Diversity, Security, and Adaptability in Energy Systems: a Comparative Analysis of Four Countries in Asia

Abstract

In ecology study, numerous ecologists have been concerned with the concept of diversity in studying the structure and functions of ecosystems for a v ery long time. Diversification can be seen as a l ong-term survival strategy of ecosystems by allowing high flexibility and adaptability. Similarly, diversity is also seen as an important characteristic of a stable socio-economic system. In energy policy, diversity plays important roles in energy supply security, efficiency of energy use, and adaptability of energy system. Many of the trends reflect the increasing significance of renewable energy relative to conventional energy sources, and it w ill increase diversity of energy supply. It is also beneficial for a system both through extending choice and increasing competition. However, changing the structure of energy sources and increase energy diversity for strategic system security can be difficult for the countries which highly depend on the imported energy. This paper considers that the diverse distributions of energy flows in a system can open up more possibilities and channels for cooperation and interdependency in energy utilization. Not only diversity of supply side, but also diversity of demand side is critical for an energy system because increasing variance and balance of the energy consumers enhances efficiency and adaptability. In this paper, we develop a quantitative analysis method to explore both of supply and demand sides of energy system structure for four Asian countries, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia based on the OECD data set from 1987 to 2006. The tremendous growth Asian countries have seen in recent decades required a h uge amount of energy. Energy systems of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan are short of indigenous energy sources and highly dependent on imported energy sources except Indonesia. Indonesia’s indigenous energy source reserves support national economy as a source of energy, industrial raw material and export goods. And then Indonesia’s renewable energy also can be as a source of energy to support energy use. Furthermore, we are not only to compare the diversity temporal patterns of national energy supply and use, but also to compare the industry sector diversity temporal patterns of energy use of these countries.