Timothy Birdnow

Here is a story that has flown under the radar (and I just found now); China's energy production has dropped this year.

Most stores are trying to claim it's because of "green energy" but the reality is it's beause China's economy is in recession. We don't know the numbers because China won't admit it, but energy generation is a clear-cut sign.

Their coal use is down. Their diesel use is down.

And this isn't just domestically; China's electricity generation exports decreased 7.0% in 2024 to 20.5 gigawatthours, which wouldn't happen if China were just producing more energy through so-called renewables. They would have MORe energy to sell, not less. Their exports should have increased, and prices should have fallen.

China also had a mild winter,leading to less thermal energy needed.

Look,nobody has fared well when switching to wind and solar and the Chinese aren't stupid. They saw this. (I would add the promotion of these energy sources came from Russia, which labored to promote them precisely because they knew the Europeans would then be a captive market to Russian oil and gas.) The problems with the Texas grid came about precisely because they made a huge push to use this undependable energy. We've seen crisis all over Europe, in places like Germany which went for "renewables" in a big way.

China sees this and knows it for what it is. They aren't stupid.

So why would they promote an unreliable energy source? China has large coal reserves of it's own and can obtain those easily enough. (They only import coking coal for steel, since their coal is inadequate.) This is much like saying Iran needs nuclear energy.

So this whole thing is nonsense. China HAS moved to solar and wind, but mainly because a. they need more power than they can currently import and b.they want to sucker the West into following suit.

The decline in coal and oil use for energy is, in my mind, a coefficient of the decline of their economy. Slow consumer spending and a slump in the real estate market,along with rising tariffs on their goods by the U.S., is strangling their economic growth. Corporations are leaving. China won't ever admit it but they are in trouble economically.

Now is the time to divst in Chinese corporations if you are an investor.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 11:01 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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