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Effects of technology complexity on the emergence and evolution of wind industry manufacturing locations along global value chains

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Anadon, Laura Diaz 

Abstract

Wind energy can contribute to national climate, energy, and economic goals by expanding clean energy and supporting economies through new manufacturing industries. However, the mechanisms for achieving these interlinked goals are not well understood. Here we analyze the wind energy manufacturing global value chain (GVC), using a dataset on 389 component supplier firms (2006-2016) that work with 13 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). We assess how technology complexity, i.e., the knowledge intensity and difficulty of manufacturing components, shapes the location of suppliers. For countries without existing wind industries, we find evidence of the emergence of suppliers only for low complexity components (e.g., towers and generators). For countries with existing wind industries, we find that suppliers’ evolution, i.e., changes in their international supply relationships, is less likely for high complexity components (e.g., blades and gearboxes). Our findings show the importance of understanding technologies along with firms and countries within GVCs for achieving policy goals.

Description

Keywords

40 Engineering, 4008 Electrical Engineering, 4017 Mechanical Engineering, 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Journal Title

Nature Energy

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2058-7546
2058-7546

Volume Title

5

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Rights

All rights reserved
Sponsorship
Economic and Social Research Council (ES/S010688/1)