Critical factors affecting the development of renewable energy power generation: Evidence from China

As the largest energy consumption country, China is facing a number of energy related challenges including energy sustainability, global warming and environmental pollution, which have forced China to promote renewable energy (RE) utilization proactively. Stimulated by various incentive policies, renewable energy power generation (REPG) in China has achieved tremendous growth in terms of new installed capacity. However, RE power provides only about 26% of national electricity generation in China so far, with great potential in the future. This study presents a systematical investigation on critical factors (CFs) affecting REPG development in China. Through multi-facet content analysis, a total of 43 influence factors for REPG development have been identified. Then, 33 CFs affecting REPG development within the context of China have been extracted and prioritized using questionnaire survey and relative importance index (RII) model. Furthermore, the CFs are condensed to 12 principal components (PCs) by applying principal component analysis (PCA). Finally, a novel driving force model is established to demonstrate the interaction mechanisms for REPG development formed by the PCs and CFs. In addition, policy implications based on the research results are proposed to effectively promote REPG. The findings not only help to understand the significant forces on REPG development in China, but also offer useful references for other countries that intend to promote RE in the future.