Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Social
Political
Figure 11.1
. he
Political SET
Model
power. In China citizens are also kept largely in the dark about energy sec-
tor developments, but this is not a problem for wind power development
because the government is committed to supporting wind power whether
the public consents or not. In short, information asymmetry is a barrier to
wind power development in Japan, but in China, it is not.
Second, the analysis of STEP forces is complicated because variables
within
each of these four contextual areas interact in unpredictable ways
due to the complexity of variable interrelations. Cause-and-efect links are
extensive which means that numerous positive and negative feedbacks cat-
alyze chaotic systemic evolution. For example Canada possesses a wealth
of hydropower capacity that suggests a high degree of grid resilience.
Furthermore, Canada boasts comparatively broad grid coverage so wind
power developers are aforded fairly easy access to the grid. In comparison,
the Chinese grid is less resilient, and wind power developers have far greater
challenges in connecting to regional grids. Normally this should suggest
that technological conditions in Canada are more conducive to supporting
wind power development. However, the current reality is that conditions
are more favorable in China because of another technological factor—elec-
tricity sector structure. Canadian utilities are structured to serve provinces.
Consequently, there is no incentive for hydropower rich provinces to share
peaking capacity in order to enhance wind power development in other
provinces. On the other hand, Chinese utilities are structured to serve
