Running head: REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID

Solving Chinas Air Pollution by Remodeling the Energy Grid

Alan Chen

RDF International School

Author Note

Alan Chen, Honor Thesis Class, RDF International School.

Alan Chen is now a tenth grader in Honor Thesis Class, RDF International School.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Alan Chen, Honor Thesis

Class, RDF International School, Dapeng Shenzhen, Guangdong 518120.

Contact: alanchen196@gmail.com
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 2

Introduction

On a dry winter day in 2012, Chinas capital Beijing encountered an unprecedented

weather condition smog (Jackson, 2012, para. 1). For the first time, people who lived in the

nations capital were recommended to wear mask and avoid unnecessary outdoor activities. This

severe air pollution lasted for nearly a month, nothing else but a wake-up call to the whole coun-

try. People were shocked by the scale and further impact of this event. City transportation shut

down due to low visibility, more people were suffered from respiratory diseases, and outdoor

activities were banned. The whole city was dead under the dome created by smog. However,

such horrible smog is not a coincidence.

In the past thirty years, China have been developing with an astonishing rate. It only took

China a few decades to go through the industrialization, which took western countries nearly

hundred years. Though the country is getting richer, one of the biggest sacrifice for fast devel-

opment is the cost of environment, especially the air that people are breathing every second. In

order to change this unfavorable situation, people need to solve the problems from its root - the

old system that was designed for the carbon era which had lasted for nearly two hundred years.

By realizing the creation of internet, people from every corner of the Earth are able to be

connected technically. With that in mind, human beings will start their new journey base on the

application of the internet, and pace themselves into the post-carbon era. An era when carbon-

based industry becomes inefficient and non-economic beneficial; as a result, energy sources that

rely or produce less carbon with higher efficiency will become the dominant driving sources. In

order to win this era, the fundament lays on the modernization of a states national grid.
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 3

Solving Chinas Air Pollution by Remodeling the Energy Grid

Literature Review of SQ1

Introduction

Ever since smog first struck Chinese large metropolis in the northeast region, early 2012,

it has quickly spread across the whole country like virus. Central plain, eastern coast, even the

well-regarded southern hilly countries, all have encountered smog to various extent. The after-

math of series of smog drew peoples attention towards personal health condition. In Shijia-

zhuang, an industrial city in northeast central China, it is estimated that 251 premature deaths,

7.7 million cases of acute and chronic morbidity, and 6,589 person-years of restricted activities

would have been avoided if Shijiazhuang had met the national ambient air quality standards in

2000 (Peng et al., 2002, p. 12).

Review

A survey report written by Townsend, Brown, Magee, Cherry, and Daves (2009) aimed

to find out undergraduate students perception toward air pollution in China. Students, who took

the survey, were from both US and China, and those from different countries did not know the

existence of each other. Survey results indicated that the majority of Chinese students were

aware of the air pollution, and the majority had the tendency to trust governmental report on air

pollution. On the other side, most students in the US were strongly concerned about the air pollu-

tion in China, and they thought Chinese government was not making any significant progress on

solving air pollution (p. 10). Besides the survey results, the report also discussed about the fac-

tors that has caused severe air pollution in China, and how they can affect peoples health. The

introduction of the report briefly concluded Chinas air pollution as a result of huge coal com-

bustion and a lack of forest coverage (p. 5 & 7). In addition, researchers also saw off-standard
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 4

factories and unregulated agricultural waste as new contributors to air pollution in China (p. 4).

Besides the effects on human health, research shows that air pollution also has significant im-

pacts on agricultural production. A global risk assessment shows that local crop loss from sulfur

dioxide emissions could be an important issue for countries such as China and India (Marshall,

Ashmore and Hinchcliffe, 1997).

Moreover, according to the Ministrys Environmental Emergency and Accident Investi-

gation Center, the frequency of people calling the center for suggestions in 2013 increased by

26% from previous year, and 70% of the calls were to complain about the environmental prob-

lems (Zhang, Liu, & Li, 2014, p. 5333). This shows peoples awareness of environmental prob-

lems is rising. On the other hand, researchers found that the number of people who took actions

to protect the environment were in small percentage (Zhang, Liu, & Li, 2014, p. 5334).

