Projects
Projects: Projects for Investigator |
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| Reference Number | EP/K001582/1 | |
| Title | Established Career Fellowship for Professor Catherine Mitchell | |
| Status | Completed | |
| Energy Categories | Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Energy system analysis) 50%; Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts) 50%; |
|
| Research Types | Basic and strategic applied research 100% | |
| Science and Technology Fields | SOCIAL SCIENCES (Politics and International Studies) 100% | |
| UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation | Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Policy and regulation) 100% | |
| Principal Investigator |
Prof CH (Catherine ) Mitchell No email address given Geography University of Exeter |
|
| Award Type | Standard | |
| Funding Source | EPSRC | |
| Start Date | 01 October 2012 | |
| End Date | 31 December 2016 | |
| Duration | 51 months | |
| Total Grant Value | £1,300,151 | |
| Industrial Sectors | Energy | |
| Region | South West | |
| Programme | Energy : Energy | |
| Investigators | Principal Investigator | Prof CH (Catherine ) Mitchell , Geography, University of Exeter (100.000%) |
| Web Site | ||
| Objectives | ||
| Abstract | Innovation, Governance and Affordability for a Sustainable and Secure EconomyTackling climate change, whilst ensuring energy security and affordability are key issues facing energy the system within the UK and internationally. The goal of moving towards a more sustainable, low carbon economy implies the need for a radical transition in the way that energy is both supplied and used. Such a change not only links to the technologies that are developed and deployed, but also the wider political, social, and economic institutions and infrastructures in which they are embedded or with which they are connected, including all of the actors within them. This is a dynamic and complex process and the interactions between all these factors and the choices made by the different actors within the energy system, such as policy makers, large firms, new entrants, investors, end users, etc will all influence that way the change occurs - i.e. energy governance.This research will focus on the relationships between innovation, governance, energy demand and affordability. It will do this by exploring the means by which interactions take place within the energy systems and their implications for innovation in respect to carbon targets, technology deployment, investment, new practices, customer involvement, energy efficiency, and the total cost of energy for customers. Specifically the research will consider the relationships between institutions, policy design (such as rules and incentives within the gas and electricity systems (markets and infrastructure), industry structure, incumbent and new entrant company strategies and decision-making processes and consumer practices. It will do this by primarily following the relatively simple causal relationships put forward by political and institutional economic theory. More complex theories of innovation (the multi level perspective and the coevolutionary theory of change) do consider governance but not in great detail. Incorporating the overall methodologies of these more complex theories will add rigour to our analyses, and also enable an expansion of the discussion of governance in both the MLP and co-evolutionary innovation theories.The programme will do this over four years in four countries with very different innovation histories. In particular, it will analyse the implications of different innovation and governance relationships on the success or otherwise of energy demand reduction and issues of affordability. Finally, it will analyse the implications of the findings on long term strategic innovation in energy systems, building upon, and contributing to, the literature and analysis of socio-technical transitions, coevolutionary analysis, institutional economics and policy paradigms. The outcomes will lead to a better understanding of how the transition to a sustainable, low carbon energy system, can occur.The research team is being lead by Catherine Mitchell from the Energy Policy at Exeter University and is supported by a high level expert panel. This includes UK and international academics working on transition theory, representatives from large and small energy companies, the UK energy regulator, as well as practitioners from the wider energy community who work with a range of stakeholders from across the energy sector. The research will be carried out in respect to the UK energy system and with international comparative analysis within Denmark, Germany, California and Texas | |
| Publications | (none) |
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| Final Report | (none) |
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| Added to Database | 19/11/12 | |
