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Renewable energy is regarded as an effective method to alleviate environmental pollution and accelerate the green transition in China. This paper systematically investigates the impact of financial inclusion on renewable energy demand by using S-GMM model based on provincial data in the green finance era. This paper also analyzes the asymmetry, heterogeneity, and mediating mechanism in the nexus between financial inclusion and renewable energy demand, and highlights the following findings: (1) Improved financial inclusion can promote renewable energy development in China and present the characteristics of green finance; (2) the impact of financial inclusion on renewable energy demand is asymmetric and heterogeneous; specifically, this impact is much higher in northern China and the regions with higher renewable energy development; and (3) wind and photovoltaic power generation are effective mediators between financial inclusion and renewable energy industry, while the mediation effects of hydropower and nuclear power are not significant. New evidence in this study is presented for the achievement of green transition in China, as well as practical policy implications for improving financial inclusion and increasing renewable energy consumption. For instance, fiscal and tax incentives and green investment subsidies in the renewable energy sector need to be further improved. • This study explores the impact of financial inclusion (FI) on renewable energy demand (RED) in China. • Asymmetry, heterogeneity, and the mediating mechanism are further discussed. • Increased FI can promote RED , which presents the characteristics of green finance. • The impact of FI on RED is asymmetric and heterogeneous. • Wind and photovoltaic power are effective mediators between FI and RED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid fuel use is harmful to the health of human beings and hinders the sustainable development of society. Although a considerable literature has sufficiently researched the negative consequences of solid fuel use, fewer studies have explored the determinants of residential polluted energy use in the framework of culture and socioeconomics by focusing on ethnic diversity groups. This paper fills this gap by investigating the impact of religion on the decision to use solid fuel for rural households in ethnic minority regions of China. In particular, we argue that to a large extent, religion provides spiritual support in ethnic minority regions, and it is positively associated with solid fuel use. We examine the issue by employing a large-scale dataset, namely, the China Household Ethnic Survey. Furthermore, this paper identifies two channels of the above finding. First, a pension is regarded as a living support that has a moderate effect in shifting towards clean energy adoption. Second, households located in less remote regions are able to counteract the sole spiritual support of religion, which also mitigates solid fuel use. The results are robust after addressing endogeneity and applying recent developments of alternative models. This paper further confirms that households with various religious activities turn out fewer working hours and have larger related expenditures, which results in less disposable income for energy use. In terms of policy implications, this article suggests the importance of recognizing the role of substantial living support and social inclusion in mitigating the negative impact of religion on clean energy use among rural households of ethnic minority regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of China's economy has driven the growth of energy consumption. However, the domination of the energy structure by fossil energy not only increases carbon emissions but is also an important source of fog and haze in China. This will cause global warming and increase people's lung diseases. To alleviate these problems, renewable energy (RE) development is crucial in reducing CO 2 emissions, promoting economic development, and reducing fog and haze in China. Industry accounts for the highest proportion of energy consumption, so an efficient adjustment of the industrial structure will greatly contribute to overall energy development, economic development, and environmental protection. By analyzing the sales output value of China's industrial subsectors, together with energy consumption and CO 2 emissions, this paper determines which industries should be encouraged and which industries should be restricted in China. Finally, RE strategies and industrial policies are proposed for Chinese government references. The contributions of the paper are three-fold: (1) propose a novel framework for the development of China in the aspects of energy, economy, and environmental policies; (2) provide valuable information for the Chinese government to enable it to understand which industries should be encouraged to improve its economic competitiveness; and (3) use hybrid methods (e.g., entropy method and weighted sum method) to rank the energy and CO 2 productivity, and the recommendations will provide strategic guidance for China's energy development. [Display omitted] ● China's Renewable Energy Strategy and Industrial Policy. ● Which industries should be encouraged or discouraged in China. ● Energy Productivity and CO 2 Productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking 141 listed renewable energy enterprises in China as a sample, the Richardson model is adopted to measure their investment efficiency in this paper. On