Geert Verbong

Multi-regime interactions in the Dutch energy sector : the case of combined heat and power technologies in the Netherlands (1970-2000)

Abstract This article is about multi-regime interactions in energy sectors. Multi-regime interactions are interactions between fairly well defined and separated systems of production, intermediation and use. It is argued that multi-regime interactions have been underexposed in previous innovation literature, yet it is hypothesized that multi-regime interactions are critically important for understanding transition processes, and in particular for current transitions in European energy sectors. Based on a case study on combined heat and power (CHP) in the Netherlands, a typology is developed of four types of interaction: competition, symbiosis, integration and spill over.

Ruling Out Innovations - Technological Regimes, Rules and Failures: The Cases of Heat Pump Power Generation and Bio-gas Production in the Netherlands

Summary Technological regimes are a common concept in innovation literature. We elaborate the concept of technological regimes in terms of rules. Rules tell actors how to behave, while at the same time their behaviour is a source for rules creation. We distinguish different types of rules for different actor groups. These rules can be embedded in both variation and selection environment and they can be hierarchal. Our hypothesis is that rules will generally guide actors into historically grown paths and directions. They tend to favour the incumbent technology over radical innovations. Our two case studies, power generation from heat pumps and bio-gas production from manure, seem to confirm this hypothesis. Both, potentially radical, innovations failed in the Netherlands, while they succeeded elsewhere. The heat pump case clearly endorses our hypothesis that rules from the incumbent regime do guide the development of innovations into specific directions. In the manure digestion case, changing rules from the selection environment directly interacted with the variation environment. Also, the innovation process occurred within the context of multiple regimes. Overall, the notion of rules seems a promising approach to explain success or failure of radical innovations, but a more extended elaboration of the relative importance ofdifferent rules is still needed.

Transitions in energy systems

This chapter examines the theme of transitions in energy systems. It assesses the literature that explores the genesis, growth, and management of transitions. This literature provides a multi-level framework for large-scale, transformative change in technology systems, involving a hierarchy of changes from experiments to niches to technology regimes. The chapter also covers specific innovation systems and experiments in the energy sector that may have the potential for larger impact and could lead to new niches or technology regimes. These experiments include technology-driven innovations in generation and end-use; system-level innovations that could reconfigure existing systems; and business model innovations centered on energy service delivery. Experiments in generation include hybrid systems, where multiple primary energy sources help address issues such as intermittency. Experiments in end-use include technology options for the simultaneous delivery of multiple energy services, or energy and non-energy services. System-level experiments include innovations in storage, distributed generation, and the facilitation of energy efficiency by effectively monetizing savings in energy use. In some of these experiments, technology can lead to changing relationships between actors or changing roles for actors; for example, the process of consumers becoming producers is seen in small-scale biogas projects. These changing relationships present both challenges and opportunities for influencing the transition process. The chapter also discusses policy and institutional issues that affect transitions. Finally, it is seen that although technological research, development, and innovation are important, a wide-scale, equitable, and accessible transformation to energy systems for sustainable development needs to be tackled as a socio-political issue.