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CO2 capture from coal power plants is an important and necessary solution to realizing carbon neutrality in China, but CCS demonstration deployment in power sector is far behind expectations. Hence, the reduction potential of energy consumption and cost for CCS and its competitiveness to renewable powers are very important to make roadmaps and policies toward carbon neutrality. Unlike the popular recognition that capturing CO2 from flue gases is technically and commercially mature, this paper notes that it has been proved to be technically feasible but far beyond technology maturity and high energy penalty leads to its immaturity and therefore causes high cost. Additionally, the potential energy penalty reduction of capture is investigated thermodynamically, and future CO2 avoidance cost is predicted and compared to renewable power (solar PV and onshore wind power). Results show that energy penalty for CO2 capture can be reduced by 48%-57%. When installation capacity reaches a similar scale to that of solar PV in China (250 GW), CO2 capture cost in coal power plants can be reduced from the current 28-40 US$/ton to 10-20 US$/ton, and efficiency upgrade contributes to 67%-75% in cost reduction for high coal price conditions. In China, CO2 capture in coal power plants can be cost competitive with solar PV and onshore wind power. But it is worth noting that the importance and share of CCS role in CO2 emission reduction is decreasing since renewable power is already well deployed and there is still a lack of large-scale CO2 capture demonstrations in China. Innovative capture technologies with low energy penalties need to be developed to promote CCS. Results in this work can provide informative references for making roadmaps and policies regarding CO2 emission reductions that contribute towards carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy consumption of office buildings has increased sharply since the 21st century with the increasing urbanization coverage. At this stage, the energy consumption of office buildings in China mainly comes from air conditioning and lighting. This paper obtains the regression equation of natural lighting illumination and radiant heat gain under different curtain conditions through experiments and simulations, and gives the theoretical calculation process of curtain regulation of office thermal and light environment and energy consumption. DeST and Ecotect software were used to analyze the thermal and light environment and energy consumption of the office. The results show that setting curtains in the room can effectively improve the indoor thermal light environment, the higher the transmittance of curtains the lower the lighting energy consumption, the higher the number of high temperature hours of natural room temperature and the greater the radiant heat gain. The room with thick curtains has the lowest energy consumption for air conditioning in summer, followed by the room with thin curtains, and the room without curtains has the highest energy consumption for air conditioning. The room without curtains has the lowest energy consumption for artificial lighting, the room with thin curtains has the second lowest, and the room with thick curtains has the highest electricity consumption for artificial lighting. The air conditioning energy consumption accounts for the main building energy consumption, followed by the lighting energy consumption. After setting curtains in the office, the air conditioning energy consumption caused by the solar radiation heat entering the room through the exterior windows is smaller than the lighting energy consumption caused by artificial lighting. Therefore, the installation of internal shading with moderate transmittance and good thermal insulation performance can make the energy saving of lighting and air conditioning energy consumption reach the optimal value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building sector is one of the largest energy user and carbon emitters globally. To increase the utilization rate of renewable energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the optimal technical scheme of active public institutions and coupled utilization of renewable energy is studied. In this study, the energy consumption of three types of public institutions in various regions of China was simulated by using DeST building energy consumption software, combined with energy conversion efficiency and data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, and the total energy demand and total energy supply of public institutions were predicted using the load density method. Based on the coupling mechanism of the MARKAL model, the optimal proportion of renewable energy in the energy supply of public buildings in different regions is determined. Through the study of the number of public institutions in various regions of China, energy consumption characteristics, construction area, and other related data, the reverse energy flow method is creatively proposed, and the active and renewable energy coupling algorithm from the energy demand side of public institutions to the energy supply side is established. The results show that the central region has the highest utilization rate of renewable energy in the public sector, reaching 36.18%. The use of renewable energy in public buildings in hot summer and warm winter zones decreased to 35.08%, and it was 12.82% in cold zones. By 2025, the proportion of renewable energy resources in China is expected to reach 29.2%. The energy coupling model and algorithm constructed in this paper can provide a basis for the coupling macro configuration of renewable energy in public institutions in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analysis the influence of economic growth (EG) and energy consumption (EC) on sulfur dioxide emissions (SE) in China. Accordingly, this study explores the link between EG, EC, and SE for 30 provinces in China over the span of 2000e2019. This study also analyzes cross-sectional dependence tests, panel unit root tests, Westerlund panel cointegration tests, Dumitrescu-Hurlin (D-H) causality tests. According to the test results, there is an inverted U-shaped association between EG and SE, and the assumption of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is verified. The signs of EG and EC in the fixed effect (FE) and random effect (RE) methods are in line with those in the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) estimators. Moreover, the results verified that EC can obviously positive impact the SE. To reduce SE in China, government and policymakers can improve air quality by developing cleaner energy sources and improving energy efficiency. This requires the comprehensive use of policies, regulations, economic incentives, and public participation to promote sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the expansion of the semiconductor industry, determining the huge associated water and energy consumption and accomplishing sustainable development can be key issues for this industry. This study surveyed the sustainability reports of 28 semiconductor corporations and summarized their environmental stewardship information. Overall, the total water withdrawal in 2021 was 7.89 × 108 m³, total energy consumption was 1.49 × 1011 kWh, and total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 7.15 × 107 tons CO2 equivalent. The total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions were 2.74 and 4.41 × 107 t CO2 equivalent, respectively. Surface water intake, municipal water supply, groundwater withdrawal, third party supply, and external reclaimed water intake accounted for 47.0%, 35.3%, 8.5%, 5.8%, and 3.2% of total water use, respectively. Electricity, fossil fuel, renewable energy, and others accounted for 83.7%, 12.0%, 2.7%, and 1.7% of the total energy use. In 2021, average water use, energy consumption, and GHG emissions were calculated to be 8.22 L/cm², 1.15 kWh/cm², and 0.84 kg CO2 equivalent/cm2, respectively, based on announced data. Ultrapure water consumption was predicted to be 5.51 and 0.95 × 108 m³ worldwide and for China, respectively. Effective sustainability strategies are supposed to be implemented to meet the considerable growth in water and energy consumption and GHG emissions for the semiconductor industry worldwide and in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]