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In the context of climate change, innovative financing solutions and the rapid development of financial technology (fintech) offer great potential for the growth of renewable energy. Based on panel data from 30 provinces in China, this paper explores the impact of fintech on renewable energy growth by employing the instrumental variable-generalized method of moments (IV-GMM). We also pay attention to the nexus between fintech and renewable energy growth at different quantiles. This paper also explores the moderating role of the digital economy and the mediating role of green technological innovation. The main results indicate that (1) fintech positively affects renewable energy growth in China; (2) the positive effect between fintech and renewable energy is stronger in provinces with lower levels of renewable energy growth; (3) the digital economy, on the one hand, can significantly accelerate renewable energy growth; on the other hand, under the help of the digital economy, fintech can play a more effective role in increasing renewable energy growth; and (4) fintech indirectly promotes renewable energy growth by increasing the level of green technology innovation. The findings provide meaningful references for governments and policymakers and encourage the accelerated adoption of fintech in the sustainable energy sectors. • The role of financial technologies "fintech" on renewable energy growth is explored. • Fintech successfully stimulates the development of renewable energy. • The impact of fintech on renewable energy growth is asymmetric. • Digital economy facilitates the positive role of fintech in increasing renewable energy growth. • Green technology innovation is the path through which fintech affects renewable energy growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) is a mandatory institutional change to promote low-carbon energy transformation and renewable energy development. Its successful implementation requires the scientific design of relevant incentive mechanisms and rules. To make up for the defects in the current RPS mechanism design and the problems exposed in the Tradable Green Certificate (TGC) market, this paper takes China as an example and uses the system dynamics method to study the supply side incentives. The results show that: (1) Scientific setting the relevant system parameters of RPS (such as quota, benchmark price and penalty) and promoting the electricity market reform will effectively stimulate the power generation and investment on the supply side, and improve manufacturers' profit. (2) Higher quotas and lower benchmark prices can increase the manufacturers' power generation, profit and investment, and stimulate the supply side to conduct TGC transactions. However, when the penalty is set at different multiples of the benchmark price, the incentive effect on supply side power generation, investment and profit differ. (3) Marketed on-grid prices can significantly stimulate the supply side and promote renewable energy development. This paper can provide reference for the design of RPS incentive mechanism and institutional parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Decarbonising the heating sector is one of the key elements to realizing the ambitious dual carbon goals of China, which is the largest carbon emitter and energy consumer globally. Currently, district heating (DH) systems have penetrated approximately 88% of the urban heating areas in Northern China. Nevertheless, around 90% of the heating demand in China still relies on fossil fuels. A larger scale integration of renewable energy and waste heat sources into the DH systems is critical for decarbonising the entire heating sector in China. However, a deeper level of comprehension is required to harness its full potential. This paper provides a thorough investigation of the status, potential, and national policy schemes of renewable energy and waste heat recovery in the DH systems of China. Combined with a critical review of recent literature on relevant areas published in both international and Chinese domestic sources, the trends, challenges, and future perspectives are discussed from scientific research and practical implementation aspects. This paper highlights the synergy of the integration of renewable energy and waste heat sources in DH, the energy efficiency improvements as well as the use of thermal storage technologies through the implementation of 4th generation district heating and smart energy systems that could offer a more economically viable pathway forward. • Focus on renewable energy and waste heat (REWH) in the district heating (DH) systems in China. • A systematic review of REWH in Chinese DH systems from status, policy, and literature aspects. • Identification of research gaps based on the review of both international and Chinese journals. • Policy recommendations proposed to promote REWH in Chinese DH systems. • The introduction of international experiences on REWH in DH for analysis in the Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of information and communication technology (ICT), a subset of many functions such as visual communication, can positively affect renewable energy development in different countries. In this paper, focusing on China as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the relationship between visual communication and the deployment of renewable energy is investigated using the dynamic ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag) method and annual data from 1990 to 2021. Regarding the empirical estimations, a 