Suchergebnisse

Many hydrocarbon-rich countries have recognized the global shift towards renewable energy sources, and Russia is not an exception. Drawing on two strands of literature—technological innovation systems and the advocacy coalition framework—we investigate the roles of actors and coalitions in shaping the Russian renewable energy policy and explore why particular renewable energy sources have progressed more than others, and what the main reasons are for their sudden development. The results show that the more successful renewable energy industries are those that were promoted by influential actors from traditional energy industries. Moreover, these actors also promoted the specific design of support schemes for renewable energy policy in Russia. We discuss the importance of policy process theories for understanding energy transition studies and provide specific policy recommendations for policy creation in the renewables industry.

Global warming issues and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions are high on many political agendas, and many scientists urge immediate changes to existing energy systems. In order to limit the drastic effects of climate change, complex solutions should be found that affect various sectors such as energy, agriculture, waste management, and transport. The value chain segments of the biogas industry belong to the above-stated sectors and biogas production can play an important role in addressing pollution control from these sectors. Despite the enormous potential of biogas, its realisation is rather slow and heterogeneous. Therefore, this PhD thesis intends to advance knowledge of the biogas industry by identifying and assessing barriers and driving forces for its deployment. Besides the identification of common development factors of the biogas industry, this thesis provides an in-depth analysis of the biogas industry in Russia. Biogas technologies can become a useful solution since they not only provide clean energy but also solve the problem of waste, which itself is a rather painful topic for residents of Russia. Technological innovation system (TIS) framework is taken as a theoretical point of departure in this thesis. Technological innovation has often been perceived as an essential part of any solution to tackle grand sustainability challenges, and the TIS concept constitutes a detailed model for the emergence and diffusion of innovation by covering an elaborate set of key processes and focusing on blocking and inducement mechanisms. At the same time, little is known about innovation processes in non-Western countries and emerging economies that deal with transition processes. Therefore, this PhD thesis contributes to the TIS research community by investigating the biogas industry in Russia and applying the TIS approach. Building on the following theoretical and empirical scopes, this PhD thesis investigates three particular research questions related to (1) a complete picture of barriers and driving ...