renewable energy technology—is it a manufactured technology or an information technology可再生能源技术是制造技术和信息技术.pdfVIP

Sustainability 2010, 2, 2382-2402; doi:10.3390/su2082382 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Article Renewable Energy Technology—Is It a Manufactured Technology or an Information Technology? Kwok L. Shum Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong; E-Mail: kwokshum@; Tel.: +852-2358-8789. Received: 27 June 2010 / Accepted: 23 July 2010 / Published: 27 July 2010 Abstract: Socio-technical or strategic approach to renewable energy deployment all suggests that the uptake of renewable energy technology such as solar photovoltaic is as much a social issue as a technical issue. Among social issues, one most direct and immediate component is the cost of the renewable energy technology. Because renewable electricity provides no new functionality—a clean electron does the same work as a dirty electron does—but is relatively expensive compared with fossil fuel based electricity, there is currently an under-supply of renewable electricity. Policy instruments based on economics approaches are therefore developed to encourage the production and consumption of renewable electricity, aiming to remediate the market inefficiencies that stem from the failure in internalizing the environmental or social costs of fossil fuels. In this vein, the most discussed instruments are renewable portfolio standard or quota based system and the general category