12.2 The management of energy supply

Question 1

China’s energy mix

Answer 1

• biggest consumer and producer of energy in the world
• In 2012, China consumed 2.74 billion tonnes of oil
• demand continues to increase significantly as the country expands its industrial base
• energy usage per person in the USA is 4x higher
  energy mix:
• coal: 68.4 per cent
• oil: 17.6 per cent
• hydro-electricity: 7.1 per cent
• natural gas: 4.7 per cent
• nuclear energy: 0.8 per cent
• renewable energy (other than hydro-electricity): 1.2 per cent
• World leader in:
  HEP: 15% of total production
  Wind: 30% global capacity

Question 2

China’s evolving energy policy

Answer 2

• economy expanding:increasing production and building more coal-fired power stations
• environmental impact
• high casualty rate among coal miners
• 80 per cent of China’s carbon dioxide and S emissions from coal
• China is the world’s leading energy-related CO2 emitter
• largest net importer of oil in 2014, imports 6 barrels a day
• Long-term energy security: maintain the pace of its industrial revolution
• world’s leading builder of more efficient, less polluting coal power plants
• increase production capacity of solar cells

Question 3

China’s strategic petroleum reserve

Answer 3

• to build facilities that can hold 500 million barrels of crude oil by 2020 in three phases (90 days supply)
• This will protect China to a certain extent from fluctuations in the global oil price
• major price increases, instability in supply, major disaster

Question 4

China’s renewable energy policy

Answer 4

• to reduce dependence on coal
• Produce 15% of overall energy from renewable sources by 2020 and 20% by 2030
• Three Gorges Dam along the Yangtze River, was completed in 2012. It has 32 generators with a total maximum capacity of 22.5 gigawatts
  -wind energy also to develop as a significant industrial sector
• largest manufacturer of solar PV. The solar hot-water market in China has also continued to boom

Question 5

Three Gorges Dam

Answer 5

• raised water levels by 90 metres upstream , allowing shipping to function in this stretch of the river, protects an estimated 10 million people from flooding
• over 1.3 M people had to be moved to make way for the dam and the lake
• the area is seismically active and landslides are frequent
• significant archaeological treasures were drowned
• the dam interferes with aquatic life
• the total cost is estimated at $70 billion; many people argue that this money could have been better spent
• Created 20,000 jobs during construction
• relocation, protection, jobs, energy
• Produces energy equivalent of 50 tonnes of coal
• Accounts for ¼ China’s electricity capacity

Question 6

energy strategy

Answer 6

Strategy plans to
- The 11th Five-Year Plan (2006–10)
- Reduce energy use per GDP by 20%
- Ensure a more secure supply of energy
- Increase sustainability
- Target to reduce carbon emission by 40-45%
- The government has begun to require that power companies retire an older, more polluting power plant for each new one they build
- aim for renewables from 1.7% to 15% by 2020 and reached 30% by 2022

Question 7

changes in demand

Answer 7

• Average annual demand growth rate of 5.6%
• Consumption rose by 45% between 2006-2013
  Issues: worlds top energy consumer, a total of 4.8bn KWh were generated in 2012
• 2003 and 2013, China accounted for 87 per cent of the growth in global coal consumption
• uranium demand (17 nuclear power stations under construction, with plans for 124)
  Between 2000 and 2010
• Constant 70% coal
• Oil reduced: 22.2% to 16.5%
• Natural gas rose: 2.2% to 4.3%
• Renewables rose: 6.4% to 8.3%
• Consumption per GDP fell by 49% between 2009 and 2020 – echoing success of 2006-10 plan to reduce by 20%