Europe is being ravaged by an unprecedented energy crisis, and it may already be spreading. Asia, the world’s biggest buyer of gas and coal, may be next, with China particularly vulnerable because of the size of its economy. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the big problem for China is not natural gas. It’s coal, which powers the majority of its power plants, Bloomberg reported this week, citing state-run outlet China Energy News. According to a report in the news outlet, Chinese power plant operators are finding it hard to buy enough coal to keep their facilities running, which is raising the likelihood of an energy crunch when winter comes. Inventories are low because of the surge in coal prices this year, and some power plants have already had to turn off their boilers to save costs. It appears that just like the gas crisis in Europe, this one was years in […]