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

Dehu Qv, Xiangjie Duan, Jijin Wang, Caiqin Hou, Gang Wang, Fengxi Zhou and Shaoyong Li
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Dehu Qv: Department of Building Environment and Energy Application Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
Xiangjie Duan: Department of Building Environment and Energy Application Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
Jijin Wang: School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin 150090, China
Caiqin Hou: Department of Building Environment and Energy Application Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
Gang Wang: Department of Building Environment and Energy Application Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
Fengxi Zhou: Department of Building Environment and Energy Application Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China
Shaoyong Li: Department of Building Environment and Energy Application Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-20

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: rural clean heating project; rural Gansu; sustainability; potential solutions; benchmarking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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