Specialization Patterns for the Development of Renewable Energy Generation Technologies across Countries

Abstract

Renewable energy is a global priority, as it addresses the goals of carbon neutrality and plays an important role in reshaping energy mixes. The shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources (solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, hydropower, wind, and biomass) must be performed without negatively affecting economic growth or our quality of life. Renewable energy-generating technologies (patents) and their implementation (commercialization and usage) play essential roles, as they are the main steps in the process of the transition from conventional to emerging technologies. The decreased usage of fossil fuels, the objectives of the European Green Deal, and other constraints have pushed countries to seek innovative solutions. Depending on the available resources, these solutions involve a wide variety of approaches and may involve the emergence of specific patterns. This study addresses the identification of the cross-country features of specialization patterns in developing renewable energy generation technologies. The methods used are the analysis of the evolution of patent numbers with country fractional value, the application of the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index to renewable energy generation, and the use of the multivariate clustering spatial statistics tool combined with spatial representation. The findings show the differences between countries at the global level and, more specifically, at the EU level, by clustering the countries based on their specialization pattern of renewable energy generation technologies. EU countries belong to the same cluster at the international level, and the deep clustering model shows four patterns. Moreover, the findings highlighted the country profile to be used as a competitive advantage and the group of countries with the same or similar pattern that could be used as partners in implementing new technologies or as models for future actions. The geographical distribution of the specialization offers a picture of potential market development for patents and renewable energy technologies. The countries specialization is a hotspot for decision makers for further developments and policy design support.

Keywords

• renewable energy
• regional specialization
• development patterns
• cross-country analysis