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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]

As an important energy base of China, Xinjiang is the key part of the “Silk Road” economic belt development strategy and is in an superior position. This paper analyzes the problems exist in the sustainable energy industry based on the distribution status of sustainable resources of Xinjiang. The evaluation index system of the application level of Renewable Energy Systems (RESs) is discussed using the wind farm as an example. Besides it investigates the advantages and disadvantages of the development process of each node in the “Silk Road” economic belt areas according to the current situation of the resources, economic and social development. Suggestions for the development of each area are proposed in the end. This paper will contribute to the sustainable development of renewable energy industry and economy in Xinjiang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy demand in China has risen rapidly and reached an unprecedented level due to the high-speed economic growth and modern development. As a result, the Chinese government faces a growing pressure to address the energy shortage and environmental deterioration, mainly resulting from an over-dependence on fossil energy. China has become both the largest energy consumer and CO 2 emitting country in the world in 2015. Utilization of potential for renewable energy is necessary for changing inappropriate energy consumption structure, protecting environment and achieving sustainable economic and social development. In view of such mentioned situation, this paper firstly introduces the energy structure as well as the development status of renewable energy in China, which includes hydropower, wind power, solar power, biomass power and other renewable energy. Besides, based on the current situation in China, the paper makes a preliminary prediction of the development of renewable energy in the country for the future decades, and proposes targeted countermeasures and suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand-side management (DSM) is an effective means to construct low-carbon electricity system, improve energy efficiency and fastly enhance the sustainable development of economy. DSM in China has entered a period of rapid development. A series of policies and regulations related to DSM have been issued by some national ministries in China. However, some problems exist in the implementation of DSM. In view of that, the current situation of DSM development in China is analyzed in this paper from the three aspects of policies and regulations related to DSM, DSM organizational management and DSM development of representative regions. Following that, the challenges faced in DSM implementation are discussed and feasible measures are proposed based on the challenges. This paper is conducive to give impetus to the development of DSM in China. [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]

Abstract: With rapid urbanization and industrialization, China has become both the largest energy consumer and CO2 emitting country in the world. As a clean and low-carbon energy source, renewable energy is a good choice to substitute for the exhausted fossil energy. The Chinese central and local governments have made a series of policies and optimistic plans to promote a rapid development of renewable energies. China′s renewable energy development has become a key to the sustainable development of socio-economic system. Unlike most of the current studies which mainly identified the challenges regarding policies and technologies around renewable energy or performed specific analyses for a certain kind of renewable energy, this paper summarizes the spatial disparity and consistency among the major renewable energies, coal resources, energy consumption and its major influencing factors in China, and reviews the positive and negative environmental impacts of major renewable energies. Based on the geographical and environmental perspectives, this paper recommends that the Chinese government: constructs the national energy production bases according to the resource distribution; integrates different energies on the basis of their natural features and spatial consistency; adjusts the overall layout of socio-economic development consistent with renewable energies; and promotes a moderate renewable energy development to maximize the environmental benefits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Air pollution problems caused from the development of infrastructures are getting serious, in which air flow is reduced and heat is trapped among high-rise buildings. In order to mitigate these problems, various methods have been developed in previous studies. Extensive green roof has been identified as one of the most important means to mitigate these problems and implement sustainable development principles in the building features. Governments world-wide have been introducing various policies and regulations for promoting extensive green roof particularly for building projects. However, the existing buildings in many large cities such as Hong Kong display few extensive green roof features. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities with many high-rise buildings. This paper examines the major barriers encountered in promoting extensive green roof systems for the existing buildings in Hong Kong. Case study approach is adopted to investigate how and why the barriers can hinder the implementation of extensive green roof features. Research results show that lack of promotion and incentives from governments and the increase maintenance cost are identified as the top barriers to the implementation. The paper concludes by providing further suggestions and actions that can help mitigate these existing barriers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As a renewable energy, biogas is not only an important part of the development of rural new energy, but also an important aspect of sustainable development in China. The development process and present status of household biogas, specifically the opportunities and constraints of household biogas in rural China, are discussed in this paper. Only about 19% of the biogas potential has been utilized in rural China. There are several opportunities for household biogas development in rural China, including the problem of rural household energy consumption, the availability of biogas fermentation materials, national financial subsidies, legal and international clean development mechanisms. Also, more research needs to be done in straw fermentation and cold fermentation technology. Training should be conducted to raise the level of biogas customers in comprehensive biogas utilization. Measures should be taken to improve the follow-up services and management of biogas plants. The information presented in this paper will be helpful not only to the sustainable development of household biogas in rural China, but also to the development of biogas in similar countries around the world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

