Enter the new era, renewable energy is constrained by regional heterogeneity, such as resource distribution, market structure and industrial environment, and its spatial heterogeneity is becoming increasingly prominent. To explore the spatial agglomeration effect of renewable energy development, this paper builds a spatial panel econometric model to explore the driving factors of renewable energy industry development on the basis of analysing the spatial correlation of renewable energy. The results show that the development of the renewable energy industry has path dependence and spatial stability, and there is an industrial agglomeration effect in spatial development. In addition, the emission of exhaust gas is negatively correlated with the development of the renewable energy industry, and the power consumption of renewable energy and the reserve of non-renewable resources will significantly promote the development of renewable energy industry. Meanwhile, government investment in environmental protection is not significantly correlated with the development of renewable energy industry. This study can provide theoretical guidance and practical support for promoting the development of China’s renewable energy industry.