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with a greater degree of standardisation. Other criteria referred to different forms of flexibility and the
supply of new technology.
Markets:
Given the expected international orientation of many of the respondents, we asked about
the degree of international or domestic orientation of the firm. Further, we asked all firms that had
international customers (or potential customers) to list the three most important markets for their
products or services.
Future expectations:
Finally, we included a few questions about expectations for future revenues
from OWP or PV and about future investments in products or services aimed towards the OWP or PV
markets.
Having put together a draft of the survey, we distributed this to a set of external researchers with
industry insights and industry experts for feedback. Based on this feedback, we made final
adjustments to the survey.
4
The offshore wind and photovoltaic industries
Support for research, development and demonstration (RD&D) has been one of the main tools
targeting renewable energy in Norway. RD&D spending in renewable energy increased drastically in
2009, in part linked to the establishment of so called research centres for environmentally friendly
energy (FMEs) (NFR 2015). Energi21 – the national strategy for energy related R&D – has highlighted
OWP and PV as two of its six prioritized areas for R&D (Energi21 2014). The main justification for use
of public funding for R&D in these fields is related to developing internationally competitive business
and expertise for the energy sector.
4.1
International market for OWP and PV
New renewable energy industries have seen substantial international growth in recent years.
Figure 4-1shows how annual new investments in wind (onshore and offshore) and solar have increased over
the last decade. Even though offshore wind represents only a small share of total wind power
investments, investments in offshore wind has increased significantly in recent years (EWEA 2015).