support systems for the diffusion of renewable energy technologies an investor perspective concern over climate change impacts and the projected depletion of fossil fuels has urged more governments to adopt policies that stimulate the diffusion of renewable energy technologies ret with an increasingly diverse suite of support instruments the question emerges as to which instruments or combinations are able to achieve faster more substantial diffusion results although various support instruments were extensively addressed in policy studies there is still no consensus this is partly because many policy studies take a policy maker approach in comparing support instruments leaving relationships between policy design and policy results as a black box this paper proposes an investor oriented perspective to analyze the diffusion potential of support systems for ret the main argument is that it is not the type of support instrument but rather its risk profitability characteristics that influence investor behavior and the rate of diffusion the two instruments most frequently discussed and compared are the feed in tariff and the quota model the analysis in this paper concludes that policy design is crucial while often feed in tariffs are applauded and quota system feared feed in tariffs may also bring about disappointing diffusion results when poorly designed while quota systems may be also conceived as attractive instruments for independent power producers

wind power price trends in the united states struggling to remain competitive in the face of strong growth the amount of wind power capacity being installed globally is surging with the united states the world leader in terms of annual market share for three years running 2005 2007 the rapidly growing market for wind has been a double edged sword however as the resulting supply demand imbalance in wind turbines along with the rising cost of materials and weakness in the u s dollar has put upward pressure on wind turbine costs and ultimately wind power prices two mitigating factors reductions in the cost of equity provided to wind projects and improvements in project level capacity factors have helped to relieve some of the upward pressure on wind power prices over the last few years because neither of these two factors can be relied upon to further cushion the blow going forward policymakers should recognize that continued financial support may be necessary to sustain the wind sector at its current pace of development at least in the near term though this article emphasizes developments in the u s market for wind power those trends are similar to and hold implications for the worldwide wind power market

levelized cost of electricity lcoe of renewable energies and required subsidies in china newhuadu business school research fund china sustainable energy program g 1305 18257 national social science foundation of china 12zd059 ministry of education 10 jbg 013

toward a theory of regulation for developing countries following jean jacques laffont s lead the efficient operation and expansion of infrastructures in developing countries is crucial for growth and poverty reduction however recent reforms aimed at improving the performance of these sectors have had limited success evidence suggests that in many instances this was because the traditional regulatory theory relied on by policymakers was not suitable for the institutional context in developing countries this article surveys more recent theoretical work focusing on problems with regulation in these countries at the heart of the survey is the work of jean jacques laffont who in the last decade of his life set about developing a theoretical framework for regulation in developing countries we consider the implications of his work which focused on the key institutional limitations faced in developing countries we then discuss where experience suggests that there are important omissions from this modeling bringing in extensions and alternative approaches pursued by other authors we conclude by summarizing the key ways in which regulatory policy will be different when institutions are weak overall we find that an understanding of the institutional context and its implications are crucial when designing a regulatory framework for developing countries

renewable energy certificate mechanism in india a preliminary assessment abstract the indian national action plan for climate change napcc envisages several measures to address global climate change one of the important measures identified involves increasing the share of renewable energy in total electricity consumption in the country this would mean napcc envisages renewable energy to constitute approximately 15 of the energy mix of india by 2020 to achieve the target set by the napcc indian ministry of power launched renewable energy certificate rec mechanism in november 2010 however participation in the rec markets is low and recs have failed to attract significant investment so far in this study a preliminary attempt has been made to assess the performance of existing rec mechanism in india after highlighting the salient features of the indian renewable energy policy framework a brief description of renewable purchase obligation rpo and source specific rpos for different states is discussed along with an overview of rec market in india to date the performance of indian rec mechanism is evaluated by cost competiveness decentralized distributed generation and renewable energy portfolio diversity and their effectiveness has also been measured on the basis of the available data although it is difficult to make any conclusive remark on the success or failure of rec mechanism due to its short experience this study examines the process to date to come out with some recommendations which can be used to fine tune the functioning of existing rec market in india for instance rec price bounds should be revised because it has been not explicitly supporting cost competiveness by offering 60 33 higher average price than the existing average feed in tariff fit it is also observed that state wise contribution in registered capacity is skewed towards few states like tamil nadu 27 maharashtra 23 and uttar pradesh 22 which puts pressure on policy makers to restructure the existing rec mechanism

