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Empirical analysis of Chinese overseas power plant investments: Likelihood of suspensions and associated environmental risks

Power sector investment is crucial to accelerate a sustainable energy transition, but not all investments are successful. We examine 1,393 Chinese overseas electric power projects across 78 countries over the past two decades. We identify 5% that have been canceled or delayed, with coal and hydro pr...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Lu, Yangsiyu, Zhou, Xiao Yan, Simmons, B. Alexander
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10432196/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37599837
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107457
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author Lu, Yangsiyu
Zhou, Xiao Yan
Simmons, B. Alexander
author_facet Lu, Yangsiyu
Zhou, Xiao Yan
Simmons, B. Alexander
author_sort Lu, Yangsiyu
collection PubMed
description Power sector investment is crucial to accelerate a sustainable energy transition, but not all investments are successful. We examine 1,393 Chinese overseas electric power projects across 78 countries over the past two decades. We identify 5% that have been canceled or delayed, with coal and hydro projects having much higher suspension rates than solar and wind projects. We find electric projects with higher environmental risks are more likely to be suspended. Specifically, coal projects located in more densely populated areas where more people are exposed to air pollutants, in countries with more fatalities from extreme weather events, and in places with a record of environmental protests, are more likely to be suspended. Additionally, hydro projects closer to protected areas have a higher suspension rate. Our results suggest that refraining from investing in environmentally risky projects helps mitigate environmental damages and prevents financial losses due to cancellation and postponement.
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spelling pubmed-104321962023-08-18 Empirical analysis of Chinese overseas power plant investments: Likelihood of suspensions and associated environmental risks Lu, Yangsiyu Zhou, Xiao Yan Simmons, B. Alexander iScience Article Power sector investment is crucial to accelerate a sustainable energy transition, but not all investments are successful. We examine 1,393 Chinese overseas electric power projects across 78 countries over the past two decades. We identify 5% that have been canceled or delayed, with coal and hydro projects having much higher suspension rates than solar and wind projects. We find electric projects with higher environmental risks are more likely to be suspended. Specifically, coal projects located in more densely populated areas where more people are exposed to air pollutants, in countries with more fatalities from extreme weather events, and in places with a record of environmental protests, are more likely to be suspended. Additionally, hydro projects closer to protected areas have a higher suspension rate. Our results suggest that refraining from investing in environmentally risky projects helps mitigate environmental damages and prevents financial losses due to cancellation and postponement. Elsevier 2023-07-22 /pmc/articles/PMC10432196/ /pubmed/37599837 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107457 Text en © 2023 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Lu, Yangsiyu
Zhou, Xiao Yan
Simmons, B. Alexander
Empirical analysis of Chinese overseas power plant investments: Likelihood of suspensions and associated environmental risks
title Empirical analysis of Chinese overseas power plant investments: Likelihood of suspensions and associated environmental risks
title_full Empirical analysis of Chinese overseas power plant investments: Likelihood of suspensions and associated environmental risks
title_fullStr Empirical analysis of Chinese overseas power plant investments: Likelihood of suspensions and associated environmental risks
title_full_unstemmed Empirical analysis of Chinese overseas power plant investments: Likelihood of suspensions and associated environmental risks
title_short Empirical analysis of Chinese overseas power plant investments: Likelihood of suspensions and associated environmental risks
title_sort empirical analysis of chinese overseas power plant investments: likelihood of suspensions and associated environmental risks
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10432196/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37599837
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107457
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