IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v32y2014icp416-429.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The socio-political economy of electricity generation in China

Author

Listed:
  • Valentine, Scott Victor

Abstract

In addition to providing a review of electricity generation developments in China, this paper features the development of a framework for understanding the socio-political economy influencing electricity market development. It documents and presents a critical evaluation of the social, technological, economic and political forces which influence electricity generation policy in China. The analysis provides insight into why China's electricity generation shopping basket is being filled with both coal and CO2-reduced electricity generation technologies. It concludes that installed capacity of hydro power, wind power, nuclear power and solar PV power will outpace government projections due to inter alia a proclivity on the part of the Chinese government to set conservative (and achievable) targets, waning apathy toward pollution associated with coal-fired power, progressive improvements in grid connection and resilience, increased economic viability of these alternative energy sources and government support for these industries as strategic commercial sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentine, Scott Victor, 2014. "The socio-political economy of electricity generation in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 416-429.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:32:y:2014:i:c:p:416-429
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.01.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032114000288
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2014.01.017?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. Bambawale, Malavika Jain & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2011. "China's energy security: The perspective of energy users," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(5), pages 1949-1956, May.
    2. Zhou, Yun & Rengifo, Christhian & Chen, Peipei & Hinze, Jonathan, 2011. "Is China ready for its nuclear expansion?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 771-781, February.
    3. Ma, Linwei & Liu, Pei & Fu, Feng & Li, Zheng & Ni, Weidou, 2011. "Integrated energy strategy for the sustainable development of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 1143-1154.
    4. Rong, Fang & Victor, David G., 2011. "Coal liquefaction policy in China: Explaining the policy reversal since 2006," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 8175-8184.
    5. Chung-Ling Chien, John & Lior, Noam, 2011. "Concentrating solar thermal power as a viable alternative in China's electricity supply," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7622-7636.
    6. Liu, Yingqi & Kokko, Ari, 2010. "Wind power in China: Policy and development challenges," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5520-5529, October.
    7. 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.
    8. Zhao, Zhen-yu & Ling, Wen-jun & Zillante, George & Zuo, Jian, 2012. "Comparative assessment of performance of foreign and local wind turbine manufacturers in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 424-432.
    9. Richerzhagen, Carmen & Scholz, Imme, 2008. "China's Capacities for Mitigating Climate Change," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 308-324, February.
    10. Wang, Yanjia & Gu, Alun & Zhang, Aling, 2011. "Recent development of energy supply and demand in China, and energy sector prospects through 2030," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 6745-6759.
    11. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Valentine, Scott Victor, 2010. "The socio-political economy of nuclear energy in China and India," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 3803-3813.
    12. Shen, Lei & Gao, Tian-ming & Cheng, Xin, 2012. "China's coal policy since 1979: A brief overview," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 274-281.
    13. Changliang, Xia & Zhanfeng, Song, 2009. "Wind energy in China: Current scenario and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(8), pages 1966-1974, October.
    14. Valentine, Scott Victor, 2010. "A STEP toward understanding wind power development policy barriers in advanced economies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 2796-2807, December.
    15. Zhou, Sheng & Zhang, Xiliang, 2010. "Nuclear energy development in China: A study of opportunities and challenges," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 4282-4288.
    16. Rong, Fang, 2010. "Understanding developing country stances on post-2012 climate change negotiations: Comparative analysis of Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4582-4591, August.
    17. Geng, Yong & Liu, Ye & Liu, Dan & Zhao, Hengxin & Xue, Bing, 2011. "Regional societal and ecosystem metabolism analysis in China: A multi-scale integrated analysis of societal metabolism(MSIASM) approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 4799-4808.
    18. Yang, Mian & Patiño-Echeverri, Dalia & Yang, Fuxia, 2012. "Wind power generation in China: Understanding the mismatch between capacity and generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 145-151.
    19. Lin, Boqiang & Li, Aijun, 2011. "Impacts of carbon motivated border tax adjustments on competitiveness across regions in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 5111-5118.
    20. Zhou, Yun, 2010. "Why is China going nuclear?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3755-3762, July.
    21. Valentine, Scott Victor & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2010. "The socio-political economy of nuclear power development in Japan and South Korea," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 7971-7979, December.
    22. Valentine, Scott Victor, 2013. "Wind power policy in complex adaptive markets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 1-10.
    23. Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2011. "China's energy security, the Malacca dilemma and responses," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7612-7615.
    24. Cai, Wenjia & Wang, Can & Chen, Jining & Wang, Siqiang, 2011. "Green economy and green jobs: Myth or reality? The case of China’s power generation sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 5994-6003.
    25. Li, X. & Hubacek, K. & Siu, Y.L., 2012. "Wind power in China – Dream or reality?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 51-60.
    26. Xu, Ming & Li, Ran & Crittenden, John C. & Chen, Yongsheng, 2011. "CO2 emissions embodied in China's exports from 2002 to 2008: A structural decomposition analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 7381-7388.
    27. Chen, Qixin & Kang, Chongqing & Xia, Qing & Guan, Dabo, 2011. "Preliminary exploration on low-carbon technology roadmap of China’s power sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1500-1512.
    28. Zhang, Na & Lior, Noam & Jin, Hongguang, 2011. "The energy situation and its sustainable development strategy in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 3639-3649.
    29. Qiu, Yueming & Anadon, Laura D., 2012. "The price of wind power in China during its expansion: Technology adoption, learning-by-doing, economies of scale, and manufacturing localization," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 772-785.
    30. 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.
    31. Zhao, Zhen Yu & Zuo, Jian & Feng, Tian Tian & Zillante, George, 2011. "International cooperation on renewable energy development in China – A critical analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1105-1110.
    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. Zeng, Ming & Yang, Yongqi & Wang, Lihua & Sun, Jinghui, 2016. "The power industry reform in China 2015: Policies, evaluations and solutions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 94-110.
    2. Feng, Zhong-kai & Niu, Wen-jing & Cheng, Chun-tian, 2019. "China’s large-scale hydropower system: operation characteristics, modeling challenge and dimensionality reduction possibilities," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 805-818.
    3. Lu, Shibao & Jiang, Yue & Deng, Weisheng & Meng, Xu, 2023. "Energy and food production security under water resources regulation in the context of green development," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    4. Zeng, Ming & Yang, Yongqi & Fan, Qiannan & Liu, Yingxin & Zou, Zhuojun, 2015. "Coordination between clean energy generation and thermal power generation under the policy of “direct power-purchase for large users” in China," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 10-22.
    5. Yuan, Jiahai & Wang, Yang & Zhang, Weirong & Zhao, Changhong & Liu, Qian & Shen, Xinyi & Zhang, Kai & Dong, Liansai, 2017. "Will recent boom in coal power lead to a bust in China? A micro-economic analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 645-656.
    6. Zaman, Rafia & Brudermann, Thomas & Kumar, S. & Islam, Nazrul, 2018. "A multi-criteria analysis of coal-based power generation in Bangladesh," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 182-192.
    7. Valentine, Scott Victor & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2019. "Energy transitions and mass publics: Manipulating public perception and ideological entrenchment in Japanese nuclear power policy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 295-304.

