More than heat wave and drought: the real causes of the Sichuan power shortage

China’s energy crisis is getting worse. Extreme weather is causing a power shortage in Sichuan, which has shut down power supplies in other cities and global supply chains. Beijing authorities blame it on the heat waves and drought. But China’s energy crisis has been years in the making due to the Chinese growth model. To understand the Sichuan power shortage, we should look at the number of super dams and hydropower plants the Yangtze river has.