Energy policies for sustainable livelihoods and sustainable development of poor areas in China

Focusing on the sustainable livelihoods of rural households and regional sustainable development, this research takes Yan’an at the upper reaches of Yellow River and Zhaotong at mid-upper reaches of the Yangtze River as the study areas, extracts the central affecting factors of energy consumption and characteristic indexes of energy zoning based on 1560 rural household questionnaires of 85 villages in 4 counties (districts) and database analysis of socio-economic development, conducts energy zoning for the poor areas in China, and puts forward specific supporting policies for each type of zone. The research finds that (1) the study areas are found to have the following energy consumption characteristics: low per capita energy consumption (merely 1/4 of the national average), with energy consumption for non-production purposes taking up the main part (more than 70%), high proportion of non-commercial energy, i.e. firewood, straw, etc. (more than 45%), low utilization rate of such new energy resources as biogas, solar energy, etc. (lower than 2% in high mountain regions), remarkable differentiation of vertical and horizontal zonality, etc. (2) Physical conditions like temperature and topography, socio-economic factors, i.e. income of rural households, energy endowment, transportation conditions, and institutional factors like policy support are the major affecting factors of energy consumption and characteristic indexes of energy policy zoning. (3) According to the characteristic index evaluation and matrix classification of both the suitability for energy development and types of regional energy endowment, the poor areas in China can be divided into three energy policy-oriented zones, i.e. network-based centralized energy supply zone, diversified energy utilization zone, and new energy utilization zone.     

Energy and environment in Chinese rural housing: Current status and future perspective

A large scale national survey of energy consumption and indoor environment quality of China’s rural housing was conducted from 2006–2007. The survey covered 15 provinces in northern China and 9 provinces in southern China. The survey data indicate that excessive building energy consumption and poor indoor environment pose significant challenges to the sustainable development of China’s rural housing. Possible causes are analyzed, the current status explained and possible development trends predicted. Strategies for sustainable and environmentally appropriate energy development in rural areas are recommended with an example of the “Zero-Coal, Low Energy Village”.     

Energy and environment in Chinese rural housing: Current status and future perspective

A large scale national survey of energy consumption and indoor environment quality of China’s rural housing was conducted from 2006–2007. The survey covered 15 provinces in northern China and 9 provinces in southern China. The survey data indicate that excessive building energy consumption and poor indoor environment pose significant challenges to the sustainable development of China’s rural housing. Possible causes are analyzed, the current status explained and possible development trends predicted. Strategies for sustainable and environmentally appropriate energy development in rural areas are recommended with an example of the “Zero-Coal, Low Energy Village”.     

我国农村大力发展可再生能源电力的必要性和建议

"建设社会主义新农村"是我国现代化进程中的重大历史任务,中央政府已将改善农村生活条件和增加农民收入作为工作重点。在此政策环境下,我国农村居民的电能消费正在稳定快速增长,如何有效地保证农村地区的电力可持续供给,同时又不给我国已经形势严峻的能源供应和环境保护增加压力,是我国政府面临的一个挑战。我国广大农村地区发展可再生能源电力具有重大的现实意义和深远影响。本文在预测我国电力需求和农村电力需求的增长情况及其产生的影响的分析基础上,提出我国农村大力发展可再生能源电力的相关建议。     

农村家庭生物质能可持续利用理论基础初探

生物质能作为我国农村家庭生活能源消费的重要构成单元,在当前利用过程中面临着理论和实践的双重挑战,其可持续发展受到了严重制约.解决该难题的关键之一是系统地构建农村家庭生物质能可持续利用理论基础框架.文章结合牛物质能已有相关研究,首次尝试建立了包括系统理论、生态承载力理论、效用理论、生态经济学理论、自然资源价值理论的农村家庭生物质能可持续利用的理论基础.分析了农村家庭生物质能可持续利用具有的四大内涵,即资源供给的可持续性、生态环境效应的可持续性、生物质能生产的可持续性和消费者接受的可持续性.     

Re-thinking china's densified biomass fuel policies: Large or small scale?

Current policies and strategies related to the utilization of densified biomass fuel (DBF) in China are mainly focused on medium- or large-scale manufacturing modes, which cannot provide feasible solutions to solve the household energy problems in China's rural areas. To simplify commercial processes related to the collection of DBF feedstock and the production and utilization of fuel, a novel village-scale DBF approach is proposed. Pilot demonstration projects have shown the feasibility and flexibility of this new approach in realizing sustainable development in rural China. Effective utilization of DBF in rural China will lead to gains for global, regional, and local energy savings, environmental protection, sustainable development, and related social benefits. It could also benefit other developing countries for better utilization of biomass as a viable household energy source. This proposal therefore delivers the possibility of reciprocal gains, and as such deserves the attention of policy makers and various stakeholders.     

