• Energy Research
• engineering and technology close
• 11. Sustainability close
• Chinese Academy of Sciences close

As a relatively mature technology, biomass molded fuel (BMF) is widely used in distributed and centralized heating in China and has received considerable government attention. Although many BFM incentive policies have been developed, decreased domestic traditional fuel prices in China have caused BMF to lose its economic viability and new policy recommendations are needed to stimulate this industry. The present study built a regionalized net present value (NPV) model based on real production process simulation to test the impacts of each policy factor. The calculations showed that BMF production costs vary remarkably between regions, with the cost of agricultural briquette fuel (ABF) ranging from 86 US dollar per metric ton (USD/t) to 110 (USD/t), while that of woody pellet fuel (WPF) varies from 122 USD/t to 154 USD/t. The largest part of BMF’s cost composition is feedstock, which accounts for up 50%–60% of the total; accordingly a feedstock subsidy is the most effective policy factor, but in consideration of policy implementation, it would be better to use a production subsidy. For ABF, the optimal product subsidy varies from 26 USD/t to 57 USD/t among different regions of China, while for WPF, the range is 36 USD/t to 75 USD/t. Based on the data, a regional BMF development strategy is also proposed in this study.

Exploring the sensitivity of rural households’ livelihood strategies to livelihood capital is of great significance for improving rural households’ livelihood levels. This paper selects 23 livelihood capital measurement indicators and conducts an in-depth survey of rural households. In addition, the entropy method and a weighted comprehensive model are used to explore the basic characteristics of rural households’ livelihood capital in the upper reaches of the Min River, China, in 2017. Furthermore, econometric models are used to analyze the sensitivity of rural households’ livelihood strategies to livelihood capital. As indicated from the research, the livelihood capital levels of different types of rural households in the study area are not equivalent. The types of rural households with different livelihood strategies can be ordered in terms of quantity as follows: non-agricultural type > non-agricultural dominant type > agricultural dominant type > pure agricultural type. Livelihood strategies have different sensitivities to different livelihood capital measurement indicators. Among these indicators, cash income, the number of relatives and friends available for financial assistance, and the number of civil servants have positive effects on the livelihood strategy selection of non-agricultural dominant rural households and non-agricultural rural households. However, the average age of laborers, area of cultivated land and gardens, number of livestock and poultry, and present value of production tools have negative effects. These evaluation results can provide a scientific decision-making basis for the formulation of poverty alleviation policies by relevant government departments.

Coal will continue to be the main energy source in China for the immediate future, although the environmental pollution and ecological impacts of each stage in the full life cycle of coal mining, transportation, and combustion generate large quantities of external costs. The Late Permian coals in southwestern (SW) China usually contain high amounts of fluorine (F), arsenic (As), and ash, which together with high-F clays cause abnormally high levels of endemic fluorosis, As poisoning, and lung cancer in areas where coal is mined and burned. In this paper, we estimate the external costs of the life cycle of coal. The results show that the externalities of coal in SW China are estimated at USD 73.5 billion or 284.3 USD/t, which would have accounted for 6.5 % of the provincial GDP in this area in 2018. The external cost of human health accounts for 87.2% of the total external costs, of which endemic skeletal fluorosis diseases and related lung cancers have the most important impact. Our study provides a more precise estimate of externalities compared with its counterparts in other provinces in China. Therefore, several policy recommendations would be proposed to internalize the external cost.

Abstract Although the “resource curse” hypothesis has been supported by many empirical studies focusing on the transnational and regional levels, there has always been a point of contention about the proper method of estimating and selecting natural resource indicators in literature. This paper proposes a mixed estimation method for panel data of 10 typical oil and gas resource-based cities in China from 1998 to 2015. The results show that resource industry agglomeration can mirror the distribution and dependence on the resource industry by location rather than by merely measuring the influence of the relative scale of resource extraction on economic growth. Using resource industry agglomeration as the main explanatory variable for regional economic growth verifies the resource curse hypothesis and shows the nonlinear characteristics of the negative correlation between resources and economic growth. Despite mostly similar indicator parameter estimates, marked differences exist in measured effects for material capital investments and technological innovation investments. The result of using resource industry agglomeration as the main explanatory variable is basically consistent with the economic theory and is more in line with observed reality than the alternative indicator. The research conclusions can provide evidence and data for index selection in the studies on the mediating effect of resource curse transmission and international comparison.

