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Hydrogen, as a clean and efficient energy source, is important in achieving zero-CO 2 targets. This paper explores the potential of hydrogen geologic storage (HGS) in China for large-scale energy storage, crucial for stabilizing intermittent renewable energy sources and managing peak demand. Despite its promise, HGS faces challenges due to hydrogen's low density and viscosity, and its complex interactions with geological formations and microorganisms. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the current research status for HGS, with a particular focus on highlighting the main challenges confronting China. These difficulties and challenges primarily arise from complex geological conditions and the absence of fundamental parameters within potential reservoirs, including depleted oil/gas fields, salt caverns, and brine aquifers. Additionally, we have synthesized the current applications of machine learning (ML)as a potential solution. Key challenges are examined, such as the effects of operational parameters (e.g., cyclical injection-production and injection rates) on HGS efficiency, which can influence phenomena such as hydrogen fingering and caprock integrity. This review also looks into the insufficiently understood hydrogen-water-rock geochemical reactions under diverse temperatures and pressures, a gap that hampers the development of predictive numerical simulations and raises concerns about hydrogen leakage due to changes in porosity and permeability. Additionally, the paper addresses the limited knowledge about the metabolic mechanisms of subsurface microorganisms under extreme conditions, highlighting potential risks of hydrogen leakage and groundwater contamination. These microorganisms can metabolize hydrogen, producing gases such as CH 4 and H 2 S, which may cause steel corrosion. Furthermore, the study assesses the distribution and prospects of three primary methods for pure hydrogen storage in China, considering the current state of hydrogen development and relevant government policies. The role of ML in advancing HGS is also discussed, offering insights into future research directions. This review not only scrutinizes the scientific challenges of HGS but also underscores its potential, guiding future simulation and practical engineering applications in this field. • HGS is feasibility in China through policy examination and potential site analysis. • Geochemical and microbial reactions jeopardize to reservoir integrity and H 2 quality. • Elucidating the present application and future prospective for ML in HGS. • Summarizing the key challenges associated with achieving large-scale HGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores opportunities for effective policy intervention for residential energy savings in southern China, by analyzing achievable potential of residential energy savings in the city of Xiamen as a case study. In contrast to static technical and economic potential analyses, the achievable potential analysis is based on dynamic energy consumption projections, which consider two real-world factors: (1) gradual ramping-up adoption process of advanced technical measures; and (2) consumers’ adoption of these measures. A bottom-up type Residential Energy Consumption (REC) projection model specifically tailored for southern China was developed in this paper, based on the general logic and calculation principles utilized in the U.S. EIA’s “National Energy Modeling System (NEMS),” and the adoption theory of advanced technical measures proposed by Kastovich. This REC projection model was then used as a policy analysis tool to quantitatively evaluate the impact of various policies on residential energy savings in the case study city of Xiamen. The analysis of the Xiamen case shows that although there is a significant technical potential for residential energy savings in the city (about 20.9–24.9%), the maximum achievable potential (MAP) in 2020 is only about 8.3–8.4% of that year’s business-as-usual baseline consumption. Moreover, with existing policies only about one-fourth to half of the calculated MAP is likely to be achieved by 2020. These findings indicate that in order to realize a larger share of achievable potential for residential energy savings in China, additional and more effective polices are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The recent recurrence of wind curtailment in China underscores the rigidity and vulnerability of China's electricity regulatory regime. Using the theory of "fragmented authoritarianism", this paper identifies key institutional barriers causing wind curtailment in China and develops a framework for analyzing China's electricity regulatory regime. Specifically, the fragmented institutional authorities and responsibilities lead to departmentalism and coordination problems, both vertically and horizontally. The resulting mismatches in the investment, generation, and distribution of the electric power sector reflect direct causes for China's wind curtailment. This paper recommends that an electric power system reform with established regional spot markets is needed to fix China's wind curtailment problem. Highlights • Complex reasons lie behind serious wind curtailment in China. • Wind curtailment has its roots in the electricity regulation regime of China. • Fragmented authority causes coordination problems in the power sector. • Mismatches permeates the investment, generation and distribution of power. • A regional power spot market is needed to fix the wind curtailment problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Whilst a plethora of literature has viewed technological progress as one of the critical influencing factors in relation to energy consumption and CO 2 emissions, little effort has been made to identify the sectoral differences in the relationship between technological progress and CO 2 emissions. Thereby, this paper remedies the inadequacies in the extant literature by empirically investigating the impact of technological progress on CO 2 emissions, specifically taking into account its heterogeneous effect in various economic sectors. This paper first decomposes the effect of technological progress as taking place in heavy industry, in light industry, in construction industry, and in service industry. A panel quantile regression approach and a balanced city panel data model are then applied, covering the period 2001–2013 in China. The empirical results show that technological progress in heavy industry and light industry surprisingly facilitates a higher level of CO 2 emissions, despite its prominent contribution to energy efficiency improvement. Meanwhile, as distinct from the effect it shows in the heavy and light industries, technological progress in construction and service industries exerts a negative effect on CO 2 emissions. Additionally, this paper further discovers that the strength of the multiple impacts of technological progress also varies with the level of emitters. By studying the heterogeneous effect brought about by technological progress in different economic sectors and emitters, this paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between CO 2 emissions and technological progress. Highlights • The study considers the sectoral and scale heterogeneity of technological progress in relation to CO 2 emissions. • We apply a panel quantile regression approach to balanced city-level panel data. • Technological progress within different economic sectors exerts different effects on CO 2 emissions. • The role of technological progress in moderating energy intensity varies across emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In recent years, China's wind power industry has developed rapidly, and become the global wind power leader. At the same time, China's wind power industry is also facing many problems and challenges. In this paper, a comprehensive assessment is presented to reveal the development history of China's wind power industry, power demand and cost, regional distribution of wind power, wind turbine manufacturers, and government incentives to wind power industry. Subsequently, future development and challenges are proposed, focusing on the challenge of wind power integration and consumption, the challenge of management and market competition mechanism, and the challenge of large-scale and rapid development. Finally, the corresponding measures are put forward. The fundamental goal of this paper is to understand the history, current situation and future challenges of China's wind power industry. Highlights • A comprehensive assessment on the development of China's wind power industry is presented. • The development history of China's wind power and energy demand are introduced. • Multi factors related to China's wind power industry are investigated. • Future challenges and corresponding measures of China's wind power industry are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government has made significant effort to promote biomass based electricity generation in recent years. Yet, little is known about consumers’ preferences for biomass electricity and associated environmental impacts. This paper uses discrete choice experiments (DCE) to investigate Chinese consumers’ preference for electricity generated from various biomass sources. Based on 548 responses, the paper finds that Chinese households are willing to pay a premium