A shortage of water is curtailing hydro power, the coal industry and China's nuclear ambitions, offering wind and solar energy great opportunities, told energy expert Bill Dodson yesterday at the Shanghai Foreign Correspondents Club. In theory.
From his weblog:
Again this year, hydropower dams in the southwest are generating power below capacity. Coal mines in the north are unable to operate due to a lack of water. And – to my estimation – aggressive plans to build nuclear plants along the Yangtze and Yellow rivers will have to change due to the lack of water flowing the concourses (and what to do with waste river water in the event of a Fukushima-style event).More at his weblog.
The knock-on effects for the energy sector include greater opportunities for growth in the wind and solar power industries, and increased emphasis on energy efficiency, especially in its dreadfully wasteful property sector. However, by 2020 – when China’s energy requirements are set to double from the 2010 level of 1,000-gigawatts - these alternatives will account for less than five percent of the total portfolio for energy generation. China’s big bet to take hydropower from generating its current level of about 20% of the nation’s energy to 25% by 2020 just may not be realized. The abundant sources of water the country has banked on for thousands of years may simply no longer be available in the quantities it has planned for its new and enlarged cities.
Bill Dodson is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. When you need him at your meeting or conference, do get in touch.
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3 comments:
Seems like even hydro power is losing momentum. I guess we can expect solar energy to make a breakthrough sooner or later.
I would like to believe that solar panels and wind energy has a great opportunity in China, but at present I just don't see it. China is an emerging and growing country and market and expanding on a rapid and unprecedented scale. The cheapest and most effective source of energy for China is through the use of coal and although cash reserves are high and renewable may get more of a look in than most people expect, I'm not sure it's the great opportunity that is muted here.
"The cheapest and most effective source of energy for China is through the use of coal" - I agree, but China's problem would not be that it is rich with coal and can power up majority of their cities through cheap electricity. Their problem is pollution. China's moving toward less polluting sources of electricity. I've seen farms powered by solar technology when I went there. Not to mention the Three Gorges Dam hyrdo electricity.
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