Is Renewable Energy A Curse or Blessing? Evidence from Solar Power

Long, Xianling and Huang, Kaixing and Xu, Shang (2024): Is Renewable Energy A Curse or Blessing? Evidence from Solar Power.

Abstract

Employing a spatial equilibrium model and exploiting staggered solar farm installations across Chinese counties, this study reveals that solar energy development reduces local GDP per capita by an average of 2.7\%. This negative effect, primarily from competition for high-value land, is more pronounced in counties with high land opportunity costs. We observe a 2\% increase in the local population despite lower wages and higher housing prices, implying improvements in local amenities. This paper reframes the resource curse debate by examining the impacts of renewable energy, specifically solar power.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Solar energy, Land competition, Economic growth, Welfare.
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare, Well-Being; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O13 - Agriculture ; Natural Resources ; Energy ; Environment ; Other Primary Products; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q4 - Energy > Q43 - Energy and the Macroeconomy; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q56 - Environment and Development ; Environment and Trade ; Sustainability ; Environmental Accounts and Accounting ; Environmental Equity ; Population Growth; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R14 - Land Use Patterns

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