Abstract
Given a lack of consideration for the role and importance of stakeholders and the importance of stakeholders in the operation of biomass power plants in China, a comprehensive analysis oriented toward stakeholder risk management is needed to further develop the country’s biomass energy industry. Accordingly, we analyzed institutional factors that contribute to or constrain progress in biomass power generation in China. Data were collected from 275 straw suppliers (farmers) living around a biomass power plant, 15 middlemen, five power plant managers, and five local government officers. Interviews were held with all the participants, but questionnaires were additionally administered to the straw suppliers. Results showed that: (1) risk transfer in the biomass supply chain is one of the reasons why farmers are unwilling to supply straw; (2) middlemen are vital intermediaries between biomass power plant managers and farmers as a middleman-based biomass supply system is necessary to guarantee the quantity of straw supply, and; (3) the institutional structure that underlies the Chinese biomass energy industry is immature.
Highlights
Electricity production, through fossil fuels, is the main contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their associated environmental effects [1]
To systematically analyze the risks facing biomass development in China, this study investigated biomass power plants and analyzed and summarized the results through a biomass power plant in the country’s northeastern region through institutional analysis based on a risk management perspective
The interviews were of a semi-structured format and covered four primary dimensions: (1) the risk perceptions of the farmers regarding straw supply and the factors that affect such viewpoints, (2) the nature of interaction between the farmers and middlemen as well as the risk perceptions of the latter in relation to cooperating with the former, (3) the “rules-in-use” that advance interaction, and (4) the impact exerted by the behaviors of the biomass power plant and middlemen on the farmers’ willingness to supply straw
Summary
Electricity production, through fossil fuels, is the main contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their associated environmental effects [1]. Out of the total GHG emissions, 65% are accounted for by carbon dioxide (CO2) released from electricity production and combustion [2], which is a problem that highlights the need to reduce fossil fuel consumption [3] and, by extension, GHG release Such mitigation was correspondingly accorded focus in an environmental directive established by the European Commission. A biomass power plant with 30 MW capacity can generate 1600 GWh of electricity annually (based on a case study in Wangkui County, China) from 0.2 million tons of crop straw per year. The selection of the biomass power plant, which was informed by an inquiry into the situation characterizing the Chinese biomass industry, was driven by it being identical to all other such facilities in the country These facilities share the same problem regarding the shortage of raw materials due to the uncooperative behavior among farmers
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