Wind or solar power now cheaper than coal in some of U.S.

U.S. Department of Energy map; click the image to enlarge it

It's now cheaper to build a new utility-scale solar or wind farm than to keep operating an existing coal-fired power plant, especially in Texas and the Plains States, according to an analysis by investment bank Lazard. The bank analyzes the cost of different types of energy every year, factoring in the cost of operations, components, and other variables to determine the levelized cost of energy, which is the smallest dollar amount per unit of energy that would allow an investor in the project to get at 12 percent return, Irina Ivanova reports for CBS News.

For coal this year, the LCOE is between $27 and $45 per megawatt, a wind farm is $29 to $56, and a solar farm is $31 to $44. Wind power costs have dropped dramatically in the past few years because of advancing technology; the biggest turbines installed today can produce twice as much power as they could 10 years ago, and wind turbines accounted for 8 percent of the current electric generating capacity in 2016, the latest year measured,  according to the Energy Information Administration.

Texas had the most wind power capacity and generation in 2016, with Iowa, Oklahoma, California and Kansas rounding out the top five, the EIA reports.

"The bank noted that this analysis applies to developed economies, and excludes places like India and China, parts of which are very dependent on coal," Ivanova reports. "But in the U.S., coal plant construction has ground to a near halt, and many utilities are successfully making the case for renewables to their customers. This year has seen the second-higher number of coal plant retirements on record.