Policies and Current Status of Clean Heating in Rural China

Currently, the policies and status quo of clean heating in rural China can be summarized as follows:

Policy Status

1. Policy support: Since 2017, the central government has supported the clean heating renovation of cities in northern China, with coal to gas and coal to electricity being the main options in key areas, and renewable energy being the main option in non key areas.
2. Goal setting: By 2021, the clean heating rate in northern regions will reach 70%, and the clean heating rate in rural areas will exceed 40%.
3. Subsidy policy: The government provides subsidies to encourage farmers to use clean heating equipment, such as natural gas transformation, electric heating, etc.
4. Renewable energy: Promote the use of new clean heating technologies such as air source heat pumps, solar collectors, and ground source heat pumps.
5. Environmental constraints: Control the consumption of fossil fuels, promote clean and efficient utilization of coal, and reduce the use of loose coal.

Present Situation

1. Increased heating demand: The winter heating demand in rural areas of northern China continues to grow, and clean heating is closely related to ecological governance and a better life.
2. Diversified heating methods: including coal to electricity, coal to gas, biomass heating, etc., but mainly decentralized heating and coal based heating.
3. Weak infrastructure: There are few energy-saving buildings in rural areas, low power grid capacity, and limited coverage of gas pipelines.
4. Cost issue: Electricity replacing coal has a high price, a large gap in natural gas, and limited affordability for farmers.
5. Insufficient resource utilization: The abundant straw and other resources in rural areas are not fully utilized, and the proportion of biomass heating is low.
6. Poor insulation performance: Rural residential buildings have poor thermal performance, resulting in significant heat loss.

Improvement Measures

1. Energy saving renovation of houses: Improve the insulation performance of rural buildings, promote energy-saving renovation and construction demonstration projects.
2. Develop biomass heating: Utilize the abundant biomass resources in rural areas and promote biomass stoves.
3. Natural gas heating: Promote natural gas heating in an orderly manner in areas where conditions permit.
4. Precise implementation of subsidy policies: Ensure that subsidy funds are used for farmers who truly need them and avoid duplicate subsidies.
5. Diversified heating methods: Adopt appropriate heating methods according to the actual situation in different regions.

Conclusion

Rural clean heating is an important means to improve air quality and enhance the quality of life for farmers. Despite some progress, there are still challenges such as weak infrastructure, cost issues, and insufficient resource utilization. The government is promoting the sustainable development of clean heating in rural areas through policy guidance, financial subsidies, and technological innovation.