this basis, an intermediary effect model of panel data is constructed to empirically analyze the intermediary effect of green financial development on renewable energy investment efficiency through bank loans, short-term loans, and long-term loans. We find that China's green financial development has a negative impact on bank loan issuance in general, and inhibits the improvement of renewable energy investment efficiency to a certain extent, with an effect degree of 0.0017. Besides, the short-term loan has few intermediate effect on investment efficiency, while there is no intermediary effect of long-term loans. Moreover, as for the over-investment renewable energy enterprises, intermediary effect of bank loans exists. Green financial development can inhibit over-investment in renewable energy by reducing bank credit issuance; for renewable energy companies of under-investment, on the contrary, it aggravates the under-investment to a certain extent. This paper suggests that the government should both construct and consummate the green financial system through policies and regulation. Financial institutions should actively produce innovative green financial products and support the development of renewable energy enterprises and the renewable energy enterprises should strengthen their internal management and develop financing channels. • This paper measures the green financial development index from 2011 to 2016. • A Richardson model is adopted to measure renewable energy investment efficiency. • Green financial development can inhibit over-investment in renewable energy by reducing bank credit issuance. • For renewable energy enterprises that are underinvesting, green financial development cannot alleviate under-investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transfer of energy-intensive projects to areas abundant in clean energy resources holds promise for optimizing the energy structure. After obtaining specific information on transferred projects of listed energy-intensive firms through search or phone contact, this paper innovatively constructs a three-dimensional panel containing 1,859,220 observations to empirically examine the attraction of clean energy to energy-intensive projects under the carbon intensity constraint policy (CICP). Our findings reveal that: (1) the CICP promotes the transfer of gray energy-intensive projects, leading to the transfer structure trending towards graying. (2) Furthermore, we observe a positive correlation between the proportion of thermal power in transfer-out areas and the outflow of gray energy-intensive projects. Conversely, areas with higher wind power and photovoltaics attract a greater inflow of gray energy-intensive projects. (3) Notably, clean energy predominantly attracts the inflow of gray projects rather than green projects. Our findings provide micro evidence and valuable insights into the transfer of energy-intensive industries, informing the design and implementation of future environmental policies for policymakers and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy piles have attracted much attention in recent years because they provide a profitable solution for efficient shallow geothermal energy utilization in different climatic regions. However, the long-term performance design of energy piles under different thermal scenarios currently relies on time-consuming and computationally expensive methods such as numerical simulations, which seriously hinders the further engineering application of energy piles. To this end, this paper provides a high-precision and computationally efficient model for predicting the long-term performance of energy pile design through an artificial neural network machine learning process. First, experimentally validated numerical models are developed. Then, they are utilized to generate the training and evaluate datasets for the proposed model by inputting sixty typical thermal load distributions in different regions of China. Finally, the performance of the proposed model is evaluated by comparing its calculations with those obtained using numerical models. The results show that the proposed model can predict the long-term performance of energy piles and enrich the current methods for the long-term design of energy piles. Furthermore, its features that tremendously reduce the computational time and minimum required resources make it an excellent supplement compared with numerical simulations. [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]

To find an efficient and economic way to convert wave energy, a one-base multi-buoy offshore floating wave energy converter Sharp Eagle Wanshan is designed, consisting of four absorbing buoys, one semi-submersible barge, and other components. The working principle of the device is described in this paper. An experiment of a 1:13.78 model machine was carried out to test the hydrodynamic performance of the device and make an initial evaluation for the design The influence of wave period, wave height, work load and wave direction was tested. After construction, two-stage open sea tests have been finished in the waters near Wanshan Islands from November 2015 to June 2016. The device showed great power generation capacity with total generated output of 30530.57 kWh, and largest daily generation of 1847.09 kWh. During the open sea tests, the energy conversion efficiency was measured, and results show that capture width ratio of Wanshan remains higher than 20% in the wave period between 4 and 6.5 s and wave height range of 0.6–1.8 m. After operating in a wide range of conditions, including a tropical storm on May 27, amounts of tests data, experiences and lessons have been obtained and will be summed up and presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's largest energy consuming country, it is important to study the mechanisms of improving renewable energy and energy efficiency to achieve green economic growth in China and globally. