Solar Cheaper Than Coal in 2 Years - Then What?

Fast Company posted yesterday that Solar power is projected to equal Coal power in terms of costs* by 2013. At that point, in a sane world, we would not install another Megawatt (MW) of Coal power. Yes, we still need Coal for back-up and consistency (solar is not a reliable 24/7 power source), but you'd have that in place with the now redundant coal plants as we install more and more solar power. I think this is actually already happening in California, and I'd be shocked if California ever built another coal power plant.

But will it spread to the fly-over states, the ones that don't believe Global Warming is real, the ones that have major coal-mining industries, and the entrenched business and union interests that go along with them? I'm not so sure.

This is where our innate resistance to change collides with a Pareto Optimality. We'll be able to get incredibly clean power on the cheap, save the environment, save lives, save money, and we'll come up with a bunch of excuses why we shouldn't do it. I'm sure the Koch Brothers will play a role in convincing the public that solar power isn't a good alternative to coal, not even when it's cheaper.

As a reminder, courtesy of Seth Godin, here's how many lives Coal power costs us relative to other energy sources.



*The caveats are that it is equal if you're a big, West coast utility that can by solar panels at volume and can install them in an area with ample sun.