Journal of Forest Economics > Vol 39 > Issue

Wildfires and Wind Turbine Plants: A Story Never Told

Mihai Mutascu, Zeppelin University, Germany, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, Romania, and International Management Institute, ZHAW School of Management and Law, Switzerland, Cristina Strango, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, Romania, and LEO (Laboratoire d’Economie d’Orléans), University of Orléans, France, cristina.strango@etu.univ-orleans.fr , Alexandre Sokic, ESCE International Business School, OMNES Education, France
 
Suggested Citation
Mihai Mutascu, Cristina Strango and Alexandre Sokic (2024), "Wildfires and Wind Turbine Plants: A Story Never Told", Journal of Forest Economics: Vol. 39: No. . http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/112.00000578

Forthcoming: 31 Dec 2024
© 2024 M. Mutascu, C. Strango and A. Sokic
 
Subjects
Time series analysis,  Environmental economics,  Renewables integration,  Energy risk management, instruments and trading,  Environmental politics
 
Keywords
JEL Codes: K32, P18, C33
Wildfire-deforestationWind turbine expansionLong-run effectsPanel approach
 

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In this article:
1. Introduction 
2. Literature Review 
3. Methodology and Dataset 
4. Results 
5. Conclusions 
Appendix 
References 

Abstract

The paper analyses the influence of wildfire-deforestation on the expansion of wind turbine plants in 10 countries most affected by wildfires. The empirical part is based on panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) estimations, from 2010 to 2022. The main finding interestingly evidences a long-run relationship between wildfire-deforestation and the expansion of wind plants, with a positive sign. More precisely, wind turbine plants have begun to be significantly developed on wildfire-deforested lands. In this case, noteworthy is that a deviation of 1% from the long-run equilibrium due to wildfire-deforestation would necessitate several years for the system to return to its equilibrium state. Additionally, the link is supported by the continuous development of renewable energy sources, urbanisation and human development. A switching effect is also observed between conventional pollutant energy sources and renewable ones. The results suggest several key policy measures: performing environmental impact assessments before wind turbine construction, implementing zoning regulations to limit turbine numbers in sensitive areas, encouraging reforestation efforts around turbine sites, providing subsidies for developers using sustainable practices, and supporting innovative wind turbine technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

DOI:10.1561/112.00000578