Comments on: China to Simply Cap Coal Use Within 3 Years

By: China Dumping Loads of Cash into Clean Energy, but Not Only… - CleanTechnica

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:48:12 +0000

[…] On a positive note, as Susan wrote a couple weeks ago, China is looking to put a cap on coal use by 2015. […]

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 05:05:00 +0000

I simply don’t believe that it is possible to reduce the cost of nuclear. If anything the price will increase due to more safety requirements.

If you spend a little time searching what has happened to expected nuclear builds around the country you’ll find that almost all utility companies have given up on building new reactors.

The only places where reactors might get built are in regulated markets in which customers can be forced to pay for their power, no matter how expensive.

In all the free market states/areas no reactors are planned.

Then look at what is happening in Finland. That project is being built by the world’s most experienced nuclear construction company and it’s way over budget and years over schedule.

There are no “fourth generation” reactors. Only untested ideas.

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Natural gas is probably more limited than most people realize. It’s very likely that prices will soon start rising. At least that’s what the futures market thinks.

By: Jgerardi

Jgerardi — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:53:00 +0000

1) Don’t count out Nuclear if we start building them then we can actually innovate in this feild. If country is going to make breakthroughs in nuclear, its going to be USA.
2) Due to USA government lack of spending lack 20 years over nuclear the R&D is stalled, but also next 20 years alone they will have to get new nuclear reactors. The forth Generation Reactors show just much promise as renewables do. I want to stop using coal as you do but we should not give up on industries that are still promising no carbon emmiting sources.
3)I like how far wind and solar has gone, but with all the land has put into the wind industry there are challenges with footings after 20 year lifespan of the windmill is done. How are we going to get those windmills out of the ground.
4)If Obama wins the 2012 election, any deals he makes with Congress will have to have Nuclear, Natural Gas, and more Renewables. If its gets rid of coal im happy. Renewables can really help many states, but realisticly nuclear and Natural gas will help balence out our sources.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:55:00 +0000

I’ll bet that China does not build 400 new nuclear plants in the next 100 years.

The price of solar is falling so fast, wind is so cheap, and we’re developing affordable storage.

China was talking about building a lot of reactors in a past time when renewables were less advanced.

If you look at what has been happening in China during the last 12 months, they’ve slowed down on nuclear and really cranked up the wind and solar installations.

The thing about the Chinese leadership, they’re engineers, they can do math….

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:52:00 +0000

Boy, I sure don’t see that happening. We have permitted almost no new coal plants in the last ~three years in the US and we’ve forced over 100 to close down.

Coal can’t do anything about the price of PV. The price of solar panels is falling faster than lead bloomers on Saturday night. The US coal industry isn’t going to stop Europe and Asia from putting up the panels. And it’s not going to stop US utilities and homeowners from installing solar. We’ll soon be to the point at which solar needs no subsidies to be competitive.

Nuclear, don’t bet your retirement dollars on that horse. We’re going to see a couple new reactors built in the US and unless some sort of a miracle happens in which they are completed ahead of schedule and well under estimated cost that will be the end of nukes. By the time these plants get on line solar is likely to be much cheaper, wind already is. Can’t build a plant that needs to sell power for $0.15 – $0.20/kWh 24 hours a day and have someone grab the market out from under you for half or more of that day. That makes you have to crank your price way too high to stay in the game. If we get reasonably priced storage then nuclear has no future at all.

Oil? We don’t burn any now for electricity. (Except in Hawaii and some remote locations.)

By: Jgerardi12

Jgerardi12 — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:41:00 +0000

The world has about 408 nuclear plants, and China is expected to build 400 alone in the next 30 years. That alone will help their GHG.

By: electric38

electric38 — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:21:00 +0000

The political dollars that US coal companies have, will insure that coal (as well as oil and nuclear) will be used more than consumer owned rooftop PV for many years to come. Money does not care about pollution and the health costs to our children.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:29:00 +0000

Great news and a nasty, nasty, nasty picture.

A cap on coal will supply will probably cause a rise in coal price. (There must be new coal plants being built now which will come on line after 2015 and that means demand > supply.)

Wind and solar continue to become cheaper and Secretary Chu is predicting solar will be cheaper than fossil fuels by 2020. (China will get there sooner since their labor/shipping costs are less.) Wind is already cheaper than coal.

Coal and renewables will hit the hi/bye price crossover point even sooner than they would have without this cap. When wind + solar + storage get cheaper than coal then coal moves from “dead man walking” to “left in the ground”.