China finds aluminum, steel producers not limiting output in winter

[Mittens]

While Chinese citizens are freezing due to the new restrictions, corporations are burning through mountains of coal.

https://www.platts.com/latest-news/m...iting-26859347

China has found that five producers -- including aluminum and steel producers -- have not limited output or shut to comply with the government's winter emissions cuts running from November 2017 to March 2018, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a circular Tuesday.

Taiyuan East Aluminum in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, Northwest China was asked to shut a total of 44 furnaces in winter due to the local pollution alert, but inspectors on a spot check found that it just shut 14 furnaces, the ministry said.

Taiyuan East has refined aluminum output capacity of 100,000 mt/year and aluminum rod production capacity of 50,000 mt/year, with plans to build one 600,000 mt/year high precision aluminum products plant in the 13th Five Year Plan period (2016-20), producer data showed.

Meanwhile, the ministry said its inspection unit found Henan Chengxi Steel Structure at Kaifeng City, Henan Province, running its spraying and drying facilities in the open air, without shutting as required in winter. Chengxi has steel grid and structure output capacity of 40,000 mt/year, producer data showed.

The Chinese aluminum sector began output cuts November 15 to reduce emissions in the winter heat season (November 15, 2017, to March 15, 2018), with the ministry set to conduct inspections at the producers by January, 2018.

To ensure that Chinese aluminum producers own pollutant emission licenses and to tackle unlicensed emissions, the ministry will carry out spot checks up to January 2018, as well as assess producers' output cuts, by checking their power usage data through the power departments, the ministry said.

This winter, Shandong Province will cut over 30% of its aluminum producers' output (based on the electrolytic cell volume), and trim 30% of its alumina producers' output, data from the Shandong province government showed, with assessment of aluminum producers' emission licenses to be done before the end of December 2017. Those failing to meet the rules will be asked to shut.

State run metals consultancy Beijing Antaike forecast China's national aluminum production growth in 2018 to slow, with output of 38 million mt next year, up just 5.6%. It forecast Chinese refined aluminum output in 2017 to be 36 million mt, up 10.3%.

[Garnier Fructis]

Guess China's going to schedule a few more PR executions because their corruption was revealed again.

[Draco-Onis]

Guess China's going to schedule a few more PR executions because their corruption was revealed again.

/shrug

Seems fine to me their own system caught the cheaters it's not like they got exposed by the press they could have just as easily kept this under wraps.

[arandomuser]

Is it possible to create heat though elecricity, and not coal/oil burners?

[Mittens]

Is it possible to create heat though elecricity, and not coal/oil burners?

Probably, but the majority of China's electricity; especially in the rural regions, is generated through coal and winter affects those that live in the poorest regions, so it's not like they have much of a choice but freeze. Moving to Beijing and other warmer regions was an option, but the government is forcefully kicking them out.

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/shrug

Seems fine to me their own system caught the cheaters it's not like they got exposed by the press they could have just as easily kept this under wraps.

My question is whether or not something will be done. I have my doubts, Chinese officials work under a perverse system of incentives where corruption is rewarded.

[Garnier Fructis]

My question is whether or not something will be done. I have my doubts, Chinese officials work under a perverse system of incentives where corruption is rewarded.

It's a matter of how much they can save face. That's really it. It's not about morality or ethics, it's about appearances.

That's why obvious instances of corruption get rewarded with executions, while more subtle corruption gets ignored.

[arandomuser]

Probably, but the majority of China's electricity; especially in the rural regions, is generated through coal and winter affects those that live in the poorest regions, so it's not like they have much of a choice but freeze. Moving to Beijing and other warmer regions was an option, but the government is forcefully kicking them out.

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they have entire ghost megacities, why dosen't the government just let people move into those for free, i imagine a communist government would have more tools to help people ? seems there more corporatist than here

[Draco-Onis]

My question is whether or not something will be done. I have my doubts, Chinese officials work under a perverse system of incentives where corruption is rewarded.

If they weren't going to do anything you would never hear about it in the first place, again they did not have to let anyone know this was happening.

[Sunseeker]

I mean...okay? So what? It sucks for the locals but this sounds like an internal policy issue. Why do you care if they do anything about it?

[Mittens]

If they weren't going to do anything you would never hear about it in the first place, again they did not have to let anyone know this was happening.

Because it became too obvious to hide and stories of suffering locals are going viral on their internet. They have now backtracked hard on their position on controlling pollution. This whole ban is just another failure of the already incompetent Chinese government.

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they have entire ghost megacities, why dosen't the government just let people move into those for free, i imagine a communist government would have more tools to help people ? seems there more corporatist than here

Because there is nothing for the locals in those megacities. Those megacities weren't well planned since they are the result of Chinese officials trying to meet growth targets.

[Amerrol]

I mean, if they work 24 hours a day in the factories they should be able to stay warm. I don't see a problem here. Lazy Chinese, they should pull themselves up by their boot straps like us 'Muricans.

[Logwyn]

they have entire ghost megacities, why dosen't the government just let people move into those for free, i imagine a communist government would have more tools to help people ? seems there more corporatist than here

China is catching up to the West in the areas of Labor Unions, better worker conditions, etc. The west went through all the China is dealing with decades ago. Funny how the big industrial treat workers the same as each other.

[Kellhound]

Is it possible to create heat though elecricity, and not coal/oil burners?

You are talking about a country that was building new coal fired steam locomotives until 1999 (something the US stopped in 1953).

[Varitok]

You are talking about a country that was building new coal fired steam locomotives until 1999 (something the US stopped in 1953).

It will probably continue again since trump wants to bring back coal jobs

[Kellhound]

It will probably continue again since trump wants to bring back coal jobs

No, steam locomotives in the US are a novelty, they are too expensive to operate even if coal was 1/10 the cost it is now.

[Deleted]

Because China is known for being so fair to it's people, right?

[Bronan]

China is literally what the world would look like if Humanity wouldn't give a crap at all about people and the environment. China doesn't give a shit about anyone and anything at all. They're like goblins from WoW.

[Hiricine]

Is it possible to create heat though elecricity, and not coal/oil burners?

This is actually the propoganda that people are taught in the modern world these days. Electricity is basically coal and oil and has been for the last 100 years. Our attempts to change that have changed very little, and it won't likely change for several decades at LEAST.

[Kellhound]

This is actually the propoganda that people are taught in the modern world these days. Electricity is basically coal and oil and has been for the last 100 years. Our attempts to change that have changed very little, and it won't likely change for several decades at LEAST.

Coal and oil combined provided only about 31% of US electricity in 2016.