China stops building wind turbines because most of the energy is wasted
Could this be the end of new wind turbine projects in China for the foreseeable future? China has stopped approving plans to build new turbines as huge amounts of wind power was wasted in 2015. Last year it was reported that 15 % was lost due to the intermitted nature of wind turbine energy and China’s electricity grid being unable to cope with the infrequent power surges. China’s National Energy Administration stated that turbine regions had the capacity of 71 gigawatts of electricity but wasted approximately 34 billion kilowatts of wind power in 2015. Electricity generation ‘demand’ is a key factor as generation methods are turned ‘on’ to meet the immediate demand. The problem with wind generation is the unpredictability of the wind which leads to interruptions in supply. Additionally in China most of the wind capacity is in coastal regions which is a far away from where it is needed, as a result heavy investments need to be made in infrastructure to transmit the electricity, which is a costly venture. In 2014 China spent more than $80 billion building new energy initiatives. Click here for the full article.
Shenhua Energy looking overseas to counteract downturn
With weakening domestic demand and harshening environmental regulations in China, Shenhua Energy Co, the country’s largest coal company, is looking overseas for export opportunities. According to Vice Chairman Ling Wen, the company intends on exporting between 5 and 10 million tons of high quality thermal coal in 2016 to Japan and South Korea, a huge jump from 1.2 million tons shipped last year. Last week, Shenhua Energy reported its third annual profit decline, with net income dropping 55% to 17.6 billion yuan from 39 billion a year ago. In an effort to counteract the decline in the home market, Shenhua aims to recover its coal sales overseas, specifically in Japan and South Korea. Click here for the full article.
Too early to hail dip in China’s CO2 ?
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported Chinese Carbon Dioxide emissions dropped rapidly in the 2014 – 2015 period which is likely due to the reduction in coal usage and slump in the economic growth. At the Paris climate change conference in December (COP21) China promised that its Carbon emissions will be drastically be reduced in an aggressive international plan to tackle climate change. However The Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Oslo (CICERO) stressed that coal consumption measured by weight did drop 3.7% but this reduction may be contradicted as a higher quality of coal is being used which releases more energy and pollutants. CICERO remained positive with its conclusions stating that even though there is a slump in growth a pickup of Chinese economy will not have a net increase in coal consumption and emissions. Click here for the full article.
General Electric set to increase investment in renewables in China
As China is pushing hard to reinvent its renewable energy sector, General Electric Co is following suit and investing in clean energy in China. Since 2005, the company has invested approximately $15 billion into research and development of the clean-energy market, and has now pledged a further $10 billion. China is currently aiming to have 15% of its total power generated by non-fossil fuel based energy by 2020, which according to the National Energy Administration will generate an additional investment of up to $353 billion over the next five years. General Electric’s renewable energy division president and chief executive officer Jerome Pecresse stated that China is the world’s largest and one of the most competitive markets for renewable energy and therefore presents a unique opportunity for investment and growth in the sector which GE intends on pursuing in the coming years. Click here for the full article.