Clean energy will soon be cheaper than coal in all major markets

Over the past year, the cost of coal for the first time in 10 years has decreased from $ 100 to $ 66, and the revenue from its sale by all exporting countries in 2020 will be reduced from $ 26 to $ 20.6 billion. At the same time, the attractiveness of clean-energy power plants is growing. According to recent reports, coal consumption and mining may soon become unprofitable.

Currently, the two countries have divided the bulk of coal exports. These are Indonesia and Australia. In Australia, mined coal provides 2/3 of the electricity. According to experts, in the next few years, demand for it will grow due to the increased needs of India, but in most other countries there is a tendency to switch to clean energy.

Experts say that wind and solar power plants come to replace coal. Already, there has been a tendency to reduce the cost of clean energy. For example, in China, wind energy is already cheaper than coal, and solar, according to forecasts, will cross this line by the end of this year. In Japan, energy from wind farms will become cheaper by 2028, solar by 2023 will be more profitable than the discovery of new coal deposits, and by 2026 it will be generally more profitable to import coal.

Such a trend does not mean a rapid abandonment of fossil fuels. Until now, in many countries there are government support programs for its production. In addition, you cannot convert power plants so quickly. Recent forecasts suggest that by 2030 the level of coal production and consumption will decrease by 59-78% compared with 2010, and then gradually will disappear.