Energy System In China Research Articles

Exploring the Supporting Role of Finance in the Development of Clean Energy in China Based on the Panel Vector Autoregressive Model

The efficient development and widespread utilization of clean energy hold global significance, particularly for developing countries like China, which has committed to carbon peak and neutrality targets. In this context, the financial sector plays a crucial role in supporting the renewable energy industry, ensuring a reliable energy supply for economic growth. To statistically assess the impact of financial characteristics—such as financial efficiency, financial size, and green finance—this paper employs a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model with province-level data from China spanning the period 1991 to 2018. The key findings demonstrate that (1) financial factors significantly contribute to the development of clean energy in China, and among these factors, financial scale has a greater impact than financial efficiency and green finance; (2) there are distinct regional variations in how financial development affects the clean energy sector, and the role of financial scale is particularly pronounced in the central and western regions of China while the impact of financial efficiency on the clean energy industry is not significant across all regions; and (3) other drivers—including industrial structure, financial expenditure, and technological advancements—also spur the growth of the clean energy industry. However, due to diminishing marginal effects, the forces driving its growth may gradually diminish. Therefore, the article proposes critical policy suggestions for promoting clean energy development in China. These policies should consider the regional context and address both financial and non-financial aspects. Understanding the interplay between finance, regional dynamics, and clean energy development is crucial for achieving sustainable and resilient energy systems in China.

Complementing carbon tax with renewable energy investment to decarbonize the energy system in China

Building a low-carbon energy system is particularly essential to address global climate change and regional air pollution. Focusing on China, this study integrated a power system decision model into a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to comprehensively explore the low-carbon transition, environmental benefits, and economic costs of a combined carbon tax (CTax) and renewable energy investment (REI) policy. This study finds that a dynamic CTax (with a carbon price of 290 and 590 RMB/ton CO2 in 2035 and 2050, respectively) can reduce the share of coal-fired power from 65 % in 2017 to 22 % in 2050. This will reduce coal consumption by 0.8 billion tons of standard coal equivalent (tce), thus resulting in a coal share decline in the energy system from 60 % in 2017 to 29 % in 2050. Regarding environmental benefits, CTax can mitigate CO2 and air pollutant emissions by 3.9 and 0.9 Gt, respectively, in 2050. Complementing CTax with REI can further reduce coal consumption by 0.2 billion tce and lower the coal-fired power share to 12 %. Regionally, emission reductions in East China can be enhanced owing to REI, which can mitigate the inequity in emission reductions resulting from the CTax. However, this study finds that employing CTax alone may negatively affect the economy. In particular, across the Jin-Meng and Shan-Gan-Ning regions, the gross domestic product (GDP) will decrease by 3.35 % and 2.73 %, respectively. However, complementing CTax with REI can dampen these negative impacts, reducing the national GDP loss from −0.94 % to −0.68 %.

Does environmental regulation improve energy transition performance in China?

This study examines the relationship between environmental regulation and energy transition performance in China. With the pressing need to mitigate climate change and reduce environmental impact, understanding the effectiveness of environmental regulations in facilitating the transition to cleaner energy sources is of paramount importance. Using comprehensive data on environmental regulations and energy transition indicators in China, this research investigates whether stringent environmental regulations positively influence the country's energy transition performance. The study employs statistical analysis techniques to analyze the correlation between environmental regulation stringency and various energy transition metrics, including renewable energy capacity, carbon intensity, and energy efficiency. The findings provide valuable insights into the role of environmental regulation in shaping China's energy transition landscape. Understanding this relationship can guide policymakers and stakeholders in formulating effective strategies and policies to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable and low-carbon energy system in China and beyond.

Forecasting the Natural Gas Supply and Consumption in China Using a Novel Grey Wavelet Support Vector Regressor

Natural gas is playing an important role in the reconstruction of the energy system of China. Natural gas supply and consumption indicators forecasting is an important decision-making support for the government and energy companies, which has attracted considerable interest from researchers in recent years. In order to deal with the more complex features of the natural gas datasets in China, a Grey Wavelet Support Vector Regressor is proposed in this work. This model integrates the primary framework of the grey system model with the kernel representation employed in the support vector regression model. Through a series of mathematical transformations, the parameter optimization problem can be solved using the sequential minimal optimization algorithm. The Grey Wolf Optimizer is used to optimize its hyperparameters with the nested cross-validation scheme, and a complete computational algorithm is built. The case studies are conducted with real-world datasets from 2003–2020 in China using the proposed model and 15 other models. The results show that the proposed model presents a significantly higher performance in out-of-sample forecasting than all the other models, indicating the high potential of the proposed model in forecasting the natural gas supply and consumption in China.

