THE EFFECT OF WIND ENERGY ON CARBON EMISSIONS

Abstract

The advances in economies require the need to consume more energy. Non-renewable energy resources produce high amount of carbon emissions. With global warning concerns, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is priority. The research question is how effective wind energy is for reducing carbon emissions. This study includes a panel data analysis to test the effect of wind energy on carbon emissions. The variables used in this article are installed capacity of wind energy production, the ratio of wind energy consumption to primary energy consumption, and the ratio of wind energy production to total electricity consumption, real GDP and total population. According to the results, the increase in the ratio of wind energy consumption to primary energy consumption reduces carbon emissions. There are 33 countries available in this research which are divided into two categories; countries with higher than average and countries with lower than average. The effect is more significant for countries with higher than average carbon emissions. GDP is significant for carbon emissions but population is not significant according to the results. According to short run results, Installed capacity of wind energy production is not statistically significant. Coefficient estimation for the ratio of wind energy production to total electricity consumption is negative and statistically significant for all countries. The ratio of wind energy consumption to primary energy consumption reduces carbon emissions. The results are consistent with the literature. More incentives for renewable energy and wind energy in particular, would be beneficial for environmentally and economically sound investments.