Photovoltaics in China : Research, development and market potential

About 70% of 1.2 billion people live in rural areas in China. In spite of the rapid growth of China's national economy in recent decades, energy problems still have a very real impact on economic and environmental development, especially in rural areas. In order to mitigate the adverse impact of coal burning to the regional and global environment, the Chinese Government has adopted vigorous measures to develop renewable energy technologies.     

我国当前的能源问题及未来能源发展战略

能源短缺、能源安全、农村和偏远地区的能源供应、以煤为主的不合理能源结构、能源消费对环境的影响以及能源利用效率是我国能源领域面临的问题。全面解决这些问题，需要制定适合中国国情的中国能源发展战略，其内容应包括：合理的能源供应路线，从国内外两个方面保证能源安全；优化能源结构，提高清洁、高效的优质能源的消费比例，使得能源消费能够协调经济与环境的可持续发展，并且因地制宜发展可再生能源保证农村和偏远地区的能源供应；提高能源效率，推进节能技术进步，发挥市场作用，促进能源效率提高；能源消费的环境友好性，这有赖于能源消费结构的优化和能源效率的提高。     

Overview of rural building energy efficiency in China

Over the past three decades, people׳s living standard in China has been greatly improved, accompanied by the rapid increasing building energy consumption. Rural building energy consumption has become one of the most important parts of the total energy consumption in China, which deserves to be paid much attention. It is of vital importance to promote building energy efficiency for the New Socialist Countryside and energy conservation and emission reduction. This paper provides an overview of building energy consumption in the countryside, which figures out the situation and challenges in energy-saving work. The government has worked for years on rural building code system aimed at narrowing the energy gap between urban areas, but it is in the beginning phase. This paper has analyzed the only special issues about rural building energy efficiency and the mandatory standards for urban buildings, which can facilitate the development of rural building energy efficiency. Based on the above analysis, some recommendations regarding the improvement of rural building energy efficiency are given.     

Household biogas use in rural China: A study of opportunities and constraints

As a renewable energy, biogas is not only an important part of the development of rural new energy, but also an important aspect of sustainable development in China. The development process and present status of household biogas, specifically the opportunities and constraints of household biogas in rural China, are discussed in this paper. Only about 19% of the biogas potential has been utilized in rural China. There are several opportunities for household biogas development in rural China, including the problem of rural household energy consumption, the availability of biogas fermentation materials, national financial subsidies, legal and international clean development mechanisms. Also, more research needs to be done in straw fermentation and cold fermentation technology. Training should be conducted to raise the level of biogas customers in comprehensive biogas utilization. Measures should be taken to improve the follow-up services and management of biogas plants. The information presented in this paper will be helpful not only to the sustainable development of household biogas in rural China, but also to the development of biogas in similar countries around the world.     

西藏可再生能源的利用与农村能源的可持续发展

本文着重介绍了地处青藏高原的西藏可再生能源资源的发展历程,分析了西藏农牧区能源利用现状、西藏农村能源可持续发展面临的主要困难,提出了其解决的对策,为西藏农村能源可持续发展建设提供了依据。     

Rural household energy consumption with the economic development in China: stages and characteristic indices

This paper discusses history variance and general features on rural household energy consumption with the economic development in China. Energy shortage has been a long-standing problem in rural areas of China. The average effective energy consumption was 0.46–0.54 kgce per day per household in the 1960s and 1970s. The reason for this is that the rural household energy supply mainly relies on the available amounts of local natural energy resources. The problem of cooking fuel shortage was basically solved in the early 1980s since more straw and stalks were produced due to the rapid development of agriculture. The process of energy commercialization also started from the early 1980s due to the availability of coal, fuel oil and other energy sources in the market, and the reconstruction of rural power supply network. Energy consumption was 369.8 kgce per capita with 30% of commercial energy consumption and the effective heat per capita per day was 0.64 kgce in 1995. A closer relationship was found between household energy consumption level/structure and family income along with the economic development. This paper analyzed the rural household energy consumption of three typical regions, i.e., out-of-poverty, well-off and rich regions, in terms of effective heat per capita per day, percentage of commercial energy consumption in total effective heat, electricity consumption per capita and room temperature of northern areas in winter.     

Feasibility study of wind energy potential in China

Remarkable economic achievements have been made in China since the economic reform in 1978. High agricultural and industrial productivity as well as rapid development of the tertiary industry and continuous improvement of living standard have resulted in a jumping power demand. The pressing need for updating the current infrastructure, power industry in particular is the key to the sustainable economic growth and continuous industrialisation. The crucial role of rural industry in economic development and the fact of over 70% of the rural population have brought a great opportunity for wind energy development. One of the most cost-effective ways to diffuse wind power technology is through technology transfer based on joint venture activities due to the enormous initial capital investment and complexity of wind power technology to ease the severe domestic power shortage. Foreign aid and investment will no doubt have a stimulatory effect on wind energy development in China. The future benefits in terms of technology transfer and international trade will easily outweigh the current problems and thus contribute to sustainable economic development in many years to come.     

