78 publications found
Crosscutting Projects
Book
Mitchell, C., Watson, J. and Whiting, J. (2013). New Challenges in energy Security - The UK in a Multipolar World. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1137298847
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We are faced with the twin urgent challenges of delivering a low carbon and secure energy system. The last few years have seen Britain moving from being a net exporter to a net importer of energy. The threat of climate change has led to the slow but inexorable inclusion of environmental concerns in mainstream energy policy. Against this backdrop, economic and political power around the globe has altered, creating a complex, multipolar world. Rising concerns about the long term availability and price of oil, gas and uranium only add to the challenges facing Britain. This timely volume brings together key researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines, including energy policy, international relations and supply chains, to explore the practical policy options in addressing energy security in Britain.
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Journal Article
Candelise, C., Winskel, M. and Gross, R. (2013). The dynamics of solar PV costs and prices as a challenge for technology forecasting. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 26 (-): 96-107
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An effective energy technology strategy has to balance between setting a stable long term framework for innovation, while also responding to more immediate changes in technology cost and performance. Over the last decade, rather than a steady progression along an established learning curve, PV costs and prices have been volatile, with increases or plateaus followed by rapid reductions. The paper describes, and considers the causes of, recent changes in PV costs and prices at module and system level, both international trends and more place-specific contexts. It finds that both module and system costs and price trends have reflected multiple overlapping forces. Established forecasting methods – experience curves and engineering assessments – have limited ability to capture key learning effects behind recent PV cost and price trends: production scale effects, industrial re-organization and shakeouts, international trade practices and national market dynamics. These forces are likely to remain prominent aspect of technology learning effects in the foreseeable future – and so are in need of improved, more explicit representation in energy technology forecasting.
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Hughes N., R. Gross and N. Strachan (2013). The structure of uncertainty in future low carbon pathways. Energy Policy, 52: 45-54
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Low carbon scenario and transition pathway analysis involves the consideration of uncertainties around future technological and social changes. This paper argues that uncertainty can be better understood, and the strategic and policy effectiveness of scenarios or pathways thereby improved, through a systematic categorisation of the different kinds of certain and uncertain elements of which the future is comprised. To achieve this, this paper makes two novel methodological contributions. First it proposes a system conceptualisation which is based on a detailed description of the dynamics of the actors and institutions relevant to the system under study, iteratively linked to a detailed representation of the technological system. Second, it argues that as a result of developing this actor-based low carbon scenarios approach it is possible to characterise future elements of the system as either pre-determined, actor contingent or non-actor contingent. An outline scenario approach is presented, based on these two contributions. It emerges that the different categories of future element are associated with different types of uncertainty and each prompt different strategic policy responses. This categorisation of future elements therefore clarifies the relationship of scenario content to specific types of policy response, and thus improves the policy tractability of resulting scenarios.
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Jeffrey, H., Jay, B. and Winskel, M. (2013). Accelerating the development of marine energy: Exploring the prospects, benefits and challenges. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 80 (7): 1306-1316
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Energy system scenarios and modelling exercises may under-represent the learning potential of emerging technologies such as marine energy. The research described here was devised to represent this potential, and thereby explore the possible role of marine energy in future energy systems. The paper describes a scenario for the accelerated development of marine energy technology, and the incorporation of this scenario into wider scenarios of UK energy system decarbonisation from now to 2050. The scenarios suggest that the accelerated development of marine energy could contribute significantly to the decarbonisation of energy supply in the UK, especially over the medium to long term. However, this is predicated on sustained innovation, learning and cost reduction over time. Encouragingly, a number of recently established policy support programmes are now beginning to stimulate the development of marine energy in Scotland, the UK and beyond. As the paper discusses, building on these initiatives, and ‘realising’ the accelerated development of marine energy, present a number of challenges, and will increasingly require international efforts. However, the potential rewards are very substantial.
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McGlade, C. Speirs, J. and Sorrell, S. (2013). Methods of estimating shale gas resources - Comparison, evaluation and implications. Energy, 59: 116-125
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Estimates of technically recoverable shale gas resources remain highly uncertain, even in regions with a relatively long history of shale gas production. This paper examines the reasons for these uncertainties, focussing in particular on the methods used to derive resource estimates. Such estimates can be based upon the extrapolation of previous production experience in developed areas, or from the geological appraisal of undeveloped areas. The paper assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these methods, the level of uncertainty in the results and the implications of this for current policy debates. We conclude that there are substantial difficulties in assessing the recoverable volumes of shale gas and that current resource estimates should be treated with considerable caution. Most existing studies lack transparency or a rigorous approach to assessing uncertainty and provide estimates that are highly sensitive to key variables that are poorly defined - such as the assumed ratio of gas-in-place to recovered gas (the ‘recovery factor’) and the assumed ultimate recovery from individual wells. To illustrate the uncertainties both within and between different methodological approaches, we provide case studies of resource estimates for the Marcellus shale in the US and three basins in India.
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Winskel, M., Markusson, N., Jeffrey, H., Candelise, C., Dutton, G., Howarth, P., Jablonski, S., Kalyvas, C. and Ward, D. (2013). Learning pathways for energy supply technologies: Bridging between innovation studies and learning rates. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, -: -
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Understanding and supporting learning for different emerging low carbon energy supply technology fields is a key issue for policymakers, investors and researchers. A range of contrasting analytical approaches are available: energy system modelling using learning rates provides abstracted, quantitative and output oriented accounts, while innovation studies research offers contextualised, qualitative and process oriented accounts. Drawing on research literature and expert consultation on learning for several different emerging energy supply technologies, this paper introduces a ‘learning pathways’ matrix to help bridge between the rich contextualisation of innovation studies and the systematic comparability of learning rates. The learning pathways matrix characterises technology fields by their relative orientation to radical or incremental innovation, and to concentrated or distributed organisation. A number of archetypal learning pathways are outlined to help learning rates analyses draw on innovation studies research, so as to better acknowledge the different niche origins and learning dynamics of emerging energy supply technologies. Finally, a future research agenda is outlined, based on socio-technical learning scenarios for accelerated energy innovation.
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Energy Demand (Demand Reduction)
Book
Fudge, S., Peters, M., Hoffman, S.M. and Wehrmeyer, W. (2013). The Global Challenge Of Encouraging Sustainable Living, Opportunities, Barriers, Policy and Practice. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.. ISBN 9781781003749
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This unique book illustrates that in order to address the growing urgency of issues around environmental and resource limits, it is clear that we need to develop effective policies to promote durable changes in behaviour and transform how we view, and consume, goods and services. It suggests that in order to develop effective policies in this area, it is necessary to move beyond a narrow understanding of ‘how individuals behave’, and to incorporate a more nuanced approach that encompasses behavioural influences in different societies, contexts and settings.
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Book Chapter
Eyre, N. (2013). Decentralisation of governance in the low carbon transition. In Fouquet, R. (Ed.) (Eds) The Handbook of Energy and Climate Change (Chapter 27). Edward Elgar. ISBN 978 0 85793 368 3
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This timely Handbook reviews many key issues in the economics of energy and climate change, raising new questions and offering solutions that might help to minimize the threat of energy-induced climate change.
Constructed around the objectives of displaying some of the best of current thinking in the economics of energy and climate change, this groundbreaking volume brings together many of the world's leading and most innovative minds in the field to cover issues related to:
* fossil fuel and electricity markets * environment-related energy policy * international climate agreements * carbon mitigation policies * low-carbon behaviour, growth and governance.
Serving as an indispensable guide to one of the fastest-growing fields of economics, this invaluable resource will strongly appeal to students, academics and policy makers interested in energy, environmental and climate change issues
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Fudge S. and Peters M. (2013). The national debate on behaviour change in the UK: some observations on responsibility, agency and political dimensions. In R. Crocker and S. Lehmann (Ed.) (Eds) Motivating Change: Values, Behaviour, Consumption and Sustainable Design (Chapter 9). Earthscan, Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-82978-6
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Today’s most pressing challenges require behaviour change at many levels, from the city to the individual. This book focuses on the collective influences that can be seen to shape change.
Exploring the underlying dimensions of behaviour change in terms of consumption, media, social innovation and urban systems, the essays in this book are from many disciplines, including architecture, urban design, industrial design and engineering, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, waste management and public policy.
Aimed especially at designers and architects, Motivating Change explores the diversity of current approaches to change, and the multiple ways in which behaviour can be understood as an enactment of values and beliefs, standards and habitual practices in daily life, and more broadly in the urban environment
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Janda, K.B. and Killip G. (2013). Building Expertise: Renovation as Professional Innovation. In Hoffman, A.J. and Henn, R. (Ed.) (Eds) Constructing Green: The Social Structures of Sustainability (Chapter 2). MIT Press. ISBN 9780262019415
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Buildings are the nation's greatest energy consumers. Forty percent of all our energy is used for heating, cooling, lighting, and powering machines and devices in buildings. And despite decades of investment in green construction technologies, residential and commercial buildings remain stubbornly energy inefficient. This book looks beyond the technological and material aspects of green construction to examine the cultural, social, and organizational shifts that sustainable building requires, examining the fundamental challenge to centuries-long traditions in design and construction that green building represents.
