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Coal consumption has peaked there. Solar is growing explosively.
by pfdietz 11mo ago
Coal consumption has peaked there. Solar is growing explosively.
- specialist 11mo agoYes and: Recent Volts episode has great overview of China's electro-tech build out, world is at or near peak fossil fuel across all sectors and countries (with 1 notable exception), etc. Clean electrification is inevitable - A conversation with Kingsmill Bond of Ember Energy. [2025/11/21] https://www.volts.wtf/p/clean-electrification-is-inevitable https://www.volts.wtf/p/clean-electrification-is-inevitable
- AuthAuth 11mo agoDont you think its a bit naive to be saying something peaked when it hasnt even been a year?
- rgmerk 11mo agoThe economics are pretty strikingly in favour of renewables and batteries, and one thing China does not have is cheap natural gas.
- AuthAuth 11mo agoIn the past 5 years do you think China has added more solar or more coal power?
- pfdietz 11mo agoWhy would that matter? PV and storage costs change very rapidly, so going even five years into the past would be very misleading.
- AuthAuth 11mo agoIf they can change rapidly how can you confidently assert the peak was this year?
- pfdietz 11mo agoBecause coal use was increasing before this year, but the increase was very small this year. So, continued rapid installation of solar/wind/storage will likely lead to a decline in coal use next year. What, you think continued rapid decrease in cost of solar and storage will somehow make this not happen?
- trollbridge 11mo agoWhich begs the question of why AI DCs can’t be powered with their own solar they build out themselves.
- t_tsonev 11mo agoNo fundamental reason not to power them with renewables, either off-grid or with a small capacity grid connection. The argument that they need to run at full load 24x7 sounds more like a business requirement than a technical one. LLMs in particular with their stateless nature seem like an ideal candidate for global distribution.
- trollbridge 11mo agoThe capital cost of the AI hardware is high and it depreciates quickly, being worthless in 5 years (or less). To make a profit, it needs to be run 24/7. It’s sort of like how airlines like to fly their airplanes as much as possible.