DEVELOPING RENEWABLE ENERGY IN ARCTIC AND SUB-ARCTIC REGIONS AND COMMUNITIES

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| DEVELOPING RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE ARCTIC AND SUB-ARTIC
Renewable energy can develop as a spin-off of other industries, as can be
observed in the case of the Finnish pulp and paper mill industries, and Icelandic
business development in addition to energy and heat production. Thus, where
appropriate, renewable energy development should be perceived as a holistic
development opportunity that can also bring along development in other areas
in society/community. Thus, from a policy perspective, it is not adequate just to
invest in renewable energy technologies alone; it is important to create policies
and programs that encourage renewable energy development within the
existing socio-economic and cultural ecosystems. Moreover, the development
of parallel industries along with the renewable energy development needs
to be encouraged. At the same time, it is important to ensure that existing
policies, institutional and regulatory structures do not inadvertently hinder the
development of renewables by preferentially providing subsidies for status quo
(i.e. fossil based) energy systems. 36
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