Abstract
It is imperative to use clean energy in order to achieve “carbon neutrality” and “carbon peaking”. This research aims to explore the impact of the agricultural mechanization level, the rural infrastructure construction level, and the rural economic development level on the utilization of high-quality straw energy, and, resultingly, this study aims to help provide suggestions for promoting high-quality straw energy utilization, develop the potential of high-quality straw energy, and alleviate China’s energy shortage problem. This paper develops a measurement model using the ridge regression model with panel fixed effects, which overcomes the multi-collinearity problem among the various factors influencing the utilization of high-quality energy from straw. Panel data from 24 provinces and cities, from 2009 to 2017, are used. The results show that the improvements of the agricultural mechanization level, the rural infrastructure construction level, and the rural economic development level all promote the use of high-quality straw energy. Moreover, the level of rural economic development plays a mediating role in the agricultural mechanization level and the rural infrastructure construction level pertaining to straw-based high-quality energy. Policy implications can be easy to derive based on our findings, and these include strengthening governmental investment in agricultural machinery in rural areas, paying more attention to areas with backward rural energy infrastructure construction, ensuring the steady improvement of economic development in rural areas, providing the necessary economic foundation for agricultural supply, and promoting the use of high-quality energy from straw.
Highlights
Published: 25 February 2022“Carbon neutrality” and “carbon peaking” have become hot topics in recent years.China is actively formulating an action plan for peaking carbon emissions by 2030, while optimizing its industrial structure and energy structure, and striving to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 [1]
Model 1 tests the influence of the agricultural mechanization level on the optimal energy utilization of straw
The regression coefficient of the total power of agricultural machinery is 0.186, which is significant at the level of 1%, indicating that the improvement of the agricultural mechanization level promotes the optimal energy utilization of straw
Summary
China is actively formulating an action plan for peaking carbon emissions by 2030, while optimizing its industrial structure and energy structure, and striving to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 [1]. In this context, the carbon emissions caused by fossil energy consumption cannot be ignored, and it is imperative to seek the utilization of clean energy. The utilization of Biomass as a renewable feedstock for the production of biofuels has been attracting researchers and industrial attention in recent years [2]. Alongside the continuous progress of science and technology, the utilization of straw as a biomass energy has gradually garnered more and more attention. In-depth study of straw-based high-quality energy is of strategic significance in order to alleviate energy shortages [4]
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