Recently, the Renewable Energy Committee of the China Circular Economy Association (CREIA) commissioned Ipsos Market Consulting Co., Ltd. (Ipsos) to interview 3,000 consumers in ten major cities in China and found that Chinese consumers have concerns about purchasing “green electricity.” The will is unprecedentedly strong.
"Green electricity" refers to electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass. China's renewable energy has developed rapidly in recent years, with the cumulative installed capacity of wind power and solar photovoltaic power ranking first in the world. However, thermal power still accounts for 74% of China's national power generation in 2015, most of which is coal power. The ensuing air pollution and carbon emission problems have become a pain for Chinese society.
The survey results show that Chinese people are highly concerned about air pollution, believe that "green electricity" can help reduce pollution, and are willing to pay higher electricity bills for it. However, it is currently unclear whether consumers’ wishes can change China’s power structure.
Across all cities, respondents expressed high levels of concern about environmental pollution. More than 40% of the respondents expressed "very concern" about the current environmental situation in China. Air pollution has received the highest level of concern, far exceeding that of climate change.
Public attitudes toward “green electricity” appear to be related to their deep aversion to air pollution. More than 90% of the respondents believe that green electricity can reduce air pollution to a certain extent.
The survey shows that respondents have a strong willingness to buy "green electricity". More than 90% (97.6%) of the respondents expressed their willingness to buy "green electricity", of which 40% (40.7%) said they would definitely buy it. Consumers in Beijing are more willing to buy than other cities.
Correspondingly, the vast majority of respondents hope to understand the source of the electricity they purchase through their electricity bills. Chinese consumers are currently unable to independently choose the source of the electricity they purchase, which prevents them from "voting with their money" to support the development of clean renewable energy like some consumers in Germany and the United States.
When asked whether they were willing to pay higher electricity bills for “green electricity”, most respondents showed support. More than 40% of the respondents can accept an increase in electricity bills of more than 10 yuan per month. The average monthly electricity bill for Chinese households is around 100 yuan.
Previous studies have calculated that the Chinese public is willing to pay a substantial premium for cleaner air. This survey appears to confirm this finding once again. Compared with European and American consumers, Chinese consumers have a stronger willingness to consume "green electricity".
In order to achieve climate goals, the EU requires its member states to reach the target of 20% of renewable energy accounting for total energy consumption in 2020. Against this background, a 2015 survey of British household users found that nearly half (48%) of the respondents were willing to purchase green electricity. In addition, research by Riccardo Scarpa of the University of Waikato and others found that most British households are willing to pay more for green electricity, but the voluntary extra payment is not enough to support the high investment in clean energy technology.
In 2013, market research in the United States showed that about half (52%) of the American people were willing to purchase green electricity. Previously, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) compiled survey data from various electric power companies over the past two decades and found that people are more interested in and willing to pay for renewable energy than other forms of electricity, but they do not know much about it.
Liu Qiang, director of the Energy Office of the Institute of Quantitative and Technical Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the Chinese public’s higher preference for green electricity is completely understandable, “Because in China, everyone has a very deep understanding of environmental pollution, especially in the recent period. For twenty years, it can be said that only the Chinese know how serious the problem is."
However, Liu Qiang also believes that people’s consumption willingness has a limited impact on China’s overall power structure. Because according to the China Electricity Council's "China Electricity Industry Annual Development Report 2016", the domestic electricity consumption of urban and rural residents only accounts for 13.1% of the electricity consumption of the whole society. This means that the portion covered by this survey only accounts for a small amount of market demand.
For industrial users, who account for more than 70% of China's total electricity consumption and are facing downward economic pressure, even a small increase in electricity costs is unacceptable. "If you calculate the proportion of electricity in the cost structure of large companies, the conclusion is very clear," said an industry insider. "We can't bear a penny increase in electricity."
"It makes no sense to just raise prices for users. In fact, to truly achieve the goal of energy conservation and emission reduction, we must not work hard on prices, but on the entire energy system." Liu Qiang emphasized that this is mainly due to the supply side. , rather than a demand-side issue.
In recent years, China's renewable energy development has faced a serious problem of "abandoning wind and light", which has restricted the share of renewable energy in the power structure. Peng Peng, director of CREIA’s Policy Consulting Department, told chinadialogue: “Many local governments blatantly violated the provisions of the Renewable Energy Law on “full guaranteed purchase of renewable energy power.” In order to tax revenue, create jobs, and stimulate the local economy, they prioritize Choose thermal power instead of wasting a large amount of wind power and photovoltaic power generation. In 2015, the country's "wind power and photovoltaic power generation" totaled 38.8 billion kilowatt-hours, which exceeded Hungary's annual electricity consumption in 2015.
On the demand side, neither individual residential users nor corporate users currently have the possibility to choose the source of electricity; and on the supply side, the entanglement of interests between power production companies with different energy forms has never stopped.
For detailed survey results, please see the attachment “Research Report on Consumers’ Purchasing Willingness for Green Electricity”.
Source:Chinadialogue (2016-09-19) (PIDC compilation) Attachment file:Green electricity consumer purchasing intention survey report.pdf
