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> In 2020 alone China added 71.6GW of windpower. The problem here is that China's share of total energy from renewables has decreased from about 33% in 1990 to
by rsj_hn 5y ago
> In 2020 alone China added 71.6GW of windpower.
The problem here is that China's share of total energy from renewables has decreased from about 33% in 1990 to 13% in 2018[1].
Solar and Wind are not particularly useful given they are unreliable. Hydro is useful as it is reliable, but after the three gorges dam project, there isn't a lot left on the table in terms of hydro for China.
Note that this is not because China is reducing renewables but rather it's energy needs are increasing so rapidly.
And 58% of China's energy usage - 74 Terrawatt hours - is from coal, and that number is increasing -- 220 million more tons of coal being added just this year[2]
[1] https://www.worlddata.info/asia/china/energy-consumption.php https://www.worlddata.info/asia/china/energy-consumption.php
[2] https://www.reuters.com/article/china-coal/chinas-coal-consumption-seen-rising-in-2021-imports-steady-idUSL3N2L12A9 https://www.reuters.com/article/china-coal/chinas-coal-consu...
- natmaka 5y ago> this is not because China is reducing renewables but rather it's energy needs are increasing so rapidly. This is key (also: in the graph hydro isn't accounted for), and the reason why the current observed trend (huge push to renewables, increasing their share despite the rapid energy needs increase) is another key. > Solar and Wind are not particularly useful given they are unreliable Their variability can be reduced, maybe even totally compensated, by various methods: continental-scale deployment of wind turbines, using a mix of sources (wind, solar, biomass...), storage, smartgrid... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032115017013 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136403211... shows that is is true in Europe (quote: ""we demonstrate that the European energy system would strongly profit from exploiting the implications of these regimes for continent-scale wind generation patterns."), and maybe also for China (quote: "Liu et al. investigated wind energy complementarity across China, demonstrating that whereas a combination of wind and solar resources over a given area reduces the occurrence of zero-power hours, wind resources alone are sufficient to provide baseline power production, if a large enough area is considered.")
- m0zg 5y agoI guess we'll see, since China knows that GDP is directly tied to energy, and they are pursuing "all of the above" strategy. We've been pursuing the "make Al Gore rich" strategy so far.