Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
that renewable energy technology irms have found it diicult to make mar-
ket inroads, despite Japan being a world leader in a number of renewable
energy platforms.
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At the other extreme, government policy that is biased
toward wind power can foster links between academia and industry which
is instrumental in maximizing the beneits of a transition to wind power.
Perhaps the best example of this is wind power development in Denmark,
where government eforts to nurture stakeholder collaboration spawned
the development of a wind turbine manufacturing sector, fostered strate-
gies for attenuating community siting concerns and engendered investment
schemes to broaden ownership of wind farms.
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It appears from research that the structure of a nation's energy market
plays a substantial role in determining which energy technology networks
receive the most government support. In markets where conventional
energy irms are large and proitable, the network of advocates in support
of preserving the status quo tends to enjoy political and economic clout.
A prominent example of this is in the United States, where America's fossil
fuel lobbyists have successfully managed to ensure that a lion's share of pub-
lic energy R&D funding are consistently channeled to fossil fuel energy proj-
ects, such as clean coal or carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). his is
also true in Japan of its nuclear power industry, which has annually enjoyed
billions of dollars of public R&D support.
he lesson for policymakers is that successful difusion of any new energy
technology—including wind power—is enhanced by government eforts
to nurture a diverse network of actors, who work together to address and
resolve emergent problems. In Denmark's case, it has been contended that
government sponsored initiatives to accurately map wind power poten-
tial, enlist the support of municipal government planners, encourage the
transfer of technical knowledge between academics and entrepreneurs, and
encourage stakeholder collaboration to resolve emergent problems were the
principal factors underpinning the success of wind power development in
the nation.
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10.4 INFLUENTIAL ECONOMIC FACTORS
he case studies indicate that economic factors have by far the greatest sway
over the success of a nation's wind power development eforts. his should
not be surprising in a world that is driven largely by neo-classical economic
theory. he research presented in this topic indicates that there are at least
seven economic factors that inluence the efectiveness of wind power
