IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i2p905-d1034388.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Electricity Market Reforms for Energy Transition: Lessons from China

Author

Listed:
  • Yuk-shing Cheng

    (Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance, Centre for Sustainable Development Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong)

  • Man-kit Chung

    (Department of Accountancy, Economics and Finance, Centre for Sustainable Development Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong)

  • Kam-pui Tsang

    (Department of Economics, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium)

Abstract

In response to the rising importance of the climate agenda, many countries have restructured their electricity markets to facilitate the utilization of renewable energy. China is an interesting case because it has expanded its utilization of wind and solar energy with unmatched speed. This review starts with an analysis of the 2002 reforms that uncoupled electricity production from transmission. The investigation covers the period leading up to the 2022 proposal, which aimed to build a nationally integrated electricity market. The analysis suggests that a careful alignment of incentives for key market players to produce and consume renewable energy is vital during the process of energy transition. The introduction of feed-in tariffs in 2009 for wind energy, which were subsequently extended to solar energy, stimulated a high growth in installed capacity. However, a high electricity curtailment rate resulted. Since 2018, the Chinese government has resorted to curtailment caps and renewable portfolio standards to increase the utilization of renewable electricity. After the announcement of the “dual carbon goals” in 2020, the Chinese government launched a series of reforms that aimed to nurture growth in the green electricity market and the formation of a nationally integrated electricity market. The removal of interregional trade barriers is a key element of China’s current electricity market reforms and will be crucial to determining whether China can achieve its climate goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuk-shing Cheng & Man-kit Chung & Kam-pui Tsang, 2023. "Electricity Market Reforms for Energy Transition: Lessons from China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:2:p:905-:d:1034388
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/2/905/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/2/905/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ni Lei & Lanyun Chen & Chuanwang Sun & Yuan Tao, 2018. "Electricity Market Creation in China: Policy Options from Political Economics Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.
    2. Ravi Kanbur & Xiaobo Zhang, 2005. "Fifty Years of Regional Inequality in China: a Journey Through Central Planning, Reform, and Openness," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 87-106, February.
    3. Özdemir, Özge & Hobbs, Benjamin F. & van Hout, Marit & Koutstaal, Paul R., 2020. "Capacity vs energy subsidies for promoting renewable investment: Benefits and costs for the EU power market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    4. Sylvie Démurger & Jeffrey D. Sachs & Wing Thye Woo & Shuming Bao & Gene Chang & Andrew Mellinger, 2002. "Geography, Economic Policy, and Regional Development in China," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 1(1), pages 146-197.
    5. Palmer, Karen & Burtraw, Dallas, 2005. "Cost-effectiveness of renewable electricity policies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 873-894, November.
    6. Zhao, Xingang & Zeng, Yiping & Zhao, Di, 2015. "Distributed solar photovoltaics in China: Policies and economic performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 572-583.
    7. Cheng, Y.S. & Wong, W.K. & Woo, C.K., 2013. "How much have electricity shortages hampered China's GDP growth?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 369-373.
    8. Schuman, Sara & Lin, Alvin, 2012. "China's Renewable Energy Law and its impact on renewable power in China: Progress, challenges and recommendations for improving implementation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 89-109.
    9. Song, Yazhi & Liu, Tiansen & Ye, Bin & Li, Yin, 2020. "Linking carbon market and electricity market for promoting the grid parity of photovoltaic electricity in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    10. Ma, Chunbo & He, Lining, 2008. "From state monopoly to renewable portfolio: Restructuring China's electric utility," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1697-1711, May.
    11. Kahrl, Fredrich & Williams, Jim & Jianhua, Ding & Junfeng, Hu, 2011. "Challenges to China's transition to a low carbon electricity system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 4032-4041, July.
    12. Cheng, Yuk-Shing & Li, Raymond & Woo, Chi-Keung, 2021. "Regional energy-growth nexus and energy conservation policy in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    13. Xu, Shaofeng & Chen, Wenying, 2006. "The reform of electricity power sector in the PR of China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(16), pages 2455-2465, November.
    14. Chen, Yvonne Jie & Li, Pei & Lu, Yi, 2018. "Career concerns and multitasking local bureaucrats: Evidence of a target-based performance evaluation system in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 84-101.
    15. Bin Chen & Yuk-shing Cheng, 2017. "The Impacts of Environmental Regulation on Industrial Activities: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in Chinese Prefectures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-19, April.
    16. Kat Cheung, 2011. "Integration of Renewables: Status and Challenges in China," IEA Energy Papers 2011/9, OECD Publishing.
    17. Sen Guo & Wenyue Zhang & Xiao Gao, 2020. "Business Risk Evaluation of Electricity Retail Company in China Using a Hybrid MCDM Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-21, March.
    18. Maximilian Auffhammer & Min Wang & Lunyu Xie & Jintao Xu, 2021. "Renewable Electricity Development in China: Policies, Performance, and Challenges," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(2), pages 323-339.
    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. Qingmin Kong & Peng Lin & Tingting Gu, 2024. "Impact of Servitization on Employee Satisfaction with Performance Evaluation Systems: A Case Study of China’s New Energy Sector Amid Power Market Reforms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-18, October.
    2. José Ramos Pires Manso & Rosa M. Martínez Vázquez & Juan Milán García & Jaime de Pablo Valenciano, 2023. "Renewable Energies and Blue Economy: New Trends in Global Research," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-15, May.

