IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v26y2013icp294-306.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A review of the European offshore wind innovation system

Author

Listed:
  • Wieczorek, Anna J.
  • Negro, Simona O.
  • Harmsen, Robert
  • Heimeriks, Gaston J.
  • Luo, Lin
  • Hekkert, Marko P.

Abstract

Offshore wind has the potential of becoming an important pillar of the future European energy system. It can contribute to policy objectives on climate change, energy security, green growth and social progress. However, the large potential of offshore wind does not automatically lead to a large share in future energy systems; neither does the emergent stage of development of the technology. Recent insights in innovation studies suggest that the success chances of technological innovations are, to a large extent, determined by how the surrounding system—the innovation system—is built up and how it functions. In this paper we assess the offshore wind innovation systems of four countries: Denmark, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany with the objective to provide recommendations for strengthening the overall European offshore wind innovation system. We use the Technological Innovation System (TIS) approach to analyse the system in 2011. Based on the analysis we identify a number of challenges that the European offshore wind sector faces. Some of them include: a serious deficiency of engineers; fragmented policies and poor alignment of national regulatory frameworks; cost of the technology and limited grid infrastructure. Since the problems hinder the entire system development we call for a systemic policy instrument that would support the innovation system around this technology and contribute to its wider diffusion in Europe.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:26:y:2013:i:c:p:294-306
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2013.05.045
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032113003481
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2013.05.045?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. Negro, Simona O. & Alkemade, Floortje & Hekkert, Marko P., 2012. "Why does renewable energy diffuse so slowly? A review of innovation system problems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3836-3846.
    2. Crawford, Sue E. S. & Ostrom, Elinor, 1995. "A Grammar of Institutions," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(3), pages 582-600, September.
    3. POPA Ion & CICEA Claudiu & DOBRIN Cosmin, 2012. "Innovational Strategies," Revista Economica, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 0(2), pages 284-289.
    4. Anna J. Wieczorek & Marko P. Hekkert, 2012. "Corrigendum to 'Systemic instruments for systemic innovation problems: A framework for policy makers and innovation scholars'," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 39(6), pages 842-842, December.
    5. Jacobsson, Staffan & Karltorp, Kersti, 2012. "Formation of competences to realize the potential of offshore wind power in the European Union," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 374-384.
    6. Jones, Christopher R. & Richard Eiser, J., 2010. "Understanding 'local' opposition to wind development in the UK: How big is a backyard?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 3106-3117, June.
    7. Lipsey, Richard G. & Carlaw, Kenneth I. & Bekar, Clifford T., 2005. "Economic Transformations: General Purpose Technologies and Long-Term Economic Growth," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199290895.
    8. Prässler, Thomas & Schaechtele, Jan, 2012. "Comparison of the financial attractiveness among prospective offshore wind parks in selected European countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 86-101.
    9. O’Keeffe, Aoife & Haggett, Claire, 2012. "An investigation into the potential barriers facing the development of offshore wind energy in Scotland: Case study – Firth of Forth offshore wind farm," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3711-3721.
    10. Markard, Jochen & Truffer, Bernhard, 2008. "Technological innovation systems and the multi-level perspective: Towards an integrated framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 596-615, May.
    11. Anna J. Wieczorek & Marko P. Hekkert, 2012. "Systemic instruments for systemic innovation problems: A framework for policy makers and innovation scholars," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 39(1), pages 74-87, February.
    12. Jacobsson, Staffan & Karltorp, Kersti, 2013. "Mechanisms blocking the dynamics of the European offshore wind energy innovation system – Challenges for policy intervention," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1182-1195.
    13. Bergek, Anna & Jacobsson, Staffan & Carlsson, Bo & Lindmark, Sven & Rickne, Annika, 2008. "Analyzing the functional dynamics of technological innovation systems: A scheme of analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 407-429, April.
