Development of sustainable energy technologies in changing institutional and socio-political contexts :
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
First Statement of Responsibility
Sentić, Anton
Title Proper by Another Author
the case of combined heat and power in the UK
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Coles, Anne-Marie ; Piterou, Athena
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
University of Greenwich
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2017
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Body granting the degree
University of Greenwich
Text preceding or following the note
2017
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
The emergence and development of innovative, sustainable ideas and their interaction with incumbent regimes is one of the key focal areas of Transitions Research. While many authors publishing in the field focus on analysing successful transition processes, a smaller group of scholars reviews less successful transitions, aiming to understand the reasons for the partial or complete failure of these processes. In this thesis, the author will follow in the footsteps of the latter group, utilizing two analytical approaches from the broader field of Transitions Studies in order to investigate the case of combined heat and power (CHP) technologies in the United Kingdom. CHP in the UK has been the focus of multiple studies from different viewpoints, using a variety of theories and analytical approaches. The story of CHP has often been conflated with the development of district heating systems although, more recently, scholars have taken a broader perspective on the utilization of CHP technologies. This thesis will attempt to take a holistic approach to the CHP industry, investigating a broad range of CHP application areas. The author will use a two-step analysis, starting with a system-focused technological innovation systems analysis of the CHP industry and then broadening the scope of the enquiry to include a broader context, using niche and regime concepts derived from the Multi-level perspective and Strategic Niche Management. The approach is based on a joint framework proposed in the literature (Markard and Truffer, 2008) but rarely applied on empirical cases. Besides investigating the reasons behind the peculiar performance of CHP in the UK compared to other European countries (Weber, 2014), the author will also address gaps in theoretical developments related to the niche concept and niche typology (Raven, 2006; Smith and Raven, 2012), and the applicability of transition pathways concepts (Geels et al., 2016) for multi-regime transitions.