Public demonstration projects and field trials: Accelerating commercialisation of sustainable technology in solar photovoltaics

The paper considers the role of government funded demonstration projects and field trials (DTs) in accelerating the commercialisation of new energy technologies that meet a public good but do not have immediate market appeal Sagar, A.D., van der Zwaan, B., 2006. Technological innovation in the energy sector: R&D, deployment, and learning-by-doing. Energy Policy 34, 2601–2608]. Drawing on an original database of DTs in the EU, Japan and USA from 1973 to 2004, we review the history of DTs in photovoltaic technology for electricity generation, and its subsequent take up as a commercial energy source.