Residential Fuel Choice in Rural Areas: Field Research of Two Counties of North China

Abstract

Solid fuels are still widely used in rural China though the living standard has improved greatly. Energy poverty is an obvious indicator of poverty, which has serious effects on economic development, environment, and health. In this paper, we conducted a detailed analysis on fuel choice and usage behavior of different end-use activities in rural residential energy consumption. Using 717 household observations from micro-survey data in two counties of Shandong and Hebei province in 2016, we find that biomass is the dominant fuel used for cooking among all energy sources despite of obvious decreasing trend in recent years, accounting for 44%. Clean energy used to cook increased markedly with a proportion of nearly 50%. Solar energy is an ordinary fuel used for water heating except for biomass. Almost 90% of households rely on coal for space heating in winter, and one-third of households have space heating for fewer than two months. Ownership of home appliances for basic needs is higher than that for hedonistic needs, and usage behaviors of some appliances are economical. Fuel accessibility of commercial energy have improved noticeably in rural areas, and the high proportion usage of biomass is affected by family income, usage habits, local resources, environmental recognition, education, and age. Since the negative effects of using solid fuels, it is urgent to cleanse biomass, develop new energy, and improve residents' cognition about the consequences of using solid fuels.

A Review of Low-Carbon Transformation and Energy Innovation Issues in China

“…Energy and environmental issues arise in a range of important situations, including environmental policies [1,2], CO 2 emissions [3,4], GHG emissions [6,7], wind speed prediction [8], oil prices [9,10], and residential fuel choice [11]. One approach potentially leads to describing just one facet of a more complex issue.…”

“…Though the descriptive analysis does not use empirical models, it is able to analyze issues clearly, especially with the survey data from farmers, due to its authenticity and engagement. Wu et al [11] conducted a detailed analysis of fuel choice and usage behavior of different end-use activities in rural residential energy consumption by using micro-survey data in two counties of Shandong and Hebei province. This study can provide a reference for decision-making.…”

“…However, one micro-level paper presents a detailed analysis of fuel choice and usage behavior of different end-use activities in rural residential energy consumption based on 717 observation surveys in two counties of northern China in Shandong and Hebei provinces in 2016 [11]. This paper describes the characteristics of rural energy consumption and the detailed usage behaviors by remedying the data limitations of previous studies through a detailed questionnaire design, offering in-depth investigations of the different fuel choices of end-use activities, which can provide a reference for decision-making [11].…”

Rural energy policy in China

“…According to China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study and as can be seen from Figure 5, there are more than 70 percent families of the whole in rural areas relying on biomass and coal for cooking, whereas only 15 percent in urban areas (Hou et al , 2017a). A survey on Hebei and Shandong in 2016 shows that up to 79 percent family in rural areas still use the traditional self-constructed stoves (Wu et al , 2017). Figure 6 demonstrates structure of energy use for heating in northern rural China.…”

“…In the survey on household energy consumption in rural areas in Shandong and Hebei, average age of residents is 46.9 (while the national average is 37.8). Average age of residents using solid fuels like firewood, straw and coal is 48.8, while average age of residents using clean energy like natural gas and electricity is 44.6 (Wu et al , 2017). It is rather difficult to promote clean energy to left rural residents.…”