La Plata Electric Association’s yearly elections for seats on its board of directors are unusually feisty affairs, given the otherwise mundane nature of rural electric cooperatives. Unfortunately, they have also become stuck on the same recurring theme: Is LPEA moving too quickly toward renewable energy? And will that shift prove too costly?

A recently released analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy puts that in perspective. Rather than moving too fast, a look at the overall U.S. energy industry suggests LPEA may have to scramble to keep up.

According to the DOE, for the second year in a row the U.S. has invested more in renewable energy than in fossil fuels. And in power generation, fossil fuels increasingly means the natural gas that more and more is replacing coal. Regardless of the fate of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan, the market and public sentiment are effectively accomplishing many of its objectives.

Leading the way is wind power. The cost of wind energy has dropped by two-thirds in the last six years, due largely to the advent of less expensive and more efficient turbines. Wind is now the cheapest energy source – cheaper than coal, even without counting federal tax incentives. The DOE figures that by 2030, wind alone will supply 20 percent of the United States’ electricity. It already generates enough to power 20 million homes. And the wind is not subject to price shocks, market dislocations or foreign upheavals.

The “war on coal” is not being waged by the Obama administration or nefarious environmentalists, but by the market. Banks are refusing to finance new mines or coal-fired power plants and, unbidden by government, capital is rushing into renewable energy projects.

In light of all that, our yearly argument about whether or how quickly to move toward renewable energy is beginning to seem silly.