Place-dependence of renewable energy technologies: Connecting local and global scale

Abstract

Climate change mitigation requires rapid decarbonization of the current energy systems worldwide. Developing renewable energy technologies is not only an important way to help countries achieve their carbon emission reduction goals, but is also considered increasingly promising for economic development in both industrialized and emerging countries. Government interventions will therefore continue to play an important role in developing renewable energy technologies. The increasing globalization of technology development allows countries to obtain resources like knowledge, market access and finance from other countries for developing domestic renewable energy technologies. However, countries differ significantly in their capabilities and choices of renewable energy technologies as a result of their unique history, their existing knowledge base as well as a broader set of institutional and geographical conditions. The goal of this thesis is therefore to increase our understanding of the place-dependence of renewable energy technologies for formulating better policies to guide the technology development and transition pathway of countries. This thesis consists of four empirical chapters, and focuses on three sets of research questions: 1) What aspects of place-dependence drive the innovation activities of renewable energy technologies? 2) How does place-dependence affect the global development trajectories of renewable energy technologies? 3) How do countries catch up in renewable energy technologies by utilizing local and global knowledge? Chapter 2 focuses on the knowledge production of countries in renewable energy technologies. I test whether countries are more likely to develop renewable energy technologies based on their existing knowledge base in related technologies. Chapter 3 focuses on the impacts of external knowledge on the development of renewable energy technologies. Both technological and geographical dimensions are important in the search process of external knowledge. Chapter 4 further shows how the place-dependence can shift the direction of global technology development. I identify breakthrough inventions in solar photovoltaic technology based on the new combination of unrelated technologies which has potential to break the path-dependence of global technology trajectories. I then investigate whether the breakthrough inventions are place-dependent in building on locally available technologies. Chapter 5 focuses on how countries can catch up in the low-carbon energy paradigm by adopting breakthrough inventions in renewable energy technologies earlier. I test whether the knowledge base of countries in related technologies can accelerate the catching up process. In sum, this thesis leads to three conclusions. First, the place-dependence of renewable energy technologies originates from the path-dependent process towards technologies related to a country’s existing knowledge base and the different benefits that countries enjoy from the availability of locally and globally related knowledge. Second, place-dependence can affect the global development of renewable energy technologies. Locally available - yet unrelated- technologies can offer different opportunities for breakthrough inventions with potential to shift the global technology trajectories. Third, for middle- and low-income countries, domestic markets for renewables help utilize both local and global knowledge. The domestically related capabilities are also more important in these countries in facilitating early adoptions of breakthrough inventions.