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China and electricity blackouts (merged)

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China and electricity blackouts (merged)

Unread postby eXpat » Sun 19 Sep 2010, 19:49:37

China resorts to blackouts in pursuit of energy efficiency
No TV. No internet. No air conditioning. Traffic lights off. Hospitals deprived of electricity. Tens of thousands of household fridges and freezers without power. Milk curdling. Vegetables rotting. The risks of delaying energy-saving measures have been all too apparent in a Chinese region where the authorities initiated draconian rationing last month to achieve the state's efficiency targets.

Anping County, in Hebei Province, cut electricity to homes, factories and public buildings for 22 hours every three days in a radical move that has highlighted both the serious last-minute effort that China is making to achieve environmental goals and the immense long-term difficulty of shifting away from a dirty, wasteful model of economic growth.

There are less than four months left until the end of China's current five-year plan, during which the economy is supposed to have become 20% more energy efficient. That target (which measures energy use relative to GDP growth) is crucial for a nation that wants to move up the economic value chain and prove to the world that it is making a significant contribution toward tackling greenhouse gas emissions.

Progress towards this goal was initially good, with a 14.4% gain in efficiency until last year. But it was tilted off track in the first three months of 2010 by huge infrastructure spending – largely on energy-intensive steel and cement projects – aimed at warding off the worst effects of the global economic downturn.

This meant China's economy surged forward at more than double-digit pace, but was having to burn more coal for each yuan of productivity. After this was revealed, the state council – China's cabinet – ordered the provinces to step up their efforts to reach the energy efficiency target by the end of the year.

During the summer, Zhejiang and Jiangsu – two of the most industrially advanced provinces – began intermittently cutting power supplies to factories. Similar measures have since been adopted in other regions and applied at a local level in different ways.

Last month, Anping went further than anyone by introducing rolling 22-hour electricity cuts among subunits. According to local media, at least two hospitals – Boai and Renmin – and one set of traffic lights were affected. Residents were given advance notice to stock up on candles and make other preparations.


"It was extremely inconvenient," grumbled a Mrs Wang, who declined to give her first name. "All the food in our fridge went off." But she said her shop, which sells diesel-powered generators, did a strong trade among local factories, most of which make wire fencing.

The indiscriminate cuts impacted industrial estates and poor rural communities alike. In Liukou village, one farmer – a Mr Liu – said he was told the measures were being applied for energy conservation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/19/china-blackouts-energy-efficiency
A glimpse from the (near) future, methinks
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby BasilBoy » Mon 20 Sep 2010, 02:12:24

Last month, the government ordered the closure of more than 2,000 highly polluting, unsafe or energy inefficient plants. The prime minister, Wen Jiabao, said this week that such measures would continue regardless of the cost. "We will achieve this goal even if it means losing GDP growth," he told a press conference in Tianjin.
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby americandream » Mon 20 Sep 2010, 02:29:54

Sustainable American style consumerism for over one billion new consumers. The man is certifiable.

BasilBoy wrote:
Last month, the government ordered the closure of more than 2,000 highly polluting, unsafe or energy inefficient plants. The prime minister, Wen Jiabao, said this week that such measures would continue regardless of the cost. "We will achieve this goal even if it means losing GDP growth," he told a press conference in Tianjin.
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby Tanada » Mon 20 Sep 2010, 06:37:42

BasilBoy wrote:
Last month, the government ordered the closure of more than 2,000 highly polluting, unsafe or energy inefficient plants. The prime minister, Wen Jiabao, said this week that such measures would continue regardless of the cost. "We will achieve this goal even if it means losing GDP growth," he told a press conference in Tianjin.


What they fail to point out is many or even most of these plants are small by modern standards and also a lot of them are old, dating from the 1950's and 1960's. One new modern plant, they type they are opening every week, can replace 6 or more of these small old plants. The economies of scale make it possible to put much better pollution control on one large plant than the same amount of control's spread out over 6 plants.
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby dolanbaker » Mon 20 Sep 2010, 06:45:56

There's nothing unusual in building new units and abandoning the old ones. To spin it as being eco-friendly is a bit much though. Economics of scale probably mean double the output for the same pollution.

As for the blackouts, it's quite clear that industrial expansion is moving quicker than infrastructure expansion, just look at the recent thread on six days of traffic jams.

The race for world trade domination, means that the ordinary Chinese citizen will just have to put up with it. A bit like the export drive in the UK in the late 40s - early 50s to repay debt owed to the US after WWII.
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby radon » Tue 17 May 2011, 17:58:47

Worst energy crunch in years looming

08:38, May 17, 2011...
Power shortages that gripped many parts of the country in recent months could herald the worst energy crunch in years amid growing concerns that economic growth may suffer.

