Patenting in Renewable Energy Sector-An Analysis

Renewable resources are a part of Earth's natural environment and the largest components of its ecosphere. Because of this very nature, development in the sector of renewable energy is a fast evolving technology area. The non-conventional energy sources consist of solar, thermal, wind, rain, tides, waves, geothermal, hydro/marine, and biofuels. Innovation in solar, wind and other renewable power sector has been growing worldwide. Analysing the patent activity in the area will help in studying the global patenting trends in the area of renewable energy. Hence, the paper aims to analyze the patenting trends in renewable energy sector. The paper further aims to analyze renewable energy policy of the selected countries. This trend illustrates that China is considered as one of the largest hub for renewable energy development. This could be due to the reason that most of the inventors/assignees find bigger market here along with policy support. Governments and policy makers across the world are introducing legislations and support mechanisms to accelerate the development of the renewable energy sector. Many countries have sector-wise laws and ordinances for compulsory purchase of renewable power, promotion of specific technologies like biomass, wind power, geothermal energy, etc. Based on the analysis, it is observed that China is having well-structured renewable energy policies that may be stimulating patenting activities in China.