Thread by @electronecon

The great work by @ajmyers214 @EricGimon and @oboylemm of @EnergyInnovLLC inspired me to do a little blog and some back-of-the-envelope calculations based on their latest study on the #coalcrossover...
🧵🚨!
blog.ucsusa.org/joseph-daniel/…
1/x

So, the amazing work speaks for itself, so if you haven't read the full report, go do that. Right now.
energyinnovation.org/publication/th…

2/x

Okay, now that you are back... The first thing I did after reading the report was open the work papers and dig through the data. I assume that is SOP for most of #energytwitter.
3/x

What I found fascinating was just how cost-effective replacing coal with clean is. Investing $29 million per year in clean energy (annualized capital costs + annual O&M) helps us avoid over $35 million in costs associated with burning coal. 4/x

Like most CBA, that's all the costs and most of the benefits and it still passes with flying colors! We could actually save customers $6.5 BILLION by shutting down dirty uneconomic coal and replacing it with clean affordable energy! (way to burry the lead, EI) 5/x

What's more, anyone that has ever heard @JigarShahDC talk about this issue knows that the transition to clean energy is a huge potential to create wealth! And this study really goes to show it! This is a wealth-building opportunity on multiple levels... 6/x

First off, that $6.5 billion in savings means $6.5 billion in freed-up expenses for families and businesses to invest. Or, for many families, to spend on important things that they can't currently afford. 7/x

Second, replacing coal with clean energy requires a huge investment. Investments that local communities and families can (and should) go be able to invest in and make a return on investment!
8/x

Right now, burning coal only creates wealth for the wealthy corporate shareholders and c-suites of electric utilities and coal mining companies. Coal mining companies have literally extracted the wealth out of poor communities in Central Appalachia for more than a century. 9/x

Community solar, rooftop solar, residential DR, residential & commercial energy efficiency... these clean energy products are inherently investments in local families, local communities, and local businesses. 10/x

And third, there are tons of US-based start-ups in the energy space. Lots of great investment to be done in this space! Meanwhile, coal investment is... struggling. 11/x

Obviously, I know that all of these calculations are simplifications. If you want to think of them as upper/lower limits that's fine by me. They still tell the more important story: replacing coal-fired power with clean energy makes sense today. Not in 2030 or 2035. Today! fin.