Environmental Regulation and Wind Power Generation: Empirical Analysis Based on Provincial Panel Data

Environmental regulation, as the “visible hand,” still requires further exploration regarding its influence on the development of the wind power industry. Based on theoretical analysis, this paper conducts regression analysis on empirical data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2022 using a bidirectional fixed effects panel model. The study finds that: (1) Environmental regulation significantly promotes the development of the wind power industry, and this conclusion remains valid after robustness testing; (2) Wind speed, carbon emissions, patent numbers, and enterprise ownership structures all have a positive impact on the development of the wind power industry, whereas economic development levels and research funding have a certain negative impact; (3) Over time, especially after 2019, the promotion effect of environmental regulation on the wind power industry has significantly increased.