The Governance of Renewable Energy Auctions: A Multidimensional Comparative Policy Analysis

Abstract

Auctions have become the most important policy instrument for promoting renewable energy (RE). This article offers a conceptual and methodological framework to grasp the variety of national RE auctions’ governance arrangements. It presents indices to systematically measure and compare key dimensions of RE auctions and electricity governance: scope of regulation, private operators’ influence, coordination, and the concentration of authority. The framework’s usefulness is demonstrated via its application to three contrasted cases–the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Morocco, showing the disruption in electricity governance patterns induced by RE auctions and the relevance of the multidimensional approach to understand policy outcomes.