UKERC Energy Data Centre

In February 2006, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) Japan and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the UK set in motion an ambitious research project aimed at informing the Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development established during the UK’s 2005 G8 Presidency (DEFRA, 2005). The Dialogue has engaged G8 and other interested countries with significant energy needs. It has focused on:

• The strategic challenge of transforming our energy systems to create a more secure and sustainable future
• Monitoring implementation of the commitments made in the associated Gleneagles Plan of Action
• Sharing best practice between participating governments.

Greenhouse gas emissions from personal transport have risen steadily in the UK and elsewhere. Yet, surprisingly little is known about who exactly is contributing to the problem and the extent to which different groups of the population will be affected by any policy responses. A case study application of a newly developed methodology and travel emissions evaluation tool provides an improved understanding of the extent to which individual and household travel activity patterns, choice of transport mode, geographical location, socio-economic and other factors impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Air and car travel dominate overall emissions. There is a highly unequal distribution of emissions amongst the population, independent of the mode of travel, location and unit of analysis. The top 10% of emitters are responsible for 43% of emissions and the bottom 10% for only 1%. Income, economic activity, age, household structure and car availability significantly influence emissions levels. Key policy implications of the results are discussed. The book concludes by suggesting potential applications of the methodology and evaluation tool.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in a range of transport policy initiatives which are designed to influence people’s travel behaviour away from singleoccupancy car use and towards more benign and efficient options, through a combination of marketing, information, incentives and tailored new services. In transport policy discussions, these are now widely described as ‘soft’ factor interventions or ‘smarter choice’ measures or ‘mobility management’ tools. In 2004, the UK Department for Transport commissioned a major study to examine whether largescale programmes of these measures could potentially deliver substantial cuts in car use. The purpose of this article is to clarify the approach taken in the study, the types of evidence reviewed and the overall conclusions reached. In summary, the results suggested that, withinapproximately ten years, smarter choice measures have the potential to reduce national traffic levels by about 11%, with reductions of up to 21% of peak period urban traffic. Moreover, they represent relatively good value for money, with schemes potentially generating benefit:cost ratios which are in excess of 10:1. The central conclusion of the study was that such measures could play a very significant role in addressing traffic, given the right support and policy context.

Heating degree days are widely used in building energy management for weather normalization of energy use. Degree days are normally calculated at Meteorological Office weather stations sited some distance from the building of interest and this can introduce errors between the degree days used in the calculations and the actual degree days at the building. This paper analyses the major sources of errors in the degree days derived from a newly available data set of Met. Office stations supplied by the British Atmospheric Data Survey (BADC) and compares these errors against those from other available data sets. The BADC data set consists of hourly temperatures for 242 weather stations in the UK from January 2001 until November 2007 and has been converted to monthly degree days for the analysis. The errors have been analysed in terms of measurement and recording errors, errors due to altitude and errors due to spatial separation between weather station and building. The largest error is due to spatial separation between building and weather station. It is therefore important to use data sets with high numbers of weather stations. The data set used in this analysis has been made available on the internet at http:// www.eci.ox.ac.uk/research/energy/degreedays.php and consists of daily, weekly and monthly degree days for over 200 UK weather stations at a range of building base temperatures for the years 1987—2006. Also included is the 20-year mean for the 55 stations with unbroken records for benchmarking purposes.

Practical application: The paper discusses how errors arise in degree day data when using Met. Office weather stations sited some distance from the building of interest. The paper discusses both the method and the extent of reductions in errors that are possible by using spatially rich weather station degree day data sets. The paper makes the data set used — the best for UK degree day monitoring of buildings — available through a website, daily, weekly and monthly, over a range of building base temperatures, back to 1986.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) have been a requirement on sale of all domestic property since December 2007 as part of the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs). This report examines how this requirement has been implemented by those on the receiving end of the legislation – the software designers, the domestic energy assessors, the estate agents, the conveyancing solicitors and the householder. Bearing in mind the stated objectives of the EPC, the report then makes a number of recommendations for improving the operation of the scheme.

