Energy firms urged to mothball coal plants as cost of solar tumbles

Companies could save billions, says report, as well as curbing carbon emissions

Building new solar power projects would generate cheaper electricity than running most of the world's existing coal power plants, according to a global renewable energy report.

New figures have revealed that more than half of the world's coal plants could be undercut by the falling cost of new large-scale solar projects, which are now more than 80% cheaper to build than in 2010.