Oh yes, they do. And they buy a helluva lot of coal from Australia.biffvernon wrote:But we keep hearing that China is buiding a new coal power station every 30 nanoseconds.
(I might have got the statistic a bit wrong)
Global warming and bad weather
Moderator: Peak Moderation
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SherryMayo
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- Location: Melbourne, Australia
Re MacG's comment about Australia having easy coal
This doesn't really affect the possibility of coal-powered coal mining. Underground mining is also done with electrically powered equipment and many countries have coal worth mining even though coal is relatively cheap. Peak oil and gas could make it more valuable.
I'm not saying that the dash-to-coal is a certainty, but it is a possible future scenario and even with peak oil I don't think we can afford to be complacent about coal burning.
This doesn't really affect the possibility of coal-powered coal mining. Underground mining is also done with electrically powered equipment and many countries have coal worth mining even though coal is relatively cheap. Peak oil and gas could make it more valuable.
I'm not saying that the dash-to-coal is a certainty, but it is a possible future scenario and even with peak oil I don't think we can afford to be complacent about coal burning.
I was unaware of Australia's coal exports to China. I had a little explore and found this web page of coal news: http://www.globalcoal.com/news/coalnews.cfm
Apparently Indonesia is expected to be a big coal exporter to China too ... but ..
"Indonesia has come from nowhere to challenge Australia as the world's largest exporter of thermal coal," Citibank said in a recent report.
(Thermal coal is used mainly in power stations to produce high pressure steam, which then drives turbines to generate electricity)
...
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants to reduce Indonesia's reliance on oil, and increase the role of coal, which could lead to a cap on exports, experts say. "The government may, before too long, prefer to reserve (some) production for the domestic market,
More importantly, it seems that Australia and other countries have vast reserves of coal, possibly 200 years at current consumtion ... and we will probably burn it all within say 70 years!
Even if we can simply migrate to coal once the oil & gas get too expensive, our children and grand children will be living on a stripped, stinky & possibly very warm planet.
Apparently Indonesia is expected to be a big coal exporter to China too ... but ..
"Indonesia has come from nowhere to challenge Australia as the world's largest exporter of thermal coal," Citibank said in a recent report.
(Thermal coal is used mainly in power stations to produce high pressure steam, which then drives turbines to generate electricity)
...
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wants to reduce Indonesia's reliance on oil, and increase the role of coal, which could lead to a cap on exports, experts say. "The government may, before too long, prefer to reserve (some) production for the domestic market,
More importantly, it seems that Australia and other countries have vast reserves of coal, possibly 200 years at current consumtion ... and we will probably burn it all within say 70 years!
Even if we can simply migrate to coal once the oil & gas get too expensive, our children and grand children will be living on a stripped, stinky & possibly very warm planet.