Since coal is abundant and cheap in China, it is not likely for people to stop using coal in

a short term; plus, Chinas huge demand for energy makes it even more impossible. However,

burning coal is a dirty and inefficient business (Bullis, 2013, para. 1). Finding a more environ-

mental-friendly way to burn coal could be a breakthrough, especially for developing countries

like China. The chemical looping method can be a short term problem solver once applied. China

can use this to go through the energy transition and significantly improve the air quality. By

burning coals with oxygen-bearing materials, such as iron oxide, products of this reaction would

mostly be pure carbon dioxide and iron metal instead of toxic gas like sulfate dioxide and Partic-

ular Matter (PM) 10 (Bullis, 2013, para. 4). Those byproducts will then be stored in the under-

ground. In one word, this process ensures that most of the harmful gases cannot even be pro-

duced, and that greenhouse gases can be successfully captured and stored without losing much

heat.
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 5

Despite it is highly probable for China to continue use coal as a dominant energy source

for another decade, Chinese government has initiated a plan for future renewable energy usage

(Mastny, 2010, p. 8). In order to address concerns on worsening air pollution and the threat of

climate change, the country has begun implementing ambitious programs in renewable energy

and energy efficiency in recent decades (Mastny, 2010, p. 8). The reasons behind that drive

Chinese government, is the pursuit of improving energy supply and energy security, enhancing

the quality and competitiveness of its economy, reducing pressure on the environment, and miti-

gating the effects of climate change (Mastny, 2010, p. 7).

For years, the main obstacle is that the biggest polluters tend to be the best connected

politically. They ignore the rules because it is cheaper to do so and because they can. In contrast,

the implementation agencies are weak and overstretched, and lack the ability to enforce all their

well-meaning rules and standards (Zhang, Liu, Li, 2014, p. 5335). This came to an end on 12

September 2013, when Chinas State Council released the Action Plan for Air Pollution Preven-

tion and Control (Gielen, Saygin, Wagner, & Chen, 2014, p. 34). This plan further emphasizes

the implication of law enforcement, and the reginal responsibility to take up the air pollution

burden.

Electricity has been applied to peoples daily life since the beginning of the 20th century. As

a result, electricity became one of the most indispensable sources in this century. As for Chinese

government, they see cleaner ways of generating electricity as the major method to tackle air pol-

lution (Gielen, Saygin, Wagner, & Chen, 2014, p. 35). In 2010, a straddling bus design has been

restaged by a transportation equipment company based in Shenzhen. The bus is a weird looking

vehicle which travels right above the road. It is said to be able to carry 40 times of passengers
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 6

than todays buses, and running on electricity only (Wassener, & Deng, 2010, para. 3). The bus

can even generate the electricity by itself through solar power.

Conclusion

Disruptions ascribable to air pollution has largely affected peoples living environment.

Tackling air pollution is now a must-do assignment as far as Chinese government considered.

There are several probable aspects that Chinese government can work on to improve the air qual-

ity in short term. To refine the existed energy sources, to apply rigorous law enforcement, and to

integrate newly developed technology.

Literature Review of SQ2

Introduction

Having seen the tremendous loss caused by severe environmental problems, Chinese

government are in action. The government said that they have the ambition and determination to

solve this domestic issue, which is currently causing negative effects on people. Literature re-

view section two will go over some existing laws, programs, incentives, and future prospects

made by the Chinese government, that are meant to win this combat against pollution.

Review

China is running on its own socialist economic system, which consists Five-Year Plan

setting, large governmental influence, and great deal of short term investment in particular areas.

These characteristics enable the country to make quick response to critical issues, and to com-

plete magnificent projects in comparatively short term. As part of the result, states energy policy

is well-oriented in each Five-Year Plan, and it is a great reference for each company in the ener-

gy field. For instance, in order to realize the goal set in the 12th Five-Year Plan, China needs to
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 7

contribute 15% of its primary energy to the renewable energy sector by 2020 (Campbell, 2014, p.

26).

