Economic benefits assessment of urban wind power central heating demonstration project considering the quantification of environmental benefits: A case from northern China

Abstract

Electric heating can effectively control the winter haze and promote renewable energy accommodation, which has significant environmental and social benefits. However, due to the low investment enthusiasm of heating enterprises, the government provides huge subsidies to maintain the operation of electric heating. Based on this background, the environmental benefits of electric heating projects are quantified, and the economic and environmental benefits of urban wind power central heating projects are analyzed and evaluated from the perspective of the life cycle. Then, taking a wind power central heating project in northern China as an example, a more comprehensive, scientific, and accurate evaluation of the wind power central heating project has been carried out. The results show that the electric heating project has great environmental benefits, but the direct economic benefits are poor, which is mainly caused by its high initial investment and high electricity price. Finally, specific suggestions are put forward for the poor economic efficiency of wind power central heating projects. The research results can provide a reference for further perfecting the transaction mechanism of wind power centralized heating, formulating clean heating development policies, and promoting the development of clean heating in northern China.