Renewable Energy Legislation in China: Political and Institutional Strategy for Effective Implementation

Abstract

Over the past decade, the Chinese government has developed several plans regulations and policy measures related to the development of renewable energy technologies and has implemented a series of pilot projects. Chinese policymakers have spent several years studying how renewable energy policy models that have been used internationally could be implemented in China. Programs are currently underway to implement pilot renewable portfolio standards, or mandatory market shares (MMS) for renewable energy, in several provinces. This paper examines the primary institutions that are involved in promoting renewable policies in China, the structure of the policies that currently are being drafted, and the status of the complementary, national-level renewable energy law being drafted to provide a legal basis for ongoing local and national-level policies. It then examines the legal requirements for promoting renewable energy legislation under the Chinese law-making system. Finally, it provides recommendations for strategies to ensure the smooth implementation of a multi-faceted national renewable energy policy and legal framework.     

Renewable Energy Legislation in China:Politicaland Institutional Strategy for EffectiveImplementation

Over the past decade, the Chinese government has developed several plans regulations and policy measures related to the development of renewable energy technologies and has implemented a series of pilot projects. Chinese policymakers have spent several years studying how renewable energy policy models that have been used internationally could be implemented in China. Programs are currently underway to implement pilot renewable portfolio standards, or mandatory market shares (MMS) for renewable energy, in several provinces. This paper examines the primary institutions that are involved in promoting renewable policies in China, the structure of the policies that currently are being drafted, and the status of the complementary, national-level renewable energy law being drafted to provide a legal basis for ongoing local and national-level policies. It then examines the legal requirements for promoting renewable energy legislation under the Chinese law-making system. Finally, it provides recommendations for     

Carbon neutral Biggar: calculating the community carbon footprint and renewable energy options for footprint reduction

The objective of this research was to develop a community carbon footprint model that could be used to assess the size and major components of a community’s carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The town of Biggar aims to become Scotland’s first carbon neutral town. As expected for this rural community, car transport accounted for nearly half of the CO₂ emissions, with natural gas and electricity consumption resulting in a further 24% and 12% of total emissions, respectively, and air travel being the last major component at 10% of emissions. An assessment was also made of the wind and solar resources of the town. One large wind turbine would provide the town’s electricity, while three to four turbines would be needed to offset all CO₂ emissions. In contrast, offsetting by tree planting would require in the region of 2,000 ha of trees.

Energy efficiency and conservation for individual Americans

Americans make up only 4% of the world population, yet currently consume 25% of the world’s fossil fuels. The U.S. imports 63% of its oil and it is predicted that by 2020 the U.S. will be importing 95% of its oil resources. Over the past century, ample and affordable supplies of fossil fuels have powered the growth and prosperity of the economies of the US and other countries. Within this century, world oil supplies will decline while demand is projected to continue to increase, suggesting that we will have to transition to different fuels or become much more energy efficient or both. Looking ahead to the near decades, estimates are that consumers will have to reduce their energy use by at least 50%. This reduction will be necessary in large part due the decline in the availability of conventional oil and gas, but also because the U.S. population will continue to grow in number. Although government action is important, individuals too often discount their ability to make significant contributions to solving such major problems. This investigation identifies how informed and concerned individuals can collectively conserve fossil energy. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Scenario Formation of Energy Demand and CO_2 Emissions for Sustainable China

Co-integration theory has been employed in this paper and Granger causes are found between urbanization rate and GDP, between capital stock and GDP. Scenario analysis of GDP is performed using the GDP model established in the paper. The energy consumptions in Germany, Japan and other developed countries are analyzed and compared with the energy consumption in China. Environmental friendly scenario of energy demand and CO2 emissions for sustainable China has been formed based on the results of comparison. Under environmental friendly scenario, the primary energy consumption will be 4.31 billion ton coal equivalence （tee） and CO2 emissions will be 1.854 billion t-c in 2050; energy per capital will be 3.06 tee that is 1.8 times of energy consumed in 2005 in China and 51% of consumed energy per capital in Japan in 2003. In 2050, the energy requirement of unit GDP will be 20% lower than that of Germany in 2003, but will be still 37% higher than that in Japan in 2003. It is certain that to fulfill the environmental friendly Scenario of energy demand and CO2 emissions is a difficult task and it needs long term efforts of the whole society, not only in production sectors but also in service and household sectors,     

