Influencing factors of energy technical innovation in China: Evidence from fossil energy and renewable energy

Abstract

Based on China's provincial panel data from 2001 to 2015, the drivers of energy technological innovation, e.g., energy price, public financial policy, knowledge stocks, energy structure, and environmental regulation, are analyzed by using the generalized method of moment (GMM) in this paper. Through the construction of one kind of geometric distribution lag model, which is also called partial adjustment model, we empirically analyze and compare the influencing factors of energy technological innovation from the perspectives of fossil energy and renewable energy. The specific conclusions obtained in this paper are: (1) The impact of the energy price on fossil energy technological innovation is greater than renewable energy, which means that the current energy price in China is much lower than its optimal level and the development of renewable energy technology needs the support of price mechanism. (2) The development of these two kinds of energy technology innovation heavily relies on governmental policy support. (3) The accumulation of energy technology innovations will be conducive to the vertical spillover effect of knowledge, and further encourage the development of energy technology. Based on the above findings, we then propose some relevant policy proposals to promote energy technological innovation in China.