Exploring spatiotemporal patterns of electric power consumption in countries along the Belt and Road

Abstract

Fully understanding spatiotemporal patterns of electric power consumption (EPC) is one of the key questions related to sustainable socioeconomic and environmental development in countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (hereinafter referred to as the Belt and Road countries). However, studies about spatiotemporal patterns of EPC in the Belt and Road countries are still scarce due to the lack of reliable data. This study attempted to investigate spatiotemporal patterns of EPC in the Belt and Road countries from multiple perspectives. Firstly, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime stable light data were used to estimate EPC from 1992 to 2013. Subsequently, the mathematical statistic method, standard deviational ellipse, rank size rule, and correlation analysis were employed to evaluate the EPC change in detail. The results reveal that the EPC growth mainly occurs in the developing countries, especially in China. The geographical distribution of EPC in the Belt and Road countries is oriented in the Northwest-Southeast direction between 1992 and 2013. Based on the rank size rule analysis, the slope values of q are −2.392 and −2.175 between 1992 and 2013, with an average R2 value of 0.664, indicating a clear clustering pattern of EPC. It is also proved that GDP is a more important impact factor to EPC than the population. Our findings can offer an effective way to understand spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of EPC in the Belt and Road countries, and provide references for regional socioeconomic development and cooperation.