中国工业化、城市化进程中的能源需求预测与分析

为了取得可靠的能源需求预测,本文引入工业化、城市化等重要因素,利用支持向量回归机在时间序列预测中的优势,确定了输入向量集合和输出向量集合,建立基于支持向量回归机能源需求预测模型.将我国1985-2009年能源需求相关数据进行模拟与仿真,并对中国2010-2020年能源需求量进行预测,并模拟解释变量不同增长率下能源需求的演变并给出政策选择.研究结果表明,中国高速的经济增长以及工业化和城市化的发展对能源需求影响很大,到2020年能源需求将达到45.3亿t标准煤,而且经济增长速度越快对能源需求就越大.变量模拟得出的结论是产业结构也是能源需求重要影响因素之一,工业结构的调整,即便是微调,也会对能源需求有很大的抑制作用;中国城市化进程以及城市化发展阶段所表现出的工业化特征,推动了能源需求快速增长,城市化率越高对能源需求越大,且对能源需求是刚性的,城市化也是能源需求重要影响因素之一.     

中国省际技术进步、技术效率与区域能源需求

构建了技术进步、技术效率与区域能源需求的分析框架,采用Malmquist指数估算1995-2007年中国29个省(直辖市、自治区)的全要素生产率(TFP)增长,并将其分解为技术进步指数和效率变化指数。在此基础上,实证分析了技术进步、技术效率对区域能源需求的影响,并考察了能源相对价格、人力资本和固定资本存量等因素,进行技术进步、技术效率对能源需求影响的实证检验,为我国制定合理的区域节能政策提供理论依据。本文的研究结果表明,技术进步、技术效率对能源需求的影响表现出明显的地区差异:技术效率对东部和中部地区的能源需求有显著负影响;技术进步只对东部地区的能源需求有显著负影响;技术进步、技术效率对西部地区的能源需求均没有显著影响。各个地区不同的经济基础、能源资源禀赋和对外开放度可能是造成该现象的主要原因。在上述结论基础上,论文对中国区域技术进步与节能提出了相应的政策建议。     

中国工业化进程与能源矿产供需均衡的研究

工业化与能源需求的均衡关系及解决工业化进程中能源供需失衡的战略途径是中国工业化进程中需要探讨的重大问题.文章运用协整技术,就1990-2008年间中国工业化进程与能源需求协整关系的检验,认为中国工业化与能源需求增长具有长期稳定的均衡关系,能源需求将继续保持增长,能源利用效率也将持续提高.然而工业化进程中重工业化高能耗结构特征与能源低效利用并存的困境以及能源供需矛盾不利于能源供需平衡的平稳发展.我国应适应工业化进程的基本规律,转变能源消费方式;走新型工业化道路,适当限制低附加值产业发展,鼓励产业向离附加值、低能耗、高技术产业转移;在实现能源开发利用技术进步和创新的同时.有效利用国内外能源资源;建立能源应急机制等战略途径来实现工业化进程中能源供需平衡发展.     

Energy Communication: Theory and Praxis Towards a Sustainable Energy Future

This essay comments and expands upon an emerging area of research, energy communication, that shares with environmental communication the fraught commitment to simultaneously study communication as an ordinary yet potentially transformative practice, and a strategic endeavour to catalyse change. We begin by defining and situating energy communication within ongoing work on the discursive dimensions of energy extraction, production, distribution, and consumption. We then offer three generative directions for future research related to energy transitions as communicative processes: analysing campaigns’ strategic efforts, critically theorizing energy’s transnational power dynamics, and theorizing the energy democracy movement.     

