Energy Consumption In Rural China Research Articles

Energy consumption in rural China: A household model for three villages in Jiangxi Province

In China, fuelwood and coal are the most important energy sources for rural households in poor areas. Along with population and economic growth, excessive fuelwood collection is a major cause of deforestation. Burning coal contributes to environmental problems such as air pollution, acid rain and greenhouse gas emissions. The purpose of this article is to analyze factors determining choice of energy source and labor input into fuelwood collection in poor, forest-rich regions, and to provide policy recommendations on ways to affect these choices. To this end, a nonseparable household model, reflecting choices in labor allocation and energy demand of rural households, is estimated from available data for three villages in a poor, forest-rich region in Jiangxi Province, Southeast China. Innovative aspects of this article are the analyses of factors driving household substitution between forest and non-forest fuels and of dissimilarities in household responses under different market access conditions.

Domestic energy consumption in rural China: A study on Sheyang County of Jiangsu Province

A stratification sampling method has been applied to investigate 384 households in 12 villages of 4 towns in Sheyang County. Responses to a questionnaire show that the average annual energy consumption per capita is 8.62 GJ (294 kilograms of coal equivalent (kgce)), with an average available energy consumption of 16.56 MJ (0.565 kgce)/ family-day mainly in the form of straw. The average energy consumption depends on income, stalk yield, and the number of persons and of pigs in a family. There is a demand for high-quality supplies.

Real rural residential energy consumption in China, 1990

This study reveals the facts about non-commercial energy consumed in China's rural areas, and estimates the real rural energy consumption in China in 1990. The study suggests that China's government must pay more attention to managing rural energy consumption and improving energy efficiency in rural areas. The study also suggests that to divide energy consumption into commercial energy consumption and non-commercial energy consumption does not reflect the real situation in China, or perhaps in developing countries. A more appropriate approach is to divide real energy consumption into statistical (recorded) energy consumption and non-statistical (unrecorded) energy consumption. Energy policy in developing countries must pay more attention to the management of the non-statistical (unrecorded) energy consumption, and perfect the statistical scope of energy production and consumption as soon as possible.