The situation analysis of hot dry rock geothermal energy development in China-based on structural equation modeling

Abstract

In order to combat climate change, China proposed a dual carbon target in 2020. (China's 2030 and 2060 Goals). If the goals can be achieved as scheduled, it will help the world achieve the carbon neutrality goal earlier and improve the increasingly serious global climate. Reducing the utilization of fossil fuels and increasing the share of clean energy in primary energy are major ways to achieve China's 2030 and 2060 Goals. As a geothermal resource with large reserves, high energy storage, clean and pollution-free, dry hot rocks can effectively contribute to the goals. To promote the utilization of dry hot rock, this paper quantitatively studies the factors affecting the development and utilization of dry hot rock, and first summarizes five major influencing factors, namely, resources, environment, market, exploration and development technology, and effective use of technology. Then questionnaire survey based on these five factors was designed and distributed by email to geothermal energy experts in universities (China University of Geosciences, etc.) and research institutions (Chinese Academy of Sciences, etc.). Finally, the questionnaires are subjected to a reliability credibility test and validity analysis to remove the non-conforming items, and the structural equation model was constructed to analyze the data. The results show that environment, market and exploration and development technology have significant effects on dry hot rocks, while resources and effective use of technology have insignificant effects on dry hot rocks. Finally, some suggestions to promote the development of dry hot rocks in China are proposed.