IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v139y2020ics0301421520300823.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Between markets, politics and path-dependence: Explaining the growth of solar and wind power in six Central and Eastern European countries

Author

Listed:
  • Ćetković, Stefan
  • Buzogány, Aron

Abstract

This article contributes to the recent scholarly attempts towards bridging different energy studies perspectives in explaining the change of energy systems. Informed by political, socio-technical and techno-economic perspectives on energy transitions, we focus on explaining the divergent solar and wind power deployment rates across six Central and Eastern European countries. We suggest and test the proposition that the interplay of four key factors has shaped this development: state capacities, relations with Russia, technological lockin and electricity import dependency. We find that the countries relations towards Russia, the level of nuclear power lock-in and the state intervention in the energy sector have been instrumental in affecting the adoption of wind and solar power. The integrated framework and the findings presented in the article should encourage future energy transition research to capture and trace the interplay among different factors in an integrated and comparable manner.

Suggested Citation

  • Ćetković, Stefan & Buzogány, Aron, 2020. "Between markets, politics and path-dependence: Explaining the growth of solar and wind power in six Central and Eastern European countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:139:y:2020:i:c:s0301421520300823
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111325
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421520300823
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111325?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. Helm, Dieter, 2002. "Energy policy: security of supply, sustainability and competition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 173-184, February.
    2. Geels, Frank W. & Kern, Florian & Fuchs, Gerhard & Hinderer, Nele & Kungl, Gregor & Mylan, Josephine & Neukirch, Mario & Wassermann, Sandra, 2016. "The enactment of socio-technical transition pathways: A reformulated typology and a comparative multi-level analysis of the German and UK low-carbon electricity transitions (1990–2014)," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 896-913.
    3. Fadly, Dalia & Fontes, Francisco, 2019. "Geographical proximity and renewable energy diffusion: An empirical approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 422-435.
    4. Schaffer, Lena Maria & Bernauer, Thomas, 2014. "Explaining government choices for promoting renewable energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 15-27.
    5. Cherp, Aleh & Jewell, Jessica, 2014. "The concept of energy security: Beyond the four As," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 415-421.
    6. Andreas Goldthau & Benjamin K. Sovacool, 2016. "Energy Technology, Politics, and Interpretative Frames: Shale Gas Fracking in Eastern Europe," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 16(4), pages 50-69, November.
    7. Geels, Frank W., 2004. "From sectoral systems of innovation to socio-technical systems: Insights about dynamics and change from sociology and institutional theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6-7), pages 897-920, September.
    8. Best, Rohan & Burke, Paul J., 2018. "Adoption of solar and wind energy: The roles of carbon pricing and aggregate policy support," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 404-417.
    9. Stefan Ćetković & Aron Buzogány, 2016. "Varieties of capitalism and clean energy transitions in the European Union: When renewable energy hits different economic logics," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(5), pages 642-657, July.
    10. Stefan Ćetković & Aron Buzogány, 2019. "The Political Economy of EU Climate and Energy Policies in Central and Eastern Europe Revisited: Shifting Coalitions and Prospects for Clean Energy Transitions," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 124-138.
    11. Perpiña Castillo, Carolina & Batista e Silva, Filipe & Lavalle, Carlo, 2016. "An assessment of the regional potential for solar power generation in EU-28," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 86-99.
    12. James Meadowcroft, 2009. "What about the politics? Sustainable development, transition management, and long term energy transitions," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 42(4), pages 323-340, November.
    13. repec:cup:buspol:v:20:y:2018:i:04:p:467-491_00 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Tomas Maltby, 2015. "Between Amity, Enmity and Europeanisation: EU Energy Security Policy and the Example of Bulgaria's Russian Energy Dependence," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 67(5), pages 809-830, May.
    15. Kern, Florian & Smith, Adrian & Shaw, Chris & Raven, Rob & Verhees, Bram, 2014. "From laggard to leader: Explaining offshore wind developments in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 635-646.
    16. Kivimaa, Paula & Kern, Florian, 2016. "Creative destruction or mere niche support? Innovation policy mixes for sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 205-217.
    17. Oscar W Fitch-Roy & David Benson & Bridget Woodman, 2019. "Policy Instrument Supply and Demand: How the Renewable Electricity Auction Took over the World," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(1), pages 81-91.
    18. Filippos Proedrou, 2018. "Russian Energy Policy and Structural Power in Europe," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 70(1), pages 75-89, January.
    19. Goldthau, Andreas, 2008. "Rhetoric versus reality: Russian threats to European energy supply," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 686-692, February.
    20. Florian Kern & Adrian Smith & Chris Shaw & Rob Raven & Bram Verhees, 2014. "From laggard to leader: Explaining offshore wind developments in the UK," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-02, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    21. Cherp, Aleh & Vinichenko, Vadim & Jewell, Jessica & Suzuki, Masahiro & Antal, Miklós, 2017. "Comparing electricity transitions: A historical analysis of nuclear, wind and solar power in Germany and Japan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 612-628.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bartłomiej Bajan & Joanna Łukasiewicz & Aldona Mrówczyńska-Kamińska, 2021. "Energy Consumption and Its Structures in Food Production Systems of the Visegrad Group Countries Compared with EU-15 Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-24, July.
    2. Singh, Mudit Kumar, 2023. "What is state capacity and how does it matter for energy transition?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    3. Żuk, Piotr & Buzogány, Aron & Mišík, Matúš & Osička, Jan & Szulecki, Kacper, 2023. "Semi-peripheries in the world-system? The Visegrad group countries in the geopolitical order of energy and raw materials after the war in Ukraine," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    4. Napolitano, Oreste & Foresti, Pasquale & Kounetas, Konstantinos & Spagnolo, Nicola, 2023. "The impact of energy, renewable and CO2 emissions efficiency on countries’ productivity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    5. Elena Calvo-Gallardo & Nieves Arranz & Juan Carlos Fernandez de Arroyabe, 2022. "Contribution of the Horizon2020 Program to the Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization in Coal Regions in Transition: The Spanish Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-28, February.
    6. Loewen, Bradley, 2022. "Revitalizing varieties of capitalism for sustainability transitions research: Review, critique and way forward," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).

