Renewable energy and industrial development in pioneering and lagging regions: the offshore wind industry in Southern Denmark and Normandy

Abstract

The increasing deployment of renewable energy (RE) hinges on the development and upscaling of manufacturing and logistics capacities, offering industrial development opportunities for regions and countries. In this paper, we analyse how contextual factors pertaining to pre-existing regional assets and multi-scalar institutional environments influence RE-related industrial development at the regional scale. To this avail, we purposefully selected two contrasting regional case studies of offshore wind energy-related industry developments in Southern Denmark (a pioneering region) and Normandy (France, a latecomer region) and discuss developments until 2020. Our qualitative analysis is informed by theoretical and empirical insights from the economic geography and sustainability transitions research fields. The identified contrasting regional path creation processes reflect substantial differences in context conditions, providing insights into how regions can capture value in the ongoing energy transitions.