From John Droz’s newsletter with a hat-tip to Dr. Roger Pielke Sr. for bringing it to my attention and via the “I can hear Joe Romm’s head exploding” department and Electric Light and Power comes this story:
CHINA TO DROP SOLAR ENERGY TO FOCUS ON NUCLEAR POWER
Asia Pulse
China will accelerate the use of new-energy sources such as nuclear energy and put an end to blind expansion in industries such as solar energy and wind power in 2012, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says in a government report published on March 5.
China will instead develop nuclear power in 2012, actively develop hydroelectric power, tackle key problems more quickly in the exploration and development of shale gas, and increase the share of new energy and renewable energy in total energy consumption.
The guidance indicates a new trend for new-energy and renewable energy development in China from 2012. Analysts believe that the development of the solar and wind power industries will stabilize while hydropower will have the top priority in renewable energy development in China.
— Hydropower to contribute two-thirds of renewable energy
According to China’s development plan for 2011-2015, China aims to increase the share of renewable energy consumption to 11.4 per cent of total energy consumption in China by the end of 2015.
Full story here
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Why does China have the smart energy plan while our administration depend on pixie dust?
Pragmatic Communism. Still communism, but at least they apply common sense here and there. I’ll bet they still build the panels and sell them to more gullible sorts though!!!
No fools over there in China.
Sounds like the Chinese learn well from others mistakes, doesn’t it?
Reblogged this on pindanpost.
Not entirely off topic:
Fukushima 4 potential for global disaster or… another propagandistic attempt to beef up UN powers?
http://akiomatsumura.com/2012/04/682.html
“Analysts believe that the development of the solar and wind power industries will stabilize….”
Lol, it will drop to the degree the west quits subsidizing it. Let’s hear all of the lunatics now talk about how we’re losing the tech race with China. How renewable energy is the wave of the future…….
It was a phony propped up market in which enabled China to siphon $billions from the gullible lunatics advocating this massive bit of stupidity. Now that the funds are getting shut off, the industry is dying a quick death. Can we put the turtles back now? lmao!
I thought this part of the news report was interesting too.
“– Share of non-fossil energy use in China drops in 2011
The share of non-fossil energy consumption, including hydropower, nuclear power, wind power and solar power, in total primary energy use in China witnessed a decline of 0.3 percentage point from 8.6 per cent in 2010 to 8.3 per cent in 2011, says Qian Zhimin, deputy director with the NEA.
According to a report from the China Electricity Council on the performance of China’s power industry in 2011, the average operating hours of hydropower generating facilities decreased 376 hours to 3,028 hours in 2011 due to severe drought, the lowest level of the past 20 years.
Meanwhile, the operating hours of wind power generating units plunged by 144 hours in 2011 despite an increase of 48.16 per cent in on-grid wind power output.
The operating hours of solar power generating units also declined in spite of the tripling of installed capacity of solar PV power. “
Nuclear Power is the long term answer without a doubt. Iran knows it. France knows it. Canada knows it. China knows it. India knows it. England knows it.
The people pushing solar power and wind mills are the some people protesting Nuclear power in the 1970’s. The only solution to to the green activism is old age and Alzheimers. Surely it comes quickly. Amen.
Now Solyndra has the market to themselves.
Gee, post a link to Wen Jiabao’s full speech why don’cha. Decoded, all it means is that China will result construction on the four plants on which world was suspended following Fukushima.
As for the phrase “China to drop solar energy” … neither this phrase, nor any phrase like it, appears anywhere in Wen Jiabao’s speech.
Engineering-minded and economics-minded folks who want to know what’s *REALLY* going in China—regarding green energy technologies—need to read “Why Boston Power Went to China” in the most recent issue of MIT Technology Review (a Google search will find it).
Woh. I was driving along Point Grey Rd in Vancouver BC. Canada, and I heard a loud explosion from the direction of David Fruit Fly Suzuki Water front mansion, I wander if it’s his head exploding. can somebody report on Al Gore? – Sarc off
The usual suspects constantly laud China as the truly “green” country. I give them credit, they have used the press to give the world the impression they are very green. In actuality, they have been using PR to encourage the western world to continue wasting their resources on wind and solar and to buy their products. This development shows the curtain has been pulled aside and true strategy Chinese strategy is revealed. We should do the same!
As an aside, every time I read “I can hear Joe Romm’s head exploding”, I think of Kenny Everett.
All the same, I think Toby above has hit the nail on the head.
Maybe I should move to China. At least their leaders seem to do things in a manner that makes sense. The US leaders either do nothing or do things that defy rational explanation. I have and idea: Let’s not use our internal natural resources for energy because it will produce CO2 (a plant food). Heck, everyone knows CO2 is a dangerous gas – Right??? Al Gore said it so it must be true. Sigh…
I always thought China would continue with wind and solar as long as the European Union continued with their insane carbon credit plan, a bunch of which was headed to China. With the EU falling on hard economic times perhaps the carbon credit plan is being back-burnered.
Except during the worst years of Mao, China has always been strictly pragmatic and experimental. I suspect Mao gave the current older generation a permanent and extreme allergy to all sorts of theory and ideology.
We should follow their lead. Try things, see what works. Do what works. Don’t do what fails.
Used to be the American way.
Instead, we’ve been following Mao since 1989. Following Correct Thought straight into the national grave. The deeper we dig, the more strictly and Diligently we follow the book.
Any bets they will beat the USA/Europe to LFTR? Fusion? They have a very fascinating angle on fusion and I haven’t heard any updates for a few years now. Did someone just make a breakthrough on sustained fusion? Oh Mr Chairman ….
I wouldn’t bet against them getting to it first. They understand the concept of base load energy supply. The solar and wind will probably be used in rural areas to help them have at least some energy for phones etc without the huge cost of running lines. Practical wins the day.
China is also working on a program, with Bill Gates as an investor, of fast neutron reactors to use for recycling nuclear fuel. China will have a program of massive energy production without the nuclear waste issue we have. Actually, China is implementing what was the original US nuclear energy program until Jimmy Carter decided not to recycle spent fuel.
China’s policy has always been to subsidize manufacturing and sell that junk to us while “going through the motions” of using it themselves. They’ll be quite pleased to continue selling it to us. And we marvel that their leaders think themselves ever so much smarter than ours?
Paul Westhaver says:
April 7, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Nuclear Power is the long term answer without a doubt. Iran knows it. France knows it. Canada knows it. China knows it. India knows it. England knows it.
The people screaming that we’re screwing over future generations by not adopting their agenda are the ones who are doin’ the screwin’. Odd how that always seems to be the case…
Is seems that China suckered the whole western world.
Lord Timothy of Edsion says:
April 7, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Gee, post a link to Wen Jiabao’s full speech why don’cha. .
As for the phrase “China to drop solar energy” … neither this phrase, nor any phrase like it, appears anywhere in Wen Jiabao’s speech.
=================================================
Except this bit. The message is clear enough.
“We will prevent blind expansion in our capacity to manufacture solar energy and wind power equipment.”
Re: R. de Haan says:
April 7, 2012 at 7:19 pm
“Fukushima 4 potential for global disaster or… another propagandistic attempt to beef up UN powers?”
Tip over that spent-fuel pool at the top floor of Fukushima Unit 4 and you’ll see why the U.S. Navy was pulling ships and personnel out of a wide swath around the plant during the original crisis. Reactor building #4 is leaning like the Tower of Pisa and propped up by hastily constructed reinforcements. That structural mess is at the opposite end of the engineering spectrum from “nuclear grade and seismically qualified”.
Canada does not know it. Ontario, the province with nuclear power, is squandering billions on green energy. What a waste.