This workshop brought together 36 experts including policy makers and advisors, scientists and residential electricity management stakeholders to provide a neutral forum, under Chatham House rules, for full and frank dialogue relating to sharing lessons learned and developing strategies and policy recommendations emerging from managing residential electricity demand in the UK and Ontario, Canada. This was an opportunity to reflect upon our various roles within the broader context of residential electricity demand management. The aim of the workshop was to draw out recommendations and actions for demand reduction, load management and carbon reduction. The workshop outputs will provide a base for continued collaboration and identification of new research initiatives.

The workshop explored three objectives: 1. Share lessons learned from the UK and Ontario, Canada regarding demand response and demand reduction initiatives

2. Examine possible strategies; and

3. Develop policy recommendations and actions for demand reduction, load management and carbon reduction.

A recent Government study into personal carbon trading1 (PCT) concluded that as a policy instrument PCT “has potential to engage individuals in taking action to combat climate change, but is essentially ahead of its time and expected costs for implementation are high.2 ”. Yet, at the same time Defra has recognised that “further research is being taken forward by academics and research institutions outside of Government, and Defra will keep a watching brief on their progress”3 . PCT related research studies being undertaken in different universities and institutions across the UK, or overseas, have not yet been brought together in a coherent way and interaction between researchers has been limited. In addition, the Defra studies have highlighted some areas for further research. Thus, the key aims of the workshop were to:

1. ‘Map the field’ of PCT research: learn what each of us is doing and our respective research focus;
2. Determine where we have got so far, in terms of knowledge and understanding of PCT and its related issues;
3. Discuss future research directions with regard to funding opportunities;
4. Create a PCT researchers’ network; and
5. Discuss and agree the process for publishing a PCT edited volume through the Climate Policy journal that provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art review of PCT research to date.

These key aims have largely been met. In the Appendix of the main report is a document setting out the research interests of the workshop participants, giving a flavour of who is doing what where. The Climate Policy journal has expressed interest in publishing a special issue on PCT in early 2010. Papers for this special issue are now being coordinated by the Environmental Change Institute of the University of Oxford.

The aim of the workshop was to bring together academics and practitioners from different disciplines and backgrounds in order to ultimately inform more effective approaches to public communication of, and engagement with, climate change and energy reduction. The overarching question to be addressed by the workshop was, “What can empirical and theoretical studies of communication and behaviour change tell us about how we might move towards a more ‘climate-friendly’ (low-carbon, climate resilient) society?”. More specifically the workshop objectives were to: share cutting-edge research and practice; foster learning across disciplines and contexts; identify gaps in understanding; form new interdisciplinary contacts and networks; consider and generate new insights; stimulate novel collaborations; provide the contents for a book and a workshop report that would beuseful for academics, practitioners and policy-makers. Central to the workshop were three sessions relating to the overarching question: models, messages and media. These sessions involved 10 minute presentations from each of three presenters and a 10 minute response from an invited discussant.

Renewable Energy (RE) sources differ from conventional sources in that, generally they cannot be scheduled, they are much smaller than conventional power stations and are often connected to the electricity distribution system rather than the transmission system. The integration of such time variable ‘distributed’ or ‘embedded’ sources into electricity networks requires special consideration. 

This new book addresses these special issues and covers the following:

• The characteristics of conventional and RE generators with particular reference to the variable nature of RE from wind, solar, small hydro and marine sources over time scales ranging from seconds to months
• The power balance and frequency stability in a network with increasing inputs from variable sources and the technical and economic implications of increased penetration from such sources with special reference to demand side management
• The conversion of energy into electricity from RE sources and the type and characteristics of generators used
• The requirement to condition the power from RE sources and the type and mode of operation of the power electronic converters used to interface such generators to the grid
• The flow of power over networks supplied from conventional plus RE sources with particular reference to voltage control and protection
• The economics and trading of ‘green’ electricity in national and international deregulated markets
• The expected developments in RE technology and the future shape of power systems where the penetration from RE sources is large and where substantial operational and control benefits will be derived from extensive use of power electronic interfaces and controllers

The New Energy Challenge: Security and Sustainability

A Job for Governments, markets…or a third way?

