China Power Research Articles

The Relationship Between Production Efficiency and Factor Allocation Efficiency: A Case Study Based on Thermal Power in China

This paper introduces a novel decomposition method for analyzing production efficiency based on the Data Envelopment Analysis framework, addressing the limitations of traditional approaches that often fail to isolate the contributions of individual factors. The proposed method disaggregates production efficiency into capacity utilization, labor utilization efficiency, energy utilization efficiency, and technological change, providing a more granular view of how different factors contribute to overall efficiency. By incorporating both contemporaneous and intertemporal perspectives, this approach enables a comprehensive understanding of efficiency dynamics and factor interactions over time. To demonstrate the feasibility and robustness of the proposed method, we apply it to the thermal power industry using data from 30 Chinese provinces covering the period from 2011 to 2021. The empirical results validate the effectiveness of the decomposition framework, revealing distinct regional disparities in efficiency and providing insights for targeted resource optimization strategies. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations to enhance capacity utilization, improve energy efficiency, and support sustainable development within the thermal power sector. This research contributes a powerful analytical tool for disaggregating production efficiency and offers a theoretical foundation for future studies seeking to understand the nuanced relationships between comprehensive production efficiency and single-factor efficiencies, thereby supporting better policy and management decisions in complex production systems.

A LSTM-based time series prediction model for China's power supply and its performance evaluation

With the rapid development of China's economy and the acceleration of urbanisation, the stability and sustainability of power supply has become increasingly important. In order to cope with the continuous growth of power demand, accurate power supply prediction has become an essential research direction. In this paper, a time series prediction model for power supply is constructed based on the long short-term memory network (LSTM). Power supply data is organised using methods such as data pre-processing and correlation analysis, and the LSTM model is used to predict future power supply. The performance of the prediction results was evaluated, and the results showed that the model can effectively capture the changing trends of power supply, with high reliability and accuracy, providing important support for scientific management and policy formulation in the power industry.

Study on Regional Economic Effect of "West-East Power Transmission"

There is a certain mismatch between China's energy distribution and economic development. In this regard, the "West-East Power Transmission" project has optimized the allocation of China's power resources by exploiting the energy potential of the west. Based on the relevant economic data of 31 provincial administrative units in China from 1995 to 2018, combined with theoretical mechanism analysis, this paper hopes to explore the regional economic effect of "west point to East transmission" by designing a dynamic two-way fixed effect DID model divided into input and output areas. It is found that the policy of "power transmission from west to East" has no significant promoting effect on the whole, but has significant promoting effect on the economy of the import area in the medium and long term. In the input area, it mainly improves the output value of the tertiary industry and promotes the optimization of industrial structure. In addition, the heterogeneity robust estimators of de Chaisemartin and D 'Haultfoeuille were also used to estimate the policy effect at the input site, and the results were similar to those of dynamic TWFE.

Measurement and Validation of Market Power in China’s Log Import Trade—Empirical Analysis Based on PTM Model and AIDS Model

China is the world’s largest importer of logs, possessing the scale to exert significant influence in the international market. This paper uses a fixed-effect variable coefficient Pricing-to-Market panel model to measure China’s market power in log import trade. It also utilizes the Almost Ideal Demand System model from an elasticity perspective to explore the market behavior characteristics of various source countries in China’s log import trade, thereby validating the mechanism of market power. The results indicate that: ① China’s main trading partners can be categorized into four groups according to their market power in the log import trade. Specifically, China holds superlative market power in log imports from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar; holds strong market power in log imports from Russia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mozambique; holds weak market power in log imports from Papua New Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand; and holds no market power in Japan, Cameroon, and the United States. ② As China’s expenditure on log imports increases, there is a tendency to purchase high-quality precious wood and a greater concern for the legality of market transactions. Consequently, China is anticipated to augment its imports from source countries with no or weak market power. ③ The simple price elasticity of log imports from each source country is negative. Source countries with stronger market power tend to increase prices to achieve higher total revenue, while those with weaker market power are more inclined to lower prices to achieve the same. ④ Log products from various source countries are complementary in the Chinese market, indicating that China’s substantial demand for logs relies on the simultaneous supply from multiple countries and diverse wood types. Based on the existence or absence of market power in China’s log import trade, this paper provides targeted insights into enhancing international market power and reducing trade losses.

