Search

Sanding production of the underground gas storage (UGS) in the depleted reservoir will cause the decline of effective storage capacity, and the erosion of well string and auxiliary equipment, and other engineering problems. A deep understanding of the sanding production contributes to maintaining the injection and production capacity of gas storage and the long‐term safety of the UGS. In this paper, core samples of five main sedimentary microfacies were drilled from the UGS in middle China. The mechanical properties with different conditions of the moisture content in multi‐cycling injection–production process were tested. The critical drawdown pressure (CDP) calculation methods for the UGS were established based on the stress analysis near the wellbore and the Mogi–Coulomb criterion. Adopting the finite element method simulation on the geological model of the target UGS, the geo‐stress of the formation was calculated by inversed analysis and validated based on the Kaiser effect of rock. Then, the CDP of two target wells of the UGS were investigated. The effects of the water moisture and the cycling times of the injection–production process on the CDP were also analyzed. The geo‐stress distribution shows that the horizontal maximum principal stress ranges from 53 to 68 MPa, and the horizontal minimum principal stress is 46–58 MPa in the target reservoir section, and the vertical minimum principal stress is 69–77 MPa in the target reservoir. The calculated CDP changed with the types of the sedimentary microfacies in the range of [6.27, 8.77] MPa, in which the CDP of the mixed mud and sand flat sedimentary facies was the lowest. The weakness of the CDP with the increasing of the moisture content and the cycling times were analyzed quantitively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From core observations of shales of the Niutitang formation in the northern part of Guizhou Province, China, calcite was often found to act as a natural fracture filler and affect the extension of fractures in hydraulic fracturing. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the tensile mechanical behavior of shales by calcite veins. In this paper, by computed tomography scanning of shales containing calcite veins of different dip angles from the Niutitang formation, a three‐dimensional numerical model reflecting the internal fine structure of the shale was constructed. Direct tensile numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the effect of calcite veins at different angles on the fine‐scale damage process and mechanical properties of shale. The experimental results show that the tensile capacity of the shale increases with the increase in calcite veins. Depending on the dip angle of the calcite vein, the damage pattern of the shale is divided into three types of damage: pull‐off damage along the calcite vein, jagged damage, and horizontal damage perpendicular to the loading method. At high dip angles, the shale damage is more intense and the fracture network more complex. The temporal and spatial characteristics of the acoustic emissions provide a good indication of the microscopic behavior of the shale specimens during the damage process. The box dimension method was used to calculate the fractal dimension of the shale specimens at the final damage, and it was found that the damage was more intense and the fracture network was more complex at high dip angles, and there was an angular threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A convenient and effective method based on vector analysis was proposed in this paper to quantitatively describe the pattern of the wind speed distribution curve. This method can accurately describe the steepness of the single‐peak curve by using two parameters of concentration degree (CD) and concentration period (CP). Through the analysis of wind speed data in China over the past 40 years, this paper found that regional wind resources with larger CD were poorer, while regional wind resources with larger CP were richer. In addition, there were obvious cubic relationships between the CP and the average wind power density. These two parameters could reflect the richness of wind energy and realize the comparisons of wind resources across time and scales. In comparison with conventional approaches, this method is simpler and avoids fitting process, which has broad promotion prospects in the field of power grids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the "double carbon" target was proposed in 2020, emissions reduction has become the focus of the Chinese government's work. Industrial development is a crucial factor contributing to the increase in carbon emissions. Therefore, implementing carbon reduction in the industrial sector is an important part of China's goal of "double carbon." In this context, this paper uses a three‐stage data envelopment analysis model to calculate the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 18 industry sectors in Shanxi Province. The results show that: (1) the external environment has influence on the GTFP of energy revolution reform pilot area industrial sectors, and the efficiency value of two industries is overestimated before excluding environmental factors; (2) the industry difference of GTFP is significant, among which pharmaceutical manufacturing industry has the greatest promoting effect on GTFP, and ferrous metal mining and dressing industry has the greatest inhibiting effect on GTFP; (3) there is a serious redundancy in R&D investment of energy revolution reform pilot area in China, and only six industries belong to zero redundancy. (4) To reflect the GTFP of various industrial sectors more clearly, this paper divides four industries: "Double‐high" industry, "High‐low" industry, "Low‐high" industry, and "Double‐low" industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the circumstances of "Carbon Peak," it is imminent to implement green construction technology in the construction industry as it is a major source of CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, little study has been done on the impact of self‐face awareness (SA) on green building project performance (GP). On the basis of a large‐scale questionnaire survey in China and an in‐depth analysis of the four categories (cognition, behavior, satisfaction, and performance), this paper has added an SA dimension, and proposed a new impacting path. Then, based on the improved conceptual model for measuring the impact of green construction behavior on GP, this paper has conducted empirical tests by using a large sample of questionnaire data and partial least square‐structural equation modeling method. The results show that: (1) green construction behavior has a positive impact on GP, and the impact of perceived behavioral control of green construction technology is most significant for promoting green construction in the industry, and SA has a significant positive effect on green construction in the industry; (2) environmental perception and perceived behavioral control for green construction technology play a mediating role; and (3) significant differences indeed exist in the multigroup analysis, and the biggest difference is working experiences in the engineering field. Finally, this paper has proposed corresponding management implications based on the above findings. The main contribution of this study is that this study has developed a new dimension (SA) to the model considering Chinese national and cultural differences, in an attempt to reveal the impact of green construction technology on GP in the Chinese context. In addition, the promotion of green construction (PGC) in the construction industry was also added based on the sustainability perspective, which is the first attempt to explore the role of the PGC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power generation does not emit greenhouse gases or pollutants, but there are some carbon emissions from the manufacturing, transportation, operation, and waste disposal of wind turbines. Directly driven permanent magnet and doubly fed asynchronous wind turbines currently have the largest market share in China, but few Chinese studies have compared their differences in carbon reduction potential. This paper uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantitatively analyze the full life cycle carbon emissions of the two wind turbines to determine which type of wind turbine has greater carbon reduction potential, obtaining the following results. (1) The full life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of 2.5 MW directly driven permanent magnet and doubly fed asynchronous wind turbines are 8.48 and 10.43 g CO2/kWh, respectively. The direct‐driven permanent magnet wind turbine is superior in terms of carbon reduction. (2) The stage with the greatest impact and the greatest difference between the two wind turbines in the full life cycle is the production stage, during which the carbon emissions of the directly driven permanent magnet and doubly fed asynchronous wind turbines are 1.045 × 106 and 1.210 × 106 kg, respectively. (3) According to sensitivity analysis, proper waste disposal and transportation can reduce carbon emissions from wind turbines. These research findings can be used to help achieve carbon peaking and neutrality goals, as well as the technological development of wind power enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The security of natural gas supply and demand has always been an important topic, and as a result, analyzing and predicting the supply and demand of natural gas has received considerable attention from researchers. Numerous studies have extensively researched the supply and demand of