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Heterogeneous policies, heterogeneous technologies: The case of renewable energy

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  • Nicolli, Francesco
  • Vona, Francesco

Abstract

This paper investigates empirically the effect of market regulation and renewable energy policies on innovation activity in different renewable energy technologies. For the EU countries and the years 1980 to 2007, we built a unique dataset containing information on patent production in eight different technologies, proxies of market regulation and technology-specific renewable energy policies. Our main finding is that, compared to privatisation and unbundling, reducing entry barriers is a more significant driver of renewable energy innovation, but that its effect varies across technologies and is stronger in technologies characterised by potential entry of small, independent power producers. In addition, the inducement effect of renewable energy policies is heterogeneous and more pronounced for wind, which is the only technology that is mature and has high technological potential. Finally, ratification of the Kyoto protocol, which determined a more stable and less uncertain policy framework, amplifies the inducement effect of both energy policy and market liberalisation.

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  • Nicolli, Francesco & Vona, Francesco, 2016. "Heterogeneous policies, heterogeneous technologies: The case of renewable energy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 190-204.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:56:y:2016:i:c:p:190-204
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2016.03.007
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Renewable energy technology; Environmental innovation; Heterogeneous policy effect; Feed-in tariff; Renewable energy certificates; Entry barrier;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital

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