The diffusion of renewable energy technology: an analytical framework and key issues for research

Abstract

During the last two decades there has been a great deal of research on renewable energy technologies. It is commonly thought that very little has come out of this research in terms of commercially interesting technologies. The first objective of this paper is to demonstrate that this perception is no longer entirely correct; in the 1990s there has been a double digit growth rate in the market for some renewable energy technologies. The consequent alteration in the energy system, is, however, a slow, painful and highly uncertain process. This process, we argue, needs to be studied using an innovation system perspective where the focus is on networks, institutions and firms' perceptions, competencies and strategies. The second objective of the paper is therefore to present the bare bones of such an analytical framework. A third objective is to identify a set of key issues related to the speed and direction of that transformation process which needs to be studied further.3

Energetic communities for community energy: A review of key issues and trends shaping integrated community energy systems

“…Jacobsson and Johnson [102] identified hard and soft institutions, which are equally applicable to ICESs. Hard institutions refer to legislations, capital markets, or the educational system whereas soft institutions consider cultural and social norms.…”

Barriers to the adoption of photovoltaic systems: The state of the art

“…Some countries have much lower installed capacity and often measured by the number of small-size installations, for example, Uganda, 30,000 systems [5]; and Bangladesh, 3 million systems (equal to about 135 MW) [6]. Diffusion research on PV systems has existed since the 1980s with a growing interest (e.g., [7][8][9]). Many scholars have studied this phenomenon from a sociotechnical perspective (e.g., [10,11]).…”

The development and commercialization of solar PV technology in the oil industry

“…In diversifying energy supply, the transformation of the energy industry has been identified as a key challenge for a sustainable energy future (Holdren, 2006;Jacobsson and Bergek, 2004;Jacobsson and Johnson, 2000;Unruh, 2000). This suggests that incumbent firms in this industry have a vital role in the development and commercialization process of renewable energy technologies.…”

“…With an average annual growth rate in installed wind power capacity between 1980 and 1998 of 55% (Jacobsson and Johnson, 2000), and an average annual growth rate of 25% from (REN21, 2008, wind energy has reached a cost-competitive level with fossil fuel-based energy technologies, and is the most widespread renewable energy technology (Gross et al, 2003). Contrary to the mature development stage of wind power, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is an emerging technology, which grew relatively slow in the1990s, i.e.…”

“…Contrary to the mature development stage of wind power, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is an emerging technology, which grew relatively slow in the1990s, i.e. 22% annually (Jacobsson and Johnson, 2000). However, from 2000 onwards, investments in solar PV capacity have increased considerably, even leading up to an annual growth rate of 70% in grid-connected solar PV instalments in (REN21, 2009, and has thus become the fastest growing energy technology worldwide.…”