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of environmental regulations on green economic growth and renewable energy development in China, respectively. First, this study measures the level of green economic growth in Chinese cities by the Metafrontier-Global-SBM super-efficient data envelopment analysis (DEA) model from the perspective of energy efficiency. And the environmental regulation intensity was measured using an improved fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. Second, a spatial econometric model based on longitudinal data was constructed to examine the non-linear effects of environmental regulations on green economic growth and its spatial spillover and feedback effects. The results indicated a U-shaped non-linear effect of energy efficiency-related environmental regulation on green economic growth as well as a spatial spillover effect and spatial feedback effect. Finally, the impact of environmental regulation on renewable energy development was investigated. The results show that renewable energy development, an important component of green economic growth, is equally dependent on the implementation of environmental regulation policies and that environmental regulation makes a significant contribution to renewable energy development. The findings of this paper provide a basis for the realization of green economic growth and the formulation of renewable energy policies in China. • Impact of environmental regulation on renewable energy development was investigated. • A spatial econometric model of 286 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2018 was constructed. • Environmental regulation has a significant U-shaped effect on green economic growth. • Non-linear effects include spatial spillover and spatial feedback effects. • Environmental regulation promotes green growth earlier in resource-based cities. [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]

An efficient and equitable allocation scheme for renewable portfolio standard (RPS) quota is of great significance to renewable energy (RE) development and the improvement of the electricity trade market. This study establishes a quota allocation model based on the lowest cost of RE generation to determine the RPS targets (LC-RPS) of 30 Chinese provinces. Subsequently, an index system based on energy consumption, RE resource endowment, historical responsibility, and transmission facilities is constructed to determine the RPS targets (IN-RPS). Finally, the two scenarios mentioned above are compared with the RPS target allocation scenario published by the Chinese government (GM-RPS) and with the NO-RPS scenario. The results show that: Compared with those of GM-RPS and IN-RPS, the power generation cost associated with the LC-RPS is reduced by 8.5% and 49.4%, respectively, and the unit power generation cost is reduced by 9.4 and 39.7 RMB/MWh, respectively; the fairness of the LC-RPS is marginally worse than that of the other three scenarios, but the fairness of the power generation cost is still relative average, thereby demonstrating distribution fairness. This paper appeals to the Chinese government for the perfection of a national renewable energy certificates (REC) trade market and offering additional REC for solar generation. •Least-cost quota (LC-RPS) and index system allocation schemes are proposed. •The renewable energy (RE) generation capacity of 30 Chinese provinces is determined. •The power generation cost of the LC-RPS is reduced compared with other schemes. •The LC-RPS scheme is more efficient and meets national RPS targets. •The generation resources are diversified with the improvement of the national REC trade market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy has been considered as an effective way to solve environmental pollution and energy crisis in China. However, the development of renewable energy sector depends on economic growth and financial issues. Thus, it is significant to study the relationships of these three indicators in China. Using ARDL-PMG model, this paper explores the long-run and short-run impacts of economic growth and financial development on renewable energy consumption based on the panel data during period 1997–2017 at national and regional levels of China. The long-run relationships indicate that for China as a whole and western China, economic growth stimulates renewable energy consumption while financial development impacts it negatively. However, the short-run relationships show that economic growth and financial development influence renewable energy consumption negatively and positively, respectively. Moreover, we employ the Granger causality test to study the existence and direction of causality among variables. The causality test results display that the unidirectional causality relationships exist from financial development to renewable energy consumption for China as a whole and eastern China. Meanwhile, economic growth unidirectionally causes renewable energy consumption in China as a whole, eastern and western China. Our empirical results provide some policies to promote the development of renewable energy sector. • Dynamic impacts of financial development and economic