The following paper, "Assessing the Sectorial Effects of the Deployment of Renewable Energy Technologies: When Product Identity Matters," will be published soon in the Annual Review of the Portuguese Journal of Science. For now, it can be accessed via the link at the bottom of the page.
Investment in renewable energy technologies (RET) produces impacts on economic activity and job creation that are fundamental to increasing their social acceptability. This paper proposes a methodology to assess the transformative impact of a new energy technology, specifically the effect of onshore wind deployment on the existing industry. The authors combine contributions from literatures such as sustainability transitions, socioeconomic impacts of RET, and economic complexity. They develop a conceptual approach to how technology deployment can lead to changes in the industrial structure, centered on the notion of product heterogeneity. This approach is applied to the case of wind energy in Portugal (a successful fast follower), compared to three other main wind energy producers (Spain, Denmark, and Germany). The results show a relationship between the deployment of technology and the sophistication and competitiveness of the “cloud of products” composing the industrial value chain. The authors propose measures for assessing the effects of energy technology innovations on the industrial structure, with relevance to policy.
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