India: Looming power ‘crisis’ in Delhi amid coal shortages | Al Jazeera

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has warned of a looming power crisis in the Indian capital, saying that some of the major coal-fired stations supplying the city barely have a day’s stock left.

Beijing and nearby areas report more "good air" days

Beijing and surrounding areas reported good air quality on more days in October thanks to strengthened efforts to reduce emissions.

Beijing's last large coal-fired power plant suspends operations

Beijing's last large coal-fired power plant suspended operations on Saturday, meaning the capital has become China's first city with all its power plants fueled by clean energy.

At least 21 dead, 5 injured in central China power plant explosion

 At least 21 people died and five were injured after a high-pressure steam pipe burst at a power plant in central China's Hubei Province.

Polluted air causes 5.5m deaths a year new research says

Breathing in tiny liquid or solid particles can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, respiratory complaints and even cancer.

According to the study, air pollution causes more deaths than other risk factors like malnutrition, obesity, alcohol and drug abuse, and unsafe sex...

Tibet detects 672 geothermal sites. China's geothermal energy potential could replace coal in energy consumption.

Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has detected 672 geothermal sites with a combined power generation potential of 800,000 kilowatts in a new survey.

Beijing to shut 2,500 small, polluting firms this year

Beijing will shut down 2,500 small and polluting firms in 2016 in its latest environmental protection efforts, said the municipal government.

China vows massive clean-up of power plants (Xinhua)

China will reduce the discharge of pollutants by 60 percent before 2020 through a major upgrade of its coal-fired power plants, officials said Wednesday, as major climate talks were underway in Paris.

Beijing cuts coal use by 1.5 mln tonnes in heating season

Beijing will reduce its coal consumption by 1.47 million tonnes over the heating season this winter, as coal boilers are phased out and replaced by gas ones, the municipal environment watchdog said Thursday.

50 Dirtiest U.S. Power Plants Huge Contributor to Carbon Emissions

U.S. power plants are an outsized contributor to the world’s carbon pollution, a new report released by Environment America Research & Policy Center and the Frontier Group says. It found that in 2012, they added more climate change-causing carbon to the environment than the entire economies of any nation other than China. 

The report, “America’s Dirtiest Power Plants: Polluter on a Global Scale,” demonstrated that U.S. power plants produced more than six percent of worldwide global warming emissions.

EP committee examines EU energy security plan. --Six EU countries depend on Russia as the supplier for their entire gas imports.

European Parliament (EP) industry committee debated on the energy security plans this week, seeking ways for the European Union (EU) to reduce energy dependence, EP said in a statement published on Thursday.

The energy security plan, submitted by the European Commission, aims to improve the EU's situation of relying on the external energy.

Statistics shows the EU imports 53 percent of the energy it consumes, including almost 90 percent of its crude oil, 66 percent of its natural gas and 42 percent of its solid fuels such as coal.

China to close over 2,000 coal mines by 2015 (those that do not meet safety standards)

China plans to shut down over 2,000 small-scale coal mines by 2015 in an effort to eliminate outdated capacity and improve work safety, according to the State Administration of Work Safety.

Coal mines in the provinces of Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, as well as Chongqing municipality, will be major targets, the administration said.

Air pollution champion: China burns more coal than rest of world combined

China burns almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported. China’s coal use is poised to continue rising, despite the country's rapidly deteriorating environment, experts predicted.
­The latest EIA report revealed that China's coal consumption grew more than 9 percent in 2011, continuing its upward trend for a 12th consecutive year. Since 2000, the country has accounted for more than 80 percent of the global increase in coal use, the EIA reported. China currently accounts for 47 percent of global coal consumption, nearly totaling the rest of the world combined.

Ukraine to Get $3.7 Bln Loan From China

KIEV, December 26 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s national energy company Naftogaz will receive a $3.7 billion loan from China to finance a program to substitute gas with coal, the Ukrainian government’s press office said on Wednesday.
“On December 25, 2012, a loan agreement between Natfogaz and State Development Bank of China on financing the program of natural gas substitution with Ukrainian coal worth a total of $3.656 billion against the Ukrainian government’s guarantees was signed in the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Yuriy Boyko,” the statement said.