Innovation and institutional change: the transition to a sustainable ...

212 Chapter 8
with the application of the gas turbine within the power sector grew, initial
experimental hybridisation of gas and steam turbines made clear that such a
set-up could significantly increase efficiency. A third step involved
expanding the role of the gas turbine at the expense of the steam turbine.
Further learning by using led to a shift in the position of the gas turbine from
a supplementary component to the principal element of the set-up and
combined cycle gas turbines gained dominancy in power stations during the
1990s. Domestic energy policies had relatively little to do with these
developments, although gas infrastructure and the focus on energy saving
certainly facilitated the process. Experiences abroad, investments of power
equipment manufacturers such as General Electric and Westinghouse in
turbine development were crucial. These companies also had aircraft engine
divisions and were at the forefront of gas turbine technology since the
Second World War (Watson, 2004: 1072). The emergence of the gas turbine
and the hybridisation with steam turbines in the Netherlands, was mostly a
case of integrating them into its specific setting and involved technical,
organisational and operational improvements without changing the overall
structure of the system.
Success of the gas turbine for power generation not only led to increasing
application within the electricity system but also triggered use outside the
traditional electricity sector. Gas turbine technology thus also played a
crucial role in the hollowing out of the central station electricity model. It
was also able to deliver high efficiencies at smaller capacities, and industries
increasingly used gas turbines from the seventies on to shave peak demand
and serve base loads, as well as to produce combined heat and power. When
institutional change opened up the previously closed actor network of the
electricity sector, the strategies of distributors started to converge with those
of industrial actors and decentral cogeneration increased. In combination
with target group policy and environmental action plans agreed this led the
distribution companies to take on the role of ‘agents of change’ after 1989.
Initially, competition with the central producers occurred through the
development of decentral cogeneration in collaboration with industry and
other sectors. Later green electricity was developed as a potential market
segment. Both developments were also induced by their commitment to
increase efficiency and reduce CO2-emissions. In overview then, institutional
changes have been crucial for the way the rather international pattern of gas
turbine development shaped specific paths of Dutch electricity production
and consumption.
The role of institutional aspects has played a significant role in all paths
taken in the electricity system that were analysed. Table 8.2 provides an
overview. A first conclusion is that the central station electricity system and
its institutional logics have proved ineffective in shaping alternative paths