From Fossil Fuels to Renewables: The Role of Electricity Storage

Itziar Lazkano, Linda Nøstbakken and Martino Pelli

No 5969, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We analyze the role of electricity storage for technological innovations in electricity generation. We propose a directed technological change model of the electricity sector, where innovative firms develop better electricity storage solutions, which affect not only the relative competitiveness between renewable and nonrenewable electricity sources but also the ease with which they can be substituted. Using a global firm-level data set of electricity patents from 1963 to 2011, we empirically analyze the determinants of innovation in electricity generation, and the role of storage in directing innovation. Our results show that electricity storage increases innovation not only in renewables but also in conventional technologies. This implies that efforts to increase innovation in storage can benefit conventional, fossil fuel-fired electricity plants as well as increasing the use of renewable electricity.

Keywords: innovation; directed technical change; electricity storage; electricity markets; power generation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O30 O40 O50 Q20 Q30 Q40 Q50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp5969.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: From fossil fuels to renewables: The role of electricity storage (2017)
Working Paper: From Fossil Fuels to Renewables: The Role of Electricity Storage (2017)
Working Paper: From Fossil Fuels to Renewables: The Role of Electricity Storage (2016)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_5969

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Klaus Wohlrabe (wohlrabe@ifo.de).