Abstract
Smart grids (SGs) have been increasingly regarded as an enabling technology for post-Fukushima energy transitions. SGs require new policies and market infrastructures to deliver their potential, but the roles of governments in increasingly market based energy systems have not been well conceptualised. Advancing the socio-technical energy transitions literature, this paper proposes five functions of government-market dynamics in an integrated framework, and applies the framework in the field of smart grid developments in two Asian countries, China and Japan. Based on interviews with 38 key stakeholders, this study has three main findings. First, both countries have in common that the five functions of government-market dynamics are critical in developing, diffusing and utilising SG technologies. Second, China and Japan exhibit distinctive characteristics in the ways that government actors engage market actors. While the Chinese approach is more hierarchical, fragmented and homogenous led by two monopolised grid companies, the Japanese approach is a relatively systemic, bottom-up, and heterogeneous system mainly operated through four large-scale SG demonstration projects. Third, national contextual differences, most notably the advancement of electricity market reforms, explain the variety of the dynamics and outcomes. This paper concludes that consideration of optimising government-market dynamics is vital to create conductive conditions for realising the potential that SGs can offer in energy transitions.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 148-168 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Geoforum |
Volume | 108 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2020 |
Scopus Subject Areas
- Sociology and Political Science
User-Defined Keywords
- China
- Governance
- Government-market dynamics
- Japan
- Smart grids
- Socio-technical transitions
Access to Document
Other files and links
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Conceptualising government-market dynamics in socio-technical energy transitions: A comparative case study of smart grid developments in China and Japan'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Cite this
- APA
- Author
- BIBTEX
- Harvard
- Standard
- RIS
- Vancouver
}
Conceptualising government-market dynamics in socio-technical energy transitions : A comparative case study of smart grid developments in China and Japan. / MAH, Daphne Ngar-yin.
In: Geoforum, Vol. 108, 01.2020, p. 148-168.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Conceptualising government-market dynamics in socio-technical energy transitions
T2 - A comparative case study of smart grid developments in China and Japan
AU - MAH, Daphne Ngar-yin
N1 - Funding Information: The author gratefully acknowledge the support of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC)?s General Research Fund, which funded the research on which this paper is based as part of the research project titled ?Deliberative participation, trust, and social learning for sustainable energy transitions (SETs): A comparative study of Japan, South Korea, and China? (Project No.: HKBU 12602717), and the Hong Kong Baptist University's Social Sciences Faculty Research Grant for funding the project titled ?The diversity and critical processes of urban energy transitions through community engagement: An international comparison of London, Freiburg (Germany), New York City, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Foshan (China)? (Project No.: FRG2/17-18/096). The author also wish to thank interviewees for participating in the study, and Darren Cheung and Mandy Wong for their research support. We would also like to acknowledge our appreciation to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on our paper. Any errors and omissions in this paper are entirely those of the author. Funding Information: Code Background of interviewee Date of interview Location Format of interview JP/01 A senior executive, Policy Planning Division, Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Dept., Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) 15th June 2015 Tokyo FI JP/02 A senior executive, Smart Community Policy office, Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Department, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) 15th June 2015 Tokyo FI JP/03 A professor (specialises in digital grids), Graduate Course of Technology Management for Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo 16th June 2015 Tokyo FI JP/04 An associate professor (specialises in digital grids), Department of Systems Innovation, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo 16th June 2015 Tokyo FI JP/05 A senior executive, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USA 17th June 2015 Tokyo FI JP/06 A senior executive, Smart Community Department, Energy and Environment Centre, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development (NEDO) 18th June 2015 Tokyo FI JP/07 A senior executive, Energy and Environment Headquarters, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation) 18th June 2015 Tokyo FI JP/08 A representative, Sekisui Heim (a house builder) 18th June 2015 Yokohama FI JP/097 An associate professor, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University Three interview meetings: on 28th November 2016; 6th February 2018; 9th February 2018 Kyoto FI JP/10 A senior director, Public Foundation of Kansai Research Institute; A former senior executive, Department of Policy Planning, Kyoto Prefectural Government Two interview meetings: on 29th November 2016; 8th February 2018 Kyoto FI