Cost

• Fossil fuels are a relative bargain and are substantially cheaper than most "alternative" energy sources, in terms of the amount of energy they generate compared to the dollar cost for that energy. For example, compared to generating electricity by burning coal or natural gas, it costs about twice as much to run a wind-generating station and three times as much to generate electricity by using marine wave energy. The only other source which is on the same level as fossil fuels is nuclear energy.
  
  

Convenience

• Fossil fuels are relatively easy to obtain, transport, store and use. They can be stored almost indefinitely until needed without deteriorating and are safe enough to be pumped into people's homes or cars and carried around. Nuclear power, by contrast, involves using radioactive materials which are highly dangerous even in small amounts and must be handled with extreme caution.
  
  

Efficiency

• Fossil fuels release a large amount of heat energy when combusted and an efficient generating station makes use of most of this energy with high efficiency. A single coal fired generating station can provide electricity for a million and a half homes.
  
  

Small Footprint

• Fossil fuels plants such as coal and natural gas electrical generating stations take up a comparatively small land mass compared to some alternative technologies. A 1,000-megawatt coal station would require a land area of between 1 and 4 square kilometers, whereas to generate the same amount of electricity from a wind farm would take between 50 and 150 square kilometers.