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The role of policy in shielding, nurturing and enabling offshore wind in The Netherlands (1973–2013)

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  • Verhees, Bram
  • Raven, Rob
  • Kern, Florian
  • Smith, Adrian

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that many renewable energy technologies cannot (yet) compete with incumbent (fossil fuel) options e.g. in terms of price. Transitions literature argues that sustainable innovations can nevertheless break out of their ‘niches’ if properly shielded, nurtured and empowered. Most studies using this perspective have focused on how innovation champions engage in shielding, nurturing and empowering (SNE) activities: none have so far focused specifically on the role that policy plays in relation to these three processes. This paper therefore aims to analyze the way in which policy constrains and enables the shielding, nurturing and empowering of renewable energy innovations. To do so, it presents a qualitative review of the development of offshore wind power (OWP) in The Netherlands over the past four decades. Based on interpretation of a wide variety of written sources (academic histories, reports, policy documents, parliamentary debate transcripts, news media) and nine semi-structured interviews, it discerns six periods of relative stability in the history of Dutch offshore wind. It then analyzes the effects of various policies on the shielding, nurturing and empowering of offshore wind in these periods. The paper contributes to transitions literature (1) by providing an analysis of how policies can enable and constrain the shielding, nurturing and empowering of renewable energy innovations, and (2) by bringing together, for the first time, fragmented accounts of the surprisingly long history of Dutch offshore wind development and implementation. Both contributions are timely, given the recent reprioritization of OWP on the Dutch policy agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Verhees, Bram & Raven, Rob & Kern, Florian & Smith, Adrian, 2015. "The role of policy in shielding, nurturing and enabling offshore wind in The Netherlands (1973–2013)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 816-829.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:47:y:2015:i:c:p:816-829
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.02.036
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    3. Chinmoy, Lakshmi & Iniyan, S. & Goic, Ranko, 2019. "Modeling wind power investments, policies and social benefits for deregulated electricity market – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 364-377.
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    5. Laatsit, Mart & Grillitsch, Markus & Fünfschilling, Lea, 2022. "Great expectations: the promises and limits of innovation policy in addressing societal challenges," Papers in Innovation Studies 2022/9, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    6. van der Loos, Adriaan & Normann, Håkon E. & Hanson, Jens & Hekkert, Marko P., 2021. "The co-evolution of innovation systems and context: Offshore wind in Norway and the Netherlands," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
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    8. Wei Gao & Daojuan Wang, 2021. "Will Increasing Government Subsidies Promote Open Innovation? A Simulation Analysis of China’s Wind Power Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Ahmad, Tanveer & Madonski, Rafal & Zhang, Dongdong & Huang, Chao & Mujeeb, Asad, 2022. "Data-driven probabilistic machine learning in sustainable smart energy/smart energy systems: Key developments, challenges, and future research opportunities in the context of smart grid paradigm," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    10. Maria José Sousa, 2022. "Digital Technologies and Public Policies Applied to Green Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, November.
    11. Rentier, Gerrit & Lelieveldt, Herman & Kramer, Gert Jan, 2023. "Institutional constellations and policy instruments for offshore wind power around the North sea," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    12. Mari Martiskainen, 2016. "The role of community leadership in the development of grassroots innovations," SPRU Working Paper Series 2016-10, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    13. Rosenbloom, Daniel & Berton, Harris & Meadowcroft, James, 2016. "Framing the sun: A discursive approach to understanding multi-dimensional interactions within socio-technical transitions through the case of solar electricity in Ontario, Canada," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1275-1290.
    14. Fatimah, Yuti Ariani & Raven, Rob P.J.M. & Arora, Saurabh, 2015. "Scripts in transition: Protective spaces of Indonesian biofuel villages," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 1-13.
    15. Kern, Florian & Verhees, Bram & Raven, Rob & Smith, Adrian, 2015. "Empowering sustainable niches: Comparing UK and Dutch offshore wind developments," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 344-355.

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