China has created the rapid development of the economy, but it has also negatively impacted the ecosystem. In China's affluent and innovative pearl river delta urban agglomeration (PRDUA), how to balance the relationship between economic development and environmental protection is related to the realization of local green development strategy. Consequently, to carry out green development more accurately and scientifically, the primary task is to conduct scientific research and judge the relationship among regional resources, environment, and economy. Therefore, it's of tremendous significance to study the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of the PRDUA, including resources and environmental factors. Combining the fixed Malmquist-Luenberger (ML) index and the slack based measure (SBM) model with undesirable output, this paper proposes a novel method, called slack based measure-Malmquist-Luenberger (SBM-ML) model, to measure GTFP. This method was used to measure the GTFP of the PRDUA from 2005 to 2018 and analyzes its changes from time and space dimensions. The results show that: from the perspective of time, the GTFP of all cities in the PRDUA increased in a wavelike increasing trend during the sample period, and the change of the annual average GTFP of the PRDUA can be roughly divided into four stages. From the perspective of space, the GTFP of Shenzhen has been at the top-level during the sample period. Meanwhile, the disparity of GTFP between cities in PRDUA becomes narrowing in the overall trend. Finally, according to the empirical results of the GTFP of the PRDUA, this paper puts forward targeted policy recommendations to facilitate greener development in the PRDUA. • GTFP of PRDUA region is measured by SBM-ML model combining ML index and SBM model. • GTFP of all cities in PRDUA increased in a wavelike increasing trend. • Change of the AAGTFP of PRDUA can be roughly divided into four stages. • GTFP of Shenzhen has been at the leading level during the sample period. • The disparity of GTFP between cities in PRDUA becomes narrowing in overall trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the great successes in improving rural electrification and reducing poverty, China's small hydropower (SHP) development is expected to provide a good example for other developing countries. However, recently, nearly all new SHP development plans have been halted, and many plants have been urged to shut down or even be removed. The SHP industry in China is now in a dilemma. This paper presents a review of the status of SHP development in China and explores the challenges troubling this industry. It was revealed that SHP resources in many provinces have been intensively exploited, with an exploration rate over 0.80, while untapped resources are primarily located in remote western provinces, such as ecologically fragile Tibet. This intensive and disordered SHP development has caused serious dewatering of rivers and affected local agricultural and household water access, which arouses fierce controversy. Moreover, the role of SHP has been gradually weakened by the extension of power grids and diversified electricity sources. Therefore, the transition and upgrade of the SHP industry has become critical to enhance its sustainable development and to provide a solid example for the world. A divergence management strategy for SHP should be adopted to achieve low-impact development, as opposed to blind large-scale development or rigidly discontinuing all projects. Future transition strategies are proposed in this paper that include delicate management of existing plants and construction of new plants with higher standards, as well as pathways for the development benefits to be shared by a wider range of local residents. • This study investigated the history and status quo of SHP development in China. • SHP resources in most provinces are intensively developed except some western areas. • Growing challenges that trouble the SHP industry in China were identified. • Future transition strategies for the SHP industry in China were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive design strategies are important for achieving building sustainability given their proved influences over the building performance in both energy and indoor environmental aspects. The building layout, envelope thermophysics, building geometry and infiltration & air-tightness are major passive architectural parameters to improve the building energy efficiency. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review on simulation-based approaches to optimize passively designed buildings is conducted and corresponding research gaps are identified. Based on existing research methods, modelling experiments on a generic building are conducted to integrate robust variance-based sensitivity analyses with an early-stage design optimization process. Proposed mixed-mode ventilation and lighting dimming control algorithms are applied to the EnergyPlus model to simulate the total lighting and cooling energy demands by incorporating the related design criteria in a local green building assessment scheme. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is then coupled with the modelling experiment to obtain the Pareto frontier as well as the final optimum solution. Different settings of NSGA-II are also investigated to improve the computational efficiency without jeopardizing the optimization productivity. Furthermore, the sensitivity of optimum design solutions to external environmental parameters in hot and humid areas are explored. Findings from this study will guide decision-makers through a holistic optimization process to fulfill energy-saving targets in a passively designed green building. [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]

