Innovations in Recycling and Renewables

[quintessentone]

Interesting video on China's renewables playbook and Former US Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson explains the US may be forced into working with China while at the same time competing with China to avoid going to war with each other.




Growth of solar and wind drove a decline in worldwide coal use; however the USA and EU are using more coal because they are falling behind in keeping up with their nation's electricity demands.




How China manufactures their windmills for ocean windmill farms, using steel skeleton gripping the sea floor as well as a very interesting small segment at the end of the video on negative pressure vacuum technology gripping the sea floor.

[quintessentone]

Will Exowatt's technology be the future for energy capture and use? 

Quick explanation:

https://www.weforum.org/videos/these-sol...n-has-set/

More detailed explanation:




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"The cost of a single Exowatt P3 unit is $77,500. 

• The company aims to reduce production costs through economies of scale, targeting a manufacturing rate of 1 million units per year to achieve its long-term goal of delivering electricity at 1 cent per kilowatt-hour. 
  
• Current unsubsidized energy costs for the P3 system are approximately 4 cents per kWh, with projections to drop to 1–2 cents per kWh as production scales. 
  
• Exowatt utilizes U.S.-based contract manufacturers and abundant materials, such as ceramic and clay composites for thermal storage, to maintain low unit costs. " (LLM)
  
  https://www.indexbox.io/blog/exowatt-sec...echnology/
  

----

To compare prices for kWh:

"The average residential electricity rate in the United States is 17.65 cents per kWh as of May 2026, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).  Other sources estimate the average slightly higher, ranging from 18.05 cents per kWh to 16.07 cents per kWh, with a national average increase of approximately 5.4% to 7.4% compared to the previous year.  (LLM)

[fwki]

Growth of solar and wind drove a decline in worldwide coal use; however the USA and EU are using more coal because they are falling behind in keeping up with their nation's electricity demands.

China is the king of coal, leads the world in new coal fired plants every year.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...p=drivesdk
Nobody else is even close.

[ArMaP]

Growth of solar and wind drove a decline in worldwide coal use; however the USA and EU are using more coal because they are falling behind in keeping up with their nation's electricity demands.

Not all of the EU. In Portugal, for example, 87% of all the electricity produced comes from renewable sources. We import some from Spain, also mostly from renewable sources.

Portugal has almost completely stopped importing coal a couple of years ago.

[quintessentone]

China is the king of coal, leads the world in new coal fired plants every year.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...p=drivesdk
Nobody else is even close.

I read that their coal use has declined, so if they are building more coal fired plants it appears it is for back-up energy and not so much for consumption.

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"China’s coal use did not stabilize in 2025; it declined for the first time in a decade. In 2025, China’s coal-fired power generation dropped by 1.6% to 1.9%, marking the first annual decrease since 2015, while coal output (production) hit a record high of 4.83 billion tons.  This reduction in consumption occurred despite a 5% rise in electricity demand, which was met by record-breaking additions to solar, wind, and nuclear capacity." (LLM)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_in_China

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We have to also take into consideration per capita coal use per country.

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"The countries with the highest coal use per capita are primarily advanced economies, despite lower total consumption compared to large Asian nations. Based on available data:

• Australia has the highest per capita coal consumption among major economies, significantly exceeding that of countries like Brazil and India. 
  
• United States, Germany, Japan, and Canada also rank among the highest per capita consumers. 
  
• Historical data from NationMaster (circa 2000–2001) indicates Australia (7.53 tonnes/capita), Greece (6.46), North Korea (4.54), South Africa (3.88), and the United States (3.72) had some of the highest rates. 
  
• While China and India dominate total coal consumption, their per capita usage is lower due to large populations. 
  

Recent trends show per capita use declining in OECD countries, while total demand grows in Asia due to industrialization and population size" (LLM)

China exports coal.

"China’s coal exports in 2025 increased significantly due to a domestic supply glut driven by rising domestic production and slowing demand from the property and steel sectors. Exports rose by 13% in the first five months of 2025 compared to the previous year, with 810,000 tonnes of coking coal shipped in the first seven months, marking a 65% year-on-year increase. " (LLM)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...ue-to-glut

[BeyondKnowledge]

Will Exowatt's technology be the future for energy capture and use? 

Quick explanation:

https://www.weforum.org/videos/these-sol...n-has-set/

More detailed explanation:

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQCDXK_sXwk]

---

"The cost of a single Exowatt P3 unit is $77,500. 

• The company aims to reduce production costs through economies of scale, targeting a manufacturing rate of 1 million units per year to achieve its long-term goal of delivering electricity at 1 cent per kilowatt-hour. 
  
• Current unsubsidized energy costs for the P3 system are approximately 4 cents per kWh, with projections to drop to 1–2 cents per kWh as production scales. 
  
• Exowatt utilizes U.S.-based contract manufacturers and abundant materials, such as ceramic and clay composites for thermal storage, to maintain low unit costs. " (LLM)
  
  https://www.indexbox.io/blog/exowatt-sec...echnology/
  

----

To compare prices for kWh:

"The average residential electricity rate in the United States is 17.65 cents per kWh as of May 2026, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).  Other sources estimate the average slightly higher, ranging from 18.05 cents per kWh to 16.07 cents per kWh, with a national average increase of approximately 5.4% to 7.4% compared to the previous year.  (LLM)

Interesting. Heating the environment to combat global warming. That kind of defeats the whole concept.

[quintessentone]

Interesting. Heating the environment to combat global warming. That kind of defeats the whole concept.

I don't get what you mean. The Exowatt units store the heat for use, not disperse it into the environment.

[fwki]

We have to also take into consideration per capita coal use per country.

------

"The countries with the highest coal use per capita are primarily advanced economies, despite lower total consumption compared to large Asian nations. Based on available data:

• Australia has the highest per capita coal consumption among major economies, significantly exceeding that of countries like Brazil and India. 
  
• United States, Germany, Japan, and Canada also rank among the highest per capita consumers. 
  
• Historical data from NationMaster (circa 2000–2001) indicates Australia (7.53 tonnes/capita), Greece (6.46), North Korea (4.54), South Africa (3.88), and the United States (3.72) had some of the highest rates. 
  
• While China and India dominate total coal consumption, their per capita usage is lower due to large populations.
  

Per capital usage is not a valid metric since energy use is far more dependent on GDP. An agrarian society will always use less energy per capita than any modern western society that actual creates a high standard of living. I don't know about you, but I ain't going back to the dark ages so CO2 can drop.

[BeyondKnowledge]

I don't get what you mean. The Exowatt units store the heat for use, not disperse it into the environment.

You don't know how Sterling Engines work then. 

One part has to be heated and one part cooled. To cool that part, the heat has to go somewhere. Putting it back into the bricks with a heat pump would take more power than it produced. The air is the cheapest place to dispose of the used heat. 

Heating the environment to stop heating the environment? I don't think it works that way.

[quintessentone]

Per capital usage is not a valid metric since energy use is far more dependent on GDP. An agrarian society will always use less energy per capita than any modern western society that actual creates a high standard of living. I don't know about you, but I ain't going back to the dark ages so CO2 can drop.

Yeah, that is a whole other discussion.

"Keywords: carbon dioxide, cropland, fertilizer, forest loss, livestock, methane, nitrous oxide, pasture"

"Agrarian and agrifood systems are responsible for approximately one-third (29.7%) of total global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, which amounted to 16.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2022.  While CO2 itself is the most significant gas by volume, agricultural activities are the primary driver of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, which have much higher global warming potentials. " (LLM)

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11683860/

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At least there is CO2 filter technology in process.