One of my favorite moments in the confirmation hearings last week was when Treasury Secretary designate Scott Bessent walloped Oregon’s cadaverous Sen. Ron Wyden, who thinks we’re in a “clean energy” race with China (or “Chy-na,” to use Trump’s distinctive version). Transcript:
SCOTT BESSENT: Senator Wyden, just to frame this for everyone in the room, China will build 100 new coal plants this year. There is not a clean energy race. There is an energy race. China will build ten nuclear plants this year. That is not solar. I am in favor of more nuclear plants, and I would note that the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) as scored by the CBO is wildly out of control in terms of spending on the upside.
Here’s what what actual trends in electricity production in China look like, courtesy of energy analyst John Kemp:
And here we see the trend from all sources, and the growth is coal is roughly twice the increase over wind and solar over the last decade.
