Browsing by Author "Torres, Marcelo"
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- Path disturbing in the process of path development: The case of (onshore & floating offshore) wind energy in Portugal [Resumo]Publication . Santos, Hélder; Fontes, Margarida; Sá Marques, Teresa; Torres, MarceloABSTRACT: The paper addresses the “disturbing” effects that new generations of technology can introduce in the early trajectory of a regional industrial path built around wind offshore technology, focusing on the dimensions along which such disturbance occurs and the actors’ responses to them. We look at the case of the industry formed around wind energy technology. The first generation – onshore wind - drove the development of new industrial paths in some regions. The introduction of new generations (fixed & floating offshore wind) that increasingly diverge from the onshore technology, leading to significant changes in the industry concerned with their production and deployment (Van Der Loos et al., 2020). It is argued that the emergence of the new technology generations potentially produced disturbance along several dimensions (Gong & Binz, 2023) that could affect the industrial and institutional configuration of the wind energy path. The industrial development required, not only innovation activity in the existing manufacturing industry, but also the involvement of a new set of industries. The location at sea made proximity to the natural resource more pertinent, required new infrastructures, demanded regulatory changes and raised new acceptance issues (MacKinnon et al., 2019). Thus path-disturbance would occur at different assets level and actors’ agency. The paper empirically analyses the case of Portugal, which developed an onshore wind energy (Bento & Fontes, 2015) and has engaged early in the experimentation with the new generation of floating offshore wind (Castro-Santos et al., 2020).
- Transição energética, recursos naturais endógenos e trajetória de desenvolvimento económico: o caso da energia eólica offshorePublication . Santos, Hélder; Fontes, Margarida; Sá Marques, Teresa; Torres, MarceloRESUMO: As alterações climáticas aceleraram o processo de descarbonização. Esta busca pela produção de energias verdes fez (re)emergir o investimento em I&D de novas gerações de tecnologias e em novos locais de exploração. A energia eólica é um destes casos. Por um lado, em Portugal este recurso abunda, com potencial de expansão para o offshore (Bento & Fontes, 2015). Ao mesmo tempo, o país está muito dependente da importação de combustíveis fósseis, pelo que esta é uma questão de aproveitamento dos recursos endógenos e de soberania nacional. Por outro lado, a produção da energia eólica gera desenvolvimento económico. A eólica onshore possibilitou a criação duma trajetória de desenvolvimento industrial. A exploração da energia eólica offshore pode introduzir perturbações nessa trajetória estabelecida. A literatura descreve uma série de pré-condições estruturais regionais para o desenvolvimento da nova trajetória: recursos naturais; conhecimento científico e tecnológico e ativos industriais, infraestruturais e institucionais.
- Winds of change: the potential path disturbing effect induced by the offshore wind energy technologyPublication . Fontes, Margarida; Santos, Hélder; Torres, MarceloABSTRACT: Path development literature focus on path creation or on changes in mature paths but gives limited attention to early path evolution. The paper addresses this gap by investigating the disturbance, in the early trajectory of technology-driven regional industrial paths, that results from the emergence of new generations of technology. We propose that changes in actor composition and purposeful resource modification actions by path actors are important elements of disturbance and develop an approach to investigate their effects. The ongoing changes in the wind energy regional industrial path, associated with the development and diffusion of offshore wind energy technology, are empirically investigated. The research finds evidence of path disturbing effects at the level of actors and resources. As onshore wind actors start engaging in offshore activities and new actors enter the wind business, the composition and industrial structure of the wind energy regional path and its spatial distribution start to change. There are equally important effects upon the process of resource formation, at the level of knowledge, market, financial and legitimacy system resources and across the various phases of the industrial value chain. The paper contributes to a better understanding of path disturbance and offers an instrument to assess deviation in path trajectories and pinpoint its sources.