Other than that, the plan will also review specific areas with state subsidies in the recent five

years or so. Besides, most of the energy companies in China are state-owned. The drawback of

Chinas current electricity planning is transmission (Campbell, 2014, p. 24). Though renewable

energy in China has developed rapidly in recent years, it usually appeared in large scale in re-

mote areas. This makes energy transmission becomes a thorny problem. Building long distanced,

ultra-high voltage transmission lines are not economical under any circumstance. However, the

current idea from Beijing is to build up a cross-country smart grid, which enables not only cen-

tralized generators, but large cities to help integrate renewable energy sources. This is Beijings

idea of combining both centralization and distribution (Campbell, 2014, p. 24).

Aside from setting the general path, Chinese government is in favor of shale gas technol-

ogy in particular. A discussion paper written by Tian, Wang, Krupnick, and Liu (2014) suggests

that Chinas National Oil Companies (NOCs) will take a lead of this transition to shale gas. That

is mostly because large-scale companies have greater technological talent reserve, international

experience, and reliable financial support (p. 17). However, it does not mean that Chinese gov-

ernment deny opening the shale gas market to the private firms. In fact, the government is ex-

pecting those private medium-sized companies to spread the use of shale gas at the start-up stage

(p. 13). In terms of providing customer services and auxiliary facilities which come after the

drilling of shale gas, NOCs are playing as pioneers who are somewhat led by the government. It

provides NOCs with some of the most favorable drilling sites and short term incentives for them

to get started on shale gas industry in China (p. 14). In addition, shale gas is seen as a potential

replacement of coal in China, since it is much more environmentally friendly, and the abundance
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 8

storage makes it even more appealing. In October 2013, National Energy Administration (NEA)

introduced a shale gas industrial policy in a three-page document that declares shale gas devel-

opment is a new national strategic industry (p. 11).

Furthermore, Chinese government has paid lots of attention to domestically produced.

As what is stated in a joint fiscal subsidy policy released by Ministry of Finance (MoF) and NEA

in 2012, tariffs are waived for importing equipment for shale gas development that cannot be

domestically produced (Tian, Wang, Krupnick, & Liu, 2014, p. 12). Authors inferred that Bei-

jings determination on independent equipment supply better serves the goal of making shale gas

a new national strategic industry. In one way, it realizes self-sustain, while in the other way, it

makes further promotion on international stage possible.

The most well-known law suit which was released in 2013 by Chinas State Council is

called the National Ten Measures. This law suit settles the frame work of this huge plan on com-

bating pollution in China. The National Ten Measures points out the importance of reducing

emissions, improving legal framework, accelerating energy reconstruction and technology de-

velopment (Zhang, Liu, & Li, 2014, p. 5330). This shows the determination of Chinese govern-

ment to tackle pollutions in China.

Conclusion

Having realized the increasing environmental pollution, Chinese government are now

taking actions to prevent things from worsening by releasing new protection laws and carrying

out preferential policies which ascribe to renewable energy. Policies so far made by Chinese

government are to set a general framework instead of detailed regulations regarding to renewable

energy, which leaves more opportunities for future inventions.

REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 9

Literature Review of SQ3

Introduction

One way to solve air pollution in China is to remodel the energy grid. By improving the

efficiency, monitor and distribution of the energy grid, energy waste will be minimized, and en-

ergy can even be sent to remote or underdeveloped areas. Such go-between can significantly re-

duce the carbon emission with minor impact on state development. Having witnessed the feasi-

bility of a solution for all, Beijing mentioned the reconstruction of energy sector frequently in

its latest Five-Year-Plan (FYP) published by the Peoples Congress. Beijing has already penciled

in the reconstruction of energy grid as one of its agenda (Tian, Wang, Krupnick, & Liu, 2014, p.

11).

Since the remodeling of Chinas energy grid has a high likelihood to be employed in the

near future, the following articles that have been reviewed will bring the idea even further

introducing the concept of Third Industrial Revolutionan energy revolution is meant to remod-

el the current energy system into an interactive, distributed, energy sharing system.

