OUR DAILY THREAD: We're All Canaries In Trump's Coal Mine
Chinese Checkmate
THE SET-UP: In the 19th Century, coal powered the engine of empire. Navies, in particular, ran on coal and a network of often-purloined coaling stations that allowed nations to project power globally. But the ironclad relationship between coal and empire died very quickly after World War One accelerated the switch to oil. That switch portended the petroleum-fueled evolution of airpower during World War Two. The ensuing Cold War ushered-in the age of nuclear-powered naval power.
And now here we are in the 21st Century and energy is evolving yet again.
Spurred in large part by the climate-altering fallout of burning oil, renewable energy production from wind and sunlight is advancing quickly and a growing roster of nations is turning to increasingly cheaper energy from solar panels and wind turbines to meet more and more of their energy needs.
The United States is, of course, refusing to participate in that evolution. In fact, Trump made it official today when he and the dead-eyed shill he has running the EPA (into the ground) announced the official end of climate change as a thing.
They rescinded the “endangerment finding”—a 2009 determination that six greenhouse gases posed a threat to the America’s health and welfare. That, in turn, will be used to dismantle climate- and emissions-related regulations associated with the now-scuttled finding. It also means the functional end of any and all support for “clean energy” or “renewables.” And by “support,” we’re not just talking about direct government subsidies for renewable projects, many of which are part of Biden’s Inflation Reduction act. Per Reuters:
Trump has also removed tax incentives for wind and solar projects and his administration has slow-walked permits for renewable energy on federal land, as well as private and state lands.
Private and state lands, too?
Is the goal is to strangle the renewable energy industry in the United States?
Of course it is.
That was underscored in the lead-up to the endangerment announcement when Trump directed the Energy Department to provide $175 million to coal plants in Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. Some of those plants, like many coal-fired plants in the US, were slated for retirement. But now taxpayers will be funding “modernization” efforts to keep these costly anachronisms open in perpetuity.
But that’s not all.
He also just signed an Executive Order directing the US Military to go out of its way to buy energy from coal-fired plants. Like his obsession with both tariffs and President McKinley, the move epitomizes Trump’s 19th Century thinking. He’s attempt to coal-roll back the clock and, in the process, he’s setting the US on a lonely course in a world that acknowledges the reality of anthropogenic climate change and increasingly wants to do something about it.
But it’s worse than that.
It’s taken as a given that China and the United States are locked into an existential fight to determine the shape the things to come. Pundits and politicians of both parties regularly refer to China as America’s “main adversary,” and the dreaded “Chinese Communist Party” is the latest in a long string of existential foes the US uses to justify outlandish defense spending and the maintenance of empire.
Some even call this fight Cold War 2.0.
If, indeed, the United States is trying to “win the future,” as the stakes are usually framed, one might argue it is mind-bogglingly stupid to reject the rapidly developing technologies that recently propelled renewable energy past coal “as the world's leading source of electricity” in the first half of 2025. It is, in effect, the US unilaterally disarming at the very moment when its “main adversary” is cornering the market on an energy source that promises to free it and dozens of other nations from dependence on imported oil and, therefore from OPEC’s iron grip.
The guarantor of OPEC’s hydrocarbon racket is, ironically enough, the US Military … which has its Fifth Fleet headquartered in Bahrain and its Combined Air Operations Center housed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Like the coaling stations of old, the US Military depends on a network of bases to keep oil and gas flowing from its oily Persian Gulf partners to the world and, in the process, to keep US empire relevant. It also helps the US defense budget growing year after year
Even more ironic, though, is the recent move of the Gulf’s petrostates toward investment in renewables. Just within the last few days we’ve seen investors from the UAE pour money into a 500MW solar project in Zambia, cement a green energy partnership with Tajikistan and finalize a deal for “a specialized solar and battery storage project” to support a data center. As for the Saudis, Solar Quarter reports:
Saudi Arabia has set a target to generate 50 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2030. To support this goal, the country has developed a renewable energy project pipeline of about 130 GW. Under the National Renewable Energy Program, authorities have recently awarded 14 GW of new solar and wind projects. These developments are aimed at reducing reliance on fossil fuels and cutting carbon emissions.
So, while the Emiratis and the Saudis enjoy the short- and medium-term benefits of their well-paid man in White House doing everything he can to extend the viability of their oil and gas, they are planning for a future he’s rejecting. Amazingly enough, they are starting to do so in concert with … China.
