This is not a topic that I usually spend a lot of time thinking about – which country is ahead or behind USA on a certain topic (unless it’s the World Cup, ugh).
However, reading about China’s work on alternative energy is eye-opening. They have apparently built 162 sq miles of solar panels, wind turbines all around and hydropower dams. China is building an enormous network of clean energy on the Tibetan plateau.
China is still the largest polluter in the world, burning as much coal as the rest of the world combined (according to NYTimes article). However, President Xi for the first time spoke at the United Nations about reducing greenhouse gas emissions and expanding renewable energy six fold. This was a moment of significance.
This is particularly interesting when contrasted with the Trump administrations efforts to double down on gas, oil and coal, even trying to force other countries to buy those elements from USA.
China is dominating clean energy, powering high-speed trains and electric vehicles. They’ve even built a 2,000 mile power line across the country, transmitting electricity generated by those enormous solar farms. This line will be followed by many more.
At a recent meeting I attended here in Maine I listened to a discussion about efforts to bring EV technology to the commercial fishing industry. This is a laudable goal, but some experts suggested that powering the large lobster boats would require way more electricity than would make it viable with current battery technology. I asked what alternatives there were, and one answer was hydrogen. Apparently an effort to extract hydrogen from sea water is in early stages of development. My colleagues in the meeting suggested that this solution is ‘decades away’ here in the USA. They might be right…but some quick googling suggests that China are already solving it.
We are not the leaders in clean energy. We have spent our money and political capital fighting climate change and ignoring the need for clean energy. China remains the largest polluter in the world, but it looks to me like they ‘get it’ a lot more than we do.
mikesteinharter.com 