China Makes Electricity Filthy
Developing nations should be happy to receive a billion-dollar aid package to build the capacity to deliver electricity to millions of people who don’t have access. Indonesia has just gotten a huge commitment from China to do just that. The problem is that the facility will be fueled by the dirtiest fossil fuel— coal.
According to Inside Climate News, China has built a 2,000-megawatt plant called Java 7 near the Indonesian city of Cilegon. The coal-fired plant has also caused severe air pollution in the area. The news service says the level of pollution will kill any chance Indonesia has of meeting its climate goals in the next two decades. The report says, “Indonesia’s carbon dioxide emissions have more than doubled since 2005, making it the seventh-largest polluter.” Almost all of this is from coal. And to achieve the level of electricity Indonesia needs, it has no alternative energy source.
Air Conditioning
While China has funded most of Indonesia’s energy infrastructure, some has come from other regional nations, including Japan and South Korea. Astonishingly, China is in the process of building, or plans to build, another 40 plants.
New research shows that the share of global electricity from coal has decreased. However, the absolute number of tons used per year has not. This is because of the overall increase in electricity generation worldwide. And as more air conditioning comes online due to global warming, demand will increase.
The US has moved in the direction of more coal use as well. This is mostly for AI data centers.
More from Electricity Wars
- Data Centers In The Middle Of Nowhere
- AI And AC Drive Up Electricity prices By 25%
- Air Conditioning Is Future Of Electricity
- Electricity Gets Ugly