The contributors consider the changes associated with green building through a sociological and organizational lens. They discuss shifts in professional expertise created by new social concerns about green building, including evolving boundaries of professional jurisdictions; changing industry strategies and structures, including the roles of ownership, supply firms, and market niches; new operational, organizational, and cultural arrangements, including the mainstreaming of environmental concerns; narratives and frames that influence the perception of green building; and future directions for the theory and practice of sustainable construction. The essays offer uniquely multidisciplinary insights into the transformative potential of green building and the obstacles that must be overcome to make it the norm.
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Rosenow, J. (2013). Energy efficiency policy in Germany and the UK. In Urban, F. and Nordensvard, J. (Ed.) (Eds) Low Carbon Development: Key Issues (Chapter 22). Earthscan, Oxford. ISBN 978-0-415-53901-2
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Low Carbon Development: Key Issues is the first comprehensive textbook to address the interface between international development and climate change in a carbon constrained world. It discusses the key conceptual, empirical and policy-related issues of low carbon development and takes an international and interdisciplinary approach to the subject by drawing on insights from across the natural sciences and social sciences whilst embedding the discussion in a global context.
The first part explores the concept of low carbon development and explains the need for low carbon development in a carbon constrained world. The book then discusses the key issues of socio-economic, political and technological nature for low carbon development, exploring topics such as the political economy, social justice, financing and carbon markets, and technologies and innovation for low carbon development. This is followed by key issues for low carbon development in policy and practice, which is presented based on cross-cutting issues such as low carbon energy, forestry, agriculture and transportation. Afterwards, practical case studies are discussed from low carbon development in low income countries in Africa, middle income countries in Asia and Latin America and high income countries in Europe and North America.
Written by an international team of leading academics and practitioners in the field of low carbon development, this book is essential reading for students, academics, professionals and policy-makers interested in the fields of low carbon development, climate change mitigation, climate policy, climate change and development, global environmental change, and environment and development.
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Journal Article
Bergman, N. (2013). Why is renewable heat in the UK underperforming? A socio-technical perspective. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy, 227 (1): 124-131
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The potential role of microgeneration in energy supply, carbon emissions reduction, energy security and even fuel poverty has been a topic of much interest in the past few years. Industry and government focus has been on financial tools and other policies aimed at maximising uptake. However, some recent studies on solar hot water and heat pumps suggest that not all microgeneration installations are delivering the expected energy or emissions savings, and consumers are in turn not reaping the expected financial benefits. The reasons are a mixture of technical problems and poor installations, institutional issues, poor information supply to users, and improper use. Such issues could delay or jeopardise plans for rolling out microgenerators such as heat pumps. This article considers what policies would help maximise the above-listed benefits of microgeneration, including the implications for the Renewable Heat Incentive, and the importance of measuring actual energy savings in homes. Given the mixed nature of the issues, a broader systemic view is used to analyse the institutional, cultural and behavioural reasons for the discrepancies in energy savings.
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Brand, C., Anable, J. and Tran, M. (2013). Accelerating the transformation to a low carbon passenger transport system: The role of car purchase taxes, feebates, road taxes and scrappage incentives in the UK. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 49: 132-148
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The transition to a low carbon transport world requires a host of demand and supply policies to be developed and deployed. Pricing and taxation of vehicle ownership plays a major role, as it affects purchasing behavior, overall ownership and use of vehicles. There is a lack in robust assessments of the life cycle energy and environmental effects of a number of key car pricing and taxation instruments, including graded purchase taxes, vehicle excise duties and vehicle scrappage incentives. This paper aims to fill this gap by exploring which type of vehicle taxation accelerates fuel, technology and purchasing behavioral transitions the fastest with (i) most tailpipe and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions savings, (ii) potential revenue neutrality for the Treasury and (iii) no adverse effects on car ownership and use.
The UK Transport Carbon Model was developed further and usedto assess long term scenarios of low carbon fiscal policies and their effects on transport demand, vehicle stock evolution, life cycle greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The modeling results suggest that policy choice, design and timing can play crucial roles in meeting multiple policy goals. Both CO2 grading and tightening of CO2 limits over time are crucial in achieving the transition to low carbon mobility. Of the policy scenarios investigated here the more ambitious and complex car purchase tax and feebate policies are most effective in accelerating low carbon technology uptake, reducing life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and, if designed carefully, can avoid overburdening consumers with ever more taxation whilst ensuring revenue neutrality. Highly graduated road taxes (or VED) can also be successful in reducing emissions; but while they can provide handy revenue streams to governments that could be recycled in accompanying low carbon measures they are likely to face opposition by the driving population and car lobby groups. Scrappage schemes are found to save little carbon and may even increase emissions on a life cycle basis.
The main policy implication of this work is that in order to reduce both direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from transport governments should focus on designing incentive schemes with strong up-front price signals that reward ‘low carbon’ and penalize ‘high carbon’. Policy instruments should also be subject to early scrutiny of the longer term impacts on government revenue and pay attention to the need for flanking policies to boost these revenues and maintain the marginal cost of driving.
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Brand, C., Goodman, A., Rutter, H., Song, Y. and Ogilvie, D. (2013). Associations of individual, household and environmental characteristics with carbon dioxide emissions from motorised passenger travel. Applied Energy, 104: 158-169
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from motorised travel are hypothesised to be associated with individual, household, spatial and other environmental factors. Little robust evidence exists on who contributes most (and least) to travel CO2and, in particular, the factors influencing commuting, business, shopping and social travel CO2. This paper examines whether and how demographic, socio-economic and other personal and environmental characteristics are associated with land-based passenger transport and associated CO2 emissions. Primary data were collected from 3474 adults using a newly developed survey instrument in the iConnect study in the UK. The participants reported their past-week travel activity and vehicle characteristics from which CO2 emissions were derived using an adapted travel emissions profiling method. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses were used to examine what characteristics predicted higher CO2 emissions. CO2 emissions from motorised travel were distributed highly unequally, with the top fifth of participants producing more than two fifth of emissions. Car travel dominated overall CO2 emissions, making up 90% of the total. The strongest independent predictors of CO2 emissions were owning at least one car, being in full-time employment and having a home-work distance of more than 10 km. Income, education and tenure were also strong univariable predictors of CO2 emissions, but seemed to be further back on the causal pathway than having a car. Male gender, late-middle age, living in a rural area and having access to a bicycle also showed significant but weaker associations with emissions production. The findings may help inform the development of climate change mitigation policies for the transport sector. Targeting individuals and households with high car ownership, focussing on providing viable alternatives to commuting by car, and supporting planning and other policies that reduce commuting distances may provide an equitable and efficient approach to meeting carbon mitigation targets.
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Bridge, G., Bouzarovski, S., Bradshaw, M. and Eyre, N. (2013). Geographies of energy transition: Space, place and the low-carbon economy. Energy Policy, 53: 331-340
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This paper makes a case for examining energy transition as a geographical process, involving the reconfiguration of current patterns and scales of economic and social activity. The paper draws on a seminar series on the ‘Geographies of Energy Transition: security, climate, governance' hosted by the authors between 2009 and 2011, which initiated a dialogue between energy studies and the discipline of human geography. Focussing on the UK Government's policy for a low carbon transition, the paper provides a conceptual language with which to describe and assess the geographical implications of a transition towards low carbon energy. Six concepts are introduced and explained: location, landscape, territoriality, spatial differentiation, scaling, and spatial embeddedness. Examples illustrate how the geographies of a future low-carbon economy are not yet determined and that a range of divergent – and contending – potential geographical futures are in play. More attention to the spaces and places that transition to a low-carbon economy will produce can help better understand what living in a low-carbon economy will be like. It also provides a way to help evaluate the choices and pathways available.
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Eyre, N. (2013). Energy Saving in Energy Market Reform - The Feed-in Tariffs Option. Energy Policy, 52: 190-198
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The use of feed-in tariffs (FITs) is now widespread for renewable energy and under discussion for other low carbon electricity generation, but not for energy efficiency. There is a small literature on FITs for electricity demand reduction, but not energy efficiency more generally. This paper considers the general application of FITs on the demand side and sets out the economic arguments in the context of changing energy markets. It then discusses the implications of some practical issues, including the definitional problems arising from the difference between energy efficiency and demand reduction. Using experience from historical energy efficiency programmes, it considers the public benefits, payment methods and policy scope that need to be considered and how these might affect policy design. It makes some provisional estimates of economically justified payments in the context of the proposed UK energy market reform. It concludes that FITs for energy saving might be a powerful tool for incentivising energy efficiency.
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Hawkey, D., Webb, J. and Winskel, M. (2013). Organisation and governance of urban energy systems: district heating and cooling in the UK. Journal of Cleaner Production, 50 (1): 22-31
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A number of UK urban authorities are developing combined heat and power (CHP) with district heating and cooling (DHC) networks as a means to achieve local sustainable and affordable energy, and to contribute to economic regeneration. Findings from case study research in three UK cities are used to explore the local energy governance and organisation (LEGO) models adopted in the context of privatised, centralised energy markets. Local developers are reliant on sources of social capital to make systems work, given limited support from public policy and limited access to finance. Local actors, drawing on non-local community energy and commercial and technical networks of expertise, work to: introduce the technology into strategic planning; establish its legitimacy and the legitimacy of a form of multi-organisation suited to numerous stakeholders; secure finance; negotiate risks and responsibilities; and engage with energy markets designed for large-scale centralised provision. For DHC to make a fully effective contribution to UK sustainable urban energy, a more supportive government policy framework, offsetting the difficulties of a centralised energy market, will be needed. To maximise the benefit of locally knowledgeable action, the policy framework must be responsive to the specificity of locally appropriate configurations of actors and material infrastructure.
