IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - September/October 2014 - 33

More effective adaptation of the power system
calls for faster diffusion of cleaner energy
technologies.

also strategically located close to the primary manufacturers. the vertical integration of production processes that is
present in 75% of the top 20 firms has also contributed to
their ability to adjust to demand changes and to eliminate
margins at each stage of the production process.
it is interesting that despite the fact that a sizable domestic
market is usually helpful in the localization of foreign technologies, in the Chinese solar case, developing a domestic
market was not necessary for technological assimilation
and successful manufacturing of solar Pv panels. the producer networks for solar Pv turned out not to be national but
rather international in scope. the Chinese solar Pv module
industry would hardly be as successful as it is now without
the access to foreign licenses it obtained and without international cooperation in rD&D. innovation in clean energy
technologies today is no longer only a national process; it is
rather a partnership and a result of international cooperation.

Conclusions: Lessons Learned
the adoption of clean energy technologies is a crucial
component of the wider strategy for both mitigation of the
changing climate and adaptation for the electric power sector. While cleaner and more efficient energy technologies are
already accessible on the market, policies for the global diffusion of these technologies are necessary for faster mitigation and adaptation of the power sector. these policies do
not need to be coordinated, but it might be helpful to move
toward cross-national coordination so as to provide more
predictability to markets. As we saw in the solar Pv industry, Chinese firms adopted a thoroughly global perspective in
order to source and export technology. several of the lessons
learned from this case could be extended to other electric
power generation technologies.
More effective adaptation of the power system calls for
faster diffusion of cleaner energy technologies. there is
no doubt that the "war on pollution" that China recently
declared could soon have a major global impact if it is translated into an intensive process of deploying cleaner energy
technologies around the world.

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Press, 2014.
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will continue to use coal as a major generating source. [online]. institute for energy research, 2013. Available: http://
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"official recommended citation of the report: iPCC,
2014: summary for policymakers," in Climate Change 2014:
Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and
Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the
Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, C. b. field, v. r. barros, D. J. Dokken, K.
J. Mach, M. D. Mastrandrea, t. e. bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.
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For Further Reading

Biographies

n. bullard, A. McCrone, and e. Zindler. (2014, Mar. 15).
China's 12 gW solar market outstripped all expectations in
2013. [online]. bloomberg new energy finance. Available:
http://about.bnef.com/press-releases/chinas-12gw-solarmarket-outstripped-all-expectations-in-2013/

Kelly Sims Gallagher is with tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts.
Zdenka Myslikova is with tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts.

september/october 2014

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ieee power & energy magazine

http://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data http://http:// http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2013/08/06/china-will http://about.bnef.com/press-releases/chinas-12gw-solar

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