The requirement and utilization of renewable energy technologies in Chinese rural areas

The tendency of using commercial fossil energy, especially high-quality energy, will increase rapidly along with the rural economic development in China. However, energy consumption for household use in most rural areas still relies on firewood or straw, except the urban suburb. The application and development of renewable energy has been and should play an important role in China. In order to integrate and adapt renewable energy technologies, we need to carefully study the specific economic and social conditions of the rural economic development.     

北方农村"四位一体"模式调查研究

"四位一体"模式的推广运用促进了农村社会、经济的发展和能源、生态环境状况的改善.通过对北方典型农村的调查,发现"四位一体"的迅速推广在创造为人熟知的效益同时,仍然存在制约该模式持续健康发展的诸多问题,主要表现在:沼气池配套服务技术缺乏,农户自身管理水平落后,农(畜)产品的生产、销售,居住模式和猪舍卫生,劳动力的竞争以及土地资源、投资、信贷、基础设施等方面问题.文章并就存在的问题提出了适当的对策.     

中国农村能源发展现状及“十二五”展望

近年来,我国高度重视农村能源建设,投资力度不断增加,政策法规体系初步建立,农村沼气已实现跨越式发展,太阳能热利用持续快速增长,秸秆能源化利用也取得初步进展。但还存在着优质能源比例低、城乡差距大、投资结构不合理以及市场化程度低等问题。建议在"十二五"期间,按照"因地制宜、多能互补、综合利用、讲求效益"的发展方针,大力推广农村可再生能源和节能技术,采取完善政策法规、开发农村能源市场等措施,促进农村社会经济可持续发展。     

关于广义节能的思考

进入21世纪,中国能源面临着五大严峻挑战：能源供应紧张、液体燃料短缺、环境污染严重、温室气体排放、农村和城镇清洁能源供应等。严重制约了我国的可持续发展。我国以煤为主的能源格局仍将持续,发展模式和用能理念必须从我国具体国情出发,走自己的路,严格执行能源生产和消费总量控制,从整个产业链和供应链节能减排,从全生命周期角度提高能源的综合利用效率。提出了可持续能源系统的IDDD＋N基本原则,即转换整合化（Integration）、需求精细化（Differentiation）、供应多样化（Diversification）、布局分布化（Decentralization）和调度、控制、管理网络化fNetwork）。可持续能源系统的核心是“把合适的能源放在合适的地方”。     

Study on sustainable development of rural household energy in northern China

The status of rural household energy consumption plays an important role in farmers’ daily life, especially in developing countries or regions. Here, we review the evolution of the rural household energy consumption structure in northern China from 1996 to 2005. Studies indicate that the proportion of straw, firewood, and coal consumption in total energy consumption have remained at 88.8–91.0%, whereas the proportion of high-quality commercial energy and modern renewable energy is still very low. The main challenges for the sustainable development of rural household energy supply are an unreasonable energy consumption structure, low-energy efficiency, serious environmental degradation, a large gap in energy supply among regions, and difficulty in developing renewable energy. We suggest some countermeasures to overcome the obstacles involved in the sustainable development of rural household energy in northern China, from energy sources to sociopolitical policies.     

农村沼气转型升级机遇与对策

我国农村沼气经过多年的发展,已经具备了一定的产业基础和发展优势,成为促进现代农业发展的重要动力和实现农村节能减排的有效载体。结合当前农村经济社会的发展需求,分析现阶段农村沼气产业发展中矛盾,进一步研究、探索沼气转型与升级对策,促进沼气可持续发展。     

Towards green rural energy in Yunnan, China

Yunnan is one of the less developed provinces in China, but has abundant energy resources, and is an ideal destination for tourists around the world due to its perfect climate and unique sightseeing resorts. However, energy consumption in rural households relies mainly on straw (12.15%), firewood (41%), and coal (38.5%). This pattern of energy consumption has been imposing pressure on the environment, water resources and soil in recent years with the rapid growth of Yunnan’s economy. This paper reports the achievements in Yunnan’s rural energy development in the past two decades. Issues of the greatest concern and interest, which are unfavorable for further development of rural energy, have been identified, and a new proposal of developing green rural energy in Yunnan is suggested based on its economy and resource conditions. The proposal addresses the development of biogas, small hydropower and solar energy, which are abundant in Yunnan. It is estimated that the new program will annually bring direct benefits of about 5 billion yuan to farmers by 2010, and the indirect benefits, such as those from tourism due to the improvement of the environment resulting from the use of green rural energy, will be enormous. It is believed that the program will speed up rural economic growth through the integrated utilization of rural energy.