I doubt the coal companies will stop digging coal, unless they are forced to by government regulations and lack of demand by coal fired plants being replaced by Gen IV nuclear. There will still be a small amount of digging for use at steel and cement plants. Solar panels are less than half of what I paid in 1997, and my self installed system paid for itself in 6 years, then by 9 years later(2006) I paid off my small mortgage. Doing all the trades and doing them well, all I had were materials costs on a small mortgage, basically. Unfortunately, only a small percentage can do that. The profiteering installers keep the costs up. I would have used nickel-iron batteries that are available now, and they add to the system cost, but last 25 years. Even with lower priced panels, there has been no big boom. People on the grid in the sunny areas are not going solar and disconnecting. Some who made the mistake of a grid tie system are being ripped off by the power companies and regret what they did, and the story is read in the newspaper. It makes me sick that places like Colorado Springs in a perfect solar area, have a coal fired power plant right downtown. Pastel shoebox housing developments too close (many burned up in the foothills), when there are plenty of tires for Earthships. The same with my old town, Phoenix. Too many houses, and built above the 70*F underground temperatures, and needing AC.
_________________ "With every decision, think seven generations ahead of the consequences of your actions" Ute rule of life. “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”― Chief Seattle “Those Who Have the Privilege to Know Have the Duty to Act”…Albert Einstein
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