05-04 China

During our tour of China in 1985, we were told that 80% of China’s electrical power came from coal. And the big surprise was seeing people in Beijing wearing masks to filter out the pollutants in the air.
The attached photo was taken a few years ago and is evidence that people in the east of China still suffer from polluted air, even though the dependence on coal for electrical generation is now down to 60%.
The issue of poor air quality in China is obviously driving the replacement of coal with renewables. But it is a slow process. In the meantime, China smog is poison for people and poison for politicians. On the ground it means coughing fits, spikes in hospital visits, poor visibility and even cancelled air flights.
But to China’s credit, it is a world leader in the application of renewables. And like any command economy, the leaders like to be sponsors of big projects that they can use to help them domestically and internationally. There is seldom any separation between politics and economics in nations like China.
The photo shows the largest floating solar plant in the world in the city of Huainan. What is so interesting is the role of water in keeping the solar panels cool.
And the application of large solar farms outside major cities is providing power competitive with power from the grid. So, although China is a major producer of coal for electrical generation, they are slowly closing their coal mining facilities and coal powered electrical generating stations. Coal in the future will not compete with solar.
The monster solar project in Morocco is important for many reasons. It is China showing the world that it is going to be a global leader in renewable energy. But it also shows the application of a technology that uses reflectors to heat a fluid that is so hot it can be stored and used to create steam 24 hours a day.
Using the sun as a source of heat to drive steam turbines to create electricity is a different technology than using the light rays from the sun to create electricity directly.
And the other element in this story is deserts becoming powerful sources of energy. Energy that can desalinate ocean water. Morocco, of courser neighbours on both deserts and salt water.
My favourite solar story from China is the creation of what they call a solar city. It is Dezhou, in one of the north western provinces.
We are talking here about more than solar panels on the rooves of homes and factories. But solar heaters for cooking, solar chargers for your electronics, solar water heaters, solar bicycles and solar panels on the top of electric cars and buses.
It is so interesting studying a nation like China that is both the biggest emitter of carbon and the biggest environmentalist. Confusing