This thesis is about the processes of creating renewable electricity systems in new locations. Specifically it addresses the challenges and drivers of building-up renewable energy system in a `fast follower' country, Ireland. With increasing scientific, political, civil society and private sector agreement on the need to reduce green-house gas emissions from the provision of electricity, the rolling out of complex, renewable electricity systems from countries in which initial system building activities have taken place to others is an important issue. The primary research question posed is `what explains the growth of the wind electricity system in Ireland?' This question is reflected upon by asking `what does the Irish experience tell us about why and how these systems spread to new locations?' The thesis addresses an innovation studies audience, making a theoretical contribution to the field of sustainability transitions. It contributes to recent research integrating theories from human geography by offering new insights on how location influences building of large scale renewable electricity systems in new jurisdictions. It contributes findings about the rapid development of the Irish wind system that challenge two dominant perspectives; roll-out in Ireland has been driven by EU policy push and the development of the industry is fundamentally about the extent of national subsidies. We find both perspectives are partial; what they omit is likely to be essential to reproducing the Irish experience. This thesis takes as its unit of analysis the wind energy system itself, and using a `technological innovation system' framework, examines and evaluates the structure of the system; the complex arrangement of institutions, actors and technologies; and the dynamic innovation processes or `functions' of the system. An inquiry into the substantive historical contexts of the development of the system make possible insights into the locational characteristics and relations within and between the system; drivers, barriers and influences of direction of the system processes; and the contexts in which decisions are made and technological change takes place. The thesis finds the development of a renewable electricity system in new locations is simultaneously heavily influenced by transnational dimensions of system actors relations and institutions, and shows that while the direction of the emergent technological pathway is influenced at multiple spatial and governance levels, legitimation of the technology is highly localised.

China's renewable energy (RE) sector is developing rapidly, driven by growing energy needs, increased awareness of climate change, and heightened concerns for environmental degradation caused by the country's industrialisation process over the past decades. The Chinese government has been dedicated to the development of its RE industry and has engaged extensively in drawing lessons from abroad and applying these lessons to its own experiences in the post transfer learning process to develop policies that have contributed to the development of the largest wind power sector in the world. This thesis provides a perspective of how China, a ‘socialist market economy', has applied primarily market mechanisms from liberalised market systems found in Western Europe and the United States to develop its domestic wind power sector. Having similar economic, political and cultural value systems is not necessarily a prerequisite to policy learning; rather policy objective compatibility is a more important criterion when drawing and transferring lessons. The objective of this thesis is to analyse how the policy learning from abroad, policy transfer and the post transfer process has influenced the development of wind power policies in China through the application of a framework to analyse the policies. The framework was specifically developed for this thesis and was largely based on policy learning and policy transfer concepts as well as general learning literature. Using the wind power policies in China as a case study, this thesis identifies elements of policy learning from abroad and examines how transferred policies have been applied in first level policies that are top-level coordinating policies (e.g. mid- to long-term strategies and frameworks) as well as second level policies, with specific objectives focusing on diffusion and adoption (e.g. renewable energy policy instruments). Overall, studying policy learning from abroad, policy transfer and the post transfer process contributes to understanding how learning across political boarders contributes to the domestic policy formation and implementation process.