Green Innovation and firm Performance: An Empirical Study of China's Power Industry

With China’s goal of achieving "carbon peak and neutrality”, green innovation has become an inevitable choice to accomplish the dual objective of ecological protection and economic growth. The objective of this study is to examine whether green innovation can contribute to enhancing firm performance. Specifically, this study empirically investigates the relationship between green innovation and firm performance by analyzing a sample of listed firms in China's A-share power industry from 2009 to 2022. By using panel fixed effect regression, this study found that green innovation markedly and positively enhances the firm's current performance. Furthermore, this paper tested the effect of green innovation on the firm's future performance, which is positive and greater than the effect on the current performance. Through data support spanning 14 years, this study verifies the theoretical hypothesis that green innovation can substantially enhance firm performance in the power industry. This not only deepens the understanding of how green innovation affects firm performance but also offers empirical evidence to support the further implementation and advancement of green innovation within the power industry. This study only uses a sample of a single industry, so the conclusions of this study do not have explanatory power for firms in other industries.

Retraction Note: Low-carbon transformation planning of China's power energy system under the goal of carbon neutrality.

Retraction Note: Low-carbon transformation planning of China's power energy system under the goal of carbon neutrality.

Women on China’s Internet: Consumption, contestation, and challenges for empowerment

This essay critically examines the evolving relationship between women and the Internet in China, incorporating a multidimensional theoretical framework to explore the nuances of digital access, usage, and empowerment over the past 30 years. While noting a significant reduction in the gender gap in Internet access, the essay highlights persistent gender disparities in usage and outcomes, influenced by socio-economic and cultural factors. It also challenges simplistic binaries by considering the complex interplay of empowerment narratives and structural constraints within the digital sphere. The essay advocates for a reevaluation of theoretical models to better understand the dynamic process of gender equality in cyberspace, emphasizing the need for ongoing research into the intersection of gender, technology, and power in China.

Which decarbonization policy mixes are better for China's power sector? A simulation balancing aggregate abatement effects and economic impacts

The decarbonization policies are currently being planned or implemented worldwide, particularly for emerging economies such as China. When the government designs a preferred decarbonization policy mix, both environmental and economic impacts should be considered. This paper focuses on decarbonization policy mixes in China's power sector, including renewable electricity subsidies (ES), tradable green certificates (TGC), and two carbon pricing instruments. An integrated model combining a partial equilibrium model and an input-output framework was constructed to investigate their abatement effects and economic impacts. The results show that the combination of multiple decarbonization policies can achieve greater emission reduction or lower economic losses compared to implementing them separately. The mix of carbon pricing and TGC shows the least economic losses; the mix of carbon pricing, ES, and TGC achieves maximum abatement effect. A narrow focus on carbon emission reduction would hinder the economic development. The combination of multiple decarbonization policies can trigger more substantial variations in the supply chain of the power sector than their individual implementation. Those policy mixes including carbon tax may achieve lower carbon emissions and economic losses compared to those including a carbon emissions trading market. Therefore, policymakers should conduct a comprehensive simulation of the multiple impacts of policy mixes before implementing them, encompassing both direct impacts on the power sector and indirect impacts on its upstream sectors.