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Janda, K.B. and Parag, Y. (2013). A Middle-Out Approach for Improving Energy Performance in Buildings. Building Research & Information, 41 (1): 39-50
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A ‘middle-out’ perspective is used to investigate potential roles for professionals and practitioners in creating societal change. Social and technological innovations are commonly seen as either being induced from the ‘top-down’ or evolving from the ‘bottom-up.’ Instead, a ‘middle-out’ perspective focuses on agents of change that are located in the middle, between the top and the bottom. This perspective shows that middle actors can affect change in several different directions: upstream, downstream and sideways. By linking the top and bottom more explicitly, this approach is both an alternative and complementary to ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’ efforts to implementing low-carbon innovations and practices in society. One particular kind of ‘middle’ in the built environment is explored: the role of building professionals to encourage (or discourage) societal change. Focusing on the demand side of the energy system, case studies of building professionals in the domestic and non-domestic sectors are used to emphasize the qualities of these middle agents as enablers/disablers, mediators and aggregators. Policy implications from the ‘middle-out’ perspective are drawn, and comments on the near and long-term relationship between building professions and building performance are made.
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Mallaburn, P. and Eyre, N. (2013). Lessons from energy efficiency policy and programmes in the UK 1973 to 2013. Energy Efficiency, -: -
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The UK is in the process of implementing the Green Deal, a finance-based energy efficiency policy. It is aimed, initially, at the domestic sector, but with plans to extend the scheme to the commercial and public sectors. The Green Deal represents a fundamental reorganisation of policy because it places a considerable reliance on the role of markets to deliver the required energy savings. After some initial Government funding, support programmes have been curtailed or removed completely and role of government restricted to capacity building, accreditation and compliance monitoring. Will the Green Deal succeed? This paper reviews the history of energy efficiency policy and programmes in the UK from 1973 to the present day, taking account of the political environment and of the wider context of energy and climate policy development. This information is then analysed to draw out what isgenerally considered to be effective policy, and applies this to the current policy landscape.
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Parag, Y., Hamilton, J., White, V. and Hogan, B. (2013). Network approach for local and community governance of energy: The case of Oxfordshire. Energy Policy, -: -
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One of the many barriers to the incorporation of local and community actors in emerging energy governance structures and policy delivery mechanisms is the lack of thorough understanding of how they work in practice, and how best to support and develop effective local energy governance. Taking a meso-level perspective and a network approach to governance, this paper sheds some new light on this issue, by focusing on the relation, channels of communication and interactions between low carbon community groups (LCCGs) and other actors. Based on data gathered from LCCGs in Oxfordshire, UK, via network survey and interviews the research maps the relations in terms of the exchanges of information and financial support, and presents a relation-based structure of local energy governance. Analysis reveals the intensity of energy related information exchanges that is taking place at the county level and highlights the centrality of intermediary organization in facilitating information flow. The analysis also identifies actors that are not very dominant in their amount of exchanges, but fill ‘weak-tie’ functions between otherwise disconnected LCCGs or other actors in the network. As an analytical tool the analysis could be useful for various state and non-state actors that want to better understand and support – financially and otherwise – actors that enable energy related local action.
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Rosenow, J. and Eyre, N. (2013). The Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation. Proceedings of the ICE: Energy, 166 (3): 127-136
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Current UK energy efficiency policy is very fluid, with a number of new policies due to be introduced in 2012 and 2013, including the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation. These mark a substantial change from the existing policy regime in a number of ways, notably the explicit aim of supporting higher cost energy efficiency technologies in housing and an attempt to engage new sources of private sector finance. This paper provides a critical analysis of the proposed policy changes both in terms of the institutional changes and the implications of a new finance mechanism for energy efficiency policy, as well as the overall impact on reduction of greenhouse gasses, in particular through the installation of different types of retrofitted insulation.
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Rosenow, J. and Galvin R. (2013). Evaluating the Evaluations: evidence from energy efficiency programmes in Germany and the UK. Energy & Buildings, 62: 450-458
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To make robust judgments of an energy efficiency programme's economic effectiveness, we need to know how much energy and CO2 is actually being saved through the financial support it provides. But most evaluations of home retrofit energy efficiency programmes depend on calculated, rather than measured, levels of energy consumption. This fails to take into account the discrepancies that have been observed in practice, between calculated and actual energy consumption both before and after refurbishment. Evaluations of energy efficiency programmes ideally need to consider rebound effects, free rider effects, reduced savings due to insufficient technical quality, and discrepancies between actual and calculated pre-refurbishment energy consumption. This paper investigates and compares evaluations of two prominent energy efficiency programmes in the Germany and UK–theCO2-Building Rehabilitation Programme and the Supplier Obligation. We show that evaluations of the Supplier Obligation explicitly address most of the reduction effects whereas this is not the case for the CO2-Building Rehabilitation Programme.
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Rosenow, J., Eyre, N., Burger, V. and Rohde, C. (2013). Overcoming the Upfront Investment Barrier - Comparing the German Co2 Building Rehabilitation Programme And the British Green Deal. Energy & Environment, 24 (1-2): 83-103
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This paper compares two flagship policies in the area of energy efficient building refurbishment, the German CO2-Building Rehabilitation Programme and the Green Deal in the UK. Although both policies are essentially loan programmes to finance energy efficiency measures, the nature of the two policies is very different regarding scope, financial architecture, integration with other policies, and carbon reductions. The paper draws out the main differences of the programmes as well as similarities.
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Schuitema, G., Anable, J., Kinnear,N., Stannard, J. and Skippon, S. (2013). The role of instrumental, hedonic and symbolic attributes in the intention to adopt electric vehicles. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 48: 39-49
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The aim is to understand how private car drivers’ perception of vehicle attributes may affect their intention to adopt electric vehicles (EVs). Data are obtained from a national online survey of potential EV adopters in the UK. The results indicate that instrumental attributes are important largely because they are associated with other attributes derived from owning and using EVs, including pleasure of driving (hedonic attributes) and identity derived from owning and using EVs (symbolic attributes). People who believe that a pro-environmental self-identity fits with their self-image are more likely to have positive perceptions of EV attributes. Perceptions of EV attributes are only very weakly associated with car-authority identity.
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Wilson, I.A., Rennie, A., Ding, Y., Eames, P.C., Hall, P.J. and Kelly, N.J. (2013). Historical daily gas and electrical energy flows through Great Britains transmission networks and the decarbonisation of domestic heat. Energy Policy, 61: 301-305
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Publically available data is presented comparing recent historical daily energy flows through Great Britain's electrical and gas transmission networks with a focus on domestic heat and hot water. When this data is expressed graphically it illustrates important differences in the characteristics of the gas and electricity demand; these include the quantity of energy delivered through the networks on a daily basis, the scale of variability in the gas demand over multiple timescales (seasonal, weekly and daily) and the relative stability and predictability of the electrical demand. As the United Kingdom proceeds to migrate heating demands to the electrical network in its drive to cut carbon emissions, electrical demand will increase, but equally importantly the variability and uncertainty shown in the gas demand will also migrate to the electrical demand, which suggests both technical challenges and opportunities for management of future energy networks.
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Policy Briefing Paper
Eyre, N. (2013). Feed in Tariffs: the energy saving option. UKERC Report UKERC/BP/ED/2013/001.
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Energy saving feed-in tariffs (ESFITs) are a relatively new concept and are designed to use the same principles as Feed in Tariffs for renewable energy (REFITs). They offer a promising way of improving electricity efficiency and reducing electricity demand, thereby decreasing carbon emissions.
The Electricity Market Reform proposals which form part of the 2012 Energy Bill provide a bias towards investment in new supply that could be addressed using ESFITs.
In the context of EMR, ESFITs offer a means of delivering decarbonisation with a lower impact on consumer bills.
Because ESFITs do not rely on energy companies, they would provide incentives for innovation in project delivery in a much wider range of actors including householders, community groups, local authorities and small businesses.
The concept of ESFITs is simple, but there are policy design issues that still need to be addressed.
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UKERC Research Report
Energy Supply (Energy Infrastructure & Supply)
Book Chapter
Butler, C., Parkhill, K. and Pidgeon, N. (2013). Nuclear Power after 3/11: Looking Back and Thinking Ahead. In Hindmarsh, R (Ed.) (Eds) Nuclear Disaster at Fukushima Daiichi (Chapter 8). Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-52783-5
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Nuclear Disaster at Fukushima Daiichi is a timely and groundbreaking account of the disturbing landscape of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown amidst an earthquake and tsunami on Japan's northeast coastline on March 11, 2011. It provides riveting insights into the social and political landscape of nuclear power development in Japan, which significantly contributed to the disaster; the flawed disaster management options taken; and the political, technical, and social reactions as the accident unfolded. In doing so, it critically reflects on the implications for managing future nuclear disasters, for effective and responsible regulation and good governance of controversial science and technology, or technoscience, and for the future of nuclear power itself, both in Japan and internationally.
