Regional pathways of smart specialization: the case of wind energy in Spain

Abstract

We analyze and compare the development of Wind Energy farms in three Spanish regions with a view to provide new understanding on the dynamics of smart specialization. Our focus is on the policy mix that allowed these regions, in different ways, to coordinate multiple objectives such as: security of supply, environmental commitment as well as local support for the creation of new markets and the industrial sector. In so doing the paper elucidates on the extent to which policy agendas and instruments for implementation are favoured or constrained by institutional path dependency. The empirical study is based on the triangulation of information from case study research. Analysis of these data will be complemented by network analysis, content analysis of documents and interviews as well as statistical procedures.