JP/11 A general manager (planning), Kansai Electric Power Three interview meetings conducted on 29th November 2016; 14th January 2017; and 6th February 2018 Osaka, Kyoto FI JP/12 A senior executive, Advanced Grid Strategy Group, Community Energy Division, Kansai Electric Power 29th November 2016 Osaka FI JP/13 An associate Professor, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University; a director and Secretary General, East Asian Association of Environmental and Resource Economics 7th February 2018 Kyoto FI JP/14/2018 A researcher, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) (renewable energy policy analysis group) 23rd August 2018 Hong Kong FI Funding Information: The author gratefully acknowledge the support of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC)’s General Research Fund , which funded the research on which this paper is based as part of the research project titled “Deliberative participation, trust, and social learning for sustainable energy transitions (SETs): A comparative study of Japan, South Korea, and China” (Project No.: HKBU 12602717 ), and the Hong Kong Baptist University’s Social Sciences Faculty Research Grant for funding the project titled “The diversity and critical processes of urban energy transitions through community engagement: An international comparison of London, Freiburg (Germany), New York City, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Foshan (China)” (Project No.: FRG2/17-18/096 ). The author also wish to thank interviewees for participating in the study, and Darren Cheung and Mandy Wong for their research support. We would also like to acknowledge our appreciation to two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on our paper. Any errors and omissions in this paper are entirely those of the author. Appendix A Funding Information: Code Background of interviewee Date of interview Location Format of interview CH/01 A senior executive of an energy-related consulting company, Beijing 23rd July 2014 Beijing FI CH/02 A middle-rank consultant of an energy-related consulting company, Beijing 23rd July 2014 Beijing FI CH/03 A Senior executive of the State Grid Energy Research Institute of SGCC 23rd July 2014 Beijing FI CH/04 A senior government official in the Department of Renewable and New Energy, NDRC 23rd July 2014 Beijing FI CH/05 A senior advisor in Energy Research Institute of NDRC 24th July 2014 Beijing FI CH/06 A researcher in Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences 24th July 2014 Beijing FI CH/07 A senior executive in State Grid Energy Research Institute of SGCC 24th July 2014 Beijing FI CH/08 A middle rank executive in State Grid Energy Research Institute of SGCC 24th July 2014 Beijing FI CH/09 A professor in the School of Electrical Engineering & Automation of Tianjin University 25th July 2014 Tianjin FI CH/10 A researcher in the School of Electrical Engineering & Automation of Tianjin University 25th July 2014 Tianjin FI CH/11 A senior executive in a green building research institute in Tianjin 25th July 2014 Tianjin FI CH/12 A senior executive in Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences 7th January 2015 Guangdong FI CH/13 A researcher in Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences 7th January 2015 Guangdong FI CH/14 A senior executive in Smart Grid Institute of CSG *supplementary data was provided by the interviewee through email correspondence, dated 12th May 2016 7th January 2015 Guangdong FI/EC CH/15 A researcher in Smart Grid Institute of CSG 7th January 2015 Guangdong FI CH/16 A researcher in Smart Grid Institute of CSG 7th January 2015 Guangdong FI CH/17 A middle-rank executive of a solar technology company in Zhuhai 14th March 2015 Guangdong FI CH/18 A professor at The Lab of Solar PV and Mico-grid Applied Technology, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences 3rd March 2016 Guangdong FI CH/19 A senior executive (specialising in demand response programmes), Foshan Power Supply Bureau, Guangdong Power Grid Corporation, CSG 24th March 2017 Guangdong FI CH/20 A senior executive (specialising in energy saving), Foshan Power Supply Bureau, Guangdong Power Grid Corporation, CSG 24th March 2017 Guangdong FI CH/21 A senior executive, the customer service centre, Foshan Power Supply Bureau, Guangdong Power Grid Corporation, CSG 24th March 2017 Guangdong FI CH/22 A senior executive, solar energy company A in Foshan 24th March 2017 Guangdong FI CH/23 A project manager, solar energy company B in Foshan 24th March 2017 Guangdong FI CH/24 A senior executive of an independent power producer (who has experience in investing in solar PV projects in China) 14th April 2018 Hong Kong FI *In order to keep our interviewees anonymous, this study indicates interviews by number. The first two letters indicate the location, the two digits indicate the interview numbers, followed by the year of interviews. The interview formats included face-to-face interview (FI) and email correspondence (EC). Appendix B Funding Information: The Chinese government has relied on the state-owned utilities to provide some key SG-related public-good services. Firstly, in relation to R&D activities , the two grid companies act as the key implementors of most SG pilot projects funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the top government agency in charge of China’s national S&T programmes. SGCC led key pilot projects include the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city project and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo pilot ( IEA, 2015; The Trade Council, 2013 ). By 2011 SGCC alone implemented