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A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details The emergence of innovation systems in new locations: theoretical explorations and an in-depth case study of wind energy technologies in Ireland, 1990-2014 Cian O'Donovan Submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy SPRU { Science Policy Research Unit University of Sussex November 2016 iii UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX Cian O'Donovan, Doctor of Philosophy in Science and Technology Policy Studies The emergence of innovation systems in new locations: theoretical explorations and an in-depth case study of wind energy technologies in Ireland, 1990-2014 Summary This thesis is about the processes of creating renewable electricity systems in new locations. Specifically it addresses the challenges and drivers of building-up renewable energy system in a `fast follower' country, Ireland. With increasing scientific, political, civil society and private sector agreement on the need to reduce green-house gas emissions from the provision of electricity, the rolling out of complex, renewable electricity systems from countries in which initial system building activities have taken place to others is an important issue. The primary research question posed is `what explains the growth of the wind electricity system in Ireland?' This question is reflected upon by asking `what does the Irish experience tell us about why and how these systems spread to new locations?' The thesis addresses an innovation studies audience, making a theoretical contribution to the field of sustainability transitions. It contributes to recent research integrating theor- ies from human geography by offering new insights on how location influences building of large scale renewable electricity systems in new jurisdictions. It contributes findings about the rapid development of the Irish wind system that challenge two dominant perspectives; roll-out in Ireland has been driven by EU policy push and the development of the industry is fundamentally about the extent of national subsidies. We find both perspectives are partial; what they omit is likely to be essential to reproducing the Irish experience. This thesis takes as its unit of analysis the wind energy system itself, and using a `technological innovation system' framework, examines and evaluates the structure of the system; the complex arrangement of institutions, actors and technologies; and the dynamic innovation processes or `functions' of the system. An inquiry into the substantive histor- ical contexts of the development of the system make possible insights into the locational characteristics and relations within and between the system; drivers, barriers and influ- ences of direction of the system processes; and the contexts in which decisions are made and technological change takes place. The thesis finds the development of a renewable electricity system in new locations is simultaneously heavily influenced by transnational dimensions of system actors relations and institutions, and shows that while the direction of the emergent technological pathway is influenced at multiple spatial and governance levels, legitimation of the technology is highly localised. iv Acknowledgements `Acknowledgements' is insufficient as a title under which to thank my doctoral supervisors, Adrian Smith and Ed Steinmueller, for their assistance. To borrow Heaney's words, \I`ve no spade to follow men like them"1. I hope only that my squat pen has reflected their guidance, given freely and generously in formal and informal settings, through example as well as word. Thank you. To Frank who helped set me on my way, and Jake who came through the same departure lounge, special thanks also. It has been a privilege to study and work at SPRU. It has also been hugely enjoyable, made doubly so by Rob, Roberto, Phil and Sabine in Room 325. This thesis has benefited from conversations with Karoline, Lucy, Ralitsa, Tom´asand others. And I have benefited from discussion, debates and dinners with Edwin, Ruth, Diego, Puay, Rose, Nikki, Pip, Jim, Hamed, Claire, Sandra, Paula, Saurabh, Maria, Tommaso, Andy, Tim, Mariana, Annie, Caetano and Nicola. I gained enormously from teaching, thank you to Florian, Adrian Ely, Gordon and many students for the opportunity. Thank you to Johan to Janet, Joy and other colleagues in the School, and to John and Grace at the DTC for the help along the way. I am also grateful to the people of the United Kingdom and the Economic and Social Research Council for the award of funding2, again it is a privilege. I gained greatly from interactions, critique and conversations with those outside of SPRU also. In particular, interactions with colleagues in Zurich were invaluable, Volker, Joern and Jochen and via ETH, conversations with Raghu. In Ireland, I am extremely grateful for everyone who took time to talk or email with me. Special thanks to John, Brian and the staff at SEAI who provided me with guidance and access to some of their data. Also to Eleanor and John who opened up their contact books to me at an important stage. Along the way, two organisations provided me with welcome distraction. Special thanks to David and the staff and members at 38 Degrees for holding on as long as you did, and then letting go. To Siobh´anand Hannah and all my colleagues at Uplift who I'm still trying to keep up with. Your work is an inspiration. To Ron and Ona in St. Jean, for the food and debate. Huge thanks to my sisters, M´eadhbh, Fionnuala and Sinead for explicit and implicit support along the way (the distractions were useful). And to my mother and father, for the press cuttings, links, opinions, the numerous welcome homes and the underlying support. Finally, to Olivia, for whom ideas are so central, I hope there are some useful ones here. Thanks for coming to the seaside and for everything else. 1From `Digging' by Heaney (1966) 2ESRC reference 1093315 v Contents List of Tables ix List of Figures xi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background motivations.................................2 1.2 Academic relevance and audience............................4 1.3 Research questions....................................7 1.4 Contributions of the thesis................................8 1.5 Overview of the thesis..................................9 2 Research context and background 10 2.1 Ireland, turnkey technologies and the grid....................... 11 2.2 Industry, firms and finance............................... 19 2.3 The electricity market and energy policies....................... 24 2.4 Historic decisions, processes, and contingencies.................... 30 3 Relevant research literature 34 3.1 Explaining technical change............................... 35 3.1.1 Renewable energy technologies and systems.................. 35 3.1.2 From socio-technical systems to innovation systems.............. 37 3.1.3 The geography of innovation systems...................... 39 3.1.4 Diffusion of renewable energy technologies................... 41 3.1.5 Technology transfer and internationalisation.................. 43 3.2 Technological innovation systems............................ 45 3.2.1 The TIS framework............................... 45 3.2.2 The scheme of analysis.............................. 47 3.2.3 Structure analysis: actors and networks.................... 50 3.2.4 Structure analysis: institutions and alignment................. 53 3.3 System function analysis................................. 57 3.3.1 Mapping patterns of system functions..................... 57 3.3.2 Creating knowledge............................... 60 vi 3.3.3 Diffusing knowledge............................... 61 3.3.4 Influencing the direction of the search..................... 63 3.3.5 Entrepreneurial activity............................. 65 3.3.6 Forming markets................................. 66 3.3.7 Legitimising activities.............................. 68 3.3.8 Mobilising resources............................... 71 3.4 System level analysis................................... 73 3.4.1 Evaluative perspectives on system functionality................ 73 3.4.2 Locating inducement and blocking mechanisms................ 75 3.4.3 A framework for research and thesis hypotheses................ 76 4 Research design and analytic strategy 80 4.1 Research design and method............................... 81 4.1.1 The case method................................. 81 4.1.2 Process theory and narrative methods..................... 82 4.1.3 Narratives and system activity......................... 85 4.2 The case evidence.................................... 87 4.2.1 Sources and collection of data.......................... 87 4.2.2 Locating and constructing narrative...................... 92 4.3 Operationalising the framework............................. 94 4.3.1 Focusing the analysis............................... 94 4.3.2 Structural analysis................................ 94 4.3.3 Summarising the analytic strategy....................... 97 4.3.4 Function analysis and narrative