IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v63y2013icp34-43.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparing centralized and decentralized bio-energy systems in rural China

Author

Listed:
  • He, Guizhen
  • Bluemling, Bettina
  • Mol, Arthur P.J.
  • Zhang, Lei
  • Lu, Yonglong

Abstract

Under the dual pressures of an energy crisis and rising greenhouse gas emissions, biomass energy development and utilisation has become part of the national energy strategy in China. The last decade has witnessed a strong promotion of both centralised and decentralised bio-energy systems in rural China. The government seems to have a strong preference for centralised (village-based) bio-energy systems in recent years. However, these government-driven systems have not worked without difficulties, particularly regarding economic and technological viability and maintenance. Studies on the advantages and disadvantages of decentralised and centralised bio-energy systems are rare. This study aims to shed light on the performances of these two systems in terms of social, economic and environmental effects. Through interviewing local officials and village leaders and surveying farmers in 12 villages in Shandong Province, it was found that bio-energy systems should be selected based on the local circumstances. The diversity of the local natural, economic and social situations determines the size, place, technology and organisational model of the bio-energy system.

Suggested Citation

  • He, Guizhen & Bluemling, Bettina & Mol, Arthur P.J. & Zhang, Lei & Lu, Yonglong, 2013. "Comparing centralized and decentralized bio-energy systems in rural China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 34-43.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:63:y:2013:i:c:p:34-43
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.06.019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513005041
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.06.019?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. Zhang, Xiliang & Ruoshui, Wang & Molin, Huo & Martinot, Eric, 2010. "A study of the role played by renewable energies in China's sustainable energy supply," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 4392-4399.
    2. Gosens, Jorrit & Lu, Yonglong & He, Guizhen & Bluemling, Bettina & Beckers, Theo A.M., 2013. "Sustainability effects of household-scale biogas in rural China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 273-287.
    3. Wang, Feng & Yin, Haitao & Li, Shoude, 2010. "China's renewable energy policy: Commitments and challenges," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 1872-1878, April.
    4. Chen, Yu & Yang, Gaihe & Sweeney, Sandra & Feng, Yongzhong, 2010. "Household biogas use in rural China: A study of opportunities and constraints," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 545-549, January.
    5. Jin, Yinlong & Ma, Xiao & Chen, Xining & Cheng, Yibin & Baris, Enis & Ezzati, Majid, 2006. "Exposure to indoor air pollution from household energy use in rural China: The interactions of technology, behavior, and knowledge in health risk management," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 3161-3176, June.
    6. Fan, Jie & Liang, Yu-tian & Tao, An-jun & Sheng, Ke-rong & Ma, Hai-Long & Xu, Yong & Wang, Chuan-Sheng & Sun, Wei, 2011. "Energy policies for sustainable livelihoods and sustainable development of poor areas in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1200-1212, March.
    7. Mangoyana, Robert B. & Smith, Timothy F., 2011. "Decentralised bioenergy systems: A review of opportunities and threats," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1286-1295, March.
    8. Zhang, Lixiao & Yang, Zhifeng & Chen, Bin & Chen, Guoqian, 2009. "Rural energy in China: Pattern and policy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 2813-2823.
    9. Jiang, Xinyuan & Sommer, Sven G. & Christensen, Knud V., 2011. "A review of the biogas industry in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 6073-6081, October.
    10. Pei-dong, Zhang & Guomei, Jia & Gang, Wang, 2007. "Contribution to emission reduction of CO2 and SO2 by household biogas construction in rural China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(8), pages 1903-1912, October.
    11. Han, Jingyi & Mol, Arthur P.J. & Lu, Yonglong & Zhang, Lei, 2008. "Small-scale bioenergy projects in rural China: Lessons to be learnt," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 2154-2162, June.
    12. Gan, Lin & Yu, Juan, 2008. "Bioenergy transition in rural China: Policy options and co-benefits," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 531-540, February.
