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Toward next-generation green solar cells and environmental sustainability: impact of innovation in photovoltaic energy generation, distribution, or transmission-related technologies on environmental sustainability in the United States

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Abstract

Photovoltaic is emerging as a cost-competitive source of energy generation and has experienced a decade of substantial cost decline. Recognizing that innovation in sustainable technologies can substantially contribute to the sustainable generation of energy, the federal government, universities, and industries in the USA have invested considerably in innovative solar technologies involving photovoltaic energy generation. However, the association between innovations in photovoltaic energy generation, distribution, or transmission-related technologies (IPVEGRT) and carbon dioxide emissions is unclear. The present study significantly contributes to energy economics by inspecting the nexus between IPVEGRT and carbon dioxide emissions, renewable energy consumption, the expansionary monetary policy, international collaboration in green technology development, gross domestic product per capita, and trade openness in the USA from 1990Q1 to 2018Q4. The results indicate that IPVEGRT helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions. International collaboration in green technology development and renewable energy consumption was negatively associated with carbon dioxide emissions, while expansionary monetary policy, gross domestic product per capita, and trade openness were positively associated with carbon dioxide emissions. The two-way causality between IPVEGRT and carbon dioxide emissions and between international collaboration in green technology development and carbon dioxide emissions was validated. Finally, a one-way causality between expansionary monetary policy, carbon dioxide emissions, gross domestic product per capita, and carbon dioxide emissions was validated.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

IPVEGRT:

Innovation in photovoltaic energy generation, distribution, or transmission-related technologies

PV:

Photovoltaic

CO2e :

Carbon dioxide emissions

GDPPC:

Gross domestic product per capita

EMP:

Expansionary monetary policy

TRO:

Trade openness

ICGTD:

International collaboration in green technology development

REC:

Renewable energy consumption

CCR:

Canonical co-integration regression estimator

DOLS:

Dynamic ordinary least squares estimator

FMOLS:

Fully modified ordinary least squares estimator

OECD:

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

K:

Capital goods

I:

Innovation activities

ERT:

Environmentally related innovation

GI:

General innovation

Y:

Final output

R&D:

Research and development

QMSA:

Quadratic match sum approach

IMP:

Import of goods

EXP:

Exports of goods

μ t :

μ t Error term

m :

Lag operators

BY :

Break years

BT:

Bound test

MW:

Megawatts

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This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, Shandong University, Shandong, 250100, China

    Liguo Xin

  2. Department of Economics, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan

    Manzoor Ahmad

  3. School of Business and Economics, North South University, Dhaka, 1229, Bangladesh

    Muntasir Murshed

  4. Department of Journalism, Media and Communications, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Muntasir Murshed

Authors
  1. Liguo Xin
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  2. Manzoor Ahmad
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  3. Muntasir Murshed
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Contributions

X.L.: conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis, investigation, methodology. M.A.: software; supervision; validation. M.M.: writing—original draft; writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manzoor Ahmad.

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Xin, L., Ahmad, M. & Murshed, M. Toward next-generation green solar cells and environmental sustainability: impact of innovation in photovoltaic energy generation, distribution, or transmission-related technologies on environmental sustainability in the United States. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 89662–89680 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21953-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21953-w

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