Public Policies and Solar PV Innovation : An Empirical Study Based on Patent Data

The objective of this paper is to examine the innovation impacts of different renewable energy support policies and their interaction in the empirical context of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. This is achieved using data on patent applications for 13 countries over the time period 1978-2008. Three policies are included in the analysis: public R&D support to solar PV, fixed feed-in tariffs (FIT), and renewable energy certificate (REC) schemes. The results are overall robust to alternative model specifications, and indicate that: (a) both FIT schemes and REC schemes induce more solar PV patenting activity even though the impact of the former policy appears to be more profound; (b) (lagged) public R&D support has an important impact on solar PV innovation; and (c) policy interaction exists in that the impact of public R&D support on innovation is greater at the margin if it is accompanied by the use of FIT schemes for solar PV. A corresponding interaction effect does not emerge in the case of public R&D and the use of REC schemes, possibly due to the relatively strong technology selection pressure under the latter policy.Godkänd; 2014; 20140618 (kribac)