Beyond Technology Push vs. Demand Pull: The Evolution of Solar Policy in the U.S., Germany and China

To explain and promote the adoption of new technologies, researchers have debated the relative importance of technology push and demand pull factors (e.g., Schmookler, 1966; Mowery and Rosenberg, 1979; Peters et al, 2012). Here we examine a crucial problem of contemporary innovation policy — promoting the adoption of renewable energy to reduce
anthropogenic global warming — that challenges prior models for large scale innovation adoption. From the recommendations of Mowery, Nelson and Martin (2010), we develop a typology of technology push and demand pull policy design principles for renewable energy
adoption. We use these principles to analyze a sample of 79 solar energy policies from 1974 to 2011 in the U.S., Germany and China. To go beyond the push/pull dichotomy, we also map these policies to the (solar) value chain. From this, we suggest additions to the model of technology push and demand pull — distinguishing between direct and indirect push and pull — to explain the success of renewable energy policies.