Exploring energy transition pathways: Insights from Denmark and Sweden

Exploring energy transition pathways: Insights from Denmark and Sweden

Kamp, L.M.
Vernay, A.-L.
Ravesteijn, W.

2010-10-28

This paper explores energy transition pathways that are broadly considered successful in terms of technology development and implementation. From that, it aims to derive insights for better understanding transition processes and to improve management and governance methods for steering these processes. Recently, theoretical work on transition processes has evolved from static representations of uniform unilinear pathways (e.g. Rotmans, 2003; Geels, 2002) into the recognition that transition pathways are of a more diverse nature – still unilinear but not uniform (a.o. Geels and Schot, 2007, Berkhout et al., 2004). This work however, is so far strongly theoretical and hypothetical and asks for an empirical underpinning of the notions presented. This paper aims to make such an empirical contribution. It presents case study material on the successful development of wind power in Denmark and the implementation of hydropower in Sweden. The data show that these transitions are not unilinear. Instead, they change in character through time and therefore show to escape the static typologies presented in Geels and Schot (2007) and Berkhout et al. (2004). Consequently, the paper argues, appropriate and successful management methods also have to vary in time, parallel to the changes in transition characteristics.

transition pathways
dynamics
transition management

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ac67ef79-86e6-40e1-a7b2-38baf82a14af

Conference proceedings

conference paper

(c) 2010 Kamp, L.M.; Vernay, A.-L.; Ravesteijn, W.