Smart Energy Urban Agglomerations in China: The Driving Mechanism, Basic Concepts, and Indicator Evaluation

The development of urban agglomerations and smart energy systems in China are tightly connected. However, basic concepts of this interdisciplinary connection are still lacking. To fill this gap, this paper proposed an item of “Smart Energy Urban Agglomeration” (SEUA), and studied its driving mechanism, basic concepts in China, and indicator evaluation of typical urban agglomerations. Firstly, by a theorical analysis, the driving mechanism of SEUA was concluded as of “internal and external driven by two axes”, whereas national policies and cities’ spontaneity are external and internal driving forces, and two axes are urban planning and energy system integration. Secondly, using system approaches, its concept connotation, development barriers, and action suggestions were proposed based on China’s conditions. Thirdly, an indicator evaluation based on the driving mechanism was carried out to reveal the differences of four urban agglomerations, with relevant explanations. The results indicated that the Yangtze River Delta had the highest level of SEUA development because of its good performance in both axes. Meanwhile, the cities’ spontaneity had a stronger driving force than national policies. Therefore, it is urgent for China’s government to integrate the urban and energy planning among cities in urban agglomerations.

Assessing provincial coal reliance for just low-carbon transition in China

This paper examines the coal reliance of all 31 provinces in China and assesses the potential for a just energy transition towards cleaner energy sources. The authors calculate a coal reliance index (CRI) for each province based on China statistical data. The CRI takes into account factors such as coal production, consumption, and import/export, as well as GDP, population, and gender differences in mining employment. The authors highlight the importance of considering the varying degrees of coal reliance among provinces in developing effective policies for a just energy transition. The findings suggest the provincial CRI has generally been decreasing across most provinces over the past 16 years. When looking at regional CRI rankings, the northwest region has the highest average CRI compared to other regions, while the northeast region has the lowest CRI, followed by the north, east, south central, and southwest regions. The gender CRI indicates that women in China are not benefiting as much as men from economic growth and development. The paper provides insights for policymakers seeking to achieve a more sustainable and just energy system in China.

Evaluating barriers and strategies to green energy innovations for sustainable development: developing resilient energy systems

Achieving sustainable development and reducing climate change require a shift to green energy sources. Yet, switching to green energy sources necessitates substantial research and development, as well as regulatory and policy adjustments. Additionally, a number of obstacles are impeding the development of green energy innovation. This study identified several key barriers and sub-barriers that obstruct the development of green energy innovation. Thus, this study identified multiple strategies to overcome those barriers. Therefore, this study uses the fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods to assess and rank the barriers and strategies to building resilient energy systems in China. First, the fuzzy AHP method identifies the four barriers and sixteen sub-barriers, while the fuzzy TOPSIS method classifies six strategies for the green energy innovation system in China. According to AHP results, funding and policy constraints are the most crucial barriers to green energy innovation. The fuzzy TOPSIS findings show that providing incentives for green energy investment and strengthening policy implementation and enforcement are the most significant strategies for overcoming the barriers to green energy projects.

Photovoltaic panel waste assessment and embodied material flows in China, 2000–2050

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is one of the most promising renewable energy sources for climate change mitigation. However, not all green energy installations may not continue to be sustainable after their service life. With the largest installed solar capacity in the world, China is expected to face significant challenges in managing the end-of-life (EoL) PV panels in the coming decades, which have not been well addressed yet.Further, the massive deployment and planning of solar energy systems in China has led to a dramatic increases in demand for raw materials, which places more pressure on the available resources. In this study, we have developed a dynamic, technology-based material flow analysis model to clarify the stock, flow and secondary supply potential of waste PV panel materials in China from 2000 to 2050. The waste generation and circular flow characteristics of the component materials in PV panels are comprehensively investigated, which set important boundary conditions for the recovery and recycling of key materials. The results show that approximately 134 million metric tons (Mt) and 72 Mt of waste PV panels will be cumulatively generated in China up to 2050 under the early loss and regular loss scenarios, respectively. Polysilicon glass accounts for the largest share of PV waste, nearly 64% by weight, followed by aluminum (16%) and steel (11%). Precious metals such as Ag, Ga, In, and Te, account for less than 1% of the total PV waste, but can provide considerable economic benefits if recycled wisely. The potential of secondary resources from PV waste may reduce the supply pressure on the natural materials to some extent, but they could not fully mitigate the material supply resks. We suggest that stakeholders in the solar energy industry should take urgent actions, including recycling technology innovations, effective collection systems and incentive measures, to address the growing challenge of waste PV panels in China.

Chinese Wind Power Development Experience and Future Expectations

With the rapid development of renewable energy technology in the world, the upgrading of the energy system in China with new renewable energy techniques is necessary, the government has taken more measures in order to seek better future development. Wind power plants are a promising way of solving the electricity shortage in eastern China. However, several problems exist with the fast development and extensive expansion of wind power plants in the past decade. Also, there is a lack of systematical understanding in measures of solving the currently existing issues with the fast development. Thus, in this paper, China’s wind power technology development will be explored in the following sections as the epitome of the whole new energy technology. The distribution of wind reserves in China is discussed, and the development of wind power in China is furtherly explored. Take it as a reference, constructive suggestions have been made for future development, and the possible ways to develop wind energy sustainably might be verified in the future.

The coupling and coordination assessment of food-water-energy systems in China based on sustainable development goals

Food, water and energy are essential to sustainable development and their security greatly affects the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). This study analyzes the interactions among food system, water system and energy system in China based on SDG 2, SDG 6 and SDG 7, which is beneficial to promote coordinated development of resources and the attainment of SDGs at nation level. After establishing a comprehensive evaluation indicator system, the paper integrates the entropy method with the hierarchical analysis process to assign weight to indicators, and then uses the coupling coordination model to quantitatively evaluate the coordinated development level of SDG 2 on food system, SDG 6 on water system and SDG 7 on energy system. The results show that: (1) In general, the comprehensive evaluation index of 2010–2020 shows an increasing trend over time and the coupling degree maintains a high level. (2) The coupling coordination degree also maintains a good trend, and transitions from primary coordination to good coordination. (3) The development level of SDG 6 on water system and SDG 7 on energy system still lags behind that of SDG 2 on food system, therefore improving the utilization efficiency of water and energy contributes to promoting sustainable development.

Molecular dynamics-based analysis of the factors influencing the CO2 replacement of methane hydrate

The benefits of large reserves, wide distribution, and high combustion energy density of natural gas hydrates are of great practical importance to alleviate the energy tension, enhance the existing energy system in China and reduce the greenhouse effect. The CO2 replacement method is a critical way to develop natural gas hydrate, while traditional experimental methods are difficult to reveal the microscopic mechanism of the replacement system. An MD (molecular dynamics) technique was utilized in this work to simulate the process of carbon dioxide replacement of gas hydrates. This simulation investigates the effects of temperature, pressure, and CO2 purity during the CO2 replacement process. CO2, different concentrations of CO2/H2O, and CO2/NH3 are used as the injected fluid. The simulation results show that the influence of temperature on the CO2 replacement of natural gas hydrate is more significant than that of pressure. Within the temperature and pressure range specified in the simulation, H2O inhibits the replacement of CO2, owing to the inhibitory effect increasing as the concentration of H2O increases; NH3 promotes the process of CO2 replacement under the temperature conditions of 250 K and 260 K, and the promotion effect becomes more significant as the concentration of NH3 increases. However, adding NH3 inhibits the CO2 replacement process with hydrate when the temperature lifts to 270 K. These findings provide new ideas to improve the efficiency of the CO2 replacement method and provide theoretical insight for the engineering exploitation of hydrates.

Planning and Energy–Economy–Environment–Security Evaluation Methods for Municipal Energy Systems in China under Targets of Peak Carbon Emissions and Carbon Neutrality

In order to mitigate the negative effects of global climate change, the Chinese government has committed to achieving peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Since municipal cities are the bottom administrative level for drawing up development plans, it is necessary and important to conduct decarbonization pathway research on municipal energy systems (MESs). However, there is little research on decarbonization at the municipal level, and the impact of development paths in each forecast scenario is mostly based on expert evaluation and qualitative assessment. Therefore, this study established a complete decarbonization framework for MESs, including general research procedures, models, and a sustainable evaluation method. The models of energy consumption and carbon emission were adapted and improved for MESs. In order to quantitatively evaluate the energy system development for each scenario, we proposed an energy–economy–environment–security (3E–S) evaluation method, in which principal component analysis (PCA) was adopted for multi-criterion decision making. According to the analysis results of the case city in Guangdong, this evaluation method was proved to be an effective way to identify the factors that may influence coordinated development. By adjusting the relevant parameters and factors in the model, the optimal decarbonization pathway can be found to promote sustainable and coordinated development, thus helping government decision makers to quantitatively evaluate planning paths.

