For the solar and wind industries in the United States, it has been a long-held dream: to produce energy at a cost equal to conventional sources like coal and natural gas. That day appears to be dawning. The cost of providing electricity from wind and solar power plants has plummeted over the last five years, so much so that in some markets renewable generation is now cheaper than coal or natural gas. Utility executives say the trend has accelerated this year, with several companies signing contracts, known as power purchase agreements, for solar or wind at prices below that of natural gas, especially in the Great Plains and Southwest, where wind and sunlight are abundant. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/b...-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
the best deal going for wind and solar are agreements the retail customer can make with their local power company. These agreements allow the customer to state how much (by percentage) of their electricity they want generated by renewables. I saw it on tv. The couple said that they chose 100% and it was about $10 more per month.