Providing cell service takes at least the cost of electricity to run them. They're literally both electricity going down a wire. So yes, coal has to be mined an

Providing cell service takes at least the cost of electricity to run them. They're literally both electricity going down a wire. So yes, coal has to be mined and water reservoirs have to be created. You also have to build the equipment, and I imagine paying off that equipment's cost is more than the cost of electricity. That has to be mined, smelted, processed, worked, and assembled.