Leapfrogging in China's Renewable Electricity Development Pathway? The Roles of Policy Frameworks, Innovation and International Cooperation Partnerships in Fostering Renewable Electricity

The topic of this thesis is China's transition to a sustainable and low-carbon energy system based predominantly on renewable electricity supply. The specific focus is the concept of leapfrogging, frequently proposed as an alternative development strategy for China and other large developing countries to bypass the historical energy-intensive and polluting stages of development of the already industrialised countries. The thesis poses the question whether leapfrogging in China's renewable electricity sector occurred in the period from 2005 to 2010 and what the future potential for leapfrogging is. The specific technology focus of the thesis is renewable electricity and to some lesser degree renewable energy for heating. In this context five main areas have been looked at in detail: decentralised renewable energy technologies for rural development, innovative capacity and development of China's emerging renewable energy companies, application of renewable electricity and electricity saving technologies in China's cities, application and use of renewable technologies for large-scale electricity generation and China's national energy system as a whole. Two main bodies of theory are used as a conceptual framework to support the analysis: socio-technical innovation systems and global environmental governance with a focus on multi-stakeholder partnerships. This multi-disciplinary approach is applied to identify and analyse the roles of domestic policies, socio-technical innovation and international cooperation partnerships for renewable electricity development. In this context the thesis specifically analyses the effectiveness of China's national and local policy frameworks in facilitating transition processes and supporting innovation for renewable electricity development. Furthermore, the contribution of international cooperation initiatives and partnerships to renewable electricity development and leapfrogging is analysed. The research results show that leapfrogging in China's renewable electricity development to date has occurred only in some selected cases. Environmental leapfrogging, a reduction of environmental impacts through renewable energies replacing fossil fuels, has not yet occurred. China's policy frameworks and national targets have been crucial for fast development of renewable electricity technologies in the period 2005-2010. Further refinements and more ambition would be required to facilitate leapfrogging as national development strategy. China's institutional framework for energy governance is still fragmented, which impacts on the effectiveness and implementation of policies. International partnerships for technology transfer, capacity building and policy dialogues are a key element in the transition to an energy system based on renewables and are interlinked with China's national innovation system and support policies for renewable electricity. Despite China's rapid development of renewable electricity, further cooperation for technology transfer, specifically policy dialogues and capacity building, will be crucial in the future. On a conceptual level, the research shows that the concept and definitions of leapfrogging so far are still very vague and would require further research in order to develop the concept of leapfrogging into an analytical framework and practical guiding principle for developing countries.