Review

Today, people need energy more than ever. However, fossil energy is unsustainable and

pollutive. For China, where the government is urged to seek multiple ways of tackling air pollu-

tion, molten salt reactor is one of those likable choices. Today, Shanghai Institute, along with the

assistance from Oak Ridge (a city in eastern Tennessee that was established in 1942 as part of

US nuclear development), is designing the worlds second pilot molten salt reactor in Shanghai.

Their goal is to start up a commercial-scale molten salt reactor by 2030 (Martin, 2016, para. 24).

Though some think nuclear energy is becoming an aged technology, the truth is that the under-

developed technology, such as molten salt technology, might give nuclear energy a rebirth. Nu-
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 10

clear reactor can be built in small scale, with less money, higher safety insurance and efficiency.

This makes the distribution of energy supply more probable, and current energy system can be

reformed in large degree (Martin, 2016, para. 13).

The reason why inventing small-scale nuclear reactor is that it is not necessary for people

to have large centralized power plants in the future. San Antonio, an industrial city in

south central Texas, is the seventh largest city in the US (Rifkin, 2013, p. 85). For recent ten-

year, city government is seeking a way of making San Antonio as American first Green City.

During the planning stage, an interlude happened once on choosing between centralized nuclear

power and distributed renewable energy. Though the initial goal for the city government was to

build an environmentally friendly energy solution providing constant job opportunities, they ul-

timately aborted the nuclear plan (Rifkin, 2013, p. 93). As far as officials are concerned, nuclear

power plants only provide sufficient job opportunities in the building stage, in contrast, a distrib-

uted renewable energy network is fairer to users, plus it might drive the regional industry on rel-

evant equipment manufacturing. As what can be inferred from San Antonio, the change of the

system is a solution for all. It is possible to neutralize problems regarding society, economy, and

industry in this one single movement, and it is what Third Industrial Revolution is depending on

(Rifkin, 2013, p. 94).

Nearly 300 years ago, Adam Smith wrote a book called The Wealth of the Nation. In his

book, he describes a nation driven by a free market. Inspired by Newtons law in forces, he be-

lieves that a dynamic market without interference is able to self-regulate in that there is always

going to be an equal and opposite reaction towards any action (Rifkin, 2013, p. 194). This secret

force is what Adam Smith describes as an invisible hand. Capitalism is a derivation based on

Adam Smiths idea of a free market.

REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 11

As an extension of Adam Smith, a new economic system was set, and railroad industry

best demonstrated this system that follows exact orders from a superior level. It goes from the

very top administration, to a crewmember, which in other word, a vertical system bonded with

orders (Rifkin, 2013, p. 108). Though it is undoubted that Second industrial revolution has im-

proved peoples living standard significantly, what comes with this system is an uneven classifi-

cation of people. People on top of the pyramid occupy most of the wealth despite that fact that it

consists of the least world population. On the other hand, people at the bottom of the pyramid

have the most population with the least wealth (Rifkin, 2013, p. 112). This system had been

working for 200 years, until the beginning of the 21st century. As the natural resources that peo-

ple rely on have become even scarcer, plus those sources are polluting the environment and caus-

ing further lost than people could imagine. The flaw of this system has never been more obvious.

People need to work together, share what they get, and reject any forms of waste. Internet leaves

an opportunity for a sharing economy, and a more lateral world (Rifkin, 2013, p. 118).

The new Smart Grid is network-based. People use it to trade their electricity, similar to

that people now use Amazon, a worldwide online shopping platform, to trade goods online. The

Smart Grid empowered by means of the two-way digital communication (both parties involve in

transmitting digital data) and plug-and-play (devices that intended to work perfectly when first

used or connected, without any further adjustment) capabilities that exemplify a smarter grid that

genuine breakthroughs begin to multiply. In last eight years, Smart Grid has already been par-

tially integrated into the U.S. and European energy grid (Walsh, 2017, p. 25). What people con-

cern most is the network which the Smart Grid is based on. Just how harmful clear on Dec. 23,

2015, when cyberattacks struck power centers in Ukraine and, with a few clicks, shut down doz-

ens of substations, eventually cutting off electricity to some 230,000 residents in the dead of an
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 12

Eastern European winter (Walsh, 2017, p. 26). Argued by Assante, Roxey, and Bochman

(2015), the Smart Grid works well for reliability but will not stop skilled and adaptive adver-

saries (p. 6).

