Mere deployment of renewables or industry formation, too? Exploring the role of advocacy communities for the Argentinean energy policy mix

In 2014 Argentina has adopted a new policy strategy aiming at the diffusion of renewable energies. In this paper, we analyze the associated policy making process and the impacts of the emerging policy mix on socio-technical change in the Argentinean electricity sector, with a particular focus on the development of a national renewables industry. Our analysis is based on a novel analytical framework which enriches the literature on policy mixes for sustainability transitions with concepts from the Advocacy Coalition Framework. Methodologically, we conduct a qualitative analysis drawing on document analysis and expert interviews. We find that the design of the Argentinean policy mix has been influenced by a dominant advocacy community with fiscal concerns and investments in renewable energy as its main beliefs, thereby limiting national industry development. Based on this we derive implications for better integrating the industrial policy dimension in policy mixes for transitions towards renewable energy.