Why wind and solar power is going to ‘waste’ in China in the global energy crisis

Use of renewables held back by ‘inflexible management of coal power plants and power grids, not a lack of grid infrastructure’: CREA

The “wasted” wind and solar energy stems from inflexible grid management that continues to rely on coal for baseload power and stymies a clean energy expansion that could otherwise generate electricity equivalent to the needs of France, according to analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) think tank.

China’s energy demand rose in the first quarter of this year. However, instead of filling the gap with its rapidly expanding wind and solar capacity, it reverted to fossil fuels, according to the report.

“While the Strait of Hormuz crisis has boosted China’s focus on energy security – including through clean energy and electrification – its electricity system is failing to keep up,” the CREA analysis for Carbon Brief, a climate news site, reported on June 4.

CREA found that curtailing wind and solar plants “left China more exposed to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by increasing the need for other fuels”, including coal and gas.