Delivering the UK’s obligations in contributing to the EU commitment to obtain 20% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020 is likely to require the connection of around 35-45 GW of renewable – mainly wind – generation. In addition, significant amounts of new conventional and possibly nuclear generation will be required to replace decommissioning plant and to meet load growth.

With renewable generation wishing to connect in Scotland now being quoted dates circa 2020, it is clear that the methodology currently applied by National Grid for regulating access to the transmission system could become a significant barrier to the connection of sufficient new generation within the necessary timescales. While this methodology hasarguably worked well in recent years with the connection of substantial amounts of generating capacity, the focus on accommodating the simultaneous operation of conventional generation to meet peak demand seems inappropriate given the future need for a mixed generation portfolio with a high proportion of intermittent wind generation.

The paper will review current transmission access methodology and discuss the need to develop alterative arrangements that recognise the replacement role of renewable generation and the overriding need for conventional and intermittent renewable generation to share available transmission capacity. In addition, the paper will discuss the different demands placed on the transmission system by different generation technologies, the need for more flexible market-based access arrangements designed to allow early connection and the possible need for a more strategic approach to the provision of transmission infrastructure, given the timescales imposed by UK’s new renewable obligations.

A temperature control strategy for µCHP unit was developed to achieve the desired room and water temperature of a dwelling. The µCHP unit considered is based on a Stirling engine where only full-load and idling (or off) operation are possible. Cost optimisation of the µCHP unit is performed to determine the economic operation of the unit for different times of the year for a single house. The cost optimisation model was extended to incorporate a µCHP unit which is connected to two houses.

This working paper analyses the environmental sustainability of four electricity production systems that include carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS):

• Pulverised coal (PC)
• Pulverised coal with oxyfuel combustion (PCOC)
• Natural gas combined cycle (NGCC), and
• Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC)

The analysis is based largely on a review of relevant Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). Thus it considers the environmental sustainability of the entire electricity generation chain from fuel extraction through electricity generation and CO2 capture to CO2 storage.

With the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, it is now clear that global society will have to restructure its energy systems in order to decrease carbon emissions. The scenarios under which this transition to low-carbon societies (LCS) could occur would have complex economic, technological, behavioural and policy implications.

This volume, a supplement to the Climate Policy journal, considers these implications by examining different low-carbon scenarios for different countries, modelled at different scales and typologies. Two overview chapters, co-written by international experts, set the context of scenario development and quantification of LCS, and summarize the findings on the economic implications, societal responses, technological developments and required policy measures to enable LCS across a range of countries. Further chapters detail the modelling of variousscenarios and outline the model methodology, detail the economic and technological consequences of transitions to LCS, and comment on the strengths and weaknesses of specific policies.

Innovation for a Low Carbon Economy analyses the interplay of technological, institutional, market and management factors in the dynamics of energy systems. The book aims to inform national and international policies to promote low carbon innovation.

Featuring chapters by leading international experts, this book explores how innovation in energy systems will provide a core contribution to achieving national and international energy policy goals, including energy security and long-term reductions in CO2 emissions. The book elaborates approaches to understanding innovation from different disciplinary perspectives and illustrates these through case studies of national and sectoral energy systems. These cover a range of technologies including photovoltaics, wind power, fuel cells, microgeneration, combined heat and power, and efficiency standards, for both energy and transport services. It contributes to greater mutual learning between approaches as international academics from economic, institutional and management backgrounds share and analyse their respective approaches, knowledge and insights.

The explicitly multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary approach will appeal to academic researchers and postgraduate students interested in energy systems and policy. It will also be of interest to policymakers involved in promoting low carbon innovation, and strategic management thinkers in energy firms and consultancies.