natural gas. The main purpose of this study is to explore the supply‐demand balance mechanism for natural gas security. A system dynamics model is constructed to assess the supply and demand of natural gas in Sichuan Province, China. A new system dynamics model based on domestic gas, production gas, ecological environment and natural gas supply is proposed. The study considers four scenarios: natural development, economic priority development, environmental priority development and coordinated development. The results show that the rapid economic development has led to an excessive environmental carrying capacity, a larger gap between natural gas supply and demand, a decline in the quality of life of residents, and even affected the energy security of Sichuan Province and China. The findings also show that people's overprotection of the environment can lead to slow economic development, which prevents it from achieving its desired goals. The coordinated development scenario in this paper not only ensures the production of natural gas and the quality of life of residents, but also is an optimal scheme with low energy consumption and pollution. According to the research conclusions, considering the overall situation of China's energy security and the situation in Sichuan Province, the author proposes reforms from the supply and demand sides of natural gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial sector is China's major element of energy consumption and carbon emissions, and carbon emissions reduction in industrial parks has become an important foothold in carbon reduction work. Predicting the future evolution trend of carbon emissions in industrial parks under different policy orientations is of great significance for China to achieve the carbon emissions peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Based on the current status of electricity consumption and carbon emissions in industrial parks, this paper takes a light industrial park as the research object, analyzes the source of carbon emissions in this park, combines the characteristics of resource endowment and industrial structure, and considers the factors influencing society, load curve, energy supply and carbon sink, thus constructing a system dynamics model of carbon emission evolution for this park. Different influencing factors are selected to set multiple target scenarios, and the GDP, carbon emissions, carbon emissions reduction and near‐zero carbon evaluation coefficient of light industrial parks are used as characterization indicators for simulation analysis. The analysis results revealed that the comprehensive scenario set by increasing the maximum installed capacity of renewable energy units and raising the proportions of environmental and science and technology inputs while adjusting the industrial growth rate of the park performed best. In this scenario, the economic development of the park and the process of carbon emissions reduction are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous advancement of urbanization, the contradiction between urban development and environmental resources has become increasingly prominent, and environmental pollution has become increasingly serious. To fundamentally solve the problems of environment, energy, and low carbon, we must rely on the intelligence of energy. This paper aims to study the sustainable development of China's intelligent energy industry based on artificial intelligence and low‐carbon economy. In view of the problems existing in the optimization of power generation industry, this paper uses the annual load, electricity price, weather, and climate data of a southern power grid, uses the statistical variation particle swarm optimization algorithm, uses the historical runoff and rainfall data to optimize it, and studies the analysis methods, characteristics and laws of short‐term load, electricity price and runoff, as well as the uncertain factors affecting their changes. The experimental results show that the predicted price is close to the actual price, and the median error of each period is <1% in statistical analysis, so the forecast value can be used to replace the actual value for scheduling. This method makes full use of the adaptive mutation in the late stage of particle optimization, and introduces the mechanism of particle size selection, which fully ensures the diversity of particles and improves the search ability of particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the full‐sample panel data from 23 provinces and cities in China from 2013 to 2020, this paper studies the influences of environmental regulations on regional carbon emission efficiency in China under the background of opening carbon emission trading after dividing the country into high, medium, and low emission areas with emission quantity as the classification standard and constructing a regression model. The experiment reveals that the environmental regulation strength and carbon dioxide emission efficiency are positively correlated with each other in the first place. Second, there exists a positive correlation between environmental regulation strength and carbon dioxide emission efficiency in different emission regions, while in terms of the impact of environmental regulation on carbon emission efficiency, it influences the medium emission areas most, followed by low emission areas, and the high emission areas to the least. Then, current domestic environmental regulation is effective and plays a positive role in improving carbon emission efficiency and promoting the development of a low‐carbon economy in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As ecological civilization construction receives growing attention in China, the eco‐friendliness of the power supply structure is becoming increasingly important. Thermal power and hydropower are the two major power sources in China. Hydropower has both positive and negative effects on the ecosystem. However, there are few studies on the comprehensive impact of hydropower on the ecosystem. Therefore, the main innovation of this article is to integrally and comprehensively study the impact of hydropower to propose recommendations for hydropower development. The study of hydropower's effects on the overall ecosystem including resources, the environment, and economic society reflects the integrity, and the simultaneous study of hydropower's positive and negative effects reflects the comprehensiveness. First, this paper constructs a system dynamics (SD) model that can analyze the impact of replacing thermal power with hydropower on the ecosystem and proposes an improved coupling coordination degree (CCD) model. Then, this paper takes the province of Fujian as an example for SD scenario simulation and proposes recommendations for each indicator in the ecology subsystem. Finally, this paper performs CCD analysis on subsystems of the ecology subsystem in different policy scenarios and provides suggestions for future hydropower development in Fujian. Results show that hydropower technology improvement and efficiency increase (HTIEI) is more conducive to the development of the overall ecosystem. The scientificity of the current hydropower policy in Fujian is proven through theoretical analysis, and further hydropower development proposals are proposed. This paper provides a basis for the formulation of power generation policies and promotes ecological civilization construction for Fujian. The proposed methods in this paper can also provide tools for policy research on clean energy power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal‐fired thermal power must be flexible to enable the grid absorption of inconsistent photovoltaic (PV) and wind power. Combined heat and power (CHP) coal‐fired plants are the primary source for district heating systems. This paper uses a 330 MW subcritical CHP unit as an example to carry out the study. With the promotion of building energy efficiency, when the thermal index is reduced to below 20 W/m2, the low‐load operation of CHP can meet the wind power and PV feed‐in demand and guarantee residential heating without the need for flexibility modification. Meanwhile, more renewable energy generation can reduce carbon emissions from the power supply, further contributing to reducing carbon emissions from buildings. The impacts of different envelope parameters and supplementary heat sources on building carbon emissions are also studied. The conclusion shows that the degree of their impact on carbon emissions ranks as ESMs (energy supply modes) > Factor D (infiltration N50) > Factor A (external wall heat transfer coefficient) > Factor C (window heat transfer coefficient) > Factor B (roof heat transfer coefficient). When the building's heating energy consumption gradually decreases, the distributed heat pump unit can replace the coal‐fired boiler to supply the peak heat load demand. In the future, China's district heating systems can be gradually changed from the current CHP and coal‐fired boilers to CHP and distributed heat pumps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great quantities of energy are consumed by heat pump drying systems (HPDSs), such as tobacco drying. It can be reduced by increasing evaporating temperature using waste heat. In this paper, based on the case of two main industries in southwest China (monocrystalline silicon industry and tobacco industry), a novel integrated HPDS especially for the tobacco drying using waste heat from single crystal silicon furnaces is proposed. It is then analyzed from an energetic and economical perspective, investigating the effects of heat exchanger areas on system performance. To simultaneously minimize system CO2 