Advancing Quantum Metrology in China's Power Grids

Advancing Quantum Metrology in China's Power Grids

Research on the Right of Women in the Bar Space

In China, the current behavior of going to bars shows a trend of degendering, and women also begin to enter bars to consume. In recent years, many female-friendly or female-only bars have emerged. As the emerging consumers of bar-related industries, female groups are growing, putting forward their needs to society, in order to let society hear their voices and give women equal rights and space to men. Based on Chinas current bar culture and gender-related social background and phenomena, this paper adopts the participatory observation method and semi-structured interview method to analyze the observed phenomena and interview contents, and finds that women are subjected to many explicit or implicit unequal treatment in bars, and further discusses the main causes of gender discrimination in bars. Through the analysis of the unequal treatment faced by women in bars, it is concluded that the cause of the discrimination against women is the deep-rooted pressure of male power in China, and the social root of this pressure is the inequality of gender rights and the shackles of traditional Chinese concepts. This paper finally attempts to discuss the solution of this inequality: female self-consciousness against traditional ideas.

Carbon emission drivers of China's power sector and its transformation for global decarbonization contribution

To explore the contribution of China's power sector transformation to global CO2 emission reduction and the potential for this sector to achieve peak carbon, we used a hybrid input–output model to explore the direct CO2 emissions of six power sectors classified by generation methods and their impact on CO2 emission by the non-power sector based on the total power sector output (electricity generation). We then used structural decomposition analysis to explore the drivers. From 2012 to 2021, the total indirect CO2 emissions of China's power sector grew from 138.59 Mt to 158.79 Mt (the share in the carbon footprint increased from 3.7% to 3.9%), an increase of 14.6%. Over the period from 2012 to 2021, the power structure effect consistently reduced direct and indirect CO2 emissions. Policy scenario simulations showed that 12 scenarios for 2035 are expected to achieve peak carbon in China's power sector. The transition of China's power sector to cleaner energy will contribute greatly to global CO2 reduction in all sectors. In scenarios APS-DER-LD and APS-DER-HD, where the power structure effect was strongest, China and other countries will simultaneously experience large decreases in carbon emission, with decreases of 43.5 and 36.6%, respectively.

Improving land-use efficiency of solar power in China and policy implications

Improving the power output of solar photovoltaic (PV) farms is critical to maximize the potential of PV power and reduce extensive land use in the context of large-scale deployment of renewable energy. In this paper we developed an integrated solar power potential assessment framework to quantify the gap between technical potential and actual generation of solar PV farms on national, provincial, and plant scales, and identify the key factors that cause the underperformance of PV farms. Specifically, to assess technical potential, hourly meteorological reanalysis data is adopted and the power generation-related parameters are calculated (i.e. optimal panel tilt, array spacing, packing factor etc.) with consideration of their spatial variability. For actual power generation, a detailed plant-level dataset is first established by this study which integrates technical, operational, and geospatial information from 145 solar farms across seven provinces in China. Our results show that the actual PV power generation per square meter is only 1/3 of the estimated technical potential. Technological factor is the primary factor, accounting for 48.43% of the underperformance, followed by engineering and management factors, accounting for 38.55% and 13.02%, respectively. The novelty of our study is revealing the underperformance level of solar farms in reality, identifying the causing factors, and highlighting the importance of integrating land-use efficiency indicators into solar power planning and development.

Global carbon neutrality and China's contribution: The impact of international carbon market policies on China's photovoltaic product exports

China's photovoltaic (PV) product exports satisfy the renewable energy demand for international carbon market construction, contributing to the global carbon neutralization process with China's power. Based on the panel data of PV trade from 2000 to 2020, this paper empirically investigates the impact of global carbon market policies on China's PV product exports and its potential impact mechanism using a multi-period DID model. The study results show that (1) International carbon market policies significantly promote the export of Chinese PV products. (2) Mechanism analysis shows that two essential transmission channels are increased demand for renewable energy and reduced consumption of traditional fossil energy in carbon market countries. (3) Carbon market maturity strengthens the positive effect of the international carbon market on China's PV product exports. (4) Further research finds that international carbon market policies affect China's PV exports more pronounced in high-income, trade-friendly, and high-technology countries. The results of this paper reveal the vital contribution of China's PV industry in promoting global climate governance and environmental protection and provide some insights into how to promote and improve the shared prosperity and sharing of the renewable energy industry in the context of global carbon neutrality.

