Shortage Forces Power Cuts In Eastern China's Industrial Belt - Reuters

[hatrack]

SHANGHAI — "China will force factories in the capital of a wealthy eastern province to shut for up to four days a week, the latest draconian measure aimed at alleviating a summer power shortfall estimated at 20,000 megawatts.

The city of Hangzhou — known along with nearby Suzhou as heaven on Earth — moved to its highest power alert on Tuesday, a power bureau official said. Hundreds of plants will grind to a halt up to four days a week to keep an overtaxed electricity grid from crashing.

Manufacturing-intensive Zhejiang province, a cradle of private enterprise and thus an important driver for the entire country, has been the worst-hit by a summer power crunch. Foreign and local firms alike in Hangzhou have been told to suspend output three days a week, while larger ones that operate around the clock must keep within agreed usage quotas. Some state-owned or private plants have been asked to shut down for four days a week, the official said. The cuts appeared to be indefinite.

Some local factories, resigned to heavy-handed measures, said they could take matters into their own hands in the long run. The city's leading steel maker, Hangzhou Iron & Steel (600126.SS), was scrambling to economize energy to meet targets but said it would invest in its own power sources for the future."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/2004-07-21/s_26050.asp

[NNadir]

1. It has long been a concern in global climate change circles

as to what the industrialization of China and increase in Chinese living standards might mean.

We are seeing that happening now.

80% of Chinese electricity comes from coal, mostly from domestic resources in Northern China. (China has had some huge coal mining accidents in the last several years, involving thousands of deaths.)

18% of Chinese electricity is provided by hydroelectric power, including the tragic Three Gorges Dam.

A bright spot in the future is China's very enlightened nuclear power policy. China has 9 operating nuclear reactors operating, two under construction, and twenty five more planned. (Presently nuclear power provides only 2% of Chinese electrical power.) The current reactor mix includes Heavy Water Reactors (CANDU) provided by Canada, and some of the very successful Framatom (French) Pressurized Water Reactors. China is rapidly expanding its domestic nuclear design capability and research capacity. They have a very forward looking program. China is currently operating a high temperature gas cooled (HTGCR) pilot reactor and in 2006 will begin to construct one of the world's first commercial nuclear plants, an HTGCR, specifically designed to produce hydrogen rather than electricity. I do not know the exact chemical technology this reactor will exploit.

More on China's exciting (and hope inspiring) nuclear program can be found here:

http://213.130.40.135/info/inf63.htm