【论文信息】

Song H T, Chen W*(通讯作者). Data-driven smart governance for dual-dimensional optimization of urban renewable energy systems: Enhancing transition depth and breadth[J]. Energy Strategy Reviews (SCI JCR Q1，中科院SCI二区期刊). 2026, 64: 102087. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2026.102087.

【作者信息】

第一作者：宋泓锑，陈伟教授指导的2022级博士研究生，研究方向：能源技术创新；

通讯作者：陈  伟，博士、教授、博士生导师，研究方向：供应链管理、技术创新管理。

【基金支持】

国家文化英才培养工程专项资助项目(2021QNYC098); 国家社会科学基金项目(23BGL063)；重庆市社会科学基金项目(2025BS050)。

【论文摘要】

Data governance is increasingly recognized as a critical institutional instrument for facilitating energy system transformation, yet its role in reshaping the structural characteristics of urban renewable energy transitions remains insufficiently understood. This study exploits China’s National Big Data Pilot (NBDP) policy as a quasinatural experiment and employs panel data from 291 Chinese cities spanning 2008–2022 to investigate the impact of data governance on urban renewable energy transitions. Employing a double machine learning (DML) framework, we identify the causal effects of the NBDP on multidimensional transition outcomes. The results show that the policy significantly accelerates urban renewable energy transition, with the strongest effects observed in transition breadth, followed by depth and level. Mechanism analysis reveals that renewable energy technological innovation serves as a key mediating channel, promoting substitution deepening while partially constraining short-term diversification due to path dependence. In contrast, heightened government attention to green development exerts a negative indirect effect on transition level and depth and does not mediate diversification outcomes. Further analysis indicates that the policy effects are significantly amplified in cities with more advanced digital infrastructure and higher energy demand intensity. By introducing a dual-dimensional “depth–breadth” framework, this study extends existing measures of energy transition and provides robust causal evidence on how digital governance reshapes the structural evolution of urban energy systems.