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Consultation Response
Sansom, R., Jenkins, N., Chaudry, M., Eyre, N., Watson, J. (2013). UKERC response to the Energy and Climate Change Committee's Inquiry on Heat.
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This document sets out the response of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) to the Energy and Climate Change Committee’s Inquiry on Heat.
We would always encourage a “whole systems approach” to energy, certainly including heat with electricity, and ideally transport as well. Such an approach is more likely to encourage consistency between sectors, avoiding perverse incentives but also it is more likely to lead to the discovery of optimal solutions.
In the call for evidence, the Committee makes the comment that there is disagreement concerning the un-used heat from thermal electricity generation with some arguing that this should be used through combined heat and power (CHP) systems, while others suggest optimal energy efficiency occurs through centralised electricity generation plus heat pumps at the local level.
Heat exhausted from large thermal generators has very little use as most of the useful energy has been extracted to produce electricity. A typical temperature of the “exhausted heat” is around 30°C which is too low for district heating systems. This requires heat to be extracted at a higher temperature, circa 90°C, but this does result in lower electricity output from the thermal generators. Typically, 7 units of heat generated by a CHP unit will result in the reduction of 1 unit of electricity output. This contrasts with air source heat pumps where the ratio is 1 unit of electricity to 3 units of heat (typically).
Hence CHP is much more energy efficient but of course district heating system infrastructure is required. Opponents of CHP systems cite this as the major stumbling block but they ignore the electricity infrastructure cost, mainly distribution but also transmission and generation that would be required for heat pumps. They also ignore the customer based cost of the heat pumps, upgrades to home heating systems, etc. Once these costs are all included the economics for CHP are much improved.
A further point to make is that heat provided by CHP will have the lowest carbon emissions compared to other fossil fuel-based heat generation. For example, using typical values, a condensing gas boiler emits circa 210 g/kWht 1 and an electric heat pump circa 120g/kWht 2 . However, for a CHP it is circa 60g/kWht 3
Thus our overall opinion is that CHP (electricity and heat production) and district heating (which encompasses all forms of heat production as well as heat network and other associated infrastructure) do not receive the attention they deserve.
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Journal Article
Chaudry, M., Wu, J. and Jenkins, N. (2013). A sequential Monte Carlo model of the combined GB gas and electricity network. Energy Policy, -: -
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A Monte Carlo model of the combined GB gas and electricity network was developed to determine the reliability of the energy infrastructure. The model integrates the gas and electricity network into a single sequential Monte Carlo simulation. The model minimises the combined costs of the gas and electricity network, these include gas supplies, gas storage operation and electricity generation. The Monte Carlo model calculates reliability indices such as loss of load probability and expected energy unserved for the combined gas and electricity network. The intention of this tool is to facilitate reliability analysis of integrated energy systems. Applications of this tool are demonstrated through a case study that quantifies the impact on the reliability of the GB gas and electricity network given uncertainties such as wind variability, gas supply availability and outages to energy infrastructure assets. Analysis is performed over a typical midwinter week on a hypothesised GB gas and electricity network in 2020 that meets European renewable energy targets. The efficacy of doubling GB gas storage capacity on the reliability of the energy system is assessed. The results highlight the value of greater gas storage facilities in enhancing the reliability of the GB energy system given various energy uncertainties.
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Parkhill,K., Butler,C. and Pidgeon,N.F. (2013). Landscapes of threat: Exploring discourses of stigma around large energy developments. Landscape Research, -: -
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In UK policy, concerns about climate change, energy security and system renewal, combine to create an imperative for transitions in landscapes of energy production. Some of the energy developments that will be central in these transitions are imbued with historical associations of, for example, ‘risk and threat’, which have been asserted to potentially lead to the stigmatisation of place and people in place. This paper explores stigmatisation through an analysis of data from interviews across two case sites in close proximity to existing and proposed energy developments. We show how our participants engage with or resist the notion that they are dwelling in ‘landscapes of threat’ and argue that stigma is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that is differentially encountered and experienced even within similar areas. In concluding, we argue that whilst people may experience stigmatising effects, this does not necessarily lead to them feeling stigmatised.
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Pirouti, M., Bagdanavicius, A., Ekanayake, J., Wu, J. and Jenkins, N. (2013). Energy consumption and economic analyses of a district heating network. Energy, 57: 149-159
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An approach for minimisation of the capital costs and energy consumption in a district heating network is presented using a case study based on a district heating network in South Wales, UK. A number of different design cases were simulated using the PSS SINCAL, taking into account different supply and return temperatures and target pressure losses. The operation of the district heating network was synthesised under different design cases using four district heating operating strategies. Optimisation was conducted to obtain the optimal flow rate and supply temperature for the variable flow and variable supply temperature operating strategy. The optimisation model was formulated using the FICO™ Xpress optimisation suite. The objective of optimisation was to minimise the annual total energy consumption and costs. Using each operating strategy, the annual pump energy consumption,heat losses and the equivalent annual cost were found and compared. A variable flow and variable supply temperature operating strategy was found to be beneficial in all cases. Design cases with minimum annual total energy consumption and cost used small pipe diameters and large pressure drops. Further, by increasing temperature difference between supply and return pipes, the annual total energy consumption and the equivalent annual cost were reduced.
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Xenias, D. and Whitmarsh, L. (2013). Dimensions and determinants of expert and public attitudes to sustainable transport policies and technologies. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 48: 75-85
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This paper investigates (a) attitudes to sustainable transport and how these differ between experts and non-experts, and (b) factors that influence these attitudes and their relevant importance in explaining why such differences occur. Attitudes of experts (N=53) and British public (N=40) were compared using open-ended questionnaires, attitude scales, analytic hierarchy process and preference ranking. Both samples prioritised reduction in transport demand in qualitative measures. In quantitative measures, however, experts preferred techno-economic measures while the public prioritised behaviour change and public transport improvement. Some options for sustainable transport also varied with individuals’ values, suggesting that expertise alone does not fully account for variation in attitudes. Different perspectives and values imply a need for a broader definition of expertise intransport policy-making, and that the public may not accept transport policies/technologies designed by experts – underlining the importance of early public engagement.
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UKERC Research Report
Parkhill, K., Demski, C., Butler, C., Spence, A. and Pidgeon, N. (2013). Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes and Acceptabilty. UKERC Report UKERC/RR/ES/2013/001. UKERC
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Current policy debates and energy scenarios for the UK highlight the different possible ways of transforming the energy system in order to meet long-term national policy goals, including those of building a low carbon economy, achieving energy security and affordability, and mitigating environmental impacts. Although there has been much previous research on what publics think about specific ways of producing or consuming energy, we know far less about public perceptions, attitudes and values when elicited in relation to whole energy system change as an interconnected set of transformations in the systems of supply, demand, infrastructure and human behaviour.
Greater understanding of public acceptability of whole energy system change will present both opportunities, and also highlight challenges, for the delivery of UK energy policy and transitions. The research had three empirical phases: interviews with key stakeholders, a series of six in-depth deliberative workshops held with publics in England, Scotland and Wales, and a nationally representative survey (Great Britain, n=2,441). This report represents a synthesis of key findings drawn from the two core datasets relating to public perceptions and preferences i.e. the workshops and the survey.
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UKERC Working Paper
Butler, C., Parkhill, K., Pidgeon, N. (2013). Transforming the UK Energy System: Public Values, Attitudes & Acceptability.Deliberating Energy System Transitions in the UK.. UKERC Report UKERC/WP/ES/2013/004. UKERC
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This report summarises the findings from a series of
deliberative workshops with members of the British public
carried out between June and October 2011 as part of an
interdisciplinary UKERC research project: Transforming the
UK energy system Public values, attitudes and acceptability. The analysis provides an indication of key areas of public
acceptability relating to whole energy system change, and
offers insights into the factors that mediate and underpin
views on transitions. Understanding the connections,
associations and contextual issues that underlay public
perspectives offers an important means for thinking
through potential difficulties and opportunities in
achieving major system change.
This report is structured around ten cross-cutting analytic
themes which are interlinked.
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Demski, C. Spence, A. and Pidgeon, N. (2013). Transforming the UK Energy System: Public values, attitudes and acceptability, Summary findings of a survey conducted August 2012.. UKERC Report UKERC/WP/ES/2013/005. UKERC
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This Research Report summarises key findings from a nationally representative British survey (n=2441), carried out in August 2012 as part of an interdisciplinary UKERC research project
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Poortinga, W., Pidgeon, N.F., Capstick, S. and Aoyagi, M. (2013). Public Attitudes to Nuclear Power and Climate Change in Britain Two Years after the Fukushima Accident: Summary findings of a survey conducted in March 2013 - Working Paper. UKERC Report UKERC/WP/ES/2013/006. UKERC
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The work by Poortinga and colleagues (2013) has shown that British and Japanese publics have responded very differently to the Fukushima accident. However, the surveys included in the analyses were not specifically designed to examine the impacts of the Fukushima accident and contained different sets of questions. Comparisons could therefore only be made on a small number of items.
This new survey builds upon the previous work conducted by the authors of the study (Poortinga et al., 2006; Spence et al., 2010; Aoyagi et al., 2011; Demski et al., 2013) and examines British attitudes to nuclear power and climate change two years after the Fukushima accident. The British survey was coordinated with a similar survey in Japan allowing a detailed cross-national comparison of the long-term impacts of the Fukushima accident on public attitudes to nuclear power and climate change. TheJapanese survey was conducted in February 2013 (Aoyagi, 2013).
