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Australia’s former prime minister Tony Abbott visited Taipei on Friday where he gave a speech urging the international community to show “solidarity” with the self-ruled island, resulting in a quick reaction out of China demanding that Canberra officails stay out of its internal affairs. Abbott provocatively told the conference that “any attempt at coercion would have incalculable consequences” for China and strongly suggested that both the United States and Australia would come to Taiwan’s aid militarily. “I don’t believe America could stand by and watch [Taiwan] swallowed up,” he said, added of his own country: “I don’t believe Australia would...

The energy crisis that is rippling through Asia and Europe could unleash electricity shortages and blackouts in the U.S., according to Bloomberg. Ernie Thrasher, CEO of Xcoal Energy & Resources LLC., told energy research firm IHS Markit that U.S. utilities quickly turn to more coal because of soaring natural gas prices. “We’ve actually had discussions with power utilities who are concerned that they simply will have to implement blackouts this winter,” Thrasher warned. He said, “They don’t see where the fuel is coming from to meet demand,” adding that 23% of utilities are switching away from gas this fall/winter to...

NEW DELHI -- An energy crisis is looming over India as coal supplies grow perilously low, adding to challenges for a recovery in Asia’s third largest economy after it was wracked by the pandemic. Supplies across the majority of coal-fired power plants in India have dwindled to just days worth of stock. Federal Power Minister R. K. Singh told the Indian Express newspaper this week that he was bracing for a “trying five to six months.” “I can’t say I am secure … With less than three days of stock, you can’t be secure,” Singh said. The shortages have stoked...

According to the 2021 World Nuclear Industry Status Report, global nuclear power generation dropped 3.9 percent in 2020 despite a 4.4 percent climb in China, where two new reactors were added. In 2021, 415 reactors were operational around the world – 22 fewer than in 2011. Another 26 are currently in long-term storage and 53 are under construction – around half in China and India. The rapid expansion of renewables and negative public sentiment towards nuclear energy created by disasters such as those in Chernobyl or Fukushima have been turning nuclear power into an also-ran of global energy generation. Nuclear...

Beijing (AFP) - Chinese authorities have ordered dozens of coal mines to expand production amid a nationwide energy crunch, state media reported Friday. Dozens of mines in China's Inner Mongolia, a major coal producing region, were instructed to increase their capacity by more than 98 million tonnes in an official notice not released to the public, the state-run Securities Times reported. Nearly 60 percent of China's energy-hungry economy is fuelled by coal, and the country has struggled to wean itself from the fuel despite its pledge to become carbon neutral by 2060. China has been hit by widespread power cuts...

In 1862 we got the Gettysburg Address, in 1941 it was Roosevelt’s Day of Infamy and in 1983 it was Ronald Reagan’s Evil Empire speech. This year it appears we’ll have to settle for Greta Thunberg’s “Blah, Blah, Blah!” keynote speech at the youth climate summit in Milan.As bad as it was on the merits, it certainly suffers from bad timing. Europe has just started paying a huge price in part for caving in on the sorts of environmentalist demands that Miss Thunberg says are being ignored. Indeed, Europe is suddenly stocking up on all three fossil fuels, and paying...

Coal supply shortages in Asia and Europe are pushing prices for the dirtiest fossil fuel to record highs and have become a challenge for US suppliers due to a shortage of miners, according to Bloomberg. For the last three and a half decades, the number of coal mining jobs in the US has collapsed from 180,000 to 42,500 in August. The industry remains 9,500 miners short from pre-COVID times. With coal prices worldwide screaming to all-time highs ahead of winter as China and Europe scramble for supplies, the US coal industry is failing to find new miners willing to do...

Yet another sign of stress for energy supplies and global supply chains: Spot rates for large dry cargo ships just topped $80,000 per day for the first time since 2009, and freight derivatives for the fourth quarter — a period when rates for these vessels normally pull back — just spiked. Not long ago, it was a different story. On Sept. 20, headlines were dominated by Chinese property developer Evergrande and its impending collapse; fallout to construction and steel demand would assumedly hit future Chinese buying of commodities carried on dry cargo vessels. Dry bulk stocks plunged. While spot rates...

India may be staring at electricity shortages in the coming months because coal stocks at most of its power plants have dropped to critically low levels. As many as 63 of the 135 coal-fired power plants in Asia's third largest economy have two days — or less — of coal supplies, India's Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said in a report on Tuesday. Coal stocks at 17 of them have been run down to zero, it added. In total, 75 plants are running with five days worth of coal or less Coal accounts for almost 70% of the country's electricity generation.

Europe’s power crunch is roiling energy markets Wednesday as Dutch and U.K. natural gas futures jumped 60% in just two days, hitting record highs along with soaring power prices. Front-month Dutch natgas futures rose an astonishing 40% today to a record 162.125 euros per megawatt-hour after a 20% move higher on Tuesday. U.K. natgas futures surged 39% today, hitting 40 dollars. “This is just ridiculous,” Tom Marzec-Manser, an analyst at ICIS, told Bloomberg. “Almost impossible to even justify or qualify how and why it’s moving so fast and so high.” E.U. politicians are in panic mode to protect consumers and...

