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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]

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]

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]

In the context of carbon neutrality, renewable energy, especially wind power, solar PV and hydropower, will become the most important power sources in the future low-carbon power system. Since wind power and solar PV are specifically intermittent and space-heterogeneity, an assessment of renewable energy potential considering the variability of wind power and solar PV with high temporal resolution in different regions will facilitate more accurate identification of the decarbonization pathway of power system. In this paper, the complementary output potential of wind-solar-hydro power every 15 min in 31 Chinese provinces is evaluated by developing a multi-objective optimization model based on Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II. The results show that the total annual complementary power generation potential in China is 17.57 PWh, of which the three components account for 47.8%, 25.3% and 26.9%, respectively. Inner Mongolia and Tibet are the major renewable energy source provinces with annual complementary power generation potential of 5330 TWh and 3907 TWh, accounting for 30.3% and 13.7% of the total power generation potential, respectively. The temporal potential of wind-solar-hydro power varies greatly, with daily potential is more volatile than monthly. Seasonal and spatial heterogeneity of the complemental renewable potential makes some provinces suffer power shortage during long-hours period especially in winter. Our findings will encourage a higher penetration of renewable energy, the promotion of multi-energy complementarity, and the development of inter-provincial power transmission and energy storage infrastructure in China's future power sector. • A multi-objective wind-solar-hydro complementary optimization model is developed. • Electricity supply and demand have gaps at different temporal and spatial scales. • Wind-solar-hydro complementary potential shows great temporal and spatial variation. • Renewable complementarity can improve China's future power system stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the global environmental pollution and fossil energy shortage problems getting increasingly serious, renewable energy sources (RES) are drawing more and more attention. In China, RES are experiencing rapid development. However, because of the randomness of RES and the volatility of power output, energy storage technology is needed to chip peak off and fill valley up, promoting RES utilization and economic performance. So to speak, energy storage is the precondition of large-scale integration and consumption of RES. However, China's energy storage industry is at the exploration stage and far from commercialization. This restricts the development of RES to certain extent. For this reason, this paper will concentrate on China's energy storage industry. First, it summarizes the developing status of energy storage industry in China. Then, this paper analyzes the existing problems of China's energy storage industry from the aspects of technical costs, standard system, benefit evaluation and related policies. Finally, solutions are proposed based on the above problems to promote the sound development of China's energy storage industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water shortage can constrain energy development and use, and climate change partially caused by energy consumption can profoundly affect the quantity and distribution of water resources worldwide. The chronic water shortage in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region of China is likely to worsen under the impact of global climate change. The coal-dominated electricity sector will continuously have a high water demand. This reality will intensify the dilemma between water supply and power generation. This paper presents an adaptability analysis of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region in 2013–2030 based on the current situation. Water evaluation and planning and long-range energy alternative planning systems are used to simulate changes in water and energy systems, respectively, and the impacts on the electricity sector under two climate scenarios and three development scenarios. On this basis, this study explores the potential of power structure adjustment and technological advancement in easing baseline water stress and promoting sustainable development in the region. Findings show that the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region is under high water stress, which will be aggravated under global climate change. In representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios, the baseline water stress of the region in 2017–2030 averages 259% and 494%, and the annual unmet water demand reaches 15.3 and 21.1 billion m 3 , respectively. In the renewable energy and advanced technology scenarios, the regional water savings are expected to reach 200–250 million m 3 by 2030. The unmet water demand of power generation can be alleviated to some extent, but the water shortage trend cannot be reversed. Therefore, the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region should develop an overall plan and layout of energy and water resources and adopt a combination of policy instruments to support the expansion of renewable energy or promote advanced power generation technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of China׳s installed wind power capacity in recent years is closely related to the wind energy policies issued by the Chinese government. Using content analysis and quantitative analysis methods, this paper studies the historical evolution of Chinese wind energy policies. Based on 72 wind energy policies issued in the past two decades (1995–2014), this paper analyzes the issuing organization, form, number and stringency of wind energy policies and compares different policy instruments in two periods. The results show that the number and stringency of wind energy policies fluctuated greatly from 1995 to 2014 and that more than twenty organizations had independently or jointly issued the policies. The main organization issuing wind energy policies, however, is the department that controls key economic and administrative resources and not the one that is in charge of wind energy. Of the 72 policies issued, twenty-three took the form of notices, and eleven were measures. As to the policy instrument, environmental policies are most widely applied by the Chinese government, and “regulation control” and “goal-planning” instruments are the ones most frequently adopted. Furthermore, the application of supply- and demand-type policies is inadequate, and few effective instruments have been adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its promising benefits in energy and environment, distributed energy system (DES) has increasingly attracted extensive attention worldwide. The application of DES has been increased rapidly in recent years with the supportive government policies and financial incentives. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically summarize and analyze the development status of DES in China. This paper not only presents researches, applications and policies, but provides some relevant suggestion and prospects on DES of China. DES especially the hybrid energy system that gas-fired combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) with renewable energy (solar and wind) will become the mainstream of future energy supply technologies in China. The paper will be helpful for international stakeholders in energy field to have better understanding on the progress of DES in China, which will benefit them in two aspects: one is that the Chinese situation will be a reference for their own countries or regions to develop energy policy and technology regarding DES, another is that they may be helped to find opportunities in Chinese market, while to contribute to Chinese DES development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasingly severe global environmental problems and the decrease of the storage of the fossil energy, renewable energy sources (RES) are drawing more and more attention. In China, renewable energy generation (REG) is experiencing a rapid development; however, its investment, transmission and management remain immature and deficient compared with those of the developed countries. First, this paper summarises the developing situation of REG in China through taking the booming wind power and photovoltaic power as examples, indicating that the grid connection rate of REG has yet to be improved. Then, this paper focuses on the grid connection management mode of REG in China which includes the following aspects: operation management, organisation management and grid connection incentive policy. Third, based on the above research, this paper analyses the existing problems of the grid connection management mode of REG. Finally, a coordinated management mechanism is proposed to solve the problems impeding large-scale grid connection of REG in China, including the coordinated management mechanism of integrated planning and transmission. [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]

