The role of wind energy towards sustainable development in top-16 wind energy consumer countries: Evidence from STIRPAT model

Wind energy is the second most extensively used source of renewable energy. This has the potential to maintain long-term economic growth by meeting rising global energy demand while also addressing cli-mate issues. This study explores the factors that drive wind energy consumption and emission reduction in the top-16 wind energy consumer countries from 1992 to 2020. China (38.5 %), the United States of America (16.1 %), and Germany (8.5 %) have the highest shares in terms of global wind turbine capacity. The main implication of this study is that it uses the cubic form of income to explain the technique, scale, and cumulative effects on wind energy and carbon emissions. The study evaluates the mediation effect of income and foreign investment to promote wind energy consumption and reduce emissions. This study explored whether the increment of wind energy capacity is derived from economic growth. The results show an inverted N-shaped curve between income and wind energy consumption. The carbon emissions model shows an N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve. The feedback hypothesis is supported by causal-ity analysis between wind energy and growth. Energy policies aimed at accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewables will affect wind energy consumption and wind capacity.(c) 2023 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Wind energy, the second most extensively used source of renewable energy, has the potential to address climate issues and meet rising global energy demand. This study explores the factors driving wind energy consumption and emission reduction in the top-16 wind energy consumer countries from 1992 to 2020. China, the United States, and Germany have the highest shares in global wind turbine capacity. The study evaluates the mediation effect of income and foreign investment on wind energy consumption and emissions reduction.