IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v136y2020ics0301421519306433.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

China's global power: Estimating Chinese foreign direct investment in the electric power sector

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Zhongshu
  • Gallagher, Kevin P.
  • Mauzerall, Denise L.

Abstract

We analyze the spatial and technological distribution of China's overseas electric power investments around the world, and the pollution intensity of Chinese coal fired power plants relative to those held by non-Chinese entities. We find that Chinese firms hold approximately $115 billion USD in electric power assets globally, with an average of 73% ownership stake in a total capacity of 81 GW. Chinese power investments span the globe but are largely found in developing countries, particularly in Asia and Latin America. The vast majority of Chinese investment goes to coal (24.5 GW), gas (20.5 GW) and hydropower (18.1 GW), while the share of wind (7.2 GW) and solar (3.1 GW) is relatively small but may be rising. The energy mix of Chinese overseas investment is similar to the existing world portfolio. Within the coal sector, between 2011 and 2017, the majority of Chinese greenfield investment in coal used supercritical technologies (58 percent) while only 34 percent of non-Chinese coal plants built during this period were supercritical.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Zhongshu & Gallagher, Kevin P. & Mauzerall, Denise L., 2020. "China's global power: Estimating Chinese foreign direct investment in the electric power sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:136:y:2020:i:c:s0301421519306433
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111056
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421519306433
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111056?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schreifels, Jeremy J. & Fu, Yale & Wilson, Elizabeth J., 2012. "Sulfur dioxide control in China: policy evolution during the 10th and 11th Five-year Plans and lessons for the future," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 779-789.
    2. Sucharita Gopal & Joshua Pitts & Zhongshu Li & Kevin P. Gallagher & James G. Baldwin & William N. Kring, 2018. "Fueling Global Energy Finance: The Emergence of China in Global Energy Investment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-25, October.
    3. Wenjie Chen & David Dollar & Heiwai Tang, 2018. "Why Is China Investing in Africa? Evidence from the Firm Level," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 610-632.
    4. Pareja-Alcaraz, Pablo, 2017. "Chinese investments in Southern Europe's energy sectors: Similarities and divergences in China's strategies in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 700-710.
    5. Gippner, Olivia & Torney, Diarmuid, 2017. "Shifting policy priorities in EU-China energy relations: Implications for Chinese energy investments in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 649-658.
    6. Meng, Bo & Peters, Glen P. & Wang, Zhi & Li, Meng, 2018. "Tracing CO2 emissions in global value chains," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 24-42.
    7. Pfeiffer, Alexander & Hepburn, Cameron & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Caldecott, Ben, 2018. "Committed Emissions from Existing and Planned Power Plants and Asset Stranding Required to Meet the Paris Agreement," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8886, Inter-American Development Bank.
    8. Franco, Alessandro & Diaz, Ana R., 2009. "The future challenges for “clean coal technologies”: Joining efficiency increase and pollutant emission control," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 348-354.
    9. Gallagher, Kevin P. & Kamal, Rohini & Jin, Junda & Chen, Yanning & Ma, Xinyue, 2018. "Energizing development finance? The benefits and risks of China's development finance in the global energy sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 313-321.
    10. Du, Huibin & Guo, Jianghong & Mao, Guozhu & Smith, Alexander M. & Wang, Xuxu & Wang, Yuan, 2011. "CO2 emissions embodied in China-US trade: Input-output analysis based on the emergy/dollar ratio," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 5980-5987, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Banban & Lin, Ping, 2022. "Whether China's overseas energy infrastructure projects dirtier or cleaner after the belt and road initiative?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    2. Chen, Xu & Li, Zhongshu & Gallagher, Kevin P. & Mauzerall, Denise L., 2021. "Financing carbon lock-in in developing countries: Bilateral financing for power generation technologies from China, Japan, and the United States," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    3. Tao, Yiheng & Liang, Haiming & Celia, Michael A., 2020. "Electric power development associated with the Belt and Road Initiative and its carbon emissions implications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    4. Huang, Youxing & Yang, Yu, 2023. "Determinants of Chinese energy OFDI location decisions and entry failure risk: The roles of public diplomacy endeavors and firm investment strategies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    5. Mathias Lund Larsen & Tancrède Voituriez & Christoph Nedopil, 2023. "Chinese overseas development funds: An assessment of their sustainability approaches," Post-Print hal-04052167, HAL.
    6. Husaini, Dzul Hadzwan & Lean, Hooi Hooi, 2022. "Renewable and non-renewable electricity-growth nexus in Asia: The role of private power plants and oil price threshold effect," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Kelly Sims Gallagher & Qi Qi, 2021. "Chinese Overseas Investment Policy: Implications for Climate Change," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(3), pages 260-272, May.
    8. Souza, Paulo Vitor Souza de & Ribeiro, João Paulo Machado & Paulo, Edilson, 2024. "Organizational complexity and value relevance under the regulatory and financial standards of Brazilian electric power companies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    9. Jessica C. Liao, 2021. "The Club‐based Climate Regime and OECD Negotiations on Restricting Coal‐fired Power Export Finance," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(1), pages 40-50, February.
