The Empirical Research of Energy-Saving Potential Based on DEA Model for China Provincial Industries

The scientific and reasonable measure of energy-saving potential is the foundation based on which government departments at all levels sets their energy-saving goals and make corresponding policies. With reference to the research results of other scholars, the paper gives a new definition of the energy-saving potential. The definition is expected to cancel the incomparability of industrial structures, levels of economic development, and level of technology in different nations and different regions. DEA model is used to conduct the empirical research on the energy-saving potential of the industries which have suffered the highest energy consumption in China´s major provinces. The paper also gives an objective evaluation of the energy-saving potential in all provinces of China and analyzes the results of the evaluation. For those inefficient energy provinces, the paper determines the size of the energy-saving potential, and provides some countermeasures to improve energy efficiency from the perspective of technology advancement, energy-saving potential and industrial-scale upgrade.