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]

To cope with tunnel frost damage, studies on prevention methods are routinely conducted to improve environmental protection and energy saving. Based on field investigations, the main available thermal insulation methods and their application are discussed and analysed in this paper. The results show that passive measures, such as a thermal insulation layer or door, cannot completely avoid frost damage. Construction investment of the electric heat tracing (EHT) system is lower at the early stage, but a large investment in operation and pollution problems are needed in the later period. As renewable, clean and environmentally friendly primary energy, geothermal energy can realize energy-saving and emission-reduction. Furthermore, our research team proposed the optimization design method for tunnel heat insulation and anti-freezing by using geothermal energy and presented the challenges for future applications of the ground-source heat pump (GSHP) system in tunnels. The results regarding energy conservation from this review can provide useful technical support in design, operation and management of tunnels in cold regions. [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]

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]

China's major development and construction in utilization of tidal energy resources are concentrated in the area of Zhejiang Province. The development of tidal barrage in Zhejiang Province presented the ebb and flow trends. This paper introduced the resource status of tidal energy in Zhejiang Province. The five development stages of tidal barrage technology and the profiles of tidal power plant (TPP) in operation were reviewed, and problems and experiences were discussed. Some available future works for the development of tidal barrage were also proposed. The direction of utilizing tidal potential energy in the future is to update the generating units, improve construction skills and run optimization of operation in order to reduce costs and mitigate the impact on the environment. Actively exploring construction methods of medium to large-scale of TPPs are helpful to accelerate the utilization of tidal energy resources in Zhejiang Province and coastal areas in China. [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]

