At this point China is basically replacing less efficient coal plants with modern, highly efficient ones.

As of a couple of years ago China had closed over 9,000 of its dirtiest plants. Don’t know what the number is now.

China recently announced that they plan to peak their CO2 output by 2025 rather than 2030 as they had originally set. I expect they will dial it back to sooner, they’ve met other clean energy goal early and set more aggressive ones.

China has announced that it wants to help lead the fight against climate change. They can’t do that an continue to burn a lot of coal. I suspect they mapped out a better route for themselves before going public with their climate change position.

So, if one wants to add wind power to increase the power capacity of a grid for new load, one also has to build a fossil plant or newer nuclear plant that can load follow more effectively. And, that new backup plant cannot sit around idle waiting to be started up, it must be running with enough reserve capacity to pick up all the wind turbine output within a few seconds.

In short, wind power requires much more capital expenditure per megawatt-hour of new grid consumption than any fossil or nuclear facility because it requires something to back it up and a good bit of that something must be operating at relatively inefficient low load settings virtually all the time the wind turbines are producing power.

As for China touting their wind power additions–they can put up a wind turbine a lot less expensively than we can. From what I have read, it is about half the cost of here. Does anyone remember it was the arms race that brought down the USSR because their economy could not support the race like ours could? It is my firm belief that is what China is attempting to do to us with renewable energy. Don’t forget, they are building new coal plants at a lot faster pace than they are adding wind or other renewable power.

Now? Not so much.

One problem I have with the way we govern is that we so obsess over the personal lives of our leaders, that quality people often don’t want to run. They don’t want to be subjected to the scrutiny. Not to mention the ADD we call Fox News and CNN.

Free speech is one thing. Knowing who Bristol Palin is sleeping with is another.

No wonder George Bush Jr ended up running our country. The man has a 3rd rate mind, but then again, his daddy had money.

We will continue with our Gridlock of the Dummies.

this China policies for renewable energy
http://www.martinot.info/china.htm#targets