Page 31 - ZEB Final Report 2009-2017

Outside Comfort Zones & How can Zero Emission Buildings Become the Norm? | 31

“Make it, dammit. It is not exactly
rocket science. It demands
something from the power industry,
of course, but they think differently
and that is probably part of the
problem.” - Entrepreneur

ZEB in the Norwegian Innovation System:

How can Zero Emission

Buildings Become the Norm?

In order to take energy generating buildings out of the niche and into

the big market, both the industry and the public must be won over.

hydropower. To help energy generating buildings break out
Ann Kristin Kvellheim of the niche, empowerment is a protection strategy which
PhD Candidate, ZEB, Department of strengthens the niche by, for example, providing a supporting
Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, NTNU
narrative (Raven and Verbong, 2009, Raven et al., 2016).
Eventually, the niche can enter or challenge the regime, which
comprises the dominant actors and incumbents.
Policy is ambivalent with regard to distributed power For this study, 32 interviews were conducted with decision-
production, which is an important feature of Zero Emission makers and experts, both advocates and opponents of energy
Buildings. Proponents and opponents of energy generating generating buildings. A narrative in support of the niche argues
buildings have developed different narratives to persuade the that renewable energy generation (in buildings) replaces more
“public” about the (dis)advantages of such buildings. How polluting energy sources in other sectors. This is “the alternative
can the narrative in support of energy generating buildings use” argument. The anti-narrative claims that the current
convince the public? centralized energy generation is both clean and cheap and that
Transition studies have illustrated how innovations are energy is in abundance; there is no need for distributed energy
protected in niches where they develop before eventually generation. If the narrative supporting energy generating
becoming exposed to a market (Smith and Raven, 2012). Within buildings is to win public support, it must argue more in
ZEB, energy generating buildings have been studied as a niche line with challenges as defined by the regime incumbents. In
in a Norwegian context based on centralized production of Norway, this would mean addressing the challenge of peak load.

References: RAVEN, R., KERN, F., VERHEES, B. & SMITH, A. 2016. Niche construction and empowerment through socio-political work. A meta-
analysis of six low-carbon technology cases. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 18, 164-180.
RAVEN, R. P. J. M. & VERBONG, G. P. J. 2009. Boundary crossing innovations: Case studies from the energy domain. Technology in Society, 31, 85-93.
SMITH, A. & RAVEN, R. 2012. What is protective space? Reconsidering niches in transitions to sustainability. Research Policy, 41, 1025-1036.