364 S. KILPELÄINEN ET AL.
was lacking a clear, long-term strategy to capture business opportunities
(interview 5). The framing of these changes as risks or opportunities has
also been highlighted in previous studies noting how only few companies fully grasp both risks and opportunities related to climate change
(SITRA 2015b). In Finland, a strong focus prevails on developing bioeconomy and cleantech solutions, building upon existing expertise and
existing turnover in order to support the key interests not only in climate
neutrality, prices and security of supply but also R&D, innovation and
job creation. Indeed, the bioenergy sector has also attracted disproportionately high shares of R&D investment in the energy sector in Finland
(Aalto et al. 2017).
The effects of and trends associated with a policy focused on an
increased renewable energy share as outlined in Fig. 14.1—namely electrification, decentralisation, and variability—would benefit from developing
smart networks while simultaneously developing related further policies.
As the interlinked actions of both the public sector and energy companies to activate consumers enable the emergence of new actors, such as
aggregators, their roles and interests require clarification vis-à-vis those of
established actors (e.g. balance responsibility of aggregators). For policymakers, the key question is how to facilitate the integration of increasing
amounts of renewable energy and how to handle the resulting impact
on interests driving energy policy making. This interlinkage highlights
the need for concurrent policy action in a variety of fields, the need for
cross-sectoral cooperation and exchange in policy formation, as well as
minimum requirements for other policy sectors. In line with the entry of
new actors, incumbent actors must adapt to the changing environment.
Views of stakeholders on energy storage
Stakeholders are acutely aware of the possible overlap of interests and
difficulties they face when having to prioritise between different solutions
regarding the development of smart grids and energy storage. Grid integration of variable renewable energy is seen to be dependent on energy
storage, while the development of local smart storage facilities might
hinder the development of grids on a larger scale (interview 3). These
interlinkages demonstrate how implementing a specific solution, possibly
favoured by a subset of stakeholders, influences the wider field of stakeholders and their prospects of realising their favoured set of interests, as
well as the solutions serving those ends.
was lacking a clear, long-term strategy to capture business opportunities
(interview 5). The framing of these changes as risks or opportunities has
also been highlighted in previous studies noting how only few companies fully grasp both risks and opportunities related to climate change
(SITRA 2015b). In Finland, a strong focus prevails on developing bioeconomy and cleantech solutions, building upon existing expertise and
existing turnover in order to support the key interests not only in climate
neutrality, prices and security of supply but also R&D, innovation and
job creation. Indeed, the bioenergy sector has also attracted disproportionately high shares of R&D investment in the energy sector in Finland
(Aalto et al. 2017).
The effects of and trends associated with a policy focused on an
increased renewable energy share as outlined in Fig. 14.1—namely electrification, decentralisation, and variability—would benefit from developing
smart networks while simultaneously developing related further policies.
As the interlinked actions of both the public sector and energy companies to activate consumers enable the emergence of new actors, such as
aggregators, their roles and interests require clarification vis-à-vis those of
established actors (e.g. balance responsibility of aggregators). For policymakers, the key question is how to facilitate the integration of increasing
amounts of renewable energy and how to handle the resulting impact
on interests driving energy policy making. This interlinkage highlights
the need for concurrent policy action in a variety of fields, the need for
cross-sectoral cooperation and exchange in policy formation, as well as
minimum requirements for other policy sectors. In line with the entry of
new actors, incumbent actors must adapt to the changing environment.
Views of stakeholders on energy storage
Stakeholders are acutely aware of the possible overlap of interests and
difficulties they face when having to prioritise between different solutions
regarding the development of smart grids and energy storage. Grid integration of variable renewable energy is seen to be dependent on energy
storage, while the development of local smart storage facilities might
hinder the development of grids on a larger scale (interview 3). These
interlinkages demonstrate how implementing a specific solution, possibly
favoured by a subset of stakeholders, influences the wider field of stakeholders and their prospects of realising their favoured set of interests, as
well as the solutions serving those ends.