Power cuts and blackouts since March, due to price controls, surging demand and a drop in hydropower production because of drought, have hit businesses in coastal areas and some inland provinces.

According to estimates by regional power distributor East China Grid Co Ltd, the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Anhui and the financial hub of Shanghai may face combined power shortages of up to 19 million kilowatts (kW) in the summer.
...

Meanwhile, coal-fueled power plants are reluctant to boost production amid rising coal prices.

Power shortages are exacerbating the plight of many small and medium-sized enterprises in the delta regions of the Yangtze and Pearl rivers, adding to the existing difficulties of financing and rising production costs.

The power crunch is partly caused by the resurgence of high energy-consuming industries as local governments, trying to pursue robust growth, ignore Beijing's decision to shut down outdated production capacity, Yang Jianhua, research head at the Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, said on Monday.
...

The power shortage is expected to be the worst since 2004, when coal transport and power generation could not keep pace with demand fueled by the rapid expansion of heavy industry and power rationing hit almost every business and home in China.

In Zhejiang, another major economic powerhouse, many businesses have been forced to cease production for 24 hours every three days or suspend production two days a week to conserve energy.

...
"The worst (power shortage) has yet to come," Xu Shuhui, deputy general manager of Cixi Henghui Chemical Fiber Co in Zhejiang province, said on Monday.

His business, along with many others in the region, has been hit by power shortages since March.

"The power company told us to prepare for even more serious electricity cuts when the high energy-consuming summer months come," Xu said.


http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7381851.html

East China enterprises face blackouts amid power shortages

08:51, May 04, 2011...
The small township of Songsha in east China's Zhejiang Province is dubbed the "capital of umbrellas" because the output of its 1,000-plus small and medium-sized umbrella makers accounts for about one-third of the nation's total.

However, the bustling township has been baffled over the past few months by a frequent blackout due to rationing of electricity.


http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/7368866.html
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby Puddnhead » Wed 25 May 2011, 09:45:40

The New York Times covered this today. Looks like they are really getting squeezed by growing demand and the possibility of instability if prices go up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/busin ... &src=rechp
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby Sys1 » Wed 25 May 2011, 11:47:08

In France, we have currently a severe drought. Nuclear plants are providing around 80% of our electricity and are at risk of having not enough water to cold them this summer since water levels in rivers are already as low as in august.
During the last heat wave of 2003, beside thousands of old people dying, France had to import its electricity and official messages from government pressed people to use less air conditionner.
I think this time, it will get worse since we use more electricity than in 2003.
Note that not enough water doesn't mean nuclear plants will go Tchernobyl (or Fukushima). It just means they will have reduce the power of each nuclear plant. Instead of exporting electricity to Deutschland, we will have to import it or switch to fossil fuel plants to fill the gasp.

By the way, France crops are devasted by drought, something like 50% loss.
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby davep » Wed 25 May 2011, 12:25:45

Sys1 wrote:In France, we have currently a severe drought. Nuclear plants are providing around 80% of our electricity and are at risk of having not enough water to cold them this summer since water levels in rivers are already as low as in august.
During the last heat wave of 2003, beside thousands of old people dying, France had to import its electricity and official messages from government pressed people to use less air conditionner.
I think this time, it will get worse since we use more electricity than in 2003.
Note that not enough water doesn't mean nuclear plants will go Tchernobyl (or Fukushima). It just means they will have reduce the power of each nuclear plant. Instead of exporting electricity to Deutschland, we will have to import it or switch to fossil fuel plants to fill the gasp.

By the way, France crops are devasted by drought, something like 50% loss.


It's even a problem in 'La Bresse' (old French for humid) where I live. The whole area was a massive lake until a couple of million years ago when the south end gave way and drained it. But historically the water table here has always been healthily high. This year it's not looking good. And I chose this area because of its cheap land prices and availability of water resources. Eek...

I guess I'm going to have to put that rainwater system up my list of priorities. Only I'll have to double the size just in case... I don't want to become a modern-day Jean de Florette.
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby Lore » Wed 25 May 2011, 12:35:03

davep wrote:It's even a problem in 'La Bresse' (old French for humid) where I live. The whole area was a massive lake until a couple of million years ago when the south end gave way and drained it. But historically the water table here has always been healthily high. This year it's not looking good. And I chose this area because of its cheap land prices and availability of water resources. Eek...

