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The Emergence of the Norwegian Solar Photovoltaic Industry in a Regional Perspective

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  • Antje Klitkou
  • Lars Coenen

Abstract

Norway has built up a remarkable solar photovoltaic (PV) industry over the last 15 years with central industrial players such as the Renewable Energy Corporation Group and Elkem. Norwegian companies are mainly active in manufacturing materials for solar cells, but also other elements of the value chain for solar PVs, such as manufacturing of solar cells, recycling of silicone and of solar cells have become a business target. Analyses of industry and innovation dynamics in renewable energy technology have been dominated by the technological innovation systems (TISs) approach. This paper seeks to complement existing TIS analyses by drawing explicitly on the regional innovation system approach to analyse the spatially differentiated development of solar PV industry in Norway. The historical account of the Norwegian PV industry and network analyses of its knowledge dynamics display a marked spatial pattern of both intra- and inter-regional industrial development. With its origin in Oslo-based Elkem, an industrial branching process took place which partly reinforced the Oslo region as a localized cluster for the PV industry and partly initiated the built-up of industrial activities in other regions. The latter process illustrates how PV industry emergence drew on knowledge spillovers from incumbent process industries through related variety. In contrast, the former drew to a great extent on urbanization advantages because of the regional knowledge infrastructure in and around Oslo. While this spatial unevenness perhaps has facilitated the built-up of industry, it also poses considerable limitations and challenges in the longer term.

Suggested Citation

  • Antje Klitkou & Lars Coenen, 2013. "The Emergence of the Norwegian Solar Photovoltaic Industry in a Regional Perspective," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(11), pages 1796-1819, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eurpls:v:21:y:2013:i:11:p:1796-1819
    DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2012.753691
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Marcel Bednarz & Tom Broekel, 2020. "Pulled or pushed? The spatial diffusion of wind energy between local demand and supply [Constructing regional advantage: platform policies based on related variety and differentiated knowledge base," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 29(4), pages 893-916.
    2. Xue, Yan & Lindkvist, Carmel Margaret & Temeljotov-Salaj, Alenka, 2021. "Barriers and potential solutions to the diffusion of solar photovoltaics from the public-private-people partnership perspective – Case study of Norway," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    3. Bi, Kexin & Huang, Ping & Wang, Xiangxiang, 2016. "Innovation performance and influencing factors of low-carbon technological innovation under the global value chain: A case of Chinese manufacturing industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 275-284.
    4. Breul Moritz & Broekel Tom & Brachert Matthias, 2015. "Die Treiber der räumlichen Emergenz und Konzentration der Photovoltaik- Industrie in Deutschland," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 59(3), pages 133-150, December.
    5. Strupeit, Lars, 2017. "An innovation system perspective on the drivers of soft cost reduction for photovoltaic deployment: The case of Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 273-286.
    6. Jens Hanson & Markus Steen & Tyson Weaver & Håkon E. Normann & Gard H. Hansen, 2016. "Path creation through branching and transfer of complementary resources: the role of established industries for new renewable energy technologies," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20160310, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    7. Marina Van Geenhuizen & Pieter Stek, 2015. "Mapping innovation in the global photovoltaic industry: a bibliometric approach to cluster identification and analysis," ERSA conference papers ersa15p697, European Regional Science Association.
    8. Michaela Trippl & Simon Baumgartinger-Seiringer & Alexandra Frangenheim & Arne Isaksen & Jan Ole Rypestøl, 2019. "Green path development, asset modification and agency: towards a systemic integrative approach," PEGIS geo-disc-2019_01, Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    9. Douglas R Gress, 2015. "Knowledge bases, regional innovation systems, and Korea's solar PV industry," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 33(6), pages 1432-1449, December.
    10. Maria A. Franco & Stefan N. Groesser, 2021. "A Systematic Literature Review of the Solar Photovoltaic Value Chain for a Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-35, August.
    11. Klitkou, Antje & Godoe, Helge, 2013. "The Norwegian PV manufacturing industry in a Triple Helix perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1586-1594.
    12. Jens Hanson, 2017. "Established industries as foundations for emerging technological innovation systems: The case of solar photovoltaics in Norway," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20170531, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    13. Mariano O. Birlain-Escalante & Jorge M. Islas-Samperio & Ángel de la Vega-Navarro & Arturo Morales-Acevedo, 2023. "Development and Upstream Integration of the Photovoltaic Industry Value Chain in Mexico," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-27, February.

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