This paper examines the macroeconomic rebound effect for the global economy arising from energy-efficiency policies. Such policies are expected to be a leading component of climate policy portfolios being proposed and adopted in order to achieve climate stabilisation targets for 2020, 2030 and 2050, such as the G8 50% reduction target by 2050. We apply the global “New Economics” or Post Keynesian model E3MG, developing the version reported in IPCC AR4 WG3. The rebound effect refers to the idea that some or all of the expected reductions in energy consumption as a result of energy-efficiency improvements are offset by an increasing demand for energy services, arising from reductions in the effective price of energy services resulting from those improvements. As policies to stimulate energy-efficiency improvements are a key part of climate-change policies, the likely magnitude of any rebound effect is of great importance to assessing the effectiveness of those policies. The literature distinguishes three types of rebound effect from energy-efficiency improvements: direct, indirect and economy-wide. The macroeconomic rebound effect, which is the focus of this paper, is the combination of the indirect and economy-wide effects. Estimates of the effects of no-regrets efficiency policies are reported by the International Energy Agency in World Energy Outlook, 2006, and synthesised in the IPCC AR4 WG3 report. We analyse policies for the transport, residential and services buildings and industrial sectors of the economy for the post-2012 period, 2013–2030. The estimated direct rebound effect, implicit in the IEA WEO/IPCC AR4 estimates, is treated as exogenous, based on estimates from the literature, globally about 10%. The total rebound effect, however, is31% by 2020 rising to 52% by 2030. The total effect includes the direct effect and the effects of (1) the lower cost of energy on energy demand in the three broad sectors as well as of (2) the extra consumers’ expenditure from higher (implicit) real income and (3) the extra energy-efficiency investments. The rebound effects build up over time as the economic system adapts to the higher real incomes from the energy savings and the investments.

This article assesses the feasibility of a 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2050 using a large-scale Post Keynesian simulation model of the global energy—environment—economy system. The main policy to achieve the target is a carbon price rising to $100/tCO₂ by 2050, attained through auctioned CO₂ permits for the energy sector, and carbon taxes for the rest of the economy. This policy induces technological change. However, this price is insufficient, and global CO₂ would be only about 15% below 2000 levels by 2050. In order to achieve the target, additional policies have been modelled in a portfolio, with the auction and tax revenues partly recycled to support investment in low-GHG technologies in energy, manufacturing and transportation, and ‘no-regrets’ options for buildings.This direct support supplements the effects of the increases in carbon prices, so that the accelerated adoption of new technologies leads to lower unit costs. In addition the $100/tCO₂ price is reached earlier, by 2030, strengthening the price signal. In a low-carbon society, as modelled, GDP is slightly above the baseline as a consequence of more rapid development induced by more investment and increased technological change.

This paper combines SCENES, an EU transport model with E3ME, an EU macroeconometric model. Social Marginal Cost Pricing (SMCP) and fuel tax increases were combined with a concentrated TEN-T programme. Large externalities mean an SMCP with very high revenues; if recycled through reductions in other, distortional taxes, GDP significantly increases. France, Italy, and Finland have the largest GDP increases; Denmark, France, and Sweden have the largest employment increases. These results are critically dependent on the revenue recycling, demonstrating the importance of a full macroeconomic analysis, including the fiscal policy implications, combined with a detailed analysis of the transport impacts.

Under the Japan—UK research project ‘Low-Carbon Society (LCS) Scenarios Towards 2050’, an international modelling comparison was undertaken by nine national teams, with a strong developing-country focus. Core model runs were a Base case, a Carbon price case (rising to $100/tCO₂ by 2050) and a Carbon-plus case to investigate an LCS scenario with a 50% reduction in global CO₂ emissions by 2050. The comparison emphasis was to focus on individual model strengths (notably technological change, international emissions trading, non-price (sustainable development) mechanisms and behavioural change) rather than a common integrated assumption set. A complex picture of long-term LCS scenarios comes from the range of model types and geographical scale (global vs. national); however, common themes for policy makers do emerge. A core finding is that LCS scenarios are technologically feasible. However, preferred pathways require clear and early target setting and incorporation of emissions targets across all economic activities. This will probably entail significant socio-economic changes. To realize major LCS transitions requires sustained progress in R&D and deployment of a broad range of technologies, with carbon capture and storage (CCS) a key technology in most low-carbon portfolios. Developing countries, in particular, face an immense challenge to achieve LCS in light of their economic growth requirements. As such, international cooperation is required in iterative and flexible burden sharing under international emissions trading regimes.