Abstract: With the largest population living in countryside, the carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from rural energy consumption is a serious problem in China. The full development and utilization of renewable energy is the key and effective way for solving the CO2 emissions problem. This paper reviews the rural energy consumption level and structure in China. Then, this paper discusses the potential for renewable energy development as well as its CO2 emissions reductions in rural areas. Results show that if full development and utilization of renewable energy is achieved, on the basis of energy data in 2008, China's rural energy consumption and even 2.2 times of that can be supplied by 100% carbon-free energy resources (which do not contain the biomass energy) without considering economic and technical constraints, and 2.4 times of that can be provided by renewable energy. Moreover, to evaluate the application priority, cost-effectiveness of each renewable energy resource is analyzed. Based on the characteristics of renewable energy resources, new promotional strategies to ensure the full development and utilization of renewable energy in rural China are also presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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: Solar energy represents the largest source of renewable energy and is thus expected to play a crucial role in meeting our future energy demand. In China, solar energy utilization has made remarkable progress in recent years. In this paper, we reviewed the recent developments in the field of solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation from the perspective of transition theory, which was originally developed by technological innovation studies. The transition studies propounded three heuristic levels in a system, namely, socio-technical landscape, regime, and niche, and a transition of a system can only be fulfilled through the interactions among these three levels. With respect to the development of solar PV power generation in China, in this paper we initially examined specific situations within these three levels in the context of energy transition. In the subsequent sections, we paid attention to the response of government in promoting the solar PV development amid energy transition. Specifically, relevant policies and some niche level special programs were investigated. Then, we examined the phased achievements in the transition and offered solutions to some newly emerged problems. The final section concludes with some comments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyzed the interactions among China’s economic growth and its energy consumption, air emissions and air environmental protection investment during 2000–2007. Conventional energy and emergy are applied to quantify energy consumption and emissions’ impact, respectively. The five indicators based on money, energy and emergy, including ratio of nonrenewable energy to renewable energy (RNR), energy use per unit GDP (EUPG), environmental cost per unit GDP (ECPG), impact of emissions per unit energy consumption (IEPEC), and environmental benefit per unit environmental protection investment (EBPEI), are presented to depict the relationships among economic growth and energy consumption and impact of air emissions and air environmental protection investment. The results show that energy consumption rapidly rises with China’s fast economic growth; however, energy efficiency and environmental loading intensity from energy consumption are reduced simultaneously but their improvements fall far behind economic growth rate. Impact of air emissions, mainly composed of impact of emissions on human health (especially dust), is slightly decreased. The performance of air environmental protection investment is obviously declined in the study period. Generally speaking, the conflict among economy, energy and air environment protection is slightly mitigated but still acute due to great dependence of China’s economy on fossil energy and inefficient environmental protection measures. Finally, this paper discusses the corresponding issues, and then puts forward some related suggestions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]

This paper studies the development of renewable energy in China by examining the driving force of environment quality, regulation and employment on renewable energy generation. We adopt renewable energy as a metric for environment quality, and test the relationship between renewable energy and income using Environment Kuznets Curve (EKC) theories. The impact of employment on renewable energy is tested, and dummy variables are used to indicate when the regulation was in effect. The results show that there exists a quadratic relationship between renewable energy and income. But the results fail to provide that the renewable energy generation is a job creator when the lagged unemployment rate is included as an explaining variable. We consider the employment population, and the finding shows that the employment can promote the development of renewable energy. The regulation has significantly positive impacts on renewable energy. The interaction of income and employment show that along with the income increases, the impacts of employment on renewable energy decrease. Our findings are helpful for government to figure out the determinants for rising the renewable energy generation, and take efficient measures to promote its development. [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]