approximately 240 SG pilot projects which ranged from connecting wind power plants to metering households ( The Trade Council, 2013 ). In recent year, the involvement of SGCC has become even more institutionalised through a new funding scheme “The NSFC-SGCC Smart Grid Federation Foundation”. The scheme has been jointly launched by SGCC and the National Natural Science Foundation of China since 2017 ( NSFC, 2017; Wang, 2017 ). In terms of standardisation, since SGCC, CSG and the Big Five have established a strong internal supply chain, they have taken the lead in developing their own specifications and standards for the SG industry ( Mah et al., 2017; Zpryme, 2014 ; Interviewee: CH/01/2014). In terms of data and information sharing, a National Demand-side-management Platform was launched in 2014 as a major state-led initiative ( JSDSM, 2018 ). This Jiangsu-based platform involves collaboration between the Economic and Information Commission of Jiangsu Province, other government agencies, SGCC and CSG. The objective of this Platform is to facilitate sharing of electricity consumption data (Interviewee: CH/03/2014). The institutionalisation of this Platform has been strengthened recently as the NDRC introduce a revised administrative measure in 2017. That administrative measure emphasises the use of big data analytics as major approaches to engaging electricity end-users and developing new energy projects and services ( NDRC, 2017 ). However, it is important to note that the extent to which information can be effectively consolidated, shared, and enabled big data analytics has remained an area of concern. Some academics encountered difficulties in requesting electricity data from power utilities. An academic commented that: “We filed a request to the Tianjin Municipal Electric Power Company (a subsidiary of SGCC) for electricity data but they cannot provide the data to us. There are management problems associated with data collection. Moreover, even though the data are collected, no one uses them. The power company also has no idea how to analyse the data” (Interviewee: CH/09/2014). 4.1.4
PY - 2020/1
Y1 - 2020/1
N2 - Smart grids (SGs) have been increasingly regarded as an enabling technology for post-Fukushima energy transitions. SGs require new policies and market infrastructures to deliver their potential, but the roles of governments in increasingly market based energy systems have not been well conceptualised. Advancing the socio-technical energy transitions literature, this paper proposes five functions of government-market dynamics in an integrated framework, and applies the framework in the field of smart grid developments in two Asian countries, China and Japan. Based on interviews with 38 key stakeholders, this study has three main findings. First, both countries have in common that the five functions of government-market dynamics are critical in developing, diffusing and utilising SG technologies. Second, China and Japan exhibit distinctive characteristics in the ways that government actors engage market actors. While the Chinese approach is more hierarchical, fragmented and homogenous led by two monopolised grid companies, the Japanese approach is a relatively systemic, bottom-up, and heterogeneous system mainly operated through four large-scale SG demonstration projects. Third, national contextual differences, most notably the advancement of electricity market reforms, explain the variety of the dynamics and outcomes. This paper concludes that consideration of optimising government-market dynamics is vital to create conductive conditions for realising the potential that SGs can offer in energy transitions.
AB - Smart grids (SGs) have been increasingly regarded as an enabling technology for post-Fukushima energy transitions. SGs require new policies and market infrastructures to deliver their potential, but the roles of governments in increasingly market based energy systems have not been well conceptualised. Advancing the socio-technical energy transitions literature, this paper proposes five functions of government-market dynamics in an integrated framework, and applies the framework in the field of smart grid developments in two Asian countries, China and Japan. Based on interviews with 38 key stakeholders, this study has three main findings. First, both countries have in common that the five functions of government-market dynamics are critical in developing, diffusing and utilising SG technologies. Second, China and Japan exhibit distinctive characteristics in the ways that government actors engage market actors. While the Chinese approach is more hierarchical, fragmented and homogenous led by two monopolised grid companies, the Japanese approach is a relatively systemic, bottom-up, and heterogeneous system mainly operated through four large-scale SG demonstration projects. Third, national contextual differences, most notably the advancement of electricity market reforms, explain the variety of the dynamics and outcomes. This paper concludes that consideration of optimising government-market dynamics is vital to create conductive conditions for realising the potential that SGs can offer in energy transitions.
KW - China
KW - Governance
KW - Government-market dynamics
KW - Japan
KW - Smart grids
KW - Socio-technical transitions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075441577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.07.025
DO - 10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.07.025
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075441577
VL - 108
SP - 148
EP - 168
JO - Geoforum
JF - Geoforum
SN - 0016-7185
ER -