If Not China, Then Who?
National Review headline from 1910: "US Not Automotive Leader Since Most People Still Using Horse and Buggy"
(ok, not really)
But despite hundreds of reports to the contrary, the National Review Online reports today that "China is not the leader in clean energy" (emphasis added)...because it is also still building a lot of coal plants?
Does this mean no country can lead in the production of electric vehicles because lots of people still drive regular old gas guzzlers?
The NRO pulled this quote from EnerGeoPolitics and follows it up with a gloomy picture of smoke stacks, for effect:
"As I did yesterday, I have to refer Bullis and everyone else to the recent report from the Institute for Energy Research. To sum up: China is trying mightily to catch up, but they are way behind the US in the renewable energy race. Indeed, for all the show piece wind farms and solar installations, the Chinese are dedicated to King Coal for the electricity needs. They plan on building 500 coal fired electrical plants over the next ten years - on average, one per week."
For additional "effect," NRO links to a dated graphic representing "Non-Hydro Renewable Electricity Installed Capacity" that conveniently stops short of China's big wind push -- when China blew past the U.S. by nearly doubling capacity twice in 2008 and 2009 to take the lead as the largest market for new wind capacity.