The study examines the macroeconomic rebound effect for the UK economy, arising from UK energy efficiency policies and programmes for 2000-2010. The work explores the relationships between energy efficiency, energy consumption, economic growth and policy interventions using a well-established and highly detailed macroeconomic model of the UK economy. The work has been carried out in response to a call from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), with the support of Defra’s energy-efficiency policy team. As the focus of this study is to assess the magnitude of the macroeconomic rebound effect, the projections given in the report should not be taken as forecasts of future UK economic or environmental performance, e.g. the projections given here will differ from those in the 2006 Climate Change Programme.

This report is the first in the UKERC Energy 2050 project series. It focuses on a range of low carbon scenarios underpinned by energy systems analysis using the newly developed and updated UK MARKAL elastic demand (MED) model. Such modelling is designed to develop insights on a range of scenarios of future energy system evolution and the resultant technology pathways, sectoral trade-offs and economic implications. Long-term energy scenario-modelling analysis is characterised by deep uncertainty over a range of drivers including resources, technology development, and behavioural change and policy mechanisms. Therefore, subsequent UKERC Energy 2050 reports focus on a broad scope of sensitivity analysis to investigate alternative scenarios of energy system evolution. In particularly, these alternative scenarios investigate different drivers of the UK’s energy supply and demand, and combine the twin goals of decarbonisation and energy system resilience. Future analysis includes the use of complementary macro-econometric and detailed sectoral energy models.

This working paper analyses the environmental sustainability of four electricity production systems that include carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS):

• Pulverised coal (PC)
• Pulverised coal with oxyfuel combustion (PCOC)
• Natural gas combined cycle (NGCC), and
• Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC)

The analysis is based largely on a review of relevant Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). Thus it considers the environmental sustainability of the entire electricity generation chain from fuel extraction through electricity generation and CO2 capture to CO2 storage.

Two workshops brought together around 40 experts including policy makers and advisors, scientists, businesses and civil society organisations to provide a neutral forum, under Chatham House rules, for full and frank dialogue to discuss measures for maximising the sustainability marine energy arrays within the UK government target timescales. The first workshop, “Marine Planning for Arrays: Social, economic and environmental issues and implications”, examined the social, economic and environmental impacts and cumulative impacts relating to siting and deployment of arrays and how to integrate the assessment and management of these using a holistic approach that considers the entire marine and coastal system. The second workshop, “Marine spatial planning for the deployment of arrays”, examined the marine planning policy context, simplification of consenting, locational criteria and models under development to aid decision-making.

Renewable Energy (RE) sources differ from conventional sources in that, generally they cannot be scheduled, they are much smaller than conventional power stations and are often connected to the electricity distribution system rather than the transmission system. The integration of such time variable ‘distributed’ or ‘embedded’ sources into electricity networks requires special consideration. 

This new book addresses these special issues and covers the following:

• The characteristics of conventional and RE generators with particular reference to the variable nature of RE from wind, solar, small hydro and marine sources over time scales ranging from seconds to months
• The power balance and frequency stability in a network with increasing inputs from variable sources and the technical and economic implications of increased penetration from such sources with special reference to demand side management
• The conversion of energy into electricity from RE sources and the type and characteristics of generators used
• The requirement to condition the power from RE sources and the type and mode of operation of the power electronic converters used to interface such generators to the grid
• The flow of power over networks supplied from conventional plus RE sources with particular reference to voltage control and protection
• The economics and trading of ‘green’ electricity in national and international deregulated markets
• The expected developments in RE technology and the future shape of power systems where the penetration from RE sources is large and where substantial operational and control benefits will be derived from extensive use of power electronic interfaces and controllers

The study has used a systematic selection and analysis procedure to assess each LCA, collating data on the energy and GHG balances of liquid transport fuels and biomass for heat and power. This consistent approach will produce a dataset which can be used to uniquely compare the energy and GHG balances of these two uses of biomass. The representation of collated LCAs as straightforward visual summaries highlights variations within methodology, system boundaries and reporting.

Although this study is ongoing, several issues relating to the lack of transparency of LCA reporting have already become apparent. Common obstacles to reviewing this subject have been in successfully identifying system boundaries, co-product allocation methods and conversion efficiencies used in the LCAs being analysed. Therefore, a set of recommendations for LCA reporting are listed at the end of this report.