1% increase in green finance market size leads to an improvement of sustainable energy deployment by 0.01%. In addition, the ICT development index has a significant and positive effect only in the long term. Furthermore, there is evidence of uni-directional causality from ICT to renewable energy deployment in the medium and long term. The recommended practical policies by the research are developing green financing tools, green economic growth policies, and creating virtual portals for financial interactions. • There is uni-directional causality from visual communication to renewable deployment. • ICT development index has a positive effect in the long term. • Effect of GDP on the development of renewable energy consumption is negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impacts of green finance on green energy deployment in China's tourism industry. To this end, the annual data over 1992–2021 through the ARDL (Autoregressive Distributed Lag) approach for the case of China are analyzed. The findings confirm that the issued green bonds positively impact the green efficiency of China's tourism industry in the long term. In contrast, the coefficient of issued green bonds is insignificant for the short-term approach. In addition, in the short and long term, the consumer price index also has a significant adverse effect on the green efficiency of China's tourism industry. The recommended practical policies are improving executive regulations and transparent market information, implementing green fiscal policies, green construction in hotels and tourist accommodations, green globalization, operational phases of innovation, adaptation, and stabilization (IAS), and eco-tourism regionalism. • Green bonds have a positive impact on the green efficiency of China's tourism. • Consumer price index has a negative effect on green efficiency of China's tourism. • Economic globalization index has a significant coefficient on green efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green total factor productivity is a vital measure of sustainable progress, holding immense implications for attaining both economic growth and environmental preservation in a mutually beneficial manner. Focusing on green total factor productivity, this paper examines its nexus with low-carbon energy technology using the Instrumental Variable Generalized Method of Moments (IV-GMM) model, based on a panel dataset in China during 2005–2018. This paper also examines the asymmetric impact of low-carbon energy technology on green total factor productivity. In addition, the moderating and mediating effects are checked. The main findings are that (1) low-carbon energy technology is a promoting factor for green total factor productivity. (2) Low-carbon energy technology exerts a more prominent marginal impact on green total factor productivity when green total factor productivity is at higher quantile levels. (3) Renewable energy generation not only drives green total factor productivity directly, but also further increases the promotion effect of low-carbon energy technology on green total factor productivity, showing a positive moderating role. (4) Energy structure transition and industrial structure transition are two internal impact mechanisms between low-carbon energy technology and green total factor productivity. These findings suggest that the government can promote green total factor productivity development by developing policies related to low-carbon energy technology and fully releasing the effects of technology on sustainable development. • This paper assesses the level of low-carbon energy technology (LCET) in China. • This paper examines the effect of LCET on green total factor productivity (GTFP). • LCET plays a significant role in enhancing GTFP. • Renewable energy generation positively moderates the nexus between LCET and GTFP. • Energy structure transition and industrial structure transition are two mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of sustainable development, the renewable energy technology innovation (RETI) may have a potential impact upon the industrial structure upgrading, while green finance will play a moderating part. This paper studies the role of green finance and renewable energy technological innovation on industrial structure in China. We found that RETI has contributed significantly to the adjustment of industrial structure. The research results of PVAR (Panel Vector Autoregressive) model further prove this dynamic and continuous positive promotion. The threshold regression results indicate that with the improvement of green finance, there is a non-linear relationship between RETI and industrial structure. In areas where green finance is relatively low, RETI can inhibit the upgrading of industrial structure. When the degree of green finance development is relatively high, the influence of RETI on industrial structure is remarkably positive. Heterogeneity analysis shows that in eastern China, renewable energy technological innovation has significantly promoted the industrial structure upgrading. Therefore, policy makers should take various measures to expedite the green finance development and strengthen the green finance support to renewable energy technology innovations. Chinese government has the need to continue to implement related green credit policies and expand the source of green funds. • Study the impact of renewable energy technology innovation on industrial structure. • Green finance is a moderating variable. • Threshold regression model is used to study nonlinear relationship. • Renewable energy technology innovation