This report describes the main findings of the British survey conducted in March 2013. The results are contrasted with previous British surveys where possible (i.e. Poortinga et al., 2006; Spence et al., 2010; Demski et al., 2013). Technical details of the previous surveys are provided in Box A. In the longer term, the data will be used for more detailed statistical analyses and cross-national comparisons with Japan.
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Energy Systems (Energy Systems and Modelling)
Book Chapter
Bradshaw, M.J. (2013). Sustainability, Climate Change, and Transition in Global Energy. In Goldthau, A. (Ed.) (Eds) The Handbook of Global Energy Policy (Chapter 3). Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-470-67264-8
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This is the first handbook to provide a global policy perspective on energy, bringing together a diverse range of international energy issues in one volume.
- Maps the emerging field of global energy policy both for scholars and practitioners; the focus is on global issues, but it also explores the regional impact of international energy policies
- Accounts for the multi-faceted nature of global energy policy challenges and broadens discussions of these beyond the prevalent debates about oil supply
- Analyzes global energy policy challenges across the dimensions of markets, development, sustainability, and security, and identifies key global policy challenges for the future
- Comprises newly-commissioned research by an international team of scholars and energy policy practitioners
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Journal Article
Hughes N., R. Gross and N. Strachan (2013). The structure of uncertainty in future low carbon pathways. Energy Policy, 52: 45-54
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Low carbon scenario and transition pathway analysis involves the consideration of uncertainties around future technological and social changes. This paper argues that uncertainty can be better understood, and the strategic and policy effectiveness of scenarios or pathways thereby improved, through a systematic categorisation of the different kinds of certain and uncertain elements of which the future is comprised. To achieve this, this paper makes two novel methodological contributions. First it proposes a system conceptualisation which is based on a detailed description of the dynamics of the actors and institutions relevant to the system under study, iteratively linked to a detailed representation of the technological system. Second, it argues that as a result of developing this actor-based low carbon scenarios approach it is possible to characterise future elements of the system as either pre-determined, actor contingent or non-actor contingent. An outline scenario approach is presented, based on these two contributions. It emerges that the different categories of future element are associated with different types of uncertainty and each prompt different strategic policy responses. This categorisation of future elements therefore clarifies the relationship of scenario content to specific types of policy response, and thus improves the policy tractability of resulting scenarios.
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McGlade, C. and Ekins, P. (2013). Un-burnable oil: An examination of oil resource utilisation in a decarbonised energy system. Energy Policy, 64: 102-112
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This paper examines the volumes of oil that can and cannot be used up to 2035 during the transition to a low-carbon global energy system using the global energy systems model, TIAM-UCL and the ‘Bottom up Economic and Geological Oil field production model’ (BUEGO). Globally in a scenario allowing the widespread adoption of carbon capture and storage (CCS) nearly 500 billion barrels of existing 2P oil reserves must remain unused by 2035. In a scenario where CCS is unavailable this increases to around 600 billion barrels. Besides reserves, arctic oil and light tight oil play only minor roles in a scenario with CCS and essentially no role when CCS is not available. On a global scale, 40% of those resources yet to be found in deepwater regions must remain undeveloped, rising to 55% if CCS cannot be deployed. The widespread development of unconventional oil resources is also shown to be incompatible with a decarbonised energy system even with a total and rapid decarbonisation of energetic inputs. The work thus demonstrates the extent to which current energy policies encouraging the unabated exploration for, and exploitation of, all oil resources are incommensurate with the achievement of a low-carbon energy system.
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Munoz J.I. and Bunn D.W. (2013). Investment risk and return under renewable decarbonization of a power market. Climate Policy, 13 (1): 87-105
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How does financial performance risk affect investments in low-carbon electricity-generating technologies to achieve climate policy targets? A detailed risk simulation of price formation in the Great Britain wholesale power market is used to show that the increasing replacement of fossil facilities with wind, ceteris paribus, may cause a deterioration of the financial risk–return performance metrics for incremental investments. Low-carbon investments appear to be high risk, low return, and as such may require a progressively higher level of support over time than envisaged by the conventional degression trajectories. The increasing riskiness of the wholesale market will to some extent offset the benefits of lower capital costs and operational efficiencies if investors need to satisfy cautious debt coverage ratios alongside positive expected returns. This increasedrisk is additional to the well-known ‘merit order effect’ of low-carbon investments progressively depressing wholesale prices and hence their expected investment returns.
Policy relevance
Policy support for renewable technologies such as wind is usually based upon levelized costs and is expected to reduce over time as capital costs and operational efficiencies improve. However, levelized costs do not take full account of the risk aversion that investors may have in practice. Expected policy support reductions may be moderated to some extent by the increased financial performance risk that intermittent technologies bring to the power market. The annual risk-return profiles for incremental investments deteriorate for all technologies as wind replaces fossil fuels. This extra risk premium will need to be incorporated into evaluating policy incentives for new investments in a decarbonizing power market.
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Usher, W. and Strachan, N. (2013). An expert elicitation of climate, energy and economic uncertainties. Energy Policy, 61: 811-821
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Critical energy policy decisions rely on expert assessments of key future uncertainties. But existing modelling techniques that help form these expert assessments often ignore the existence of uncertainty. Consequently, techniques to measure these uncertainties are of increasing importance. We use one technique, expert elicitation, to assess six key uncertain parameters with 25 UK energy experts across academia, government and industry. We obtain qualitative descriptions of the uncertain parameters and a novel data set of probability distributions describing individual expert beliefs. We conduct a sensitivity analysis on weights for a linear opinion pool and show that aggregated median beliefs in 2030 are: for oil price $120/barrel (90% CI: 51, 272); for greenhouse gas price $34/tCO2e (90% CI: 5, 256) and for levelised cost of low-carbon electricity 17.1 US cents/kWh (90%CI: 8.3, 31.0). The quantitative results could inform model validation, help benchmark policy makers’ beliefs or provide probabilistic inputs to models.
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Watson, J., Kern, F. and Markusson, N. (2013). Resolving or managing uncertainties for carbon capture and storage: Lessons from historical analogues.. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, -: -
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Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are often highlighted as a crucial component of future low carbon energy systems in the UK and internationally. Whilst these technologies are now in the demonstration phase world-wide, they are still characterised by a range of technical, economic, policy, social and legal uncertainties. This paper applies a framework for the analysis of these uncertainties that was previously developed by the authors to a historical evidence base. This evidence base comprises nine case studies, each of which focuses on a technology that is partly analogous to CCS. The paper's analysis of these case studies examines the conditions under which the uncertainties concerned have been at least partly resolved, and what lessons can be drawn for CCS. The paper then uses the case study evidence to discuss linkages between the uncertainties in the analysis framework, and how these linkages differ from those that were originally expected. Finally, the paper draws conclusions for the methodological approach that has been used and for strategies to develop and deploy CCS technologies.
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Policy Briefing Paper
UKERC Research Report
Ekins. P., Keppo. I., Skea. J., Strachan. N., Usher. W and Anandarajah. G. (2013). The UK energy system in 2050: Comparing Low-Carbon, Resilient Scenarios. UKERC Report UKERC/RR/ESY/2013/001. UKERC
Show Abstract
Phase 1 of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) facilitated the development of a state-of-the-art MARKAL model of the UK energy system. MARKAL is a well established linear optimisation, energy system model, developed by the Energy Technology Systems Analysis Programme (ETSAP) of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in the 1970s, and was until very recently used by it for its annual Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP) reports. It is also used by many other research teams round the world, and has been regularly updated and improved over the years through the ETSAP Implementing Agreement.
Towards the end of UKERC’s Phase 1, in 2007-8, UK MARKAL was used for a major modelling exercise of different projections of the UK energy system to 2050, the results of which were published in Skea at al 2011. In the ensuing years, UK MARKAL was again used for major 2050-focused modelling projects: for the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) in 2010 (CCC 2010), for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in 2011 (HMG 2011), and again for UKERC to update the Energy 2050 scenarios in 2012. This UKERC Research Report presents the main results of each of these modelling exercises, with a view to drawing out any key messages from the set as a whole.
Comparisons between such model runs, even of the same model, need to be drawn with care. Various assumptions, including cost and other data inputs to the model, were changed between the model runs, to reflect policy and other developments, and to incorporate new information. Some of the technology representations in the model were also improved. These changes have two implications for comparisons between such model runs. The first is that detailed conclusions about the cost-preferability of particular technologies, unless they emerge as clear favourites across the whole set of runs, are unlikely to be robust. This is because the cost uncertainties of possible developments in these technologies and their competitors over four decades are very great. Where, as will be seen in these cases, the costs between the major low-carbon technologies are, or may be, of the same order of magnitude, then there are no strong grounds on the basis of these runs of preferring one over the others on cost grounds.
The second conclusion is more positive. Where consistent patterns of development of the energy system emerge across the different runs, despite the different inputs and the fact that the runs were carried out by different modellers and modelling teams, then more confidence may be placed in these patterns as likely features of the future UK energy system under the constraints applied, theprincipal constraint being reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, or carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the case of the UK energy system, according to the provisions of the UK Climate Change Act of 2008. It is these consistent patterns that inform the main conclusions of this report, which are summarised here under a number of headings. The numbers on which these broad conclusions are based appear in the main report.
