Issues and Potential Solutions to the Clean Heating Project in Rural Gansu

Rural clean heating project (RCHP) in China aims to increase flexibility in the rural energy system, enhance the integration of renewable energy and distributed generation, and reduce environmental impact. While RCHP-enabling routes have been studied from a technical perspective, the economic, ecological, regulatory, and policy dimensions of RCHP are yet to be analysed in depth, especially in the underdeveloped areas in China. This paper discusses RCHP in rural Gansu using a multi-dimensional approach. We first focus on the current issues and challenges of RCHP in rural Gansu. Then the RCHP-enabling areas are briefly zoned into six typical regions based on the resource distribution in Gansu Province, and a matching framework of RCHP is recommended. Then we focus on the economics and sustainability of RCHP-enabling technologies. Based on the medium-term assessment of RCHP in the demonstration provinces, various technical schemes and routes are analysed and compared in order to determine which should be adopted in rural Gansu. In addition to technical and economic effects of those schemes, the corresponding ecology, policy, finance, and market implications are also concerned. We briefly discuss how the national regulators incentivise the implementation of RCHP in rural Gansu. Major barriers to RCHP are identified as the sustainability of technology, economy, ecology, policy, finance, and market. Subsequently, some policy solutions to overcome these barriers are proposed.

Influencing Factors Analysis on Provincial Difference of Rural Energy Efficiency in China Employing Super Efficiency SBM Model and Global Malmquist-Luenberger Index

Given the current circumstance of increasingly severe resource and environmental deterioration, the progress of Chinese rural energy efficiency has a remarkable impression on Chinese future high-quality development. Energy consumption in rural areas accounts for a considerable proportion, so it is imperative to make a specific and accurate assessment of rural energy efficiency. This paper abandons the traditional method of regional division and separates China into eight economic zones. First of all, this paper applies Super-SBM model to calculate the rural energy efficiency and constructs a Global Malmquist-Luenberger (GML) Index based on 2008–2018 panel data. Subsequently, GML is decomposed into technical efficiency change index (GMLEC) and technological progress change index (GMLTC) to analyze green total-factor productivity (GTFP) in rural areas. Eventually, the GML and its decomposition terms of eight economic zones are explained by practicing a cumulative multiplication method from 2008 to 2018. The consequences of employing panel data of region prove that: (1) There is a severe regional imbalance of Chinese rural energy efficiency. (2) The rural energy efficiency in the northwest and southwest (western region) is higher than the Middle Yangtze River and the Middle Yellow River (central region). (3) GMLTC has a significant impact on GTFP.

Issues and Potential Solutions to the Clean Heating Project in Rural Gansu

Rural clean heating project (RCHP) in China aims to increase flexibility in the rural energy system, enhance the integration of renewable energy and distributed generation, and reduce environmental impact. While RCHP-enabling routes have been studied from a technical perspective, the economic, ecological, regulatory, and policy dimensions of RCHP are yet to be analysed in depth, especially in the underdeveloped areas in China. This paper discusses RCHP in rural Gansu in a multi-dimension approach. We firstly focus on the current issues and challenges of RCHP in rural Gansu. Then the RCHP-enabling areas are briefly zoned into six typical regions based on the resource distribution in Gansu Province, and a matching framework of RCHP is recommended. Then we focus on the economics and sustainability of RCHP-enabling technologies. Based on the medium-term assessment of RCHP in the demonstration provinces, various technical schemes and routes are analysed and compared so as to be adopted in rural Gansu. In addition to technical and economic effects of those schemes, the corresponding ecology, policy, finance, and market implications are also concerned. We briefly discuss how the national regulators incentivise the implementation of RCHP in rural Gansu. Major barriers to RCHP are identified as the sustainability of technology, economy, ecology, policy, finance, and market. Subsequently, some policy solutions to overcome these barriers are proposed.

Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Energy Consumption in Chinese Rural Households

The sustainable development of China's economy has brought about a large increase in energy consumption of residents, especially in rural areas. Nowadays, the per capita energy consumption in rural areas has exceeded the urban residents. Therefore, it is of great significance to pay attention to the energy consumption of rural households in order to realize the harmonious development of energy and economy in China. Based on the survey data of rural households in central and eastern China, this paper uses the method of CLAD estimation of Tobit model to study the influencing factors and structural characteristics of rural households' energy consumption, so as to analyze how to deal with the rapid growth of rural energy consumption and optimize the rural energy structure. The results show that the energy structure of rural households is unreasonable, rural families are using more traditional and inferior cooking heating energy, and there are some differences in different regions; Family characteristics, family wealth and energy conservation initiative have an impact on total energy consumption and different types of energy. Increasing income, education level, electrical appliances quantity and energy conservation initiative are conducive to optimizing the energy structure of the family and promoting the transformation of energy structure.