IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v150y2021ics1364032121007942.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Constructing efficient portfolios of low-carbon technologies

Author

Listed:
  • Kim, Yeong Jae
  • Cho, Seong-Hoon
  • Sharma, Bijay P.

Abstract

To foster the development, multiple sources of uncertainty associated with benefits and costs of innovation portfolios from low carbon investment need to be considered. We apply Modern Portfolio Theory to construct efficient portfolios of different low-carbon technology fields. The empirical framework is applied to four countries (i.e., Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France) for six low-carbon technology fields (i.e., renewable energy, smart grid, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, carbon capture and storage, and nuclear power) categorized based on priority areas of the EU's 2008 Strategic Energy Technology Plan. The four main findings are: (1) the highest priority technology fields with the minimum risk portfolio are nuclear power in Germany, renewable energy in the United Kingdom, and energy efficiency in Italy and France, (2) the highest priority technology field with the maximum risk portfolio is sustainable transport in Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, and smart grid in Italy, (3) sustainable transport declines in priority as risk decreases in the portfolios of Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, while smart grid declines in priority as risk decreases in the portfolio in Italy, and (4) the presence of negative correlations over time among expected Return on Investments across energy technology fields improves using the Modern Portfolio Theory framework as risk diversification strategy. Our analysis provides efficient portfolios of low-carbon technologies, which can help shape the overall strategy and coordinate each country's comparative advantage by proposing new laws and policies, monitoring existing ones, and managing budget.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Yeong Jae & Cho, Seong-Hoon & Sharma, Bijay P., 2021. "Constructing efficient portfolios of low-carbon technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:150:y:2021:i:c:s1364032121007942
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.111515
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032121007942
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111515?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ioannou, Anastasia & Angus, Andrew & Brennan, Feargal, 2017. "Risk-based methods for sustainable energy system planning: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 602-615.
    2. Andrew Ang & Geert Bekaert, 2002. "International Asset Allocation With Regime Shifts," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 1137-1187.
    3. Weber, K. Matthias & Rohracher, Harald, 2012. "Legitimizing research, technology and innovation policies for transformative change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1037-1047.
    4. Westner, Günther & Madlener, Reinhard, 2010. "The benefit of regional diversification of cogeneration investments in Europe: A mean-variance portfolio analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 7911-7920, December.
    5. Pérez Odeh, Rodrigo & Watts, David & Negrete-Pincetic, Matías, 2018. "Portfolio applications in electricity markets review: Private investor and manager perspective trends," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 192-204.
    6. Antoine Dechezleprêtre & Matthieu Glachant, 2014. "Does Foreign Environmental Policy Influence Domestic Innovation? Evidence from the Wind Industry," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 58(3), pages 391-413, July.
    7. Laura Díaz Anadón & Erin Baker & Valentina Bosetti, 2017. "Publisher Correction: Integrating uncertainty into public energy research and development decisions," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(12), pages 980-980, December.
    8. MacKerron, Gordon, 1992. "Nuclear costs : Why do they keep rising?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(7), pages 641-652, July.
    9. Kim, Yeong Jae & Wilson, Charlie, 2019. "Analysing energy innovation portfolios from a systemic perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    10. Iyer, Gokul & Hultman, Nathan & Eom, Jiyong & McJeon, Haewon & Patel, Pralit & Clarke, Leon, 2015. "Diffusion of low-carbon technologies and the feasibility of long-term climate targets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 90(PA), pages 103-118.
    11. Roques, Fabien A. & Newbery, David M. & Nuttall, William J., 2008. "Fuel mix diversification incentives in liberalized electricity markets: A Mean-Variance Portfolio theory approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 1831-1849, July.
    12. Roques, Fabien & Hiroux, Céline & Saguan, Marcelo, 2010. "Optimal wind power deployment in Europe--A portfolio approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 3245-3256, July.
    13. Dungey, Mardi & Fry, Renee & Gonzalez-Hermosillo, Brenda & Martin, Vance, 2006. "Contagion in international bond markets during the Russian and the LTCM crises," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 1-27, April.
    14. Laura Diaz Anadon & Erin Baker & Valentina Bosetti & Lara Aleluia Reis, 2016. "Expert views - and disagreements - about the potential of energy technology R&D," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 677-691, June.
    15. David Popp, 2019. "Environmental Policy and Innovation: A Decade of Research," NBER Working Papers 25631, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Wieczorek, Anna J. & Negro, Simona O. & Harmsen, Robert & Heimeriks, Gaston J. & Luo, Lin & Hekkert, Marko P., 2013. "A review of the European offshore wind innovation system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 294-306.
    17. Anna Lou Abatayo & Valentina Bosetti & Marco Casari & Riccardo Ghidoni & Massimo Tavoni, 2020. "Solar geoengineering may lead to excessive cooling and high strategic uncertainty," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117(24), pages 13393-13398, June.
