Exploring the relationship between nuclear and renewable energy usage, ecological footprint, and load capacity factor: A study of the Russian Federation testing the EKC and LCC hypothesis

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of nuclear and renewable energy usage on the environment in Russia, using a unique approach that emphasizes two important variables: ecological footprint and load capacity factor. The study employs autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) analysis to examine the relationship between energy consumption and environmental degradation, using data from 1992 to 2018. The study tests two hypotheses simultaneously: the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and the load capacity curve (LCC). The findings reveal that renewable energy has both short-term and long-term environmental benefits, as these positive effects are indicated on both the LCF and EFP. In addition, Nuclear energy usage leads to a reduction in ecological footprint in both the short and long run. Although nuclear energy has negligible short-term effects on the load capacity factor, it has significant positive long-term effects. The study concludes that both nuclear and renewable energy can help improve environmental quality in Russia and provides evidence for the presence of both the load capacity curve (LCC) and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypotheses.