Volume 30: Urban Energy Systems towards Carbon Neutrality

Can the Energy Internet Promote China’s Energy System to Achieve Carbon Peaks in 2030? Jinkai Li, Shoulin Liu, Yarong Hou, Jin Zhang, Gang Lu, Xiaochen Wang

Abstract

Energy Internet (EI), which deeply integrates digital and new energy technologies, is known to be an effective way to reform the energy system and lower carbon emissions. Current studies on the carbon emission reduction advantages of the Energy Internet mainly focus on the generation of renewable energy, rarely discussing the environmental effects of digital technology. This paper proposed a system dynamics model, which included a thorough evaluation index for EI’s digitalization, to simulate the carbon emissions of China’s energy system and forecast its peak time. The simulation results demonstrate that the construction of the EI could enable China’s energy system to meet the carbon reduction commitment in 2028, with a peak of 11,633 million tons of carbon emissions. These findings might provide a new perspective for quantitative research on the environmental outcomes of the EI and the relationship between environmental improvement and economic growth.

Keywords Energy Internet, digitalization, clean energy, carbon emissions, carbon emission peak, system dynamics