Renewable Energy Transition

Climate change is the biggest single issue facing the world at the present time. This project is about the role of innovation policy in creating multiple renewable energy technologies, as the basis of a transition towards a low-emitting global economy.

Om prosjektet

Renewable energy technologies are likely to support new industries and export sectors in years ahead, across many countries. The main question of this project is: How can Norway participate in this process and benefit from it?

There is no systematic research in Norway on transition strategies from a society and economy based on high emissions of climate gases to low emissions. In Europe, this is an emerging area of work closely linked to technology and innovation studies. The problem is largely seen as one of developing new technologies and then fostering adoption processes across the entire social and economic system.

Because Norway is a major energy producer, both in hydrocarbons and renewables, its challenges regarding energy policy are different from other European economies: transition strategies developed in other countries cannot simply be copied. We need a specific path of development adapted to Norway’s particular economic and social situation, but framed by global developments. The primary objective of this project, therefore, is to contribute to build a knowledge base for a national transition strategy for Norway.

Mål for prosjektet

The project will analyse the development of renewable energy production using the “technological innovation system” concept (TIS) as an overall framework for structuring the empirical analysis. This approach analyses the establishment of new production as the construction or development of an innovation system around specific production technologies. In line with the system tradition of innovation studies the TIS explores how social, economic and political factors create new actors and new institutions as a framework for innovation.

We will focus particularly on three types of key processes, which we regard as central for new energy source technologies in the formative phase of the development:

• Knowledge creation and search, and entrepreneurial experiments
• Market development: creating national policy institutions (green certificates) and infrastructure for international markets
• Legitimacy of the technology: degree of support from influential groups to new energy sources/ technologies

Work Packages (WPs) 1 and 2 focus on the challenges regarding these key processes for successful introduction of new production areas and technologies at the national level. Work package 3, which Sogn og Fjordane University College is responsible for, covers the role of local actors and institutions in development of renewable energy production. Finally, we want to establish an arena for discussions for transition strategies for Norway (WP 4).

Work package 3 has these aims:

• Enhance insight in local and regional practices, policies and tools, that works as barriers to increased production and use of renewable energy
• Gather more knowledge of strategies to overcome these barriers
• Act as a laboratory for deliverance of empirical knowledge and testing of theoretical framework delivered in the other work packages

Samarbeidspartnarar

This project is collaboration between TIK, CICERO and Sogn and Fjordane University College. The research group will be linked to an international group of experts, and we plan to include active collaboration with Imperial College London.

Status

The project is funded by the Norwegian Research Council, and the project period is 2011-2014. Results from the procjet is to be publish as a book.