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Energy and Environment (Environmental Sustainability)
Book Chapter
Owen, A. (2013). Uncertainty and Variability in MRIO Analysis. In Murray, J. and Lenzen, M. (Ed.) (Ed.) (Eds) The Sustainability Practitioners Guide to Multi-Regional Input-Output Analysis (Chapter 2). Common Ground. ISBN 978-1-61229-190-1
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This book is a primer on multi-regional input-output (MRIO) analysis. It has been written by the world's leading experts on MRIO. It provides descriptions of seven major MRIO tools as well as case studies illustrating their application. It includes chapters on the role of MRIO analysis in global governance showing how the power and elegance of MRIO can bring new dimensions to policy making.
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Journal Article
Alexander, P., Moran, D., Rounsevell, M.D.A., Hillier, J. and Smith, P. (2013). Cost and potential of carbon abatement from the UK perennial energy crop market. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, -: -
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Biomass produced from perennial energy crops is expected to contribute to UK renewable energy targets, reducing the carbon intensity of energy production. The UK government has had incentive policies in place targeting both farmers and power plant investors to develop this market, but growth has been slower than anticipated. Market expansion requires the interaction of farmers growing these crops, with the construction of biomass power plants or other facilities to consume them. This study uses an agentbased model to investigate behaviour of the UK energy crop market and examines the cost of emission abatement that the market might provide. The model is run for various policy scenarios attempting to answer the following questions: Do existing policies for perennial energy crops provide a costeffective mechanism in stimulating the market to achieve emissions abatement? What arethe relative benefits of providing incentives to farmers or energy producers? What are the tradeoffs between increased or decreased subsidy levels and the rate and level of market uptake, and hence carbon abatement? The results suggest that maintaining the energy crop scheme, which provides farmers' establishment grants, can increase both the emissions abatement potential and costeffectiveness. A minimum carbon equivalent abatement cost is seen at intermediate subsidy levels for energy generation. This suggests that there is an optimum level that costeffectively stimulates the market to achieve emissions reduction.
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Alexander, P., Moran, D., Smith, P.,Hastings, A., Wang, S., Sunnenberg, G., Lovett, A., Tallis, M.J., Casella, E., Taylor, G., Finch, J. and Cisowska, I. (2013). Estimating UK perennial energy crop supply using farm-scale models with spatially disaggregated data. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, -: -
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This paper attempts to apply a farmscale modelling approach with spatially specific data to improve understanding of potential perennial energy crop supply. The model main inputs are yield maps for the perennial energy crops, Miscanthus and willow grown as shortrotation coppice (SRC), and regional yields for conventional crops. These are used to configure location specific farmscale models, which optimize for profit maximization with risk aversion. Areas that are unsuitable or unavailable for energy crops, due to environmental or social factors, are constrained from selection. The results are maps of economic supply, assuming a homogenous farmgate price, allowing supply cost curves for the UK market to be derived. The results show a high degree of regional variation in supply, with different patterns for each energy crop. Using estimates of yields under climate change scenarios suggests that Miscanthus supply may increase under future climates while the opposite effect is suggested for SRC willow. The results suggest that SRC willow is only likely to able to supply a small proportion of the anticipated perennial energy crop target, without increases in market prices. Miscanthus appears to have greater scope for supply, and its dominance may be amplified over time by the effects of climate change. Finally, the relationship to the demand side of the market is discussed, and work is proposed to investigate the factors impacting how the market as a whole may develop.
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Ashley, M.C., Mangi, S.C. and Rodwell, L.D. (2013). The potential of offshore windfarms to act as marine protected areas A systematic review of current evidence. Marine Policy, -: -
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As offshore windfarm (OWF) construction in the UK is progressing rapidly, monitoring of the economic and ecological effects of these developments is urgently needed. This is to enable both spatial planning and where necessary mitigation in an increasingly crowded marine environment. One approach to mitigation is co-location of OWFs and marine protected areas (MPAs). This systematic review has the objective to inform this co-location proposal and identify areas requiring further research. A limited number of studies addressing marine renewable energy structures and related artificial structures in coastal waters were found. The results of these studies display a change in species assemblages at artificial structures in comparison to naturally occurring habitats. An increase in hard substrata associated species, especially benthic bivalves, crustaceans and reef associated fish and a decrease in algae abundance were the dominant trends. Assemblages associated with complex concrete structures revealed greater similarity to natural hard substrata compared to those around steel structures. To consider marine renewable energy sites, especially large scale OWFs as MPAs, the dissimilar nature of assemblages on the structures themselves to natural communities should be considered. However positive effects were recorded on the abundance of commercially important crustacean species. This suggests potential for incorporation of OWFs as no fishing, or restricted activity zones within a wider MPA to aid fisheries augmentation. The limited available evidence highlights a requirement for significant further research involving long term monitoring at a variety of sites to better inform management options.
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Barrett, J., Peters, G., Wiedmann, T., Scott K., Lenzen, M., Roelich, K. and Le Qur, C. (2013). Consumption-based GHG emission accounting: a UK case study. Climate Policy, 13 (4): 451-470
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Global GHG emissions continue to rise, with nearly a quarter of it due to trade that is not currently captured within global climate policy. In the context of current trade patterns and limited global cooperation on climate change, the feasibility of consumption-based emissions accounting to contribute to a more comprehensive (national) policy framework in the UK is investigated. Consumption-based emissions results for the UK from a range of models are presented, their technical robustness is assessed, and their potential application in national climate policy is examined using examples of policies designed to reduce carbon leakage and to address high levels of consumption. It is shown that there is a need to include consumption-based emissions as a complementary indicator to the current approach of measuring territorial emissions. Methods are shown to be robust enough to measure progress on climate change and develop and inform mitigation policy. Finally, some suggestions are made for future policy-oriented research in the area of consumption-based accounting that will facilitate its application to policy.
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Hastings, A., Tallis, M.J., Casella, E., Matthews, R.W., Henshall, P.A., Milner, S., Smith, P. and Taylor, G. (2013). The technical potential of Great Britain to produce ligno-cellulosic biomass for bioenergy in current and future climates. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, -: -
Show Abstract
Process and empiricalbased models that describe lignocellulosic biomass yield of the perennial energy grass Miscanthus (MiscanFor©), short rotation coppice (SRC) trees and shrubs, poplar and willow (ForestGrowthSRC) and a number of short rotation forest trees (ESCCARBINE), were used to estimate the yield potential for current and future climates across Great Britain (GB). In current climates, modelled yields for all feedstock crops varied between 8.1 and 10.6 Mg dry weight (DW) ha−1 yr−1 with willow SRC and poplar SRF producing the lowest and highest yields respectively. For the medium emissions scenario (UKCP09) in 2050, mean yield for all feedstock crops varied between 7.6 and 12.7 Mg DW ha−1 yr−1 with willow SRC and poplar SRF once again thelowest and the highest recorded yields. There were clear geographical trends within GB. Miscanthusyield was higher than all others in the southwest (13.1 Mg DW ha−1 yr−1), SRC willow and SRC poplar in the northwest (12.1–15.8 Mg DW ha−1 yr−1) and in the midlands and southeast, SRF poplar was the highest yielding (10.5–11.6 Mg DW ha−1 yr−1). These geographical trends changed little with climate out to 2050, with mean yield of each ‘best feedstock’ increasing from 12.7 to 14.2 Mg DW ha−1 yr−1. Out to 2050, SRC declined slightly and Miscanthus and SRF poplar increased as the ‘best feedstock’ option. Except for a few localized examples, only SRF poplar had a higher yield than SRC or Miscanthus. These data suggest that in current and future climates, lignocellulosic biomass plantation species can be selected and optimized for best yield performance in different regions of GB. This modelling framework provides a valuable startingpoint for which to test the performance of new genetic material, as this becomes available and parameterized for the models and socioeconomic scenarios that may impact on the bioenergy industry.
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Hooper, T. and Austen, M. (2013). Tidal barrages in the UK: Ecological and social impacts, potential mitigation, and tools to support barrage planning. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 23: 289-298
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The UK Government is committed to ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions. The large tidal ranges in estuaries on the west coast of the UK make the deployment of tidal barrages an attractive proposition, and repeated feasibility studies have been undertaken. No barrage scheme has yet been taken forward, and one factor contributing to this reluctance to proceed is the significant environmental impacts that could result from the barrage construction and operation. This paper provides a detailed review of the current understanding of the potential ecological and social impacts of tidal barrages, including a case study of La Rance in northern France, and a discussion of strategies for mitigating barrage impacts. The review considers how more comprehensive ecological modelling could reduce uncertainty in predicting the impacts in specific estuaries, and discusses the use of Multi-criteria Analysis and ecosystem valuation as tools for evaluating the disparate costs and benefits of barrages schemes.
