Does nuclear energy consumption contribute to load capacity factor? Modeling the effects of public debt and financial development in France

As one of the main contributors to the low-carbon-emission energy system, nuclear energy utilization has drawn much attention in energy and environment literature. Several studies have assessed the effect of nuclear energy on ecological quality by exploring ecological indicators such as ecological footprint and CO 2 emissions. However, the supply side is ignored by these indicators. Hence, the object of the study is to assess the influence of nuclear energy consumption, public debt, and financial development on the load capacity factor in France. In this regard, the load capacity factor enables a comprehensive assessment of ecological quality through the simultaneous analysis of biocapacity and EF. Using the novel Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (AARDL), the study finds; (i) nuclear energy consumption improves ecological quality by increasing the load capacity factor. (ii) financial development and economic growth have adverse effects on the ecological quality (iii) public debt has an improving influence on the ecological quality (v)unidirectional causality exists among renewable energy, nuclear energy, financial development, public debt and load capacity factor. Considering the empirical findings, some important policy recommendations are suggested to help France improve its ecological sustainability.