Bioenergy is expected to play a key role in achieving a future sustainable energy system. Sweet sorghum-based fuel ethanol, one of the most promising bioenergy sources in China, has been receiving considerable attention. However, the conflict between sweet sorghum development and traditional water use has not been fully considered. The article presents an integrated method for evaluating water stress from sweet sorghum-based fuel ethanol in China. The region for developing sweet sorghum was identified from the perspective of sustainable development of water resources. First, the spatial distribution of the water demand of sweet sorghum-based fuel ethanol was generated with a Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) model coupled with Geo-Information System (GIS). Subsequently, the surplus of water resources at the provincial scale and precipitation at the pixel scale were considered during the growth period of sweet sorghum, and the potential conflicts between the supply and demand of water resources were analyzed at regional scale monthly. Finally, the development level of sweet sorghum-based fuel ethanol was determined. The results showed that if the pressure of water consumption of sweet sorghum on regional water resources was taken into account, about 23% of the original marginal land was not suitable for development of sweet sorghum-based fuel ethanol, mainly distributed in Beijing, Hebei, Ningxia, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Tianjin. In future energy planning, the water demand of energy plants must be fully considered to ensure its sustainable development.

Abstract The transition of energy structure to renewable energy is a social and systematic engineering that requires complex regional power interconnection as a support. Thus, an assessment of the economic viability of infrastructure investments for supporting such transmission expansion is crucial. This study presents a multi-regional power system optimization model to evaluate the potential economic benefits of infrastructure investments for the national inter-regional electricity network in China under various scenarios in the context of low-carbon transformation. Key factors influencing economic benefits are analyzed specifically and regulation barriers associated with inter-regional electricity trade are given particular attention. The results show that approximately 140 Giga Watt (GW) of infrastructure construction for the inter-regional electricity trade network is economically viable during the planning horizon. These new interconnections would lead to 250–440 billion RMB of economic benefits. Regional electricity trade barriers caused by imperfect market mechanisms have a negative impact on the economic benefits of transmission infrastructure investments, although they promote scale and utilization efficiency in the power sector of electricity-importing regions. Improving the national grid coordination mechanism to break the grid isolation between the State Grid Corporation of China and the China Southern Power Grid is crucial, because a large number of transmission lines connecting these two national-level power grids are economically viable.

Abstract Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is widely regarded as a significant and sustainable renewable energy option to fight against climate change.Accordingly, it is important to explore the potential of greenhouse gases (GHGs) mitigation and temperature benefits by substituting PV-generated power for coal-fired electricity. This necessity becomes particularly clear given that China hascommitted itself to a carbon emissions peak around 2030. Based on an integrated energy-economy-environmental model and a simple climate response model, we reach the following conclusions: (1) By restraining the cumulative GHGs emissions space within 255 GtCO 2eq till 2050, PV solar promises to dominate GHGs mitigation, with the highest contribution reaching 64.67%. (2) Under the moderate emissions-control case, China will achieve its emissions peak target, with solar energy substitution relieving the nation׳s dependence on coal. (3) The highest radiative forcing and temperature benefits yieldedthrough replacing coal-generated power with solar power is around 20% and 11.05%, respectively. (4) Finally, it is not too costly to gain such benefits: at most, the accumulated economic cost would be 102.14 trillion Yuanuntil 2050, accounting for less than 3% of the accumulated GDP.

AbstractEnergy is the biggest crisis to humanity in the future. Nowadays, most of the energy used on earth comes from oil, gas and coal. According to the recent exploring and consuming rates, the energy will be exhausted in 50-100 years. Whether we can solve the crisis is closely related to the survival of humanity on the earth. The irradiation from the sun is the biggest energy source. Building PV power plant to utilize the energy from sun will be an only way to sustain the life cycle on the earth. However, the development of PV power plants require the huge supply of PV cell and the fabrication process may bring a quantity of pollution and waste, which is harmful to the environment. On the other hand, super large PV power plant will occupy huge land. If the land cannot be explored and used reasonably, this will not benefit the human life either. In this article, we address the discussions about the above problems and propose the initial suggestions about development trend of PV industry and the safety operation mode of super PV power plant.