In this book, expert authors describe advanced solar photon conversion approaches that promise highly efficient photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical cells with sophisticated architectures on the one hand, and plastic photovoltaic coatings that are inexpensive enough to be disposable on the other. Their leitmotifs include light-induced exciton generation, junction architectures that lead to efficient exciton dissociation, and charge collection by percolation through mesoscale phases. Photocatalysis is closely related to photoelectrochemistry, and the fundamentals of both disciplines are covered in this volume.

The time-of-flight method has been used to study the effect of P3HT molecular weight (Mn ¼ 13–121 kDa) on charge mobility in pristine and PCBM blend films using highly regioregular P3HT. Hole mobility was observed to remain constant at 10^-4 cm² V^-1 s^-1 as molecular weight was increased from 13–18 kDa, but then decreased by one order of magnitude as molecular weight was further increased from 34–121 kDa. The decrease in charge mobility observed in blend films is accompanied by a change in surface morphology, and leads to a decrease in the performance of photovoltaic devices made from these blend films.

High temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), typified by developers such as Siemens Westinghouse and Rolls-Royce, operate in the temperature region of 850–1000 °C. For such systems, very high efficiencies can be achieved from integration with gas turbines for large-scale stationary applications. However, high temperature operation means that the components of the stack need to be predominantly ceramic and high temperature metal alloys are needed for many balance-of-plant components. For smaller scale applications, where integration with a heat engine is not appropriate, there is a trend to move to lower temperatures of operation, into the so-called intermediate temperature (IT) range of 500–750 °C. This expands the choice of materials and stack geometries that can be used, offering reduced system cost and, in principle, reducing the corrosion rate of stack and system components.

This review introduces the IT-SOFC and explains the advantages of operation in this temperature regime. The main advances made in materials chemistry that have made IT operation possible are described and some of the engineering issues and the new opportunities that reduced temperature operation affords are discussed.

This tutorial review examines the advances being made in materials and engineering that are allowing solid oxide fuel cells to operate at lower temperature. The challenges and advantages of operating in the so-called ‘intermediate temperature’ range of 500–750 °C are discussed and the opportunities for applications not traditionally associated with solid oxide fuel cells are highlighted. This article serves as an introduction for scientists and engineers interested in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells and the challenges and opportunities of reduced temperature operation.

Atomistic computer simulation has been used to predict the most energetically favourable migration pathways for oxygen ion transport in tetragonal La₂NiO₄. Both interstitial and vacancy mechanisms have been investigated. All of the vacancy mechanisms studied exhibited lower activation energies than the interstitial process. The lowest energy process allowed migration in the a–b plane with an activation energy of 0.35 eV, migration along the c-axis was predicted to have an activation energy of 0.77 eV and interstitial migration in the a–b plane was found to have an energy barrier of 0.86 eV (in agreement with available experimental data).

Using ultra low energy SIMS ion beams of oxygen and nitrogen, the very near surface region of an ¹⁶O annealed La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ pellet has been depth profiled in order to investigate the surface layer composition and to determine any perturbing ion beam–target interactions. By ratioing the measured cation species, the results indicate that only Sr segregation at the near surface can be clearly identified, and no separate oxide layer was present on the top surface. By monitoring the build up of the altered layer associated with SIMS depth profiling, it was observed that the depth at which the altered layer was fully formed was deeper than the expected projected range, R_p, of the ion beam. These results confirm Sr excess in the near surface, which will have an effect on the vacancy concentrationand therefore the surface exchange coefficient, k.

A modified Pechini process has been used to synthesize perovskite-structured yttrium-doped barium zirconate of the form BaZr_0.85Y_0.15O_3-δ (BZY15). The X-ray diffraction pattern for the sintered material (5h at 1500°C) confirms a cubic structure with unit cell parameter of 8.424 Å. Scanning electron microscopy images reveal a dense electrolyte structure. Thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) was also conducted on the material to determine possible endothermic and exothermic peaks and phase transformations. Raman spectroscopy data indicated that the most intense band in the spectrum of BZY15 occurs at 616cm⁻¹, which suggests that cubic zirconia (Zr-O) vibrations are present. No bands were observed for secondary oxides, such as BaO, which would have a characteristic sharp band at 949cm⁻¹, or Y₂O₃, whose characteristic band occurs at 376cm⁻¹. AC-impedance measurements at 600°C indicate that the conductivity of the sample is higher in humidified gases compared to dry ones and has the lowest value in humidified air.

