Re:The EV evolution is going to take longer than we thought
by lolinder on Monday September 02, 2024 @07:48AM
(#41424629)
Even factoring all that in, building that much new coal is a leading indicator for emissions. It just might be less emissions than building that much new coal two decades ago would have been.
It's not that simple.
* The power plants are running at lower capacities: https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/china-coal-plants
* Not all coal is equal. High-volatile bituminous coals have ~5% less emissions: https://gaftp.epa.gov/ap42/ch01/s01/reference/ref_77%20c01s0...
* Some of the new plants are "clean" (not actually clean, but produce less emissions): https://globalenergyprize.org/en/2024/03/29/china-remains-wo...
* You can build newer, more efficient coal power plants (~45%) which slightly reduce the amount of coal you need to burn at older, less efficient coal power plants (~33%): https://www.google.com/search?q=how+efficient+are+newer+coal...
* ~5% of the new additions replaced retirements.