IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v124y2020ics1364032120300939.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regional renewable energy development in China: A multidimensional assessment

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Ying
  • Zhang, Dayong
  • Ji, Qiang
  • Shi, Xunpeng

Abstract

Renewable energy (RE) is strategically important to achieve sustainability. Its development in China, however, is clearly imbalanced across regions. The uneven distribution of natural resources, financial resources and other factors across this country has brought serious challenges to the policymakers. It is thus important to give a comprehensive evaluation of China's regional RE development. To do so, this paper introduces a multidimensional approach and establishes a quantitative evaluation framework. Based on the existing literature, five dimensions of factors have been chosen for the framwork: economic foundation, institutions, technological development potential, energy security and environmental protection, and current status of the RE sector. A dynamic principal component analysis technique is applied to data from 29 provinces between 2008 and 2014. The results demonstrate large variations in RE development across provinces in China. More economically developed regions, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong, have maintained a higher ranking and have clear advantages in almost all dimensions. Policy implications and recommendations for more balanced development across China are drawn from the empirical results. This approach can also be extended to investigate similar issues in other countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Ying & Zhang, Dayong & Ji, Qiang & Shi, Xunpeng, 2020. "Regional renewable energy development in China: A multidimensional assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:124:y:2020:i:c:s1364032120300939
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2020.109797
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120300939
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2020.109797?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. Shuddhasattwa Rafiq & Harry Bloch & Ruhul Salim, 2014. "Determinants of renewable energy adoption in China and India: a comparative analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(22), pages 2700-2710, August.
    2. Chao Bao & Chuang-lin Fang, 2012. "Water Resources Flows Related to Urbanization in China: Challenges and Perspectives for Water Management and Urban Development," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(2), pages 531-552, January.
    3. Pao, Hsiao-Tien & Tsai, Chung-Ming, 2010. "CO2 emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in BRIC countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 7850-7860, December.
    4. Huang, Ping & Negro, Simona O. & Hekkert, Marko P. & Bi, Kexin, 2016. "How China became a leader in solar PV: An innovation system analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 777-789.
    5. Adrienne M. Ohler, 2015. "Factors affecting the rise of renewable energy in the U.S.: Concern over environmental quality or rising unemployment?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).
    6. Li, Yingzhu & Shi, Xunpeng & Yao, Lixia, 2016. "Evaluating energy security of resource-poor economies: A modified principle component analysis approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 211-221.
    7. Zhang, Dandan & Shi, Xunpeng & Sheng, Yu, 2015. "Comprehensive measurement of energy market integration in East Asia: An application of dynamic principal component analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(PB), pages 299-305.
    8. Zhao, Yong & Tang, Kam Ki & Wang, Li-li, 2013. "Do renewable electricity policies promote renewable electricity generation? Evidence from panel data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 887-897.
    9. Xu, Li-jun & Fan, Xiao-chao & Wang, Wei-qing & Xu, Lei & Duan, You-lian & Shi, Rui-jing, 2017. "Renewable and sustainable energy of Xinjiang and development strategy of node areas in the “Silk Road Economic Belt”," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 274-285.
    10. Binz, Christian & Gosens, Jorrit & Hansen, Teis & Hansen, Ulrich Elmer, 2017. "Toward Technology-Sensitive Catching-Up Policies: Insights from Renewable Energy in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 418-437.
    11. Tamazian, Artur & Bhaskara Rao, B., 2010. "Do economic, financial and institutional developments matter for environmental degradation? Evidence from transitional economies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 137-145, January.
    12. Sadorsky, Perry, 2009. "Renewable energy consumption and income in emerging economies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 4021-4028, October.
    13. Zhang, Dayong & Cao, Hong & Zou, Peijiang, 2016. "Exuberance in China's renewable energy investment: Rationality, capital structure and implications with firm level evidence," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 468-478.
    14. Liu, Wen & Lund, Henrik & Mathiesen, Brian Vad & Zhang, Xiliang, 2011. "Potential of renewable energy systems in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 518-525, February.
    15. Liu, Hengwei & Liang, Dapeng, 2013. "A review of clean energy innovation and technology transfer in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 486-498.
    16. Pfeiffer, Birte & Mulder, Peter, 2013. "Explaining the diffusion of renewable energy technology in developing countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 285-296.
    17. Li, Canbing & Shi, Haiqing & Cao, Yijia & Wang, Jianhui & Kuang, Yonghong & Tan, Yi & Wei, Jing, 2015. "Comprehensive review of renewable energy curtailment and avoidance: A specific example in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1067-1079.
    18. Fischer, Carolyn & Greaker, Mads & Rosendahl, Knut Einar, 2018. "Strategic technology policy as a supplement to renewable energy standards," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 84-98.
    19. Apergis, Nicholas & Payne, James E., 2010. "Coal consumption and economic growth: Evidence from a panel of OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 1353-1359, March.
    20. Abdmouleh, Zeineb & Alammari, Rashid A.M. & Gastli, Adel, 2015. "Review of policies encouraging renewable energy integration & best practices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 249-262.
