Examining the Role of Disruptive Innovation in Renewable Energy Businesses from a Cross National Perspective

Hokey Min,Yohannes Haile

doi:10.3390/en14154447

Hokey Min, Yohannes Haile

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en14154447

Copy DOI

Abstract

With a growing demand for safe, clean, and affordable energy, countries across the world are now seeking to create and rapidly develop renewable energy (RE) businesses. The success of these businesses often hinges on their ability to translate RE into sustainable value for energy consumers and the multiple stakeholders in the energy industry. Such value includes low production costs due to an abundance of natural resources (e.g., wind, water, sunlight), and public health benefits from reduced environmental pollution. Despite the potential for value creation, many RE businesses have struggled to create affordable energy as abundant as that which is produced by traditional fossil fuels. The rationale being that traditional RE sources emanating from natural resources tend to rely on unpredictable weather conditions. Therefore, to help RE businesses deliver sustainable value, we should leverage disruptive innovation that is less dependent on natural resources. This paper is one of the first attempts to assess the impact of disruptive innovation on RE business performances based on the survey data obtained from multiple countries representing both emerging and developed economies.

Highlights

The International Energy Agency expect the current energy demand to increase by37% in the 25 years [1]
To fill a research gap voided by the prior Renewable Energy (RE) literature as summarized in Table 1, this paper aims to examine the role of disruptive innovation in enhancing the desired outcome of commercialized RE businesses in both emerging and developed countries predicated on the theory of innovation and social systems
All the respondents reported having RE project development experience with their respective companies. These respondents were identified through multiple sources such as the Renewable Energy Business Alliance (REBA), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), International Renewable Energy Alliance (REN Alliance), International Network for Sustainable Energy (INFORSE), World Council for Renewable Energy, public renewable energy companies listed on foreign stock exchanges (e.g., Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai), the Clean Energy Business Council, and the authors’ consulting project clients

Summary

Introduction

The International Energy Agency expect the current energy demand to increase by37% in the 25 years [1]. Total worldwide consumption of energy is expected to grow from 549 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2012 to 629 quadrillion Btu in 2020, and eventually to 815 quadrillion Btu in 2040—a 48% increase—from 2012 to 2040 [3]. This rapidly growing energy demand cannot be filled by conventional fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal. Beyond these conventional energy sources having dwindled in recent years, their use has created adverse environmental conditions from carbon emissions and the natural habitats destroyed by their extraction. The increasing use of these fuels will continue to exacerbate issues with air pollution, intensify global warming, and result in other environmental problems such as acid rain from the emission of various contaminants such as CO2, CO, SOx, NOx, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) [4]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion