I didn't suggest fossil-fuel-based energy production is superior. Having said that - maintenance of cars using fossil fuels is not a relevant comparison, since

I didn't suggest fossil-fuel-based energy production is superior. Having said that - maintenance of cars using fossil fuels is not a relevant comparison, since we're talking about power plants. Personally, I doubt that we can just -whoosh- swap the coal and petroleum for solar-based electricity and have our problems solved. It's likely that a lot of social effort to conserve more and waste less energy will be necessary to reach some sort of long-term-sustainable state of affairs.