the enactment of socio technical transition pathways a reformulated typology and a comparative multi level analysis of the german and uk low carbon electricity transitions 1990 2014 abstract this paper aims to make two contributions to the sustainability transitions literature in particular the geels and schot 2007 res policy 36 3 399 transition pathways typology first it reformulates and differentiates the typology through the lens of endogenous enactment identifying the main patterns for actors formal institutions and technologies second it suggests that transitions may shift between pathways depending on struggles over technology deployment and institutions both contributions are demonstrated with a comparative analysis of unfolding low carbon electricity transitions in germany and the uk between 1990 2014 the analysis shows that germany is on a substitution pathway enacted by new entrants deploying small scale renewable electricity technologies rets while the uk is on a transformation pathway enacted by incumbent actors deploying large scale rets further analysis shows that the german transition has recently shifted from a stretch and transform substitution pathway to a fit and conform pathway because of a fightback from utilities and altered institutions it also shows that the uk transition moved from moderate to substantial incumbent reorientation as government policies became stronger recent policy changes however substantially downscaled uk renewables support which is likely to shift the transition back to weaker reorientation

leviathan resists the endogenous relationship between privatization and firm performance using a panel dataset of privatized cement firms in turkey this paper models and finds support for the simultaneous relationship between privatization and firm performance it is found that favorable short run performance weak market potential higher employment lower socio economic development concentrated voter preferences and weaker representation of right wing parties in the firms locality delay the timing of privatization the paper also finds that privatization increases output in the medium term by reducing the labor stock and promoting the adoption of more advanced technology such that production shifts from constant to decreasing returns to scale

are renewable energy subsidies effective evidence from europe abstract we test if policy support for renewable electricity have been effective in promoting renewables in the five largest european countries in the period 2000 2010 we collect data on the exact amount of monetary incentives and the average tariffs granted the econometric analysis reveals a positive correlation between subsidies and the production of incentivized energy as well as the installed capacity we find that a 1 1c increase in the incentive tariff leads to an increase in renewable generation of 0 4 1 18 26 feed in tariffs appear to outperform tradable green certificates overall the analysis shows that these policies have been effective in promoting renewable energy both in the short and in the long run

incumbents diversification and cross sectorial energy industry dynamics abstract within the sustainability transitions literature established mature or incumbent firms have been stereotyped as locked in to socio technical regimes however we believe regimes have been black boxed and few studies have explored incumbents responses to transition processes this article aims to achieve an improved understanding of incumbents in established energy sectors and their extent of involvement in other niche energy sectors to this avail we analyze data from a first of its kind survey of 133 incumbent firms in norway s two main energy sectors namely oil gas and hydropower providing inter temporal dimensions our data covers incumbents diversification activities beyond their primary sector both in the past cancelled activities present ongoing activity in secondary sectors and future ambitions of diversification and also distinguishes between producers and product service suppliers by incorporating insights on firm diversification our analysis sheds new light on the complex transformation processes associated with sustainability transitions empirical results show considerable heterogeneity in incumbents responses to changing selection pressures which can be explained by recognition that windows of opportunity are opening and some incumbents see potential to leverage their resources and capabilities to capture value in new niche energy sectors in both domestic and international markets

creative destruction or mere niche support innovation policy mixes for sustainability transitions recently there has been an increasing interest in policy mixes in innovation studies while it has long been acknowledged that the stimulation of innovation and technological change involves different types of policy instruments how such instruments form policy mixes has only recently become of interest we argue that an area in which policy mixes are particularly important is the field of sustainability transitions transitions imply not only the development of disruptive innovations but also of policies aiming for wider change in socio technical systems we propose that ideally policy mixes for transitions include elements of creative destruction involving both policies aiming for the creation of new and for destabilising the old we develop a novel analytical framework including the two policy mix dimensions creation and destruction by broadening the technological innovation system functions approach and specifically by expanding the concept of motors of innovation to motors of creative destruction we test this framework by analysing low energy policy mixes in finland and the uk we find that both countries have diverse policy mixes to support energy efficiency and reduce energy demand with instruments to cover all functions on the creation side despite the demonstrated need for such policies unsurprisingly destabilising functions are addressed by fewer policies but there are empirical examples of such policies in both countries the concept of motors of creative destruction is introduced to expand innovation and technology policy debates to go beyond policy mixes consisting of technology push and demand pull instruments and to consider a wider range of policy instruments combined in a suitable mix which may contribute to sustainability transitions

