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Power demand in China has increased rapidly in the past decade, and it is projected to grow even further. To gain insights into how this demand growth could optimally be met, addressing regional differences such as resource distribution and power demand, is crucial. For long-term planning purposes, using a multi-regional mathematical model that divides China's power sector into regions overcomes the limitations of viewing as a single network. Reflecting how inter-regional power transmission could best be utilized is critical in understanding how flows between regions could be optimised. In this paper, a multi-regional model that reflects actual grid infrastructure with an objective function to maximize accumulated total profits gained by the power generation sector from 2013 to 2050 is proposed. A case study is provided to illustrate how inter-regional power transmission could influence the regional deployment of technologies under different policy scenarios. The results show that energy subsidies and national targets will remain important to the deployment of renewable energy in both the short and long term. In addition, potential downside implications of lower demand growth on the long-term prospects of long-distance inter-regional power transmission and options, such as more flexible electricity pricing mechanisms, to limit the effects are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposed a COSM (cost-optimization superstructure model) and derived the optimized oil-saving pathways for road freight transportation in China until 2030. The optimization target of the COSM was to minimize the accumulated energy and vehicle costs from 2010 to 2030 by choosing the most cost-effective fuel option for newly registered trucks each year. Based on the COSM, three scenarios were developed to evaluate the oil-saving pathway in terms of imported crude oil price, available alternative fuels and GHG emission reduction. The scenario analysis results indicate that: (1) for scenario A, the accumulated oil-saving potential was approximately about 13%, while the oil-saving potential of improving fuel consumption rate and load running rate was 17% and 16%; (2) for scenario B, the accumulated oil-saving potential increased to 82% in reference oil price and 23% in low oil price; (3) for scenario C, to reduce per ton of GHG emission, the increased cost will increase from 34 USD to 450 USD when the GHG emission target decreased from 15.4 billion tons to the turn point of 13.5 billion tons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In China, the energy pricing mechanism has an insufficient linkage with other energy prices. As a result of the unreasonable price level, it is impossible to exploit fully the substitution elasticity among energy resources and there is a negative impact on achieving energy conservation and energy efficiency. This paper proposes an optimized mechanism for residential energy prices in China, which maximizes the total social surplus subject to some related constraints. Three types of energy pricing mechanisms are designed based on China's low-carbon targets and the optimization of residential energy price policies through the dynamic CGE model. Compared with the energy price linkage method, the results show that the market netback value mechanism has a greater impact on the total social surplus. In order to achieve further low-carbon targets, the proportion of second and third tier residents can be expanded, while the energy prices could be deregulated to some degree. In addition, considering residential affordability, the government may take into account different electricity pricing mechanisms for different tiers of residents. Electricity pricing for the first tier, the second tier and the third tier should be based respectively on cost, the integration of energy price linkage and the market netback value mechanism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a simplified method and build a model accordingly for estimating the energy-saving potentials of building construction and demolition with the consideration of China''s rapid growth of building construction and its short actual lifespan of buildings. To demonstrate the practicability of the proposed method and model, we further develop an illustrative case study to estimate the energy-saving potentials from residential building sector in China. Our results show that a considerable amount of energy-saving potentials can be captured from now until 2020, 2030, or 2050 by smooth implementation of either controlling the growth in demand for the per capita residential building floor area or extending the actual lifespan of the residential buildings in China. Through this study, we fill the gap, in terms of method and model, of supporting the further improvement of China''s existing energy conservation policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the influence of different regulation strategies on wind energy integration into the existing energy system of Jiangsu. The ability of wind integration is defined in terms of the ability to avoid excess electricity production, to conserve primary energy consumption and to reduce CO2 emissions in the system. Firstly, a reference model of Jiangsu''s energy system is built using the energy system analysis tool EnergyPLAN based on the year 2009. The model results are then compared to actual values from 2009 to validate their accuracy. Based on the reference model, different regulations of Jiangsu''s energy system are compared and analyzed in the range of a wind input from 0% to 42% of the total electricity demand. It is concluded that operating power plants in a flexible way facilitates the promotion of more intermittent wind integration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper explores quantification of regulator’s preference factor (RPF) in electricity–environment coordinated regulation system. Based on social welfare economics, we articulately depict RPF’s qualitative concept and its economic meaning. Then, applying abstract functions (i.e., abstract social welfare function, abstract utility function, and abstract production function), we deduce the partial-social-welfare elasticity, and build the mathematics model of maximizing social welfare. We nest this elasticity into the model’s Kuhn–Tucker conditions, and obtain RPF’s definition formula. By solving the Kuhn–Tucker conditions, we get RPF’s quantitative formula, which solves the problem of hard to quantify regulator’s preference in electricity–environment coordinated regulation system. The result shows that RPF only has relationship to subsystems’ production function, and is independent of social welfare function and subsystems’ utility function. Finally, we provide an empirical research based on the western region of China from year 1995 to 2004. It reveals that regulator has relative stability preference to mitigating pollutants. And validity test confirms that the empirical result is fit well to the practice. The RPF is truly a more general and valid instrument to measure regulator’s preference in its regulated field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As China’ largest oilfield, Daqing is of great importance to China, this paper analyzes the status of the Daqing oilfield and forecasts its ultimate recoverable reserves by use of the URR model. The forecast results are presented for three scenarios which show that the ultimate recoverable reserves in Daqing oilfield are 3574.0million tons in the optimistic scenario, 3169.3million in the base case scenario and 3033.3million in the pessimistic scenario, respectively. A system dynamics model is established and the quantitative relationships between variables in the model are determined. Total oil production, remaining recoverable reserves, annual newly discovered reserves, and the degree of reserves recovery before 2060 are simulated under the three scenarios by use of the system dynamics model. The forecast results show that the future oil production in Daqing oilfield will continue declining, under the base case scenario, from 41.6million tons in 2007 to 8.0million tons in 2060. For Chinese policy-makers, it is worth paying attention to the problem of whether oil production in new oilfields can effectively make up for the decline in production of the large, old oilfields. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper develops a function of energy consumption, population growth, economic growth and urbanization process, and provides fresh empirical evidences for urbanization and energy consumption for China over the period 1978–2008 through the use of ARDL testing approach and factor decomposition model. The results of the bounds test show that there is a stable long run relationship amongst total energy consumption, population, GDP (Gross domestic product) and urbanization level when total energy consumption is the dependent variable in China. The results of the causality test with ECM (error correction model) specification, the short run and long run dynamics of the interested variables are tested, indicating that there exists only a unidirectional Granger causality running from urbanization to total energy consumption both in the long run and in the short run. At present, the contribution share which urbanization drags the energy consumption is smaller than that in the past, and the intensity holds a downward trend. Therefore, together with enhancing energy efficiency, accelerating the urbanization process that can cut reliance on resource and energy dependent industries is a fundamental strategy to solve the sustainable development dilemma between energy consumption and urbanization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The waste-to-energy (WTE) project can handle the expanding volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) and promote the development of the circular economy, effectively. To achieve sustainable MSW management, it is pivotal to select a promising WTE incineration plant site. Thus, this paper aims to propose a novel methodology for selecting the optimal WTE incineration plant site. A sustainable evaluation index system is constructed from the environment, economy, society, risk, and energy aspects. Evaluation criteria are articulated by mathematical models and hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set, respectively. Given interactional relations among criteria and computation efficiency, HFL-BWM-ANP (hesitant fuzzy linguistic Best-Worst method-Analytic Network Process) is proposed to obtain criteria weights. The double parameters TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) approach is employed to rank alternative sites. The feasibility of the proposed methodology is illustrated by a numerical case. Triple sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis are performed to demonstrate the robustness, effectiveness, and superiority of the proposed methodology. Some managerial insights are provided from multiple dimensions for investors and the government to implement the WTE incineration plant project. Image 1 • Constructing a sustainable evaluation index system from multiple dimensions. • Articulating evaluation criteria by mathematical models and hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set, respectively. • Proposing a weighting model to improve efficiency and handle correlations among criteria. • Introducing the double parameters TOPSIS method to rank WTE incineration plant sites. • Providing managerial insights for investors and the government to manage WTE incineration plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]