of around 27 Yuan per month or 0.20 Yuan per kilowatt hour (kWh) to replace coal-fired electricity. Among the various biomass sources, electricity generated from agricultural and forestry biomass is most preferred, followed by biogas electricity and waste-to-energy. It is also found that respondents have a significant willingness to pay for reducing haze. Consumers’ household structure and environmental awareness also affect their preference for biomass electricity. These results have significant implications for the prioritization, design and communication of biomass promoting schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently China's wind power industry is challenged by many problems such as wind power integration and wind curtailment, which seriously hinders the development of onshore wind power. Since China's policy has a direct and significant influence on wind power industry, it is vital to analyze and evaluate published policies. This paper explores in detail 134 China's onshore wind power policies from 2005 to 2015 so as to provide analytical support for future formulation and implementation of wind power policy. Based on policy summary from equipment manufacturing industry, wind farms and power grid industry, this paper evaluates the policies from the perspective of overall plan, support policy and policy implementation using fitting method, game theory and empirical analysis. The results indicate that China's wind policy is gradually becoming perfected, for example, there are more reasonable objectives and improved support policies. However, many problems remain to be solved, like unreasonable planning, imperfect support policies, immature trading systems and uncoordinated actions among interest related parties. Furthermore, combined with international experiences, suggestions on improving China's wind power policy are proposed from seven aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive review of the thermal power industry and the accurate forecasting of carbon emissions can provide valuable information to improve energy efficiency and act as a tool for policy makers to realize sustainable and low-carbon emissions from the thermal power industry. In this paper, we study the low-carbon development of China's thermal power industry based on an international comparison from three perspectives: review, analysis and forecast. Initially, we review both the international and national energy consumption of China; although gaps in energy efficiency still exist between China and countries with advanced thermal power technology, China's thermal power industry is gradually following a low-carbon development route. Then, we analyze low-carbon technologies for thermal power units, including ultra-super-critical technology, integrated gasification combined cycle technology, and carbon capture and storage technology and present a design for environmental protection technology for thermal power units. Carbon emissions should be effectively and successfully handled to improve the prospects of China's thermal power industry. Therefore, this paper forecasts carbon emissions by using a hybrid grey model that is optimized by the firefly algorithm and adjusted by weakening buffer operator based on the calculated carbon emissions. If China's carbon emissions from the thermal power industry increase according to the present rate, China will have difficulty in realizing its carbon reduction target by 2020. Finally, related future policies for the 13th Five-Year Plan of China are proposed based on low-carbon policies around the world with regard to financial, technological and industrial aspects to help the thermal power industry achieve healthy and low-carbon development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to deal with anthropogenic environmental impacts are focussed predominantly on cities. This paper applies metafrontier-data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the capacity of 286 Chinese cities of different sizes and in different regions towards green growth development and assesses gaps in their efficiencies. The determinants of efficiency, including regional and population size effects, were estimated using logistic regression model. Results show that the state of green growth efficiency was different for cities of different sizes and from different regions, and gaps existed compared to the best production frontier. The paper suggests that more endeavours are required for environmental and social dimensions, and a short-term target can include achievement of group frontier efficiency and significant reduction in technology gap ratios. Owing to significant population size effect, policy programs should have target plans for cities of different sizes as they differ in performance and capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquavoltaic is an essential tool in overcoming the ground-based photovoltaic (PV) development barrier and achieving China's carbon neutrality target. After summarizing aquavoltaic technologies and global cases, this paper assesses the effectiveness of 292 aquavoltaic plants in China using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. Six essential input and output variables are included: installed capacity, power generation, occupied water area, construction cost, PV modules, and global horizontal irradiation to offer an appropriate measure of aquavoltaics efficiency in China. This study also performed correlation analysis for PV module type, PV mounting mode, and ownership based on a Tobit regression model. The results show that the efficiencies of China's aquavoltaics have improved significantly between 2014 and 2022, with the emergence and popularity of high-power PV modules playing a pivotal role. Furthermore, the regional study discovered provincial efficiency varies substantially. This paper also gives two reference indicators for new aquavoltaics in the future. • The global aquavoltaic technologies and cases were summarized. • The history and status quo of aquavoltaics in China were reviewed. • Aquavoltaics' energy efficiency has increased significantly in China. • The high-power PV modules have a positive impact on efficiency growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a non-Arctic country and a major energy consumer, China is increasingly interested in participating in Arctic energy development. This study aims to investigate potential strategies to promote China's participation in Arctic energy development. Accordingly, this study analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of China's participation in Arctic energy development based on a discussion of the current status of Arctic energy development and the Arctic policies of major countries. In addition, this work develops strategies in accordance with the above analysis. The results show that China has strengths in terms of capital, energy demand, policy support, and international cooperation when participating in Arctic energy development, while its weaknesses include the lack of core technology and equipment, high carbon intensity of energy development, and geographical disadvantage. China faces opportunities stemming from conflicts among Arctic states, the advancement of global carbon neutrality, and the development of Arctic waterway while facing threats such as increased competition, international public opinion pressure, high development costs, environmental risks, and pandemic instability. Under an integrated framework, this work offers four strategies: Strength-Opportunity (SO), Strength-Threat (ST), Weakness-Opportunity (WO), and Weakness-Threat (WT). Finally, this study proposes specific measures in four areas, including strengthening policy support, promoting technical research and development, enhancing international cooperation, and improving enterprise competitiveness. [Display omitted] • This study examines China's participation in Arctic energy development. • This paper reviews the status of fossil and non-fossil energy in the Arctic. • This study compares the Arctic energy development strategies of major countries. • This study proposes four strategies, namely SO, ST, WO, and WT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries gain great benefits by applying lean methods to construction industries. China, as a great construction country, also has advocated the implementation of lean construction technologies in recent years. However, the current status and extent of lean construction implementation in China have not been well-studied. The objectives of this research are: 1) to evaluate the extent of implementation of lean construction in China, and 2) to explore the influencing factors of lean construction in China's construction firms. In this paper, two construction firms with different sizes, organizational structure, business scope, and culture are evaluated. Data was collected from interviews, questionnaires, and meetings. The findings of this paper include: 1) different firms have different implementation levels of lean construction, and 2) the key determinates of lean construction implementation in China are the knowledge of lean construction, organizational structure and culture, and market factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, “haze-fog” became an annual buzzword in China; this “haze-fog” is primarily attributed to coal combustion. If coal continues to be used as it has been previously, China will