From Financial Times:
China and the US are inextricably linked in their energy future. Both countries’ efforts to curb climate change, maintain economic growth and gain energy security depend on coal and cleaner-coal technology.
According to the International Energy Agency, China and the US together will need 1,500 gigawatts of new net electricity generation in the next 25 years – 1.5 times current US capacity.
Yet even if both countries invest massively in renewable energy and conservation, these will account for only about 18 per cent of power needs. New nuclear generation will not come online at scale for decades. Natural gas generation is constrained by finite supplies, location and transportation.[Full Text]