hours.

Newer storage tech is needed to address the situation like batteries, hydro or concentrated solar etc. Almost all of them are costlier than straight up burning coal or gas now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_curve

While solar is cheaper, the problems are regulatory.

There's a huge number of people in fossil fuel industries. Not only mining and refining, but gas stations and fuel oil truckers etc. It will be very disruptive to tell all those people that their jobs are obsolete and to find something else to do. And the land end equipment that all those companies had bought is now worthless, then they can't pay their loans, so you have to bail out them or at least their banks, so the banks have some money they can lend to other people.

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