Why “Coal” is being discussed
The most recent Hacker News stories and comments contributing to this topic's mentions.
No, it’s not and you have no clue what you are talking about. There is a reason even Germany is still heavily dependent on coal despite investing hundreds of billions into renew…
by cbmuser · Oct 17, 2026
A kWh is a kWh. A kWh of either solar or nuke means a kWh of coal or gas was not burnt. Seems like apples to apples to me.
by dalyons · Oct 17, 2026
> The number of coal plants is not relevant. It is how much coal they use that is relevant. The majority of the electricity they actually generate is from coal.
by AnthonyMouse · Oct 17, 2026
They have more hydro and less nuclear. Hydro can displace anything when you have the geography suitable to actually build it. Which means the thing it displaced is the thing the…
by AnthonyMouse · Oct 17, 2026
None of the generation options have tightly controlled lifetimes. So that means you can always "put off" work to some extent and that hasn't changed between a Coal power plant a…
by tialaramex · Oct 17, 2026
The number of coal plants is not relevant. It is how much coal they use that is relevant. Their massive and continuing renewable expansion along with massive storage expansion i…
by tzs · Oct 17, 2026
Interest
Proportion of Hacker News items mentioning "coal" over time.
Mentions
Total number of Hacker News items mentioning "coal" over time.
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as layers called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. It is a fossil fuel, formed when plants decay into peat which is converted into coal by the heat and pressure of deep burial over millions of years. Vast deposits formed from wetlands called coal forests that covered much of the tropics during the late Carboniferous and early Permian. Read more on Wikipedia