    10. Feil, Alex Sandro & Antunes, Carlos Henggeler & da Silva, Patrícia Pereira & de Castro, Nivalde, 2024. "The critical drivers of the Brazilian electricity sector's transition through 2050: A Delphi study," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    11. Kong, Bo & Gallagher, Kevin P., 2021. "The new coal champion of the world: The political economy of Chinese overseas development finance for coal-fired power plants," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    12. Dorband, Ira Irina & Jakob, Michael & Steckel, Jan Christoph, 2020. "Unraveling the political economy of coal: Insights from Vietnam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    13. Wina Crijns-Graus & Patricia Wild & Mehdi Parvizi Amineh & Jing Hu & Hui Yue, 2022. "International Comparison of Research and Investments in New Renewable Electricity Technologies: A Focus on the European Union and China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-19, September.
    14. Xia Li & Kevin P. Gallagher, 2022. "Assessing the climate change exposure of foreign direct investment," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    15. Tong, Tong & Chen, Xiaoyue & Singh, Tarlok & Li, Bin, 2022. "Corporate governance and the outward foreign direct investment: Firm-level evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 962-980.
    16. Ong, Ardvin Kester S. & Prasetyo, Yogi Tri & Kishimoto, Ryuichi T. & Mariñas, Klint Allen & Robas, Kirstien Paola E. & Nadlifatin, Reny & Persada, Satria Fadil & Kusonwattana, Poonyawat & Yuduang, Nat, 2023. "Determining factors affecting customer satisfaction of the national electric power company (MERALCO) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Phillippines," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. Carlson, D'Arcy & Robinson, Stacy-ann & Blair, Catherine & McDonough, Marjorie, 2021. "China's climate ambition: Revisiting its First Nationally Determined Contribution and centering a just transition to clean energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kong, Bo & Gallagher, Kevin P., 2021. "The new coal champion of the world: The political economy of Chinese overseas development finance for coal-fired power plants," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    2. Jos? Miguel Asensio & Alessandro Fiorini & Juan Pablo Jimenez Navarro, 2018. "Chinese foreign direct investments in the EU energy sector," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(2), pages 207-229.
    3. Xu, Dongxiao & Li, Yaoguang & Zhao, Mingyuan & Wang, Xinjing & Zhang, Yan & Chen, Bin & Yang, Zhifeng, 2022. "Spatial characteristics analysis of sectoral carbon transfer path in international trade: A comparison of the United States and China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    4. Wang, Banban & Lin, Ping, 2022. "Whether China's overseas energy infrastructure projects dirtier or cleaner after the belt and road initiative?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    5. Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2014. "Programs, Prices and Policies Towards Energy Conservation and Environmental Quality in China," Working Papers 249427, Australian National University, Centre for Climate Economics & Policy.
    6. Fangyi Li & Zhaoyang Ye & Xilin Xiao & Dawei Ma, 2019. "Environmental Benefits of Stock Evolution of Coal-Fired Power Generators in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-17, October.
    7. Li, Yilin & Chen, Bin & Li, Chaohui & Li, Zhi & Chen, Guoqian, 2020. "Energy perspective of Sino-US trade imbalance in global supply chains," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Waldemar Karpa & Antonio Grginović, 2021. "(Not So) Stranded: The Case of Coal in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2013. "Energy and Environmental Issues and Policy in China," Climate Change and Sustainable Development 162375, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    10. Qian, Yuan & Scherer, Laura & Tukker, Arnold & Behrens, Paul, 2020. "China's potential SO2 emissions from coal by 2050," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    11. Zhang, Zibin & Yang, Wenxin & Ye, Jianliang, 2021. "Why sulfur dioxide emissions decline significantly from coal-fired power plants in China? Evidence from the desulfurated electricity pricing premium program," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PB).
    12. Jing-Li Fan & Zezheng Li & Xi Huang & Kai Li & Xian Zhang & Xi Lu & Jianzhong Wu & Klaus Hubacek & Bo Shen, 2023. "A net-zero emissions strategy for China’s power sector using carbon-capture utilization and storage," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.
    13. White, David J. & Hubacek, Klaus & Feng, Kuishuang & Sun, Laixiang & Meng, Bo, 2018. "The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in East Asia: A tele-connected value chain analysis using inter-regional input-output analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 550-567.
    14. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Goto, Mika, 2015. "Environmental assessment on coal-fired power plants in U.S. north-east region by DEA non-radial measurement," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 125-139.
    15. Zhang, Yin-Fang & Gao, Ping, 2016. "Integrating environmental considerations into economic regulation of China's electricity sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 62-71.
    16. Chaonan Lu & Litao Duan & Geng Peng & Benfu Lv, 2020. "The Promotion Effect of the Belt and Road Initiative on China’s Foreign Direct Investment: An Empirical Analysis Based on Firm Level," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 10(11), pages 1220-1231, November.
    17. Schclarek, Alfredo & Xu, Jiajun & Amuchastegui, Pedro, 2022. "Panda bond financing of the Belt and Road Initiative: An analysis of monetary mechanisms and financial risks," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    18. Zhong, Zhangqi & Jiang, Lei & Zhou, Peng, 2018. "Transnational transfer of carbon emissions embodied in trade: Characteristics and determinants from a spatial perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 858-875.
    19. Shiyu Bo, 2021. "Environmental Regulations, Political Incentives and Local Economic Activities: Evidence from China," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(3), pages 812-835, June.
    20. Andrew G Ross & Maktoba Omar & Anqi Xu & Samikshya Pandey, 2019. "The impact of institutional quality on Chinese foreign direct investment in Africa," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 34(6), pages 572-588, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:136:y:2020:i:c:s0301421519306433. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.