    21. Lee, Jung Wan, 2013. "The contribution of foreign direct investment to clean energy use, carbon emissions and economic growth," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 483-489.
    22. Zhang, Dahai & Wang, Jiaqi & Lin, Yonggang & Si, Yulin & Huang, Can & Yang, Jing & Huang, Bin & Li, Wei, 2017. "Present situation and future prospect of renewable energy in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 865-871.
    23. Lin, Boqiang & Omoju, Oluwasola E. & Okonkwo, Jennifer U., 2016. "Factors influencing renewable electricity consumption in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 687-696.
    24. Emmanuel Hache, 2018. "Do renewable energies improve energy security in the long run?," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 156, pages 127-135.
    25. Taalbi, Josef, 2017. "What drives innovation? Evidence from economic history," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1437-1453.
    26. Nick Johnstone & Ivan Haščič & David Popp, 2010. "Renewable Energy Policies and Technological Innovation: Evidence Based on Patent Counts," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 45(1), pages 133-155, January.
    27. Hu, Jin-Li & Wang, Shih-Chuan, 2006. "Total-factor energy efficiency of regions in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(17), pages 3206-3217, November.
    28. Wang, Qunwei & Hang, Ye & Sun, Licheng & Zhao, Zengyao, 2016. "Two-stage innovation efficiency of new energy enterprises in China: A non-radial DEA approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 254-261.
    29. Polzin, Friedemann & Migendt, Michael & Täube, Florian A. & von Flotow, Paschen, 2015. "Public policy influence on renewable energy investments—A panel data study across OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 98-111.
    30. Apergis, Nicholas & Payne, James E., 2010. "Renewable energy consumption and economic growth: Evidence from a panel of OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 656-660, January.
    31. Aguirre, Mariana & Ibikunle, Gbenga, 2014. "Determinants of renewable energy growth: A global sample analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 374-384.
    32. Zhang, Dayong & Cao, Hong & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2016. "Identifying the determinants of energy intensity in China: A Bayesian averaging approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 672-682.
    33. Moutinho, Victor & Robaina, Margarita, 2016. "Is the share of renewable energy sources determining the CO2 kWh and income relation in electricity generation?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 902-914.
    34. Brunnschweiler, Christa N., 2010. "Finance for renewable energy: an empirical analysis of developing and transition economies," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(3), pages 241-274, June.
    35. Doytch, Nadia & Narayan, Seema, 2016. "Does FDI influence renewable energy consumption? An analysis of sectoral FDI impact on renewable and non-renewable industrial energy consumption," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 291-301.
    36. Zoundi, Zakaria, 2017. "CO2 emissions, renewable energy and the Environmental Kuznets Curve, a panel cointegration approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1067-1075.
    37. Sadorsky, Perry, 2009. "Renewable energy consumption, CO2 emissions and oil prices in the G7 countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 456-462, May.
    38. Sebri, Maamar & Ben-Salha, Ousama, 2014. "On the causal dynamics between economic growth, renewable energy consumption, CO2 emissions and trade openness: Fresh evidence from BRICS countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 14-23.
    39. Lin, Boqiang & Moubarak, Mohamed, 2014. "Renewable energy consumption – Economic growth nexus for China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 111-117.
    40. Zhang, M.M. & Wang, Qunwei & Zhou, Dequn & Ding, H., 2019. "Evaluating uncertain investment decisions in low-carbon transition toward renewable energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C), pages 1049-1060.
    41. Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2009. "Rejecting renewables: The socio-technical impediments to renewable electricity in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4500-4513, November.
    42. Song, Xiangnan & Lu, Yujie & Shen, Liyin & Shi, Xunpeng, 2018. "Will China's building sector participate in emission trading system? Insights from modelling an owner's optimal carbon reduction strategies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 232-244.
    43. Zhao, Xu & Luo, Dongkun, 2017. "Driving force of rising renewable energy in China: Environment, regulation and employment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 48-56.
    44. Bao, Chao & Fang, Chuang-lin, 2013. "Geographical and environmental perspectives for the sustainable development of renewable energy in urbanizing China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 464-474.
    45. Grégoire Garsous & Tomasz Kozluk, 2017. "Foreign Direct Investment and The Pollution Haven Hypothesis: Evidence from Listed Firms," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1379, OECD Publishing.
    46. Luo, Guo-liang & Li, Yan-ling & Tang, Wen-jun & Wei, Xiao, 2016. "Wind curtailment of China׳s wind power operation: Evolution, causes and solutions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1190-1201.
    47. Lo, Kevin, 2014. "A critical review of China's rapidly developing renewable energy and energy efficiency policies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 508-516.
    48. Chang, Yen-Chiang & Wang, Nannan, 2017. "Legal system for the development of marine renewable energy in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 192-196.
    49. Lee, Cheuk Wing & Zhong, Jin, 2015. "Construction of a responsible investment composite index for renewable energy industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 288-303.
    50. Marques, António C. & Fuinhas, José A. & Pires Manso, J.R., 2010. "Motivations driving renewable energy in European countries: A panel data approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6877-6885, November.