Study on the cost composition and control of coal power in China under the perspective of policy evolution

The direction of China's power supply side to cleaner transformation has become a foregone conclusion, the future will mainly rely on new energy and renewable energy, coal-powered units will gradually from the main power supply to the regulating power supply, standby power change. However, due to China's special policy background and the annual rise in coal costs, China's coal power prices have long been subject to high-cost squeeze, cost-price linkage failure one after another, the survival and development of coal power has brought great risks and challenges. Research shows that the policy changes experienced by China's coal power is the primary reason for its cost system composition and price formation. Therefore, this paper takes the evolution of China's coal power reform policy as the entry point for research, reanalyze the cost composition system of coal-fired power and summarize its impact on the cost of coal-fired power, and puts forward suggestions on cost control in the dimension of sustainable development of coal power, which provides an effective reference to the planning and deployment of solving the predicament of transitioning coal power and narrowing down the profit loss.

The Preparation of a Polyamidoxime-Phosphorylated Cellulose Nanofibrils Composite Aerogel for the Selective Extraction of Uranium from Seawater.

Uranium is the most important fuel for nuclear power operations, and the safe supply of its resources is the key to the development of nuclear power in China. Because of the complex seawater environment and extremely low uranium concentration, extracting uranium from natural seawater poses a significant challenge. In this study, a polyamidoxime-phosphorylated cellulose nanofibril composite aerogel was prepared as an adsorbent for uranium extraction from seawater. An adsorption kinetics test, equilibrium adsorption isotherm model fitting, an adsorption-desorption cycle test, and a selectivity test were carried out to evaluate the adsorption performance of the composite aerogel for uranium extraction. The adsorption capacities for the initial concentrations of 4 and 8 ppm in uranium-spiked pure water were 96.9 and 204.3 mg-U/g-Ads, respectively. The equilibrium uranium adsorption capacities of uranium-spiked simulated seawater were 38.9 and 51.7 mg-U/g-Ads, respectively. The distribution coefficient KD of uranium was calculated to be 2.5 × 107 mL/g. The results show that the polyamidoxime-phosphorylated cellulose nanofiber composite aerogels prepared in this study have the advantages of low cost and high uranium selectivity for uranium extraction from seawater.

Comparative Analysis of Carbon Tax and Carbon Emission Trading Policies in the Context of Carbon Emission Reduction: Based on the Perspective of the Power Industry

In this paper, we focus on China's power sector to investigate ways to improve emissions reductions in the context of global warming and rising carbon emissions. This paper reviews the current state of adapted carbon emission reduction policies in China's power industry and assesses the potential effectiveness of two mechanisms, carbon taxation, and carbon trading, in achieving substantial emissions reductions. China's power sector is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, and the paper explores the balance between short-term carbon tax policies and long-term carbon trading strategies aimed at promoting an early peak in carbon emissions as well as carbon neutrality within the country. This research finds that the carbon tax can have positive impacts in the short term, whereas carbon trading exhibits higher efficiency in the long term. The paper addresses this by proposing a combination of the two mechanisms to achieve effective emissions reductions in the power industry, supporting China's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by the time of 2060. Finally, we explore the feasibility and benefits of implementing a carbon tax, highlighting its suitability for near-term implementation in the power industry. We conclude that a combination of carbon taxes and carbon trading can make a significant contribution to China's carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets.

The Regime Durability of Communist Power in China

This essay examines the durability of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from an interdisciplinary perspective. By conducting investigations into the CCP’s evolution, this essay offers three crucial approaches to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the durability of the Communist regime in China. It argues that the fast-growing economy since the Reform and Opening-up in 1978 has decisively improved the living standards of the Chinese people, forming the core of the CCP’s legitimacy. However, relying solely on the economic approach is not sufficient to fully assess the durability of the CCP. The second approach suggested by this paper involves a more democratized approach to speech control and loosened censorship, allowing a certain degree of plurality of opinions while still prohibiting subversive speeches. The third approach involves the sanctification of the CCP among the people, wherein the concept of “the CCP is always for the people” is constructed and imbued. These three mutually constitutive, conjunctive, and integrated approaches thereby reinforce the Party’s durability consistently.

