Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
8121874 Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2013 11 Pages PDF
Abstract
Solar energy represents the largest source of renewable energy and is thus expected to play a crucial role in meeting our future energy demand. In China, solar energy utilization has made remarkable progress in recent years. In this paper, we reviewed the recent developments in the field of solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation from the perspective of transition theory, which was originally developed by technological innovation studies. The transition studies propounded three heuristic levels in a system, namely, socio-technical landscape, regime, and niche, and a transition of a system can only be fulfilled through the interactions among these three levels. With respect to the development of solar PV power generation in China, in this paper we initially examined specific situations within these three levels in the context of energy transition. In the subsequent sections, we paid attention to the response of government in promoting the solar PV development amid energy transition. Specifically, relevant policies and some niche level special programs were investigated. Then, we examined the phased achievements in the transition and offered solutions to some newly emerged problems. The final section concludes with some comments.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Energy Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
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