I think this is going to be very country specific. The UK for example has barely used any coal (relatively) for the main grid with a considerable amount of coal

I think this is going to be very country specific. The UK for example has barely used any coal (relatively) for the main grid with a considerable amount of coal-free days in the past couple of years. (currently coal provides 0.0% of the UK's fossil fuel electricity production and nearly 14% is renewable[0] though it was up to nearly 3% in February[1]) So while there is still a majority of the electricity coming from fossil sources (namely gas) it is on the decline and I'd certainly posit that a somewhat modern power station can generate electricity more efficiently than a car's diesel engine can... (happy to be proven wrong on this as I can't find any direct studies) [0]https://grid.iamkate.com/ https://grid.iamkate.com/ [1]https://www.nationalgrideso.com/electricity-explained/electricity-and-me/great-britains-monthly-electricity-stats https://www.nationalgrideso.com/electricity-explained/electr...