emissions and total annual cost (TAC), a multiobjective optimization using nondominated sorting genetic algorithm is conducted based on the support vector regression model, which has been rarely reported for integrated HPDS improved by waste heat. The final optimum solution on the Pareto optimal front is selected using different decision‐making methods (LINMAP, TOPSIS, and fuzzy decision method), and are compared with the performance of the initial system. The results show that the TOPSIS method is most suitable in three decision‐making methods with a great reduction in mCO2 ${m}_{C{O}_{2}}$ (−12.7%) and nearly unchanged in TAC (+0.5%) compared with the initial solution. And the decreases in mCO2 ${m}_{C{O}_{2}}$ and TAC of the optimized system is as large as 50% and 1/3, compared with traditional vapor compression heat pump dryer without heat recovery of the monocrystal silicon furnace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China has promoted many new energy projects in order to meet the growing demand for electricity. Therefore, China's offshore wind power installed capacity has grown rapidly. China has a long coastline and abundant offshore wind energy resources. Offshore wind power is an important area for the development of renewable energy, which can promote wind power technology advancement and energy structure adjustment. Therefore, conducting effective research and forecast on the cumulative installed capacity of China's offshore wind power will help the government to rationally deploy and reduce the risk of investment in offshore wind power. In order to accurately predict the future prospects of offshore wind power in China, this paper firstly constructed a set of influencing factors and used gray correlation analysis to screen the main influencing factors. Then, this paper proposed a novel forecasting model named e‐VMD‐PCA‐RELM. The algorithm is based on the traditional RELM (robust extreme learning machine) algorithm, which effectively processes the noise information through the PCA (principal component analysis) algorithm, and extracted the feature elements of the RELM hidden layer to reduce the information redundancy. At the same time, the e‐VMD (variational mode decomposition optimized by entropy) algorithm is used to decompose the original time series to obtain multiple components. By comparing with the other forecasting algorithms, it is proved that the proposed forecasting model has strong generalization ability and has achieved good prediction result. Finally, the e‐VMD‐PCA‐RELM model is used to predict the scale of offshore wind farms in China from 2019 to 2035. We find that the cumulative installed capacity of China's offshore wind power will exceed 60 GW in 2035, and the installed capacity will increase year by year. In 2030, there will be a large increase, with a relative growth rate of 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy consumption is closely related to industrial structure, economic prosperity, and population. Because of the Granger causal relationship between GDP and energy consumption, many researchers consider the regression method to predict energy consumption using economic variables. However, some other researchers regard the time series method (forecast) to estimate for energy consumption. To address the advantages and disadvantages of two methods in energy consumption prediction, we performed the deep learning (DL) based on the case of China. The experiment results show that the accuracy of time series forecast is much higher than regression methods. In addition, we also explored the relationship between industry, economy, population, and energy consumption. We found that GDP, population, secondary sector, and tertiary sector were significant to energy consumption. A tertiary sector can help to reduce energy consumption to some extent. This could give suggestions about changing industry structure. More and more attention has been paid to energy intensity. The strategic approach to sustainable development requires reducing energy intensity while developing the economy. Since China is committed to achieving carbon emission peak by 2030, this paper predicts the energy intensity of China in the next decade based on a DL algorithm. The prediction results show that energy intensity would slightly decrease in the next decade. Different types of energy represent the industrial structure behind economic growth. Therefore, this paper was conducted using ridge regression (RR) to explore the relationship between different types of energy and energy intensity. In addition, the effect (positive or negative) of different energy sources in reducing energy intensity has also been explored. We found that the best way of developing the economy and reducing energy consumption is to use natural gas and hydroelectric instead of coal. This can guide policy development about changing energy source structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon trading mechanism is an effective means to control greenhouse gas emissions. This paper focuses on the low‐carbon economic operation of the integrated energy system under carbon trading mechanism in China. The integrated energy system includes the energy storage, ground source heat pump, and other equipment. The objective of this paper was to minimize the annual total cost of the system considering the carbon trading cost and study the operation modes under different carbon trading prices by commercial optimization software. The simulation results show the operation modes in summer are changed obviously with the increase of the carbon trading prices, while the operation modes in winter basically are not changed with the fluctuation of the carbon trading prices; under the carbon trading mechanism, the integrated energy system can not only reduce the carbon emissions, but also reduce the annual total cost through carbon trading, which shows its advantages and good development prospect. In addition, the setting of the carbon emission quota has a direct impact on the economy of the enterprises. Furthermore, the ground source heat pump and the electric refrigeration units can stabilize the fluctuation of the equipment output caused by the change of natural gas prices in this integrated energy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In coastal cities, a large amount of cold energy is released into the nearby seawater during the process of regasification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the receiving terminal, and meanwhile, a large amount of exported and/or imported foods need to be frozen by bulk cold energy near the sea. In this paper, a new multistage cold energy recovery/utilization system is investigated to link the LNG cold energy directly to supply the coastal cold store. This design uses a realistic case in Ningbo LNG receiving station in China, and for the very first time considers how to utilize the LNG cold energy in an efficient manner regarding the technical, economic, and environmental benefits. A three‐stage LNG cold energy utilization system is designed and evaluated by considering different temperatures, pressures, and heat exchange parameters. Compared to conventional electric‐driven cold stores, the proposed multistage cold energy recovery/utilization system has a much cheaper capital cost during the initial investment stage, and also avoids the utility power consumption during the daily operation period. In the case study, from Ningbo LNG receiving station to a 10 MW class cold store, the proposed multienergy system can save the energy of 20.05 kilotons of standard coal, and the carbon emission reduction is up to 1.49 × 108 kg per year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel energy storage technology of a gravity‐enhanced compressed air energy storage system is proposed for the first time, aiming to support the rapid growth of solar and wind capacity. With air storage formed by the shaft well, gravity piston, and seal membrane, the proposed system could achieve constant operating pressure, high storage efficiency, and large storage capacity. Electricity charged into this system is simultaneously transformed and stored in the thermal, pressure potential, and gravitational potential forms. The operating properties of the proposed system are simulated and analyzed with the commercial software Thermoflex V29. Results show that both the storage pressure and the well radius have essential influences on the performance of the newly proposed system. The theoretical energy storage efficiency of the proposed system is in a scope of 63.58%–65.50% with a storage pressure range of 40–100 bar. Economic analysis based on the time‐of‐use price policy in China suggests that the optimum levelized cost of storage (LCOS) happens at the storage pressure of 70 bar and a well radius of 8 m. Besides, considering different plant cost factors that reflect the total investment of a power plant, the optimum LCOS is 1.09–1.26 CNY/kWh. Moreover, the specific exergy cost of the discharged electricity is assessed to be 0.51 CNY/kWh or so, which is significantly more profitable compared with the given electricity price of 1.15 CNY/kWh at off‐peak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to seek the optimal growth of China's economy under the premise of natural gas supply safety and air pollution emission constraints, this paper builds a multiobjective optimal allocation model of China's natural gas. The model takes 2012 as the base period, and the simulation period is from 2013 to 2025. Four types of policy combinations are set as variables to be introduced into the model. Lingo is used to simulate the policy combinations under considerations by the model to select the optimal scenario. The dynamic scenario simulation results are as follows: (a) Comparing the simulated data with actual data from 2013 to 2018, we find that the relative error between the simulated results and the actual results is less than 3%, indicating that the constructed multiobjective optimization configuration model is reliable and effective. (b) By 2025, China's natural gas production will be 333.4 billion cubic meters, and its consumption will be 217.1 billion cubic meters. The output will gradually exceed the demand; the proportion of natural gas consumption in the total energy consumption will increase from 5.4% to 7.8%. The proportion has increased significantly; the total GDP is 139 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 7.5%, and the contribution of the tertiary industry to GDP accounts for 55.8%; (c) China's SO2 emissions from 19.54 million tons in 2013 will be reduced to 12.64 million tons in 2025, China's NOx emissions plummeted from 21.92 million tons in 2013 to 12.59 million tons, and the emission intensity of atmospheric pollutants dropped from 34.0 tons/100 million yuan in 2013 to 9.1 tons/100 million yuan in 2025. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon trading market has become a powerful weapon in alleviating carbon emissions in China, and the carbon price is at the core of its operation. Hence, the carbon trading market serves as an indispensable component in forecasting the carbon price accurately in advance. This paper innovatively explores an ensemble‐driven long short‐term memory network (LSTM) model based on complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD) for carbon price forecasting, applying it to all eight carbon trading pilots in China. The CEEMD was initially implemented for mode transformation in order to decompose the original complicated mode into a set of simple modes. Then, the partial autocorrelation function selected time‐lagged features as inputs for each mode. Subsequently, the LSTM was used to model the mapping between time‐lagged factors as well as each mode's target values, constructing multiple LSTM models for ensemble learning. Finally, the inverse CEEMD computation was introduced to integrate the anticipated results of the multi‐mode into the final results. Its practical application simultaneously embraced all eight carbon pilots in China, covering their corresponding carbon price data over a considerably long period. The obtained results illustrated that the proposed model driven by ensemble learning possessed sufficient accuracy in carbon price forecasting in China compared with the single LSTM model as well as other conventional artificial neural network models. Furthermore, according to the scope of its application, the innovative model exhibited strong stability and universality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the crude oil produced in China is highly viscous and easy to condense, and the pipeline transportation method is mostly heated. At present, frequency conversion technology is gradually applied to oil pump units. In order to find the best pipeline operation scheme, this paper is based on MATLAB programming software and established a corresponding mathematical model of oil pipeline energy consumption. This model innovatively takes the rotational speed of the variable frequency pump as one of the model optimization variables, calculating the pressure change and temperature change between stations of the pipeline, predicting the energy consumption of the pipeline and can guide the optimized operation of the pipeline, which has a high popularization and application value. An example of Qingtie Fourth‐line crude oil pipeline shows that among the genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization, and simulated annealing algorithms for solving the optimization model, the particle swarm optimization algorithm has fast convergence speed, short optimization time, obtains the most optimal scheme, and can reduce energy consumption by 7.84%, which proves the practicability and creativity of the optimization model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many calculation methods have been developed to forecast carbon emissions (CE). These methods can be classified into two categories: time series prediction and variables regression. However, time series prediction cannot fully use all CE‐related information and variables regression can only predict CE by knowing other variables in advance. To solve these problems, KLS is proposed in this paper which is a fusion of Kalman filter (KF), long short‐term memory (LSTM), and support vector machine (SVM). LSTM is used to predict CE as a time series, and 10 of 14 variables are selected by ridge regression (RR) to regress CE by SVM. Finally, KF is used to integrate the results of LSTM and SVM based on their variances. Overall, statistical filtering and deep learning algorithms are used in this paper, which achieved the fusion of time series prediction and variables regression. To confirm the effectiveness of KLS, we trained KLS model by CE from 1965 to 2005 and tested the model by the data from 2006 to 2014. The results showed KLS was more accurate than other four existing methods. Finally, we predicted the CE of China in next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy is a clean energy resource, so the large-scale deployment of photovoltaic ( PV) power generation is of great significance for achieving carbon emission reductions in the electric power industry. This paper proposes models and methods for evaluation of the low-carbon benefits of grid-connected PV power generation projects. The carbon emission (or emission reduction) characteristics and the economic benefits of PV generation are analyzed using the following four metrics: generation capacity revenue, PV cost, loss efficiency improvement, and reserve capacity cost. The corresponding low-carbon benefit models and economic benefit models are then established. By combining the low-carbon and economic characteristics of photovoltaic power generation, a model is proposed for evaluating the low-carbon comprehensive benefits ( LCBs) of photovoltaic power generation and the concept of a carbon emission payback period ( CPP) is put forward. Examples with typical operating data from real-world applications are used to verify the validity of the models and methods proposed in this paper. The analysis results show that photovoltaic power generation has great potential in terms of low-carbon comprehensive benefits compared with conventional power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's power market becomes more orderly, electricity retailing companies are influenced by multiple factors restricting their healthy, stable, and sustainable development. This paper explores these issues through four dimensions, the external basic environment, operating credit risk, financial credit risk, and transaction credit risk, and determines the credit risk evaluation index system, which includes 22 factors relevant to electricity retailing companies. To achieve this, this paper utilizes the characteristics of the intuitionistic fuzzy set theory and, in an uncertain environment, the proposed credit risk assessment model based on the intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (IFAHP). In order to improve the identification degree of the credit risk evaluation of electricity retailing companies, a penalty factor is introduced into the model, and the variable weight mechanism of dynamic adjustment hesitancy is proposed. Finally, we select five electricity retailing companies and use different evaluation methods to conduct a comprehensive credit risk evaluation, so as to improve the credit risk level of electricity retailing companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the complex geostress and mining conditions in the coal seam with depth of 800 m, stability of surrounding rock for gob‐side entry retaining is very difficult to achieve. In this paper, we firstly propose an innovative bolt‐grouting controlled roof‐cutting for gob‐side entry retaining (BCR‐GER) approach for deep coal mines. Secondly, a mechanical model of "surrounding rock‐supporting body" for BCR‐GER is constructed, which consists of coal wall, roadside props, and gangues in gob (the whole supporting body). Thirdly, the key parameters (ie, cutting height, cutting angle, grouting cable length, and row of roadside props) are designed. Finally, field practice was applied at the No. 31120 haulage roadway of the Suncun coal mine in China, and in situ investigations were conducted for verification. Field measurement results show that maximum convergences of roof‐to‐floor and side‐to‐side were 264 mm and 113 mm, respectively. What is more, the maximum support resistance of roadside props was reduced by approximately 58%. The deformation and failure of surrounding rock were effectively controlled, and the pressure on roadside props was greatly reduced. This research fully considers the bearing properties of gangues in gob, eliminates the secondary disasters caused by borehole blasting, and provides guidance and reference for deep surrounding rock control of the same or similar gob‐side entry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal permeability is a key parameter that affects the drainage of coal bed methane (CBM). Owing to the lower original permeability of coal seams in China, more attention was paid to the study of damage‐induced permeability laws. However, the theory of damage‐induced permeability still needs to be improved. In this paper, the permeability evolution experiments during the complete stress–strain process of coal were carried