positively impacts industrial structure. • Green finance has a positive moderating effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing share of the climate-sensitive renewable energy market supply in China, estimating future energy drought risk (ED) is essential. In this paper, based on CMIP6, energy demand and power generation are estimated from 2023 to 2100 under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 climate scenarios, and ED is defined from high demand (HD), low wind-solar generation (LWS), and residual load (RL). The results show that the ED exacerbation is relatively high under the SSP5-8.5. Between 2023 and 2100, the duration and severity of HD and RL notably increase, while LWS changes are relatively weak. We find that HD and RL exhibit high summer risks in the south and high winter risk in the north. The return periods vary significantly and extends over time in most regions. Moreover, there are few ED when the installed power generation capacity (IPGC) is increased. When the IPGC increases by 2%–5%, the LWS will decrease at least 20%–72%. With a 10% increase, the LWS will be mitigated by at least 80%, whereas the mitigation for RL is limited, approximately 3–17% at different rates. This work performs the first evaluation of future ED and provides the useful references for risk mitigation in China based on CMIP6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nexus between fiscal decentralization and renewable energy demand by including income inequality, economic growth, urbanization, and economic globalization as the main determinants in the energy demand function for the case of China. Quarterly frequency data for the period 1980–2018 are used for empirical analysis. Our empirical results show fiscal decentralization positively impacts the demand for renewable energy; in other words, fiscal decentralization can help increase renewable energy demand. In addition, income inequality is negatively linked to renewable energy consumption, while economic growth is positively associated with renewable energy demand. Urbanization and economic globalization add to renewable energy consumption. This study presents Chinese authorities with new guidelines for using fiscal decentralization as an economic tool to formulate effective energy policies for long-term development of the use of renewable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this era of global warming the importance of climate risk cannot be understated, and finding ways to reduce climate risk is a topic worthy of study. In this paper, we innovatively examine the role of renewable energy technology innovation on climate risk in China. In addition to their linear relationship, we also investigate the asymmetric and heterogeneous impact, detect the impact channels, and find that (1) increased renewable energy technology innovation can effectively alleviate the climate risk situation. Accordingly, the development of renewable energy technology innovation can make a significant contribution to CR abatement. (2) Pronounced impacts of renewable energy technology innovation on climate risk can be observed in the higher quantiles (75th and 90th) of climate risk. (3) Renewable energy technology innovation is a powerful weapon for eradicating climate risk in provinces with a higher level of government fiscal expenditure. And (4) renewable energy technology innovation has an impact on climate risk by facilitating energy consumption efficiency, which is a necessary mediator. These conclusions inspire us to put forward several corresponding policy implications for better climate risk governance and renewable energy technology innovation development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the research topics of China's energy transition policy and predicting future research trends are crucial for policymakers to make informed decisions and advance the energy transition. This study applied the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to extract 26 major research topics from the 13,976 abstracts of Chinese policy research papers in web of science (WOS), conceptualized the five most popular topics and used the ARIMA model to predict trends over the next 36 months. The results show that except for Economic and Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Consumption (Topic13), which will first experience unanticipated fluctuations and then show strong growth capacity, all other topics will continue to remain positive growth trend. Research and Development (Topic3) is driven by the urgency of China's energy transformation. Economic and Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Consumption (Topic13) is driven by the potential for the development of renewable energy. Economic Impact of Climate Change (Topic26) is driven by the climate change debate. Economic Growth, Urbanization, and Energy Consumption (Topic7) is driven by a discussion of their relationship and the mechanisms influencing them. Regional Efficiency and Productivity Analysis (Topic19) is driven by regional differences in China's energy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has set a goal of carbon neutrality by 2060 and is determined to increase wind and solar power to 1200 GW by 2030, even though it already has the world's largest installed capacity of renewables. However, the lack of flexibility in the power system will limit the development of a higher proportion of renewable energy. This paper evaluates the applicability of different types of flexible power sources in China for the first time. Above all, it describes the current situation of