Does the Shale Gas Revolution Hinder Clean Energy Innovation?

We analyze the causal impact of the U.S. shale gas revolution on technological innovation in the electricity generation sector. Using a country-­level data set of electricity patents from 1978-­2018, we find that the U.S. shale gas revolution led to a 1.60 decrease in the ratio of green to fossil-­fuel electricity patents and a 0.93 decrease in the ratio of renewable to fossil-­fuel electricity patents. In addition, we find a 0.15 increase in the share of fossil-­fuel electricity patenting. These results suggest that the U.S. shale boom hinder the development of new and improved technologies that ease the decarbonization of the electricity sector.