out firstly. The results are shown that with the increase in axial strain, the coal permeability decreases slowly at first, then increases rapidly, and finally increases slowly or even remains unchanged, and the peak stress point can be regarded as the extreme point of permeability. Then, the equivalent plastic strain was used to describe the damage of coal. Based on the above results, a new damage‐induced permeability model was developed, and the new model can match the experimental data of permeability very well. In addition, solid–gas coupling models of coal were developed based on the new permeability model, and the numerical results show that there is a region of sudden increase in permeability around the borehole where plastic failure occurs, which indicates that the damage‐induced permeability model is reasonable. Finally, the results of numerical simulation of gas predrainage in combination of soft coal and hard coal under different cases were used to optimize the borehole layout of gas predrainage in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staged multicluster fracturing (SMCF) is crucial for the low‐permeability coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs development. To reveal the fracture propagation mechanism and characteristics in SMCF and select appropriate hydraulic fracturing parameters, this study considers CBM exploitation in the Shizhuang block, Qinshui Basin in China as the engineering background. Then, XSite hydraulic fracturing software based on the discrete lattice theory and synthetic rock mass method is used to construct a three‐dimensional model. The influence mechanisms of the cluster spacing (CS) and lateral pressure coefficient (LPC) on the fractures propagation characteristics were investigated. With an increase in the CS, the stress interference between fractures gradually weakens, and the fracture deflection also decreases. Both the stimulated reservoir area (SRA) and fracture aperture of a single cluster increase with an increase in CS, but the SRA and fracturing efficiency exhibit limited growth when the CS is greater than 15 m. The SRA decreases exponentially with an increase in LPC. When the LPC increases from 0.4 to 1.4, the SRA decreases by 74.2%. The LPC plays a decisive role in the fracture propagation direction. When the LPC reaches 1.4, the fractures propagate along the horizontal direction. With an increase in LPC, the fracturing fluid pressure increases linearly, and the fracturing efficiency decreases exponentially. The results of this study reveal the fracture propagation law of SMCF and can provide a reference for engineering applications. In the SMCF at the 3# coal seam of the Shizhuang block, the CS can be set to approximately 15 m, and the CS can be appropriately reduced when the LPC is large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering China's goal of carbon neutrality, understanding the influence path and dynamic correlation between electricity consumption and relevant factors is essential for formulating a reasonable electricity development strategy and promoting high‐quality socio‐economic development. Based on panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2019, this study adopts the panel VAR model for research, with four notable findings. (1) Economic development, urbanization, and the urban–rural income gap directly affect electricity consumption. Industrial structure upgrading can affect electricity consumption through economic development and urbanization. Electricity consumption only directly affects economic development, whereas the effect on the other three variables could be transmitted through economic development. (2) Electricity consumption first inhibits and then promotes industrial structure upgrading, and it inhibits the urban–rural income gap. (3) Industrial structure upgrading first promotes and then inhibits electricity consumption. The urban–rural income gap inhibits electricity consumption. (4) Industrial structure upgrading and the widening income gap might hinder economic development through the adverse effect on electricity consumption. Based on these findings, several policy suggestions are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of hydraulic fracturing technology, shale gas has become a significant natural gas resource in China. At present, SRV (stimulated reservoir volume) fracturing technology is widely used to exploit shale gas reservoirs. To evaluate the shale gas reserves and design a development plan, a simple and rapid method is needed to predict the production and performance of the multistage fractured horizontal wells with stimulated reservoir volume in shale gas reservoirs. Network fractures with different lengths and widths are not symmetrical to the horizontal well. To account for the complexity of the fracture system and desorption characteristics of shale gas, a semianalytical multiregion seepage model has been established to analyze the performance of multiple fractured horizontal wells. In this paper, a triple‐porosity dual‐permeability model is developed for simulating the flow mechanism of shale gas. Different lengths and widths of network fractures, different fracture intervals, and asymmetry distribution are considered in this model. By employing the principle of Poisson's superposition and Bessel transformation, the fundamental solution of instantaneous point source function has been derived to calculate the pressure response of each hydraulic fracture. Then, the mathematical model for unsteady performance evaluation in multiple fractured horizontal wells has been obtained to simultaneously solve the pressure response of every hydraulic fracture. The sensitivity analysis in terms of the lengths and widths of network fractures, fracture intervals, and the asymmetry distribution of a complex fracture system is presented. The research results show that the SRV morphology will exert a great influence on the performance of multiple fractured horizontal wells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In traditional opportunistic group replacement maintenance (OGRM) strategy for wind turbines, the reliability thresholds of different subassemblies are set the same and its two‐step optimization for maintenance cost is diseconomy. In this paper, an improved OGRM strategy for wind turbines is proposed. A uniform formulation on maintenance cost concerning different maintenance activities is presented. On the basis of this, an integrated objective function minimizing the maintenance cost is established, and the reliability thresholds of each subassembly of wind turbines are individually severed as the optimization variables of the objective function. The coordinate rotation method is utilized for solving this optimization problem. A maintenance case based on the proposed strategy from a wind farm in North China is implemented, which verifies its superior performance than the traditional opportunistic group maintenance strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many mines often passively select supports with a higher yield load to avoid the occurrence of support crushing and roof falling during periodic weighting. This method is not conducive to improving production efficiency or reducing mining costs, but it can ensure safe mining. An effective method for overcoming these problems is to determine the reasonable working resistance of the support according to the structural forms of the key strata in the overburden of the stope during periodic weighting. In this paper, comprehensive theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and field observation were applied to study the discrimination of the key stratum structure (KSS) during periodic weighting and the calculation method of the support load. First, the KSS that affects the periodic weighting of the stope was classified. The "twice discrimination method" was proposed for determining the breaking form of the key strata and the articulated form of the broken blocks. On this basis, the spacing condition that determines whether adjacent key strata interact was analyzed. The discriminant conditions for synergistic breaking between the first subordinate key stratum (SKS1) and the upper key stratum were derived for the cases in which the SKS1 periodically breaks in the form of a cantilever beam, a voussoir beam, and a step beam. These conditions provide the basis for distinguishing the KSS in the overburden of the stope. In addition, mechanical models of the roof structure during periodic weighting were established, and general formulas for calculating the support loads of stopes with a single‐key‐stratum influence structure and a multikey‐stratum influence structure were presented. Finally, five fully mechanized coal faces with various mining conditions in China were considered for engineering verification. The results of this study demonstrate that the proposed method for determining the reasonable working resistance of the support is consistent with the field practice. The research results can provide a reference for roof control and support selection of stopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding existing fractures is critical to achieving high and stable yields in low‐permeability reservoirs, tight sandstones, and shale reservoirs. When multiple fracture sets are present in a reservoir, accurately determining the seepage direction of fluids is critical for the deployment of the well network, fracture reformation, and the design of horizontal wells. In this paper, based on conventional logging data calculations and rock triaxial mechanical experiments, a heterogeneous finite element model was established using the finite element software. The