Polycentric governance for renewable energy policies? A comparative case study of governance approaches and solar PV policies in Switzerland and the Netherlands

Abstract

Polycentric governance, which refers to the steering process of multiple and overlapping centres of authority in a governance system, has been applied to several research domains including metropolitan areas and natural resource systems. However, the concept of polycentricity has not been extensively applied to other domains, such as energy. With the increasing share of renewable energy and in particular solar photovoltaics (PV), this thesis has explored the relationship between polycentric governance and the performance of solar PV policies. In a comparative case study between Switzerland and the Netherlands, the level of polycentricity and PV policy output were assessed. Based on a prior literature study, operationalised indicators were drafted for polycentric constructs and policy evaluation criteria. The indicators of multiple centres of decision-making, overlapping centres, and autonomy were used to measure the level of polycentricity regarding governance approaches. Furthermore, the indicators adaptive capacity, mitigation of risk, and institutional fit were used to evaluate the performance of PV policies on the national and subnational level. In addition, the collected data from Switzerland and the Netherlands were assessed by means of content analysis. The comparative analysis showed a rather unexpected result in Switzerland’s low score on PV policy performance. In contrast, PV policy performance was considered high in the Netherlands. Moreover, regarding the level of polycentricity, the difference in total scores between the two cases was minimal. Unfortunately, this does not explain how polycentric governance approaches affect PV policy performance. Initially, the assumption was made that governance approaches in federal and unitary states would differ considerably from each other. Although this assumption was based on relevant and highly cited literature, the findings regarding polycentric constructs were found to be too similar for a comparative study. In the end, however, this thesis contributed to empirical and methodological developments of polycentric governance. Furthermore, the findings suggest new indicators for measuring polycentric constructs and underlining the importance of the indicators overlapping centres, autonomy, and the evaluation criterion policy experimentation. Although previous research has linked positive outcomes to polycentric governance, the advantages for the energy domain could not be confirmed in this thesis. Further research based on sophisticated assumptions is needed to increase empirical data in the fast-growing literature concerning polycentric governance.