Even if a utility wants to retire an unprofitable coal unit, they might not be allowed to do so (by the state) if they're still paying it off. Let's also say they want to retire their entire fleet and go to renewables as you suggest. Will they be allowed to raise rates to pay for the millions of dollars necessary to do so? How will the poor afford a new and expensive bill? Also, although I would agree that this is good for the environment and could be vital to survival as a species, are you ok with a less reliable grid? I am, but this isn't an easy sell. I can tell you right now that there isn't enough storage that can be built anytime soon to make a rush transition for the nation. Hawaii is working on this, and they are tiny with abundant sun. But what happens in bad weather when the sun doesn't shine for a week? They need many multiples of their total capacity in storage to avoid rolling blackouts. I'm not saying it is impossible, but there are big hurdles without making this the Federal government's most important issue.
There might be some of what you talk of as well with some groups resisting change (of course there is), but in reality it isn't as simple as all utilities are evil. The reality is that there are huge changes already going on in industry that are happening about as fast as we can go. Renewable integration is happening and very quickly. The fuel-mix in my region has shifted from only a few percent of renewables into the majority of what we have online at times. This huge progress has occurred in less than a decade! This is a huge technological and social problem. Please do keep up your interest and sense of urgency though. Public opinion will be the primary motivator of Washington.