ENERGY - China

Question 1

What perentage of China’s energy is supplied by coal?

Answer 1

73% in 2014.

Question 2

How is coal produced?

Answer 2

• Most reserves are located in the North West.
• Its largest open pit coal mine, for example, lies in Haerwusu in Inner Mongolia since 2008.
• This presents logistical problems when supplying cities.
• There are 150 coal power plants. Not all are used.

Question 3

What are the advantages of coal production in China?

Answer 3

• Coal is comparatively cheap. As of February 2016, it cost only $42 per ton.
• Coal is a reliable energy source with little fluctuation. This is necessary for a population of 1.36 billion, as blackouts would be inconvenient.
• Coal is an abundant resource in China. In the northern regions, for example, there are 110 billion tones of coal available.
• At its current usage, coal will last for 200 more years. This makes it more sustainable than oil.

Question 4

What are the disadvantages of coal in China?

Answer 4

• China uses water aquifiers during coal extraction. This can lead to water inrushes, causing mining accidents. This is exacerbated by poor safety standards - 80% of the 16000 known mines are unregulated. In 2009 alone, 2600 died in mining accidents.
• There is inadequate waste management, leading to water pollution. 60% of all groundwater is polluted.
• Mercury, when used in coal combustion, is biomagnified when it enters water sources. This leads to the illness of larger wildlife.
• Burning coal produces sulfur dioxide and acid rain. In 2003, it fell on 250 cities and cost $13.3 billion.

Question 5

What percentage of China’s energy comes from HEP?

Answer 5

17% in 2014.

Question 6

How is HEP produced in China?

Answer 6

• China is the world’s largest producer of HEP.
• The famous 3 Gorges Dam on the Yagtze river is the world’s largest HEP station in terms of capacity, with a maximum of 22.5 GW.
• Situated largely in the South West where rivers are 200m above sea level.

Question 7

What are the advantages of HEP in China?

Answer 7

• HEP is one of the few renewable resources of energy that is flexible with demand (with the use of a pumped storage scheme). With a population of 1.36 billion, this flexibility is particularly necessary.
• HEP plants can last for 50 years.
• Low labour costs.
• Impoundment HEP plants create reservoirs that can be used for recreation, such as fishing.

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of HEP in China?

Answer 8

• Displaces residents. For the construction of the 3 Gorges Dam, for example, 1.5 million people were displaced.
• Water availability and thus capacity is currently fluctuating due to drought. China was experiencing the worst drought in 63 years in 2011.
• Probe International warns that there will be implications from siting 1/2 of its dams on areas of high seismic risk.

Question 9

What are the prospects of HEP in China?

Answer 9

• Usage expected to increase 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.
• But at the same time, resources are shrinking and doubts have been raised about its profitability. The Three Gorges Dam, for example, was predicted to produce 10% of China’s electricity 2011, when it only managed 1.7%.

Question 10

Changing energy source?

Answer 10

• Following entry to WTO in 2001
• By 2013 China’s renewable sources more than 30% of its capacity
• China close 2,000 small coal mines from 2013 to 2016 - private ones
• Coal market turned to oversupply in 2014