    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. McMeekin, Andrew & Geels, Frank W. & Hodson, Mike, 2019. "Mapping the winds of whole system reconfiguration: Analysing low-carbon transformations across production, distribution and consumption in the UK electricity system (1990–2016)," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(5), pages 1216-1231.
    2. Jasminka Young & Aleksandar Macura, 2023. "Forging Local Energy Transition in the Most Carbon-Intensive European Region of the Western Balkans," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-29, February.
    3. Matthew Lockwood & Caroline Kuzemko & Catherine Mitchell & Richard Hoggett, 2017. "Historical institutionalism and the politics of sustainable energy transitions: A research agenda," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(2), pages 312-333, March.
    4. Tsouri, Maria & Hanson, Jens & Normann, Håkon Endresen, 2021. "Does participation in knowledge networks facilitate market access in global innovation systems? The case of offshore wind," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(5).
    5. Edmondson, Duncan L. & Kern, Florian & Rogge, Karoline S., 2019. "The co-evolution of policy mixes and socio-technical systems: Towards a conceptual framework of policy mix feedback in sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(10).
    6. Kivimaa, Paula & Kern, Florian, 2016. "Creative destruction or mere niche support? Innovation policy mixes for sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 205-217.
    7. Geels, Frank W. & Kern, Florian & Fuchs, Gerhard & Hinderer, Nele & Kungl, Gregor & Mylan, Josephine & Neukirch, Mario & Wassermann, Sandra, 2016. "The enactment of socio-technical transition pathways: A reformulated typology and a comparative multi-level analysis of the German and UK low-carbon electricity transitions (1990–2014)," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 896-913.
    8. Geels, Frank W. & Ayoub, Martina, 2023. "A socio-technical transition perspective on positive tipping points in climate change mitigation: Analysing seven interacting feedback loops in offshore wind and electric vehicles acceleration," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    9. Kriechbaum, Michael & Posch, Alfred & Hauswiesner, Angelika, 2021. "Hype cycles during socio-technical transitions: The dynamics of collective expectations about renewable energy in Germany," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    10. Attila Havas & Doris Schartinger & K. Matthias Weber, 2022. "Innovation Studies, Social Innovation, and Sustainability Transitions Research: From mutual ignorance towards an integrative perspective?," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 2227, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    11. Stefan Ćetković & Aron Buzogány & Miranda Schreurs, 2016. "Varieties of clean energy transitions in Europe: Political-economic foundations of onshore and offshore wind development," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-18, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Weigelt, Carmen & Lu, Shaohua & Verhaal, J. Cameron, 2021. "Blinded by the sun: The role of prosumers as niche actors in incumbent firms’ adoption of solar power during sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    13. Svensson, Oscar & Nikoleris, Alexandra, 2018. "Structure reconsidered: Towards new foundations of explanatory transitions theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 462-473.
    14. Heiberg, Jonas & Truffer, Bernhard & Binz, Christian, 2022. "Assessing transitions through socio-technical configuration analysis – a methodological framework and a case study in the water sector," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(1).
    15. Zhao, Zhen-Yu & Chang, Rui-Dong & Chen, Yu-Long, 2016. "What hinder the further development of wind power in China?—A socio-technical barrier study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 465-476.
    16. Phil Johnstone & Andy Stirling, 2015. "Comparing Nuclear Power Trajectories inGermany And the UK: From ‘Regimes’ to ‘Democracies’ in Sociotechnical Transitions and Discontinuities," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-18, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    17. Landry, Paulina, 2020. "The EU strategy for gas security: Threats, vulnerabilities and processes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    18. Contesse, Maria & Duncan, Jessica & Legun, Katharine & Klerkx, Laurens, 2021. "Unravelling non-human agency in sustainability transitions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    19. Haddad, Carolina R. & Bergek, Anna, 2023. "Towards an integrated framework for evaluating transformative innovation policy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    20. Stefan Cetkovic & Aron Buzogány & Miranda Schreurs, 2016. "Varieties of clean energy transitions in Europe Political-economic foundations of onshore and offshore wind development," WIDER Working Paper Series 018, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

    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:enepol:v:139:y:2020:i:c:s0301421520300823. 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/locate/enpol .

    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.