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UNDERSTANDING CHINA’S HUGE SOLAR ADDITIONS: China is putting up massive new numbers of solar power generation, illustrating the dichotomous role it plays in the global economy as both no. 1 emitter and leading producer and generator of renewable energy.
New data from the Chinese National Energy Administration show the country added nearly 34 gigawatts of new solar capacity in the first quarter, eclipsing total U.S. additions for the entire calendar year of 2022.
Is this the kind of thing Secretary Jennifer Granholm had in mind when she said the U.S. has some lessons to learn from the Chinese?
Comparing no. 1 and no. 2: The U.S and China are the globe’s economic heavyweights and greenhouse gas emitters but operate on different planes when it comes to prioritizing the reduction of those emissions.
This has made China into the subject of scorn among U.S. policymakers for leading emissions globally and advancing new coal power generation projects, especially among Republicans who take exception to the fact that the U.S. is tightening restrictions on coal plants resulting in their shutterings while China plans dozens and dozens of new plants.
The Energy Information Administration’s latest estimate projects the addition of 27 gigawatts of new solar generating capacity in 2023 this year. Total U.S. additions in 2022 reached 20.2 GW, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.
Chinese planners are dealing in much bigger numbers: China brought 87.41 GW of new solar online last year and plans to add between 95 and 120 gigawatts this year under a larger 160-GW renewable wind and solar target.
How China does it: China is home to the world’s premier solar manufacturing base, one the Biden administration wants to rival, to serve its growing energy needs.
There are also few permitting barriers — something many have pointed to in order to attribute environmental degradation and poor air quality relative to the U.S. — and project developers have a much easier time getting connected to the grid, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst for the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
Interconnection queues in the U.S. are, by comparison, just “insane,” Myllyvirta said, something that Congress actively wants to fix with its permitting reform proposals (Read about DOE’s latest interconnection backlog data here.)
Where else China “outdoes” its peers: Coal. China blows past all other nations on the metric of new planned coal capacity additions, charting its own path on the fuel irrespective of what dozens of countries have committed to in the way of a coal phaseout.
China is planning hundreds of gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants, some 72% of new planned coal capacity globally, while neither North America nor the EU have any new planned coal capacity additions, according to a recent report from European think tank E3G.
The net effect: In the climate change context, gross additions of renewable energy count for much less if they aren’t displacing fossil fuel generation. They count for even less if coal generation and coal capacity are on the rise.
“The 160 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity targeted for addition this year will cover electricity demand growth up to about 3%, which is still not sufficient to keep fossil power generation from growing, especially with expected rebound in demand” due to the end of zero-COVID, Myllyvirta told Jeremy.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Jeremy Beaman (@jeremywbeaman) and Breanne Deppisch (@breanne_dep). Email [email protected] or [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
SCOTUS DECLINES TO HEAR OIL COMPANIES’ APPEAL ON CLIMATE CHANGE CASES: The Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from oil companies seeking to shift climate suits to federal courts, allowing the oil majors to be held liable for any damages as determined by individual state courts.
The decision is a blow to the oil majors’ push to have their concerns heard by a federal court, where they are widely believed to have a higher chance of success than in state and local jurisdictions.
The primary appeal was led by ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy, who sought to move the suit by two Colorado counties and the city of Boulder, according to the Examiner’s Kaelan Deese.
The localities argue the companies should compensate taxpayers for the higher cost of road maintenance and fighting wildfires. Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, Phillips 66, and BP also filed appeals in cases filed in Colorado local governments.
NEW HOUSE GOP ATTACK ON CLIMATE PLANS THIS WEEK: Top Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are holding a hearing Wednesday to probe the Biden administration’s ambitious emissions reduction targets, arguing that the subsidies for clean energy and EVs threaten human rights and national security.
Witnesses, including former Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Daniel Simmons, will discuss concerns over the amount of domestic lands required for renewable energy factories and mining, EV battery disposal, and depending too heavily on China and the Congo for energy supplies as the U.S. goes through the lengthy process of building its own supply chain.
The new salvo is part of the GOP House majority’s broader push for an “all of the above” energy policy, allowing them to position themselves as the alternative for those who fear the administration’s transition timeline is reckless.
Biden’s energy agenda “cannot be pulled off without bolstering China,” Rep. Bill Johnson of Ohio, who will lead the hearing alongside panel chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, said in a statement. Read more and see the full witness list here.
WHITE HOUSE ISSUES VETO THREAT FOR SOLAR CRA RESOLUTION: The White House issued a veto threat for the Congressional Review Act resolution set for a vote this week that would cancel Biden’s emergency solar declaration that protects Asian solar product imports from tariffs through next summer.
“America is now on track to increase domestic solar panel manufacturing capacity eight-fold by the end of the President’s first term,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement of policy. “However, these investments will take time to ramp up production—which is why last spring, the President declared an emergency to ensure that Americans have access to reliable, affordable, and clean electricity.”
The CRA resolution, which could be taken up as soon as Wednesday, is expected to pass this week with bipartisan support. It would cancel Biden’s emergency, which got ahead of a Commerce Department antidumping investigation into products from four Asian countries accused of acting as pass-throughs for China.
EUROPEANS STRENGTHEN GRIP ON US LNG IMPORTS: The United Kingdom imported nearly twice as much LNG as no. 2 importer France in February, according to the newest data from the Department of Energy, with the top five rounded out by Netherlands, Spain, and South Korea.
Meanwhile, exports to South Korea, the leading cumulative importer of U.S. LNG reaching back to 2016, fell from the month before.
DOE’s LNG Monthly reports over the last year have told the story of the reorientation of demand for U.S. LNG. Asian buyers, including China, Japan, and South Korea consistently led as the top export destinations as recently as fall 2021, but concerns over energy security and the higher European premium for U.S. gas has cemented the shipment of higher shares to Europe.
The Rundown
Wall Street Journal Small towns chase America’s $3 trillion climate gold rush
Financial Times Critics warn US Inflation Reduction Act could keep prices high
Reuters Is this solar panel American? Companies eyeing US subsidy await rules
