The uneven development of wind power in China: Determinants and the role of supporting policies

We apply a partial adjustment model to investigate the driving factors of the regional disparity of China's wind power development. We have three major findings. First, similar to many industries, wind power shows an agglomeration effect, that is, existing installed capacity attracts new addition of capacity. Second, demand factors including both local demand, indicated by variables in the local economy, and demand outside the region, indicated by transmission capacity, do not significantly affect the location choice of wind power farms. Lastly, governmental supporting measures have heterogeneous effects on different regions. They are most effective in wind resource rich regions but have little impact in other regions. •A partial adjustment model to investigate the driving factors of the regional disparity of China's wind power development•Demand factors do not significantly affect the location choice of wind power farms.•Governmental supporting measures have heterogeneous effects on different regions.