IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v213y2025ics1364032125001200.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy price uncertainty and renewable energy technological innovation: Evidence from listed Chinese firms

Author

Listed:
  • Lin, Tao
  • Zhang, Ling
  • Wan, Jun
  • Chen, Chien-Ming
  • Li, Jianglong

Abstract

In the context of climate change, there is an urgent need to vigorously promote renewable energy technological innovation (RETI) for the low-carbon energy transition. However, as a key driver of RETI, the mechanism by which energy prices affect it is unclear. Based on matched data of Chinese provinces and listed firms from 2001 to 2021, we assess the impact of energy price uncertainty (EPU) on RETI using the Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood model. The results show that EPU significantly promotes firms' RETI, and this positive impact lasts for at least three years. Mechanism analysis shows that EPU weakens firm performance by exacerbating business underinvestment and reducing market demand. Firm managers are forced to increase R&D investment in renewable energy technologies to reduce their dependence on fossil energy. Unfortunately, the promoting effect of EPU on RETI is manifested as a crowding out effect on other technological innovations. In addition, the promoting effect of EPU on RETI is more prominent in state-owned firms, energy industries, firms with environmental information disclosure, and firms with superior innovation environments. Further, we find that EPU inhibits fossil energy technological innovation (FETI) of firms and leads the change of energy technology from fossil energy to renewable energy. This study provides new insights for the effects of EPU on firm innovation from the RETI perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Lin, Tao & Zhang, Ling & Wan, Jun & Chen, Chien-Ming & Li, Jianglong, 2025. "Energy price uncertainty and renewable energy technological innovation: Evidence from listed Chinese firms," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:213:y:2025:i:c:s1364032125001200
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2025.115447
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032125001200
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2025.115447?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:213:y:2025:i:c:s1364032125001200. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.