Despite the Smart Grid, the most common issue of renewable energy is energy storage.

Most of the renewable energy has the problem of consistent electricity supply. Therefore, a sub-

storage mechanism is essential. A pilot program in San Diego conducted by San Diego Gas &

Electric (SDG&E) has been considered the most expensive one to date. Its mission is to test a

desirable energy storage method by using 400,00 lithium-ion batteries (Nikolewski,2017). It is

said by the SDG&E that batteries can store enough electricity to provide power to 20,000 homes

for four hours (Nikolewski, 2017). If the program goes well according to plan, the utilities of

100% renewable energy in California will be more than a dream.

Conclusion

The world is gradually entering into a so-called post-carbon era, where carbon-based en-

ergy sources are losing their advantages, so is the whole system that they rely on. The solution

for better living environment is not treating renewable energy only as a substitution for the exist-

ed vertical system, but using renewable energy as an entrance ticket to the post-carbon world.

Converting into cleaner energy sources is skin deep, it would not cause long lasting effect; how-

ever, remodeling the system that drives the world can be significant. It is not reasonable for small

portion of people to hold most of the resources and waste, since it is even possible to cut down

emission under the existing framework energy system if waste can be eliminated. Though the

idea of applying Smart Grid in large scale is still facing certain difficulties, it is so far the best

platform that people in the energy sector have come up with.

REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 13

Discussion

The Third Industrial Revolution

If First Industrial Revolution changes the way people manufacture, Second Industrial Rev-

olution sets the stage for free market and electricity, what will be peoples expectation for Third

Industrial Revolution? If it is said to be a revolution, it has to be tremendous enough to deform

the current society to large extent. Most people might not notice, but the model of every previous

Industrial Revolution is set by the communication technology people acquired at that time. Dur-

ing the First Industrial Revolution, telegraph came out, which connected merchants in long dis-

tance. International trading thrived the mass production in light industry. During Second Indus-

trial Revolution, telephone came along with the application of electricity, which fastened the

pace of information transformation. So did a modern economy can be perfected. However, no

matter it is telegraph or telephone, it only supports two-way communication, which stretches

the business relationship into a straight line, from the very top to the very bottom without

branches.

Only until the late 1990s did the technology of internet start to spread. For the first time,

people are able to talk to more than three persons freely and simultaneously. The application of

internet also opens a new window to businesses. The bottom companies now have the opportuni-

ties to directly link themselves to the companies on the top, and eventually become branches. All

those complex processes that were used to be in the middle were eliminated. Business relation-

ships become widerinstead of being restircted in a line. The sign of a more diversed and lateral

world forms the base concept of a Third Industrial Revolution.

Generally speaking, the Third Industrial Revolution focuses more on the reformation of

energy sector, since the carbon-based energy system, that has run for nearly two hundred years,
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 14

is reaching the end of its life. To be more exact, the Third Industrial Revolution is the action of

integrating renewable energy into a smart grid which allows every individual to produce and

trade energy freely. If it is applied, the carbon emission will drop down drastically, waste will be

minimized to a certain degree, and people will gain more individual decision-making power;

however, it might irritate the worlds monopolies. As suggested by Rifkin (2013), the age of the

old monopolies is fading (p. 116). The current carbon-based industry is phasing out by digital

communication providers, renewable energy suppliers, and new manufacturers, for instance Tes-

la (p. 115). The aged oil industry has shown its inefficiency in this new century. As the demand

for energy is increasing and the total storage of fossil fuel is dropping, new sources will be exca-

vated to break the monopoly. It is not simply to find cleaner sources to build up a replacement of

the whole system.

Smart Grid

The concept of a Smart Grid was firstly introduced by the U.S. Department of Energy in

2009. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (2009), The electric industry is poised to

make the transformation from a centralized, producer-controlled network to one that is less cen-

tralized and more consumer-interactive. The move to a smarter grid promises to change the in-

dustrys entire business model and its relationship with all stakeholders (p. 10). This digitalized

energy grid is promised to bring U.S. national grid a rebirth, in that it is environmental friendly,

customer friendly, highly reliable, accommodating and efficient (p. 17). Though Chinese gov-

ernment has not initiated any deep research in the reconstruction of energy grid, it is frequently

mentioned in recent governmental documents and the idea behind is similar to Washingtons.

