Fast, cheap and popular – can you have all three? Comparing reverse auctions for renewable energy in Finland and Australia
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2025
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This thesis compares two cases of renewable energy reverse auctions, one in Finland and one in the State of Victoria, Australia. Globally, reverse auctions have been an increasingly popular tool for governments to incentivise more private investment in renewable energy installations and to meet the obligations of international climate agreements. A qualitative research method of critical policy ethnography is applied to examine the deployment of this tool in these two different socio-political contexts. The analysis of each site, together with a comparative approach, reveals how the different contexts shape the goals, design choices and agendas underpinning the policy creation. The competitive nature of reverse auctions encourages speculative pricing, and puts pressure on the relationship between profitability, cheapness, and bidding strategies. This thesis argues that relying on tendering to drive the price as low as possible, while meeting community expectations of sustainable renewable energy development, minimising local impacts and depending on private capital for rapid decarbonisation, is problematic. While reverse auctions are likely to continue to be the preferred tool particularly in neoliberal contexts, careful consideration of their design aspects and objectives are necessary to address social legitimacy issues in the energy transition.
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