Chinese coal is so much more complicated than people give it credit for.
Provincial leaders don’t want to risk looking bad by having to import electricity from other provinces so they build coal plants then have hilariously low usage rates. They’re basically building coal peaker plants comma but the overall Chinese economy/party wants them to be building solar and other renewable tech because China is the manufacturer of that tech.
The result is that they’re building more power plants that have increasingly low utilization rates. Declining utilization rates even as they build more of them. Basically because of stupid internal politics. Again, they’re using coal as peaker plants. Which is unimaginable to someone versed in US energy policy but that’s because we forget that the capital cost of construction largely doesn’t matter in China.
The far larger concern with Chinese coal is not their domestic policy, it’s their foreign industrial policy - it’s the outside markets they’re getting hooked on coal.
Long-term it’s a problem that will take care of itself ignoring climate catastrophe. Because, again China builds the renewable tech. They want the world buying from the long term. And I guess they see some short-term Merit in unloading bargain coal but they’re going to make a lot more selling PV. The issue is that we don’t have time to wait for that long-term.
Ironically the best policy to curtail Chinese coal is almost exactly what the US is doing - heavy investments in renewables. Hit those prices with learning curves to make fossils even less competitive than they already are. Make it so even the bargain tech doesn’t make sense for those developing nations to use.
There are some indicators that Chinese coal consumption might have peaked a couple months back. Not definite yet, but a very real possibility
Chinese coal is so much more complicated than people give it credit for.
Provincial leaders don’t want to risk looking bad by having to import electricity from other provinces so they build coal plants then have hilariously low usage rates. They’re basically building coal peaker plants comma but the overall Chinese economy/party wants them to be building solar and other renewable tech because China is the manufacturer of that tech.
The result is that they’re building more power plants that have increasingly low utilization rates. Declining utilization rates even as they build more of them. Basically because of stupid internal politics. Again, they’re using coal as peaker plants. Which is unimaginable to someone versed in US energy policy but that’s because we forget that the capital cost of construction largely doesn’t matter in China.
The far larger concern with Chinese coal is not their domestic policy, it’s their foreign industrial policy - it’s the outside markets they’re getting hooked on coal.
Long-term it’s a problem that will take care of itself ignoring climate catastrophe. Because, again China builds the renewable tech. They want the world buying from the long term. And I guess they see some short-term Merit in unloading bargain coal but they’re going to make a lot more selling PV. The issue is that we don’t have time to wait for that long-term.
Ironically the best policy to curtail Chinese coal is almost exactly what the US is doing - heavy investments in renewables. Hit those prices with learning curves to make fossils even less competitive than they already are. Make it so even the bargain tech doesn’t make sense for those developing nations to use.