Does renewable energy technological innovation matter for green total factor productivity? Empirical evidence from Chinese provinces

Renewable energy technological innovation (RETI) will be a significant way to stimulate the growth of renewable energy. This paper investigates the effect of RETI on green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2019 applying the instrumental variable generalized method of moment (IV-GMM) method, as well as geographic heterogeneity and mediating effect analysis. The results indicate that RETI significantly improves GTFP in China; put differently, a 1% increase in the RETI index will cause a 0.049% growth in GTFP. Moreover, the RETI of various renewables plays a significant role in promoting GTFP, among which hydropower technological innovation, solar energy technological innovation, and geothermal and ocean energy technological innovation have more obvious promotion effects. In addition, RETI negatively affects GTFP in eastern China, and RETI positively affects GTFP in central and western China. Finally, we further reveal that energy structure and energy efficiency are the mechanisms that impact the relationship between RETI and GTFP.