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Lovett, A., Snnenberg, G. and Dockerty, T. (2013). The availability of land for perennial energy crops in Great Britain. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, -: -
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This paper defines the potentially available land for perennial energy crops across Great Britain as the first component of a broader appraisal undertaken by the ‘Spatial Modelling of Bioenergy in Great Britain to 2050’ project. Combining data on seven primary constraints in a GIS reduced the available area to just over 9 M ha (40% of GB). Adding other restrictions based on land cover naturalness scores to represent landscape considerations resulted in a final area of 8.5 M ha (37% of GB). This distribution was compared with the locations of Miscanthus and SRC willow established under the English Energy Crop Scheme during 2001–2011 and it was found that 83% of the planting fell within the defined available land. Such a correspondence provides confidence that the factors considered in the analysis were broadly consistent with previous planting decisions.
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Minx, J., Baiocchi, G., Wiedmann, T., Barrett, J., Creutzig, F., Feng, K., Forster, M., Pichler, P., Weisz, H. and Hubacek, K. (2013). Carbon footprints of cities and other human settlements in the UK. Environmental Research Letters, 8 (3): 1-10
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A growing body of literature discusses the CO2 emissions of cities. Still, little is known about emission patterns across density gradients from remote rural places to highly urbanized areas, the drivers behind those emission patterns and the global emissions triggered by consumption in human settlements—referred to here as the carbon footprint. In this letter we use a hybrid method for estimating the carbon footprints of cities and other human settlements in the UK explicitly linking global supply chains to local consumption activities and associated lifestyles. This analysis comprises all areas in the UK, whether rural or urban. We compare our consumption-based results with extended territorial CO2 emission estimates and analyse the driving forces that determine the carbon footprint of human settlements in the UK. Our results show that 90% of the human settlements in the UK are net importers of CO2 emissions. Consumption-based CO2 emissions are much more homogeneous than extended territorial emissions. Both the highest and lowest carbon footprints can be found in urban areas, but the carbon footprint is consistently higher relative to extended territorial CO2 emissions in urban as opposed to rural settlement types. The impact of high or low density living remains limited; instead, carbon footprints can be comparatively high or low across density gradients depending on the location-specific socio-demographic, infrastructural and geographic characteristics of the area under consideration. We show that the carbon footprint of cities and other human settlements in the UK is mainly determined by socio-economic rather than geographic and infrastructural drivers at the spatial aggregation of our analysis. It increases with growing income, education and car ownership as well as decreasing household size. Income is not more important than most other socio-economic determinants of the carbon footprint. Possibly, the relationship between lifestyles and infrastructure only impacts carbon footprints significantly at higher spatial granularity.
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Thomas, A.R.C., Bond, A.J. and Hiscock, K.M. (2013). A GIS based assessment of bioenergy potential in England within existing energy systems. Biomass and Bioenergy, 55: 107-121
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This paper presents an analysis of the spatial supply and demand relationships for biomass energy potential for England, using Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping techniques. Due to energy use and cost of biomass feedstock transportation, the spatial relationship between potential supply and demand is crucial to efficient usage of this distributed feedstock. Previous studies have identified potential for biomass generation at individual sites, according to local factors dictating viable transport distances and costs. The research presented here necessarily takes a more generalised approach, to allow national scale assessment of capability to meet fixed location demands, and quantify theoretical potential generation under relevant scenarios. The approach is illustrated for England, although techniques are applicable elsewhere when suitable data are available.
Mappingfor England indicates that of the 2,521,996 ha viable for cultivation of Miscanthus, 1,998,435 ha are within 25 km of the identified potential end uses of feedstock, and 2,409,541 ha are within 40 km. Potential generation exceeds the 2020 UK biomass generation target of 259 PJ, whichever radius is applied. However, predictions assume Miscanthus cultivation at all appropriate sites, and no policy interventions to limit transport distance.
Results from national scale analysis may be useful in informing government decisions, for example to identify impacts on total generation potential of incentives affecting decisions on allocation of overlap feedstock. Variation in GHG balance and environmental impacts between cultivation sites creates spatial variation in benefits of bioenergy, which should be taken into account inaddition to the spatial relationship between supply and demand.
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Wang, S., Hastings, A., Wang, S., Sunnenberg, G., Tallis, M.J., Casella, E., Taylor, S., Alexander, P., Cisowska, I., Lovett, A., Taylor, G., Firth, S., Moran, D., Morison, J. and Smith, P. (2013). The potential for bioenergy crops to contribute to meeting GB heat and electricity demands. Global Change Biology Bioenergy, -: -
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The paper presents a model system, which consists of a partial equilibrium model and processbased terrestrial biogeochemistry models, to determine the optimal distributions of both Miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus) and short rotation coppice willow (SRC) (Salix. viminalis L. x S. viminalis var Joruun) in Great Britain (GB), as well as their potential contribution to meet heat and electricity demand in GB. Results show that the potential contribution of Miscanthus and SRC to heat and electricity demand is significant. Without considering farmscale economic constraints, Miscanthus and SRC could generate, in an economically competitive way compared with other energy generation costs, 224 800 GWh yr−1 heat and 112 500 GWh yr−1 electricity, with 8 Mha of available land under Miscanthus and SRC, accounting for 66% of total heat demand and 62% of total electricity demand respectively. Given the pattern of heat and electricity demand, and the relative yields of Miscanthus and SRC in different parts of GB, Miscanthusis mainly favoured in the Midlands and areas in the South of GB, whereas SRC is favoured in Scotland, the Midlands and areas in the South of GB.
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Wiedmann, T. and Barrett, J. (2013). Policy-relevant applications of environmentally extended MRIO databases - Experiences from the UK. Economics Systems Research, 25 (1): 143-156
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The impressive development in global multi-region input–output (IO) databases is accompanied by an increase in applications published in the scientific literature. However, it is not obvious whether the insights gained from these studies have indeed been used in political decision-making. We ask whether and to what extent there is policy uptake of results from environmentally extended multi-region IO (EE-MRIO) models and how it may be improved. We identify unique characteristics of such models not inherent to other approaches. We then present evidence from the UK showing that a policy process around consumption-based accounting for greenhouse gas emissions and resource use has evolved that is based on results from EE-MRIO modelling. This suggests that specific, policy-relevant information that would be impossible to obtain otherwise can be generated with the helpof EE-MRIO models. Our analysis is limited to environmental applications of global MRIO models and to government policies in the UK.
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Policy Briefing Paper
Technology and Policy Assessment
Journal Article
Chitnis, M. S. Sorrell, A. Druckman and T. Jackson (2013). Lights into flights: estimating direct and indirect rebound effects for UK households. Energy Policy, 55: 234-250
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Energy efficiency improvements by households lead to rebound effects that offset the potential energy and emissions savings. Direct rebound effects result from increased demand for cheaper energy services, while indirect rebound effects result from increased demand for other goods and services that also require energy to provide. Research to date has focused upon the former, but both are important for climate change. This study estimates the combined direct and indirect rebound effects from seven measures that improve the energy efficiency of UK dwellings. The methodology is based upon estimates of the income elasticity and greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of 16 categories of household goods and services, and allows for the embodied emissions of the energy efficiency measures themselves, as well as the capital cost of the measures. Rebound effects are measured in GHG terms and relate to the adoption of these measures by an average UK household. The study finds that the rebound effects from these measures are typically in the range 5–15% and arise mostly from indirect effects. This is largely because expenditure on gas and electricity is more GHG-intensive than expenditure on other goods and services. However, the anticipated shift towards a low carbon electricity system in the UK may lead to much larger rebound effects.
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Houari, Y., Speirs, J., Candelise, C. and Gross R. (2013). A system dynamics model of tellurium availability for CdTe PV. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, -: -
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The routine availability of key component materials has been highlighted as a potential constraint to both extensive deployment and reduction in production costs of thinfilm photovoltaic (PV) technologies. This paper examines the effect of material availability on the maximum potential growth of thinfilm PV by 2050 using the case of tellurium (Te) in cadmium telluride (CdTe) PV, currently the dominating thinfilm technology with the lowest manufacturing cost. The use of system dynamics (SD) modelling allows for a dynamic treatment of key Te supply features and prospects for reductions in PV demand via material efficiency improvements, as well as greater transparency and a better understanding of future recycling potential. The model's projections for maximum Teconstrained CdTe PV growth by 2050 are shown to be higher than a number of previous studies using static assumptions—suggesting that a dynamic treatment of the resource constraints for CdTe inherently improves the outlook for future deployment of this technology. In addition, the sensitivity analysis highlights certain complex correlations between the maximum potential CdTe growth by 2050 and the rated lifetime of PV modules as well as the reported size of global Te resources. The highest observed sensitivities are to the recovery rate of Te from copper anode slimes, the active layer thickness, the module efficiency and the utilisation rate of Te during manufacturing, all of which are highlighted as topics for further research. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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McGlade, C., Speirs, J. and Sorrell, S. (2013). Unconventional gas - A review of regional and global resource estimates. Energy, 55: 571-584
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It is increasingly claimed that the world is entering a ‘golden age of gas’, with the exploitation of unconventional resources expected to transform gas markets around the world. But the future development of these resources is subject to multiple uncertainties, particularly with regard to the size and recoverability of the physical resource. This paper assesses the currently available evidence on the size of unconventional gas resources at both the regional and global level. Focussing in particular on shale gas, it first explores the meaning and appropriate interpretation of the various terms and definitions used in resource estimation and then summarises and compares the different regional and global estimates that have been produced to date. It shows how these estimates have increased over time and highlights their variability, the wide range of uncertainty and the inadequate treatment of this uncertainty by most studies. The paper also addresses coal bed methane and tight gas and identifies those estimates that appear to be most robust for each region. The paper concludes that unconventional gas could represent 40% of the remaining technically recoverable resource of natural gas, but the level of uncertainty is extremely high and the economically recoverable resource could be substantially smaller.
