Photovoltaic technological innovation system (PV TIS) in Iran: identifying barriers, incentives, dynamics and developing policies

Abstract

Transition to sustainable energies is a fast-growing field of research. Modeling complex systems can expand our possibilities in this field through quantitative analysis. Photovoltaic technology is one the best potential energy sources in Iran but until now, this technology has not been diffused appropriately. According to the review of research on PV TIS, it was found that in developing countries such as Iran, quantitative analyses based on simulation by system dynamics have not been performed and also, positive and negative effective factors on this system (incentives and barriers), not comprehensively identified. Therefore, in this study, at first, positive and negative effective factors in the PV TIS of Iran were identified and in the next stage, innovation engines were extracted. In order to develop improvement policies, Iran’s PV TIS has been modeled using a system dynamics approach, and quantitative analyzes related to its performance have been presented using Vensim Ple software. Finally, in this study, some policies have been developed to promote PV TIS performance.