Regulatory and institutional innovation for the promotion of renewable energy use

In this paper we study regulatory and institutional innovations required for an accelerated market diffusion of new renewable energy technologie. The main focus is on the situation in Europe. The paper argues that the existence of incentive-based promotion schemes is just one of several of the necessary conditions that must be fulfilled in order to allow renewables to penetrate the energy system in the politically desired intensity. The main conclusion drawn from the analysis is that in order to successfully initiate and perpetuate the market diffusion of renewables, in most cases it will be useful to identify and tackle the most important latent drivers and obstacles involved jointly and in a systemic and actor-oriented approach.