Research on the impact of large-scale photovoltaic development on regional economic growth-a case study of Qinghai Province

Abstract Large-scale photovoltaic(PV) development has been widely promoted in northwest China and achieved significant economic and industrial benefits. However, previous studies have not fully explored the impact of large-scale PV development on regional economic growth. This paper selects 8 prefecture-level cities in Qinghai Province from 2018 to 2022, uses the static balanced panel data and empirical analysis of panel regression to test the impact of large-scale photovoltaic development on regional economic growth. The results show that large-scale photovoltaic development has a positive impact on regional economic growth, but there are regional differences in the impact. Through further regression analysis, it is found that the impact of photovoltaic power generation on regional economy follows a nonlinear relationship. When the photovoltaic power generation is lower than the critical value (47.71), its impact on regional economy is positive. In less developed regions, the increase of photovoltaic power generation in the initial stage will significantly promote economic growth, but when the critical value (1.505) is exceeded, the increase of photovoltaic power generation has a negative impact on the economy. There is no inverted U-shaped relationship between the impact of large-scale PV development on economic growth in developed regions.