Province-level techno-economic feasibility analysis of baseload supply from hybrid renewable energy systems in China

To promote the large-scale deployment and grid integration of renewable-based power system, this paper investigates the province-level techno-economic feasibility of wind-photovoltaic-battery hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) for baseload supply application around China. Firstly, the power generation cost and grid parity potential of province-level standalone wind and photovoltaic power plants are assessed. Then, the optimal sizing of province-level HRESs aims to minimize the net present cost and meet the reliability constraint for baseload supply, which is solved by teaching and learning-based optimization. Finally, the techno-economic comparison between different system configurations, the correlation between HRES cost-effectiveness and resource potential as well as resources complementarity, and the grid parity potential of HRES for baseload supply are quantitatively analyzed. The results reveal that: (i) 84.4% of regions in China can achieve solar photovoltaic plant-side grid parity in 2022, while only 15.6% of regions can achieve wind power plant-side grid parity; (ii) HRESs in all regions are technically feasible but not cost-effective for baseload supply; (iii) wind-photovoltaic-battery HRES is the optimal configuration for most regions, indicating that the wind-solar hybridization is more reliable and cost-effective than standalone power plants; (iv) the economic performance of HRES depends mainly on the wind-solar joint resource potentials and the supply-demand relative deviation; (v) investment cost reduction and utilization of energy curtailment are promising to help HRES achieve plant-side grid parity for baseload supply. The findings of this paper can help policy-makers and investors optimally determine the national pathway of renewable energy transition.

Capacity optimization and feasibility assessment of solar-wind hybrid renewable energy systems in China

The solar-wind hybrid renewable energy systems, including wind farm, photovoltaic (PV) plant, concentrated solar power (CSP) plant, electric heater, battery, and bidirectional inverter, are analyzed in 36 typical locations in China. The effects of wind and solar energy resources on power supply reliability and economy and the optimal installed capacities are analyzed. The regions in China recommended for the development of the systems are given. Results show that the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of system in Huade can be as low as 0.1 $/kWh when 90% of annual load demand is met. The wind speed and solar irradiation have a major effect while the complementary characteristics of wind and solar energy have an auxiliary effect on power supply reliability and cost of the system. Compared with the system in Tongliao, the LCOE of system in Qiqihar with lower wind speed and solar irradiation intensity is reduced by 9.8% due to the better complementary characteristics of wind and solar energy. For systems in locations with different wind and solar energy resources, the wind farm or PV plant is still the technology with the greatest cost advantage but the worst power supply reliability. The electric heater with thermal energy storage and power cycle is an essential factor to greatly improve power supply reliability economically. Meanwhile, one of the solar field and battery should be integrated into the system according to the direct normal irradiance conditions. When high power supply reliability is pursued, the CSP plant is recommended to be introduced in most regions. Moreover, the commercial promotion of CSP plant brings the most significant economic benefits to the system. As the CSP plant cost is reduced by 30%, the LCOE of system is reduced by 20.4%.

Bi-Level Planning Model for Urban Energy Steady-State Optimal Configuration Based on Nonlinear Dynamics

With the rapid development of social economy, energy consumption has continued to grow, and the problem of pollutant emissions in various energy sources has gradually become the focus of social attention. Cities account for two-thirds of global primary energy demand that make urban energy systems a center of sustainable transitions. This paper builds a bi-level planning model for steady-state optimal configuration to realize the reasonable planning of the urban energy structure. The first level mainly analyzes the steady-state relationship between energy systems, the second level is based on the steady-state relationship of multiple energy sources to minimize the construction and operating costs of urban energy systems and pollutant emissions. Nonlinear system dynamics and the Improved Moth Flame Optimization Algorithm (IMFO) algorithm are implemented to solve the model. In addition, this paper uses instances to verify the application of a planning model in a certain city energy system in China. Under the premise of ensuring the stability of the urban energy system, two energy planning programs are proposed: mainly coal or mainly high-quality energy. The coal planning volumes are used as the basis for sub-scenario planning and discussion. Lastly, this paper proposes a series of development suggestions for different planning schemes.