Therefore, the smart grid installation in the States, can be a valuable resource for China.
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 15

The installation of Smart Grid in the U.S. is generally divided into three stages (The U.S.

Department of Energy, 2009, P. 23). The first stage is digitalization, which is to replace the age-

ing grid with digital inductive wires, in which data can be updated in seconds. The second stage

is integration, where renewable energy will be connected to the National Smart Grid. The third

stage is finalization, where transportation will become part of the National Smart Grid.

Vehicle as Fuel Cell

As Rifkin (2013) concludes, converting vehicles into fuel cells that allow temporary elec-

tricity storing and trading, is one of the five pillars which supports the Third Industrial Revolu-

tion (p. 37). Energy storage has always been a problem when it comes with the application of

renewable energy. The idea of using vehicles as fuel cell, is basically separating 400,00 lithium-

ion batteries installed in the San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) pilot plant, and put those bat-

teries on individuals automobile. By connecting to the Smart Grid, car owners have the option

to buy and sell electricity from the grid if needed. The ingenious part of this idea is that instead

of taking up valuable land and manufacturing enormous batteries, it will even stimulate the re-

placement of gasoline-driven vehicles.

Rural Areas

Over roughly a decade and a half, a piece of technology has never become more familiar

by Chinese rural residents -- Solar Water Heater. In 2008, solar hot water accounted for half of

Chinas renewable energy usage with 50 million tons of carbon equivalent (tce), excluding hy-

dropower and traditional biomass (Li, 2009). These numbers are significant to environmental

protection, and the equipment itself is beneficial to rural areas. Thousands of remote villages,

where power lines were not capable to reach, were used to be lack of heating and hot water dur-

ing winter. With the application of Solar Water Heater, the days without heat has become history.
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 16

The case of Solar Water Heater indicates the potential of applying the concept of Smart

Home in Chinese rural areas, i.e. turning houses into micro-generators with the further installa-

tion of solar panels, and wind turbines. The optimal goal is to create a self-sustainable communi-

ty.

Education

It might be hard for someone to believe, but an education system reflects a society. Reflect-

ing the current education system. Children are assigned into their regional institute. Inside this

institute, they have been told that teacher is the one who has all the correct answers, and any vio-

lation towards teacher will result as a punishment. As time passed, they finally believe that no

one can exceed teacher in any aspect, and students are willing to be the followers. Moreover, this

institute carries out standardized test which is believed to be suitable for every single individual.

Teachers use score as a measurement to further divide students into groups and label them. This

is exactly how a factory is managed. The idea of following orders and classification has already

become a mindset even when people are young. What makes it even ironic is that even those ed-

ucators seeing this as a regular approach in schooling, because they were also been brought up in

the same way. Though education changes slowly, it does follow the purpose of cultivating people

we need for a prosperous society.

Then, how would education blend in the Third Industrial Revolution? Not only making

school a place for students to learn the techniques needed for the Third Industrial Revolution, but

also transferring schools into actual power units. Once students were brought up in that environ-

ment, they will automatically think that sharing is the fundamental principle of the world. Stu-

dents inside the institute will not only be studied techniques on text books, but actual application,

because they were already in a power station. Thus, sharing and caring should be the key
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 17

of future education, in that human races are taking up the burden as a whole for their common

wealth.

Taking Finland as an example, Finland ranked 1st in literacy and in the top 5 in math and

science among 31 Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries

in 2003 (Rifkin, 2013, p. 253). Finlands education system contributes a lot to this result. First,

students dont go to school until they are 7 years old. Second, the Finish school system puts sig-

nificant emphasis on balancing directed attention in the classroom with open play the school yard.

Third, the Finish classroom extends out into the community (Rifkin, 2013, p. 254). As what was

said from the former Finlands Ministry of Social Affairs and Health the core of learning is not

in the information being predigested from outside, but in the interaction between a child and

the environment (Louv, 2005, p. 203).

Centralization?

