Is renewable electricity cheaper than coal?

A recent article by Stephen Long for the ABC had the tag-line, “The tipping point’s been reached: renewable energy is now a cheaper source of power for Australia’s future electricity needs than coal” (and an intriguing URL path: “angus-taylor-energy-minister-power-price-solution-curious”). He certainly had some convincing data. He referred to a long-term deal signed by Origin last year, to “buy electricity from the Stockyard Hill wind farm being developed west of Ballarat in Victoria, reportedly at less than $55 a megawatt hour”.