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UKERC Research Report
Gross, R., Heptonstall, P., Greenacre, P., Candelise, C., Jones, F. and Castillo Castillo, A. (2013). Presenting the Future: An assessment of future costs estimation methodologies in the electricity generation sector. UKERC Report UKERC/RR/TPA/2013/001. UKERC
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This report considers the role and importance of electricity cost estimates and the methodologies employed to forecast future costs. It examines the conceptual and empirical basis for the expectation that costs will reduce over time, explains the main cost forecasting methodologies, and analyses their strengths, limitations and difficulties. It considers six case study technologies in order to derive both technology specific and generic conclusions about the tools and techniques used to project future electricity generation costs.
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Speirs. J., Gross. B., Gross. R. and Houari. Y. (2013). Energy Materials Availability Handbook. UKERC Report Nil. UKERC
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Welcome to the Energy Materials Availability Handbook (EMAH), a brief guide to some of the materials that are critical components in low carbon energy technologies. In recent years concern has grown regarding the availability of a host of materials critical to the development and manufacturing of low carbon technologies.
In this handbook we examine 10 materials or material groups, presenting the pertinent facts regarding their production, resources, and other issues surrounding their availability. Three pages of summary are devoted to each material or material group. A ‘how to use’ guide is provided on the following pages.
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UKERC Working Paper
Speirs, J., Gross, R., Candelise, C., Gross, B. (2013). Materials Availability, Working Paper I: Thin Film Photovoltaics.. UKERC Report UKERC/WP/TPA/2011/002. UKERC
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The Paper considers first demand for indium and tellurium from the PV industry, now and in future. Whilst a range of scenarios exist for the role of PV in the global energy mix there is considerable agreement that the share of PV per se and thin film devices in particular is expected to expand considerably in the light of carbon abatement goals.
The paper then considers the supply of indium and tellurium. It provides a detailed review of the processes used to extract and refine them, and discusses the issues associated with producing these secondary metals which are extracted as trace elements during the production of primary metals such as zinc and copper. The Paper finds that there are considerable complexities associated with reported reserves and an absence of meaningful data on resources. Again, existing estimates of availability for the PV market are reviewed. This alsoreveals considerable variation within the literature and the use of a wide a range of assumptions upon which to base resource availability.
The paper concludes that there is no immediate cause for concern about availability of either indium or tellurium. PV occupies a small fraction of current markets and there is evidence of considerable potential to increase the extraction of both metals because a sizeable proportion of the material potentially available from primary metal extraction is not currently utilised. Moreover, there is potential to increase recycling of products containing indium or tellurium, for example from flat screens. However, the scale of the roll out of PV ~ vi ~ envisaged in some scenarios could imply a large expansion in the demand for indium and tellurium. There is no reason to believe that this is not feasible, however adequate data on reserves and resources do not exist. Resource estimates are not available and simplistic assumptions such as using current production or crustal abundance to estimate potential supply cannot provide any meaningful insight into future production. A scenario approach that links production to primary metals is appropriate. We conclude that considerable further research is needed to characterise indium and tellurium resources and the economic feasibility of expanding production.
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Speirs, J., Houari, Y., Contestabile, M., Gross, R., Gross, B. (2013). Materials Availability, Working paper II: Potential constraints to the future low-carbon economy: Batteries, Magnets and Materials.. UKERC Report UKERC/WP/TPA/2013/003. UKERC
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The paper examines demand for lithium and neodymium from the EV industry. Lithium is used in Li-Ion EV batteries and neodymium is used in permanent magnets in electric motors and wind turbine generators. Global demand scenarios for EVs vary widely, though all anticipate a considerable growth in the EV market over the coming decades, driven largely by decarbonisation goals.
The paper then examines wind turbines, another low carbon use of neodymium. Again global demand for wind turbines and estimates of future material intensity are key to understanding future demand. It is also important to estimate the number of turbines using permanent magnet designs, since generators without permanent magnets are in common use. Decarbonisation goals are predicted to drive demand for wind turbines in the future, with several studies agreeing that future manufacturing of turbines will increase significantly. Based on this analysis, demand for neodymium from wind turbines could be between 600 and 6,000 tonnes per year by 2050.
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Speirs, J., Houari, Y., Gross, R. (2013). Materials Availability, Working paper III: Comparison of material criticality studies - methodologies and results.. UKERC Report UKERC/WP/TPA/2013/002. UKERC
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Policy makers and industry are increasingly concerned over the availability of certain materials key to the manufacture of low carbon technologies. The literature addressing this topic includes reports termed ‘criticality assessment’ that aim to quantify the relative criticality of a range of materials. In this study we examine the methodologies underpinning these criticality assessments, and attempt to normalise and compare their results. This process identified a list of 10 metals or metal groups for which average normalised scores are presented, along with maximum and minimum scores to indicate the range of uncertainty. We find that criticality assessment methodologies diverge significantly, making comparison difficult. This leads to apparently wide uncertainty in results. We also find that in order to achieve comparability within studies, authors typically rely on simple metrics for which data is available for all metals considered. This leads to some compromises which affect results. Finally we suggest that, given these uncertainties and methodological difficulties, criticality assessments are best used to highlight materials or technologies of particular interest, which should then be further examined in isolation, to improve insight and accuracy.
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No Research Area applies
Consultation Response
Bradshaw. M. and Watson. J. (2013). House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee: Inquiry on The Economic Impact on Energy Policy of Shale Gas and Oil - Response on behalf of the UK Energy Research Centre.
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This response is largely based on research carried out within the UKERC project: The Geopolitical Economy of Global Gas Security and Governance: Implications for the UK. It also draws on UKERC’s energy system modeling research which has explored the changes that are necessary to meet the UK’s climate change targets.
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Eyre. N and Wilson. C (2013). Electricity Demand Reduction - UKERC Consultation Response to the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Show Abstract
This document sets out a response of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) to the Department of Energy and Climate Change‘s (DECC) consultation Electricity Demand Reduction‘.
In our response to the consultation on electricity market reform (EMR) we noted the potential importance of demand reduction and demand side response in achieving the Government‘s goals for the electricity sector of security, emissions reduction and reasonable cost.
All our responses are based on evidence from research by UK academic researchers independent of commercial or other vested interest. One particular focus of the response is on the option of premium payments (otherwise known as energy saving feed-in tariffs). UKERC supported research (Eyre, 2013) is the first peer reviewed academic literature on this topic in the world. We believe that an approach along these linesis consistent with addressing a market bias against energy saving that would otherwise be introduced by EMR proposals in their current form. We begin the response with four key concerns about the evidence base used in the consultation document and its supporting literature. We then respond to some specific questions identified in the consultation document itself.
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Research Atlas Landscape
Aggidis, G. (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Hydropower.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in hydropower research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities. UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: HYDROPOWER
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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Brandon, N (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Fuel Cells.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in fuel cells research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities. UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: FUEL CELLS
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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Dutton, A. G., Halliday, J.A. and Mays, T. (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Hydrogen.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in hydrogen research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities. UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: HYDROGEN
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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Gahan, D. (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Electric Power Conversion.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in electric power conversion research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.
UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: ELECTRIC POWER CONVERSION
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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Halliday, J.A. and Ruddell, A.J. (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Wind.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in wind energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.
UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: WIND ENERGY
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major fundingstreams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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Hannon, M (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Socio-Economic Issues.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in socio-economic issues research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.
UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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Howarth, P.J.A and Stonell, D. (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Nuclear Fission.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in nuclear fission research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.
UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: NUCLEAR FISSION
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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Irvine, S.J.C. (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Solar Energy.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in solar energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.
UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: SOLAR ENERGY
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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Ruddell, A.J. (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Energy Storage.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in energy storage research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.
UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: ENERGY STORAGE
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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Warrick, C., O'Brien, M., Ward, D., Nelson, C. and Edwards, C. (2013). UKERC Energy Research Landscape: Nuclear Fusion.
Show Abstract
This UKERC Research Atlas Landscape provides an overview of the competencies and publicly funded activities in nuclear fusion - research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in the UK. It covers the main funding streams, research providers, infrastructure, networks and UK participation in international activities.
UKERC ENERGY RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: NUCLEAR FUSION
- Section 1: An overview which includes a broad characterisation of research activity in the sector and the key research challenges
- Section 2: An assessment of UK capabilities in relation to wider international activities, in the context of market potential
- Section 3: Major funding streams and providers of basic research along with a brief commentary
- Section 4: Major funding streams and providers of applied research along with a brief commentary
- Section 5: Major funding streams for demonstration activity along with major projects and a brief commentary
- Section 6: Research infrastructure and other major research assets (e.g. databases, models)
- Section 7: Research networks, mainly in the UK, but also European networks not covered by the EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 8: UK participation in energy-related EU Framework Research and Technology Development (RTD) Programmes
- Section 9: UK participation in wider international initiatives, including those supported by the International Energy Agency
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UKERC Working Paper
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