The fragility of regional energy transitions

Chlebna, Camilla; Mattes, Jannika

doi:10.1016/j.eist.2020.07.009

Cited by 41 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…There has been increasing attention to how a better understanding of the spatial dimensions that shape energy systems offers insights into factors that influence energy transitions. While the geography of energy transitions continues to mature [20,21], a variety of contributions have emphasised the role that local and regional institutional settings play in influencing the pace and scope of sustainability transitions [22][23][24][25]. Also, a substantial body of literature has focussed on innovation and local/regional capabilities for developing new growth paths [26,27], in which regions emerge as significant sites for innovation and experimentation [28][29][30][31][32], where objectives other than climate change, such as employment, may be achieved [33].…”

Section: The Regional Development Framing Of Renewable Energy Deployment and Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy-relevant insights for regional renewable energy deployment

Laurentis

Pearson

2021

Energ Sustain Soc

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Background The paper explores how regional actors engage with energy systems, flows and infrastructures in order to meet particular goals and offers a fine-tuned analysis of how differences arise, highlighting the policy-relevant insights that emerge. Methods Using a novel framework, the research performs a comparative case study analysis of three regions in Italy and two of the devolved territories of the UK, Wales and Scotland, drawing on interviews and documentary analysis. Results The paper shows that acknowledging the socio-materialities of renewable energy allows a fine-tuned analysis of how institutions, governance and infrastructure can enable/constrain energy transitions and policy effectiveness at local and regional levels. The heuristic adopted highlights (i) the institutions that matter for renewable energy and their varied effects on regional renewable energy deployment; (ii) the range of agencies involved in strategically establishing, contesting and reproducing institutions, expectations, visions and infrastructure as renewable energy deployment unfolds at the regional level and (iii) the nature and extent of infrastructure requirements for and constraints on renewable energy delivery and how they affect the regional capacity to shape infrastructure networks and facilitate renewable energy deployment. The paper shows how the regions investigated developed their institutional and governance capacity and made use of targets, energy visions and spatial planning to promote renewable energy deployment. It shows that several mediating factors emerge from examining the interactions between regional physical resource endowments and energy infrastructure renewal and expansion. The analysis leads to policy-relevant insights into what makes for renewable energy deployment. Conclusion The paper contributes to research that demonstrates the role of institutional variations and governance as foundations for geographical differences in the adoption of renewable energy, and carries significant implications for policy thinking and implementation. It shows why and how policy-makers need to be more effective in balancing the range of goals/interests for renewable energy deployment with the peculiarities and specificities of the regional contexts and their infrastructures. The insights presented help to explain how energy choices and outcomes are shaped in particular places, how differences arise and operate in practice, and how they need to be taken into account in policy design, policy-making and implementation.

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Section: The Regional Development Framing Of Renewable Energy Deployment and Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy-relevant insights for regional renewable energy deployment

Laurentis

Pearson

2021

Energ Sustain Soc

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“…In Oldenburg, the political subsystem played a crucial part in setting up this configuration in an early phase, but it receded as the system matured. Instead, the networked governance of this regional configuration is coordinated by both formal intermediaries and informal relationships between actors (Chlebna and Mattes, 2020). Diverse organizations jointly undertake regional R&D. This regularly involves funding and project partners from the federal, national, or European level.…”

Section: Regional Configurations Within Technological Innovation Syst...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All regional configurations are potentially fragile in the light of disruptions within the overarching transition (Chlebna and Mattes, 2020). As they are confronted with specific system challenges, a one-sizefits-all approach to regional policy would not suffice (Toedtling and Trippl, 2005).…”

Section: Market Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While a well-working interaction is one of the strengths of this type, the inclusive approach can potentially result in loosing focus. As actors tend to feel safe and rely on their comfortable position, network initiatives may lose their attractiveness and hence prove less durable than they seem to be at first glance (Chlebna and Mattes, 2020). This relates to a lock-in situation in which actors do not move beyond those activities that have already been safely established, which might reduce innovativeness.…”

Section: Market Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What about the regional level? Regional configurations of Technological Innovation Systems

Rohe

Mattes

2022

Geoforum

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Regional innovation policy must not only strive for economic competitiveness, but also push novel and more sustainable technological solutions. The complex and multi-scalar process of developing and diffusing new technologies is captured by the Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework. However, the approach neglects regional variety and lacks a nuanced and systematic understanding of how technological change plays out differently across places. We thus complement TIS with insights from the literature on Regional Innovation Systems (RIS), which offers manifold comparisons and typologies of institutional contexts for regional innovation. We argue that three ideal-typical configurations -localist-grassroots, interactive-networked, and globalist-dirigiste -exist at the intersection between a technological and specific regional innovation system. We discuss how these regional configurations contribute differently to the development and functioning of the overall TIS and point to the innovation-related challenges they are confronted with. We illustrate our conceptual arguments with a brief comparative case study on three regions in the TIS for onshore wind energy. Overall, this paper contributes to the literature on the geographies of innovation and sustainability transitions, introduces a framework for analyzing regional variety in TIS, and enables more fine-grained and place-specific policy interventions directed at fostering specific technologies at the regional level.

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“…The agriculture-climate change relationship has an important dimension that requires special attention, also in regard to the reviewed literature sources. Energy transition is a fundamental and multidimensional problem of modern civilization [50][51][52][53][54]. Particularly, its solution is aimed at sustainable development of energy systems and industry in the whole, broad implementation of clean, innovative energy-related technologies, more attention to renewable energy sources, etc.…”

Section: Relevance To Energy Transitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change, Agriculture, and Energy Transition: What Do the Thirty Most-Cited Articles Tell Us?

et al. 2020

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The thirty journal articles dealing with the relationship between climate change and agriculture (the latter is treated in general, i.e., as an industry) and which have gained >1000 citations are thought to be sources of the most precious information on the noted relationship. They were published between 1994 and 2011. Many are authored by West European and North American experts. The most-cited articles are attributed to three major themes and eight particular topics, and the best-explored topic is the influence of climate change on agriculture. Moreover, they provide some essential information about the strong relation of both agriculture and climate change to energy transition. The general frame characterizing complex interactions of climate change and agriculture development is proposed on the basis of the most-cited works, but it needs further detail, improvement, and update. The considered articles are basic sources with historical importance.

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The fragility of regional energy transitions

Cited by 41 publications

References 49 publications

Policy-relevant insights for regional renewable energy deployment

Policy-relevant insights for regional renewable energy deployment

What about the regional level? Regional configurations of Technological Innovation Systems

Climate Change, Agriculture, and Energy Transition: What Do the Thirty Most-Cited Articles Tell Us?

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