Findings show carbon pollution from power plants can be cut
cost-effectively by using wind, solar and natural gas
It’s less costly to get electricity from wind turbines and
solar panels than coal-fired power plants when climate change costs and other
health impacts are factored in, according to a new study published in
Springer’s Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences.
In fact—using the official U.S. government estimates of
health and environmental costs from burning fossil fuels—the study shows it’s
cheaper to replace a typical existing coal-fired power plant with a wind
turbine than to keep the old plant running. And new electricity generation from
wind could be more economically efficient than natural gas.