    18. Elena Verdolini & Marzio Galeotti, 2009. "At Home and Abroad: An Empirical Analysis of Innovation and Diffusion in Energy-Efficient Technologies," Working Papers 2009.123, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    19. Harry Markowitz, 1952. "Portfolio Selection," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 7(1), pages 77-91, March.
    20. Avinash K. Dixit & Robert S. Pindyck, 1994. "Investment under Uncertainty," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 5474.
    21. Blanford, Geoffrey J., 2009. "R&D investment strategy for climate change," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(Supplemen), pages 27-36.
    22. H. Brett Humphreys & Katherine T. McClain, 1998. "Reducing the Impacts of Energy Price Volatility Through Dynamic Portfolio Selection," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), pages 107-131.
    23. Böhringer, Christoph & Cuntz, Alexander & Harhoff, Dietmar & Asane-Otoo, Emmanuel, 2017. "The impact of the German feed-in tariff scheme on innovation: Evidence based on patent filings in renewable energy technologies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 545-553.
    24. Dornan, Matthew & Jotzo, Frank, 2015. "Renewable technologies and risk mitigation in small island developing states: Fiji’s electricity sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 35-48.
    25. Stirling, Andy, 2010. "Multicriteria diversity analysis: A novel heuristic framework for appraising energy portfolios," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 1622-1634, April.
    26. David Popp, 2019. "Environmental policy and innovation: a decade of research," CESifo Working Paper Series 7544, CESifo.
    27. Bosetti, Valentina & Tavoni, Massimo, 2009. "Uncertain R&D, backstop technology and GHGs stabilization," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(Supplemen), pages 18-26.
    28. deLlano-Paz, Fernando & Calvo-Silvosa, Anxo & Antelo, Susana Iglesias & Soares, Isabel, 2017. "Energy planning and modern portfolio theory: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 636-651.
    29. Kileber, Solange & Parente, Virginia, 2015. "Diversifying the Brazilian electricity mix: Income level, the endowment effect, and governance capacity," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1180-1189.
    30. Fernando de Llano Paz & Anxo Calvo Silvosa & Martín Portos García, 2012. "The Problem of Determining the Energy Mix: from the Portfolio Theory to the Reality of Energy Planning in the Spanish Case," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 3-30.
    31. Huang, Yun-Hsun & Wu, Jung-Hua, 2008. "A portfolio risk analysis on electricity supply planning," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 627-641, February.
    32. Bar-Lev, Dan & Katz, Steven, 1976. "A Portfolio Approach to Fossil Fuel Procurement in the Electric Utility Industry," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 31(3), pages 933-947, June.
    33. Mazzucato, Mariana & Semieniuk, Gregor, 2018. "Financing renewable energy: Who is financing what and why it matters," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 8-22.
    34. Davis, Graham A. & Owens, Brandon, 2003. "Optimizing the level of renewable electric R&D expenditures using real options analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(15), pages 1589-1608, December.
    35. Popp, David, 2019. "Environmental Policy and Innovation: A Decade of Research," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 13(3-4), pages 265-337, September.
    36. repec:ers:journl:v:xv:y:2012:i:sie:p:3-30 is not listed on IDEAS
    37. Shimon Awerbuch, 2006. "Portfolio-Based Electricity Generation Planning: Policy Implications For Renewables And Energy Security," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 11(3), pages 693-710, May.
    38. Allan, Grant & Eromenko, Igor & McGregor, Peter & Swales, Kim, 2011. "The regional electricity generation mix in Scotland: A portfolio selection approach incorporating marine technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 6-22, January.
    39. Chalvatzis, Konstantinos J. & Rubel, Keagan, 2015. "Electricity portfolio innovation for energy security: The case of carbon constrained China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 267-276.
    40. Jano-Ito, Marco A. & Crawford-Brown, Douglas, 2017. "Investment decisions considering economic, environmental and social factors: An actors' perspective for the electricity sector of Mexico," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 92-106.
    41. Kelly Sims Gallagher & Laura Diaz Anadon & Ruud Kempener & Charlie Wilson, 2011. "Trends in investments in global energy research, development, and demonstration," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(3), pages 373-396, May.
    42. Ivan Haščič & Jérôme Silva & Nick Johnstone, 2015. "The Use of Patent Statistics for International Comparisons and Analysis of Narrow Technological Fields," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2015/5, OECD Publishing.
    43. Renn, Ortwin & Marshall, Jonathan Paul, 2016. "Coal, nuclear and renewable energy policies in Germany: From the 1950s to the “Energiewende”," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 224-232.
    44. Zdenka Myslikova & Kelly Sims Gallagher, 2020. "Mission Innovation is mission critical," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 5(10), pages 732-734, October.
    45. David Popp, 2002. "Induced Innovation and Energy Prices," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 160-180, March.
    46. Laura Díaz Anadón & Erin Baker & Valentina Bosetti, 2017. "Integrating uncertainty into public energy research and development decisions," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(5), pages 1-14, May.
