Field configuring events shaping sustainability transitions? The case of solar PV in India

Abstract The sustainability transitions literature has emphasized the analytical challenges in understanding the trade-offs in protecting niche innovations. This paper builds on an emerging body of literature that argues that the concept of field-configuring events (FCE) is useful for understanding such trade-offs. We explore how this concept can be fruitful for analysis of niche protection in solar PV technology in India. The paper finds two important focal points of debate: (1) supporting domestic capabilities to improve competitiveness; and (2) using public financial mechanisms efficiently. Our research suggests that, whilst FCEs indeed seem an appropriate venue for investigating on-going debates in niche protection, it is challenging to develop causal relationships between these events and their wider, field-level influence. As such, the paper reflects conceptually on the usefulness of the notion of FCEs as temporally and spatially bounded venues for analysis of emerging niche trajectories and their politics