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Photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight into electricity, and play a crucial role in energy decarbonization, and in promoting urban resources and environmental sustainability. The area of PV panels in China's coastal regions is rapidly increasing, due to the huge demand for renewable energy. However, a rapid, accurate, and robust PV panel mapping approach, and a practical PV panel classification strategy for large-scale applications have not been established. Here, we developed a new approach that uses spectral and textural features to identify and map the PV panels there were in coastal China in 2021 using multispectral instrument (MSI) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, and the Google Earth Engine (GEE), to differentiate PV panels according to their underlying surface properties. Our 10-m-spatial-resolution PV panel map had an overall accuracy of 94.31% in 2021. There was 510.78 km2 of PV panels in coastal China in 2021, which included 254.47 km2 of planar photovoltaic (PPV) panels, 170.70 km2 of slope photovoltaic (SPV) panels, and 85.61 km2 of water photovoltaic (WPV) panels. Our resultant PV panel map provides a detailed dataset for renewable layouts, ecological assessments, and the energy-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green bonds have increasingly been utilized around the world as a source of financing for renewable energy development, designed with compliance requirements and measurable economic returns to investors, while mitigating climate change. However, the efficacy of green bond arranged in the emerging economies for financing renewable energy assets and how the underlying risks are managed have remained to be explored. The paper aims to examine the evolving green financial system sponsored by both public and private institutions in managing such risks within China's emerging economy. A case study of green financing for a bundle of wind power assets led by a state-owned enterprise (SOE) reveals an alternative approach by structuring public–private collaboration while stipulating market-based financial incentives to institutional stakeholders under a political economy. This institutional consortium is composed of a state development bank, a commercial bank, credit rating agencies, institutional and private investors, regional power purchasers, and carbon trading entities. Financial stakeholders' risk in such emerging sustainable investment is moderated by these participating institutions and structured "upsides" from carbon trading aligned with the framework of green finance and standards for green bond development. The results reveal the potentials of scaling up the development of renewable energy by adequately managing and sharing key risks, while allocating substantial funding into renewable energy projects under such a green financial system that is to be complementary with a scalable post COVID-19 economic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to present a complete picture of the status quo and future trends of the development of rural household energy in China based on a literature review and a systems analysis. First, a comprehensive literature review was conducted from the perspectives of energy consumption, carbon emissions and pollutants, energy resources, energy technologies, and energy policies. The review revealed the complexities and dynamics of the current system of rural household energy in China, and several key issues were identified for further attention. These issues are further explored by a systems analysis based on the “Integrated strategy of Sustainable development objectives, Decision-making systems, Operation systems, and Physical systems” (I-SDOP) concept. Following this method, a complete picture of the market status and policy targets is presented, by mapping an energy Sankey diagram and by reviewing the behavior of the main players. The results indicate that synergy of various energies, technologies, and players, and a combination of flexible engineering schemes and policy designs, with adequate consideration of temporal variation and regional disparity, are key strategies to promote the sustainable development of rural household energy, especially the distributed utilization of renewable energy, in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]