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[Mii]

Sounds like this is one part environmental policy, two parts economic down-turn. Hopefully some improved, environment-friendly energy policy can come out of China's current slow-down.

NYT: China Curbs Plans for More Coal-Fired Power Plants

HONG KONG — Coal-fired power plants have propelled much of China’s economic rise for decades, helping make the nation the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. Even with economic growth slackening, and other energy sources taking hold, new coal plants have been added.

Now Beijing is trying to slow things down.

In guidelines released on Monday, China halted plans for new coal-fired power stations in many parts of the country, and construction of some approved plants will be postponed until at least 2018.

The announcement, by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration, means that about 200 planned coal-fired power generators — those seeking approval and those approved but not yet under construction — may not be completed, said Lauri Myllyvirta, who analyzes China’s energy production for Greenpeace.

The total of 105 gigawatts of power those plants would have been able to produce is considerably more than the electricity-generating capacity of Britain from all sources.

The announcement does not stop projects already under construction, which amount to about 190 gigawatts of new coal-fired power generation, he said.

“It’s definitely a positive step, but it’s not even enough to prevent the overcapacity from getting worse,” Mr. Myllyvirta said.

While the curbs on new coal projects, if rigorously enforced, may help China meet its long-term goals on climate change and air pollution, the primary motivation for the move appears to be short-term economic considerations.

In the face of the slowest economic growth in a quarter-century, electricity demand has fallen so sharply in China that some coal-burning power plants are operating only 40 or 50 percent of the time. Construction of wind turbines and solar panels has also eaten slightly into the market share of the coal plants.

The government announcement also calls for an acceleration of the closing of outdated coal-fired plants that use older, dirtier technology. But China is adding about 1 gigawatt in coal-fired capacity a week, Mr. Myllyvirta said, as companies that have easy access to loans from state banks build new plants.

 

[cameron]

Damn, China.

In the face of the slowest economic growth in a quarter-century, electricity demand has fallen so sharply in China that some coal-burning power plants are operating only 40 or 50 percent of the time. Construction of wind turbines and solar panels has also eaten slightly into the market share of the coal plants.

Ideal time to use those easy access loans to build more solar/wind plants to boost capacity if/when demand rises.