China appears to have folded and unloaded Australian coal shipments despite an unofficial import ban, according to FT, citing multiple commodity analysts. The move emphasizes China’s dire need for coal supplies amid a power crunch with more than half of the country’s provinces rationing power. Nick Ristic, the lead dry cargo analyst at Braemar ACM Shipbroking, said an unspecified number of bulk carrier vessels with Australian coal has been waiting outside Chinese ports since Beijing slapped tariffs and blacklisted commodities from the country last year. He said about 450,000 tons of Australian coal had been unloaded in September. A more...

With coal demand increasing across the planet, the supply tightness has seen European coal prices follow the global appreciation trend. The recent allure of coal also showcases the deficiencies of the carbon pricing mechanism. The current coal demand surge should force the European Union to reconsider its position on coal. As European gas prices have continued their surge throughout the past couple of weeks, the role and importance of coal has sparked a new wave of discussion across the continent. ... Europe’s coal exports have been hovering around the 12 million tons per month mark for three months already, moving...

China power problems are affecting 20 out of China’s 34 provinces. Cement production has been reduced by 29% and aluminum production capacity has been reduced 7%. Heavy industry has seen the most cutbacks. Coal prices are up but China’s utilities have energy price controls. There were quotas on coal mining. The rolling blackout and other power shutoff is also hitting hospitals and street lights. The power shutoffs are very broad and the facts do not align with various excuses and stories coming from China. China’s leadership has not been on top of the power shortage problem and has been months...

In the history of the world, German electricity prices have never been higher… … and if what just happened at the Steag Bergkamen-A electric plant is any indication, they are about to get a whole lot higher. According to Bloomberg, the global energy crisis has forced a German electricity producer to halt a power plant after it ran out of coal. Steag GmbH – which operates six large-scale hard coal plants in Germany with an installed capacity of more than 4,000 MW – closed its Bergkamen-A plant in the western part of the country this week due to shortages of...

With winter ahead and a gas crunch in Europe, the demand picture appears promising. But demand destruction could be imminent as prices climb higher, some experts are warning. Higher energy prices will also fuel even higher inflation, which poses a significant threat to demand. The current energy market picture is looking good for oil bulls. International benchmark Brent crude passed the long-anticipated threshold of $80 per barrel on Tuesday, though it’s since slipped back down to trade at $78.47 as of Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in London. West Texas Intermediate was trading at $74.73 per barrel around the same time....

BEIJING—China is in the grip of a power crunch as coal supply shortages combined with strong power demand from manufacturers, industry, and households push coal prices to record highs and trigger widespread curbs on usage.China’s heavily controlled power pricing system prevents its generators from passing on their soaring coal costs to consumers, leaving them with no choice but to suffer losses or reduce output.How Long Has There Been a Power Supply Problem in China?China has often struggled to balance supply and demand, with central planners often underestimating demand growth, leaving many provinces at risk of power cuts during the summer...

Residents in north-east China are experiencing unannounced power cuts, as an electricity shortage which initially hit factories spreads to homes. People living in Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces have complained on social media about the lack of heating, and lifts and traffic lights not working. Local media said the cause was a rise in coal prices leading to short supply. The country is highly dependent on coal for power. One power company said it expected the power cuts to last until spring next year, and that unexpected outages would become "the new normal". Its post, however, was later deleted. The...

Record gas and electricity prices in Europe, record coal prices in China, multiyear-high gas prices in the United States and oil prices well above their real long-term average are all manifestations of the same global energy shortage. In the aftermath of the coronavirus recession, energy production has failed to keep up with rapid growth in consumption as energy producers struggle to raise output while demand has bounced back quickly. The business cycle downturn and slump in energy prices caused by the pandemic, and before that the U.S./China trade conflict, depressed investment throughout the energy sector in 2019/2020.

Down at the local pub, die-hard Brexiters will be raising a pint to news that the United Kingdom is eyeing the end of a European Union-inspired ban on selling products in only pounds and ounces. But many others view the move away from the world-standard metric system as pure rubbish. Since becoming prime minister, Boris Johnson has pledged to usher in an era of "tolerance towards traditional measurements." On Thursday, Brexit minister David Frost clarified what that means — giving shops and supermarkets the option to sell items labeled only in imperial units. Under the plan, market stalls and shops...

Boris Johnson is set to U-turn on visas for lorry drivers to allow 5,000 foreign hauliers into the UK after panic-buying gridlocked petrol stations across the country overnight. Motorists ignored Government pleas for calm as they jammed roads and police had to be called in to marshal drivers amid fears that fuel shortages could bring the economy to its knees. The Prime Minister is expected to buckle and grant visas for thousands of foreign drivers in a bid to tackle the shortages, while soldiers will also be drafted in to help at HGV testing sites to clear a backlog of...