Structural decomposition analysis on energy intensity changes at regional level

Abstract

As China’s energy intensity fluctuated in recent years, it is necessary to examine whether this fluctuation happened at a regional level. This paper establishes a decomposition model by using the structural decomposition analysis (SDA) method at a regional level. Then this model is employed to empirically analyze the changes of Beijing’s energy intensity. The conclusions are as follows: during 2002–2010, except petroleum, the energy intensity decreased and the changes were mostly attributed to the technology changes, while the final use variation actually increased the energy intensity; comparing different periods of 2002–2010, the decline rates of energy intensity for coal and hydropower were decreasing, resulting from the production technology being more energy-intensive than before; the energy intensity changes of petroleum firstly increased substantially and then decreased moderately.