Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic
The costs of coal and other fuels hould include downstream atmospheric pollution.
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Yes. And since we're discussing California, part of the cost of using fossil fuels to generate electricity is the cost of transporting it there. There just aren't any significant coal or natural gas deposits there, so you either have to haul it in by the trainload, build natural gas pipelines, or turn it into electricity near the source and ship that.
IDK whether shipping electricity is cheaper than shipping fuel. However, once you have the transmission network built, you can use it to ship electricity from any source. Got way more hydro in Washington or wind in Texas than you can use locally? Put it on the grid and ship it where it's wanted.