The Guardian reports on a recent study in Science that suggests that China could cut its CO2 emissions by 30% in the next two decades if it uses wind power to meet its growing energy demands.
It is estimated China will need to increase its capacity by 800 gigawatts by 2030 to meet demand – roughly double its current capacity. Currently 80% of China's electricity is produced by coal fired power plants so if there was a focus on wind power China's emissions of carbon dioxide could be 30% lower.
As growth continues in China it means that hundreds of coal-fired power plants need to be built every year to keep pace with demand.
"China plans to build seven large wind-power bases over the next decade, and already ranks fourth in the world in terms of installed capacity, at 12.2 gigawatts – about equal to the energy produced by two dozen average-sized coal-fired plants. It trails only the US, Germany and Spain in installed capacity, but not all of those turbines are hooked up to the electricity grid. In fact, just 0.4% of China's electricity is supplied by wind – or around 3 gigawatts". Follow the link to find out more.
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