China

Market-based reforms in China's urban centralized heating sector are essential to addressing the perpetual inefficiency of a sector built on welfare based principles.... Show More + The reform of heat pricing and billing is a crucial part of overall heat reform, since it will commodity heat and thus create economic incentives to provide and use heat much more efficiently. Heat pricing and billing reform requires substantial changes in four interrelated areas: (i) transfer of heat payment responsibility from work units to consumers, a change from invisible to visible heat subsidies and an improved targeted subsidy system; (ii) determination of an economically efficient and equitable heat pricing system; (iii) promotion of heat metering, consumer control of heat consumption and consumption based billing; and (iv) improvement of the system of heat price administration. Show Less -

Analysts expect China to continue improving the efficiency of energy production and use, thereby decoupling the traditional relationship between gross domestic product... Show More + (GDP) and energy consumption. Environmentally acceptable economic growth is closely linked with further improvements in the overall efficiency of energy use. Both of these goals will require a continued increase in the use of coal to produce electricity, along with a more deliberate and rapid transition from direct coal combustion to the use of electricity and other cleaner coal-based fuel sources, especially for cooking, space heating, and industrial furnaces. The opportunity for environmental improvement in conjunction with economic growth lies in the wise adoption of clean coal technologies (CCT) for both the electric power and non-power sectors. This report presents CCT options for the power sector that can help China achieve these twin goals. The CCT options are: 1) air pollution controls for particulates, sulphur dioxide, and nitrous oxide; and 2) advanced electricity generation technologies--supercritical pulverized-coal boilers, atmospheric and pressurized fluidized-bed combustors, and integrated gasification combined cycle plants. Volume 1 of this report explains the project costing methodology and the electric power CCT options. Volume 2 summarizes the development and technology assessment of clean coal technologies for the non-power sector in China. Show Less -

Analysts expect China to continue improving the efficiency of energy production and use, thereby decoupling the traditional relationship between gross domestic product... Show More + (GDP) and energy consumption. Environmentally acceptable economic growth is closely linked with further improvements in the overall efficiency of energy use. Both of these goals will require a continued increase in the use of coal to produce electricity, along with a more deliberate and rapid transition from direct coal combustion to the use of electricity and other cleaner coal-based fuel sources, especially for cooking, space heating, and industrial furnaces. The opportunity for environmental improvement in conjunction with economic growth lies in the wise adoption of clean coal technologies (CCT) for both the electric power and non-power sectors. This report presents CCT options for the power sector that can help China achieve these twin goals. The CCT options are: 1) air pollution controls for particulates, sulphur dioxide, and nitrous oxide; and 2) advanced electricity generation technologies--supercritical pulverized-coal boilers, atmospheric and pressurized fluidized-bed combustors, and integrated gasification combined cycle plants. Volume 1 of this report explains the project costing methodology and the electric power CCT options. Volume 2 summarizes the development and technology assessment of clean coal technologies for the non-power sector in China. Show Less -

Accessibility is a fundamental measure of benefits of urban life; In essence it measures the end benefit of the integrated transportation and land use system: how many... Show More + destinations (generally jobs but also shops, schools, entertainment, and recreation facilities) can be accessed in a given time using a given mode of transport. Increasing accessibility, bringing people, opportunities and goods within easy reach of each other, has always been the fundamental role of cities. This document is a brief summary of the latest work completed in this series. The document provides a description of a pilot project in Wuhan, China to demonstrate the value of accessibility metrics in the urban planning decision making process, including a description of the tools used and policy lessons generated. The primary purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the practical applications of these tools for use in understanding transport and land use dynamics in World Bank client cities. Show Less -

The main objective of this study was to determine the market potential for photo-voltaic systems in the remote areas of China, particularly in villages without access... Show More + to grid electricity. A number of photo-voltaic systems have been sold in the remote provinces, but the size and nature of this market was not well understood. The study produced data that addresses several needs: it yielded an estimate of the size of the potential market for photo-voltaic systems in four Chinese provinces; provided important information on the characteristics, ability to pay, and preferences of potential customers; detailed positive, and negative experiences with existing photo-voltaic systems; and, developed recommendations to increase the penetration of photo-voltaic systems in rural China, as part of the upcoming China Renewable Energy Development Project. The main conclusion of the report is that there is significant desire by households in remote areas, for electricity, and that there is significant potential market demand for photo-voltaic systems. Show Less -