This work introduces a grid-connected island microgrid in China, Luxi Microgrid, with a flexible system structure and a hierarchical control framework. To solve the low reliability issue of original electricity supply on island caused by insufficient generation and transmission capacity, a novel renewable energy system with battery energy storage was proposed in this paper. Dual-microgrid structure is adopted for the new island microgrid to provide flexible and reliable electricity services, based on 24 switching processes among 8 system configurations. The test results demonstrate that the proposed system provides seamless switching and uninterrupted power supply through the use of high voltage fast transfer switch and matched mode switching strategy. Moreover, hierarchical control framework is developed for the implement of flexible and reliable control concept, which consists of three layers: the monitoring and dispatch layer, the coordination control layer and the local control layer. The operational data are also brought forth and analyzed to provide significant and useful experiences for designing and developing similar microgrids in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing carbon emissions and managing the aging crisis represent two major challenges in China that involve various requirements for continued economic growth. This paper investigated the relationships between population factors and carbon emissions and further explored the impact of population aging on carbon emissions at the national and regional levels based on the STIRPAT model and provincial panel data from China. Our results show that at the national level, population aging and population quality are positively correlated with China's carbon emissions. The impact of the population living standard on carbon emissions exhibits an urban-rural difference. At the regional level, the impact of population aging on carbon emissions exhibits regional differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the uneven distribution of renewable resources and electricity load centers in China, renewable energy usually needs to be delivered a long distance from the generation base to the load center. However, wind power and photovoltaic (PV) have to be bundled with flexible resources, such as thermal generators, to compensate for the generation uncertainty and variability. Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a controllable generation technology, and it is receiving great attention in the northwest China to be constructed in the 100% renewable energy generation base. This paper proposes a generation portfolio optimization model of a 100% renewable energy base supported by CSP. Firstly, a flexible operation model of CSP based on the interval theory is proposed. Then, a coordinated operation strategy of a 100% renewable energy base organized by CSP, wind power, PV and also energy storage is formulated. On this basis, a generation portfolio optimization model is established with the target of minimizing an extended levelized cost of energy (LCOE) considering the transmission cost. A case study of 100% renewable energy base in Qinghai Province, China, is conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model. It is depicted that CSP plays an important role in the cost-effective portfolio and can be a better alternative to the combination of PV and storage. For the 100% renewable energy base in Qinghai, the LCOE with an optimal CSP, PV, wind, and storage combination is 0.5785 CNY/kWh, which is 20.3% lower than the case without the installation of a CSP station. • Building a 100% renewable energy generation base with a CSP, PV, wind, and storage combination. • A planning model with the target of minimizing an extended LCOE considering transmission cost. • A coordinated operation strategy of a 100% renewable energy base considering CSP's flexibility. • The LCOE of a 100% renewable energy base can drop 20.3% when equipped with CSP in Qinghai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Renewable energy technologies offer an economically viable and environmentally suitable scenario towards addressing energy requirements for rural livelihoods. China''s Renewable Energy Rural Electrification Program, initiated in 2001, is an effort to employ renewable energy technologies on a large-scale for rural electrification. The Program has been designed with several stages. This paper firstly offers an analysis of the problems encountered during the progress of this rural electrification program, using data obtained from field survey of representative areas in western China where the first stage of the program was implemented. The paper then explores feasible solutions in order to address existing rural energy issues and provide long-term reliable energy service for remote communities. In support of future course of development of renewable energy application for rural energy demands, policy recommendations are provided. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China, one of the global biggest emitter of CO2, needs promotion renewable energy to reduce air pollution from its surging fossil fuel use, and to increase its energy supply security. Renewable energy in its infancy needs policy support and market cultivation. Wind power installed capacity has boomed in recent year in China, as a series of effective support policies were adopted. In this paper, I review the main renewable energy policies regarding to China''s wind power, including the Wind Power Concession Program, Renewable Energy Law, and a couple of additional laws and regulations. Such policies have effectively reduced the cost of wind power installed capacity, stimulated the localization of wind power manufacture, and driven the company investment in wind power. China is success in wind power installed capacity, however, success in wind-generated electricity has yet achieved, mainly due to the backward grid system and lack of quota system. The paper ends with the recommended best practice of the China''s wind power installed capacity might be transferable to China''s photovoltaic power generation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Due to the rising share of variable renewable energy, balancing market integration (BMI) has been advocated as a promising solution to achieve flexible resource sharing among different regions and enhance the flexibility of the overall power system. However, BMI can result in welfare transfers among regions, which may correspondingly give rise to resistance to integration. Therefore, an incentive mechanism to facilitate flexible resource sharing under BMI is designed in this paper. We first analyse the sources of the benefits of BMI and compare the influence of different market regulation approaches on the welfare transfer effect via a graphical method. Then, based on the Coase theorem, we design an incentive profit-sharing mechanism that is able to optimize the allocation of flexible resources and eliminate welfare transfers among regions to some extent to reduce possible resistance to integration. Case studies based on the three-region system and a realistic northwest power grid in China show that the balancing cost of multi-region systems can be respectively reduced up to 31% and 25%, and the utilization of flexible units can be increased by over 30% by BMI. Finally, corresponding policy implications for BMI are put forward; the proposed mechanism also provides a useful reference and insight for dealing with welfare transfers in interregional trading. • Balancing market integration results in welfare transfers among regions. • An incentive profit-sharing mechanism based on the Coase theorem is designed. • Balancing market integration benefits from imbalance netting and resource sharing. • Inappropriate market adjustment approaches may lead to efficiency loss. • The contribution rates of each region and transmission lines are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a renewable energy, wind power has been improving energy structures and assisting in the maintenance of