    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. Lam, J.C.K. & Woo, C.K. & Kahrl, F. & Yu, W.K., 2013. "What moves wind energy development in China? Show me the money!," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 423-429.
    2. Cao, Wensheng & Bluth, Christoph, 2013. "Challenges and countermeasures of China’s energy security," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 381-388.
    3. Chi, Cheryl S.F. & Chen, Ling, 2012. "The sources of divergent practices in China's nuclear power sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 348-357.
    4. Reboredo, Juan C. & Wen, Xiaoqian, 2015. "Are China’s new energy stock prices driven by new energy policies?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 624-636.
    5. Zhao, Zhen-yu & Yan, Hong & Zuo, Jian & Tian, Yu-xi & Zillante, George, 2013. "A critical review of factors affecting the wind power generation industry in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 499-508.
    6. Xiaoyang Sun & Baosheng Zhang & Xu Tang & Benjamin C. McLellan & Mikael Höök, 2016. "Sustainable Energy Transitions in China: Renewable Options and Impacts on the Electricity System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-20, November.
    7. Zhang, XiaoHong & Hu, He & Zhang, Rong & Deng, ShiHuai, 2014. "Interactions between China׳s economy, energy and the air emissions and their policy implications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 624-638.
    8. Lindner, Soeren & Liu, Zhu & Guan, Dabo & Geng, Yong & Li, Xin, 2013. "CO2 emissions from China’s power sector at the provincial level: Consumption versus production perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 164-172.
    9. Yuan, Jiahai & Xu, Yan & Hu, Zhaoguang, 2012. "Delivering power system transition in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 751-772.
    10. Yuan, Jiahai & Xu, Yan & Hu, Zhen & Yu, Zhongfu & Liu, Jiangyan & Hu, Zhaoguang & Xu, Ming, 2012. "Managing electric power system transition in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 5660-5677.
    11. Liu, Wen & Hu, Weihao & Lund, Henrik & Chen, Zhe, 2013. "Electric vehicles and large-scale integration of wind power – The case of Inner Mongolia in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 445-456.
    12. Hayashi, Daisuke & Huenteler, Joern & Lewis, Joanna I., 2018. "Gone with the wind: A learning curve analysis of China's wind power industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 38-51.
    13. Roh, Seungkook & Choi, Jae Young & Chang, Soon Heung, 2019. "Modeling of nuclear power plant export competitiveness and its implications: The case of Korea," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 157-169.
    14. Yuan, Jiahai & Na, Chunning & Xu, Yan & Zhao, Changhong, 2015. "Wind turbine manufacturing in China: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1235-1244.
    15. Feng, Kuishuang & Hubacek, Klaus & Siu, Yim Ling & Li, Xin, 2014. "The energy and water nexus in Chinese electricity production: A hybrid life cycle analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 342-355.
    16. Hu, Yu & Monroy, Carlos Rodríguez, 2012. "Chinese energy and climate policies after Durban: Save the Kyoto Protocol," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 3243-3250.
    17. Valentine, Scott Victor & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2019. "Energy transitions and mass publics: Manipulating public perception and ideological entrenchment in Japanese nuclear power policy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 295-304.
    18. Ren, Jingzheng & Gao, Suzhao & Tan, Shiyu & Dong, Lichun, 2015. "Hydrogen economy in China: Strengths–weaknesses–opportunities–threats analysis and strategies prioritization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1230-1243.
    19. Zifa Liu & Wenhua Zhang & Changhong Zhao & Jiahai Yuan, 2015. "The Economics of Wind Power in China and Policy Implications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-18, February.
    20. Zhou, Yuanchun & Zhang, Bing & Zou, Ji & Bi, Jun & Wang, Ke, 2012. "Joint R&D in low-carbon technology development in China: A case study of the wind-turbine manufacturing industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 100-108.

    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:32:y:2014:i:c:p:416-429. 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.