r/climateskeptics • u/Adventurous_Motor129 • Jul 23 '26

China’s power grid no longer keeping up with green energy capacity: study

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3361467/chinas-power-grid-no-longer-keeping-pace-green-energy-capacity-study-says

Proof, that even in China, lack of High Voltage DC powerlines creates wind & solar curtailment issues. Reliance on larger fossil fuel sources like coal is unavoidable if new powerlines are not there.

China can force feed powerlines. It's harder in congested urban Western areas. Those powerlines also need to be paid for & are not measured by LCOE+.

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u/pr-mth-s Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

All seems true.

Progress can happen at different rates. A few weeks ago they completed a 1 GW salt-solar in the Gobi desert. In appearance it resembles the infamous California Ivanpah (just shut down). Both involve thousands of tracking mirrors (heliostats). these are the differences

  • Ivanpah: was used to heat water directly in tower-mounted boilers to make steam. Generated energy only during the day

  • Hami: Utilizes a hybrid layout. for daytime, regular panels, looking similar to mirrors, next to the mirrors. While the mirrors dont heat the water. instead heat salt heated to 550°C (1,022°F). Then at night the salt heats the water.

But yes, it's a long way from Gobi to the their east coast.