Optimal path for overcoming barriers in developing China's wind energy industry.

Developing the wind energy industry (WEI) has been a long-term strategy in China for responding to the energy crisis and greenhouse gas emissions. However, China's WEI faces various barriers despite its favorable prospects. This paper aims to propose a path analysis approach for exploring the best methods and timing for overcoming diverse barriers in developing WEI systematically, especially in terms of revealing in which phases these barriers should take priority. A multidimensional barrier set categorized by institutional, economic and financial, social, technical, and market factors is identified via the integration of a literature review and empirical interviews. A path analysis approach based on the grey group DEMATEL-NK model is constructed, where the causalities and intensities among barriers are extracted to design a path simulation algorithm with heuristics. The optimal path for overcoming barriers in developing the WEI is generated through a simulation of the search and optimization process used to climb to the fitness landscape peak. The results show that the different barriers to completing the legal and regulatory framework should be prioritized to reach adequate financial incentives and coordination among stakeholders, and that an efficient talent cultivation system should be developed and industry-academic cooperation should be strengthened to increase technical and R&D capabilities in the short term. The optimal path presents a strategic instrument for managers to use to better develop sustainable and clean wind energy systems from the novel insights of prioritizing to overcome barriers.