Determinants of Regional Consumption of Renewable Energies in France

Ferdaous Roussafi

Faculty of Economics and Management, Caen- Normandie University, France

Abstract: Energy transition tends to be at the heart of political and scientific agendas. However, this transition is carried out according to different rhythms and temporalities in line with the territories. It therefore seems essential to pay more attention to territorial dynamics in order to better understand the diversity of energy policy configurations and trajectories. In this context, we seek to study the factors that determine the regional consumption of renewable energies (RE) in France. We build a VECM model which explain the evolution of the share of RE in final energy consumption. The results indicate that in the short term, economic growth measured by the real GDP growth rate positively affects RE consumption, while nuclear and industrial production per capita have are a barrier to the promotion of RE. In the long term, estimates from the FM-OLS and DOLS models indicate that the log of GDP per capita, has a positive impact on the share of RE in final energy consumption. The results also show that research and development (R&D) expenditure favors the use of renewable energy. Finally, we show that at the regional level, the weight of “green” parties positively influences the development of RE.

Key words: renewable energy consumption, Panel co-integration, VECM model, FM-OLS and DOLS models, regional disparities