Climate change and global warming have become severe environmental issues of global concern, and many countries have promulgated renewable energy development planning to achieve the targets of carbon emission reduction and sustainable development. Accelerating the development of renewable energy technology innovation is one of the major measures to stimulate the utilization of renewable resources. This paper analyzes the impact of renewable energy technology innovation on carbon intensity in 30 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2015. Using the recent panel estimation methods that take cross-section dependence and slope heterogeneity into account, the results show that for every 1% increase in the innovation level of renewable energy technology, carbon intensity was significantly reduced by 0.051%. Specifically, renewable energy technology innovation does not affect carbon intensity in the short term. But in the long term, the influences are negative and significant. Moreover, the environmental benefits are most evident in eastern China, while there is no significant influence on the western regions. Finally, this paper provides some policy implications to further discuss the impetus of renewable energy technology innovation. • Renewable energy technology innovation can significantly reduce carbon intensity. • The influences of renewable energy technology innovation will change over time. • There exist differences in the innovation effects in different Chinese regions. [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]

Buildings consume large amounts of energy and resources and have a significant impact on environment. In 2010 buildings accounted for 32% of total global final energy use and 19% of energy-related GHG emissions. This energy use and related emissions may double or potentially even triple by mid-century. China is the world's largest energy consumer and CO 2 emitter. With the process of urbanization, China has been entering into a period of great prosperity for construction, about 1.6–2.0 billion m 2 buildings are constructed each year, which accounts for about 40% of the world's total new buildings. It is predicted that China’s building energy use and related emissions will continue to increase over the next 15 years. Therefore, promoting green building development has become an urgent issue in China. However, green building is a highly complicated system engineering, its promotion needs evaluation standards as technical support. Many countries had issued a series of green building evaluation standards since 1990. Currently, there are some representative green building assessment schemes. Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) has been fully implemented as the national authoritative standard of the UK since 2010. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) developed by the USA, was revised and updated regularly with the latest version issued in 2013. China enacted its national evaluation standard for green building in 2006, and revised the standard in 2014. Based on introducing the latest evaluation standards for green buildings in China, Britain and United States, the paper compared these standards from 5 aspects including energy-saving, water-saving, material-saving, site selection and the outdoor and indoor environmental quality. The comparison mainly focuses on evaluation methods and evaluation indicators in the three standard systems. Besides, the characteristics of each standard system were summarized and some suggestions for improving China’s evaluation standard for green building were proposed. [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]

Renewable energy is believed to be the central issue in sustainable development. Literatures on renewables׳ costs are rather sparse, especially on costs of integration and system balancing. The objective of this paper is to fill the research gap by providing an assessment for the cost of China׳s grid-connected renewable energy development and analyze its sharing between different stakeholders. Due to China׳s pricing mechanism of renewable energy and their cost decreasing potential, the pricing model of feed-in tariff and dynamic technological learning processes are employed. In the estimation of purchasing cost, the positive bias is overcome by considering China׳s energy-saving dispatching policy. The results suggest that purchasing cost would be 32.57–40.80 billion Yuan over 2012–2020, and peak in 2017. Grid integration costs which further involve costs of grid infrastructure and system balancing are also investigated. We find that grid infrastructure will cost 27.88 billion Yuan by 2015 and soar to 45.32 billion by 2020, while system balancing will cost 31.49 billion Yuan in 2015 and 63.97 billion Yuan in 2020 among which a substantial part (over 60%) comes from electricity loss in energy transfer. The different parts of these costs are underwritten by disparate participants due to China׳s renewable energy policies and its institutional arrangement. Purchasing cost is shared by power consumers through RES; the cost of grid infrastructure is mainly covered by grid enterprises; and there is no mechanism to specify how to share the cost electricity loss during system balancing which might become a major obstacle for system balancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground source heat pump (GSHP) facilitates the efficient utilization of renewable energy sources and energy conservation, and it is expected to be more prevalent in the future for the great potential to substitute the use of renewable energy for burning of fossil fuels. As we all know, groundwater heat pump (GWHP) and aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) are typical forms in the area of GSHP and underground thermal energy storage (UTES) respectively. The effect of energy conservation plays an important role in the national energy strategy, but the groundwater environment has been affected and even damaged to some extent