growth on renewable energy use are studied. • The causalities among financial development and economic growth and renewable energy use are explored. • Our study was conducted at both national and regional levels using panel data models. • Financial development impacted renewable energy use negatively in the long run. • A unidirectional causality ran from renewable energy use to financial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the goal of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality", China is vigorously developing renewable energy. This paper aims to examine the major contributors to regional inequality in renewable energy consumption by analyzing the 30 provinces in China. We have analyzed the inequality of China's renewable energy consumption with Dagum Gini coefficient, and then use the Generalized Divisia Index Model (GDIM) to decompose the influencing factors contributing to the inequality of renewable energy consumption. The main conclusions are summarized as follows: First, renewable energy consumption was higher in the western region than in the central and eastern regions, and the regional inequality in renewable energy consumption have increased over time. Second, the study reveals that inter-group disparity is the primary source of regional inequality in renewable energy consumption in China. Third, at the national level, the results of the GDIM decomposition show that economic development continues to rely on fossil energy consumption, which negatively impacts the low-carbon transition of energy. Given China's complex geographical conditions, it is crucial for different provinces to develop their own strategies for renewable energy development, taking into account unique resources and challenges. [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]

The recent growth of the Chinese district heating sector has been very high. No other country in the world can show the same growth rate during the last decades. The heated building area increased six times between 1995 and 2008. China has also enjoyed strong growth of scientific articles and papers about district heating in recent years. One third of all international scientific journal articles and conference papers about district heating came from Chinese scientists during 2010–2012, while Swedish scientists accounted for one quarter according to the Scopus scientific search engine. It is important to identify the Chinese district heating research to judge the potential for future collaborative research on district heating systems between Sweden/Europe and China. The 205 international publications on district heating by Chinese scientists published until 2013 have been mapped and summarised with respect to demand, supply, technology, market and environment. More diversified heat supply with renewable source was grasping the Chinese interest, since many new systems have been established, having more degrees of freedom when choosing various heat supply and technology options. The Chinese district heating systems were compared with sustainable district heating solutions in Sweden. Both countries would benefit from future research cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an improved optimization model is proposed for demand response in a remote off-grid microgrid local on the Dongfushan Island, China to develop the energy dispatch and economic benefits considering different electricity price under different seasonal meteorological conditions. First, the seasonal electricity pricing model is built with the power generation of renewable sources in different seasonal meteorological conditions. Second, satisfaction is evaluated by the seasonal electricity price and the power consumption pattern. Improved Pareto optimum based on a distributed learning algorithm is proposed to maximize the satisfaction so that the electricity bills of consumers are reduced and the profits of the retailer is increased. The performance of the proposed optimization model is validated in the HOMER software and Matlab. Simulation results show that the electricity bills of consumers are lower by using the proposed method. For the retailer, the generation cost saves 1216$, and the utilization of renewable energy increased by 3.9% in January 2011. • Efficiencies and economics of demand response are verified in an off-grid microgrid. • A improve Pareto optimum is proposed to solving the demand response problem. • Electricity price model based on different season meteorological is proposed. • Reasonable control of flexible load to improve the efficiency of demand response. • The economic benefits of retailers and consumers are improved under demand response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes energy-related CO 2 emissions and production water use as the constrictions for energy development in northwestern China. By two period division methods such as one-year one-period and multi-year phased period, CO 2 emissions per unit of GDP and production water use are decomposed with a temporal decomposition technique. By compared with the average national level, carbon intensity and water intensity in 2016 are decomposed with a cross-regional decomposition technique. After a pairwise comparison of each influence factor between studied regions, what causes the variations in both intensity indicators among these five northwestern provinces is distinguished. Then the restrictions of energy development could be studied within an integrated framework of decomposing CO 2 emissions and water use in two dimensions such as time and