We calculate the effect of vibronic coupling on the charge transport parameters in crystalline naphthalene, between 0 and 400 K. We find that nuclear fluctuations can cause large changes in both the energy of a charge on a molecule and on the electronic coupling between molecules. As a result, nuclear fluctuations cause wide distributions of both energies and couplings. We show that these distributions have a small temperature dependence and that, even at high temperatures, vibronic coupling is dominated by the effect of zero-point fluctuations. Because of the importance of zero-point fluctuations, we find that the distributions of energies and couplings have substantial width, even at 0 K. Furthermore, vibronic coupling with high energy modes may be significant, even though these modes are never thermally activated. Our results have implications for the temperature dependence of charge mobilities in organic semiconductors.

In this poster we present La₂Ni_O4+δ (LNO) as a novel potential electrode for both SOFCs and SOECs. Results of the chemical stability of the LNO with cubic zirconia electrolytes are discussed. We have also studied the cathodic behaviour on symmetrical cells of LNO deposited on 10Sc1CeSZ (10% Sc₂O₃ and 1%CeO doped ZrO₂) pellets by AC impedance spectroscopy.

We describe the development of artificial neural networks (ANN) for the prediction of the properties of ceramic materials. The ceramics studied here include polycrystalline, inorganic, non-metallic materials and are investigated on the basis of their dielectric and ionic properties. Dielectric materials are of interest in telecommunication applications, where they are used in tuning and filtering equipment. Ionic and mixed conductors are the subjects of a concerted effort in the search for new materials that can be incorporated into efficient, clean electrochemical devices of interest in energy production and greenhouse gas reduction applications. Multi-layer perceptron ANNs are trained using the back-propagation algorithm and utilise data obtained from the literature to learn composition–property relationships between the inputs and outputs of the system. The trained networksuse compositional information to predict the relative permittivity and oxygen diffusion properties of ceramic materials. The results show that ANNs are able to produce accurate predictions of the properties of these ceramic materials, which can be used to develop materials suitable for use in telecommunication and energy production applications.

This book challenges conventional wisdom by showing how, in some circumstances, improved energy efficiency may increase energy consumption. Relying upon energy efficiency to reduce carbon emissions could therefore be misguided. This book explores the broader implications for climate change and sustainable consumption.

This paper provides an overview of the literature on energy-capital (E-K) substitution and highlights the implications of this for the rebound effect. It clarifies some important theoretical and methodological issues relevant to estimating E-K substitution and highlights a number of difficulties in how these studies have been interpreted. It argues that the relationship between E-K substitution and the rebound effect is more complex than above statement suggests.

A recent issue of Energy Policy carried a new contribution to the ongoing debate over the implications of a high penetration of wind power for the UK electricity system [Oswald, J., Raine, M., Ashraf-Ball, H., 2008. Will British weather provide reliable electricity? Energy Policy 36 (8), 3202–3215

The rebound effect results in part from an increased consumption of energy services following an improvement in the technical efficiency of delivering those services. This increased consumption offsets the energy savings that may otherwise be achieved. If the rebound effect is sufficiently large it may undermine the rationale for policy measures to encourage energy efficiency.

The nature and magnitude of the rebound effect is the focus of long-running dispute with energy economics. This paper brings together previous theoretical work to provide a rigorous definition of the rebound effect, to clarify key conceptual issues and to highlight the potential consequences of various assumptions for empirical estimates of the effect. The focus is on the direct rebound effect for a single energy service — indirect and economy-wide rebound effects are not discussed.

