General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: One Simple Chart Shows Why An Energy Revolution Is Coming - And Who Is Likely To Come Out On Top [View all]modrepub
(3,493 posts)PJM being the grid manager for most of the east and midwest regions. As best I can figure, the break even point for a coal plant is between $40-43 per MW, gas plants are around $30 per MW. The actual price on the grid fluctuates due to load conditions. If electric prices stay low on the grid for an extended period of time then coal plants loose money and eventually shut down permanently. According to EPA's CAMD website, the number of units in the US that list coal as their primary fuel source has declined 30% between 2015 and 2017.
I suspect the prices used in this report are based on the total costs of a new plant averaged out for the lifetime of the plant. In round figures it costs about one billion dollars to build a large combined cycle gas plant. A comparable land-based wind farm is around four to six billion dollars. A similar sized coal plant six to eight billion dollars and nuclear fifteen to twenty-five billion dollars. Given these costs, why would any finance company or bank buy into a plant that will receive the same price for a megawatt of electircity as a combined cycle gas plant? Unless it's government backed or financed, I don't see very many coal or nuclear plants being constructed in the future. At some point all the existing coal and nuclear plants will either age out or close because they are no longer economical to operate.