    51. Qunwei Wang & Ye Hang & Jin‐Li Hu & Ching‐Ren Chiu, 2018. "An alternative metafrontier framework for measuring the heterogeneity of technology," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(5), pages 427-445, August.
    52. Shi, Xunpeng & Liu, Xiying & Yao, Lixia, 2016. "Assessment of instruments in facilitating investment in off-grid renewable energy projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 437-446.
    53. Darmani, Anna & Arvidsson, Niklas & Hidalgo, Antonio & Albors, Jose., 2014. "What drives the development of renewable energy technologies? Toward a typology for the systemic drivers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 834-847.
    54. Yuquing Xing & Charles Kolstad, 2002. "Do Lax Environmental Regulations Attract Foreign Investment?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 21(1), pages 1-22, January.
    55. Cheong, Tsun Se & Li, Victor Jing & Shi, Xunpeng, 2019. "Regional disparity and convergence of electricity consumption in China: A distribution dynamics approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    56. Shen, Jianfei & Luo, Chen, 2015. "Overall review of renewable energy subsidy policies in China – Contradictions of intentions and effects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1478-1488.
    57. Kim, Jeayoon & Park, Kwangwoo, 2016. "Financial development and deployment of renewable energy technologies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 238-250.
    58. Omri, Anis & Nguyen, Duc Khuong, 2014. "On the determinants of renewable energy consumption: International evidence," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 554-560.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Can Şener, Şerife Elif & Sharp, Julia L. & Anctil, Annick, 2018. "Factors impacting diverging paths of renewable energy: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2335-2342.
    2. Ji, Qiang & Zhang, Dayong, 2019. "How much does financial development contribute to renewable energy growth and upgrading of energy structure in China?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 114-124.
    3. Zhao, Zhen-Yu & Chen, Yu-Long & Li, Heng, 2019. "What affects the development of renewable energy power generation projects in China: ISM analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 506-517.
    4. Lin, Boqiang & Omoju, Oluwasola E. & Okonkwo, Jennifer U., 2016. "Factors influencing renewable electricity consumption in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 687-696.
    5. Bourcet, Clémence, 2020. "Empirical determinants of renewable energy deployment: A systematic literature review," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Ibrahiem, Dalia M. & Hanafy, Shaimaa A., 2021. "Do energy security and environmental quality contribute to renewable energy? The role of trade openness and energy use in North African countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 667-678.
    7. Gosens, Jorrit & Hedenus, Fredrik & Sandén, Björn A., 2017. "Faster market growth of wind and PV in late adopters due to global experience build-up," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 267-278.
    8. Polzin, Friedemann & Egli, Florian & Steffen, Bjarne & Schmidt, Tobias S., 2019. "How do policies mobilize private finance for renewable energy?—A systematic review with an investor perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1249-1268.
    9. Lin, Boqiang & Omoju, Oluwasola E., 2017. "Focusing on the right targets: Economic factors driving non-hydro renewable energy transition," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 52-63.
    10. Apergis, Nicholas & Pinar, Mehmet, 2021. "The role of party polarization in renewable energy consumption: Fresh evidence across the EU countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    11. Zhao, Xu & Luo, Dongkun, 2017. "Driving force of rising renewable energy in China: Environment, regulation and employment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 48-56.
    12. Ghazouani, Tarek, 2022. "Dynamic impact of globalization on renewable energy consumption: Non-parametric modelling evidence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    13. Atif Maqbool Khan & Jacek Kwiatkowski & Magdalena Osińska & Marcin Błażejowski, 2021. "Factors of Renewable Energy Consumption in the European Countries—The Bayesian Averaging Classical Estimates Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-24, November.
    14. Demir, Caner & Cergibozan, Raif, 2020. "Does alternative energy usage converge across Oecd countries?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 559-567.
    15. Best, Rohan & Burke, Paul J., 2018. "Adoption of solar and wind energy: The roles of carbon pricing and aggregate policy support," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 404-417.
    16. Shang, Yunfeng & Han, Ding & Gozgor, Giray & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar & Sahoo, Bimal Kishore, 2022. "The impact of climate policy uncertainty on renewable and non-renewable energy demand in the United States," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 654-667.
    17. Sweidan, Osama D., 2021. "Is the geopolitical risk an incentive or obstacle to renewable energy deployment? Evidence from a panel analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 377-384.
    18. Kassouri, Yacouba & Altuntaş, Mehmet & Alola, Andrew Adewale, 2022. "The contributory capacity of natural capital to energy transition in the European Union," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 617-629.
    19. Gozgor, Giray & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar & Demir, Ender & Padhan, Hemachandra, 2020. "The impact of economic globalization on renewable energy in the OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    20. Lv, Zhike & Liu, Wangxin & Xu, Ting, 2022. "Evaluating the impact of information and communication technology on renewable energy consumption: A spatial econometric approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 1-12.

    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:rensus:v:124:y:2020:i:c:s1364032120300939. 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/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    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.