because of over-exploitation and unreasonable utilization. This paper reviewed the development from GWHP to ATES worldwide, especially in China and surveyed the situation of groundwater utilization from GWHP. It shows that lack of cognitive ability, scientific constraints and reasonable utilization may bring catastrophic damage to the groundwater resource. Future work should aim at more research on basic problems during the demonstration of applications, such as thermal interaction between pumping and injecting wells, energy transport in the field of well, groundwater contamination, etc. In fact, the characteristics and performance of unsteady and transient heat transfer in the complex underground environment of multi-wells, and their control strategies of the GWHP and ATES systems have been also the most pressing problems. Their explorations and studies will strengthen the theoretical and practical understanding, and guide an orderly, healthy and sustainable development from GWHP to ATES technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid growing number of automobiles, new energy vehicle is becoming one of approaches to mitigate the dependence of the auto industry on petroleum so as to reduce pollutant emissions. The Chinese government has promulgated a number of policies from the perspectives of industrial development, development plans, demonstration projects, fiscal subsidies and tax incentives with an aim to promote the new energy vehicle industry. This paper presents a comprehensive and critical review of the policy framework for new energy vehicles. The analysis shows that electric vehicle has been assigned a top priority in the future development of the automobile industry in China. Policy guidance and planning has played a vital role to the growth of new energy vehicle industry. However, this industry faces significant challenges related to technologies, industrial chain and social factors. Some core technologies are still in its infancy. Similarly, the market share of new energy vehicles is very small in spite of the preferential policies. The construction of supporting facilities and infrastructures has to be accelerated in order to accommodate the growing demands. There is a long way to go for the industrialization and popularization of new energy vehicles in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing biogas capacity is a key pillar in China’s rural sustainable development program. The very dynamic transition of the rural socio-economic platform on which the current biogas development strategy has been based will require significant adjustments in material, technology and supply. The changes of socio-economic status, the problems of resent state and prospects of rural biogas development in China, including fermentation material, fermentation technology, development model and comprehensive utilization of biogas, are discussed in this paper. The results of our analysis indicated the full use of straw as a raw material will be the direction of biogas development in China. Dry methane fermentation will become an important method in the large scale production of biogas from agricultural wastes. The central supply model is the future biogas development model in rural China. It is with broad market and great potential to produce commercial fertilizer from biogas residue. Using biogas to generate electricity has become a new and efficient way to use biogas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, renewable energy plays a vital role in the sustainable development of a society. In China, renewable energy power has developed rapidly since the implementation of Renewable Energy Act. Through a series of specific incentive measures, especially subsidy policies, China's renewable energy power has made great achievements both in technology and application. Based on the state-of-the-art of renewable energy power, this paper comprehensively analyzed the costs and benefits of renewable energy power subsidy in China. The analysis results show the cost of renewable energy power subsidy was 0.248 CNY/kWh between 2006 and April 2011, which was distributed among different renewable energy power types (including wind power, biomass power, and solar PV power) or categories (including electricity price, accessing-grid projects, and public independent renewable energy power system). On the other hand, the renewable energy power subsidy also brings benefits to different aspects of the society. Specifically, the environmental benefit amounted to 17.88 billion CNY, and the benefits of guaranteeing energy security, advancing technology innovation and promoting economic development were also noteworthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Energy is the basis of social development. Practices show that national and regional economic development speed and degree are more obviously depending on the construction of modern energy supply support system. As one of the biggest developing countries of the world, the remarkable achievement of China during the last three decades is inseparable with the powerful support for energy. Nevertheless, the limitations of resource distribution and exploitation make the sustainable development of China's energy supply face numerous challenges. This paper reviews the evolution process of China's energy supply and demand pattern, analyzes from two dimensions: time and space, further puts forward the upcoming problems that may occur during the long-term, stable and sustainable development. Finally, several suggestions are proposed from the aspects of matching policy support, structure adjustment and layout optimization, which provide theoretical reference and practical guidance for the comprehensive management of the sustainable energy supply and demand development of China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Due to the rapid economic and social development, China''s power generation mix is dominated by thermal power, resulting in rapid growth of CO2 emission during the past decades. Suffering from the two severe problems of energy crisis and global warming, power generation mix should be optimized by installing more new energy during China''s 12th and 13th Five-Year Plan periods. In order to realize the massive utilization of new energy and realize emission reduction