Energy revolution:for a sustainable future

The discovery and use of fossil fuels have not only helped the evolution of human society from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization,but also caused serious environmental and climate problems.The earth is calling for a sustainable future,and a change from industrial civilization to ecological civilization based on the new"energy revolution".A macroscopic quantitative analysis of China’s environmental capacity and climate capacity shows that China is in urgent need of changing the extensive developing mode and having an energy revolution.It is foreseeable that fossil fuels will remain the most consumed source of energies in China now and in the next few decades.Although the efficient and clean use of fossil fuels are very important,this is not an energy revolution or the fundamental solution to environmental and climate problems.Unconventional gases including shale gas play an important role in the mitigation of environmental problems and climate change,but"shale gas revolution"or"shale gas era"is not suitable to China since the proportion of natural gas in primary energy structure in China can only be increased by a maximum of 20%.The transition of Chinese energy structure from fossil-fuels-dominating stage to multiple-energy-sources stage and then to a nonfossil-fuels-dominating stage is the inevitable future,with the help of great contribution from renewable energy and nuclear energy.Among renewable energies,the proportion of non-hydro renewable energies will gradually increase.Improvement of their market competitiveness(economic efficiency)relies on technological innovation.Renewable energies will be the main energy source for the earth in future.Despite the impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster,the whole world,including China,will not give up nuclear energy development.Safe,steady,and large-scale development of nuclear power is a rational choice of China.Transition from nuclear fission power plant to nuclear fusion power plant is the inevitable future.Nuclear energy will be a sustainable energy source and another main energy source of the earth in future.China needs to enhance energy security consciousness,promote energy saving,and change the energy supply-demand patterns,that is the transition from"meet a too-fast-growing demand with an extensive supply"to"meet a reasonable demand with a rational supply".All countries need to work together to address global environmental problems and climate change.Energy revolution is the foundation for a sustainable future.With a wide range of international cooperation,the win-win cooperation is the only way of overcoming these challenges.     

新能源汽车需求市场培育的政策取向:供给侧抑或需求侧

政策支持是促进新能源汽车消费市场等商业化条件成熟的重要手段。近年来,中央和一些地方政府在新能源汽车需求市场培育的"供给侧"和"需求侧"都先后出台了相应的市场培育政策。"供给侧"和"需求侧"的政策功能与效果不完全相同,地方政府在选择和应用新能源汽车需求培育政策时面临着诸多困惑。论文尝试将基尼系数分解法引入到新能源汽车需求市场"供给侧"和"需求侧"政策实施效果的区域差异分析中,分析了我国培育新能源汽车消费市场培养"供给侧"和"需求侧"政策取向的分布情况以及现阶段政策取向所面临的困惑,应用我国新能源汽车试点推广城市数据开展了实证研究。结果表明,"供给侧"政策着力于改善新能源汽车消费市场供给体系的质量和效率,为需求市场持续发展提供驱动力量;"需求侧"政策着力于激发新能源汽车消费的积极性和购买能力,为需求市场持续发展提供拉动力量。"供给侧"和"需求侧"政策在不同收入水平区域试点城市中的实施效果存在差异,高收入区域试点城市"供给侧"和"需求侧"政策都有着明显效果,但是"供给侧"政策效果更为显著;中等收入区域试点城市"需求侧"政策效果十分显著,"供给侧"政策效果相对较弱;收入稍低区域试点城市则以"供给侧"政策效果更为显著,"需求侧"政策效果相对较弱。我国新能源汽车市场培育在"供给侧"和"需求侧"政策取向上应因地制宜,各有侧重点。     

Spatial and temporal variation of energy carbon emissions in Yantai from 2001 to 2011

In order to understand the characteristics of spatial and temporal variation, as well as provide effective ideas on carbon emissions and regulatory policy in Yantai, this article analyzed spatial and temporal variation of carbon emissions in Yantai based on energy consumption statistics for a variety of energy sorts together with industrial sectors from 2001 to 2011. The results were as following: First of all, Yantai’s carbon emissions grew by an average of 5.5% per year during the last 10 years, and there was a peak of 10.48 million carbon in the year of 2011. Second, compared with the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, the figures for energy carbon emissions growth rate were smaller; however the problem of carbon emissions were still more obvious. Furthermore, carbon emissions in Yantai increased rapidly before 2008; while after 2008, it increased more slowly and gradually become stable. Third, the energy consumption was different among regions in Yantai. For instance, the energy consumption in Longkou city was the largest, which occupied 50% of the total carbon emissions in Yantai; and the energy consumption in Chang Island was generally less than 1% of the Longkou consumption. Finally, there were relative close relationships among the spatial difference of carbon emissions, regional resources endowment, economic development, industrial structure, and energy efficiency.     