A January 2026 policy note from the Middle East Council On Global Affairs explores the growing interdependence between China’s world-dwarfing renewable industry and the Gulf States’ unique combination of capital, sunlight and wind:
Simply put, the Gulf states’ resource endowments synergize with China’s energy storage prowess. The Gulf boasts unparalleled potential in solar, wind, and hydrogen energy, facilitated by the region’s geographical attributes. It experiences world-leading solar irradiance levels, with daily averages reaching up to 6.5 kilowatt-hour per square meter (kWh/m²) and direct normal irradiance ranging from 3 to 6.5 kW/m² per day,10 rendering it ideal for concentrated solar power (CSP), concentrated photovoltaics (CPV), and photovoltaic applications. Its wind resources are equally robust, particularly along the Red Sea coast, where windspeed often surpasses the 6.9 m/s threshold for economically viable large-scale wind farms.11 Furthermore, the abundance of natural gas in the region, exemplified by Qatar’s production, enables cost-effective blue hydrogen generation via carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), building upon established traditional energy infrastructure for seamless integration into global hydrogen markets.
China is well-equipped to meet their needs:
While the Gulf states are hampered by gaps in storage technologies and infrastructure, China excels at mitigating the variability of [wind, solar, and hydrogen] through its advanced energy storage ecosystem, which encompasses a comprehensive supply chain from materials to system integration, with leading installed capacities in pumped hydro and electrochemical storage that enhance grid stability and renewables uptake. This mutual reinforcement—Gulf resources fueling scalable projects and Chinese innovations ensuring reliability—creates a virtuous cycle, mitigating the Gulf’s storage deficit while providing China with expansive markets for its exports.
The partnership is already underway:
Chinese entities have actively infused capital and expertise into Gulf-based renewable projects, most notably through the Silk Road Fund’s 2019 acquisition of a 49% stake in Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Renewable Energy Holding.13 This has facilitated joint ventures in large-scale solar initiatives such as Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, contributing to the United Arab Emirates’ Net Zero 2050 ambitions while leveraging China’s manufacturing prowess for cost-efficient scaling.
This influx has enabled Gulf nations to rapidly expand their clean energy capacities, with Chinese firms participating in projects totaling approximately $9.5 billion across the Middle East, between 2018 and 2023, including solar and wind manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia.14 Conversely, the Gulf states, through sovereign wealth funds and national champions, are channeling substantial resources into China’s renewables sector as a hedging mechanism against oil price volatility. For instance, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power has secured over 1 gigawatt (GW) of projects in China, encompassing a 132-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic portfolio in the Guangdong province in partnership with Sungrow Renewables, and a 200 MW wind portfolio with Mingyang Smart Energy, with initial investments amounting to $312 million and long-term plans reaching up to $50 billion by 2030 for up to 20 GW in clean power assets.15 Abu Dhabi’s CYVN Holdings also invested $738.5 million in the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer NIO in 2023,16 underscoring the Gulf’s strategic bets on China’s dominance in electric vehicle (EV) and battery technologies.
Meanwhile, the United States is throwing roadblocks in front of EVs, fighting in court to stop windfarms from coming online and pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into a strange effort to keep coal from going the way of the dodo. - jp
China’s Coal-Fired Power Generation Falls 1.9% in 2025 as Renewables Overtake Demand Growth: Wood Mackenzie
https://solarquarter.com/2026/02/12/chinas-coal-fired-power-generation-falls-1-9-in-2025-as-renewables-overtake-demand-growth-wood-mackenzie/
With Renewables Ascendant in China, Coal Is Moving Into a Supporting Role
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/china-coal-backup-power
Analysis: Clean energy drove more than a third of China’s GDP growth in 2025
https://finchannel.com/analysis-clean-energy-drove-more-than-a-third-of-chinas-gdp-growth-in-2025/129230/corporate-social-responsibility/2026/02/
China’s Clean Energy Boom Reshapes Global Economic Power Dynamics
https://discoveryalert.com.au/chinas-clean-energy-boom-economic-strategy-2026/
China’s Green-Tech Push in Latin America Is Gaining Traction
https://americasquarterly.org/article/chinas-green-tech-push-in-latin-america-is-gaining-traction/
With the increase in solar energy, Brazil can rival China in terms of renewable energy reach; this expansion contributes to the creation of millions of jobs, boosting the Brazilian economy.
https://en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br/With-the-increase-in-solar-energy--Brazil-can-rival-China-in-terms-of-the-reach-of-renewable-energies%3B-this-expansion-contributes-to-the-creation-of-millions-of-jobs--boosting-the-economy./
India speeds clean energy shift, narrows gap with China
https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-international/2026/02/12/U54QDEWQVFHVDBF2UAGQK6ZLXE/
The Age of Electricity is a massive opportunity for Australia, if it can match China’s speed and scale
https://reneweconomy.com.au/the-age-of-electricity-is-a-massive-opportunity-for-australia-if-it-can-match-chinas-speed-and-scale/
G7 countries lag three times behind China in solar and wind energy development
https://ecopolitic.com.ua/en/news/g7-countries-lag-three-times-behind-china-in-solar-and-wind-energy-development/
The World Needs China’s Climate Technology. That’s the Dilemma
https://time.com/7373140/china-world-leader-climate-energy-technology/