China's power industry and the necessity of increasing flexible power sources, establishes an evaluation system from the perspectives of benefit, opportunity, cost & risk, then determines 19 evaluation criteria. The BOCR-ANP-TOPSIS method was used to evaluate the system, where the ANP method determines the weights and the TOPSIS method ranks the alternatives. The result shows that pumped storage hydropower has the highest overall ranking, followed by the flexibility transformation of coal-fired power. Coupled with sensitivity and comparative analysis, valuable findings that will help future energy policymakers are reported. • Evaluating the applicability of different flexible power sources in China for the first time. • The identification of criteria for the selection of flexible power sources was given. • Making recommendations for China's flexible power source development policy. • The BOCR-ANP-TOPSIS method adopted can be extended to select flexible power sources in different regions meticulously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The analysis framework of a digital business model of PV fishery is constructed. • Multiple value propositions in the digital business model of PV fishery to create value for stakeholders. • The digital business model of PV fishery improves the operational efficiency of PV power generation. • The digital PV fishery increases the diversification of revenue sources of PV agricultural company. A business model that combines solar photovoltaic and fishery plays a role to expand distributed renewable energy and improve rural economy development. However, the business model of solar photovoltaic fishery is encountering growing difficulties with revenues decreasing due to changes of policy such as withdrawal of photovoltaic subsidies and land control. The spreading of digitization in photovoltaic industry and rural areas provides new opportunities for innovation of traditional solar photovoltaic fishery. This paper focuses on multiple value propositions to discuss a digital business model based of solar photovoltaic fishery on a case with a local Chinese photovoltaic agricultural company. The study results show that the digital business model of solar photovoltaic fishery improves the operational efficiency of solar photovoltaic power generation, economic benefits of aquaculture, and the diversification of revenue sources of solar photovoltaic agricultural company and leasing company. The transformation of business model from traditional solar photovoltaic power generation and fishery business to digital service platforms can not only accelerate expansion of distributed renewable energy and be potential deployed globally but also assist photovoltaic agricultural company to effectively respond to policy change. Finally, this paper proposes that supportive policy may focus on advocating system coupling to expedite the development of distributed renewable energies based on digital technology, and digital photovoltaic combined with rural energy market and financial, which will advance development of renewable energy electrification and promote rural economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the carbon-neutral goal set for 2060, China has promoted renewable energy development for more than two decades. Meanwhile, China's electricity market is undergoing a new round of reform by introducing more market-oriented mechanisms and changing the market structure. This paper investigates the impact of three electric utility market structures experimented with in China on promoting renewable energy through a simulation model. The three market structures are vertical monopoly, weak monopoly (separation of power generators and grids), and monopolistic competition (Cournot-Nash competition). The model is calibrated with the actual data of the regional utility network in Beijing, Tianjin, and Tangshan areas. The simulation results show that the electricity market structure plays a vital role in renewable electricity, and the competition among utilities tends to benefit renewable energy development (wind power here). The study's conclusions are helpful to our understanding of further reforms in the electric utility industry and the long-term clean energy target in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intermittent renewable energy sources have been transformed from supplementary energy to dominant incremental alternative energy sources in the context of carbon neutrality target worldwide. For coastal countries, it is urgent to integrate abundant offshore energy into regional onshore renewable power sources economically and reliably considering the scarcity of land resources and negative environmental impacts. However, limited knowledge on the complex spatiotemporally synergy relationships between energy potential (onshore and offshore) is a barrier in making reasonable policies to promote collaborative development of onshore and offshore energies. This study presents a spatiotemporally explicit modelling framework for assessing the synergy potential characteristics of onshore and offshore renewable energy sources. The framework firstly estimates the technical potential of solar PV and wind energy across the country by using 40 years of hourly meteorological reanalysis data (1980–2020), and then investigates the long-term changes trend, stability, and complementarity of solar-wind energy potential spatiotemporally at both onshore and offshore sub-regions. We find that a considerable amount of solar PV and wind energy sources could be harnessed in China, and onshore potential across the country (178 PWh/yr) is approximate 20 times higher than offshore energy potential (8.9 PWh/yr). Overall, onshore solar-wind energy potentials exhibit statistically insignificant but slightly increasing trend over the past 40 years, while offshore wind potentials observe an opposite change trend for solar PV and wind energy production. Complementarity assessment showed the northeast and offshore parts of China present high complementarity effects for hourly and daily power production of solar-wind systems. Furthermore, inter-regional combination between offshore and onshore northwest regions also exhibits promising synergy effect for renewable energy power output. The results on resources dynamic and complementarity highlight the advantage of interregional resources cooperative configuration and electric power grid interconnections. The analysis performed in this paper could provide a global picture for the integration planning and collaborative development strategies formulation of on-/offshore renewable energy across the country. • Synergy potential of onshore and offshore renewable energy was evaluated. • Trend, stability, and complementarity of solar and wind potential were examined. • Onshore energy potential in China is 20 times higher than offshore potential. • Synergy development strategies of onshore and offshore energy were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an improved hybrid MADM method based on interval Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and interval regret theory are put forward to evaluate five renewable energy alternatives for Fujian province, China. Firstly, the volatility of the evaluation information and the subjectivity of experts or stakeholders are taken into account. Second, political factors are further considered based on existing research. Third, the influence of the subjective initiative of decision makers on the decision result has been paid attention to. Furthermore, the result of the analysis shows that the extended regret theory method should set different parameters to reflect the preferences of decision makers. The ranking results of renewable energy are different with different parameter settings. For example, when α = 0.1 , δ = 0.1 , the priority of clean energy in Fujian Province is hydropower, followed by wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, and biomass energy. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the model possesses good serviceability. Based on considering different parameter settings, the Fujian government should invest, in order of priority, in these renewable energy sources to obtain benefits. And the projects related to these renewable energy sources should be evaluated. [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 world has witnessed a surge in renewable power installed capacity in recent years, and there is an emerging trend of renewable penetration in electricity production. However, there is a lack of quantitative comparative study on disaggregated renewable power sources concerning their generation efficiency performance, regional heterogeneity, development potential, and influencing mechanism in the existing literature. In the case of China's 30 provinces, this paper evaluates the hydropower, solar power, and wind power generation efficiency by stochastic frontier analysis method, and then reveals the distribution characteristics and deployment potential of different renewable sources. Furthermore, from the perspective of spatial heterogeneity, geographical detector model is utilized to study the influence mechanism of the generation efficiency of different renewable sources. The main results are as follows. Firstly, production inefficiency prevails in hydropower, solar power, and wind power generation industries. The installed capacity, utilized hours, and auxiliary power consumption have positive impacts on the three renewable energy sources. Every 1% increase in auxiliary power consumption leads to 0.16% increase in solar power generation, which is quite larger than the increase in hydropower and wind power. Secondly, on average, hydropower has the highest level of generation efficiency, followed by wind power and solar power. Kernel density curves indicate the generation efficiency of hydropower, solar power, and wind power displays distinct aggregation characteristics. Different energy types show significant regional differences in deployment potential. Thirdly, annual precipitation accounts for 76% of the spatial heterogeneity in hydropower generation efficiency, followed by hydropower technology innovation and power structure. As for solar power generation efficiency, the most important influencing factors are electricity investment and economic development. By contrast, wind power generation efficiency is primarily affected by power structure, electricity investment, and urbanization. Additionally, there exist distinct synergistic effects among different variables. These results provide insightful policy support for the improvement of renewable power generation efficiency. The study can be extended to the global scale using country-level data. • Stochastic frontier analysis is performed to study renewable generation efficiency. • Production inefficiency prevails in three renewable power generation industries. • Hydropower generation efficiency is higher than wind power and solar power in China. • Different energy types show significant regional differences in deployment potential. • The driving factors of generation efficiency are examined by geographical detector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]