suffer as a result of air pollution. Different from coal, electricity is a highly efficient energy source with no pollution emissions. Electric power substitution (EPS) for coal can reduce air pollution and transmit electricity to a load intensive area by an ultra-high voltage transmission project that can promote renewable energy accommodations in remote areas. However, EPS was proposed in 2013 and is still in the initial stage. The present paper studies the relationship between coal and haze-fog, proposes an EPS action mechanism, and summarizes the EPS market and policies. A SWOT model has proved to be an efficient tool to analyze the internal and external competitiveness of a system. Therefore, to fully study the current development status of electric power substitution in China, this paper adopts a SWOT model to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of EPS. The conclusion is drawn that EPS is a good substitution for coal, but increased interest and use of EPS in China still needs support, including energy price marketization, electricity price subsidy, UHV optimization, clean coal technology innovation, and so on. This research can promote optimization in the energy structure and provides policy makers with good references and a clear direction in EPS development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an analysis of 9 solar cell enterprises from 2008 to 2014, this paper examined the Chinese solar cell industry's market structure and performance. The empirical results reveal that China's photovoltaic (PV) cell market supports the X-efficiency structure hypothesis and that enterprises with higher levels of production technology and management earn higher profits. However, market concentration, market share, and scale efficiency are not significantly related to corporate performance. In addition, reasonable and effective control of the debt-to-assets ratio of such enterprises is conducive to revenue improvement. Based on these conclusions, this paper offers suggestions on how to improve the performance of the PV cell industry from the perspectives of enterprise and government. The research results have substantial significance for the promotion of enterprise reform and the optimization of industrial resource allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper examines pathways towards solar energy in China by examining two different solar energy technologies, namely solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar water heaters (SWH). The paper investigates these two case studies to understand how different pathways for low carbon innovation are promoted and challenged by China's changing financing and policy-making, and how they relate to changing practices among producers and consumers. The paper finds two distinct approaches to solar energy. Chinese solar PV is predominantly produced for the export market, relies on intellectual property-intensive technology and has received much financial and political support from the central and provincial governments. On the other side, solar water heaters are an indigenous Chinese technology that is found everywhere across China, especially in rural areas. They have developed from grass-roots levels to mass products with very little central government support. Although being largely absent from high-level discussions and policies, solar water heaters could contribute a lot to China's low carbon transitions that are driven at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to its high resource predictability and power density, tidal current energy has garnered extensive attention worldwide, from both academia and industry, in the past decade. Currently, China is also accelerating the development of tidal current energy because of the abundant tidal current resources along the country's highly populated southeast coasts. The objective of this development is to meet the increasing power demands for coastal cities, islands, and various maritime applications. The tidal current energy conversion systems in China have undergone rapid technological advancements in the past ten years, particularly after the deployment of several large-sized tidal current turbines. Although several review papers have covered the evolution of tidal current energy converters (TCECs) in China since the 1980s, a comprehensive update of the past decade has not been systematically reported, which might be of significant interest to researchers, developers, and investors worldwide. In this paper, we present the state-of-the-art TCEC technological developments in China in terms of scale, efficiency, reliability, and other innovations. Their technology readiness level and problems are also discussed. It is found that TCEC development in China has been diverging toward two different directions: large-sized turbines for grid connection and small-scale turbines for diverse applications in marine environments. Finally, we present the current challenges and future trends of TCEC advancement in China. • Existing tidal current energy converters in China are reviewed. • Development trend of large-scale equipment and diversified applications is analyzed. • Challenges and suggestions for the tidal current energy technology are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forms the core of China's foreign policy and future foreign cooperation, and energy cooperation is an important component of the BRI. Energy security is closely related to the interdependent relations between countries. The present paper investigates energy interdependent relations between China and the countries along the Belt and Road using data collected in the BP Statistical Review of World Energy , between 2000 and 2015. The main results are as follows: (1) Abundant proven reserves of energy resources exist in these countries, which were equivalent to 758.73 billion tons of standard coal in 2015, accounting for 52.27% of the world. The distribution of these resources presents a pattern with two centers—one in Russia, and one in West Asia and the Middle East. (2) Established interdependence relations exist between China and the countries along the Belt and Road in terms of energy cooperation. China has imported 437.21 million tons of standard coal from these countries and their guarantee degree to China's energy security is 58.42%, of which 13.56% refers to coal, 73.37% to oil, and 13.06% to gas. Meanwhile, their dependence degree in energy exports to China was 13.56%, or 11.15% for coal, 14.92% for oil, and 10.55% for gas. An interdependence relation thus exists between China and these countries, and the degree of mutual dependence between them was 0.23 (0.22 for coal, 0.13 for oil, and 0.38 for gas), locating China in a relatively passive position with respect to the countries along the Belt and Road as a whole, but a relatively active position in relation to individual countries (with the exception of Russia). Our findings are useful to the tasks of identifying the spatial distribution pattern of energy in countries along the Belt and Road, assisting in the promotion of energy cooperation between China and these countries, and the future construction of the BRI. Highlights • Energy cooperation relationships between China and the countries along the Belt and Road are examined. • The indicators of guarantee degree, dependence degree, and mutual dependence degree are selected for this study. • Energy resources present a pattern with two centers; one in Russia and one in West Asia and the Middle East. • Countries along the Belt and Road maintained an energy GD of 58.42% for China; their DD on China was 13.56%. • The MDD between China and the countries of the Belt and Road was 0.23, and China's position in the relation was passive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant variation in building׳s energy intensity is partly due to the large number of distributed energy users characterized by heterogeneous lifestyles and nonuniform consumption behaviours. Understanding the degree of variation and its cause is critical to designing appropriate policies for energy efficiency improvement. This paper aims to provide a data-based benchmark of buildings energy performance in China and investigates the facts and causes of large variations in energy consumption across buildings based on updated and harmonised dataset. Specifically, the paper is the first in literature to decompose aggregate heating consumption in northern urban China and reallocate the disaggregate data to relevant residential and commercial building energy use, which makes it consistent to conduct international comparison of building performance in terms of primary energy intensity. It is found that buildings energy performance exhibits a sizeable heterogeneity varying with building typology and climate zones in China. Heating and cooling energy consumption for residential buildings located in HSCW climate zone may differ by a factor of 4–10 depending on the technology and energy supply mode, whereby nontechnical interventions may have significant impacts on total energy demand in the built environment. In particular, our analysis results point to the importance of making greater efforts in the commercial sector. Commercial buildings are found significantly more energy intensive than their residential counterpart, mainly due to the fact that BEE policy has been poorly implemented and architectural design has not been optimised in commercial