    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. Bluemling, Bettina & de Visser, Ina, 2013. "Overcoming the “club dilemma” of village-scale bioenergy projects—The case of India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 18-25.
    2. González, Ruben & García-Cascallana, José & Gómez, Xiomar, 2023. "Energetic valorization of biogas. A comparison between centralized and decentralized approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    3. Bluemling, Bettina & Mol, Arthur P.J. & Tu, Qin, 2013. "The social organization of agricultural biogas production and use," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 10-17.
    4. Masayasu Asai & Takashi Hayashi & Mitasu Yamamoto, 2019. "Mental Model Analysis of Biogas Energy Perceptions and Policy Reveals Potential Constraints in a Japanese Farm Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, January.
    5. Dawit Diriba Guta & Jose Jara & Narayan Prasad Adhikari & Qiu Chen & Varun Gaur & Alisher Mirzabaev, 2017. "Assessment of the Successes and Failures of Decentralized Energy Solutions and Implications for the Water–Energy–Food Security Nexus: Case Studies from Developing Countries," Resources, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-15, June.
    6. Wang, Xiaojiao & Lu, Xingang & Yang, Gaihe & Feng, Yongzhong & Ren, Guangxin & Han, Xinhui, 2016. "Development process and probable future transformations of rural biogas in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 703-712.
    7. Khan, Ershad Ullah & Martin, Andrew R., 2016. "Review of biogas digester technology in rural Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 247-259.
    8. Chen, Qiu & Liu, Tianbiao, 2017. "Biogas system in rural China: Upgrading from decentralized to centralized?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 933-944.
    9. Yang, Jing & Song, Kaihui & Hou, Jian & Zhang, Peidong & Wu, Jinhu, 2017. "Temporal and spacial dynamics of bioenergy-related CO2 emissions and underlying forces analysis in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1323-1330.
    10. Wu, Shu, 2020. "The evolution of rural energy policies in China: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. Han, Jiashi & Hou, Xiaochao & Zhang, Lei, 2022. "Policy implications of China's rural household coal governance from the perspective of the spillover effect," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    12. Zhang, Rui & Wei, Taoyuan & Glomsrød, Solveig & Shi, Qinghua, 2014. "Bioenergy consumption in rural China: Evidence from a survey in three provinces," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 136-145.
    13. Zhang, Weishi & Wang, Can & Zhang, Long & Xu, Ying & Cui, Yuanzheng & Lu, Zifeng & Streets, David G., 2018. "Evaluation of the performance of distributed and centralized biomass technologies in rural China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 445-455.
    14. Jana, Kuntal & Ray, Avishek & Majoumerd, Mohammad Mansouri & Assadi, Mohsen & De, Sudipta, 2017. "Polygeneration as a future sustainable energy solution – A comprehensive review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 88-111.
    15. Joshua Sunday Riti & Deyong Song & Yang Shu & Miriam Kamah & Agya Adi Atabani, 2018. "Does renewable energy ensure environmental quality in favour of economic growth? Empirical evidence from China’s renewable development," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(5), pages 2007-2030, September.
    16. Yongzhong Jiang & Valerii Havrysh & Oleksandr Klymchuk & Vitalii Nitsenko & Tomas Balezentis & Dalia Streimikiene, 2019. "Utilization of Crop Residue for Power Generation: The Case of Ukraine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-21, December.
    17. Rufis Fregue Tiegam Tagne & Xiaobin Dong & Solomon G. Anagho & Serena Kaiser & Sergio Ulgiati, 2021. "Technologies, challenges and perspectives of biogas production within an agricultural context. The case of China and Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(10), pages 14799-14826, October.
    18. Ortiz, Willington & Terrapon-Pfaff, Julia & Dienst, Carmen, 2017. "Understanding the diffusion of domestic biogas technologies. Systematic conceptualisation of existing evidence from developing and emerging countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1287-1299.
    19. Guta, Dawit & Jara, Jose & Adhikari, Narayan & Qiu, Chen & Gaur, Varun & Mirzabaev, Alisher, 2015. "Decentralized energy in Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus in Developing Countries: Case Studies on Successes and Failures," Discussion Papers 207713, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    20. Bluemling, Bettina, 2013. "Synopsis of the Special Issue Section: “The social organization of agricultural biogas production and use”," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 52-54.

