Solar and wind can also be said to use a lot less land, as often the land is dual-use (agriculture, sheep make good solar farm groundkeepers), or for offshore wind, out at sea. A mix of renewables will give a balance, but yes, a still overcast winter day might need alternative power to kick in right now.
A coal plant is not just the area for the coal plant, it is the area of the coal mines that feed it, the railroads to transport the coal, and so on.
And the emissions costs, in the long term, are also untenable.
People say that solar has an upfront carbon cost - as if all the steel and concrete in a coal plant has no carbon cost! As if a one-off cost outweighs decades of emissions from a coal plant. I don't understand the comments here bringing these arguments up - I can only suggest that these people have swung right into the "slick youtube video replaces actual science" problem.