    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. Kahrl, Fredrich & Williams, James H. & Hu, Junfeng, 2013. "The political economy of electricity dispatch reform in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 361-369.
    2. Lin, Jiang & Kahrl, Fredrich & Yuan, Jiahai & Chen, Qixin & Liu, Xu, 2019. "Economic and carbon emission impacts of electricity market transition in China: A case study of Guangdong Province," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1093-1107.
    3. Zhou, Kaile & Yang, Shanlin, 2015. "Demand side management in China: The context of China’s power industry reform," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 954-965.
    4. Wang, Chen & Zhou, Kaile & Yang, Shanlin, 2017. "A review of residential tiered electricity pricing in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 533-543.
    5. Lin, Jiang & Kahrl, Fredrich & Yuan, Jiahai & Liu, Xu & Zhang, Weirong, 2019. "Challenges and strategies for electricity market transition in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    6. Kahrl, Fredrich & Williams, Jim & Jianhua, Ding & Junfeng, Hu, 2011. "Challenges to China's transition to a low carbon electricity system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 4032-4041, July.
    7. 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.
    8. Zhang, Sufang & Andrews-Speed, Philip & Li, Sitao, 2018. "To what extent will China's ongoing electricity market reforms assist the integration of renewable energy?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 165-172.
    9. Teng, Fei & Wang, Xin & Zhiqiang, LV, 2014. "Introducing the emissions trading system to China’s electricity sector: Challenges and opportunities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 39-45.
    10. Cheng, Yuk-Shing & Li, Raymond & Woo, Chi-Keung, 2021. "Regional energy-growth nexus and energy conservation policy in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    11. Zhang, Hao, 2019. "Antinomic policy-making under the fragmented authoritarianism: Regulating China’s electricity sector through the energy-climate-environment dimension," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 162-169.
    12. Chen, Zhongfei & Barros, Carlos Pestana & Borges, Maria Rosa, 2015. "A Bayesian stochastic frontier analysis of Chinese fossil-fuel electricity generation companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 136-144.
    13. Hao Chen & Chi Kong Chyong & Jia-Ning Kang & Yi-Ming Wei, 2018. "Economic dispatch in the electricity sector in China: potential benefits and challenges ahead," Working Papers EPRG 1819, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    14. Woo, C.K. & Sreedharan, P. & Hargreaves, J. & Kahrl, F. & Wang, J. & Horowitz, I., 2014. "A review of electricity product differentiation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 262-272.
    15. Ma, Hengyun & Oxley, Les & Gibson, John, 2010. "China's energy economy: A survey of the literature," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 105-132, June.
    16. Zhang, Xiaobo & Kanbur, Ravi, 2005. "Spatial inequality in education and health care in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 189-204.
    17. Yi Li & Lili Ding & Yongliang Yang, 2020. "Can the Introduction of an Environmental Target Assessment Policy Improve the TFP of Textile Enterprises? A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the Huai River Basin in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, February.
    18. Ma, Hengyun & Oxley, Les, 2010. "The integration of major fuel source markets in China: Evidence from panel cointegration tests," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 1139-1146, September.
    19. Guanghua Wan & Ming Lu & Zhao Chen, 2007. "Globalization And Regional Income Inequality: Empirical Evidence From Within China," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 53(1), pages 35-59, March.
    20. Calì, Massimiliano & Sen, Kunal, 2011. "Do Effective State Business Relations Matter for Economic Growth? Evidence from Indian States," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 1542-1557, 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:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:2:p:905-:d:1034388. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.