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Marketing Renewable Energy through Geopolitics: Solar Farms in Israel

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  • Itay Fischhendler
  • Daniel Nathan
  • Dror Boymel

Abstract

Renewable energy technology (RET) currently faces many barriers that hinder its effective integration into established energy systems. As a result, various advocacy mechanisms are often needed to market RET effectively, including the expression of geopolitical benefits associated with RET development, a tactic that is said to elevate the strategic power position of RET within the energy politics game. However, no studies examine how, when, and by whom geopolitical argumentation is constructed for marketing RET. This article addresses this research gap by examining publicized planning and parliamentarian protocols on the promotion of solar energy in the Israeli Negev Desert from 2001 through 2012. The analysis finds that RET is marketed through geopolitics as an enhancement of energy independence and as a platform for regional cooperation. Geopolitics was voiced mostly in political venues by politicians, after external and internal contextual events that hindered RET development. Many linguistic devices, such as narratives and simple binary relations, were used to justify the potential geopolitical benefits of RET to decision-makers, often through rhetoric grounded in power, ideology, and geography.

Suggested Citation

  • Itay Fischhendler & Daniel Nathan & Dror Boymel, 2015. "Marketing Renewable Energy through Geopolitics: Solar Farms in Israel," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(2), pages 98-120, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:14:y:2014:i:4:p:98-120
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Vakulchuk, Roman & Overland, Indra & Scholten, Daniel, 2020. "Renewable energy and geopolitics: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    2. Timothy Fraser & Lily Cunningham & Amos Nasongo, 2021. "Build Back Better? Effects of Crisis on Climate Change Adaptation Through Solar Power in Japan and the United States," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 21(1), pages 54-75, Winter.
    3. Omri Carmon & Itay Fischhendler, 2021. "A friction perspective for negotiating renewable energy targets: the Israeli case," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 54(2), pages 313-344, June.
    4. József Kádár & Martina Pilloni & Tareq Abu Hamed, 2023. "A Survey of Renewable Energy, Climate Change, and Policy Awareness in Israel: The Long Path for Citizen Participation in the National Renewable Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Lempinen, Hanna, 2019. "“Barely surviving on a pile of gold”: Arguing for the case of peat energy in 2010s Finland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 1-7.
    6. Yanay Farja & Mariusz Maciejczak, 2021. "Economic Implications of Agricultural Land Conversion to Solar Power Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Teschner, Na'ama & Alterman, Rachelle, 2018. "Preparing the ground: Regulatory challenges in siting small-scale wind turbines in urban areas," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 1660-1668.
    8. Noel, Lance & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2016. "Why Did Better Place Fail?: Range anxiety, interpretive flexibility, and electric vehicle promotion in Denmark and Israel," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 377-386.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    renewable energy technology; Israel; solar farms; geopolitics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources

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