Technology Change and Energy Systems : Learning Pathways for Future Sources of Energy

There is pressing need to understand the potential of emerging low carbon energy supply technologies, and the learning processes (or effects) associated with them. In particular, analytical approaches are needed that a re able to balance simplification (to allow comparisons between technologies), and comple xity (to recognise technology specific enablers and barriers). In addressing this issue, this paper firstly briefly reviews existing tools used to compare emerging tec hnologies, especially learning curves and learning rates. Then, drawing on expert accounts of learning effects for several emerging low-carbon energy supply technolog ies, a novel framework based on ‘learning pathways’ is developed. A learning pat hways framing enables crosstechnology and inter-temporal analysis of learning processes. Finally, research themes are identified to further elaborate the learning pa thw ys approach.