China’s Photovoltaic Development and Its Spillover Effects on Carbon Footprint at Cross-Regional Scale: Insights from the Largest Photovoltaic Industry in Northwest Arid Area

Zhun Qu (), Chong Jiang, Yixin Wang, Ran Wang, Ying Zhao and Suchang Yang
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Zhun Qu: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Chong Jiang: Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
Yixin Wang: Yellow River Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou 450003, China
Ran Wang: Langfang General Survey of Natural Resources Center, China Geological Survey, Langfang 065000, China
Ying Zhao: Dongying Base of Integration between Industry and Education for High-Quality Development of Modern Agriculture, Ludong University, Dongying 257509, China
Suchang Yang: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 22, 1-24

Abstract: Solar energy plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change and transitioning toward green energy. In China (particularly Northwest China), photovoltaic (PV) development is recognized as a co-benefit and nature-based solution for concurrently combating land degradation and producing clean energy. However, the existing literature on the subject is limited to the local effects of PV power station construction and ignores the spillover environmental effects in distant regions. Thus, a hotspot of PV development in Northwest China was selected as a case to quantify the spill-over impacts of PV development in Qinghai Province on cross-regional economy and the environment using an environmentally extended multi-regional input–output approach and related socioeconomic and environmental statistical data. A cross-regional carbon footprint analysis revealed that the eastern region of Qinghai Province had the highest carbon footprint, followed by the southwestern, central, southern, northwestern, northern, and northeastern regions; the production and supply sectors of electricity and heat were the primary sources of carbon emissions, followed by metal smelting and rolling processing products, non-metallic mineral products, and the transportation, warehousing, and postal sectors. In addition, the PV development in Qinghai Province strongly supports the electricity demand in the central and eastern coastal areas, while substantially reducing the carbon emissions in the eastern, southwestern, and central regions (through the distant supply of PV products). We quantified the spillover effects of PV development in Qinghai Province and address the challenges of PV development in the carbon emission reduction strategies implemented at the regional and cross-regional scales; our findings will support policymakers in developing plans that ensure sustainable energy supply and help China to achieve its carbon neutrality goals.

Keywords: energy transmission; input–output analysis; carbon emission reduction; environmental effects; carbon neutrality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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