Despite the large rural areas, the situation in Chinese cities is completely different. Most of

the city residents are living in packed apartments, commuting through congested public transpor-

tation, and enjoying a higher material comfort compare to Chinese rural areas. Producing elec-

tricity individually is hard to realize, since the population density is more than huge. Therefore,

in large cities, centralized power supply seems to be a more realistic way. Nonetheless, it does

not mean without any change.

Small branches of Smart Grid will reach every corner of the city; people will be able to

trade electricity freely within the network. Besides, the roof and the body of those skyscrapers

will be considered as potential locations for the installation of photovoltaics, wind turbines, and

even for the cultivation of plantations.

REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 18

Although the coming Industrial Revolution has its distributed nature inside, centralized

power plants still have their existence valueas a crucial backup source for metropolises and

regional areas. Renewable energy and nuclear energy would most likely to be the power sources,

since both of them acquire low carbon emission.

Conclusion

Generally speaking, the air pollution taking place in China, especially in winter season, is

intensive. The Air Quality Index (AQI), the degree to which the ambient air is pollution-free, is

remaining high in the north part of China. Mainly due to the excessive application of coal-based

boilers for electricity, and house heating particularly in winter. The impact of toxic gases or fine

particles such as Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Particular Matter 2.5 (PM2.5), or Particular

Matter 10 (PM10) on peoples health are undoubtedly negative. Besides, those chemical com-

pounds might also effect the growth of agriculture.

Following with more and more rigorous regulations and law enforcements, Chinese gov-

ernment force the local government and energy sectors to make changes. Coal powered plants

and oil-fired plants were gradually reduced to the minimum requirement. What replaced them are

new natural gas stations, windmills, solar panels, and even nuclear power, which are under con-

struction, being announced or under consideration. No need to be fast, but constantly changing

is cool,a typical Chinese way of solving problems.

Though revolutionary changes are yet to take place, it is not hard to tell that Chinese gov-

ernment has the intention to largely reformed its energy sectors through recent governmental

documents. The concept called out by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2009the Smart Grid,

seems highly appealing. A digitalized energy grid that is able to deal with massive two-way data
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 19

and energy traffic, is what China acquire to win in the 21st century through the establishment of

an energy saving society.

The introducing of Third Industrial Revolution further emphasizes the points that have laid

dawn previously: green energy, sharing economy, collaborative classrooms, and material reusing.

Eventually, the main purpose is to reset the relationship between man and nature. Let people re-

turn to nature, feel the way our ancestors used to think about naturethankful, but awed.

The best future grid solution for such a big country like China so far, is to build a Distrib-

uted + Centralized Smart Grid. Due to the regional differences, the idea of energy distribution

might be more applicable in rural areas, since residents are living in houses away from the main

energy sources; whereas, centralized supply might be more suitable for metropolises, since cities

are packed up with large population and limited land. However, despite where people are living,

their home, workshop, and transportation will all be integrated into the same grid network. A na-

tional grid which guarantees free trade of energy, and consistent monitoring by the users.

It is 2050, a teenage boy just went back home from school. He rushed into the study room

where the Home Energy Management System is located. He is currently taking a course on

Housing Energy Management, and one of the privilege of taking this course is to acquire a tem-

porary license in the second semester, earlier than most of his peers

Acknowledgement

I am heartily thankful to my coach, Dr. Lee Carroll, whose encouragement and guidance support me in this whole process.

I would like to thank Dr. Hudson, Mr. Stevens, and Dr. Carroll for offering their precious time to be one of my committee member.

Special thanks to my cousin, Jasmine Shan, who is generous enough to offer her weekend for the proofreading.

Lastly, I offer my regards and blessings to my parents and fellow classmates who supported me in any respect during the completion of this re-

search paper.

Alan Chen
REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 20

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Appendix A

Figure 1. Grid Modernization, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (2013).

REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 24

Appendix B

Figure 2. 10 Key Principles for Local Air Quality Management,

Secretariat for Clean Air Alliance of China (2014).

REMODELING CHINAS ENERGY GRID 25

Appendix C

Figure 3. A Smarter Grid for A Sustainable Energy Future, Guelph Hydro (2013).