strategic energy security. Based on provincial level panel data from 2000 to 2018, this paper developed models to evaluate the effects of different policies on newly installed wind power capacity and investigated the market reform influences on wind development in eight spot market pilots. It was found that on a national level, while the pricing and government guideline policies significantly promoted wind power growth, present market reforms were having an opposite effect. The results also suggested that from a resource endowment heterogeneity perspective, there was a significant difference in the wind capacity promotion policy performances. Additionally, of the eight spot market pilots, market designs had led to a significant reduction in new wind power installations in Gansu and Inner Mongolia, and no significant wind power development effects were found in the other pilots. Based on the research results, a discussion on policy use and suggestions on policy improvements are given. • Effectiveness of different representative wind power policies are examined. • The panel models are developed using data that covers 30 provinces over 2000–2018. • Policy effectiveness varies by policy types and wind resource levels. • The current market designs show little impact on wind power development. • Implications on policy use and improvement suggestions are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of renewable energy, which is an important way to solve the environmental protection, has now become a research focus around the world. As a developing country with rapid growth, China gains the rapid development of economy, but the environmental pollution is becoming increasingly serious in recent years. Electricity industry plays an important role for energy-saving and emission-reduction in China, in order to reduce the environment pollution, it needs to consider how the electricity consumption affects the carbon emissions. In this paper, a stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STRIPAT) model was built, which estimates the relationship between the carbon emissions, population, GDP per capita, electricity consumption and energy consumption. It found that population, GDP per capita and the ratio of electricity consumption in energy consumption are change 1%, the carbon emissions will change 1.207%, 0.901% and −1.188% respectively. Based on the relationship, there electricity energy development scenarios were assumed and analyzed, and it found that the way to reduce carbon emissions should consider improving technical ability, which should accounting for improving the ratio of electricity power ratio in the energy consumption, improving the efficiency of using fossil energy and the development of renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China applies no efforts to promote the development of renewable energy (REE) so as to enhance China׳s energy security and address climate change. National top-down support scheme and the local renewable energy industry (REEI) development are the two important and intervened countermeasures for promoting REEI development in China. Considering China׳s vast regional disparity, the review on the spatial distribution of REEI in provincial level is critical and enlightening for future appropriate policy-making, while to date, there has been few related studies. With this circumstance, this paper made an empirical study on the distribution and cluster pattern of China׳s REEI based on the analysis on the industrial output value, the number and location of key companies/industrial bases, through on-site survey and updating statistical data. Results highlighted that in general, four REEI clusters were formed, included Bohai sea region, Yangtze River Delta, middle area, and western area. Supply chains were diversely distributed based on the regional resources allocation as well as economy development level and. In summary, REE resource supply and transformation facilities construction were the main REEI in western China, while R&D and high-tech equipment manufacture were clustered in eastern coastal regions. Based on the empirical study and Analytic Network Process (ANP) of the roles of stakeholders involved REEI of China, we further proposed various strategic measures and policy implications to better balance the REEI development in China. Our findings were critical for China׳s authority to design appropriate policies and take effective measures for promoting the harmonious development of REEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy is an important factor in achieving a low-carbon economic development path in China. This paper investigates the factors influencing renewable electricity consumption in China. Specifically, the factors that influence the share of renewable electricity in total electricity consumption in China is investigated using data from 1980 to 2011 and employing the Johansen cointegration technique and vector error correction model. The result of the analysis shows that there is a long run relationship between renewable electricity consumption and GDP per capita, trade openness, foreign direct investment, financial development and share of fossil fuel in energy consumption. Economic development and financial development promotes renewable electricity consumption while foreign direct investment, trade openness and the lobby of conventional energy sources undermine the share of renewables in total electricity consumption in China. While the effects of shocks to the other variables appear to die out over time, the “lobby effect” is persistent and explosive. The results also show that there is a uni-directional short run causality from financial development to renewable electricity consumption and from renewable electricity consumption to trade openness. The Chinese government should pursue policies that not only increase the amount of renewable electricity, but also increase the share of renewables in total electricity consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper mainly investigates the relationship among energy consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth in China from 1952 to 2012. First, we implement unit root and cointegration analysis to test the stationary. Furthermore, we analyze the mutual influence among energy consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth through Granger causality analysis. Next, we also conduct static and dynamic regression analysis on the determinants of carbon emissions and economic growth. Last, we predict the future influence of different energy consumption on carbon emissions and economic growth. We find that coal has dominant impact on economic growth and carbon emissions. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has bi-directional relationship with CO 2 (carbon dioxide) emission, coal, gas, and electricity consumption. It is imperative to change energy consumption structure in China. We had better decrease coal consumption rate. It is significant to develop hydro and nuclear power in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the large-scale and centralized development of the wind power industry in China, wind power curtailment has become increasingly serious. In order to promote wind power consumption in China, this paper designs four kinds of feed-in tariff (FIT) mechanisms: a double-track FIT mechanism based on a ratio, a time-of-use benchmarking tariff mechanism, a net back pricing mechanism based on the inter-provincial wind power consumption market, and an FIT mechanism based on negotiation. Then, we establish a benefit distribution model to analyze the wind power stakeholders’ benefits. Finally, based on the four kinds of FIT mechanisms and the benefit distribution model, we propose the best FIT mechanisms for the various electricity market circumstances in China, in order to provide a reference to formulate wind FIT, to promote the consumption of wind power and to advance the sustainable development of renewable energy in developing countries. [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]

