Sunday, August 08, 2021

China’s coal conundrum

Recommendable! Why are not more nuclear power plants are built to safely, reliably, and environmentally friendly meet the global power demand?

How many new coal power plants are opened in China per year? A lot! 

China is and continues to be heavily dependent on coal for energy supply decades into the future, while Western countries willfully mutilate their economies like Harakiri using communist central planning to meet ridiculous environmental/climate goals based on the Global Warming hoax/Climate Change religion. This self imposed paradox by Western countries is unfathomable and totally irrational!

"In 2020, China brought 38.4 gigawatts of new coal-fired power into operation, more than three times what was brought on line everywhere else. ... A total of 247 gigawatts of coal power is now in planning or development, nearly six times Germany’s entire coal-fired capacity. China has also proposed additional new coal plants that, if built, would generate 73.5 gigawatts of power, more than five times the 13.9 gigawatts proposed in the rest of the world combined. Last year, Chinese provinces granted construction approval to 47 gigawatts of coal power projects, more than three times the capacity permitted in 2019. ..." (Source)

"In the lead-up to the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party last month, hundreds of Chinese coal mines were ordered to shut down to ensure the celebrations weren’t marred by any fatal accidents [and smoke filled air]. ...
According to the South China Morning Post, 130 mines with a combined capacity of 186 million tonnes a year were closed in Shanxi, the biggest coal-producing province, while similar measures were implemented in other provinces. ...
The coal market highlights the irreconcilable pressures confronting the Chinese government.

It wants to lower carbon emissions in line with Xi Jinping’s promise to the United Nations last year of a peak in China’s emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2060. China’s embrace of ambitious climate targets was designed to get ahead of America on the eve of last year’s US presidential election. ...
In pursuit of these goals, the government has ordered steel production this year not to exceed the 1.05 billion tonnes produced in 2020. It has also handed out some economic punishment to Australia by banning purchases of Australian coal, on which it had spent $14 billion in 2018–19. ...
at the meeting of G20 climate and energy ministers in Italy last month, China joined India and Russia in opposing a resolution to mandate the shutdown of coal-fired power and to ban international finance of coal mining. ...
The decision to ban Australian coal, which has been enforced since last October, has been problematic for both China’s steel mills and its power stations. Although the steel mills have been able to replace Australian coal with Mongolian coal, the latter is lower quality and industry analysts say its use without blending with the high-quality coal that Australia is known for will result in damage to the coke ovens at the major mills and ultimately the loss of steel-making capacity. ...
A drought in southern China cut the availability of hydro power. Although China has been rolling out wind and solar power, their intermittent supply means the country has been relying more heavily on coal to meet the surge in demand for power over the summer. ..."

China’s coal conundrum | The Strategist

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