As the largest carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission source in China, decarbonization of coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) is crucial for China to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) is currently the only technology choice to realize deep cut in CO₂ emissions from CFPPs. The Integrated Environmental Control Model (IECM) is applied to calculate the cost and CO₂ capture of the selected CFPPs with CCUS. Based on the distribution patterns and potential of CO₂ storage sites, an optimal source-sink matching assessment model is applied to evaluate the priority CCUS layout scheme under the carbon neutrality target. In order to optimize infrastructure construction and reduce costs through economies of scale, the cluster analysis is applied to identify the CCUS cluster-hub. Then, the improved minimum spanning tree method is used to obtain the optimization strategy of CO₂ transport pipeline networks for above CCUS cluster-hub projects. To achieve carbon neutrality goal of the power sector, 300 existing CFPPs with an installed capacity of approximately 355 GW are required to be retrofitted by CCUS. The cumulative CO₂ emissions reduction potential of these CFPPs with CCUS is 19 Gt. By the development of industrial hubs with shared CO₂ transport and storage infrastructures, the total pipeline length and the total CO₂ transport cost could be reduced largely. The CCUS clusters of CFPPs are mainly distributed in Central, North and Northwest China and matched with the Songliao Basin, Bohai Bay Basin, Subei Basin and Ordos Basin which are considered as the priority areas for the implementation of the CCUS projects.

China has achieved the first century goal to build a moderately prosperous society, but rural revitalization is one of the key issues to be faced and solved towards the second century goal of building a socialist modern country. At present, China’s rural areas are still facing multiple problems such as economic development, clean energy use, environmental protection and carbon emission reduction. Through rural energy transformation, a new rural energy system can be built. This could not only achieve the “dual carbon” goal of rural China, but also be the main solutions to promote the development of rural industries and rural ecological governance, and an important foundation to realize the rural revitalization strategy. In this paper, the potential, technical route, financing mode and significance of developing roof-top distributed photovoltaic system in rural China are thoroughly discussed and quantitatively analyzed. The results show that rural China are facing multiple problems including energy, environment and economic development. The development of new rural energy system based on distributed photovoltaic system on rural rooftops is one of the most effective pathways to solve issues of agriculture, rural areas, and rural people. This is also the breakthrough point for China to build a new power system and achieve low-carbon energy system.

Hydrogen is one of the important technology choices for the low-carbon transition of China’s energy system and the carbon neutrality goal by 2060. According to the source, hydrogen can be divided into 3 kinds: green, blue and gray hydrogen. There are big differences in the cost and carbon emission intensity among them. Based on the current status of China’s hydrogen production. A levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) model was established with a learning curve. The cost trend of different hydrogen production methods was measured from 2020 to 2060. Results show that the cost of gray hydrogen is the lowest, and that of green hydrogen is the highest at present; by 2030, the cost of green hydrogen will drop to CNY 20-25/kg; after 2050, green hydrogen will become the lowest cost hydrogen (considering the cost of carbon emissions), the cost of hydrogen from PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolysis will be lower than that of AE (alkaline) electrolysis, and the cost of hydrogen from photovoltaic power + PEM electrolysis will be reduced to CNY 12/kg. The decrease in the cost of electrolyzer and renewable electricity generation will be the main driving factors for the cost reduction of green hydrogen. Sensitivity analysis shows that operation & maintenance cost and learning rate of key technologies will significantly affect the cost reduction rate of green hydrogen.

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as a major region for power production in China, also has a severe scarcity of water resources. Water footprint is a widely used comprehensive indicator that quantifies one area’s water consumption in the electricity production and its impact on the water environment. This paper used a combined model based on input-output and life cycle analysis to quantitatively analyze Xinjiang’s water footprint of power production in 2012 and 2017, and also investigated the water footprint contribution departments of various power generation technologies. The findings revealed that the water footprint per unit of electricity generation in Xinjiang decreased from 4.26×10^-3 m³/(kW∙h) to 3.08×10^-3 m³/(kW∙h) from 2012 to 2017 due to the change of electricity production structure and technological innovation of thermal power generation. We also discovered that the indirect water footprints of coal power and hydropower were primarily from mining and heavy industry, accounting for 60.3% and 52.8%, respectively, after analyzing the water footprint contribution departments of different power generation technologies. When it came to wind power and photovoltaic power generation technology, heavy industry and light industry accounted for 38.1% and 56.0% of the indirect water footprints, respectively. Furthermore, the high proportion of renewable energy generation from 2017 to 2050 will reduce the unit water footprint of Xinjiang’s power production by 75%, according to the analysis of the changes in the water footprint influenced by the transformation of Xinjiang’s power structure under China’s carbon neutrality target.