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David Fishman Profile picture
@pretentiouswhat
Jun 20, 2021 • 18 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X
Hi! I often tweet long threads about China's energy sector, mostly grid, renewables, and nuclear.

This is a master collection of my favorites, from oldest to newest.

I will add more as they are created and remove oudated ones.
1. The messy recent history of China's nuclear power industry:

2. A summary of China's regional power grids and dispatch model:

3. A discussion of China's renewable power subsidies and tariff structure:

4. A pretty nerdy and niche summary of how engineers design nuclear power plants to be safe from airplane strikes.

5. An introduction to China's UHV transmission network:

6. China's power shortages in December 2020: Translation of Caixin article + commentary.

7. A short thread about barriers to increased Chinese RE investment in BRI:

(was hoping to expand on this, but my project's funding was yanked and I started doing other things).

8. Everything you wanted to know about nuclear waste:

9. A short thread about the competitiveness of Chinese nuclear exports:

10. Helping out a confused man who didn't know much about nuclear power or China:

(got myself blocked for my efforts)
11. A thead about pumped hydropower storage in China:

12. A history of renewable energy Feed-in-Tariffs in China.

13. Why the Fukushima wastewater release really isn't that big of a deal:

14. Commentary on new RE consumption quotas for Chinese provinces in 2021:

15. A commentary on the Taishan radioactivity release alarmism:

16. Translation/commentary of the subsequent NNSA press release re: Taishan

17. A commentary on Guangdong's new direct power purchase rules for Renewable Energy - important for corporates.

• • •

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More from @pretentiouswhat

David Fishman Profile picture
Jul 10
So! China released its new renewable power consumption quotas yesterday and added heavy industry into the list of obligated entities. A Big Deal!

I last wrote a thread about China's RPS ~4 years ago, but things have changed since then, so it's time for a commentary refresh. 🧵
But first, the basics. An Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a mandate for a company to consume a certain minimum % of renewable power in its electricity mix.

Different countries handle this in different ways. In China, it varies on a provincial basis. Image
In China, the RPS system is divided into "renewable power including hydro (the first column) and "renewable power excluding hydro (the second column)"

So an obligated entity in...Gansu, for example, must consume at least 52.76% renewable power, and 28.84% must be non-hydro. Image
Read 17 tweets
David Fishman Profile picture
Jul 10
"Nail Houses" in Shanghai Old City - Interview With a Local

You know Chinese "nail houses" - those local residents whose properties (and their demands for compensation) impede developers' aspirations, sometimes for years. I've tweeted about it before:🧵

The most famous stories are often in rural areas, where standalone nail houses are striking and obvious, requiring highways or trains to make awkward detours.

But anyone could become a holdout, including someone in an apartment in the Shanghai old city. Image
The "Shanghai old city" refers to a part of modern Huangpu District around what used to to be the city wall.

Today, the oval shapes of Zhonghua/Renmin Road follow the walls, and neighborhoods still refer to "gates" torn down 100+ years ago, but little else of the wall remains. Image
Read 21 tweets
David Fishman Profile picture
Jul 3
China Taxicab Chronicles: Mr. Liu Can't be Fired

Pretty interesting ride last night...I don't often encounter drivers who are just so ambivalent and unbothered as Mr. Liu.

He picks me up in Pudong. First we drop off my colleague at his hotel, then head to my home. 🧵
Mr. Liu seems a little older than I am. He has short spiky black hair and glasses, with a round face covered in old acne scars. He speaks with an unemotional, low, raspy voice, like he's smoked heavily his whole life. He doesn't seem like he's bothered by anything.
"Hey shifu, does the Didi system charge extra to change a destination? My fare for this ride is surprisingly high..."

"Yeah, after we dropped off your friend and you changed the destination to your home, it added a surcharge. You can also set the destination as your home from the beginning and then add an additional dropoff point along the way, but that will also add a fee."
Read 16 tweets
David Fishman Profile picture
Jun 22
China Taxicab Chronicles: Mr. Le offers Career Advice

Mr. Le picks us up at the entrance to the Zeng Cuo’an tourist area in Xiamen. We’re going to the ferry and it’s the middle of the day, so we’ve got a bit of a ride ahead of us.

I'm immediately struck by his unique vehicle. Image
It's a BYD EV, but I’ve never seen one like it before. It’s shaped like a smaller SUV crossover but has sliding doors and a somewhat boxy roof that offers lots of headspace like a minivan.

"Hey shifu, what is this car model? I’ve never seen it before. The BYD what?"
Mr. Le responds enthusiastically.

"We just call it “Little Green” (小绿). BYD designed a car for rideshare drivers, as a partnership with Didi. It sold very well in Xiamen."

He seems to have a lot of energy for a guy who spends all day just sitting. Great, someone to talk to! Image
Read 17 tweets
David Fishman Profile picture
Jun 14
The Urban Village of Xiamen

In the north of Xiamen's main island in Huli District, just west of the airport, is Dianqian Community, one of Xiamen's last urban villages (and its largest).

Urban villages are called 城中村 (literally: village in a city) or sometimes 村子. Image
Urban villages can be found in large cities in southern China especially, and are often described as China's "ghettoes" or "slums".

This is not quite correct in my opinion, and the topic deserves a separate thread. But they are indeed generally home to people with lower incomes. Image
Dianqian has gained fame in recent years on social media as a place of pilgrimage for aviation enthusiasts visiting Xiamen.

It lies immediately beneath the final descent path of airplanes arriving at Xiamen's Gaoqi Airport, offering unique photography opportunities. Image
Read 22 tweets
David Fishman Profile picture
Jun 9
Yicai released its influential 2025 China "Rank of City Attractiveness" list last week. This is the source of the "1st Tier, 2nd Tier" etc. labels.

I went through the list and compared to the 2024 rankings, finding interesting items to comment on. 🧵
yicai.com/news/102638963…Image
But before we get started, if you're unclear what I'm talking about, you'll want to review my thread from last year where I introduce the Yicai city tiers and ranking system, how it's calculated, and what it's good for (and what it isn't!)

The Yicai ranking of top Chinese cities for 2025 is:

1. Shanghai
2. Beijing
3. Shenzhen
4. Guangzhou
5. Chengdu
6. Hangzhou
7. Chongqing
8. Wuhan
9. Suzhou
10. Xi'an
11. Nanjing
12. Changsha
13. Zhengzhou
14. Tianjin
15. Hefei
16. Qingdao
17. Dongguan
18. Ningbo
19. Foshan
Read 20 tweets

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