Our understanding of the state of Nordic energy technology development has received a boost in resolution with the release of the Nordic Energy Technology Scoreboard for 2010. The report provides a collection of indi-cators to illustrate past and present progress in key competencies of the Nordic region, namely in wind, photovoltaic solar, biofuels, geothermal and carbon capture and storage.
The scoreboard develops a methodology for assessing energy technology development, presenting 5 categories of indicators: Structural, input, throughput, output and policy. The scoreboard outlines challenges in measuring energy technology development and offers 10 key recommendations for improving scoreboards in the future.
The Nordic countries exhibit strong structural indicators, enablers of energy technology development. Not only do Nordic countries have high per-capita GDP, but spend a relatively large share of that GDP on R&D, in addition to maintaining a strong focus on energy as a key R&D priority. High shares of Nordic R&D personnel are employed in the energy sector, where renewable sources account for the majority of Nordic electricity consumption.
Input indicators such as public funding of energy RD&D show a recent increase across the region, despite being far below levels in early 1980s. Biofuels, photovoltaic solar and carbon capture and storage have all seen recent booms in funding, while wind has received steady, long-term support.
The scoreboard provides composite indicators such as the figure shown below, combining funding for wind RD&D and with electricity produced by wind, putting Denmark firmly among other leaders in Europe: Germany, Spain and Portugal.
Patent filing and scientific publishing provide throughput indicators, where the diversity and complementarity of Nordic energy technology competencies becomes evident. Output indicators, such as technology export, illustrate the Danish success story in supplying the global market for wind technology. Policy indicators show the early adoption of measures in the Nordic region, and the evolving focus from solely R&D support in the 1970s through to the complex array of mechanisms in force today.