FIGURE 6.1 Performance characteristics of a disruptive technology.

Source: Bowen and Christensen, 1995.

Capacity constraints, such as restricted supplies of basic raw material inputs, limitations on manufacturing capacity, competition for larger construction project management and equipment, and limited trained workforce, have the potential to derail large-scale deployment and integration of renewable electricity resources. Thus, to grow the renewable electricity market, which is increasingly driven by the private sector, will require continued and ramped up investment in order to deploy, operate, and maintain these technologies.

Renewable energy technologies potentially can be restricted by a scarcity of key raw materials. A common example is solar photovoltaics (PV). Recent shortages of polycrystalline silicon have increased prices for PV modules, though these short-