Energy conservation and waste utilization in the cement industry serve the green technology and environment

The cement industry is one of the most energy-intensive industries consuming 4 GJ/ton of cement, i.e. 12–15% of the energy use in total industry. Energy cost accounts for 30% of the total cost of cement production. Seventy-five per cent of this energy is due to the thermal energy for clinker production. It is also found that 35% of this supplied thermal energy is lost in flue gas streams. Most modern kilns use pet coke or coal as their primary fuel. Instead, the municipal waste in landfills offer a cheap source of energy and reduce the environmental effects of dumping solid waste. The calcination and drying processes and the kiln need large quantities of thermal energy. About 40% of the total energy input is lost in the hot flue gases and cooling the stack plus the kiln shell. Hence, it is suitable to use an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to recover the exhaust energy from the kiln. Alternatively, a 15 MW gas turbine engine combined with a steam turbine could be utilized. It was found that ORC produces 5 MW with a capital cost recovery period of 1.26 years. However, the gas turbine combined system produces 21.45 MW with a maximum recovery period of 2.66 years.     

能源强度收敛:对发达国家与发展中国家的检验

能源强度是指一个国家或地区生产单位产值所消耗的能源量,它反映了经济系统对能源的依赖程度和能源的使用效率。许多国家的能源强度曲线在直观上表现出收敛的显著特征。为了对这一现象进行严格的证明和检验,该文依据时间序列协整概念,首先提出了能源强度收敛的定义,然后从一个包含能源投入的内生增长模型出发,从理论上证实了能源强度收敛的存在性。为了对能源强度收敛进行实证检验,选取24个国家,并划分组合为5组样本,分别对能源强度收敛进行了σ收敛检验和协整检验,结果表明:高收入国家、高中收入国家、中低收入国家、发展中国家和样本中所有国家都存在能源强度收敛现象;σ收敛检验还揭示出各组样本中能源强度收敛的时间段以及收敛程度的大小排序。     

Rearticulating Nuclear Power: Energy Activism and Contested Common Sense

This essay utilizes the perspective of articulation theory to examine how environmental advocates, public interest organizations, and citizen-consumers have challenged the nuclear industry's expansion efforts, linking strategies at local and global levels. The industry has articulated a material and discursive formation including reactor construction projects, financial and political arrangements, and an overarching narrative of nuclear necessity and inevitability. Opponents have responded by linking organizations, individuals, histories, geographies, and expertise, re-articulating the place of nuclear power in the field of energy choices. This essay examines those opposing articulations in the context of efforts to construct new nuclear power plants in the southeastern USA. There, opponents have challenged state-level regulatory approval of a corporate merger that would facilitate new nuclear construction and financing arrangements that would shift economic risks from the corporation to consumers. These local engagements have broader consequences: in challenging one corporation's nuclear ambitions, opponents also challenge the global industry narrative of nuclear necessity and inevitability.     

US Energy Conservation and Efficiency: Benefits and Costs

With increased energy conservation plus the adoption of diverse energy efficient technologies, the US economy could save about 32 quads or about 33% of its current energy consumption, if sound conservation energy use policies were implemented over approximately 10 years. This potential of 32 quads is slightly greater than the current US oil imports. The systems that have the greatest potential to provide major energy savings are transportation, residential energy use, and the food system. Not only saving energy has merit in itself, but it would save US citizens approximately $438 billion per year, helping support the US economy, a high standard of living, and energy security. In addition, this analysis suggests that reducing the $40 billion in taxpayer money spent on subsidies of the energy industries would further increase conservation.     