space. Besides, the secondary industry is divided into non-energy industry and energy industry for the analysis of the effects of energy industry development. Moreover, renewable energy substitution factor is newly added to the decomposition of CO 2 emissions per unit of GDP, which is acted as an influence factor for the reduction of CO 2 emissions by the change of energy consumption structure. Finally, policy suggestions for sustainable development of energy industry in northwestern China are proposed. • Carbon intensity and production water use are decomposed by a temporal LMDI technique with two methods of period division. • Carbon intensity and water intensity in 2016 are decomposed by a multi-region decomposition approach. • Renewable energy substitution factor has been added into the spatial-temporal decomposition of carbon intensity. • The secondary industry is divided into energy industry and non-energy industry. • Renewable energy should be promoted during energy development in northwestern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes energy-related CO 2 emissions and production water use as the constrictions for energy development in northwestern China. By two period division methods such as one-year one-period and multi-year phased period, CO 2 emissions per unit of GDP and production water use are decomposed with a temporal decomposition technique. By compared with the average national level, carbon intensity and water intensity in 2016 are decomposed with a cross-regional decomposition technique. After a pairwise comparison of each influence factor between studied regions, what causes the variations in both intensity indicators among these five northwestern provinces is distinguished. Then the restrictions of energy development could be studied within an integrated framework of decomposing CO 2 emissions and water use in two dimensions such as time and space. Besides, the secondary industry is divided into non-energy industry and energy industry for the analysis of the effects of energy industry development. Moreover, renewable energy substitution factor is newly added to the decomposition of CO 2 emissions per unit of GDP, which is acted as an influence factor for the reduction of CO 2 emissions by the change of energy consumption structure. Finally, policy suggestions for sustainable development of energy industry in northwestern China are proposed. • Carbon intensity and production water use are decomposed by a temporal LMDI technique with two methods of period division. • Carbon intensity and water intensity in 2016 are decomposed by a multi-region decomposition approach. • Renewable energy substitution factor has been added into the spatial-temporal decomposition of carbon intensity. • The secondary industry is divided into energy industry and non-energy industry. • Renewable energy should be promoted during energy development in northwestern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economy has flourished since reform and opening up. At the same time, China's ability to attract foreign investment in the world continued to increase. However, with the rapid development of the economy, China's energy crisis and environmental pollution have been continuously deepened, exposing increasingly serious problems in the energy consumption structure. As a critical mean to address the environmental problems and achieve sustainable development, the production and utilization of renewable energy resources is particularly critical. This paper aims to investigate the relationship amongst renewable energy consumption, foreign direct investment and gross domestic product in 31 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2015. Specifically, the unit root test, cointegration test, vector error-correction model, impulse response function analysis, and Granger causality test are employed for the estimations. The empirical results indicate that there is a long-term and stable equilibrium relationship between gross domestic product per capita, foreign direct investment per capita, and renewable energy consumption per capita. Additionally, in the short term, foreign direct investment cannot significantly cause renewable energy consumption change; but in the long run, a modest slowdown in gross domestic product growth and targeted foreign direct investment will generate a significant boost on renewable energy in China. • Relationship amongst renewable energy consumption, GDP and FDI in China is examined. • Vector error correction model and fully modified ordinary least squares are employed. • Long-run equilibrium exists between renewable energy consumption, GDP and FDI. • There is unilateral causality from GDP and FDI to renewable energy consumption in the long run. • FDI cannot significantly cause renewable energy consumption change in the short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As climate warming intensifies, reducing greenhouse gas emissions has become a national consensus for many countries. Green finance plays an important role in promoting energy efficiency and lowering such emissions, but there is scant literature that analyzes the impacts and mechanisms of green finance on energy efficiency. Based on China's provincial panel data from 2010 to 2018, this research measures the green finance index using the panel entropy weighting method and systematically evaluates the relationship between green finance and energy efficiency using the fixed-effects model. The results show the following. (1) Green finance significantly contributes to energy efficiency and remains the