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I think we’re combining two related, but separate industries, here. I understand why fossil fuel producers want to continue to produce fossil fuels. That’s the product they sell. I get that, but what’s still not totally clear to me is why more electric utilities aren’t switching. Utilities don’t sell fossil fuels, they sell electricity. The utilities are the buyers of fossil fuels, they are the customers of the fossil fuel producers, and if there’s a cheaper way of generating the electricity they sell, I would think they’d want to switch. From what you’ve told me, it sounds like some utilities aren’t switching because solar isn’t the cheapest way to generate electricity everywhere, yet. So, what would it take for solar to become cheap enough for all utilities to make the switch?
It would take oil and gas companies running out of money to lobby to make it just cheap enough that utilities decide not to get rid of the methane infrastructure they have on their sites in favor of switching to renewables.
There is inertia of oil and gas infrastructure all the way to the power plant and to the home.
I think we’re combining two related, but separate industries, here. I understand why fossil fuel producers want to continue to produce fossil fuels. That’s the product they sell. I get that, but what’s still not totally clear to me is why more electric utilities aren’t switching. Utilities don’t sell fossil fuels, they sell electricity. The utilities are the buyers of fossil fuels, they are the customers of the fossil fuel producers, and if there’s a cheaper way of generating the electricity they sell, I would think they’d want to switch. From what you’ve told me, it sounds like some utilities aren’t switching because solar isn’t the cheapest way to generate electricity everywhere, yet. So, what would it take for solar to become cheap enough for all utilities to make the switch?
It would take oil and gas companies running out of money to lobby to make it just cheap enough that utilities decide not to get rid of the methane infrastructure they have on their sites in favor of switching to renewables.
There is inertia of oil and gas infrastructure all the way to the power plant and to the home.