    14. ., 2012. "Innovation through transaction management," Chapters, in: Managing Transaction Costs in the Era of Globalization, chapter 8, pages 176-195, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Kieft, Alco & Harmsen, Robert & Hekkert, Marko P., 2020. "Toward ranking interventions for Technological Innovation Systems via the concept of Leverage Points," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    2. Konstantinos Karanasios & Paul Parker, 2018. "Explaining the Diffusion of Renewable Electricity Technologies in Canadian Remote Indigenous Communities through the Technological Innovation System Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-28, October.
    3. De Oliveira, Luiz Gustavo Silva & Negro, Simona O., 2019. "Contextual structures and interaction dynamics in the Brazilian Biogas Innovation System," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 462-481.
    4. Kristin Reichardt & Karoline S. Rogge & Simona Negro & Marko Hekkert, 2015. "Analyzing interdependencies between policy mixes and technological innovation systems: the case of offshore wind in Germany," Innovation Studies Utrecht (ISU) working paper series 15-04, Utrecht University, Department of Innovation Studies, revised Aug 2015.
    5. Jonas Heiberg & Bernhard Truffer, 2021. "The emergence of a global innovation system – a case study from the water sector," GEIST - Geography of Innovation and Sustainability Transitions 2021(09), GEIST Working Paper Series.
    6. Kim, Yeong Jae & Wilson, Charlie, 2019. "Analysing energy innovation portfolios from a systemic perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    7. Rohe, Sebastian & Oltmer, Marie & Wolter, Hendrik & Gmeiner, Nina & Tschersich , Julia, 2022. "Forever Niche: Why do organic vegetable varieties not diffuse?," Papers in Innovation Studies 2022/8, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    8. Alexandra Gottinger & Luana Ladu & Rainer Quitzow, 2020. "Studying the Transition towards a Circular Bioeconomy—A Systematic Literature Review on Transition Studies and Existing Barriers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-25, October.
    9. Raven, Rob & Walrave, Bob, 2020. "Overcoming transformational failures through policy mixes in the dynamics of technological innovation systems," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    10. Sebastian Rohe & Jannika Mattes, 2021. "What about the regional level? Regional configurations of Technological Innovation Systems," PEGIS geo-disc-2021_01, Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    11. van Rijnsoever, Frank J. & van den Berg, Jesse & Koch, Joost & Hekkert, Marko P., 2015. "Smart innovation policy: How network position and project composition affect the diversity of an emerging technology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 1094-1107.
    12. Walrave, Bob & Raven, Rob, 2016. "Modelling the dynamics of technological innovation systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1833-1844.
    13. Jonas Heiberg & Bernhard Truffer, 2021. "Overcoming the harmony fallacy: How values shape the course of innovation systems," GEIST - Geography of Innovation and Sustainability Transitions 2021(03), GEIST Working Paper Series.
    14. Mohammad Esmailzadeh & Siamak Noori & Alireza Aliahmadi & Hamidreza Nouralizadeh & Marcel Bogers, 2020. "A Functional Analysis of Technological Innovation Systems in Developing Countries: An Evaluation of Iran’s Photovoltaic Innovation System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    15. Bento, Nuno & Fontes, Margarida, 2019. "Emergence of floating offshore wind energy: Technology and industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 66-82.
    16. Andersson, Johnn & Perez Vico, Eugenia & Hammar, Linus & Sandén, Björn A., 2017. "The critical role of informed political direction for advancing technology: The case of Swedish marine energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 52-64.
    17. Nilsson, Magnus & Sia-Ljungström, Clarissa, 2013. "The Role of Innovation Intermediaries in Innovation Systems," 2013 International European Forum, February 18-22, 2013, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 164741, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    18. Mohammadreza Zolfagharian & Bob Walrave & A. Georges L. Romme & Rob Raven, 2020. "Toward the Dynamic Modeling of Transition Problems: The Case of Electric Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-23, December.
    19. Matthijs Janssen, 2016. "What bangs for your bucks? Assessing the design and impact of transformative policy," Innovation Studies Utrecht (ISU) working paper series 16-05, Utrecht University, Department of Innovation Studies, revised Dec 2016.
    20. Minh, Thai Thi, 2019. "Unpacking the systemic problems and blocking mechanisms of a regional agricultural innovation system: An integrated regional-functional-structural analysis," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 268-280.

    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:26:y:2013:i:c:p:294-306. 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.