Posted on 10/15/2021 6:04:23 AM PDT by george76
China thermal coal prices hit record high.
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Cold winds from north sweeps central and east China.
China's Met Office forecasts sharp drops in temperatures.
China's energy crisis deepened on Friday as cold weather swept into much of the country and power plants scrambled to stock up on coal, sending prices of the fuel to record highs.
Electricity demand to heat homes and offices is expected to soar this week as strong cold winds move down from northern China. Forecasters predict average temperatures in some central and eastern regions could fall by as much as 16 degrees Celsius in the next 2-3 days.
Shortages of coal, high fuel prices and booming post-pandemic industrial demand have sparked widespread power shortages in the world's second-largest economy. Rationing has already been in place in at least 17 of mainland China's more than 30 regions since September, forcing some factories to suspend production and disrupting supply chains.
The most-active January Zhengzhou thermal coal futures hit a record high of 1,669.40 yuan ($259.42) per tonne early on Friday. The contract has risen more than 200% year to date.
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Beijing has taken a slew of measures to contain coal price rises including raising domestic coal output and cutting power to power-hungry industries and some factories
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Steel, aluminium, cement and chemical producers are expected to face higher and more volatile power costs
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China is not the only nation struggling with power supplies, which has led to fuel shortages and blackouts in some countries. The crisis has highlighted the difficulty in cutting the global economy's dependency on fossil fuels as world leaders seek to revive efforts to tackle climate change at talks next month in Glasgow.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Be a shame if their Three Gorges Dam failed…
Seems as if Dr. Evil’s plans are coming to fruition eh?
They’ll have to relay on eating bats this winter.
They breathlessly reported they are making batteries and a certain utility out west is buying them ... at a rate such that in 5 years they will be able to power 50,000 homes for one day! One whole day!
For a bit of perspective here... Realize that my county is one medium sized county in one state that is actually less than average across the country for population and homes. At the rate of 50,000 home capacity in 5 years, it would take them 25 years to produce enough batteries for just my county alone.
That's for one day. Actually really only a half-day since presumably the solar panels would power the homes during the day and the batteries would only have to power the homes during the night. But you know if a 2 or 3 day winter storm comes through...guess we'd all freeze on the second day. Not to worry, they've got 25 years to work it out...
You see the numbers folks? I'm all for renewable energy, but it is a joke at national scale right now. The technology is nowhere, nowhere near ready.
Are yurt sales up?
The United States could suffer the same fate if we do not get manufacturing returned to our shores and our natural resources out of the control of nut case progressives/socialist/communists.
China will not suffer alone.
Coal stocks are one of the most significant investment opportunities right now - and uranium stocks.
Coal brought us out of the medieval period and fueled the industrial revolution which gave all that participated a much higher standard of living and quality of life…yeah I know about child labor and cultures that were displaced or left behind…but overall the quality of life was vastly improved for the majority…of course fossil fuels and coal in particular are denigrated and frowned upon by the sjw woke people who are running things now…
Agree with all your comments, but would add that adding the newer mini-nuclear plants would help to de-centralize energy production world wide.
The “crisis” began when the CCP decided to ‘fix’ the oversupply of coal problem by cutting production. Then, the mines in the northern provinces were hit with safety issues and shut until fixes could be down, next the floods hit leaving the remaining northern mines with no way to get their coal past the washed out roads and bridges.
None of this matters, of course, as long as there is away to blame these problems of something or someone else without threatening the rule of the CCP.
But decentralized green energy can be practical in certain situations. I put a large solar system onto my house and it'll take 14 or 15 years for it to pay for itself, assuming a 3% inflation rate on power rates. That's a low ROI compared to what I make in my real investments.
But it does help me reduce my monthly expenses as I shift towards retirement in a few years. Basically, in a year or two (a few years before I retire) I'll shift my investment portfolio from being 100% equities to being 70% equities / 30% bonds/treasuries/money markets. If it wasn't for the fact that some of my energy costs are "prepaid" by buying solar, I might have my portfolio lighter in equities: say 60%/40%.
Plus it helps me with my real purpose for going solar: avoid the uncertainty of energy inflation costs. That's my real reason for putting solar onto my house. Even if they raise my power rates sky high, because my solar produces about 2/3rds of the power I consume, I won't lose sleep over sky high rates. So my retirement budget can be a little smoother.
Only if you have goals like that is green energy worth it. And even then only if you're in an ideal environment (live in the south where we get lots of sun, use less heat in the winter because it's not hot here, metal roof so you don't have to replace it in 10 years, part of your roof facing south to catch more solar during the winter, etc.).
I put a large solar system onto my house and it’ll take 14 or 15 years for it to pay for itself
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Assuming you mean you mounted the panels on your roof : How long will your roof last before you need a new one and have to rip the panels off to replace it?
The core of the environmental movement are indeed nihilists.Virtually every policy they have advocated and have managed to implement is designed to economically hurt the American people and weaken the nation. They know very well that “renewable” energy cannot power a modern industrial society. Without reliable, relatively cheap electricity, there is poverty, hunger, social and political instability. This is the recipe for deprivation, famine and ultimately war. These environmentalists would welcome widespread famine, disease and war. Then they would get the massive die off of humans that in their twisted minds is the only way the planet can be “saved”.
I have a metal roof. Years ago when it was time to replace my shingle roof I paid about 15% more to put on a metal roof and be done with that. So my roof will outlast my solar panels (made in Texas) even though the panels have a 25 year warranty.
The solar thing isn't for everybody. But IMHO it's good for certain situations.
here’s hoping.
Course if the Chi-coms invade Taiwan, perhaps them Taiwan folks can maybe help that along.
Hopefully the warming from the additional co2 from the coal plants will ease the early winter chill.
Coal and oil saved this nations forests.
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