sector. An estimate suggests that improving energy efficiency in the commercial sector may contribute to one-fifth of total energy savings potentials by 2020 in line with the IEA׳s 450 ppm scenario. It is necessary for Chinese building authorities to incorporate the heterogeneity characteristics across different climate zones and building typologies into BEE policy portfolio to effectively curb energy consumption related carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic wind turbine manufacturing sector in China has experienced development stages starting from scratch to mass production. During the 11th FYP period (2006–2010), the main goal of wind power policy in China is to promote the commercialization of wind power by large-scale deployment of wind farms. This goal has been realized to a great extent and now the cost of wind power generation is nearly comparable to coal-fired power generation in China. The industry policy, which devotes to mass production of domestic wind turbines, is also largely successful. The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview on wind turbine manufacturing sector in China. The policy evolution in different stages, achievements and challenges pertinent to the sector are addressed in the paper. Key findings are that the misleading industry policy, which provides strong incentive to blind entrance and “competition for scale and price” and restrains innovation as well, is the key obstacle for the sustainable development of the sector. Deficient technology standard and qualification system and the misplaced franchise bidding system also indulge vicious competition and oversupply. Creating a level playground for all turbine supplies, providing strong incentive to innovative manufacturers, establishing thorough and practicable standard and qualification system, and fine-tuning the directive of the franchise bidding system towards technology and service are the primary policy implications proposed by our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a good power supplement form of super power and large-scale energy base, distributed energy has the characteristics of less investment and flexible power generation. Facing with the double pressure of the sustainable development of energy use and environmental protection, it has become an efficient solution to meet the demand of load growth, reduce environmental pollution and improve the comprehensive utilization of energy and the reliability of power supply. However, the development of distributed energy starts relatively late in China and confronts many difficulties. So this paper analyzes the present development situation and existing problems of the distributed energy in China. Then it elaborates from the aspects of policies and regulations, technical specifications, price policy and grid-interconnection codes. At last, this paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions of the guarantee mechanism of distributed energy. This paper argues that, with the attention of the development of distributed energy increasing, a series of policies to promote the construction and interconnection of distributed energy will be introduced, and distributed energy will get scaled development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because China has emerged as the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter in total annual emissions, to accelerate the pace of GHG emission reduction in China is important to the success of global efforts in addressing climate change. Carbon trading is a market mechanism and key instrument in the mitigation of climate change. This paper explores the policy process and development state to date of China׳s carbon-trade market to understand the emergence and development of that market and to understand what barriers are hampering China׳s carbon-trade market development. To achieve this goal, this paper introduces and analyzes China׳s status in the international market, examines the factors driving carbon-market launching by the Chinese government, and traces the development of mandatory carbon-emission trading and voluntary emission trading. It is argued that China׳s carbon-trading market is confronted with challenges such as the absence of a functional carbon-trading market, inaccuracy of the quota allocation, an imperfect trading mechanism, and lagging legislation. At the present stage, shortcomings such as having no real-time carbon price and dominated spot transactions differentiate China׳s trade market substantially from a functional system. A quick market integration of China׳s carbon market appears remote. It is suggested that specific measures be taken to promote the development of the Chinese carbon-trading market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing transformation of the world's energy system requires detailed power-system models that help plan a cost-effective and reliable integration of variable renewables and demand-side resources. The quality and depth of the results of these models depend on the existence of trustworthy, complete, and high-resolution data on extant electric power assets and the demand they serve, wind and solar resources, and projections on costs and performance of technologies that could be developed during the next three decades. This paper assesses the quality of China's power system's publicly available data compared to the U.S. It concludes that despite growing use of power system models to inform and analyze Chinese energy policy, the availability of necessary data is still a significant barrier that severely limits the transparency, replicability, relevance, and usefulness of their results. • Ongoing energy system transformation requires detailed power-system models. • Usefulness of models' results depends on reliable, complete high-resolution data. • Paper proposes criteria to assess the quality of publicly available data for models. • Publicly available data for China's electric power system is scant and low quality. • Filling data gaps will inform decisions for a sustainable electric power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy poverty has got increasing attention during the latest three decades. Measuring energy poverty is the premise of policy making to alleviate energy poverty. There is no unified energy poverty measurement that has been widely accepted. This paper reviews the commonly used energy poverty measurements through classifying them into three categories: energy service availability, energy service quality, and satisfaction of energy demand for human׳s survival and development. This paper also analyzes the suitability of the commonly used energy poverty measurement for China from the prospective of data availability and index applicability. Furthermore, we construct a new energy poverty comprehensive evaluation index in this study, and the index is illustrated to evaluate regional energy poverty in China. The evaluation results indicate that China׳s energy poverty showed an alleviating trend from 2000 to 2011, and during this period, China׳s energy service availability improved slightly; energy consumption cleanliness showed no significant change; energy management completeness decreased with fluctuations; and household energy affordability and energy efficiency improved continually. In addition, China׳s regions show different characteristics of energy poverty. For example, Middle reaches of Yangtze River region showed the worst energy availability and Eastern coastal region showed the worst energy management completeness. Several policy implications for energy poverty alleviation are also proposed in this study, including, for instance, increasing investment on energy infrastructure, and spreading energy management organization in rural area; decreasing relative cost on household commercial energy consumption, and encourage the utilization of modern, clean and efficient household energy consumption equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is vast, abundant and particularly plentiful in energy sources, due to which it has obtained remarkable achievements on economy. However, its energy structure is too simple to support the sustainable development of economy as coal still contributes to the majority of energy consumption in China. As a consequence, Renewable Energy Law was enacted in 2005, and Chinese government announced a series of policies to boom renewable energy industry. Subsidy policy is one of the major forms of these policies. This paper aims to present these subsidy policies and to analyze their effects according to relative data in energy industry 2005–2013, to find out the deficiencies and enlighten possible policy improvements. The original intentions and abstracts of 5 different levels of subsidy related policies are summarized, and the effects in reality are attentively analyzed. It can be concluded that subsidy policies have different short-term effect on different renewable energies, and they all show some negative effect to a certain extent. 