Why do we still use coal power?

Question

i dont get it why do we still ue coal power if we just had less coal power plans we will have less global warming not nuclear cus thats really dangerous apparently but whats wrong wid hydro n wind n solar like in england we cud use alot of wind power and hydro and i live near a coal power plant and its stupid can some1 plz tell me why we stil have these coal power plants still with all the problems they cause

Answer 1

Cheap easily available and fairly clean burning unless you have hydro power you can't find a much better source of power. Solar doesn't work well unless you are in a sunny place and is very expense. We are getting some wind power but that is expensive too and only good in windy locations.

Hydro is cheap but it means building dams and harming fish runs so not very green.

Answer 2

It's all about the almighty dollar-coal is cheap. No one cares about the environment when it comes to making money unfortunately. I've said it before and I will say it again.

If we were to know today that the world was coming to an end there would be way too many people crying "do you know how much money we are going to lose!"

Answer 3

It's cheap and there is plenty of it

Answer 4

It's more to do with resources, as coal is not a very expensive raw material, keeping the plant running and maintaining its profitability is still feasible.

Nuclear power is not a 'bad' energy source as what the media lead us into believe, the nuclear power plants in Canada and France are all very safe and very efficient.

As for hydro and wind power, the raw material cost is virtually zero, it is more to do with local residents 'banning' them as they destroy their local sceneries.

To be honest, for the energy industry, they have strict environmental emission regulations to adhere to, for profitability, they need to make their plants as efficient as possible, therefore they will try their best to minimise waste.

Furthermore, you wouldn't be too happy if your uncle works in that plant all his life and it got closed down wouldn't you?

Answer 5

It is soo much cheaper to produce electricity from coal.

and plus we already have existing coal plants...if we wanted to convert to any alternate source of energy like for instance solar or hydro, it would cost alot to first of all tear down the plant and then build the new plant. if money wasnt an issue then the us would be greener then grass.

lol

Answer 6

Natural living doesn't give instant gratification or profit margin.

Have you tried telling a union coal miner he's killing the planet? You're likely to get hit. He thinks he's feeding his family.

Answer 7

It cheap, reliable, coal can be found here in the U.S. in mass quantities.

Answer 8

1.  What's wrong with solar energy:  The solar panels are expensive to make, more expensive to maintian and take up vast areas of land that has to be cleared, destroying countless ecosystems.

2.  What's wrong with hydroelectric energy:  The damming of rivers interrupts the migratory cycles of fish, causing them to be unable to spawn and ultimately go extinct.  Dams also sometimes break, resulting in massive flooding and destruction.

3.  What's wrong with wind energy:  Again, takes up lots and lots of land.  The wind output is unpredictable and cannot sustain constant energy production, therefore cannot be depended upon to power any substantial population.  Windmills also have a habit of chopping up birds.

4.  What's wrong with nuclear energy:  Nuclear is actually the cleanest, most efficient power source that's widely available right now.  There have been all of 2 accidents at nuclear power plants-- one because they were messing with the reactor in an unsafe manner and one that really didn't do anything except prove that the safety systems work.  Many times more people are killed in coal mining accidents and/or dam break floods every year than as a result of nuclear meltdown.  The only waste product is a small amount of nuclear waste that, when properly disposed of, doesn't hold a candle to the carbon emmisions from coal-burning plants.  The only reason we don't have tons of nuclear plants is because pop culture and media hysteria have made people afraid of them.  The only thing that's more earth-friendly than nuclear power is geothermal power, and that's only available in geologically active places like Iceland.  If I had to pick one, I'd pick nuclear.

5.  What's wrong with coal:  Pretty much everything.  Coal is dangerous to mine, harmful to refine, produces massive amounts of waste and releases tons of carbon emmisions into the air when burned.  Even with the so-called "clean" scrubbers on coal towers, there are still risks... mostly in the form of electric companies who would rather pay the fine than install or maintain their scrubbers.  Boo, coal.

Answer 9

It's cheaper, not only in fuel costs, but because most existing power plants are coal-fired.

Answer 10

Because at the moment it is cheaper and easier to use coal. And if we want to live they we do, we must rely on cheapness.

Answer 11

$$$$    Coal is cheaper than other forms of energy available since we already have the infrastructure built.    Also, they know how to grease the palms of polliticians to get subsidies better than other forms of power production.   In time that will change, but it will take years.

Answer 12

It's cheaper than oil. Also, brings in money to West Virgina and Illinois.

Answer 13

Coal is great!!

Answer 14

I'm all for exploring alternatives, but I don't believe any that Environmentalists will tolerate pack the same punch that coal does.

There are drawbacks to everything (wind dices up birds flying over the Kennedy compound, hydro forces salmon to walk to their spawning grounds, etc.).  Coal is, to borrow a phrase from another poster, cheap and plentiful. It's also getting cleaner as technology evolves.

Answer 15

Cheap and more plentiful than OIL.

Answer 16

Because it is cheap, easy to come by, and *coughcough* NOT CAUSING GLOBAL WARMING!!!

OK, so use your brain for a second. Do you REALLY, TRULY, HONESTLY think that, by demolishing a few power plants, we are going to cool the ENTIRE planet? And do you really think that warming at a rate of ONE DEGREE per century is going to cause catastrophic calamities world-wide? The earth has been MUCH warmer than it is today, and life has thrived through it. (There were dinosaurs living in Antarctica!)

Global Warming is not a problem, so don't sweat it, buddy, OK?

Answer 17

affordable..