The discourses of power – governmental approaches to business models in the renewable energy transition

Government policies continue to grapple with the direction of the energy industry as the uptake of variable renewable energy (VRE) continues to impact the viability of traditional energy utility business models. To understand current governmental discourses and approaches to planning for a rapidly changing sector, the discourses of 63 European and Australasian energy strategy documents were identified and analysed using content analysis. Findings identified 6 energy strategy discourses: Energy Scout, Energy Pontificator, Energy Muddler, Political Footballer, Pure Politics, and Neoliberal Energy Economics. The research uncovered that although all discourses are focused on providing energy-security, affordability and reliability to their citizens and industry, only some touch upon the need for new business models to deal with changing energy market landscapes. All discourses were found to rarely consider the future impact of increasing VRE on the business models of energy companies within the energy sector. This paper outlines proposed actions for policymakers of each of the 6 energy discourses to adapt their future energy strategies to better deal with the ongoing uptake of VRE. Ultimately, without viable business models to back it, the best renewable technology and policy will fall short of the transition required to develop a sustainable energy sector.