6 core problems are summarized in this paper, and remedy strategies are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenced by the international environment, price of photovoltaic (PV) products has continued to drop in recent years. The production enthusiasm of manufacturers was affected, and the market was in depression at once. To realize the expansion of domestic market, China has implemented many incentives since early 2009. This paper reviews the present status and development trend of the Chinese PV industry. It focuses on the turning point problem and draws the conclusions: First, there are still some obstacles to overcome, the key ones are the too low PV product price, industry overcapacity, unbalanced industrial demand and supply, cutbacks in foreign PV market and uncompetitive technologies. Second, the turning point of PV industry in China will come in the future if the problems in PV industry can be solved and the large-scale of the industry can be achieved. Third, the Chinese government is gradually clearing up the obstacles of the development of PV industry, and the turning point is on the way, maybe not later than 2020. At the end of the paper, suggestions are offered as references for the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green roof is an effective energy efficiency measure to reduce the building cooling load in summer and heating load in winter, in addition, it can add ecological benefit and landscape value to the community. Therefore, it has attracted extensive attention worldwide. This paper studies the selection of planting materials, plant configuration patterns and plant growth medium of the green roofs in China, and presents the researches on ecological benefits, thermal performance, and applications of the green roofs in China. This paper also introduces and analyzes the green roofs development policies in China, including the incentive mechanism, laws and regulations, and finally presents the analysis and suggestions on their application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to argue for the necessity and significance of studying the distributional employment impacts of renewable and new energy development (RNE). Based on the comprehensive review of the methodology and conclusions of existing literatures, this paper builds up an extended input–output model to study RNE’s distributional employment impacts on gender and personnel structure. The case study of China׳s power sector in this paper affirmed earlier doubts that RNE development will indeed aggravate the gender inequality problem and add to the level of mismatch between the structure of labor demand and supply, causing structural unemployment problems. The quantitative analysis in this paper outlined here implies that from 2011 to 2020 the development of RNE will bring about 7 million employment gains, but only 81.8% of which can be realized due to the mismatch problem. The study of China may alert other countries to be less-optimistic about RNE’s employment impacts and reaffirm the need to carry out the distributional employment impacts analysis. This paper concludes with policy suggestions such as providing suitable training and equal promotion opportunities for women, offering courses and vocational trainings to RNE-related majors, in order to reduce the structural unemployment problem and further speed up the development of RNE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decades, solar heat for industrial processes (SHIP) have been rapidly developed and applied, and also getting more and more attention all over the world. China is the largest energy consumer with industry accounting for almost 70% of its total energy consumption. Low- and medium-temperature heat takes up 45% of process heat, covering 50–70% of industrial energy consumption, which provides a favorable condition for solar application in industrial processes. China has built developed some demonstration projects to make industrial processes well integrated with solar heating systems. This paper briefly summarizes the status of China's energy consumption, integration of SHIP, as well as available matching solar technologies. Ten typical industrial sectors are selected to specifically describe their potential of SHIP. Moreover, 26 SHIP cases covering the selected 10 sectors are presented by field researches, with capacity of energy saving and emission reduction previously investigated according to their own proportion of SHIP. The potential of SHIP in the 10 sectors are further predicted by optimistically and conservatively making their proportion in SHIP 5.5% and 2% respectively during the period of 2016–2020. The results show that at least 39.40 million tons of coal equivalent and 98.22 million tons of CO 2 emission is expected to be reduced in 2020 in China's all industrial sectors although solar can meet different proportions of heat demand in different industrial sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the economic impact of achieving China's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) through emissions trading scheme (ETS) and renewable energy policy, using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model. We explored the behavior of different sectors in the carbon market, carbon trade amount, carbon price and the economic impact of an emissions cap and trade on the employment and GDP. The results demonstrate that the electricity and aviation sectors have relatively higher mitigation costs and tend to be the main buyers of the carbon credits, whereas chemicals, nonmetal production, iron and steel, paper and other manufacturing sectors have relatively lower mitigation costs and tend to be the main sellers. Carbon trading price and market scale are closely related to various factors such as the emissions quota allocation scheme among sectors, coverage of participating sectors and the level of renewable energy development. Emission trading is also confirmed to be an economically efficient approach that contributes to the achievement of emission reduction targets with less economic cost. In order to make full use of this approach, policy maker should assign an appropriate emissions quota allocation scheme, extend coverage of various sectors and promote the expansion of low-carbon technologies such as renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar radiation is an indispensable input for many applications, contributing to different fields, including energy, meteorology, ecology, agriculture and industry. A lot of parameterization schemes have been developed for estimating solar radiation in sites around the world. This paper presented a comparative study on the performances of four shortwave solar radiation (SSR) models in different climates, including Yang’s hybrid model (YHM), an efficient physically based model (EPP), an hourly solar radiation model (HSRM) and a neural network model (ANNM). Daily meteorological variables observed at 837 stations in China were used as model inputs for YHM and ANNM. MODIS atmospheric and land products (MOD08_D3, MYD08_D3, MOD08_M3, MYD08M3, MOD09CMG, and MYD09CMG) were used to derive the required parameters for EPP and HSRM. Cloud fraction and solar zenith angle were found to be the major parameters influencing the model accuracies. The results indicated that YHM performed superior to EPP, ANNM and HSRM with daily mean RMSE of 2.414, 2.535, 2.855 and 3.645 MJm −2 day −1 , respectively. The monthly mean RMSE for all models were generally higher in July (3.37 MJm −2 day −1 ) and lower in January (1.997 MJm −2 day −1 ). It was observed that the monthly mean RMSE was 2.95 MJm −2 day −1 in humid areas, while it is 2.773 MJm −2 day −1 in semi-arid areas. Monthly and annual mean SSR (ASSR) during 2002–2015 were calculated to reveal the spatial and temporal variations of SSR across China using daily meteorological data, MOD08_M3 and MOD08_M3 products based on YHM and EPP models. The result showed that there was not obvious variation trends for ASSR in China, the largest value (14.521 MJm −2 day −1 ) was observed in 2003, while the smallest ASSR (14.182 MJm −2 day −1 ) was in 2014; the ASSR values were generally higher in Qinghai-Tibet and lower in northeastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the upgrading of living standards and rapid urbanization throughout the world, municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment has become a ubiquitous environmental issue. Incineration can reduce the quantity and volume of MSW, save land resources and generate power, and it has been considered an effective means of MSW treatment. However, a variety of obstacles to the development of the waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration industry have emerged. To identify and overcome these obstacles, this paper applies the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) framework to analyse the macro-environment of the WTE incineration industry in China. First, the MSW treatment status and treatment methods in China are summarized. Then, we analyse the PESTEL factors in the WTE incineration industry in China, including relevant legislation and policies, investment modes and intensity, the distribution and scale of investment, difficulties in MSW treatment and classification, public concerns, the various incineration techniques, environmental protection issues and the existing shortcomings. Finally, managerial implications and suggestions for the government and private sector regarding policy changes, the application of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode and efficient project operation are provided. It is expected to pave the way for private investors to finance such projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the unformed market-oriented pricing mechanism has become a great challenge faced by China's