{"id":2369662,"date":"2025-01-31T01:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/?p=2369662"},"modified":"2025-01-31T06:58:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T11:58:09","slug":"a-clean-energy-race-with-china-only-if-you-ignore-the-coal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/2025\/01\/31\/a-clean-energy-race-with-china-only-if-you-ignore-the-coal\/","title":{"rendered":"A \u2018Clean Energy Race\u2019 With China? Only If You Ignore The Coal."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In recent years, I\u2019ve noticed that two words\u2014\u201dbut China\u201d\u2014 are often used to parry any argument in favor of limited government.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>We should cut Pentagon spending.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut China\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>A free society shouldn\u2019t ban TikTok.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut China \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Tariffs are taxes and will make stuff cost more.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut China\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The idea seems to be that sound policies that uphold the values of a free society are well and good, and everyone would be in favor of them if not for the Chinese, who don\u2019t play by our rules and represent a clear existential threat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The latest example came from a confirmation hearing involving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PGfHJLlJLYQ\">Scott Bessent<\/a>, the man President Donald Trump has tapped to be secretary of the Treasury Department. During questioning, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) alleged that the incoming Trump administration was looking to reverse \u201cthe biggest transformation on clean energy in American history,\u201d which would be a gift to the Chinese Communist Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026our package\u2026basically said the tax code as it relates to energy is a broken-down mess. And we basically said we\u2019re going to have a technology-neutral system: the more you reduce carbon, the bigger your tax savings,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thedailyguardianofficial\/reel\/DE6lq0TzSha\/\">Wyden said<\/a>. \u201cNow there is a big effort in the Trump administration to reverse it. I think that\u2019s going to be bad for the economy, but it is going to be damn good for China because we are in an arms race in clean energy with them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bessent, an investor and founder of the Key Square Group, rejected the idea that the US is in a \u201cclean energy arms race\u201d with China.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSen. Wyden. Just so we can frame this for everyone in the room, China will build a hundred new coal plants this year. There is not a clean energy race, there is an energy race,\u201d Bessent began. \u201cChina will build 10 nuclear plants this year. That is not solar.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BOOM. GET \u2018EM SCOTT!\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenator just to be clear, China will build 100 new coal plants this year. There is no \u201cclean energy\u201d race\u2026 there is just an energy race.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/xIqCt3vWyB\">pic.twitter.com\/xIqCt3vWyB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Geiger_Capital\/status\/1879929226973024400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Whether China will build a hundred new coal plants in 2025 is uncertain. Nobody, including Mr. Bessent, has a crystal ball. Yet his larger point about China is correct. Though China is often lauded as a world leader in renewable energy (and <a href=\"https:\/\/e360.yale.edu\/features\/china-renewable-energy\">in some ways<\/a> it is), in recent years it has ramped up coal production.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, China <a href=\"https:\/\/globalenergymonitor.org\/press-release\/china-permits-two-new-coal-power-plants-per-week-in-2022\/\">was rolling out<\/a> two new coal plants every week, on average. This was a stark contrast to the rest of the world, where just seven countries even had new coal plants under construction. The following year China built 47 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power capacity, tops in the world\u2014by far.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChina accounted for 95 percent of the world\u2019s new coal power construction activity in 2023,\u201d the Global Energy Monitor (GEM) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carbonbrief.org\/china-responsible-for-95-of-new-coal-power-construction-in-2023-report-says\/\">stated in its annual report<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"603\" src=\"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28084\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/image-3.png 800w, https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/image-3-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/image-3-768x579.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>The Associated Press and others would have you believe that China\u2019s coal expansion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ap.org\/news-highlights\/spotlights\/2024\/china-is-backing-off-coal-power-plant-approvals-after-a-2022-23-surge-that-alarmed-climate-experts\/\">is slowing<\/a>, and in a sense they are right. In 2024, China somewhat slowed its expansion of coal, approving ten new plants with 9 gigawatts of capacity in the first half of the year.<\/p>\n<p>Yet it\u2019s difficult to claim with a straight face that China is fighting a \u201cclean energy arms war\u201d when it uses more coal than any country in the world and is increasing coal production faster than anyone on the planet (see below).