I guess I'm going to have to put that rainwater system up my list of priorities. Only I'll have to double the size just in case... I don't want to become a modern-day Jean de Florette.


Don’t you get a lot of mountain runoff in the La Bresse region of France?
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby davep » Wed 25 May 2011, 13:16:49

Lore wrote:
davep wrote:It's even a problem in 'La Bresse' (old French for humid) where I live. The whole area was a massive lake until a couple of million years ago when the south end gave way and drained it. But historically the water table here has always been healthily high. This year it's not looking good. And I chose this area because of its cheap land prices and availability of water resources. Eek...

I guess I'm going to have to put that rainwater system up my list of priorities. Only I'll have to double the size just in case... I don't want to become a modern-day Jean de Florette.


Don’t you get a lot of mountain runoff in the La Bresse region of France?


Yes, in theory. We're stuck between the Jura and the Morvan mountains, so it's a particularly impressive watershed. Only this year even that has proven to be relatively meagre.
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby davep » Wed 25 May 2011, 14:30:44

GASMON wrote:Sys1, hop over the channel to England.

Bloody cold & wet, lots of rain. You can have some !!

Gas

But no cheap farmland.
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby cipi604 » Wed 25 May 2011, 15:57:15

A LOT of rain, cheap land, Canada.
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Re: China´s blackouts

Unread postby Sys1 » Wed 25 May 2011, 16:30:56

I think Canada would be a nice country to live post peak oil.
Lot of lands and preserved nature (beside Alberta :lol: )
Moreover, there are not too many people like in Europe...
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China heads toward a summer of blackouts

Unread postby bratticus » Sat 28 May 2011, 15:36:18

China power consumption growth slows in April
Reporting by Kazunori Takada; Editing by Daniel Magnowski / Reuters / May 14, 2011


... China looks set for its worst power shortages since 2004, putting pressure on already squeezed industries and raising the possibility of the world's second-largest economy turning into a net importer of diesel. ...


Power crisis may force China to face inflation demons
By Koh Gui Qing and Aileen Wang / Reuters / May 27, 2011


Confronting a huge and growing power crisis, China faces a painful choice: either allow a summer of blackouts or swallow a dose of inflation.

The shortage, which has brought electricity cuts for big power consumers and a spate of emergency measures, was avoidable and foreseen by many economists and analysts.

It is not that China lacks the generation capacity to meet demand. Instead, analysts point to a lopsided electricity sector in which government controls starve producers of price rises so that manufacturers can guzzle cheap power.

That has created the worst power shortage in seven years as producers restrict output to make ends meet. The shortage is set to worsen as electricity demand rises during the peak summer months just as hydropower capacity has been hit by drought.

"This is going to be a big one, and it's compounded by the fact that power companies are losing money for producing," said Credit Suisse economist Dong Tao. "It is going to be a pretty sticky situation for growth and it will also add to inflationary pressure."

... The power deficit could exceed 30-40 gigawatts during the summer peak season, the State Grid Corporation of China says.

To put that in perspective, even if all the power plants in Argentina were plugged into China, it would not be quite enough to cover the shortage.

The drought has left water in some of the country's biggest hydropower producing regions at critical levels just when output should be peaking. During May to October last year, hydropower generated a fifth of China's electricity generation. ...

... skip ...

THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

... But none of that addresses the root of the problem, economists say: electricity prices are simply too low. ...

HA HA! That is not the root of the problem.

Regardless, there is going to be another Oct 2008 event sometime in 2011. What will the call it this time now that "housing bubble" won't work as an explanation? Will the phony excuses be "China didn't pay enough for electricity" this time?
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Re: China heads toward a summer of blackouts

Unread postby bratticus » Sat 28 May 2011, 15:44:42

Any phony excuse other than the painful truth: World Oil Production has been Flat Since 2005 and China's dreams of never-ending growth are delusions.

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Re: China heads toward a summer of blackouts

Unread postby bratticus » Sat 28 May 2011, 15:58:53

China’s Industrial Profit Growth Slowed in First Four Months on Rate Rises
Written by Zheng Lifei, Edited by: Ken McCallum, Lily Nonomiya / Bloomberg / May 27, 2011


... Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the nation’s largest producer of the metal, on April 21 reported a 47 percent drop in first- quarter profit on higher raw-material and fuel costs. ...

Oh but Green Energy will save us! *NOT*
China’s Sinovel Wind Group Co., the largest wind-turbine maker in the world’s biggest wind energy market, on April 26 said profit growth slowed to 1 percent in the first quarter, compared with a 51 percent annual gain in 2010.
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