China's power plants running out of coal

Yahoo News ^ | 05.20.08, 3:06 PM ET | JOE McDONALD

[JPJones]

We have lots of coal, don’t we?

[C19fan]

Utility companies have let coal stocks dwindle and are buying less fuel after Beijing froze power prices last year, while allowing the market-set costs producers pay to rise. Sounds exactly like CA during the Davis era power crisis.

[DuncanWaring]

Power plants in the eastern province of Anhui have less than a three-day supply of coal, while those in Beijing have about a week supply, the electricity agency said. The recommended minimum is 15 days; a seven-day supply is considered dangerously low.

For contrast, I believe American coal-fired power plants typically keep a 90-day supply.

[BOBTHENAILER]

Get ready for more energy commodity spikes, which will, of course, be blamed by the RATS and an uninformed public, on those greedy “Big Oil” companies.

[Retired Chemist]

Pelosi needs to read this.

[ChildOfThe60s]

We have lots of coal, don’t we?

In Utah. Ask Slick Willie about that. And his friend James Riady.

[null and void]

We have lots of coal, don’t we?

Plenty. But we're not allowed to extract it.

[SamAdams76]

What we should do here in the United States is go back to nuclear power in a big way. We use nuclear power to send our submarines and aircraft carriers hurtling through the oceans of the world. Why not have nuclear power plants here at home lighting up our cities and powering our economy?

Damn the no-nukes people with their scrubby beards, their stinky sandals and their Jackson Browne T-shirts. We should have 7,000 nuclear plants online by now and if we did, we wouldn't be worried too much about those smelly people over in the Middle East with their camels and women shrouded in black cloth.

And just what was the big deal with Three-Mile Island? A little leak and pretty much nobody died. How many people have died since in gasoline related explosions? A lot, I can tell you that.

There is no doubt that if we continue on our course with nuclear power, we would have made it safer and there wouldn't even be minor accidents like Three Mile Island.

We could be energy independent today if we continued to pursue nuclear power. But no! We had to give in to the radicals who threatened to stage more Jackson Browne rock concerts if we didn't pull the plug on nuclear energy now. Well, I would have gladly tolerated the shrill voice of Jackson Browne in exchange for more nuclear power plants and if we had done that, we wouldn't be "Running On Empty" today if you know what I mean.

[TheZMan]

In a perfect world we’d be trading coal for oil at bargain basement prices. But no, we’ll give it to them for practically nothing and still be screwed tomorrow.

Fear not. We’re from the government. We’re here to help.

[cowdog77]

Good Post SamAdams! Pretty well sums it up.
_____________________________
What we should do here in the United States is go back to nuclear power in a big way. We use nuclear power to send our submarines and aircraft carriers hurtling through the oceans of the world. Why not have nuclear power plants here at home lighting up our cities and powering our economy?
Damn the no-nukes people with their scrubby beards, their stinky sandals and their Jackson Browne T-shirts. We should have 7,000 nuclear plants online by now and if we did, we wouldn’t be worried too much about those smelly people over in the Middle East with their camels and women shrouded in black cloth.

And just what was the big deal with Three-Mile Island? A little leak and pretty much nobody died. How many people have died since in gasoline related explosions? A lot, I can tell you that.

There is no doubt that if we continue on our course with nuclear power, we would have made it safer and there wouldn’t even be minor accidents like Three Mile Island.

We could be energy independent today if we continued to pursue nuclear power. But no! We had to give in to the radicals who threatened to stage more Jackson Browne rock concerts if we didn’t pull the plug on nuclear energy now. Well, I would have gladly tolerated the shrill voice of Jackson Browne in exchange for more nuclear power plants and if we had done that, we wouldn’t be “Running On Empty” today if you know what I mean.

[SFConservative]

Sounds exactly like CA during the Davis era power crisis.

Exactly the same.

• Put controls on the price of the product and let the cost of the input resources float.
• Be shocked, shocked when the supply of the product dwindles.
• Undo it and sack those responsible.
• Ten years later, believe that your new scheme is so clever that the laws of economics can't touch it.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

[traviskicks]

bookmark

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

We have more coal than the Middle East has oil. But alas, we aren’t able to touch it.

[rottndog]

We have lots of coal, don’t we?

That's what I first thought. We could wipe out our trade deficit with China almost overnight.

[Fvuk]

I dont think so

[Amendment10]

What became of the huge hydroelectric dam that China was building?

[SFConservative]

... Three-Mile Island? A little leak and pretty much nobody died.

Nobody died. As the old saying goes, "In the USA, fewer people have died in nuclear power plant accidents than in Ted Kennedy's car."

You look at accidents in the coal and petroleum industries, and there is no doubt that nuclear is safer, even per unit energy produced.

Thank the China Syndrome movie and Chernobyl for irrational fear of nuclear power. The Chernobyl type reactor was an irresponsible design never used outside the Soviet bloc. We know how to design safe plants and protect their perimeter.

I once heard Edward Teller give a lecture on nuclear power safety. He said that a man standing at the perimeter of a nuclear plant gets only marginally higher radiation exposure from the plant than he gets from sleeping with a woman (due to the decay of the radioactive potassium naturally occurring in her body). He added that he would caution against sleeping with two women, however.

[MrEdd]

We have lots of coal, don’t we?

That's what I first thought. We could wipe out our trade deficit with China almost overnight.

What on earth would we want to do something that stupid for? I will point out to you that Not shipping fuel to China could wipe out our trade deficit with China almost overnight...much more cheaply.

[SamAdams76]

He added that he would caution against sleeping with two women, however.

I agree with that advice. Especially if the wrong woman wakes up first.