densities and the occurrence of the natural fractures were calculated by numerical simulation of the paleostress field; the fracture apertures were calculated numerically by a current in situ stress simulation. Using a combined static coordinate system and dynamic coordinate system approach, a model suitable for determining the 3D permeability tensor of multiple fractures is established, and the formula of the permeability tensor is given. In addition, by adjusting the rotation angle and flip angle in the dynamic coordinate system, the permeability of elements is predicted for different directions. The results show that fractures mainly trend in the NE (45°) and ESE (120°) directions. Additionally, the results of differential strain, microseismic monitoring, stress relief, and regional borehole collapse observations indicate that the dominant direction of the in situ stress field is ENE (70°). The principal values of maximum permeability in the reservoirs in the Chang 71 layer mainly range from 0.05 to 2 × 10−3 μm2, and in the horizontal plane, the direction of maximum principal permeability ranges from 56 to 124°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revelation of the distribution characteristics of stress and fractures in the floor strata is of great significance to improve the regional gas drainage efficiency and to eliminate or reduce the risk of coal and gas outburst in adjacent coal seams during multi‐seam mining. In this paper, the stress distribution in the floor under mining condition was derived, and the characteristics of stress zones in the floor were elaborated while mining the 22201 working face in Shaqu coal mine in Shanxi province, China. Besides, the propagation laws of fractures in different stress zones were theoretically analyzed, and the distribution law of fracture angles in the floor strata under different mining‐induced stresses was obtained. The research results demonstrate that the compression and transition zones show high vertical stress and less developed fractures and are dominated by fractures with a large angle (>60°), which is unfavorable for gas drainage. The expansion zone in the floor within 2‐40 m in the rear of the working face is characterized by high unloading degree of vertical stress and developed fractures. Moreover, fractures with a small angle (<60°) dominate the spatial distribution of the fractures, which is favorable for gas drainage. The research results can not only be a beneficial supplement to the theory of coal and gas co‐exploitation in multi‐seam mining but also provide theoretical support for optimizing the design parameters of cross‐measure boreholes under similar conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coal seam gas development in closed gob zone is still in the exploratory stage in China, and potential evaluation and sweet spots selection are the key issues. This paper establishes a complete evaluation system for selecting sweet spots for closed gob methane extraction with surface wells in the Tiefa mining area to reduce the blindness of area selection. The one‐vote veto system, the comprehensive evaluation index system, and the AHP‐entropy combined weight model are used to screen and evaluate the closed gob zones in the Tiefa mining area. A total of twenty evaluation units are evaluated and the development potential of which is classified as three levels by the optimal segmentation method. The relationship between the results of the assessment and the closed gob methane resource is also discussed, as well as the combined weight distribution coefficient. The results show that the development potential of the block cannot be estimated simply by the closed gob methane resource because the consistency between the comprehensive evaluation value and the closed gob methane resource is poor. The size of the combined weight distribution coefficient has little effect on the comprehensive evaluation values and only affects the ranking of evaluation units in a small range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional hybrid energy system (RHES) is an effective way to accommodate clean energy and reduce its uncertainty. It is also an important development direction for energy market reform, playing an important role in the field of energy supply and demand. Based on electricity price, thermal price, and the relationship between load supply and demand, the paper proposes an optimal scheduling model for regional energy systems to promote clean energy consumption. Firstly, the typical structure and system modules of the integrated regional energy system are introduced in detail, and the two subsystem operating models of electricity and heating are given. Secondly, a multi‐objective function that combines the economics and stability of the system is constructed. The model maximizes the economic benefits and minimizes the net load fluctuations on the basis of maximizing the consumption of clean energy. The multi‐objective singularity is realized by fuzzy membership function. The decision‐making risk caused by the uncertainty of clean energy output is analyzed by introducing robust optimization theory. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed model is verified based on a region in northwestern China. The results show that the proposed multi‐objective model can combine different optimization demands together, maximize the economic characteristics of clean energy while properly controlling risks, and provide reasonable support for decision makers to develop optimal operation plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coal production exploited from extra‐thick coal seams accounts for 45% of China's total coal production. With large coal output, the extra‐thick coal seams require that the chamber section be more than 100 m2. In case of parting (the noncoal rock, usually mudstone, sandwiched in the coal seam) in the extra‐thick coal seams, the integrity of the coal seams will be damaged and the large‐section chamber is extremely easy to occur rib spalling and roof leakage, which will increase the chamber's supporting difficulty. To solve such problems, this paper took the electromechanical chamber in Tashan Coal Mine as the engineering background and analyzed the deformation and failure characteristics of this chamber surrounding rocks by the numerical simulation method during the excavation process. The results indicated that the failure areas of surrounding rocks were mainly in partings, chamber ribs, and chamber dome with the failure depths of 15 m, 10 m, and 5 m, respectively. Based on the obtained deformation and failure characteristics, the supporting method of grouting integrated with high‐strength bolts and anchor cables was put forward. The grouting method was firstly used to improve the integrity of the chamber surrounding rocks, and the high‐strength bolts and anchor cables were used for supporting. Then, the supporting parameters of the bolts and anchor cables and the grouting parameters were optimized by the numerical simulation method. The optimized parameters were applied in the electromechanical chamber in Tashan Coal Mine, and the on‐site chamber ribs lateral displacement and roof separation amounts were only 0.018 m and 0.012 m, respectively, indicating that the surrounding rocks were controlled effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longwall face fall in the open face area is one of the most difficult ground control problems in mining thick coal seams in China especially under difficult geological conditions. This paper has proposed a new flexible bolting and grouting technology for face support. The flexible support method includes face support using flexible coir ropes and face grouting with cement and accelerator mixtures. Numerical and laboratory studies of pullout tests are performed to further improve the flexible support performance including optimization of boreholes and flexible bolts diameters, and selection of grouting materials. The results show that (a) The optimized rope‐borehole diameter ratio is around 0.5 to ensure the best face reinforcement; (b) The grouting material (a mixture of ultrafine cement, mineral powder and sodium silicate) shows advantages of low cost, effective waste disposal, reduced setting time, and good pullout limit force and is recommended for industrial application with sodium silicate at a proportion of 10% by weight and mineral powder at 30%. The application of the new flexible bolting and grouting method in Chenmanzhuang mine shows improved face stability and reduced capital cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most effective way to manage the surge in municipal solid waste (MSW) and global energy issues, waste‐to‐energy (WTE) incineration plants have been actively promoted by the Chinese government, and the public‐private partnership (PPP) procurement model is widely used to improve management efficiency. However, risk events have occurred frequently in this industry due to a lack of practice experience and to poor risk management. To investigate the potential risk factors in PPP WTE incineration projects in China, this paper aims to identify critical risk factors by assessing their severity and occurrence probability. Opinions of industry experts were collected via an empirical questionnaire survey. The respondents were invited to rate a total of 18 risk factors that impact the success of PPP WTE projects as gleaned from previous research. The overall results ranked risk factors based on risk impact and showed that public opposition, government decision making, defective legal and regulatory systems, environmental pollution, lack of supporting infrastructure, and government credit