The present study is focused on technical improvements in energy efficiency, and aims to identify specific policy measures, strategies and programs at the plant level... Show More + that would promote energy conservation and help improve the economic efficiency of the Township and Village Enterprises (TVE) industry sector. The methodology involved conducting case studies for energy efficiency improvements in selected TVE industries, analyzing the costs and benefits of generic investment options and determining industry-wide replicability of the findings. Brick and tile, coke and metal castings were selected for the case studies. These three TVE industries collectively account for about 40% of raw coal consumed, almost half of the total energy consumed and almost half of the total CO2 released to the atmosphere by all TVE industries in China. The study found that in China today relatively low-cost technical innovations that are highly appropriate to TVE conditions exit in the brick and cokemaking industries and need to be more widely disseminated. In cokemaking, however, the study found that efficiency improvements confined to the current scales of production are only marginally economic and do not represent long-term solutions to the problems faced by this particular TVE enterprise. This study describes technical improvements that could result in significant economic and environmental benefits and recommends that a program to upgrade the TVE brickworks and metal casting industries be prepared. The program will consist of: 1) investments in technical process improvements and restructuring initiatives, establishments of larger, more efficient plants to replace a number of smaller, inefficient ones; 2) capacity building activities - including industry-specific training on good practices and other energy saving approaches, sector-wide awareness campaigns, and the development of capabilities in existing county level energy conservation centers to effectively support specific technical needs of the subject industries; and c) active enforcement of environmental regulations at the local level. Show Less -

The power sector in China is on the brink of great expansion to support China's rapid economic growth. The present power capacity of 166 GW needs to grow at about 12... Show More + to 15 GW per year to alleviate present shortages and meet fast-growing demand. Meeting this demand will require a comprehensive restructuring of the sector if China is to avoid perpetuating the problems that have hampered the development and performance of its power sector and if the country is to address the new problems arising from the fragmented approach to reforming the sector adopted during the 1980s. This document arises from a request by the Chinese government for the World Bank's assistance in articulating objectives for reforming the power sector and in identifying and appraising options for restructuring the sector. A secondary goal of the technical assistance was clarification of concepts underlying power sector restructuring. As part of the overall assistance, the Chinese government and the World Bank cooperatively organized a workshop on strategic options for the power sector in early July 1993. Chinese power sector experts, working with international consultants prepared four task force reports covering power system structure; regulatory and legal requirements; commercialization and corporatization; and financing of sector development. The four reports were presented and discussed at the Beijing workshop, and were revised during the discusssions. The workshops and task force reports drew the following conclusions: 1) opitmal expansion will require combining multiple sources of finance; 2) restructuring should be guided by commercial principles; 3) competition along with regional markets and power pools, should constitute the main thrust of the sector's reform; 4) a new regulatory and legal apparatus should be in place to ensure the achievement of the foregoing objective; and 5) a rapid pace of reform is desirable. Show Less -

This report summarizes the findings of a study on rural energy development in China which focuses on three county-level case studies. It provides background on rural... Show More + energy in China; details on the objectives, process and methodology of the assessments; main conclusions; and an outline of priority areas for follow-up international assistance. Show Less -

The World Bank, working together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), actively supports the development of a regional power market in the GMS: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar,... Show More + Thailand, Vietnam and the Yunnan Province of the People's Republic of China. This report is part of a dynamic process aimed at developing power trade in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), the objective of which will be to provide reliable and economic electric service to consumers, consistent with sustainable use of natural resources. The report includes the following headings: introduction; issues related to the current situation; possible options and requirements for the intermediate term; recommendations for intermediate-term decisions; options for long-term trading in the GMS region; next steps; and conclusion. Show Less -

The objective of this report is to present practical measures that can be implemented to help countries minimize the economic and social consequences when confronted... Show More + with power shortages. By reviewing the causes of and responses to power shortages in Chile, China, California, the Dominican Republic, Japan, and particularly Brazil, this report analyzes ways in which governments, utilities, consumers, and other stakeholders can deal with the multifaceted aspects of power rationing. This report highlights the case of Brazil as one of the best international practices. Chapter 2 lays the groundwork for dealing with rationing and distinguishes between three types of power shortages as a basis for formulating effective solutions. Chapters 3 and 4 examine case studies in which power shortages have led to different rationing responses. Chapter 5 details technological, financial, social, and other factors distinguishing each rationing episode. Chapter 6 compares quotas based on price signals with rolling blackouts. Chapter 7 presents a simple rationing scheme based on energy quotas assigned to individual customers. Finally, chapter 8 offers 12 lessons about implementing power rationing and demand response in a sensible way. Show Less -