The Sconi

While the U.S. is moving closer to renewable energy sources, China continues to increase its coal production which could be detrimental to the efforts of the U.S. to make more green energy. For Wisconsin, 10% of its energy comes from renewable energy sources.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, biofuels are the state of Wisconsin’s main renewable energy resource. It is in the top 10 for ethanol production in the country. Wisconsin has nine ethanol plants that produce 600 million gallons of fuel per year, which is more than twice what the state consumes. The report stated that 10% of Wisconsin’s in-state electricity comes from renewable energy sources, with hydroelectric being at the top. Only 4% of energy comes from solar power and 60% of the solar power in the state is from small solar facilities.

"By the end of February 2021, there were 25 utility-scale (1 megawatt or larger) solar PV facilities in the state," a report by EIA stated. "Those utility-scale facilities had a combined capacity of 204 megawatts, which was five times greater than a year earlier."

The New York Times reported that on Oct. 28, President Joe Biden went to Capitol Hill to lobby his $1.85 trillion climate bill. The plan has had some opposition from Senate Democrats like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, but Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois is hopeful.

“I will tell you there is a will to do it,” Durbin said in The New York Times report.

There are about $555 billion in climate provisions remaining in the bill. Part of Manchin’s opposition is penalties for not following emissions. He insisted this part was removed but there are still tax incentives that help urge the country to use electric vehicles and incentivized utilities rather than coal and natural gas.

In contrast to the U.S., CNN reported on Oct. 20 that China’s National Development and Reform Commission has ordered coal mines to produce “as much coal as possible.” This comes after power outages through much of China over the past several weeks. The government has had to ration electricity use. Inner Mongolia is the second-largest producer of coal energy in China and dozens of mines were ordered by the government to increase production. It is also prohibited to shut down coal mines in China.

According to an August 2020 report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, China emitted the most carbon dioxide of any nation, and nearly doubled the U.S.

China does have its hand in solar energy despite ramping up coal production. According to Reuters, in 2019 China was the largest producer of photovoltaic products that are used to create solar panels worldwide.

The Coalition for Prosperous America published research that states that China “retains a chokehold” on the renewable energy industry.

China has been accused of genocide of the Uyghur population and Sheffield Hallam University published research linking this mistreatment to the global panel supply. The report claims that Uyghurs are forced into labor and are responsible for 45% of the solar-grade poly silicon around the world, which is what 95% of solar modules include.

According to Kenneth Rapoza of Forbes, nearly 80% of solar panels in the U.S. come from China. He said China could be the “Green OPEC” of the world.