targets in the future, it is of great significance for China to promote development of large new energy bases such as hydropower, wind power, solar power, nuclear power etc. In this paper we provide an overall review of China''s large new energy bases development with a detailed presentation of construction status and future plan, analyze the policy problems and technology barriers hindering the development of new energy bases in China, which will provide sound reference for policy makers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Renewable Energy Law has been formulated by China government in 2005. During the next few years, there has been dramatic progress in China''s renewable energy industries, along with the formation of the policy system of renewable energy in China. It is widely recognized that a reasonable and effective policy system can lay the solid foundation for the development of renewable energy. Regarding the rapid growth of renewable energy with a host of relevant policies issued in China, there is an urgent need to study the policy system of renewable energy in view of the latest situations to further promote the development of renewable energy. This paper is a systematical review about the promotion of China''s policy system of renewable energy since Renewable Energy Law issued. Achievements on the policy system of renewable energy in 2011 as of 2005 are discussed. Experiences from recent periods are drawn and factors limiting the policy system of renewable energy are also addressed in details to probe the policy predicament and solutions. The development tendency of renewable energy is presented and the framework is drafted to set the framing constraints for China''s policy system of renewable energy. Finally, policy suggestions are proposed for the successful implementation of renewable energy policies within the framing constraints of the policy system and the long-term healthy development of renewable energy in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China is facing a number of challenges such as electricity supply shortages, excessive consumption of fossil fuels and environmental pollution. As a renewable energy, wind power plays a vital role in mitigating these issues. With its unique geographical location and rich resources, China has produced a wind power industry that has achieved rapid growth. However, the complex Chinese market environment presents significant challenges to the industry. This research has adopted a strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis approach to examine both the internal and external factors that affect the competitiveness of the wind power industry in China. An extensive and critical review of a wide range of literature (including academic papers, industry reports, statistical data, relevant regulations and policy documents) was conducted. As a result, 19 factors were identified. These factors form part of an integrated framework that provides a useful tool for both policy makers and industry to gain a better understanding of what affects the sustainable development of the wind power industry in China. The results also provide a useful reference for foreign firms that intend to explore the Chinese wind power market. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In order to realize the sustainable development of country and society, many countries have established their renewable energy law and development strategy no matter developed countries or developing countries. It is well known that China is the largest developing country in the world, and the per capita GDP ranks more than 100, however, the total GDP ranks the second due to the huge population amount, and just behind USA. Certainly, the total energy consumption amount is huge, and the big energy demand has brought a serious of environmental problems such as acid rain, water and soil pollution, and resource exhaustion, etc. Fortunately, China central government has regarded the serious question to realize the sustainable development in future. The renewable energy law has been established in 2005. Firstly, China''s energy situation and existing environmental questions in past years is introduced in this paper. Secondly, the distribution and the application practice of different renewable energy were introduced. Then, China''s renewable energy policy is detailed introduced in the following section. The next section discusses the existing questions. Based on these discussions, the development barriers and recommendations are introduced, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper employs the structural vector autoregressions framework and the generalized impulse response function to study the long-term dynamic relation between China''s energy consumption and sustainable economic growth. In addition to the conventional economic indicators (GDP growth rates), genuine savings rates are particularly examined to indicate sustainable economic development. Results show that the high elasticity of energy consumption dramatically undermines the capacity of China''s sustainability in terms of reducing genuine savings rates. We also use variance decomposition to calculate relative variance contribution rates, in order to identify the most important factor affecting GDP growth as well as genuine savings rates. The analysis finds that clean and renewable energy increase the country''s genuine savings significantly. That is, renewable energy consumption promotes sustainable development for both natural and economic societies. However, increase in traditional solid energy consumption is more likely to benefit only the growth of GDP. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The steady and maintainable energy supply for human development provides the strong motivation, which is necessary to every country in the whole world. The high strength carbon emissions has brought great harm to the earth since industrialization before hundreds of years, and the global warming and extreme weather cause humans to develop low-carbon economy. Low-carbon economy has become a consensus of the entire human race no matter developed countries or developing countries, which is the combination of the lifestyle changing and production structure basic changing and technical innovation. It is well known that China is the largest developing country in the world. With the rapid industrialization of country, energy demand of Chinese society is increasing in an incredible speed, China has become the second largest energy consumer and the first carbon emissions country at present. Furthermore, Chinese energy structure and production methods are very inappropriate, which cannot guarantee the sustainable development of China in future, and therefore actively developing low-carbon economy is the only road to realize China''s economic development mode change and sustainable development, which is supported by central government and local governments. Low carbon economy for China is not only an opportunity but also a great challenge. Firstly, this paper discusses the current situation of energy supply and energy structure in China. Secondly, current situation of units’ energy consumption in China is discussed. Thirdly, some application practices of low carbon are described, such as low carbon traffic, low carbon city, and low carbon village. Then, the policies and law of China central government and local governments are described in the following paragraphs. At the end, the developmental prospect of low carbon economy in future China and the development barriers and recommendations are introduced, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper firstly presents an overview of wind energy potential in China and discusses the features of small wind power system deployment. Then it reviews the current status of small wind power development in China. The future perspectives of and barriers to small wind power development in China are predicted and analyzed. Finally some policies for promoting small wind power development in China are recommended. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of small wind power in China and some insights into the prospects of small wind power market in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With the largest population living in rural areas, the lack of clean energy supply is an important problem in China, and the utilization of renewable energy not only meets the demand of energy, but also provides a basis for environmental protection and sustainable development. This paper reviews use of clean energy in a resource-rich region, including the basic principle of the development of recycling agriculture, the potential, the present status and the future of renewable energy in the region rural areas. If the project will be finished, there will be 300,000 families benefiting from it and it can bring at least 2.2×108 US dollars revenue increase directly, the indirect revenue increase will be 0.15billion US dollars, the environment will be improved and the living standard in Jincheng''s rural areas is also be greatly improved because of developing biogas project. Based on the developing status and constraint conditions, the solutions to further promote renewable energy projects in this region are also proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The need to energy conservation and sustainable development in buildings is causing a new interest towards passive solar systems. Among them, double-skin facade (DSF) proves to be extremely attractive and promising. DSF is building envelope formed by two layers of different glazing facades which are separated by a ventilated air cavity. The cavity of DSF is used to collect or evacuate the solar radiation absorbed by the facades, thereby improving the thermal comfort and the indoor air quality while conserving energy for heating and cooling. Being a technique developed for colder climates, DSF has been widely applied in commercial buildings across Europe. Nowadays buildings with DSF also appear in the hot-summer and cold-winter zone in China where the weather conditions in summer seem to be not so good for the application. In fact, the thermal analysis of the DSF system is essential to its application in such hot-summer zone. This paper seeks to describe the existing main research methods on the thermal performance of DSF and the shading devices. Problems and possibilities are concomitant. Applying ventilated DSF with controlled shading device system would be a new efficient way for the commercial buildings in the hot-summer and cold-winter zone to meet the task of sustainable building design in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Energy plants play an important role in the development of bioenergy. In the world, there are many kinds of energy plants, but they are not utilized sufficiently. In the current paper, we discussed the situation of the research and development of traditional energy plants and some new energy plants in the world. At the same time, we focused on the distribution of some special energy plants and discussed their advantages in China. At last, we provided some suggestions for developing global energy plant field. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The steady and maintainable electric power provides the development momentum of a country''s industrialization, which is indispensable to every country at present. It is well known that China is the largest developing country in the world. With the rapid development of economy and society, energy demand of Chinese society is increasing in an incredible speed, i.e., the annual accumulative total capacity of electric energy is about 0.1 billion kW, and the most of them is provided by the fossil fuel resource, and the share is about 90% in China. Certainly, it is a very inappropriate energy structure, so the sustainable development of country is impossible in future, the status must be improved in order to achieve sustainable development. Fortunately, China has large country area, and there are abundant solar resources. Development and application of solar energy have been regarded by the government and ordinary people, and they thought that solar energy can provide more and more electric energy in future, and more and more actual examples have been applied in the last decades, which are supported by central government and local governments. This paper discusses the distribution zone and current developmental situation of solar energy in China. Then, some application practice is described, such as solar energy greenhouse, solar energy