Chart: Check out how fast China is shifting to renewables. China’s furious build-out of wind and solar means the nation is scaling back on fossil fuels. Fossil-fueled power generation fell by 2% in the first half of this year. Its total solar and wind capacity has surpassed coal-fired power capacity

7 comments

1. Considering that they’re by far the world’s largest emitter of CO2, this is good to see.

2. The Chinese have figured out how to quickly and efficiently create additional generation.

   The US insists on banging rocks for fire and trying to start up old coal plants. We’re fucked.

3. Plus lots of electric bikes, motorbikes, cars, vans, trucks, busses and high speed trains which means they get all those things done with less carbon, even though the grid isn’t fully clean yet.

   Lots of industry switching to using electricity too.

4. Renewables mean unlimited cheap clean energy and true energy Independence. China gets this. What’s wrong with US Republicans?

5. China has serious strategic vulnerability from lack of access to petroleum as well as coal. While they have good reason like everyone else to pursue renewable energy the potential to be crippled is highly motivating.

   The US is vulnerable as well but it is less likely to lose access to petroleum products in the way China is so there is less motivation there. Additionally the US has a large number of people profiting enormously from the petroleum industry. Due to our intensely corrupted political system these interests can successfully hinder the adoption of alternatives. For diversified US energy companies extracting fossil fuel cash for as long as possible while using public dollars to fund expansion into renewable resources is the ultimate goal.

6. and we are just dust in the wind

   go china go

7. To them, green energy is a matter of survival. Most of China’s oil is imported via sea and the US has a large fleet capable of shutting it down at any time

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