Beginning with Khazzoom's original definition of the rebound effect, we expose the limitations of three simplifying assumptions on which this definition is based. First, we argue that capital costs form an important part of the total cost of providing energy services and that empirical studies that estimate rebound effects from variations in energy prices are prone to bias. Second, we argue that energy efficiency should be treated as an endogenous variable and that empirical estimates of the rebound effect may need to apply a simultaneous equation model to capture the joint determination of key variables. Third, we explore the implications of the opportunity costs of time in the production of energy services and highlight the consequences for energy use of improved ‘time efficiency’, the influence of time costs on the rebound effect and the existence of a parallel rebound effect with respect to time. Each of these considerations serves to highlight the difficulties in obtaining reliable estimates of the rebound effect and the different factors that need to be controlled for. We discuss the implications of these findings for econometric studies and argue that several existing studies may overestimate the magnitude of the effect.

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be a critical CO2 reduction technology for the UK. CCS is now commencing the early pre-commercial demonstration stages worldwide, with the objective of widespread commercial deployment by 2020 - 2025.
• It is very unlikely that a CCS plant will operate in the UK until additional costs are covered by appropriate financial support.
• Many estimates exist of the support needed to avoid losses on demonstration plant, typically stated to be a total of € 70-100 per ton CO2. Several approaches are suggested here to regulate or incentivise CCS.
• At the nascent stage of CCS development and deployment, there is a role for Government to provide public education so as to enable citizens directly affected by CCS to understand and make decision about the technology.
• Lessons learned in UK and EU CCS demonstration projects should be shared globally.
• A wide and encompassing specification of capture ready is needed, to ensure feasible conversion to CCS, when it is required by regulation and/or economically justified.
• Capture ready design is a very important set of practical actions during the design and building of new power plant or other combustion plant, which can be utilised to ensure that CCS retrofit is possible and, hence, avoid “locked-in” high carbon emissions from fossil fuel use in future.
• BERR has already given Section 36 planning consent to Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plants including a condition that they are capture ready, but without a clear definition of this condition.
• There is potential for strategic planning of the transport and storage system to provide significant benefits.

To meet the EU 15% renewable energy target will be a significant challenge for the UK. It is important to understand that reductions in the UK’s total energy demand will produce proportional reductions in the renewable contribution required. Although self-evident, this simple fact is often overlooked. Indeed the UK has to date failed to achieve any reductions in energy use, in fact the reverse is true: energy consumption in the key sectors of electricity and energy for transport continues to rise steadily.

In addition to reducing the demand for energy, there will need to be a massive increase in the contribution of renewables to transport fuel (predominately biofuels), heat and electricity. This submission concentrates on renewable electricity because UKERC has core competency this area. In Table 1, below, UKERC presents an illustrative scenario for the contribution ofrenewable electricity technologies towards the 2020 target. In this scenario 41% of UK electricity will need to be generated by renewables, most likely dominated by wind power (28%) and biomass (7%). This will be extremely challenging both in terms of renewable energy generation plant installation rates and the world capacity to build and deliver the technology, and also in terms of integration issues. Immediate and wide scale mobilisation of resources (human and otherwise) is required.

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be a critical CO2 reduction technology for the UK. CCS is now commencing the early pre-commercial demonstration stages worldwide, with the objective of widespread commercial deployment by 2020 - 2025.
• Capture ready design is a very important set of practical actions during the design and building of new power plant, which can be utilised at a later date, to enable the avoidance of “locked-in” high carbon emissions in future.
• BERR has already given Section 36 planning consent to Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plants including a condition that they are capture ready, but without a clear definition of this condition.
• The Kingsnorth plant is currently awaiting a decision on capture ready requirements for coal-fired power plants in the UK. This has become a focus for objectors.
• A wideand encompassing specification of capture ready is needed, to ensure feasible conversion to CCS, when it is required by regulation and/or economically justified.
• It is very unlikely that a CCS plant will operate in the UK until additional costs are covered by appropriate financial support.
• Many estimates exist of the support needed to avoid losses on demonstration plant, typically stated to be a total of € 70-100 per ton CO2. Several approaches are suggested here to regulate or incentivise CCS.

To address the aim, each chapter author presented a 10-minute summary of his chapter. This was followed by a five-minute critique by an invited discussant. Comments were invited from the floor for a further 15-minute period. Professor Gary May provided an overview of research in this area at the end of the workshop. The workshop was opened by an invited chair, Professor A.P. Sakis Meliopoulos of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Professor Meliopoulos offered final concluding remarks.