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| Reference Number | ES/Y005155/1 | |
| Title | POWERING UP COASTAL ECONOMIES: PATH DEVELOPMENT IN LOW CARBON AND RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRIES | |
| Status | Started | |
| Energy Categories | Renewable Energy Sources (Hydropower) 10%; Renewable Energy Sources (Ocean Energy) 20%; Renewable Energy Sources (Wind Energy) 20%; Hydrogen and Fuel Cells (Fuel Cells) 10%; Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal (CO2 Capture and Storage) 20%; Hydrogen and Fuel Cells (Hydrogen) 20%; |
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| Research Types | Basic and strategic applied research 100% | |
| Science and Technology Fields | ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Geography and Environmental Studies) 80%; SOCIAL SCIENCES (Economics and Econometrics) 10%; SOCIAL SCIENCES (Town and Country Planning) 10%; |
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| UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation | Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy 40%; Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions) 50%; Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation) 10%; |
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| Principal Investigator |
Professor PJ Sunley Sch of Geography & Environmental Sci University of Southampton |
|
| Award Type | Standard | |
| Funding Source | ESRC | |
| Start Date | 01 June 2024 | |
| End Date | 30 November 2026 | |
| Duration | 30 months | |
| Total Grant Value | £677,914 | |
| Industrial Sectors | ||
| Region | South East | |
| Programme | Grants | |
| Investigators | Principal Investigator | Professor PJ Sunley , Sch of Geography & Environmental Sci, University of Southampton (99.997%) |
| Other Investigator | Dr S Dawley , Geography Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University (0.001%) Professor D MacKinnon , Geography Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University (0.001%) Professor J Wills , Geography, University of Exeter (0.001%) |
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| Web Site | ||
| Objectives | Low carbon and renewable energy (LCRE) industries are central to the Net Zero challenge. Coastal areas are seen as particularly advantageous for the development of these industries, as companies can build on combined human, physical and natural capital assets. However, we know relatively little about the emerging geography of LCRE industries, especially in coastal locations. While the growth of LCREs represents a new opportunity for wider geographies of growth, its realisation will depend on place-based and place-sensitive policy support.The aim of the research is to examine, for the first time, how and why the growth of LCREs varies across coastal regionsby exploring and comparing the development trajectories of key industries (offshore wind, tidal, hydrogen and carbon capture, battery and storage technologies) in four regions of the country. It will seek to develop a new theory or perspective that captures the dynamic processes that underpin successful path development by analyzing the ways in which agents use and develop regional assets (including human, physical and natural capital), and manage the challenges of inter-industry interactions in the drive for net zero. The expected impact of the project is to identify the place-based policies and institutional capabilities required to better support these industries so as to strengthen and upgrade the economic development strategies of coastal regions, levelling up opportunities and meeting the ambitious goal of net zero.This is translated into the following research aims:1. To establish the local and regional patterns of growth in key LCRE industries, and examine how strongly they cluster in coastal areas. This first aim will remedy a neglect of broad patterns of LCRE path development in the UK and examine the evidence on the emerging geography of key LCRE sectors across the country to provide a broad overview of spatial patterns, how they are changing, and the significance of coastal areas. We will explore: the paths that have been created in different regions; how spatially concentrated or dispersed key sectors are across different regions; and the extent to which there is spatial consolidation in more established sectors and how has this come about. To what extent are LCRE paths forming cross-industry clusters in coastal areas?2. To understand the key processes and actors shaping the differential growth of paths in coastal regions. This will aim to overcome limited understandings of the interactions between different forms of agency and between different paths by considering the extent to which the development of LRCEs in coastal regions has been shaped by the decline of older industries and by relationships between different industrial paths; the primary obstacles and barriers to path creation; the impact of the three forms of agency around entrepreneurship, institutions and place leadership in the growth of LCRE paths; the ways in which key actors are recognising and mobilising appropriate assets to build and legitimise LCRE paths; and the power of local narratives in shaping the directionality, co-ordination and place imaginaries of these LCRE paths.3. To understand the developmental outcomes and consequences of these selected LCRE paths for their host regions. The aim here is to analyse the local consequences and outcomes of path creation, which have generally been overlooked in existing work. This will examine the key regional outcomes and contributions of specific paths in term of employment, effects on other sectors, and the inclusion of local communities, and how the generation of benefits for local workers and suppliers varies over time and across paths? It will examine whether there is a spatial division of labour emerging in LCRE industries in which different functions and types of firms locate in different regions. The project will address the local and national policy challenge of how to connect key levelling up and net zero missions. | |
| Abstract | Low carbon and renewable energy (LCRE) industries are central to the Net Zero challenge. An apparent political consensus has been forged around the idea that investments in LCREs have the potential to contribute to regionally balanced growth. Coastal areas are seen as particularly advantageous for this development, as companies can build on combined human, physical and natural capital assets. While the growth of LCREs represents a new opportunity for wider geographies of growth, its realization will depend on place-based and place-sensitive policy support. LCRE industries have become central to the local and regional development strategies of coastal regions of the UK. However, despite recent work on the geographies of UK energy transition and the growth of renewables, we still know relatively little about how LCRE industries become established and are developed and supported, especially in coastal regions.The aim of the research is to examine, for the first time, how and why the growth of LCREs varies across coastal regions, by exploring and comparing the development trajectories of key industries (offshore wind, tidal, hydrogen and carbon capture, battery and storage technologies) in four varied coastal regions (the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside, Eastern Scotland and the South West). It will examine the strength and nature of clusters in these industries and study the interactions between different industries in these clusters. The project will focus on how local leaders, policy agents and entrepreneurs use assets, resources, and institutions to shape the geographies and development trajectories of LCRE industries. It will develop a new perspective on the dynamic processes that shape the development of these new industry paths and how they vary across places. It will also examine the local outcomes and consequences of different industries and the intended impact of the project is to identify and improve the types of place-sensitive policies and support measures required to build the growth of new industrial paths. It will build networks and exchanges across the study regions to share experiences and learning.In each of our study regions, the focus is on the key coastal sites of LCRE development such as Teesside, the Humber, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and coastal Devon, but also involves firms that are outside of these primary clusters. Adopting this regional and sectoral focus allows us to construct a programme that compares different regions and enables us to compare LCRE industries both within and across regions. The project will involve three work packages. The first will examine path formation and provide evidence about the emerging LCRE sectors in our four case study regions, set within the broader context of geographical data of emerging LCRE sectors. The second will explain path causation by looking at the causal processes and actors shaping the differential growth of LCRE paths in the case study regions. The third package will identify developmental outcomes by seeking to identify the impacts and consequences of the development of selected LCRE growth paths for their host regions. The project will then allow us to shape local and national policy and practice in bringing together the levelling up and net zero missions. | |
| Data | No related datasets |
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| Projects | No related projects |
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| Publications | No related publications |
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| Added to Database | 24/07/24 | |
