Commercialising new energy technologies:failure of the Japanese machine?

摘要

Since the 1970s, Japan has been regarded as an exemplar in technological development and its national approach recommended to governments in the USA and Europe. Hence, when Japan initiated a structured, strategic programme to develop alternative and renewable energy (RE) technologies in the 1970s, success would have been expected. Yet, despite focused Government support and the involvement of major firms, the installed capacity of RE technology in 2010 remains low. This paper reviews Japanese research, development and deployment activities in wind, solar photovoltaics and fuel cell technologies, identifying sectoral-specific constraints arising from a combination of poor management of regulation, lack of risk capital, ineffective advocacy coalitions, lack of an independent technical authority and limited communication of learning. These are fundamental weaknesses in Japanese institutions and failures in four of the eight technological innovation systems functions necessary for successful commercialisation. We conclude that Japan's exemplar image is not justified in the energy sector.