Table 3.

Respondent quotes related to organizational goals and planning.

Site	Respondent quotes
Yushu (Jilin)	Factory manager: “But among all the businesses that I have done so far, I am most optimistic about this one [densified biomass]. Because it’s a source of energy. It’s beneficial to the country and the people. It’s not just a company that is earning money, from a more advanced perspective; it’s a course for the benefit of the country and the people …So, we do this business… at least from my personal perspective, doing this business is not purely for money.” Factory manager: “Mr. Xi, the General Secretary of the Communist Party, said… the one sentence that impressed me most was the one in his speech at the 13th Five-year Plan meeting on December 21, [2016]. The first point he made was related to heating in Northern China. He said that, “you have to ensure a safe winter to farmers in the northern areas” [the actual words were “Promoting clean winter heating in northern areas has a bearing on people’s warmth in Northern China, and also on whether the number of smoggy days can be reduced”]. What’s the purpose [of the speech]? My understanding is that it’s a national appeal to ban the use of coal. However, [detailed] measures [regarding the implementation of the ban] should be formulated by local governments. You can [only] ban the use of coal when you have a substitute product. Without a substitution, wouldn’t the people just freeze to death if you just banned the use of coal in Northeast China?” Factory manager: “In the future, it won’t be just targeting the market of Yushu; our products will be targeting the three provinces in Northeast China, and will be sold in other regions of the country, too. We have to make these kinds of plans. At the end of the day, why did I choose to do this business, to produce fuel briquettes out of corn stalk? It’s because I’m optimistic about this business. Households don’t need to change [stoves]; they can all be my customers! I will still be there. My position [in the market] will still be there.” Local village administrator: “It is not very possible that it [biomass utilization] will not be implemented, because the conversion of corn straw pellets is very urgent. Because if you do not convert it, the people must have heating during the winter, and if they do not burn the pellets, they will have to burn corn stalks. It will be either these two things. They must have heating; without heating, it will be unbearable.”
Fuyu (Jilin)	Factory manager: “[We] believe that this [product] has a huge potential in China’s future market. After all, there is currently no listed price for this product as there is for other [related] products. But sooner or later, be it new energy or renewable energy, there will surely be a unified listed price in China. By that time, there will be relatively more businesses producing the product. So, the first person who dares to eat crabs will be the first one who obtains the first pot of gold.” Factory manager: “Our goal, the greater goal, is to be the China Shenhua Group [the number one listed coal company in China], of the fuel briquettes industry, where the suggested retail price is the standard price of the products in the industry. [We hope] that in the renewable energy and fuel briquettes industry, our listed price will be the standard price for the corresponding products for Jilin Province. That’s our expected future direction, because in the next few years, or even the next 10 years, 15 years, there’s bound to be standardized prices for fuel briquettes.” Local village administrator: “Well, [the results] can meet, how shall I put it, the standards of environmental protection, and temperature requirements. Burning this [type of fuel] does not create smoke. In addition, it can reach… The indoor temperature [generated by the heating stove] has met the requirements. We also have that plan for the future. What’s our plan? We are going to sign contracts with the farmers. The farmers plant corn. They supply free corn stalk to us, and in exchange, we give them fuel briquettes. They [the fuel] are easier to stock, and they burn better. The Development and Reform Commission has been talking about subsidies, but we haven’t ever received any. If there are government subsidies, good; if there aren’t any subsidies, we’ll still work on it. You have to sign purchase orders with them [village residents] village by village. We have really thought about this, thought about [how to promote the program] in the future. You have to go and sign contracts with, say 200 households, sign contracts with 200 households in a village, sign one-year, two-year, three-year exchange contracts, so that they send [raw materials] to you, then, they will try their best to send raw materials. If this was really implemented, then, there wouldn’t ever be any field burning. We did think about that.” Local village administrator: “Well, the coal… now, they don’t allow you to use coal, the government has stipulated that using coal is not permitted. It’s forcing you to take this path [use biomass fuel[. That’s the reason that this business is promising; it has a prosperous future. You can’t burn [coal]. It’ll violate the law.”
Beichuan (Sichuan)	Factory manager: “Because we know the quality of pellets machine—it runs bad—we don’t make a goal [of] how many pellets we must produce.” Interviewer: “Ideally, if the machine works well, how much would do you want to produce per month or year?” Factory manager: “As many as possible.” Former village party secretary: “For the villagers, the current status is thus: The improved stoves are still used by some people because they think the improved stoves are easier to use than the previous two batches of stoves. In contrast, other people do not use the improved stoves… We hope the improved stoves will be used by more people. After all, they are very environmentally friendly, and serve to utilize waste materials and fruit tree branches fully. However, the primary concern is to make improvements to the stoves, for example, reduce the cost of fuel production.” Former village party secretary: “Now, the project has fallen into a state of paralysis. First of all, the machinery in the factory is extremely old, and cannot operate normally. The equipment can smash straw easily, but the fuel made from it burns out quickly. In addition, the equipment is unable to smash extremely thin or thick tree branches.”  Local dialect interpreter: “Do you understand? He means that the equipment is very old and may encounter various problems. For example, straw can be smashed thoroughly, but the fuel made from it burns out quickly. In addition, some fruit tree branches are very large while other fruit tree branches are very tiny. Various problems are encountered in the production process. He wants to express this meaning.” Current village party secretary: “In the future, if the fuel processing becomes the villages’ responsibility, it won’t be easy to manage. [This is because] the number of people per household is limited, and so is their consumption of fuel. If using a small amount of fuel requires so many processes… This problem could only be resolved through unified production. So, it’s not realistic to ask each household to process their own fuel in the future. An enterprise and [the management team of] the village should lead [the further development of] this project.” Current village party secretary: “I think this project is good. Why? Because aren’t we forbidden to burn waste wood now? Burning firewood generates too much pollution; the changes in air [quality] and climate are all related to pollution. So, if the government could issue some supporting policies that could facilitate our use in the future, to reduce people’s expenses related to the production and use of [biomass fuel], then the project would remain sustainable in its development.” Current town party secretary: “At present, the stoves are mainly used for cooking rice. In the future, the stoves can also be used for other purposes, for example, warming, cooking, and boiling water. In some rural tourist resorts, cooking and warming mainly rely upon firewood. I think the biomass fuel can replace the firewood… I have a plan for the future. Specifically, when [our] Village develops its tourism industry [especially rural tourist resorts], biomass fuel can be used instead for warming. I think this plan is feasible.”