For the past decade, liberal policy wonks and the mainstream media have celebrated the forced closure of numerous coal plants. AdvertisementThe media’s claims to the contrary, most of the closed coal plants weren’t taken offline because they were uncompetitive with wind, solar, or natural gas. Their research discovered that, “[o]n average, existing coal plants operate at $45.57 per megawatt-hour (MWh).” At $62.09/MWh, new industrial wind facilities are even less cost-competitive with existing coal than existing facilities are, 25 percent more expensive. Even the highest-cost 25 percent of coal plants produce cheaper electricity than new wind and solar.