江苏省能耗结构优化及其节能与减排效应分析

综合考虑江苏省经济增长、能源节约与C02、SO2减排的目标,运用改善的GADS优化算法对江苏省能耗结构进行优化,并对比江苏省低碳发展的情景,测算了江苏省能源消费结构优化的节能减排效应.研究结果表明:①能耗结构优化主要表现为高碳能源低度化,低碳能源离度化的演变过程.煤炭仍占主导地位,且呈倒"U",型的发展趋势,2020峰值1.822×108 tce,而天然气与低碳能源在总量与结构上均呈上升趋势;②能源结构优化具有正负双向效应,一方面节能减排效应显著,2020年将节能2.244×108tce,CO2:减排1.275×108t,但难以实现2020年减排目标,还需其它方面的努力.另一方面由干能源成本等因素造成GDP较之于低碳情景将减少2.096×1012元;③以"低"代"商"的能源优化策略是转移环境压力的主要途径,但其先决条件是煤炭资源的清洁高效利用与新能源核心技术的突破.未来江苏省能源消费结构的优化应以煤炭资源的清洁、高效利用为主,同时加快风能、太阳能、生物质能等新能源资源的产业化、规模化发展.     

Energy intensity and its determinants in China: an empirical study based on ARDL-VECM approach

The present study aims to better understand the relationship between energy intensity and its determinants including energy price, technological progress, economic structure, and energy mix using the autoregressive distributed lag(ARDL) bounds approach and vector error correction model technique. Based on China's time series over 1985-2014, the ARDL bounds approach yields empirical evidence that confirms the existence of long run relationship between energy price, technological progress, economic structure, energy mix, and energy intensity. The results show that technological progress is an important driver for the declining energy intensity in short and long run. Energy price has not been demonstrated as an important role in decreasing energy intensity in the short run. The high share of coal use in total energy use may be responsible for China's high energy intensity.However, the relative change in economic sectors plays a minor role in energy intensity reduction during the past years. In the long run, technological progress, energy mix and energy prices Granger cause energy intensity, but not vice versa except for the energy mix.     

Energy consumption model and energy efficiency evaluation for CNC continuous generating grinding machine tools

Abstract

Machine tool, which is the basis energy consumed device in manufacturing system, its energy consumption model and energy efficiency evaluation are the prerequisites for energy saving in manufacturing. Considering the multi-energy-sources features,analysed the mathematical model of a CNC continuous generating grinding machine tool from the view of energy constitute. The energy sources of a CNC continuous generating grinding machine tool are classified into gear grinding system, grinding wheel dressing system and auxiliary system. Based on the power balance equations of energy flow, the energy flow system of a CNC continuous generating grinding machine tool is established. And then the energy consumption mathematical model of a CNC continuous generating grinding machine tool is set up by combining the power balance equations with the operating features of three kinds of energy sources. The case study shows that the proposed energy consumption model can provide fundamental support for energy consumption forecasting, energy efficiency analysis and energy-saving optimisation during the machine tool operation process.     

基于工业化视角的能源效率评价方法与实证研究

节能减排潜力的准确评估依赖于对能源效率的科学评价,而能源效率评价又涉及到能源与经济发展的关系问题。20世纪90年代以来,中国的工业化一直处于快速推进阶段,对能源依赖较强的高耗能行业成为经济增长的主要推动力。因此,中国工业化进程中的能源效率评价必须结合工业化背景下的经济增长理论与实践。与单要素能源效率方法相比,全要素能源效率方法及多目标情形下的能源效率评价模型是评价工业化经济体能源效率的一个较好分析框架。该分析框架以工业化、经济增长为背景,以生产函数为依托,不仅可以比较准确地衡量重要经济变量不断变化条件下能源与其他要素之间的替代效应,而且可以反映出一个国家或地区在特定经济发展阶段、要素禀赋结构以及经济激励机制下能源使用的综合水平,使评价结果更符合中国正处于工业化过程的经济现实。在该分析框架的基础上,结合工业行业面板数据,对中国工业部门的能源效率进行了实证测算。