California Renewable Energy Drives Fossil Fuel Plants to Close

SUGAR LAND, TEXAS--May 23, 2017--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Renewable energy in California is driving wholesale power prices to new lows and in turn forcing more fossil fuel power plants to close down due to the inability to recover variable costs. Real time power prices between 8AM and 2PM this spring have averaged between $0 and -$16 per megawatt hour (MWh) and the day-ahead prices have averaged -$2.56 (MWh), creating a risk that more conventional generation could be curtailed while also creating a likely increase in the number of fossil plant retirements as the energy market collapses. Comparatively, during March of 2013 thru 2015, wholesale power prices averaged between $14 and $45 (MWh) during the same time frame.

Within this article: Details on the downward trend of fossil fuel-powered plants in California, as result of renewable energy.