Chen Jing, Lv Yanqin, Fan Tianzheng
School of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China.
Xinjiang Innovation Management Research Center, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China.
Heliyon. 2023 Feb 28;9(3):e14138. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14138. eCollection 2023 Mar.
The world is experiencing the tide of digital transformation. Promoting the digitalization of energy is an important measure to realize energy sustainability. The digitalization of energy is a product of the coupled and coordinated development of the energy industry and the digital economy. This paper takes 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020 as research objects. The Entropy Weight Method is used to measure the development level of China's energy industry and digital economy, and the Coupling Coordination Degree Model is used to measure the digitalization of energy (DE). Then, the evolution characteristics and driving factors of China's DE are studied by using Grey Prediction Model, Kernel Density Analysis Method and Geodetector Model. The conclusions are mainly as follows: (1) Though the development level of energy industry and digital economy in China are both growing over time, there are distinct features in their spatial distribution. (2) The DE is in a disorderly state as a whole, but it will be upgraded to the stage of barely coordinated during China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). From the evolutionary process, the distribution pattern and trend changes of DE are characterized by obvious polarization distribution and increasing absolute differences, and this feature is more obvious in the central and western regions. (3) Government support, FDI, and pollution governance have an increasing impact on DE, but this impact varies considerably between the east and central-west regions. Therefore, this paper suggests that local governments should formulate policies to promote the DE according to local conditions. The central government should focus on accelerating the construction of the "East Digital West Computing" project and the development of the energy Internet to solve the problem of uneven regional development.
世界正在经历数字转型的浪潮。推动能源数字化是实现能源可持续发展的一项重要举措。能源数字化是能源产业与数字经济耦合协调发展的产物。本文以2011年至2020年中国30个省份为研究对象。运用熵权法测度中国能源产业和数字经济的发展水平，运用耦合协调度模型测度能源数字化（DE）。然后，利用灰色预测模型、核密度分析法和地理探测器模型研究中国能源数字化的演变特征及驱动因素。研究结论主要如下：（1）中国能源产业和数字经济的发展水平虽均随时间增长，但在空间分布上存在明显特征。（2）能源数字化整体处于无序状态，但在“十四五”时期（2021—2025年）将提升至勉强协调阶段。从演变过程来看，能源数字化的分布格局和趋势变化呈现出明显的极化分布和绝对差异扩大的特征，且这一特征在中西部地区更为明显。（3）政府支持、外商直接投资和污染治理对能源数字化的影响不断增强，但这种影响在东部和中西部地区之间存在较大差异。因此，本文建议地方政府应因地制宜制定促进能源数字化的政策。中央政府应着力加快“东数西算”工程建设和能源互联网发展，以解决区域发展不平衡问题。
