...there is this:
October 9, 2014
October 9, 2014
By Fayen Wong
SHANGHAI, Oct 9 (Reuters) - China, (click here) the world's top coal importer, will levy import tariffs on the commodity after nearly a decade, in its latest bid to prop up ailing domestic miners who have been buffeted by rising costs and tumbling prices....
The tariff will decrease the amount of imported coal by Chinese power companies. They will have to rely more and more by domestic coal. With that, China then has a reason to relieve the smog covered cities with alternatives. As China moves to alternative methods of energy, the skies of their cities will clear as well.
...China set out (click here) an ambitious plan in 2011 to build 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind turbines in four years, enough to power 5.4 million homes. With less than 10 percent of that capacity in place, officials now say they won’t meet that goal.
Strong, steady offshore breezes have the potential to become an important source of electricity, but installing jumbo-jet sized gear in the harsh, marine environment is a complicated and expensive endeavor. The slow pace in China is matched by the U.S., which has no offshore wind farms after more than a decade of development efforts.....
...Offshore turbines are insignificant when compared to China’s onshore wind capacity of 77 gigawatts. That’s the most in the world, and the government has plans to install an additional 18 gigawatts this year, according to the National Energy Administration. The cost of power from land-based wind rivals that of coal or natural-gas fired plants....
The coal miners are complaining they have mined in his country for decades and work in extreme circumstances down 2000 feet to supply the USA with energy. That may be true and I am sure they regard their work as important, but, the fact of the matter is THE COAL COMPANIES have told coal miners and coal miner families they are no longer needed because mechanization has taken over. The USA needs to move on and we are doing that. The coal miners need to regard their skills as antiquated that even their employers no longer want.
...Offshore turbines are insignificant when compared to China’s onshore wind capacity of 77 gigawatts. That’s the most in the world, and the government has plans to install an additional 18 gigawatts this year, according to the National Energy Administration. The cost of power from land-based wind rivals that of coal or natural-gas fired plants....
The coal miners are complaining they have mined in his country for decades and work in extreme circumstances down 2000 feet to supply the USA with energy. That may be true and I am sure they regard their work as important, but, the fact of the matter is THE COAL COMPANIES have told coal miners and coal miner families they are no longer needed because mechanization has taken over. The USA needs to move on and we are doing that. The coal miners need to regard their skills as antiquated that even their employers no longer want.