same after a series of robustness tests such as endogeneity treatment, replacement of explanatory and interpreted variables, and replacement of regression models. (2) Green technology innovation and energy structure optimization are the transmission mechanism of green finance for energy efficiency, which means that green finance improves energy efficiency by promoting green technology innovation and energy structure optimization. (3) There is regional heterogeneity, temporal heterogeneity, and industry heterogeneity in the impact of green finance on energy efficiency. The positive effects of green finance on energy efficiency are more pronounced in resource-dependent regions, regions with irrational industrial structure, north regions, industrial sectors, and after 2013. The conclusions of this paper offer some policy recommendations, including promoting the development of green finance, building a cooperation platform for green finance and technological innovation, enhancing the depth and breadth of renewable energy utilization, and building differentiated green finance strategies according to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the construction of new power system, the installed scale of energy storage is steadily increasing in order to deal with the problem of safe and reliable operation of the system resulting from a large proportion of renewable energy installations connected to the grid. The pumped storage plants (PSP) have peak shaving, frequency modulation and standby functions which play a major role in ensuring the safety of the system and the consumption of renewable energy. By analysing the evolution of the pricing mechanism of transmission and distribution (T&D) tariffs and PSP, this paper analyses the influencing factors of PSP on T&D tariffs under different stages of electricity market development and establishes a conduction model. The empirical analysis shows that as the electricity market improves, the costs that PSP need to conduct through T&D tariffs continue to decrease. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate the construction of the electricity market and to reflect the value of PSP through market regulation, in order to enable the PSP to recover part of their fixed capacity costs without relying on T&D tariffs, and to gradually achieve self-profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the deployment and penetration of renewable energy is considered to be the fundamental way to solve environmental problems, but whether higher penetration of renewable energy means higher energy efficiency remains to be empirically tested. To reveal the relationship between cleanliness and efficiency in the energy sector, this paper first uses the three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA)method to measure the total factor energy efficiency (TFEE) of 30 provinces in China, and then applies static and dynamic panel threshold regression (PTR)models to estimate the nonlinear effect of renewable energy share on TFEE. The results show that renewable energy is usually beneficial for improving TFEE, but there are prominent heterogeneity and nonlinear characteristics in net electricity exporting and net electricity importing provinces. Renewable energy in low rather than high regimes can significantly improve energy efficiency, indicating that provinces with lower levels of economic development and energy consumption receive higher marginal energy efficiency and are more likely to achieve sustainable development goals. More renewable energy quotas should be given to economically developed and high energy consuming provinces, and comprehensive energy efficiency guarantees and improvement measures must be provided to achieve optimal emission mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Environmental sustainability is a topic of increasing concern among scholars, city planners, engineers and policymakers. Electricity consumption constitutes about two-thirds of a city''s carbon emissions. In high-density Hong Kong, the building sector accounts for 89% of total electricity consumption, with commercial buildings alone accounting for 67% of the total. This paper reports the results of an in-depth case study examining how Langham Place Hotel Mongkok Hong Kong (LPHKG) has successfully reduced its CO2 emissions by implementing a range of sustainability design strategies. LPHKG is a five-star hotel situated in Mongkok – one of the most densely populated districts in the world, with an estimated 130,000 people per square kilometre. In particular, the paper discusses how the hotel, in its efforts to achieve net zero-energy, has made wise use of technologies to maximise energy consumption efficiency in its existing lighting and air-conditioning systems and in the mechanical devices of the building itself. The overall implication of LPHKG''s efforts is that, although the initial investment required for such technologies is usually large, the resulting long-term cost savings can be significant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In order to improve living environment for the villages in Tibetan areas of Yunnan, this paper takes Shangri-La’s wooden architecture as research objects, analyses the site selection, plane layout, facade design, building materials and fabric detail of traditional rural housing by investigation. The paper also extracts the local inherent eco-technologies, and identifies the shortcomings of rural housing. Aimed at the flawed characteristics of Tibetan building such as the scattered building location, high Shape