Chapter 7
Local Low-Carbon Society Scenarios
of Urban-Rural Linkage
Hongbo Ren and Weisheng Zhou
Abstract In order to realize a low-carbon society, the introduction of low-carbon
energy resources in the local (both urban and rural) energy systems, which plays a
main role in the total CO 2 emissions, is being paid more and more attention. In this
chapter, the paths toward regional de-carbonization are indicated by conceptualizing
systematic “urban-rural cooperation” that creates regional circulation of energy
resources (e.g., biomass). As an illustrative example, an investigation has been
conducted of assumed distributed energy systems for the Huzhou City, which is
an environmental model city in China. By extending a pre-developed plan and
evaluation model to include not only cost minimization but also emissions minimization, the proposed wide urban-rural energy systems are examined from both
economic and environmental viewpoints. According to the simulation results, the
energy system with urban-rural mutual cooperation is the best option from both
economic and environmental viewpoints, and it results in a cost-effective reduction
of CO 2 emissions up to 50% of current level. In addition, by endowing an economic
value to the reduced CO 2 emissions through a local carbon price, the economic and
environmental merits for urban and rural areas can be shared and balanced between
both sides.
7.1 Research Objective and Energy Demands
In this chapter, Huzhou City, which has been declared a model environmental city by
the Chinese government, is used as a case study to examine the effectiveness of local
energy management based on urban-rural cooperation. According to local statistics,
total electricity demand is approximately 9.6 billion kWh (4.2 billion kWh for urban
H. Ren
College of Energy and Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai University of Electric Power,
Pudong, Shanghai, China
W. Zhou (*)
College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan
e-mail: zhou@sps.ritsumei.ac.jp
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
W. Zhou et al. (eds.), East Asian Low-Carbon Community,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4339-9_7
137
Local Low-Carbon Society Scenarios
of Urban-Rural Linkage
Hongbo Ren and Weisheng Zhou
Abstract In order to realize a low-carbon society, the introduction of low-carbon
energy resources in the local (both urban and rural) energy systems, which plays a
main role in the total CO 2 emissions, is being paid more and more attention. In this
chapter, the paths toward regional de-carbonization are indicated by conceptualizing
systematic “urban-rural cooperation” that creates regional circulation of energy
resources (e.g., biomass). As an illustrative example, an investigation has been
conducted of assumed distributed energy systems for the Huzhou City, which is
an environmental model city in China. By extending a pre-developed plan and
evaluation model to include not only cost minimization but also emissions minimization, the proposed wide urban-rural energy systems are examined from both
economic and environmental viewpoints. According to the simulation results, the
energy system with urban-rural mutual cooperation is the best option from both
economic and environmental viewpoints, and it results in a cost-effective reduction
of CO 2 emissions up to 50% of current level. In addition, by endowing an economic
value to the reduced CO 2 emissions through a local carbon price, the economic and
environmental merits for urban and rural areas can be shared and balanced between
both sides.
7.1 Research Objective and Energy Demands
In this chapter, Huzhou City, which has been declared a model environmental city by
the Chinese government, is used as a case study to examine the effectiveness of local
energy management based on urban-rural cooperation. According to local statistics,
total electricity demand is approximately 9.6 billion kWh (4.2 billion kWh for urban
H. Ren
College of Energy and Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai University of Electric Power,
Pudong, Shanghai, China
W. Zhou (*)
College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan
e-mail: zhou@sps.ritsumei.ac.jp
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
W. Zhou et al. (eds.), East Asian Low-Carbon Community,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4339-9_7
137