This paper reviewed the application of renewable energy in buildings (REIB) in China in the last decade. Based on the statistics during the 10th and 11th Five-year Plan period, the application of solar thermal, photovoltaic (PV) and ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) in buildings for the next decade was forecasted via a transformed grey prediction model under three different development scenarios (Baseline, Reference and Aggressive Scenario). The results showed that, under Reference Scenario, 26.50 million tce (tons of standard coal equivalent) energy consumption in buildings could be replaced by renewable energy in 2015, and the share of renewable energy in building energy consumption would rise to 12.06% in 2020. However, according to domestic medium-term and long-term plans for renewable energy development, there would be some difficulties to achieve the 2015 and 2020 targets with current development trend in the construction sector. Therefore, the detailed technology roadmap of “improving the performance efficiency, expanding the technique scope and controlling the total amount of energy consumption” was thus proposed to evaluate the contribution of different technologies for achieving the medium-term and long-term targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small hydropower is a green and renewable energy resource. China has very rich small hydropower resources with a total technically utilizable installed capacity of 128 gigawatts (GW). Developing small hydropower is of great importance to speed up the economic growth of rural areas and alleviate the environmental pollution in China in the 21st century. This paper provides a survey of small hydropower exploitation in China. Over the last six decades, China’s small hydropower has developed rapidly. The installed capacity of small hydropower exceeds 59.24 GW at the present time. Fifteen large-scale small hydropower bases have been completed, and more bases are still under construction. The small hydropower for fuel project has been in operation. It not only provides cooking fuel for peasants, but also protects the eco-logical environment. The rural electrification construction based on small hydropower has lasted for 25 years, and 412 counties had realized rural electrification by 2010. The reasonable exploitation of small hydropower will accelerate the harmonic development of resources and the environment in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy (RE) trade disputes have been rising in response to certain green industrial policies, i.e., policy mechanisms used to develop domestic RE industries and accrue associated local economic benefits. Since 2011, countries have been increasingly filing trade litigations to counter the use of green industrial policies by their trading partners so that they can expand RE industry competitiveness and the associated manufacturing jobs within their own countries. However, in the absence of systematic studies on the impacts of RE trade duties, evidence regarding their success in achieving these economic goals remains limited. In this paper, the effectiveness of RE trade duties in supporting employment, especially in manufacturing, is assessed. First, the literature on the motivations behind RE trade duties is reviewed, and then the case of trade duties imposed by the US on the imports of solar and wind energy components from China between 2011 and 2019 is examined. Although several factors may drive employment, no evidence is found for the increase in jobs in solar and wind manufacturing in the years after the trade duties were imposed. Meanwhile, downstream jobs in installation, operation and maintenance continued to grow, corresponding to increases in annual installation of solar and wind capacity in the US. These were driven by policy incentives and the declining costs of solar and wind technologies. Overall, this case study highlights the broader implication that trade duties alone are unlikely to promote local manufacturing industries, and countries would benefit from other well-designed policies. • Renewable energy (RE) related trade disputes rising but studies examining effectiveness of trade duties limited. • Literature on the goals behind trade duties on RE components reviewed. • A framework developed to assess the relationship between RE trade duties and manufacturing employment. • Framework applied to examine the case of trade duties by the US on the imports of solar and wind energy components from China. • Trade duties not effective to develop local RE industries; other well-designed policies needed to increase local RE manufacturing jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed generation (DG) units can provide approaches and methodologies for the utilization and development of renewable energy. Meanwhile, electricity pool (EP), as a mode which can adapt to China’s energy and power market, can effectively promote the market competition. After analyzing China’s energy and power market, this paper, combining characteristics of distributed generation units with electricity pool, proposes Base–Market–Assist (BMA) in the pool mode. BMA mode not only makes a rational division according to China energy resources’ endowment, but also utilizes agent operators to conduct operation management of distributed generation units, providing new methods for China renewable energy development in aspects of technology, market and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro-grids have been developed for over two decades as building blocks for future smart grids. Micro-grids have appeared with the advantages such as control flexibility, easy connection of renewable resources, high efficiency and immunity to large area blackouts. Similar to other countries, development of micro-grids in China has gone through from the early stage of AC microgrids to the current varieties of AC, DC and hybrid AC/DC micro-girds based on their applications. Many technical problems have been solved and new problems are continuously appeared during the development process. This paper presents a past, today and future for development of micro-grids in China. The current status of micro-grids and renewable energy sources in China is presented first. The topologies of the micro-grids in China are then introduced and classified into three types. Different control techniques of the micro-grids are introduced. Finally, technical challenges and future prospect of micro-grids in China are discussed. [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]