    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. Chen, Qiu & Liu, Tianbiao, 2017. "Biogas system in rural China: Upgrading from decentralized to centralized?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 933-944.
    2. Sun, Dingqiang & Bai, Junfei & Qiu, Huanguang & Cai, Yaqing, 2014. "Impact of government subsidies on household biogas use in rural China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 748-756.
    3. Yin, Dongxue & Liu, Wei & Zhai, Ningning & Wang, Yandong & Ren, Chengjie & Yang, Gaihe, 2017. "Regional differentiation of rural household biogas development and related driving factors in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 1008-1018.
    4. Liu, Wenling & Spaargaren, Gert & Heerink, Nico & Mol, Arthur P.J. & Wang, Can, 2013. "Energy consumption practices of rural households in north China: Basic characteristics and potential for low carbon development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 128-138.
    5. Guta, Dawit & Jara, Jose & Adhikari, Narayan & Qiu, Chen & Gaur, Varun & Mirzabaev, Alisher, 2015. "Decentralized energy in Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus in Developing Countries: Case Studies on Successes and Failures," Discussion Papers 207713, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    6. Huang, Xianlei & Wang, Shu & Shi, Zuliang & Fang, Linna & Yin, Changbin, 2022. "Challenges and strategies for biogas production in the circular agricultural waste utilization model: A case study in rural China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    7. Deng, Yanfei & Xu, Jiuping & Liu, Ying & Mancl, Karen, 2014. "Biogas as a sustainable energy source in China: Regional development strategy application and decision making," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 294-303.
    8. Zheng, Lei & Cheng, Shikun & Han, Yanzhao & Wang, Min & Xiang, Yue & Guo, Jiali & Cai, Di & Mang, Heinz-Peter & Dong, Taili & Li, Zifu & Yan, Zhengxu & Men, Yu, 2020. "Bio-natural gas industry in China: Current status and development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    9. Cheng, Shikun & Li, Zifu & Mang, Heinz-Peter & Neupane, Kalidas & Wauthelet, Marc & Huba, Elisabeth-Maria, 2014. "Application of fault tree approach for technical assessment of small-sized biogas systems in Nepal," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1372-1381.
    10. Jingwen Wu & Bingdong Hou & Ruoyu Ke & Yun-Fei Du & Ce Wang & Xiangzheng Li & Jiawei Cai & Tianqi Chen & Meixuan Teng & Jin Liu & Jin-Wei Wang & Hua Liao, 2018. "Residential fuel choice in the rural: A field research on two counties of North China," CEEP-BIT Working Papers 109, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP), Beijing Institute of Technology.
    11. Qu, Mei & Lin, Ying & Liu, Can & Yao, Shunbo & Cao, Yang, 2016. "Farmers׳ perceptions of developing forest based bioenergy in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 581-589.
    12. Jingwen Wu & Bingdong Hou & Ruo-Yu Ke & Yun-Fei Du & Ce Wang & Xiangzheng Li & Jiawei Cai & Tianqi Chen & Meixuan Teng & Jin Liu & Jin-Wei Wang & Hua Liao, 2017. "Residential Fuel Choice in Rural Areas: Field Research of Two Counties of North China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-16, April.
    13. He, Bao-jie & Yang, Li & Griffy-Brown, Charla & Mou, Ben & Zhou, Ya-Nan & Ye, Miao, 2014. "The assessment of building energy efficiency in China rural society: Developing a new theoretical construct," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 130-138.
    14. Dai, Jing & Chen, Bin & Hayat, Tasawar & Alsaedi, Ahmed & Ahmad, Bashir, 2015. "Sustainability-based economic and ecological evaluation of a rural biogas-linked agro-ecosystem," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 347-355.
    15. Yang, Jun & Dai, Guanghui & Ma, Luyi & Jia, Liming & Wu, Jian & Wang, Xiaohua, 2013. "Forest-based bioenergy in China: Status, opportunities, and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 478-485.
    16. Karthik Rajendran & Solmaz Aslanzadeh & Mohammad J. Taherzadeh, 2012. "Household Biogas Digesters—A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(8), pages 1-32, August.
    17. Qu, Wei & Tu, Qin & Bluemling, Bettina, 2013. "Which factors are effective for farmers’ biogas use?–Evidence from a large-scale survey in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 26-33.
    18. Wakeel, Muhammad & Hayat, Tasawer & Shah, Noor Samad & Iqbal, Jibran & Haq Khan, Zia Ul & Shah, Ghulam Mustafa & Rasool, Atta, 2023. "Biogas Energy Resources in Pakistan Status, Potential, and Barriers," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    19. Min He & Pei Liu & Linwei Ma & Chinhao Chong & Xu Li & Shizhong Song & Zheng Li & Weidou Ni, 2018. "A Systems Analysis of the Development Status and Trends of Rural Household Energy in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-23, July.
    20. Lixiao Zhang & Changbo Wang, 2014. "Energy and GHG Analysis of Rural Household Biogas Systems in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-18, February.

    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:63:y:2013:i:c:p:34-43. 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.