, Columnist
Price Is No Longer an Obstacle to Clean Power
The costs of renewable energy and battery storage have plummeted, just as most old coal plants need to be replaced.
A problem that’s getting cheaper to solve.
Photographer: Jeff Swensen/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
As the harm from climate change becomes increasingly manifest, there is some good news: The estimated cost of reducing carbon emissions is falling rapidly. One dramatic example is an analysis by Geoffrey Heal of Columbia University showing that it would cost only $6 billion a year for the U.S. to move to carbon-free electricity generation by 2050.
Even if the precise numbers are off, Heal is right to emphasize that the transition to cleaner energy is much less costly today than it used to be. Three forces are changing the math.