electricity pricing. And the unreasonable electricity pricing caused by cross subsidization has become increasingly serious with the economic development and energy shortage. Tiered electricity price (TEP), which was developed and used since 1970s, was introduced into China as a new electricity pricing method for residential electricity consumption. The TEP can also improve the tariffs, the behaviors and the efficiency of residential electricity consumption. In this study, we use the fundamental theory of the Electricity Economics to analyze the pricing methods and the forms of China's power market with the reform of electric power industry. We also point out the characteristics of residential tiered electricity pricing in China, which is also compared with other countries, such as the United States and Japan. The main factors influencing the residential tiered electricity pricing design are discussed in this paper from the perspectives of users, the electric power enterprise and government regulation. Then we point out the main problems of China's existing tiered electricity pricing, including inadequate level of public awareness and acceptance, unreasonable tiered and electricity price standard, insufficient reflection in regional differences, less combination with other electricity pricing forms, and low-level of smart meter application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invention and application of the electric power technology triggered the second industrial revolution in human history, which marked the human society entered the age of electricity. Electricity provides the sustainable power for economic and social development. With the rapid development of economy, the electricity consumption is also increasing. The increase of electricity consumption has further promoted the progress of the industrial economy. In order to achieve the goal of improving the level of economic development while reducing energy consumption, it is necessary to reveal the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth. This study is an extensive overview of the literature surrounding this topic. In this paper, we focus on the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in China. We first analyze the general situation of China's electricity consumption and economic development. Then we explore the relationship between China's electricity consumption and economic growth from three dimensions, i.e., the time dimension, the regional dimension and the industrial dimension. Finally, we study the key issues in the research of the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth, including variable selection, model construction and results discussion. This work suggests that the nature of the nexus in China should and can be explored from a wider perspective, by developing a suitable integrated methodological framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, there is no specific legal basis for the development and utilisation of marine renewable energy, nor legal protection for the developers in China. The consequence is that the Chinese Government is unable to provide institutional support for the substantive development of marine renewable energy, resulting in slow development of China's marine energy industry. This paper provides an institutional framework for the establishment of relevant laws in China and legislative proposals in legal perspective, for the better development of marine renewable energy. The Chinese Government should optimise the administrative management system, strengthen financial regulation such as tax and emphasise sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncovering the contributions of each sector’s driving factors to the growth of national economic carbon emissions has great significance for China in developing its nationwide emission trading scheme (ETS). The paper applies the index decomposition analysis (IDA) and logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) model to discuss the underlying drivers behind China’s national economic carbon emissions during the period 1996–2012 from both sector and factor decomposition perspectives and accordingly offers policy proposals for China’s national ETS development. Major conclusions include: (1) Six heavy industry sectors, the transport & storage & post sector, and the construction sector are the largest contributors, and hence proposed for incorporation into the ETS’s coverage. (2) The rapid expansion of economic output dominantly increases carbon emissions. The design of cap on emissions should allow for a proper increment and establish a new entrant reserve to coordinate economic development. (3) As the dynamics of carbon emissions vary markedly across sectors, allowance allocation needs to consider the changing sectoral structure of emissions. (4) The combined effects of sectoral energy intensity and structure changes largely offset carbon emissions. Benchmarking is suggested as an ideal allocation mechanism, and the setup of sectoral carbon intensity benchmark should synthetically evaluate the potential impacts of related factors. (5) Manufacturer-based manner and carbon offset mechanism are respectively recommended for the initial implementation of carbon trading in the transport & storage & post sector and the construction sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latent heat thermal energy storage technologies based on phase change materials (PCMs) are found to be significantly efficient and viable methods for thermal energy storage. These energy storage techniques have been proved to be with positive effects on buildings energy efficiency. The integration of appropriate thermal energy storage system and selection of suitable PCMs plays a very dominating role in the upgrading of energy efficiency. Short and long term storage helps in the reduction of energy demand or shifting peak load for both heating and cooling. However, a comprehensive study for the application of these technologies adopting Chinese built environment is lacking which can relate to climate, energy storage and energy efficiency. The goal of this paper is to provide coherent picture of current status on PCM-based techniques that have been studied with the focus of application in China and analyse the selection and suitability of PCMs and techniques in Chinese regions. The results show that many PCMs and techniques are promising to be used in China however studies can be conducted with the consideration of changing climate rather than winter/summer only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it has been a consensus that the promotion of energy-saving technology plays a vital role in impelling the green transformation of economic development, the existing studies pay little attention to whether diversified technological sources present differentiated effects on energy-saving technological progress. Using the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) based on the translog production function, this paper estimates and compares the energy-saving technological progress rates of various industrial sub-sectors in China over 2001-2011. Furthermore, using the system generalized method of moments (SGMM), which is able to effectively control the endogeneity problem, we investigate the differentiated effects of six basic technological sources on energy-saving technological progress. The results show that although there are evident differences of energy-saving technological progress rates among different industrial sub-sectors, China's industrial energy-saving technological progress presents an overall improved trend. Among six primary technological sources, only the forward technological spillover effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the forced effect of competition have a significant positive impact on energy-saving technological progress, while the influences of backward and horizontal technology spillovers, original innovation, and leaning by exporting are all not significant. Moreover, industrial energy-saving technological progress shows an obvious path dependence propert, i.e., the previous high-level energy-saving technological progress has an evident positive impact on the current one. Accordingly, we propose that the Chinese government should encourage domestic industrial enterprises to learn and absorb advanced energy-saving technologies from foreign investment enterprises and by exporting products with more advanced technology content and added value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pumped storage power station (PSPS) is a special power source that has flexible operation modes and multiple functions. With the rapid economic development in China, the energy demand and the peak-valley load difference of the power grid are continuing to increase. Moreover, wind power, nuclear power, and other new energy sources also develop very fast. Developing the PSPS is of great importance to the power source structure adjustment, and the secure and stable operation of the power grids in China in the 21st century. This paper provides a survey of the PSPS development in China. Over the last two decades, China's PSPS has developed quickly. The PSPS installed capacity had reached 21.83 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2014, ranking among the top in the world. 27 PSPSs have been completed and put into production, and many with the installed capacity of more than 1200 megawatts (MW) are still under construction, including Fengning PSPS. In addition, a lot of sites suitable for the PSPS construction have been planned. With regard to the challenges existing in the exploitation course, some suggestions are proposed. There is a bright future for the PSPS development in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has a long history of utilizing biogas technology for the treatment of waste and the production of energy. This paper reviews the development and technology of the three types of biogas digesters used in China: household-scale digesters, biogas septic tanks, and biogas plants for the treatment of municipal, industrial, and agricultural waste. The structure of household-scale digesters is simple and practical; the basic type is the fixed-dome digester, also called the hydraulic digester. The biogas septic tank for sewage treatment is a combination of the traditional digester, an anaerobic filter, and a facultative filter. Biogas plants apply several different processes depending on the type of waste treated. The treatment of municipal waste biogas is conducted using the completely stirred tank rector (CSTR). The upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) is the most common technology used in the anaerobic treatment of industrial wastewater, followed by the CSTR and the anaerobic contact (AC) process. The treatment of agricultural waste mainly employs traditional hydraulic digesters, while newer biogas plants use advanced anaerobic processes such as CSTR and UASB as well as upflow solids reactors (USR) and upflow blanket filter (UBF) reactors. Biogas plants for agricultural waste are classified as small, medium, large and super large based on the scale of biogas production and digester volume. Although small-scale biogas plants are the most common, large-scale biogas plants produce the largest biogas output. With the changes associated with socio-economic development, the growth of household-scale digesters will slow down in the future. As central sewage treatment networks become more widespread, biogas septic tanks will be confined to villages and small towns. The development of biogas plants holds the most growth potential for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most populous provinces in China, Sichuan is also the most important regions for ecology protection and rural poverty alleviation in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The rural energy industry of Sichuan Province has a national ecological and political significance for reducing excessive utilization for fossil fuels, protecting ecosystem, fostering equal development for urban-rural economy. However, this industry of Sichuan remains to be deteriorated by multiple risks. Hitherto, risk management research on rural energy industry is rather limited. Therefore, according to the fault tree analysis and catastrophe model, this study has implemented a complete and comprehensive risk management procedure on rural energy industry of Sichuan Province based on data of 31 provinces ranging from 2008 to 2012 in China. Based on the fault tree analysis for risk identification, four categories of risks have been revealed: financial risks, service networks risks, energy provision risks as well as enterprises risks. Furthermore, 13 risk indicators have been identified because they have imposed negative impacts upon rural energy industry in Sichuan to a large extent. The catastrophe model for risk evaluation has presented that the risk value of Sichuan rural energy industry (A) reaches the highest risk level. Simultaneously, financial risks (M1), energy provision risks (M3), enterprises risks (M4) have also been ranked as the highest risk grade. The result of risk response indicates that X9 (poor construction for wind energy provision projects), X13 (low output values for energy-saving stoves and kangs production enterprises), M4 (enterprises risks) have the priorities for risk response. This paper suggests that it is urgent and paramount to establish an exclusive risk supervising center which can integrate government ministries, financial agencies, universities and research institutions, non-government organizations via joint participation and interactive communication in risk identification, risk evaluation, risk response as well as risk supervising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development that conceptually can be divided into the following parts: environmental, social and economic, is a pattern of resource use, which aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come in future. This paper is a comparative study on the socio-environmental sustainability in traditional courtyard houses in Iran and China, as two of the ancient civilizations in the world. The aim is to investigate the potential of traditional courtyard houses in responding to environmental challenges alongside social norms over a long period of time. To achieve this purpose, social and environmental dimensions of the sustainability as well as the main elements of traditional courtyard houses in Iran and China are identified. Then, the way these elements have contributed to the social and environmental sustainability of heritage settlements are described, analyzed, and compared through library and field survey studies. Results of this research show that Iranian and Chinese traditional courtyard houses were designed based on a careful attention to climatic requirements in their socio-cultural context, in order to provide both physical and mental comforts for residents. As conclusion, some socio-environmental design principles are extracted, as lessons learned from the past, which can be considered in designing of contemporary sustainable residential buildings in Iran and China. These design patterns, can be generalized to all cases with similar climatic conditions, in order to save more energy as well as enhancing social values in mentioned areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper systematically presents a survey of the empirical literature studying the embodied CO 2 emissions in China’s foreign trade (ECCT). Based on the bibliometric method and the online version of Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), this study summarizes the latest publications regarding ECCT in peer-reviewed journals in terms of quantities, most productive countries, institutions, authors, citations, and disciplines. By using synthetic analysis of keyword frequency, this study reveals the most popular methodologies applied in measuring ECCT, discusses the variation of numerical results in the literature, and reasons and countermeasures for the results uncertainties. Continuous investigation of the literature releases the methodology employed for measuring ECCT becoming more reasonable and the results more critical. However, the numerical results of ECCT are of great discrepancies within given year by different considerations on methodology specification, accounting principles, and data sources and processing. For instance, the estimates of CO 2 embodied in China’s exports changed from 478 Mt to over 3000 Mt and those of in China’s imports ranged from 140 Mt to over 1700 Mt in 2007. Therefore, overcoming data inherent limitations and reducing discrepancies among available databases should be urgently considered. The results imply that the prospective research tendencies on ECCT are to (1) improve China’s regional input-output data and energy intensity data to more precise estimates under global perspective; (2) estimate China’s carbon emission at firm level by different firm ownerships in production and consumption worldwide; (3) assess China’s carbon emission from processing or non-processing trade by compiling more detailed multi-regional input-output table; (4) evaluate city level carbon mitigation capacity in China under global MRIO model; (5) explore new carbon management experience in China’s carbon trading market and new trade expansion policy of ‘ one belt and one road’ in her new growth era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural household energy consumption is an important component of national energy consumption and plays an important role in rural social and ecological environment developments. In this paper, energy consumption of 1440 households in 8 typical counties of 8 China's economic zones was investigated. The investigation data analysis revealed significant difference of different economic zones in rural household energy consumption level and structure. For 8 studying counties, the annual average energy consumption per capita was 26.7 GJ, 10.4 GJ the lowest (Shanghang County) and 86.6 GJ the highest (Shulan County). In energy consumption, straw, biogas, fuel wood and electricity accounted for 44.33%, 23.13%, 12.79% and 9.61%, respectively. Rural families with high incomes preferred commercial energies (e.g. electricity and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)) to biomass energy (e.g. straw and fuel wood). The traditional biomass energy is still the main energy source for China's rural household. Research results provide references to understand current situations and future development of China's rural household energy consumption, and formulate related energy and environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has become the most important country in the development and implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. The