| Abstract: | With the rapid social and economic development of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the situation in regard to energy supply and demand is increasingly tense. Meanwhile, the development of renewable energy in Tibet has been given considerable practical significance by its peculiar ecological environment. Given the complementarity of renewable energies in Tibet, using the method of factor analysis, we derived four major factors: level of economic development, social development, industrial development, and energy endowment, which help to evaluate development conditions in different regions of Tibet. Treating these four factors equally, we used the hierarchical clustering method to determine the order of regional development. Thus we acquire a three-stage planning project for renewable energy. In the first stage, Lhasa plays a leading role in promoting the development of renewable energy, particularly that based on solar and wind energy. There are two phases in the second stage, the first being to simultaneously develop solar and wind energy in Xigaze and Nyingchi. The second is to develop solar and wind energy in accordance with the time of year in Qamdo, Nagqu, and Ali, with 1.145 billion kWh electricity to be generated. The third stage is to develop energy production in Lhoka Prefecture, with 1.369 billion kWh electricity to be generated. At the end of the three-stage project, consumption of available electricity will have reached 4.045 billion kWh, with major social and economic benefits. |
