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21 June 2011
GPPi researcher releases report on China’s political support for wind energy
In June 2011, GPPi Research Associate Mirjam Meissner published a report on China’s innovation policy and technological development in the wind energy sector. Titled Windenergie in China: Innovationspolitische Förderung und technologische Entwicklung, and published on the website China Analysis, the study is an in-depth analysis of China’s political efforts to support innovation in a sector that will be crucial for the country’s green and economically sustainable development.
The study analyzes the evolution of China’s political support for wind energy since the import of the first on-grid wind turbines in 1986. Beginning with an evaluation of the political plans and programs as well as of institutional and organizational changes, it examines how the political focus in China’s wind energy sector changed in phases and in correlation with changing political interests. Based on this analysis, Meissner argues that since 2006 China has pursued a coordinated innovation policy to support the development of wind energy technology. The ultimate aim of this innovation policy is to strengthen China’s capacity for indigenous innovation in strategic sectors such as wind energy. This is achieved through various economic and non-economic measures, which have been shaping the technological development and innovation system of China’s wind energy sector substantially.
The author evaluates the success of this innovation policy through an in-depth analysis of the relevant actors of the innovation system for wind energy in China. The evaluation of technological sources and capabilities, research activities and collaboration, as well as education programs and regional clusters provides a comprehensive overview of the effects, characteristics and shortcomings of China’s innovation policy and reveals the growing capabilities of China’s innovation system for wind energy technology.
To download the study, please visit the website of China Analysis.
For further information, please contact Mirjam Meissner.