socio technical analysis of the electricity sector of mexico its historical evolution and implications for a transition towards low carbon development abstract the electricity sector of mexico has been found itself in continuous transitions since its beginning in the 19th century however the historical reform to the sector that recently took place together with new energy market configurations around the globe may pose an important challenge to transitioning towards a low carbon sector the work presented here was aimed at understanding in a qualitative manner the complex interactions between the main social technical and environmental aspects that have guided the sector in the past their influence on the current structure and its future development through the application of the multi level perspective mlp with a governance and agency perspective additionally the work tried to elucidate the implications of the incumbent position of the natural gas industry and the possibilities for low carbon technologies the conclusions remark the importance of previous sector configurations in the present structure the important role of government in promoting low carbon technologies together with investment by market actors and the possible window of opportunity that the natural gas industry in mexico may provide to low carbon energy technologies

the destabilisation of existing regimes confronting a multi dimensional framework with a case study of the british coal industry 1913 1967 because innovation studies are oriented towards novelty scholars in this field have paid less attention to the destabilisation of existing regimes this paper discusses four views on industry destabilisation and presents an encompassing conceptual framework which addresses interactions between the build up of external pressures industry response strategies and the gradual weakening of commitment to existing regime elements we confront the framework with an in depth longitudinal case study of the british coal industry 1913 1967 specific conclusions are developed about different degrees of regime inertia the ebb and flow of external pressures the relative importance of economic and socio political pressures and interactions between them

low carbon transition in a coal producing country a labour market perspective abstract the decarbonisation of energy in a coal producing country involves phasing out the coal sector and reducing employment in coal mining our case study of poland reveals that in the past half of the workers that left the mining sector failed to move to other sectors and left the labour market this could be explained by the lower education levels of miners and lower wages in other sectors relative to mining we use a mathematical model to demonstrate that if ex miners fail to move to green or neutral sectors decarbonisation involves a net loss of the labour force regardless of the number of jobs created in the green sector the loss of labour constitutes a macroeconomic cost that must be added to changes in energy system costs the size of the cost does not depend on whether reduction of emissions is achieved by the substitution of coal with renewable energy sources or by an increase in energy efficiency the size of the cost is largest when the reduction of emissions is achieved by replacing coal with imported gas finally we demonstrate how costs related to the imperfect transition of labour could be taken into account in numerical general equilibrium models

privatisation and economic growth in developing countries this article re examines the relation between privatisation and economic growth previous studies that have attempted to measure this relationship have concluded that privatisation has had a sizeable positive effect on economic growth our study uses data for 63 developing countries over the time period 1988 97 it uses the framework of an extreme bounds analysis eba to conduct a cross country growth regression analysis our findings contradict earlier results but reaffirm the view that effective competition and its regulation may need to accompany privatisation to make a positive impact on economic growth

regime destabilisation as the flipside of energy transitions lessons from the history of the british coal industry 1913 1997 this paper investigates a neglected aspect of the transitions literature the destabilisation of existing regimes and industries it presents an analytical perspective that integrates four existing views on destabilisation and conceptualizes the process as a multi dimensional and enacted phenomenon involving technical economic political and cultural processes this perspective is illustrated with two historical cases of the british coal industry 1913 1967 1967 1997 these cases are also used to articulate five lessons regarding the overall destabilisation process and five lessons regarding the economic and socio political environments of industries the conclusion section translates the historical lessons into insights with relevance for the contemporary challenge of climate change and transitions to low carbon energy systems

renewable electricity generation in germany a meta analysis of mitigation scenarios german energy policy targets envision a share of electricity from renewable energy sources res e of at least 80 in 2050 how can the transformation of the german electricity sector be achieved and at what costs this paper addresses these questions by means of a meta analysis of 10 recent model based mitigation scenarios for germany it turns out that the scenarios exploit the three basic strategic options of increasing the share of res e domestic res e generation electricity demand reductions and res e imports to substantially different extents domestic res e generation increases in all scenarios particularly from onshore and offshore wind scenarios that rely heavily on reducing electricity demand require a relatively low expansion of domestic res e generation despite detailed technical analyses insights on the costs of the transformation remain limited a discussion of underlying scenario assumptions reveals that it is unclear whether i res e and system integration technology development will be as cost competitive as postulated ii implicitly assumed institutional requirements will be realized and iii relevant actors in the transformation process will be incentivized accordingly therefore future research should pursue a thorough assessment of strategic options for transforming the german electricity system that consistently integrates technologies institutions and actors

