Page 8 - AsiaElec Week 17 2021

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Asian “supergrid” proposals could make

renewable energy as cheap as coal

ASIA A renewable energy super grid that would con- transmission lines. A further $2.6bn would be
nect six major Asian nations has been proposed required for the main underwater interconnec-
in a move that would make solar power cheaper tor, and then $2.7bn would be needed to connect
than coal, report’s Energy Matters on April 23. Vladivostok to North Korea alone.
Chinese scientists suggested connecting Japan and South Korea stand to enjoy the bulk
China, Russia, Mongolia, South Korea, North of the benefits from this grid. Those two nations
Korea and Japan – an area responsible for one- are both small in geographical area and depend
third of global energy consumption. on fossil fuels for electricity. This grid would
According to a report published by the Chi- enable them to access affordable wind power
nese Society for Electrical Engineering, this from Mongolia, solar from the Gobi Desert and
supergrid would reduce solar, hydro and wind hydropower from Russia.
power costs to about USc 5.0 per kWh, which is Another barrier is the political tensions
less than the current cost of coal in China. between these nations. Japan and South Korea
However, there are substantial costs involved are both allies of the United States, while China
in establishing the cost-effective supergrid. is not. Japan and South Korean relations are also
Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) is the at their lowest point in years, while China, Japan
largest electric utility in South Korea. It recently and Russia are locked in a dispute over islands.
launched a study into this grid and found Then there is North Korea, which is at odds with
that it would cost up to $7bn just to install the almost every country.™

COAL

China defends role of coal

CHINA A Chinese climate change official has defended the Virtual Climate Summit hosted by US Presi-
the country’s coal consumption in the power sec- dent Joe Biden last week.
tor, saying that it was a major source of employ- Xi said that Beijing would follow a policy of
ment and a predictable and reliable source of strictly controlling, while still increasing, coal
energy. use until 2026, when consumption would begin
However, Li Gao, the director-general of to fall.
the Environment Ministry’s Climate Change These targets have been set as China contin-
Department, admitted that the country’s power ues to open new coal-fired power plants. Global
plants would not run at full capacity in future. Energy Monitor (GEM) said in February that
Li said that China was in the midst of an the country had commissioned 38.4 GW of
energy transition and that coal would not play coal-fired power in 2020, compared to 11.9 GW
such a dominant role in the future. turned on in the rest of the world.
“In the past (coal) was the main source of China currently has 247 GW of coal power
power. But in the future, (its role) will be to help capacity under development.
guarantee and provide flexibility for the power Coal is still the country’s dominant source
grid,” he said. of power, although its market share is falling. In
His comments come after President Xi Jin- 2005, 72% of China’s power came from coal, fall-
ping said last week that China would begin ing to 56.8% in 2020, according to government
reducing its coal consumption in a matter of data. China aims to bring this number below
years. 56% in 2021.
China has already said it will move towards The Environment Ministry’s Li highlighted
reaching net zero emissions by 2060. that China was developing “revolutionary”
“They mainly help guarantee people’s liveli- energy storage technology. and that this needed
hoods, and guarantee the flexibility and security to be improved before coal could be replaced as
of our energy grid,” Li said, adding that such a secure and stable source of power.
plants may not run at “full capacity”. “We still need coal to provide a certain degree
President Xi had previously announced that of energy grid security, but we won’t develop it
China’s carbon emissions would peak before on a large scale. This will be strictly controlled,”
2030 and the country should attain carbon neu- he added.™
trality by 2060. He confirmed the dates during

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 17 28•April•2021