The fact that coal-generated energy is on its way out is dramatically illustrated in the Chinese province of Anhui, where a massive floating solar farm has been constructed on top of an abandoned coal mine. According to an article published in Business Insider, the Chinese plan to bring an even larger floating plant online by May 2018. To read the complete article, please click on the link below:
http://www.businessinsider.com/china-floating-solar-farm-coal-mine-renewable-energy-2018-1
Highlights from the article include:
- The Chinese are investing heavily in renewable energy because of increasing concern over the rising number of deaths related to air pollution, which number in the thousands every year.
- Solar farms are part of the worldwide transition away from fossil fuel energy.
- China intends to spend at least $360 billion on clean energy projects by 2020. As a result, the nation claims it will create 13 million new jobs in the renewable energy sector.
- Coal still accounts for 40% of the world’s energy production. Experts say, however, that coal use will begin falling, while clean-energy sources such as solar and wind will become inexpensive enough to outpace coal energy production.
- Coal is the leading cause of pollution-related deaths in China, accounting for 366,000 premature fatalities in 2013 alone.
Facts about Renewable Energy
- According to the Solar Foundation, the solar industry has nearly tripled employment in that sector since 2010.
- Approximately 260,000 people are employed in the solar industry in the United States; 2.5 million are employed in the solar energy sector in China.
- The U.S. represents the world’s second-largest growth market for renewable energy.
- Hydropower and wind are currently the largest contributors to the growth in renewable energy.
- Solar energy generates enough clean electricity to power more than nine million average-sized American homes.
For additional reading about China’s commitment to renewable energy projects, click on the link below:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/06/china-cementing-global-dominance-of-renewable-energy-and-technology
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