    47. Verdolini, Elena & Galeotti, Marzio, 2011. "At home and abroad: An empirical analysis of innovation and diffusion in energy technologies," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 119-134, March.
    48. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Chen, Ming-Ying, 2018. "Evaluating the dynamic performance of energy portfolios: Empirical evidence from the DEA directional distance function," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 269(1), pages 64-78.
    49. Hélène Dernis & Mosahid Khan, 2004. "Triadic Patent Families Methodology," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2004/2, OECD Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kim, Yeong Jae, 2022. "The countervailing effects of stocks of knowledge on low-carbon innovation through international collaboration," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Zeng, Ximei & Zhou, Zhongbao & Gong, Yeming & Liu, Wenbin, 2022. "A data envelopment analysis model integrated with portfolio theory for energy mix adjustment: Evidence in the power industry," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ioannou, Anastasia & Angus, Andrew & Brennan, Feargal, 2017. "Risk-based methods for sustainable energy system planning: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 602-615.
    2. Zhu, Zhishuang & Liao, Hua & Liu, Li, 2021. "The role of public energy R&D in energy conservation and transition: Experiences from IEA countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    3. deLlano-Paz, Fernando & Calvo-Silvosa, Anxo & Antelo, Susana Iglesias & Soares, Isabel, 2017. "Energy planning and modern portfolio theory: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 636-651.
    4. Paulino Martinez-Fernandez & Fernando deLlano-Paz & Anxo Calvo-Silvosa & Isabel Soares, 2018. "Pollutant versus non-pollutant generation technologies: a CML-analogous analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 199-212, December.
    5. David Hémous & Morten Olsen, 2021. "Directed Technical Change in Labor and Environmental Economics," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 13(1), pages 571-597, August.
    6. Doblinger, Claudia & Surana, Kavita & Li, Deyu & Hultman, Nathan & Anadón, Laura Díaz, 2022. "How do global manufacturing shifts affect long-term clean energy innovation? A study of wind energy suppliers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    7. Pérez Odeh, Rodrigo & Watts, David & Flores, Yarela, 2018. "Planning in a changing environment: Applications of portfolio optimisation to deal with risk in the electricity sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3808-3823.
    8. Jano-Ito, Marco A. & Crawford-Brown, Douglas, 2017. "Investment decisions considering economic, environmental and social factors: An actors' perspective for the electricity sector of Mexico," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 92-106.
    9. Fuss, Sabine & Szolgayová, Jana & Khabarov, Nikolay & Obersteiner, Michael, 2012. "Renewables and climate change mitigation: Irreversible energy investment under uncertainty and portfolio effects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 59-68.
    10. deLlano-Paz, Fernando & Calvo-Silvosa, Anxo & Iglesias Antelo, Susana & Soares, Isabel, 2015. "The European low-carbon mix for 2030: The role of renewable energy sources in an environmentally and socially efficient approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 49-61.
    11. David Popp & Francesco Vona & Myriam Grégoire-Zawilski & Giovanni Marin, 2022. "The Next Wave of Energy Innovation: Which Technologies? Which Skills?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9878, CESifo.
    12. Dornan, Matthew & Jotzo, Frank, 2015. "Renewable technologies and risk mitigation in small island developing states: Fiji’s electricity sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 35-48.
    13. Paulino Martinez-Fernandez & Fernando deLlano-Paz & Anxo Calvo-Silvosa & Isabel Soares, 2019. "Assessing Renewable Energy Sources for Electricity (RES-E) Potential Using a CAPM-Analogous Multi-Stage Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-20, September.
    14. David Popp, 2020. "Promoting Clean Energy Innovation," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 17(04), pages 30-35, January.
    15. Zhang, Shuang & Zhao, Tao & Xie, Bai-Chen, 2018. "What is the optimal power generation mix of China? An empirical analysis using portfolio theory," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 522-536.
    16. Feng, Siyu & Lazkano, Itziar, 2022. "Innovation trends in electricity storage: What drives global innovation?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    17. Suzuki, Kengo & Uchiyama, Yohji, 2010. "Quantifying the risk of an increase in the prices of non-energy products by combining the portfolio and input-output approaches," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5867-5877, October.
    18. Zhang, Mingming & Tang, Yamei & Liu, Liyun & Zhou, Dequn, 2022. "Optimal investment portfolio strategies for power enterprises under multi-policy scenarios of renewable energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    19. Lara Aleluia Reis & Zoi Vrontisi & Elena Verdolini & Kostas Fragkiadakis & Massimo Tavoni, 2023. "A research and development investment strategy to achieve the Paris climate agreement," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    20. Hille, Erik & Althammer, Wilhelm & Diederich, Henning, 2020. "Environmental regulation and innovation in renewable energy technologies: Does the policy instrument matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:150:y:2021:i:c:s1364032121007942. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.