Dataset Reveals Chinese Energy Consumption Patterns

In a recent article published in the journal Scientific dataresearchers introduced a comprehensive dataset of final energy consumption at the city level in China. They aimed to provide valuable insights for energy transition, climate change and policy formulation.

Background

China, the world’s largest energy consumer and greenhouse gas emitter, plays an important role in mitigating climate change. National energy and environmental policies are highly dependent on local governments, especially at the city level. As centers of economic activity and energy demand, cities face various challenges and opportunities in energy transition and emission reduction. Therefore, accurate and comprehensive data on city-level energy consumption are essential for understanding the energy characteristics and dynamics of Chinese cities.

However, there is a lack of data on city-level energy consumption in China, especially for renewable energy sources such as hydropower, wind, solar, and nuclear. Existing studies do not provide detailed information on cities’ energy structures and renewable energy consumption. No dataset covers all cities and prefecture-level municipalities in China.

About the research

In this paper, the authors developed a novel dataset of city-level energy consumption in China using computational modeling and downscaling methods. The dataset covers 331 cities, including 327 prefecture-level cities and four municipalities, accounting for more than 98% of the national population, GDP, and land area in 2021. It covers 34 energy sources, such as raw coal, crude oil, natural gas, electricity, and heat, as well as hydropower, wind power, solar power, and nuclear power. The dataset also covers seven economic sectors, including agriculture, industry, construction, transportation, services, and residential consumption from 2005 to 2021.

The researchers obtained provincial data on energy consumption, renewable energy generation, electricity transmission, and socioeconomic indicators from various official sources. They estimated renewable energy consumption at the provincial level by accounting for electricity transmission within and between regional electricity grids. They then downscaled these data to the city level using GDP and population as socioeconomic indicators. Differences between provincial and city data were addressed by accounting for administrative differences and incomplete socioeconomic data in some regions.

Research results

The dataset revealed the spatial-temporal patterns and characteristics of city-level energy consumption in China. Total energy consumption in Chinese cities increased from 13.8 billion tons of standard coal in 2005 to 24.6 billion tons in 2021, with an average annual growth rate of 4.3%. The growth rate slowed down after 2013, indicating a gradual decoupling of energy consumption and economic growth. In 2021, fossil fuels, especially coal and oil, dominated energy consumption, accounting for 66.7% and 23.2% of the total, respectively. The share of natural gas increased from 2.4% in 2005 to 5.9% in 2021, while the share of thermal energy decreased from 6.1% to 3.5%. Renewable energy, including hydropower, wind, solar and nuclear, increased from 1.7% in 2005 to 5.8% in 2021.

Energy consumption varied significantly across regions, sectors and energy types. The eastern region showed the highest consumption, followed by the central, western and northeastern areas. The industrial sector was the largest energy consumer, followed by the residential, transport and service sectors.

Coal was the main energy source in the northern and western regions, while oil was the main energy source in the eastern and southern regions. Natural gas was mainly consumed in the eastern and central areas, while renewable energy was consumed in the western and northeastern regions.

Energy consumption patterns changed over time in cities. Cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen reached their peak in energy consumption, while other cities such as Chongqing, Chengdu and Xi’an still showed significant growth potential. Cities such as Tianjin, Ordos and Yulin experienced a decline in consumption due to industrial adjustment and reduced coal use. Cities such as Lanzhou, Urumqi and Hohhot significantly increased their consumption of renewable energy due to the development of wind and solar power.

Applications

The dataset can be used for various applications in energy economics, transition risk management and policy formulation. It can help analyse the drivers of energy consumption and associated emissions at the city level, the risks and opportunities of energy transition for different cities and sectors, and the effectiveness of energy and environmental policies at the city level.

The dataset can also facilitate comparisons between cities and countries, benchmarking, scenario analysis and forecasting. It can also be integrated with other social and environmental data and applied to various statistical and econometric models.

Conclusion

The researchers summarized that their new dataset was the first to include data on renewable energy consumption at the city level in China. It provided valuable information and insights for understanding the energy characteristics and dynamics of Chinese cities, supporting the energy transition, climate change mitigation, and policy formulation in China.

In the future, the dataset could be updated and improved annually by expanding the scope of energy sources, sectors and indicators and by including heterogeneity and uncertainty at the city level.

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