"China Thrives; Rest of World Hopes"

 Source:

https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/international-issues/china-thrives-rest-of-world-hopes/

"While the rest of the world is in semi-lockdown and hoping the COVID vaccines will return the world to normalcy, China is growing its economy with skyrocketing electricity demand and massive production and exports.

Unlike California, Texas, and Germany, China is not relying on wind and solar power to generate its electricity.

Rather, it is building coal plants galore.

In areas of China where coal plants dominate, electricity prices are low, allowing those areas to become meccas of manufacturing.

And Mexico, our southern neighbor, is following somewhat in these footsteps, relying on its domestic-owned power first before using its solar and wind plants to generate power.

 But the Biden administration is ignoring these countries’ policies and plowing ahead with transitioning to a carbon-free generating sector by 2035, as the President promised during his campaign.



China’s electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, soared 22 percent in the first two months of this year as the country’s economy continued to restore growth.

China added 38.4 gigawatts of new coal-fired power capacity in 2020—more than three times the amount built elsewhere around the world.

Including decommissions, China’s coal-fired fleet capacity rose by a net 29.8 gigawatts in 2020, despite the rest of the world making cuts of 17.2 gigawatts.

China approved the construction of another 36.9 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity last year, three times more than a year earlier, bringing the total under construction to 88.1 gigawatts.

It now has 247 gigawatts of coal power under development, enough to supply all of Germany and more than the entire U.S. coal fleet of 218 gigawatts.

China’s latest 5-year plan released earlier this month indicates a continuation of its coal investments in the power sector.

... China is the largest consumer of commodities in the world and as the world’s electrification continues, it will need to import certain commodities such as copper, nickel, iron ore, and oil. Copper is an important commodity used in electric vehicles and renewable energy sources.

Some forecasters believe that there will be a massive deficit in copper in 2021, increasing its already soaring price further.

Nickel’s price has also surged to 7-year highs as automakers continue to ramp up electric vehicle production in response to government policies.

... The Biden administration wants to make the U.S. electric system carbon free by 2035, thereby making it less resilient and less supply diverse, which could result in power outages as seen in Texas and California.

The result of the transition to wind and solar power in these states is that homeowners not wanting to risk being without electricity are buying gasoline and diesel generators, thereby negating the carbon free aspects of the wind and solar power plants.

Biden’s policies are not in line with China’s nor are they in line with our southern neighbor, Mexico.

Both countries are giving priority to non-intermittent technologies."