For sure but I still find it quicker to just spiral carve up a 2x2 spruce and chuck it all into a dedicated charcoal smelter that uses its own charcoal to smelt everything.

But if someone strip mines a ton, then yeah, coal as a byproduct is better, I suppose.

I always like renewables though. Even a slow or wasteful farm is better than doing it myself, when I play, so to each their own.