Dr. Hax on Nostr: I don't understand why seemingly well informed people would advocate for burning coal ...

I don't understand why seemingly well informed people would advocate for burning coal to produce electricity. Even if we ignore the emissions and pollution, there's the glaring problem of cost. Electricity from coal is expensive.

Maybe it's short term thinking? Maybe they place a huge value on flexible sources of power instead of having a flexible load? Maybe they're just trying to get more attention than if they promoted doubling down on the least expensive sources of electricity?

Of course, these same people also seem to promote nuclear, which is basically the most expensive option possible, so maybe it's the latter explanation.

At least natural gas comes close to the cost of geothermal, wind and solar. I get why people would advocate for that. And I get that hydroelectric isn't an option in some locations (although, if it is, it wins on price, emissions, pollution, and reliability).