Coal is dead; long live the sun

Coal is dead; long live the sun:

"For more than 100 years, coal has driven economic growth, powering the Industrial Revolution and helping much of the world develop. But its best days have passed. Pretty much anywhere you look in the world, coal is no longer the best option for energy or for jobs. In fact, it’s become a risky bet. The US and Europe have been shutting old coal plants left and right. In just the past two years, developing countries have retired the equivalent of 128 coal-fired generators. US coal production is at its lowest level since 1978. London was once coated in soot, its famous ‘pea soupers’ thought of as natural occurrences; but just last month, Britain had its first day of completely coal-free power since the industrial revolution and expects to fully phase out coal power by 2025. And demand for coal has not merely shifted from west to east, as many predicted it would. While big emerging economies like China and India do rely on coal, they have started to get the message. Last year, the amount of new coal plants in planning dropped dramatically, mainly because of these two countries, where construction at over 100 project sites has been frozen."



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