PUBLIC POLICY AS A SYSTEM-FORMING FACTOR OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY STARTUPS
Abstract
The global energy transition has made renewable energy startups strategic agents of decarbonisation, yet their development critically depends on the quality of the surrounding entrepreneurial ecosystem and the character of public policy that shapes it. This article substantiates the system-forming role of state policy in the formation of entrepreneurial ecosystems for renewable energy startups, systematises the available regulatory, financial and institutional policy instruments, conducts a comparative analysis of leading international models, and formulates priority reform directions for Ukraine. The article argues that the state performs four interconnected functions in ecosystem development: institutional architect, financial catalyst, market creator, and innovation infrastructure provider. The inherent market failures of the clean energy sector – high capital intensity, long commercialisation cycles, and the persistent "valley of death" between technological development and commercial scaling – require active state intervention rather than passive market correction. Comparative analysis of the EU, US, Chinese and Israeli models reveals three consistent features of effective support: integration of regulatory, financial and institutional instruments into a unified strategic system; stability and predictability of support conditions; and genuine adaptation of instruments to the specificities of energy technology. The Israeli case is particularly relevant for Ukraine as a small open economy, where a statutory innovation agency (Israel Innovation Authority) combines conditional grants with systematic risk-sharing. Assessment of Ukraine's current state reveals a significant gap between declared strategic ambitions and actual institutional capacity, with key deficiencies including inter-agency fragmentation, an underdeveloped green financial infrastructure, regulatory instability, and critical shortages of specialised support institutions. Russia's full-scale invasion has simultaneously opened a unique window of opportunity for a non-linear transition toward a decentralised, renewables-based energy system. Priority reforms include an integrated Green Startup Ecosystem Strategy, a blended-finance Green Innovation Fund, an energy regulatory sandbox, and pilot green energy hubs in regions undergoing post-war reconstruction.
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