Energy efficiency gains from distortion mitigation: A perspective on the metallurgical industry

The goal of carbon neutralization in 2060 in China have stressed the importance of increasing energy efficiency in energy-intensive industries, while the factor market distortion has seriously hindered the effective allocation of resources. Focusing on the metallurgical industry, this paper seeks to explore the influence of eliminating factor price distortion on energy efficiency, which could not only provide elaborate recommendations in this crucial sector but also have theoretical implications for building an efficient energy system in the future. To fulfill this goal, we first measure the relative price distortion of production factors in the metallurgical industry, and then explore the impact of dispelling the relative price distortion on total factor energy efficiency on the basis of inter-factor substitution elasticity. The results show that the relative price distortion among production factors exists in China's metallurgical industry, and the prices of labor and energy are relatively higher than that of capital. Eliminating factors price distortion would bring an 18.8% growth in energy efficiency in China's metallurgical industry. Hence, the process of market-oriented reform in the factor market should be accelerated to help construct an efficient energy system in China.

A Comprehensive Net Energy Analysis and Outlook of Energy System in China

A Comprehensive Net Energy Analysis and Outlook of Energy System in China

Toward a sustainable energy system in China: Status and influencing factors

This paper focused on the endogenous and exogenous factors that affect China's sustainable energy system (SES). 19 Endogenous factors, from economic sustainability dimension, social sustainability dimension, environmental sustainability dimension and energy security dimension assessed China's SES by entropy method-analytic hierarchy process-criteria importance through intercriteria correlation method (EM-AHP-CRITIC). We used urbanization, foreign direct investment and industrialization as exogenous variables and explored the extent of their long-term and short-term impacts on China's SES by autoregressive distributed lag-error correction (ARDL-ECM) model.

Economic tools for integration of alternative energy into the energy system of China

The relevance of the research topic is determined by special attention to the development of «green» energy in the state policy of the People's Republic of China. The problem of the development of the Chinese energy sector is the shift of priorities to the search for alternative, clean energy sources that will replace oil and gas. Analysis of recent publications ensures in a persistent interest in the problems of alternative energy in the majority of countries implementing stable economic growth. According to the authors, the processes of integration of alternative energy into the energy system of China, a country with high rates of economic growth, remain unexplored. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the choice of economic instruments for the integration of alternative energy into the energy system of China. The research methods used in the work are comparison, grouping, systems approach, formalization, axiomatic method, analogies, abstraction and modeling. Results of work. Within the framework of this study, the dynamics of changes in the structure of energy consumption in China has been studied, from the point of view of energy sources. China's energy policy issues go hand in hand with its economic policy goals. The country needs to support rapid development and economic growth, but in a much less energy-intensive way. This is widely recognized by the Chinese government, but significant changes in energy consumption versus production could mean major changes in its economic structure. The field of application of the research results is the energy policy of the state, aimed at the greening of life. Findings. The transition to renewable energy is inevitable, so the question is how best to manage this process while minimizing the total cost of energy services and the cost of damage caused by energy use. The combination of energy efficient and renewable energy sources will eventually replace the existing traditional energy system, which is dominated by fossil fuels. The most important factor for such an early transition is the need to address the problem of catastrophic climate change.

Quantifying virtual water scarcity risk transfers of energy system in China

Water scarcity problem has become a major constraint in energy development. In this paper, we calculated virtual water flows and virtual water scarcity risk transfers driven by interprovincial energy consumption in China using multi-regional input–output analysis. The results of virtual water scarcity risk transfers show that major virtual water scarcity risk importers will be the “victims” suffering the consequences of increasing virtual water scarcity risks in the national energy system. For major virtual water scarcity risk exporters, they will transfer virtual water scarcity risks to downstream provinces along energy supply chains, threatening the stability of the national energy system. The promotion of energy policies and the energy consumption of developed regions make the water-deficient northwest regions export a large amount of water resources to the east and south regions. Therefore, it is necessary to fully consider local water scarcity and evaluate the impact on water environment before the construction of energy bases. Our findings can be used to provide a reference value for policymakers to develop new energy strategies and manage water resources sustainably.