Impact of Natural Gas Peak Shaving on High-Quality Economic Development

As energy demand continues to grow, the enhancement of natural gas storage and peaking capacity has become an important measure to ensure national energy security and to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Gas storage and peaking have mature development models in the international arena, and China is making every effort to develop this system. This study reveals the impact and promotion of natural gas storage and peaking technology on high-quality economic growth in different regional economic environments through sample data from 30 provinces in China, from 2006 to 2022. The results show that natural gas storage and peaking directly promote high-quality economic development and have a positive spatial spillover effect on high-quality development in neighboring regions, a finding verified by the robustness test and endogeneity test. A heterogeneity analysis further revealed that there are significant differences among eastern, central, and western regions in terms of natural gas storage and peaking capacity and quality of economic development. The eastern region has a stronger gas storage and peaking capacity, while the central and western regions have a weaker capacity. Mechanism analysis shows that R and D technology (RDT) efficiency and green finance have a positive moderating effect on the benchmark effect. This has significant implications for policymakers and business leaders, suggesting that peak gas storage and peaking can drive improvements in broader regional corporate sustainability practices and increase regional levels of high-quality development.