Environmental impact assessment of the manufacture and use of N- type and P-type photovoltaic modules in China

For a long time, solar power has been considered a clean and non-polluting energy source because it absorbs sunlight without consuming other energy or materials and does not emit pollutants. Nevertheless, the manufacturing and end-of-life stages of solar power systems leave an environmental footprint and produce pollutants. Hence, a global perspective on photovoltaic (PV) systems using life cycle assessment methodology is necessary. Here, we investigated the life cycle impacts of P- and N-type PV modules in terms of their energy consumption, carbon emissions, and human toxicity potential. In addition, the energy payback durations of P- and N-type PV modules were computed. In this study, we used the Life Cycle Assessment Basic Database from the National Engineering Laboratory of Industrial Big Data Application Technology at Beijing University of Technology to create a life cycle assessment model for N-type PV modules. Subsequently, we performed a life cycle assessment of Chinese silicon N-type- and P-type PV modules. The research system encompassed the production processes for metallic silicon materials, solar-grade silicon materials, silicon wafers, cells and modules, utilization, recycling, and other interrelated processes. We found that the production and processing of silicon-to-solar-grade polysilicon feedstock were crucial stages that significantly affected the energy consumption and environment of P- and N-type PV modules in China. The high electricity consumption of this process, combined with the dominance of coal power in China's electricity structure, contributed to the substantial energy consumption and environmental impacts of the PV modules. Therefore, this stage is critical for the low-carbon and environmentally sustainable manufacturing of N-type PV modules in China. Carbon emissions for both the P-type and N-type PV modules were lower only during the cell production phase but higher during the other stages when compared to the P-type and N-type PV modules. The n-type bifacial PV modules yielded the highest return on investment in terms of energy. Different regions and installation types have a substantial impact on the carbon emissions of P-type and N-type PV modules. Projections indicate that the potential to lower carbon emissions from n-type PV modules will increase by 2060.

Economic and environmental feasibility of coupled wind power-subsurface compressed CO2 energy storage system in China: An LCA approach

Energy storage is a crucial solution for addressing the uneven distribution of renewable energy sources, including wind, hydropower, and solar. A novel technology that combines energy storage with underground CO2 storage is introduced, building upon compressed CO2 energy storage (CCES), an advancement of compressed air energy storage systems. Through a case study and literature review, a life cycle assessment (LCA) is conducted to evaluate the economic and environmental performance of a wind power—CCES coupled system. The results indicate that the global warming potential (GWP) and acidification potential (AP) of the CCES system coupled with wind power are 19g CO2-eq/kWh and 0.13g SO2-eq/kWh, respectively, which are significantly lower than those of coal power and are lower than those of wind power alone. Currently, the power output of this energy storage system is limited. However, in an optimistic scenario, the cost to build and operate a wind power—CCES coupled system can be recovered within 16 years based on current electricity prices in China. Therefore, utilizing CO2 storage reservoirs to store excess electricity from wind power is a feasible approach in China's power system from both economic and environmental perspectives.

Calculation and optimization of China's power distortion under carbon peaking target

Based on Hahn & Metcalfe (2021), we deduced the theoretical framework and calculated China's power distortion index (PDI) using the city-level industrial and residential power consumption and price data. We further studied the relationship between PDI and carbon emissions, and optimized the PDI under the carbon peaking target through scenario analysis. We find that: (1) China's PDI showed an inverted “U” shape between 2006 and 2019. (2) On average, one-unit decrease in PDI could result in a decrease of 3.72 % in carbon emissions. (3) The scenario simulation indicates that to achieve the target PDI, the average industrial (residential) power price in 2030 needs to be reduced (increased) to 0.59 (0.58) yuan.