Forestry biomass resource has many advantages, which makes it a significant new energy to substitute fossil energy as an important role of biomass resources. For the utilization of China׳s forestry biomass resources, this paper analyzed the possibilities of its development from the aspect of policy, resource endowment, market and technology, and discussed its development challenges from the aspect of policy, economy, society, technology and resource endowment. Forestry biomass resources are very abundant in China. It has made a significant breakthrough in forest biomass resource utilization, with great prospects. Although there are still some difficulties and challenges in the policy, resource endowment and other aspects, these challenges are not insurmountable. Therefore, forestry biomass resources should develop in a way with Chinese characteristics considering the national condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in China for the period 1977–2011. Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach (ARDL) to cointegration and Johansen cointegration techniques are employed by including intermittent variables namely carbon dioxide emissions and labor. We also employed Granger causality test in order to determine the direction of the causality among the variables. The results show that there is a bi-directional long term causality between renewable energy consumption and economic growth. This finding implies that growing economy in China is propitious for the development of renewable energy sector which in turn helps to boost economic growth. We also find that labor influences renewable energy consumption in the short term. However, there is no evidence of long or short run causality between carbon emissions and renewable energy consumption. This implies that actual level of renewable energy in China is still insignificant and not considerably exploited in order to contribute to the mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy development is a major response to address the issues of climate change and energy security. The utilization of renewable resources, however, highly depends on the climate conditions, which may be impacted in the future due to global climate change. Based on literature analysis, this paper presents a general framework for renewable energy vulnerability assessment and applies grey cluster analysis method to demonstrate the features of vulnerability, and then employs the Simple Additive Weighting Approach to address the multiple-attribute decision problems of vulnerability assessment in China. The categorized results imply that the proposed index system is suitable for decision-making analysis and comparative analysis of renewable energy vulnerability to climate change in China. In terms of exposure part, the cluster results are complex and varied due to the unique combination of natural factors, social factors and the energy structure. In the sensitivity section, the results are presented on the distribution of areas rich in hydropower, wind power and solar energy potential. Moreover, the main results of this study are the higher renewable energy vulnerability of the poorer regions of China to climate change and the relative higher importance of adaptive capacity building in vulnerability management. Finally, policy recommendations on regional renewable energy vulnerability management are also made. [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]

Subsidies to fossil-fuel consumption have made China's energy system fragile and unsustainable. It is necessary for China to reform fossil-fuel subsidies and reflect the resource cost and environmental cost in energy prices. Considering the life-cycle external costs, this paper estimates the scale of fossil-fuel subsidy and the true cost of renewable energy in 2010 and evaluates impacts of increasing renewable energy subsidies and phasing out fossil fuel subsidies on macro-economy and energy system in China based on scenario analysis. Simulation results show that the negative impacts on economic growth can be reduced from 4.460% to 0.432%, if only 10% of fossil fuel subsidies were removed. Increasing subsidies for renewable energy has positive impacts on macroeconomic variables. Although the economic benefits per unit of subsidies for renewable energy are lower than those for fossil fuels by 0.06-0.19 CNY, the revenue gap can be narrowed by shifting more subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables. Increasing subsidies for renewable energy helps optimize China's energy system in three ways: the first is making energy consumption structure cleaner; the second is improving energy efficiency; and the third is addressing the problem of imbalanced distribution and consumption of energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]