\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"761\" src=\"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/image-2-1024x761-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28083\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/image-2-1024x761.png 1024w, https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/image-2-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/image-2-768x571.png 768w, https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/01\/image-2.png 1111w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>None of this is to say that China isn\u2019t also investing in renewable energy. It is, including a massive expansion of its nuclear capabilities, as Bessent noted in his testimony. All of this only drives home Bessent\u2019s point: we\u2019re not in a green energy arms race with China\u2014we\u2019re in an energy race.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wyden and many others would have you believe that there are \u201cgood\u201d energies (renewables) and \u201cbad\u201d energies (fossil fuels). This is why numerous US <a href=\"https:\/\/focus.senate.ca.gov\/sb100\/faqs\">states<\/a> and European <a href=\"https:\/\/www.e3g.org\/news\/germany-s-bold-and-ambitious-100-renewable-power-plan\/\">countries<\/a> have trotted out plans to run solely on renewable energy at some future date.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The reality is, all forms of energy come with economic tradeoffs. Solar power might be a renewable energy source with minimal carbon emissions, but solar panels are expensive, <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2021\/06\/the-dark-side-of-solar-power\">difficult to recycle<\/a>, and produce <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/michaelshellenberger\/2018\/05\/23\/if-solar-panels-are-so-clean-why-do-they-produce-so-much-toxic-waste\/\">massive amounts<\/a> of toxic waste.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wind farms run on wind, but turbines are constructed using significant amounts of steel, concrete, and advanced plastics. <a href=\"https:\/\/pubs.usgs.gov\/sir\/2011\/5036\/sir2011-5036.pdf\">According to<\/a> the United States Geological Survey, producing 1 MW of wind capacity typically requires 103 tons of stainless steel, 402 tons of concrete, 6.8 tons of fiberglass, 3 tons of copper, and 20 tons of cast iron. Wind farms come with other costs, of course. They kill lots of birds, destroy fisheries, and <a href=\"https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/article\/greta-thunbergs-war-against-wind-farms\/\">threaten<\/a> adorable reindeer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, both wind and solar are intermittent energy sources.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Those windmills don\u2019t create energy when the wind isn\u2019t blowing, and those solar farms don\u2019t produce when the sun isn\u2019t shining. This is why any <a href=\"https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/article\/michael-moore-acknowledges-there-are-no-alternatives-to-energy-reality\/\">sober analysis<\/a> of energy recognizes that renewable energies are at best a complement to fossil fuels, not a replacement for them. (Indeed, we should recognize that fossil fuels are hardly a curse, but vital sources of energy <a href=\"https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/article\/giving-thanks-for-fossil-fuels\/\">that humankind should be grateful for<\/a>.)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This brings me back to China. Those who invoke the Red Dragon are often simply preying on a primal human emotion: fear. This is unfortunate, but <a href=\"https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/article\/its-always-about-fear\/\">hardly surprising<\/a>. Thinkers from Cicero to Machiavelli and beyond have understood that fear (for better and worse) is <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&amp;context=sturesearch\">a powerful weapon<\/a> in shaping public opinion.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0\u201cWithout popular fear, no government could endure more than twenty-four hours,\u201d the economic historian Robert Higgs has noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Remember this the next time someone objects to a sound policy proposal with the words, \u201cBut China\u2026\u201d.<\/p><\/p>\n<p class=\"attribution\">The post <a href=\"https:\/\/thedailyeconomy.org\/article\/a-clean-energy-arms-race-with-china-hardly\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">A \u2018Clean Energy Race\u2019 With China? Only If You Ignore The Coal.<\/a> was first published by the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/section\/daily-caller-news-foundation\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">American Institute for Economic Research (AIER)<\/a>, and is republished here with permission. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aier.org\/give-to-aier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Please support their efforts.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recent years, I\u2019ve noticed that two words\u2014\u201dbut China\u201d\u2014 are often used to parry any argument in favor of limited government.\u00a0 We should cut Pentagon spending. \u201cBut China\u2026\u201d\u00a0 A free society shouldn\u2019t ban TikTok. \u201cBut China \u2026\u201d Tariffs are taxes and will make stuff cost more. \u201cBut China\u2026\u201d The idea seems to be that sound &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":391,"featured_media":2369664,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2369662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2369662"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2369667,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369662\/revisions\/2369667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2369664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2369662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2369662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monetizemail.com\/magatoon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2369662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}