macroeconomic stability and the distribution of growth rates it is often argued that macroeconomic instability can form a binding constraint on economic growth drawing on a new index of stability threshold estimation is used to divide developing economies into two growth regimes depending on a threshold level of stability for the more stable group of countries the output benefits of investment are greater conditional convergence is faster and measures of institutional quality have more explanatory power suggesting that instability forms a binding constraint for the less stable group macroeconomic stability is also shown to dominate several other candidates for identifying distinct growth regimes

climate change and the slow reorientation of the american car industry 1979 2012 an application and extension of the dialectic issue lifecycle dilc model abstract this paper uses the dialectic issue lifecycle model dilc model to analyze the co evolution of the climate change problem and strategic responses from the american car industry the longitudinal and multi dimensional analysis investigates the dynamics of the climate change problem in terms of socio political mobilization by social movements scientists wider publics and policymakers it also analyses how u s automakers responded to mounting pressures with socio political economic and innovation strategies oriented towards low carbon propulsion technologies we use a mixed methodology with a quantitative analysis of various time series and an in depth qualitative case study which traces interactions between problem related pressures and industry responses we conclude that u s automakers are slowly reorienting towards low carbon technologies but due to weakening pressures have not yet fully committed to comprehensive development and marketing the paper not only applies the dilc model but also proposes three elaborations a the continued diversity of technical solutions and ups and downs in future expectations creates uncertainty which delays strategic reorientation b firms may develop radical innovations for political and social purposes in early phases of the model c issue lifecycles are also shaped by external influences from other problems and contexts

renewable electricity production costs a framework to assist policy makers decisions on price support abstract despite recent progress the production costs for renewable electricity remain above those for conventional power expectations of continuous reductions in production costs typically underpin governments policies for financial support they often draw on the technology focused versions of the experience curve model this paper discusses how national contextual factors also have a strong influence on production costs such as geographic infrastructural institutional and resource factors as technologies mature and as they reach significant levels of diffusion nationally sustained increases in production costs might be recorded due to these nationally contextual factors poorly accounted for in policy making decisions for price support the paper suggests an analytical framework for a more comprehensive understanding of production costs based on this it recommends that the evolution of specific cost levels and factors be monitored to locate sources of changes the paper also suggests policy instruments that governments may use to facilitate cost decreases whenever possible the application of the framework is illustrated for the diffusion of wind power in spain during the past three decades

privatization financial development property rights and growth abstract this study analyzes how prevailing institutional arrangements i e property rights contracting rights political institutions and corporate governance practices affect privatized firms performance capital markets development and economic growth most of the studies surveyed show that privatization enhances privatized firms performance efficiency and profitability which percolates to economic growth privatized firms performed better in countries with better regulatory and legal frameworks partial privatization may be beneficial in countries with weak institutions namely the french civil law countries the stronger the economic and the governing institutions the easier it is for privatized firms to thrive and contribute to economic growth overall privatization allows firms to achieve improved efficiency while driving the development of the financial sector

who invests in renewable electricity production empirical evidence and suggestions for further research transforming energy systems to fulfill the needs of a low carbon economy requires large investments in renewable electricity production res e recent literature underlines the need to take a closer look at the composition of the res e investor group in order to understand the motives and investment processes of different types of investors however existing energy policies generally consider res e investments made on a regional or national level and target investors who evaluate their res e investments according to least cost high profit criteria we present empirical evidence to show that res e investments are made by a heterogeneous group of investors that a variety of investors exist and that their formation varies among the different types of renewable sources this has direct implications for our understanding of the investment process in res e and for the study of motives and driving forces of res e investors we introduce a multi dimensional framework for analyzing differences between categories of investors which not only considers to the standard economic dimension which is predominant in the contemporary energy literature but also considers the entrepreneurship innovation adoption and institutional dimensions the framework emphasizes the influence of four main investor related factors on the investment process which should be studied in future research motives background resources and personal characteristics