hearth, solar water heater, solar lighting system, solar water pump, distributed generation (DG), grid-connect photovoltaic generation (GPG) and wind–solar hybrid system. The policies and law of China central government and local governments are described in the following paragraph. At the end, the developmental prospect of photovoltaic (PV) in future China and the development barriers and recommendations are introduced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: More than 1300 GW new generating capacity will be added in China''s power sector over the period 2005–2030 under the BAU scenario in , even higher than the total installed capacity in the United States to date. China’s industrial and service sectors are expected to maintain rapid development rate over the next decades, driving up the demand for electric power and heat. However, China’s power and industrial process heat generation are heavily relying upon coal-fired thermal power plants resulting in tremendous rise in greenhouse gas emissions. Clean technology such as concentrating solar thermal (CST) needs to play a more important role in power and heat generation in China to accelerate the decarbonisation in the power sector and commercial and industrial process heat generation cost-effectively. This paper attempts to explore the opportunity and challenge of development and deployment of CST in China from both technical and socioeconomic analysis perspectives. It is argued that rapid deployment of CST in China will contribute to enabling sustainable energy supply and environmental securities, as well as improved economic performance in new technology innovation in Asia Pacific area over the next decades. Supportive policy framework should be set up to encourage scaling up CST industry. The success of deployment of CST technology will also allow Chinese power and heat generators to strengthen their competitiveness in the context of intensified global constraint of carbon emissions. Institutional innovation and policy instruments for scaling up this technology and the enabling conditions of successful implementation are also investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hong Kong is located in a typical subtropical region. The buildings in Hong Kong are subjected to high cooling demands for their air-conditioning systems throughout most of the year, and their contribution toward the total energy consumption is about 40%. Therefore, energy efficiency in buildings is essential to reduce the global energy use and improve the local environmental sustainability. This paper provides an overall review of the building energy research and efforts in Hong Kong over the last decade. Various aspects and energy saving measures, including energy policy, energy audit, design, control, diagnosis, building performance evaluation and renewable energy systems, studied or used to enhance the energy efficiency in buildings are reviewed. A brief introduction of the Hong Kong Building Energy Codes (BEC) and Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method (HK-BEAM) are also provided to present the efforts of the local government and community on energy efficiency in buildings. This review aims at providing building researchers and practitioners a better understanding of buildings energy saving opportunities and approaches in cities particularly in subtropical regions and taking further proper actions to promote buildings energy efficiency and conservation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hydropower is a clean and renewable energy source. Considering the economic, technical and environmental benefits of hydropower, most countries give priority to its development. China has the richest hydro resources on the planet with a total theoretical hydropower potential of 694GW. Developing hydropower is of great importance to alleviate the energy crisis and environmental pollution resulting from the rapid economic growth of China in the 21st century. This paper provides a survey of hydropower development in China. Over the last five decades, China’s hydropower has developed quickly. The installed capacity of hydropower is 145.26GW presently. Some large hydropower plants have been in operation and many are still under construction, including the Three Gorges Project (TGP) and pumped-storage power stations. Small hydropower development accelerates rural electrification of this country. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Limited fossil resources and severe environmental problems require new sustainable electricity generation options, which utilize renewable energies and are economical in the meantime. Concentrating solar power (CSP) generation is a proven renewable energy technology and has the potential to become cost-effective in the future, for it produces electricity from the solar radiation. In China, the electricity demand is rapidly increasing, while the solar resources and large wasteland areas are widely available in the western and northern part of China. To change the energy-intensive and environment-burdensome economical development way, Chinese government supports the development of this technology strongly. These factors altogether make China a suitable country for utilizing CSP technology. In this paper, the potential of CSP in China was studied and strategies to promote development of this technology were given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The local biomass resources have been used in rural China for quite a long time, which has a close connection with and will inevitably affect the environment. In recent years, China has experienced rapid economic growth and equally rapid increases in energy use, especially commercial energy, in rural areas. As a result, energy induced environmental degradation has also increased in rural China. This paper discusses the relationship between China’s rural energy and its sustainable development. It brings forward the index system for appraising the sustainable development of rural energy (SDRE), calculates the weighing of each index with analytic hierarchy process (AHP), puts forward the quantification method and provides the basis for the research of the rural energy for sustainable development in different areas and periods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]