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Given the legacy media’s irreducible focus on the energy transition that we may or may not be experiencing, you are probably not going to read this in many places. Here are the facts: The world is using more coal now than it ever has. Coal, oil and natural gas still meet about 82% of our primary energy demands, way down from the … 86% they supplied in 1997. The world is using more coal (about 50% more), more oil (about 20% more), and more natural gas (about 60% more) than it used in 1997.
Global coal consumption hit an all-time high in 2023. Demand for coal increased by about 1.4%, driven mainly by China, which accounts for more than half of global coal use. The world’s principal coal users — China, India, South Africa and Indonesia — continue to expand their coal infrastructure, mostly because it is their most affordable and reliable option.
At the same time, the United States reduced its coal consumption by about 20% in 2023, shifting to more expensive (when all costs are considered) and weather-dependent sources of energy. While China is keeping its energy costs low with coal, the Biden administration is driving us toward greater reliance on intermittent energy.
For those who think weather-dependent energy sources are or should be more affordable than traditional fuels, my friends over at Energy Bad Boys recently examined that question. The results were not pretty.
Such considerations did not deter President Biden or former President Barack Obama, whose governments have made numerous pledges to abandon affordable and reliable coal at about the same time that the regime in Beijing also pledged to move away from fossil fuels. While the United States has actually followed through and started abandoning coal, however, China has continued to build new coal-fired power plants.
In fact, China permitted more new coal plants in one quarter last year than it did in all of 2021. A senior Chinese official said the quiet part out loud: Moving away from fossil fuels is “unrealistic.”
It is important to understand that China learned the hard way about the value of coal; it experienced its own energy crisis in 2021. Growing demand for energy and shortages of coal and other energy sources brought about widespread power failures and rationing. Unsurprisingly, China is aggressively expanding its coal capabilities at record-breaking rates while the United States continues to desert its own coal infrastructure.
China’s conclusion based on its own experience was confirmed by Europe’s energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The supply of natural gas dropped, prices skyrocketed and alternative sources could not keep up with demand. Germany was reduced to reopening its previously closed coal plants to weather the crisis.
At the same time as it is investing in its own coal reserves, the communist regime in China is making big money selling us the materials necessary to build alternative energy infrastructure.
The regime in Beijing owns, controls or processes 80% of global production of minerals and raw materials needed to produce alternative energy. Geoffrey Pyatt, assistant secretary for energy resources at the State Department, recently pointed out that China has “essentially a monopoly” on solar energy manufacturing, which enables it to reap enormous profits from American consumers.
A recent analysis by The Wall Street Journal found that companies based in China are responsible for about one-quarter of the solar energy created since the Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act. This act sends billions of taxpayer dollars to the alternative energy industry, and China-based companies are set to receive $1.4 billion a year collectively in energy subsidies from American taxpayers.
In short, our transition away from traditional sources of energy — including coal — means more cash for China and more dependence on China for the United States. The regime in Beijing generates energy security for itself with coal while profiting from our emphasis on an energy transition that has yet to emerge.
This dependence will become increasingly crucial as new data centers come online and bring with them the promise of enhanced computing power, increased internet access and speed, and artificial intelligence. These are likely to be the commanding economic heights of the next century, and it is essential that we have abundant, affordable and reliable energy to realize their promise.
The United States has the largest coal reserves in the world and abundant oil and natural gas reserves. We are blessed with resources; we should use them to our advantage. Let’s return to a more sensible energy strategy, with affordable and reliable coal serving an important role.
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The post America’s dependence on China grows as we transition to green energy alternatives appeared first on Energy News Beat.
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