New quality productive forces in energy in China: Statistical measurement and evolutionary characteristics

New quality productive forces in energy represent a systemic transformation of the energy industry, current new quality productive development is characterized by a typical pattern of regional imbalance, hindering the overall progress of China's green energy transition. Taking the panel data from 30 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) in China spanning from 2008 to 2021, this study used the entropy evaluation method to assess the provincial development of new quality productive forces in energy. Specifically, the spatiotemporal evolution, inequality, and spatial convergence of new quality productive forces in energy were analyzed via the decomposition method of Dagum Gini coefficient and its subgroups, kernel density estimation, Markov chain, and β convergence testing models. Results reveal: ① The overall new quality productive forces in energy in China exhibited a fluctuating trend, with a slight increase from 2016 to 2021. ② The Dagum Gini coefficient and its subgroup decomposition revealed regional disparities in the development of new quality productive forces in energy, with intra-regional differences being the primary source. ③ The Markov chain model demonstrated explicit "high-high" clustering and "low-low" club convergence in the new quality productive forces in energy, along with a Matthew effect. ④ The β convergence test revealed the existence of β convergence in the new quality productive forces in energy. The data analysis results reveal the regional disparities and dynamic evolution patterns of China's new quality productive forces in energy, providing empirical evidence for formulating region-specific strategies to cultivate and develop new quality productive forces in energy.