Governance of Energy Innovations

Abstract

Innovation plays an important role in the transition towards a more sustainable energy system. The law is often thought of as an inhibiting factor for innovation. However, legal provisions may also serve to promote innovation. Laws which stipulate favourable conditions for renewable energy sources are an obvious example. Finally, existing laws will often not be suited to accommodate a new technology or business model, and the legislator may be slow in reacting to these new challenges. This increases the importance of government agencies as well as non-state governance.Therefore, a closer look at the governance of innovations in the energy sector seems warranted. This chapter will investigate how the legislator, regulatory agencies and private standard-setting bodies are responding to three different energy innovations: new renewable energy sources, new storage systems and smart grids. This chapter will serve not only to analyse commonalities and differences in the approach, but also to identify best practices.