When regime changes slow down niche development: the example of wind energy business in Finland

Abstract

This article analyses regime changes and niche development as interlinked processes as part of commercialising energy innovations. Theories about socio-technical changes are used to analyse the changes. A case study on the development of wind energy in Finland is presented to analyse the influence of the regime on niche development. In Finland, the changes in the electricity market have been rather small and the development of the wind energy has been rather modest. Though, a recent increase in the deployment of wind power coincides with the permission to build two new nuclear reactors and with feed-in-tariffs for large scale wind mill parks that ensure the market domination of the utilities. It is concluded that if the government is included among the regime actors, and the ties between the regime actors are strong, the regime can be in a position to influence policies to serve the interests of the regime.