coefficient, less–story, poor insulation, massive energy consumption and redundant land occupation, this paper researches adaptable design strategies of green rural housing which is suitable to local condition, so as to boost the sustainable development of rural construction of Tibetan areas in Yunnan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Energy consumption is an international issue and plays an important role in the national energy security, especially for China of which the energy market is in transition. Accuracy and trustable forecasting of future energy consumption trends with nonlinear data sequences is very important for the decision makers of governments and energy companies. In this paper, a novel nonlinear grey Bernoulli model with fractional order accumulation, abbreviated as FANGBM(1,1) model, is proposed to forecast short-term renewable energy consumption of China during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). The new model is discussed in details with the fractional accumulated generating matrix and the Bernoulli equation. Further, the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is used to search optimal system parameters. Based on the updated real-world data sets from 2011 to 2015, the FANGBM(1,1) model is established to forecast the total renewable energy consumption, hydroelectricity consumption, wind consumption, solar consumption, and consumption of other renewable energies, respectively. The FANGBM(1,1) model presents high accuracy in all cases and is also proved to be efficient to deal with nonlinear sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Chinese Government paid more attention to the exploitation of offshore wind power, and it became an important trend in the development of wind power industry. However, the development of offshore wind power in China was still in the initial stage. Compared with land-based wind power, the development of off-shore wind power had not only weaknesses and uncertainties, but also strengths and opportunities. In order to research the development of offshore wind power, this paper summarized the aspects on policy, market, technology and development planning of offshore wind power in China, and then adopted SWOT method to analyze the influencing factors, which impact on the development of China's offshore wind power. At last, this article analyzed the internal and external factors that affect the golden period of offshore wind power development, and drew a conclusion that the golden period of offshore wind power in China will come in the future, and most likely around 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural household energy consumption plays an essential role in the daily life of farmers, especially in developing regions. In this paper, we present a study of household energy consumption in terms of energy sources and energy end uses, and analysis of technical and economic issues associated with the use of biomass and renewable energy and the replacement of fossil fuels. Results show that energy from biomass represents the largest share of total energy supply, and that 41.15% of total energy is consumed for home heating and cooking. The average cost of household energy is 1259 RMB ($US193.6) and this expense is no longer subsidized by the government. It takes less than one year to make a solar stove profitable and less than two years to pay back the household cost of biogas digesters. An 8 m3 digester can produce as much energy as 500–550 kg of standard coal or 940 kg of firewood, while a solar stove can generate 1.76 × 103 MJ heat each year. Moreover, it is estimated that in rural China the annual reduction of CO2 and SO2 emissions in 2020, due to the replacement of fossil fuel by biomass, will be 68.86 × 106 and 54.37 × 104 tons, respectively. Overall, the investigations and analyses have revealed that the structure of rural household energy consumption is undergoing a transformation from traditional low-efficiency biomass domination to integrated consumption of traditional and renewable energies. Renewable energy will significantly contribute to the sustainable development of rural households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With the critical worldwide energy shortage and global environment concern, lignocellulosic biomass is regarded as one of the potential renewable energy resources to substitute conventional fossil fuels. Among various thermo-chemical conversion technologies, gasification is now regarded as an advanced and efficient method. Based on the mechanism of biomass gasification, this paper outlines different types of gasifiers that have been developed in China. Air gasification technology has been employed in the rural areas or forestry/agricultural processing entities. Obviously, the product gas for cooking and heating can significantly upgrade the living standard of rural residents. The product gas for heating boiler and generating electricity benefits the forest or agricultural processing enterprises. For China’s sustainable development of energy and environment, multi-cogeneration of heat, electricity and liquid fuels together with chemical feedstock will be a potential direction for efficiently utilizing product gas from lignocellulosic biomass. This means oxygen (including oxygen-enriched air) gasification and steam gasification should be taken into more consideration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: One of the greatest problems in using renewable energy sources is the great variability of energy level, both in the short and long term. Geothermal energy, by nature, has high availability because the source is not dependent on weather conditions, so it is among the most stable renewable energy sources. In China, urban populations are provided with their electricity requirements, but rural areas need guaranteed electricity for socio-economic development. Fortunately, mid-low temperature geothermal resources are located proximal to rural areas without access to grid electricity in China. Small-scale geothermal power plants can support electricity demand as well as create employment opportunities for the rural public. Therefore, geothermal energy has the potential to play an important role in the future energy supply of China. Based on mid-low temperature geothermal resource and waste heat resource, the paper introduces the energy efficiency of single-flash and binary cycle geothermal power plant. The result shows that binary cycle plant is favorable for power generation when water temperature is below 130 °C, otherwise, flash steam power plant is a better choice. Furthermore, two project cases were analyzed in the end, focusing on the operating parameters and thermal efficiency. The single-flash and binary cycle geothermal power plants could be improved energy efficiency of low-grade resources and both widely utilized in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Since the start of economic reform in 1979, Jiangsu Province has become one of the most developed regions in China. To ensure adequate energy supply and sustainable development of economy and environment, it is necessary to analyze Jiangsu Province’s energy balance. The energy flow chart is taken as a useful tool for sorting out and displaying energy statistics data. The purpose of this paper is to draft the Jiangsu Province’s energy flow chart for 2009, which is used to study the characteristics of energy production and consumption in Jiangsu Province. We find that: (1) In 2009, energy imported from other regions accounted for 96.1% of the total primary energy supply. However, its energy supply mainly came from coal. (2) Jiangsu thermal power and heating efficiencies in 2009 were higher than those of Guangdong and China in 2007. However, its coal processing and petroleum refineries efficiencies in 2009 were lower than those of Guangdong and China in 2007. (3) Electricity supply in Jiangsu Province mainly depended on thermal power, which accounted for 88.97% of the total electricity supply. However, 96.36% fuel for thermal power was coal. (4) The share of final energy consumption of the secondary industrial sector was 81.28% in 2009. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An overview of energy consumption pattern by available data and the analysis of some relevant aspects of energy policy in rural China are presented in this paper. The most obvious trend is the steady decreased proportion of biomass use, from 70.79% to 30.95%, and increased percentage of coal and electricity use, whereas coal and biomass are the major energy sources in rural areas, accounting for more than 70% of the total rural energy consumption even in 2007. Moreover, the energy consumption varies tremendously across provinces both in total and by fuel types, due to diversities of geographic features, economic development levels and local energy source availability. The rural energy policy and strategy of China have been somewhat unique, characterized by multi-resources, multi-assortments and multi-distribution channels. Some evident transition features can be found for both the rural energy consumption structure and the rural energy policy during the concerned period, that is, from noncommercial energy to commercial energy and from just satisfying energy demand to multi-purposes considering more factors as rural development and environmental protection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The People''s Republic of China and its 1.3 billion people have experienced a rapid economic growth in the past two decades. China''s urbanisation ratio rose from around 20% in the early 1980s to 45% in 2007 [China Urban Research Committee. Green building. Beijing: Chinese Construction Industrial Publish House; 2008. ISBN 978-7-112-09925-2.]. The large volume and rapid speed of building construction rarely have been seen in global development and cause substantial pressure on resources and the environment. Government policy makers and building professionals, including architects, building engineers, project managers and property developers, should play an important role in enhancing the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the building energy efficiency process in forming the sustainable urban development. This paper addresses the emerging issues relating to building energy consumption and building energy efficiency due to the fast urbanisation development in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, energy consumption has increased considerably, and this has increased pressure on energy production. On the other hand, this pressure has greatly assisted in the development of the renewable energy in the past two decades. This paper reports the latest developments in the solar thermal utilization in China. A great deal of successful examples of solar thermal utilization are presented. Issues of most concern and interest, which are resisting a further development of solar thermal utilization, have been identified and discussed. A prediction for the prospect of solar energy thermal utilization in China is also presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]