are the top six risk factors affecting the sustainable development of PPP WTE incineration projects. In addition, the causes and consequences of each critical risk factor are comprehensively analyzed. Lastly, practical and managerial implications are analyzed in terms of their management of these critical risks. The originality of this research lies in thoroughly identifying potential implicit risk factors according to the current social background using an empirical questionnaire survey based on case study findings. The results of this study are expected to improve risk management and facilitate the sustainable development of the PPP WTE incineration industry in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective extraction radius of borehole is the main parameter for determining the design and layout for coalbed methane extraction. This paper is aimed at the problem that the criteria and calculation methods for the effective extraction radius of coal seams are not comprehensive. With Wudong Coal Mine in China taken as an example, the critical gas pressure (0.441 MPa) for the calculation of effective extraction radius is first defined. Next, the gas seepage unit model around the borehole is developed, and the theoretical mathematical expression to calculate the effective extraction radius is derived. Then, the numerical simulation of gas extraction is carried out through a computational fluid dynamics program, and the effective extraction radius is obtained numerically. Furthermore, the influence of original gas pressure, borehole diameter, and negative pressure of gas extraction on gas extraction is analyzed. Finally, the results from the theoretical calculation and numerical simulation are validated by the field engineering measurement and the average relative error is small (less than 10%). The results indicate that the effective extraction radius has a linear relationship with the extraction time. Moreover, it is found that the original gas pressure is the main factor affecting the effective extraction radius and the effective extraction radius is proportional to the borehole diameter and negative pressure through analysis. Therefore, the above findings can provide a theoretical basis for determining parameters such as borehole spacing and extraction time of gas extraction in coal mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal and gas outburst is a potentially fatal risk during the mining of gassy coal seams, which seriously threatens the safe mining of collieries. To understand the outburst mechanism and evolution rules, a new apparatus (LSTT) was developed to conduct simulated experiment. In the context of an outburst accident in Dingji coal mine, the authors launched an authentic outburst experiment to replay the outburst accident. Experimental apparatus, similar criterion, coal‐like materials and gas sources, and experimental design were discussed systematically in this paper. Experimentally, the study analyzed the geo‐stress has significant influence on the outburst evolution. At the driving face, the stress concentration possibly caused gas outburst, under the influence of mining‐induced stress. After the outburst occurred, the stress balance of the coal changed, resulting in the instability of the coal. Furthermore, the elastic energy, gas enthalpy, and gravitational potential energy were released rapidly. The experimental result stated that outburst coal has the sorting characteristics, in line with the field outburst law. The intensity prediction model has been built based on the energy model. Moreover, the factors that impact outburst intensity were analyzed. In the process of coal and gas outburst, the gas enthalpy of gas and the elastic potential of coal are the main energy sources. This study provides guidance for the development of the outburst mechanism and outburst mine management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal seam with low permeability is widely distributed in China. Injection of flue gas (N2:CO2 = 0.85:0.15) is an effective approach to improve coal seam gas drainage efficiency. This process relates complex responses among ternary gases (CH4, CO2, and N2) competitive sorption on coals, gas diffusion, gas‐water migration by means of two‐phase flow, and coal deformation. In this paper, an improved hydraulic‐mechanical model coupling above interactions is established for flue gas injection enhanced gas drainage. This model is used to simulate flue gas enhanced drainage by finite element method. The sensitivity analyses of key factors are made to recovery a better understanding on the processes controlling flue gas enhanced drainage. Results show that the flue gas enhanced drainage can indeed improve the efficiency of gas extraction and reduce the gas pressure to the required value in a shorter duration. Due to the competitive adsorption and gas sweeping effect of injected flue gas, CH4 is driven toward drainage borehole, and CH4 pressure and content near the injection borehole decrease faster than that near the drainage borehole. The peak CH4 pressure laterally moves from the injection borehole to the drainage borehole. Higher injection pressure, initial permeability, and smaller sorption affinity ratios may lead to greater CH4 production rate at early drainage stage, but smaller CH4 production rate at late stage. The factors controlling the behavior of flue gas enhanced drainage are initial permeability, injection pressure, and sorption affinity ratios in order. This work offers useful framework to investigate important technical challenges associated with enhanced mine gas drainage, as well as unconventional gas development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydraulic fracturing is a widely used reservoir stimulation technique to exploit CBM in China. Compared with the original permeability of coal reservoir, the postfracturing permeability is more critical for the productivity evaluation of CBM wells. Based on hydraulic fracturing, microseismics monitoring, and well test data of the CBM wells in Zhengzhuang block of Qinshui Basin, this paper proposes a simple method to obtain the fitting pressure by the classic fracturing pressure decline analysis theory under the condition of corrected dynamic overall leakoff coefficient. In addition, the postfracturing permeability of coal reservoir is predicted by the injection well testing theory. The morphology of hydraulic fractures in the study area is mainly determined by in‐situ stress, and most fractures are vertical ones propagating along the direction of the maximum principal stress. The fracturing curves of the study area can be classified into stable curves, stably fluctuating curves, descending curves, ascending curves, and fluctuating curves, where the stable and descending fracturing curves represent better fracturing effect. The length of hydraulic fractures is much greater than the height. The PKN model has been selected as the hydraulic fracture propagation model to analyze the fracturing pressure decline. The slope value of liner segment of G(δ,0) curve is proposed as the criterion for the fitting pressure calculation. The postfracturing permeabilities of coal reservoir range from 1.55 to 8.83 × 10−3 μm2, all of which are remarkably higher than that of the original reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combined heat and power system (CHPS) is one important type of the integrated energy system in Northern China. Compared with the independently operated power system, the combined heat and power system (CHPS) has a great potential to improve the utilization of wind energy in virtue of the energy storage of the heating system and power‐to‐heat (P2H) devices. This paper studies the optimal operation of the CHPS equipped with the electric boiler (EB) and heat pump (HP). Comprehensive factors are considered, including P2H conversion, the thermal inertia of district heating network (DHN) and buildings, and adjustable heat loads. An equivalent model of the heating system is developed to express the direct mathematical relations between the heat source and heat loads. Redundant details of the DHN are simplified to reduce the complexity of the optimization problem. Furthermore, a self‐repair method incorporated with the real‐coded genetic algorithm (RCGA) is proposed to efficiently handle the nonlinear constraints. The effectiveness of the solving method is verified in case studies. The impacts of the EB and the HP on the CHPS are compared in details. The results show that the HP offers better performance than the EB on coal saving and improving wind power integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is vigorously promoting the development of coalbed methane (CBM) resources because CBM is cleaner than coal and a hazardous gas in coal mining. However, the CBM production in China is significantly lower than that in other coal‐rich countries, such as Australia and the United States. In this paper, the main problems hindering CBM development in China are discussed to provide management suggestions for the government. These key problems include exploration and development techniques, the overlap of mining rights, management, financial supporting policy, investment environment, regulations, and market conditions. The results of this study indicate that to improve the development of the CBM industry in China, national and local governments must enact specific and exercisable regulations to increase financial support, improve technology, increase investment in CBM exploration, strengthen public project establishment, and improve the reform of CBM exploration and development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is transforming