China's energy use increases 7%

Beijing China's energy use rose at the fastest pace in four years in 2011 and efficiency improved, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Consumption climbed seven per cent to 3.48 billion metric tonnes of standard coal equivalent, a report on the bureau's website showed Wednesday.

That's the fastest rate since 2007, when it was 7.8 per cent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Consumption per unit of gross domestic product fell 2.01 per cent from 2010, the bureau said, without elaborating.

The data underscore China's increasing share of world energy demand even as the nation attempts to curb the cost of powering its factories and reduce pollution. The government wants to cut energy use per unit of gross domestic product by 16 per cent in the five years through 2015.

"The nation's energy use has been supported by strong coal demand," Aochao Wang, head of China research at UOB-Kay Hian Ltd, said by telephone from Shanghai.

"The increased use of coal constrains the nation's efforts in improving energy efficiency."

Demand for coal, which China relies on for about 70 per cent of its energy needs, rose 9.7 per cent in 2011 from a year earlier, according to yesterday's report, which didn't give absolute volumes. That's the highest growth since 2005. Crude oil use increased 2.7 per cent, natural gas gained 12 per cent and electricity demand expanded 11.7 per cent.

Differing measures

Total energy use by the world's second-biggest economy rose to the equivalent of 96.66 thousand trillion British thermal units, according to conversion rates from China's government and the US Energy Information Administration. The US consumed 97.88 thousand trillion, according to the EIA's February 7 Short-Term Energy Outlook Report.

China overtook the US in 2009 to become the world's biggest energy consumer, according to International Energy Agency in July 2010.