Phase out unabated coal-powered industrial facilities
- Industry and Materials
- Companies
- Financials
With government subsidies for renewables fading, clean power plants rely more and more on straight sales of electricity to be profitable. Where there is a wholesale market, the influx of low-marginal-cost wind and solar power plants pulls down realized electricity prices, increasing the risk that these generators cannot turn a profit. As such, policymakers should ensure there are competitive price signals for capacity development and dispatch. As well as encouraging an open and liquid market (for more on PPAs, see Pillar 1: Power and grids), options include introducing subsidy-free auctions and enabling renewables generators to participate in security-of-supply mechanisms.