the growth model and speeding up industrial structural improvement and upgrading now and in the coming years, which means the slowdown of economic growth and more serious environmental costs in economic and social development would be the "New Normal." As the world's largest energy consumer and carbon‐emitting country, China's emissions reduction commitments are crucial to global greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, so there is a profusion of research focused on China's economy‐environment nexus. Among which, the dynamic relationship of carbon emission and economic growth and its evolution combined the national, regional, provincial data have not been discussed thoroughly. This paper analyses the elasticity of economic performance of carbon emissions based on 30 Chinese provincial data from 2000 to 2016; furthermore, a panel vector autoregressive model is constructed to discuss the interactions of variables within environmental economic system. It is concluded that China is experiencing a turning point from weak decoupling to strong decoupling in recent years, and its economic performance of carbon emissions has been gradually improved with larger disparities among provinces though. Regression result confirms the role of the energy mix on carbon emissions, and it also indicates that the impact of most factors influencing that have been discussed in previous studies may not be direct, prominent, and for long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in extraction height will increase the mining‐induced overlying strata failure height. In this scenario, the strata pressure behavior is strong in a fully mechanized face with large mining height (FMFLMH), which frequently causes coal wall falls, roof falls, and hydraulic support failure accidents (e.g., support closure and hydraulic column damage). The key to solving these issues is to determine support's working resistance of the FMFLMH. In this paper, comprehensive theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and field observation were applied to determine the support's working resistance in the FMFLMH based on movement type of the first subordinate key stratum (SKS 1). First, six kinds of movement types of SKS 1 in the FMFLMH are found and defined by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, which are the direct caving movement type of cantilever structure (direct caving), the double‐sided rotation movement type of cantilever structure (double‐side rotation), the quadratic rotation movement type of cantilever structure (quadratic rotation), the alternative movement type of cantilever structure hinged structure (alternate hinged), the voussoir beam structure movement type (voussoir), and the short voussoir beam structure movement type (short voussoir), respectively. Besides, based on this, the support load calculation model of each movement type was established, and a formula for the support working resistance of each movement type was obtained. Finally, the correctness of the formulae for the support working resistance under six types of movement of SKS 1 were verified using measurement data from four FMFLMHs in China. These research results have important guiding significance for reasonable selection of support and ensuring safe mining of the FMFLMH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy supply policy quality is an important factor that would impact national energy security. While existing research conducted policy evaluation from the lens of performance assessment, less study has been devoted to evaluating energy supply policy from the perspective of policy making. This study takes the energy supply policy documents issued by China's central government during the '13th Five‐Year Plan' period (2016–2020) as the research sample, and pioneers the use of the extended policy modelling consistency (PMC) index model combined with the text mining methodology to construct a policy evaluation index system with the characteristics of the energy supply policy which conducts a more in‐depth quantitative evaluation of the energy supply policy documents. The results show that the average PMC index value of China's energy supply policies is 7.26, and the overall quality is high. The concerns of existing policies are mainly focused on reform and development planning, safety production management and project engineering construction, but there is still room for improvement in policy predictability, coordination of policy areas, clarity of policy basis and goals and comprehensiveness of policy tool combinations. Based on this, China should improve the comprehensiveness of its energy supply policy tool combinations in terms of policy design norm; strengthen policy predictability and coordination of policy areas in terms of policy implementation guarantee; and clarify the basis and goals of policies in terms of policy orientation enhancement, to provide a reference basis for the formulation and improvement of future energy supply policies and to realise the sustainable development of energy supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of available potential and suitable alternative options for various renewable energy sources ( RES) requires the explicit consideration of inter-regional disparities and site-specific conditions (e.g., environmental, socio-economic, and resources features) for a larger scale region or country. This paper presents a novel multiregional analytical framework considering inter-regional suitability difference and inter- RES competitiveness at a given location in order to support efficient and sustainable RES spatial planning strategies. A GIS-based multicriteria evaluation technique was used to identify the geospatial potential/appropriate sites for various RES through combination of satellite-derived information, reanalysis data, ground measurements, and statistical data. The composite index ( CI) considering location suitability and sustainability of renewable energy technology was then used to compare different RES options, and as a selection criteria to define suitable strategies for each specific region. A real case study concerning the China's eastern coastal 10 provinces of RES planning issue demonstrates the applicability of the proposed approach. The present results illustrate how to coordinate the competing relationships between inter-regions and inter- RES for a given location in the eastern coastal regions of China. This could provide useful insight into plan the long-term RES developing paths and facilitate the determination of optimal energy mix for the other same type area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As more than 10 years have passed since different countries started to build smart grids (SGs), a holistic review of the relative "smartness" of popular SGs may be useful to provide implications for other countries as they plan their own SG roadmaps. This study established a two‐dimensional smartness framework, including functional and technical dimensions, to describe and study the SGs' smartness comprehensively. Scientific research was used as a reliable source to construct SG profiles for North America, Europe and China, to understand the diversity of SG potential, and the SG projects implemented in these regions were used to further explore its' smartness. The research results revealed the following SG attributes: (1) Even if the functions performed by all SGs are not exactly the same, SGs in both North America and Europe are distinguished by their functional smartness, meaning they optimize their support for smart electricity usage; (2) China's SG contains less functional smartness than do those of North America and Europe, whereas more technical smartness related to the "energy internet" transition is highlighted; (3) since the SG transition involves both technical innovations and social reforms, although the SG in North America and Europe is superior to China's in terms of functional capabilities, when considering social acceptance, China's SG may actually grow more rapidly in the future. Finally, we analyzed the challenges and future directions in the construction of SGs, the implications for other regions in developing their own SG strategies were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better grasp the dynamic trend of the transformation and development of thermal power enterprises in the context of low carbon worldwide; the background of the transformation development of thermal power enterprises, the low carbon economic model, and the basic situation of the thermal power industry are reviewed and analyzed. Yearly quantitative distribution of literature, country (region) distribution, main source journal distribution, organization distribution, research hotspots, and frontiers are all analyzed, CiteSpace and Vosviewer are used to plot expertise area maps. The results show that the number of studies on the transformation and development of thermal power plants under the background of low carbon is on the rise in general, among which the contribution of China is the largest. Research articles have been published in 77 publications worldwide, mainly in the fields of chemistry, materials, and fuels. The framework of simple theories and research strategies has been completed. However, the research community is too targeted and there are few frontier branches. Based on technology development, process updating and process development, environmental remediation, electrochemical CO2 reduction, organic contaminants, active sites, and bifunctional electrocatalysts have become the leading research topics of thermal power plant transformation development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]