alt.energy is a fun idea to kick around but it does not provide baseload energy. What the utility can depend on 24/7. The dirty secret is that for every 100kW of wind or solar capacity, there is another 100kW worth of gas turbine running on "hot standby" ready to spool up at a moment's notice when the wind dies or when it gets cloudy. China makes mouth-noises about alt.energy but they use coal for their baseload. China has a growing economy so their energy needs are growing.
From John Kemp at Reuters:
China’s widening electricity crisis caused by coal shortage
China is in the grip of a severe shortage of both coal and electricity as the economy has resumed strong growth after the coronavirus recession but coal mine output has failed to keep up, leaving generators short of fuel.
Reflecting a booming economy, China’s electricity generation increased by 616 Terawatt-hours (13%) in the first eight months of 2021 compared with the same period last year.
Demand up by 13%, coal mining up by 6% — something's gotta give:
Coal prices have more than doubled to almost $210 per tonne, up from just $90 this time last year, based on the most actively traded contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
No wonder they are having blackouts. This ties in with my previous post.
Time to stock up, hunker down and lay low. This will blow over but it may be several years before it does.
Leave a comment