AntG624

Good read on the cost increases due to oil price

@KingKong9888 Agree with your response, and it was the logical move worked very well. Most of the equipment here in the U.S. is now being replaced in kind, which allows operators to maintain their existing grandfathered emissions. We've fallen too far behind.

@AntG624 The Chinese massively innovated on top of existing technology. Domestic innovations include better integration of USC + ULE systems, real-time CEMS monitoring at fleet scale, and specific alloy/material enhancements for high-efficiency boilers.

🔥 China’s “Clean Coal” Revolution: How Ultra-Low Emission (ULE) Tech Actually Works Think old-school dirty coal plants belching smoke? Modern Chinese coal power is nothing like that. The “clean process” refers to China’s ultra-low emission (ULE) technology — a full suite of advanced combustion + post-combustion controls that slashes particulate matter (PM/dust), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) to levels equal to or better than natural gas plants on key air pollutants. Here’s exactly how it works, step by step: 1️⃣ Efficiency boost with Ultra-Supercritical (USC) or supercritical boilers 
These run at much higher steam temperatures and pressures (>600°C and >30 MPa) than old subcritical plants. Thermal efficiency jumps to ~42–45% (vs ~33–38% before).
Result: Less coal burned per kWh of electricity → inherently lower emissions of all pollutants, including CO₂.
China dominates here — new large units (≥660 MW) are almost always built this way. 2️⃣ Flue-gas treatment (the scrubbers + filters) 
Installed in series along the exhaust path with real-time Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (CEMS): 
• NOₓ control: Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) — ammonia/urea injected over a catalyst converts NOₓ into harmless nitrogen and water (80–90%+ removal).
• SO₂ control: Wet flue-gas desulfurization (FGD/scrubbers) — limestone slurry reacts with SO₂ to produce gypsum (a useful byproduct); >98% removal.
• Particulate (PM/dust) control: Advanced electrostatic precipitators (ESP) or fabric bag filters capture >99.9% of fly ash. Often enhanced with low-temp economizers for even better performance. Combined, these meet (or beat) China’s strict ULE standards:
• PM ≤ 10 mg/m³ (≤5 mg/m³ in key regions)
• SO₂ ≤ 35 mg/m³
• NOₓ ≤ 50 mg/m³ That’s why modern Chinese coal plants can actually outperform natural gas on local air-quality metrics for these pollutants. (CO₂ is still roughly double gas per kWh, though efficiency narrows the gap.) ⭕️How widespread is this? 
• Ultra-low emissions (ULE) compliance: Over 96% of coal-fired power units nationwide have achieved it (latest official data from China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, reflecting progress through 2024–2025). Retrofits of the old fleet were largely done by ~2020; all new builds since the mid-2010s include it. 
• Ultra-supercritical (USC) boilers: About 32% of operating coal-fired capacity as of early 2024 (but over 90% among plants under construction or newly permitted). 🎯In short: Virtually the entire Chinese coal fleet now runs advanced emission controls (the full ULE “scrubbers + filters” package), with a fast-growing share using the highest-efficiency USC boilers. This is the world’s largest deployment of “clean coal” tech — and the reason China’s coal plants no longer match the outdated high-pollution stereotype for local air quality. (Climate note: CO₂ remains the bigger long-term challenge, which is exactly why China is also racing ahead on renewables faster than any country in history.) 🔶Sources: 
• China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) — “China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change” (2025 report)
• Peer-reviewed studies on ULE performance (e.g., Tang et al. on emission reductions post-2014 standards)
• Industry data via IEA, Carbon Brief & CREA reports on USC adoption & fleet upgrades.

Gold Stocks: The giant explosion in free cash flow for gold miners is without precedent. Nice chart from RBC 👀👇 $GDX $GDXJ

Did you know this???

@BobLoukas Bob, when measuring bottoms, could this gold cycle be closer to 7.5‑year, suggesting a mid-cycle bottom in late spring or early summer?

40 months into the Gold bull market, a mid-cycle pause and consolidation is likely developing. 48 months marks the midpoint which is towards the Nov window. Lot of confluence in that area across many asset classes.

If you want $3/gallon gasoline in the US then a barrel of oil (WTI) needs to be~$60 10 years of data in figure below <$50 WTI: all weeks <$3 $50-$60: 92% of weeks $60-$70 WTI: 17% of weeks >$70 WTI: no weeks <$3 Data via EIA

This is what a breakout from a 19 year base has produced...so far. A 500% move. The base in silver is more than 2X larger. Now you know why I say $250 silver will be a piece of cake and $500 isn't out of the question.

@seanhhm Our thoughts exactly

It’s nice to know that even if you go to the moon you have to wait an extremely uncomfortable amount of time after landing to deplane.

@RockBtmEntries Seeing the same. Slap on a 5‑month EMA and the momentum has just consolidated.

Silver is repeating its 2011 setup. Same flush. Same RSI reset to 70. This is where things can accelerate.

Dollar supply growing at 7%+ per year with decreasing demand + vast counterparty risk Gold supply growing at 1.5% per year with increasing demand; zero counter party risk. Silver supply shrinking by approx 6% per year with wildly increasing demand; zero counter party risk. Our minds are as malleable as our store of value

The American president. "Boom. And then another one - Boom."

Yes...& at the same time, all investors < 80 yrs old are about to be introduced to commodity force majeures if Hormuz stays closed much longer Everyone < 80 yrs old only knows crises responses of "Just print the USDs we need", but printing USDs into commodity shortages = kaboom

In my view, give it about 6 to 8 weeks. It should start to show strength just before the next gold/silver weekly cycle low, which is due in May.

$SILJ on the verge of closing below its 13‑week EMA for the first time since May 2025, signaling that the silver junior rally has lost momentum. Lets watch the close. @AllStreetsWolf @Silver__Santa

Mainstream news won't tell you this: Globalism is dead & unraveling. Axis vs Allies forming quietly. There will be 2 primary leaders. USA vs China We are in a War now. Perhaps it turns more Kinetic next year? (I hope not) Who is able to have & sustain the biggest Military, Ai, and the Resources to build & maintain it = controls the world. This is part of my Macro-Thesis and why Precious Metals are being so heavily bought. Then whoever has the MOST Gold (and Who can KEEP it) takes the Grand Prize of controlling: "The Great Monetary Reset" Do all the distractions start to make more sense? Follow me for the multi-year journey ahead...