Our Chair contributes to the transition from a non-renewable to a renewable energy supply, which helps to reduce environmental, economic and societal risks, and to create entrepreneurial opportunities. We invest intellectual venture capital in students and young researchers, enabling them to contribute to a clean energy future, in academia or business.
Management of Renewable Energies and Climate Solutions
| Social Acceptance of Renewables | IWÖ-HSG has been pioneering research on social acceptance of renewable energies for more than a decade. Current research focusses on the dynamics of community acceptance, including the role of emotions, and on the influence of citizen co-investment and community benefits on social acceptance. |
| Consumer Preferences for Electric Mobility | The transition from fossil fuels to electric vehicles is a key element of decarbonizing the transport sector. Our research in this domain focuses on consumer preferences and business models for electric vehicles in combination with renewable energies. We investigate key touchpoints in the purchase process and derive behaviorally informed policy recommendations for accelerating the EV transition. |
| Business Models for Low-Carbon Innovation | Decarbonizing the energy sector is no longer a matter of waiting for technological breakthroughs. How can innovative business models accelerate the deployment of mature renewable energy technologies like solar, wind and hydropower? In this research stream, we investigate the diffusion of new business models combining distributed renewables and storage to satisfy consumer demand for clean energy. |
| Investment Decisions under Policy Risk | Energy and climate policies can be important drivers of the low-carbon energy transition, but they also create risks for investors. If sufficient amounts of capital are to be mobilized for investment in clean energy and transport infrastructure, it is important to design policies that minimize risk for different types of investors. We use choice experiments and other empirical methods to measure the price of policy risk. |
| Overcoming Energy Path Dependence | Why is it so difficult for countries, firms and consumers to overcome our current attachment to non renewable energies, a phenomenon that former US president George W. Bush, in 2006, called an «addiction to oil»? We investigate mechanisms of path dependence and carbon lock in and explore ways to overcome it on micro, meso and macro levels. |
Chair of Management of Renewable Energies
Europe is changing to a low carbon economy. While there is a substantial expansion of renewable energy generating capacity, we are witnessing increasing levels of opposition to individual projects. Understanding the roots and causes of this opposition is a major challenge for everyone involved in the renewable energy transition. MISTRAL aims to train a new generation of researchers who can evaluate the complexity of social acceptance issues facing the deployment of renewable energy infrastructure, and propose innovative solutions in a variety of research, government and business contexts. MISTRAL will provide a world-class training environment where young researchers can develop advanced research techniques and transferable skills.
Contacts: Elizabeth Côté – Jakob Knauf – Nina Schneider
https://mistral-itn.eu/
Efficient, reliable and sustainable delivery of energy is critical to the health and wellbeing of all people.
The continued decarbonization of the energy sector through the use of renewable energy sources provides both interesting opportunities for local energy systems and challenges for existing electricity networks. Mainland regions such as isolatedvillages, small cities, urban districts or rural areas often have issues with weak or non-existing grid connections. These areas are known as energy islands.
The goal of the European-funded H2020 project E-LAND is to provide a synergistic solution among the technological, societal and business challenges that the energy sector faces. The main concept is the E-LAND toolbox – a modular set of methodologies and ICT tools designed to optimize and control multi energy islands and isolated communities. The modular toolbox can be customized to meet local requirements and expanded to incorporate new tools as new challenges arise.
Contacts: Prof. Dr. Merla Kubli – Dr. Beatrice Petrovich
Decentralized Renewables in Switzerland
Accelerating the deployment of renewable energy solutions – such as solar and wind – is a key objective of Switzerland’s Energy Strategy 2050, and an important pillar in the country’s commitment to climate change mitigation. As part of a national research programme funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, SWEET EDGE investigates pathways to a sustainable energy future: What will the energy system look like in Switzerland in 2035 and 2050? How can domestic energy sources be best combined to deliver a climate-friendly, reliable and cost-effective supply portfolio? And how is Switzerland’s energy future intertwined with European energy and climate policies such as the EU Green Deal and the Fit for 55 strategy? To answer these questions, the SWEET EDGE consortium distinguishes between three typical regions (i.e., the cities, the midlands, and the alps). It also applies a multi-sectoral approach combining electricity, transport and heating. The interdisciplinary consortium consists of research institutions, industry partners, and public authorities across Switzerland. The team at the University of St. Gallen contributes to the project by addressing the following topics:
Contacts: Prof. Dr. Rolf Wüstenhagen – Prof. Dr. Merla Kubli – Stefan Gahrens – Sabrina Mili
University of St. Gallen (HSG)
Institute for Economy and the Environment
Müller-Friedberg-Strasse 6/8
9000 St. Gallen