CDM has brought an opportunity for the development of household biogas in rural China. The feasibility analysis, calculation methods and potential of emissions reduction, CDM project development process, problems and countermeasures of household biogas CDM projects in rural China are discussed in this paper. The results of our analysis indicated it's feasible to develop household biogas CDM projects in rural China. There are several constraints for household biogas CDM project development in rural China. These include a lack of CDM knowledge, scattered distribution of household biogas digesters, long CDM registration time, high investment costs and the problems of sustainable development of household biogas which include a shortage of raw materials, inefficient straw fermentation technology, and poor follow-up services. Also, training for managers and farmers should be strengthened. The construction of programmatic clean development mechanism (PCDM) needs to be promoted. The declaration process should be simplified and multi-channels financing must be found. Those measures should be taken to promote the sustainable development of household biogas: straw will replace animal manure as the main raw material of biogas; Farmer's need training in biogas digester operation and management; Establishment of Rural Biogas Service Station is needed to provide follow-up services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's transport sector is facing severe energy and environmental challenges. Establishing energy efficiency standards is an essential measure to cope with these challenges. This paper comprehensively reviews the energy efficiency standards in China's road, water, aviation, railway and pipeline transport sectors. Based on the review, it is suggested that (1) the integrity of policy framework should be further improved. Energy efficiency standards-based market access qualification mechanism is quite necessary for all transport sectors, especially the aviation, railway and pipeline transport sectors, where such mechanism is absent. (2) Efforts for improving energy efficiency should be balanced among different transport sectors. Priority should be determined by considering each sector's energy consumption, the cost and potential of energy efficiency improvement, etc. Especially, the major energy-consuming sectors, such as heavy-duty vehicles should have similar priority to passenger vehicles in the overall energy efficiency improvement scheme. (3) The scientific basis for the energy efficiency standards should be enhanced. Policies should be proposed with full considerations of China's context, rather than borrowing the experiences of developed countries. Intelligence from the research community should be incorporated to ensure the rationality of the policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to achieve the large-scale, long-distance and high-efficiency trans-regional electricity transmission, it is of significance to construct a strong and national smart grid with ultra-high voltage (UHV) transmission system as its backbone and the coordinated development of power grids at all levels, which will enhance the resources allocation capacity of grid, promote the large-scale integration into grid of renewable energy, and further mitigate the power shortage in eastern and southern China. This paper starts with the analysis of the regional grids' supply and demand situation in China, and then analyzes the development status and existing issues of China's trans-regional electricity transmission. Finally, strategies and recommendations are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of shale gas resources is expected to play an important role in China's projected transition to a low-carbon energy future. The question arises whether the availability of water could limit this development. The paper considers a range of scenarios to define the demand for water needed to accommodate China's projected shale gas production through 2020. Based on data from the gas field at Fuling, the first large-scale shale gas field in China, it is concluded that the water intensity for shale gas development in China (water demand per unit lateral length) is likely to exceed that in the US by about 50%. Fuling field would require a total of 39.9–132.9 Mm 3 of water to achieve full development of its shale gas, with well spacing assumed to vary between 300 and 1000 m. To achieve the 2020 production goal set by Sinopec, the key Chinese developer, water consumption is projected to peak at 7.22 Mm 3 in 2018. Maximum water consumption would account for 1% and 3%, respectively, of the available water resource and annual water use in the Fuling district. To achieve China's nationwide shale gas production goal set for 2020, water consumption is projected to peak at 15.03 Mm 3 in 2019 in a high-use scenario. It is concluded that supplies of water are adequate to meet demand in Fuling and most projected shale plays in China, with the exception of localized regions in the Tarim and Jungger Basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological protection project of substituting small hydropower for fuel (SSHF) in China is to consolidate the achievements of conceding the land to forestry and natural forest protection, solve the problems of the peasants' fuel and rural energy, protect the ecological environment, and promote the comprehensive development of rural economy and society. It is of great importance to the sustainable development of China in the 21st century. This paper provides a survey of substituting small hydropower for fuel in China. Over the last ten years, using small hydropower to replace the rural living fuel in China has resulted in great fruits. By the end of 2013, 252 SSHF projects had been completed in China, and the newly installed capacity of the SSHF power plants had reached 564 MW (MW). The demand of 1.593 million rural residents for living fuel and energy had been met in a long term, 6.29 million ac-res of the forest area had been protected, and the emission of a large amount of pollutants had been decreased. Moreover, many SSHF projects all over the country are still under construction. With regard to the challenges existing in the development course, some suggestions have been proposed. Implementation of the SSHF project will help realize the harmonious coexistence between human beings and the nature in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has become the world׳s largest country in steel production and consumption. Steel industry is one of the major high-polluting industries, and serious pollution problems have been caused by steel industry in China. In this paper, we first present a review of the development status and the emissions of China׳s steel industry. Then, the emission reduction measures of China׳s steel industry are analyzed. These measures include the overall actions on emission reduction in China and some actions on emission reduction of China׳s steel industry. Finally, suggestions in five aspects to further promote the emission reduction of China׳s steel industry are proposed and discussed, including eliminating backward steel production capacity, improving the legal system of emission control, strengthening government regulation, improving steel production technology and efficiency, and establishing the national carbon emission trading market of the steel industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While large-scale photovoltaic is regarded as a water saving generation technology, it comes with direct water consumption and embodied indirect water consumption associated with the manufacture of system equipment and building materials during construction. However, few studies have quantified the water consumptive use for photovoltaic generation from a life cycle perspective. In this context, this paper carefully calculated the life cycle water consumption for large-scale photovoltaic power generation in China and identified the hot spots in its supply chain. The results show the life cycle water consumption per kW installed capacity of large-scale photovoltaic plants is 20,419 L. Photovoltaic panel production and the Balance of System together make up over 85% of the total. The application of recycling technologies to the photovoltaic system is promised to cut down the total water consumption by another 13%. Then the water consumption intensity of large-scale photovoltaic power generation in China is presented at the provincial resolution in the range of 0.45–1.52 L/kWh, which is significantly lower than that of current power generation in China. In addition, considering the power generation structure in China in recent years, the water saving potential under the maximum photovoltaic scenario in China during the year 2015–2017 could reach 3.75%, 4.04%, and 4.27% of China's national water supply. Finally, the regional water stress index is also introduced to explore the influence of water consumption on locally available water resources. This study could enable policymakers to better relate the development of large-scale photovoltaics to water saving strategies. • A more updated and comprehensive LCA study for PV water consumption is conducted. • Under the landfilling scenario, the water consumption of PV plants is 20,419 L/kWp. • Replacing China's electricity supply with PV brings water saving potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]