Haverkamp, Keno Sun Montano; (2024) Winds of Change: Cost Reductions and Shifting Demand Regimes in the European Wind Turbine Manufacturing Industry. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This PhD analyses various aspects of the renewable energy transition and the industrial dynamics of the underlying sectors. On the basis of reduced costs of renewable energy technologies, the energy transition has become a huge opportunity for economic growth and job creation. Despite the overall expansion of wind energy projects in many countries, European wind turbine OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) have struggled with increased cost competition and squeezed profit margins since the switch from feed-in tariffs to renewable energy auctions in the EU in 2017. The PhD researches the drivers of cost reductions of wind energy technologies and the determinants of industrial dynamics and market leadership. To do so, various aspects of cycles linked to demand, technological change and organisational reconfiguration will be analysed. Each empirical chapter will examine these elements from distinct theoretical perspectives, providing a comprehensive analysis of how they interact and influence one another. Given the multifaceted and multi-tiered nature of this research as well as limitations to quantitative data availability, a mixed-methods and case study research design that triangulates quantitative analyses with in-depth semistructured interviews will be used. Overall, the thesis shows how changes in the European Demand Regime for wind turbines have on the one hand driven cost reductions and on the other hand affected industrial dynamics in the wind energy sector to which wind turbine OEMs had to adapt.

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