The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) carries out world-class, interdisciplinary research into sustainable future energy systems. UKERC Phase4 runs from 2019 to 2024. UKERC's whole systems research programme addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a net zero energy system and economy. UKERC is an independent research centre, with researchers based in 20 different institutions throughout the UK. UKERC is funded through via the UK Research and Innovation, Energy Programme, by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council.
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Publisher: Caroline Kuzemko, Warwick
Period: 2021-08-16 - 2021-09-15
Rights: Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-By)
A survey was undertaken with UK energy and climate change stakeholders involved in and/or effected by Brexit - it was undertaken as part of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKRC) funded project on 'Brexit and UK Net Zero Energy Policy'. The survey was designed to ascertain views on the implications of Brexit for energy and climate change policy and politics, and to build knowledge about actual effects in practice. There were 83 respondents - from UK government (Westminster and devolved), business (mainly energy industry and finance), think tanks and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics researching Brexit, and representatives of EU countries.
Data from the survey was used to inform the analysis underpinning 2 papers: the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) policy briefing paper, Brexit Implications for UK Decarbonisation Objectives, and the Policy & Politics journal article, Brexit Implications for Sustainable Energy in the UK.
Publisher: Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Period: 2000-01-01 - 2022-12-31
Rights: Open Access
Publisher: Nature
Period: 2020-01-01 - 2020-12-31
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Cox, E, Cardiff University
Period: 2022-03-15 - 2022-10-10
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Cox, E, Cardiff University
Period: 2019-04-30 - 2024-04-29
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2018-01-01 - 2018-12-31
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Sam Cooper, University of Bath
Period: 2030-01-01 - 2050-01-01
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: UKERC Industrial Decarbonisation Team
Period: 2017-01-01 - 2050-12-31
Rights: UK Open Government Licence (OGL)
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2021-05-20 - 2049-01-01
Rights: CC-BY
This data set was updated on 14/10/2021. The top-level folder holds the latest version and a README file detailing the changes. The original version is retained in a sub-folder.
Publisher: UKERC
Period: 2021-04-01 - 2022-06-01
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: UKERC Public Engagement Observatory
Period: 2017-01-01 - 2024-04-01
Rights: Open Access
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Kazaglis, A., Tam, A., Eis, J., Watson, J., Hughes, N., Gross, R. and Hanna, R.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This report, commissioned by the Aldersgate Group and co-authored with Vivid Economics, identifies out how the government can achieve a net zero target cost-effectively, in a way that enables the UK to capture competitive advantages.
The unique contribution of this report is to identify the lessons from successful and more rapid historical innovations and apply them to the challenge of meeting net zero emissions in the UK.
Achieving net zero emissions is likely to require accelerated innovation across research, demonstration and early deployment of low carbon technologies. Researchers analysed five international case studies of relatively rapid innovations to draw key lessons for government on the conditions needed to move from a typical multi-decadal cycle, to one that will deliver net zero emissions by mid-Century.
The case studies include:
The report also sets out which low carbon technologies are likely to have wider productivty and growth benefits in other industries for the UK. These include carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS); heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); wind energy; biofuels and batteries. These areas should be prioritised by the government’s innovation strategy going forwards.
Author(s): Blondeel, M., Bradshaw, M., Froggatt, A. and Kuzemko, C.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Chilvers, J., Pallet, H., Hargreaves, T., Stephanides, P. and Waller, L.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Beaumont, N., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Taylor, P., Wade, F. and Webb, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Lowes, R., Pidgeon, N., Barrett, J., Qadrdan, M., Gross, R. and Wu, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Bell, K., MacIver, C. and Nash, S.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Warren, G. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment at the Energy Savings Trust.
Author(s): Daggash, H.A., Fajardy, M., Heptonstall, P., MacDowell, N. and Gross, R.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This UKERC TPA working paper has been prepared to support the Committee on Climate Change’s advice to the UK government on the implications of the Paris Agreement on its long-term emissions reduction targets. In their recent reports, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have highlighted that large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR), defined as any anthropogenic activity that results in the net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, is critical to meeting the Paris Agreement target.
This review addresses two technological CDR solutions that have been demonstrated: bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS). The overarching questions which this review addresses, for both BECCS and DACCS, are:
Author(s): Cronin, J., Pye, S., Price, J. and Butnar, I.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This paper explores the sensitivity of energy system decarbonisation pathways to the role of afforestation and reduced energy demands as a means to lessen reliance on carbon dioxide removal.
The stringency of climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement has placed strong emphasis on the role of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) over this century. However, there are large uncertainties around the technical and economic viability and the sustainability of large-scale CDR options. These uncertainties have prompted further consideration of the role of bioenergy in decarbonisation pathways and the potential land-use trade-offs between energy crops and afforestation. The interest in afforestation is motivated by its potential as an alternative to large-scale bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), with its arguably lower risk supply chains, and multiple co-benefits. Furthermore, doubt over the viability of large-scale CDR has prompted a renewed examination of the extent to which their need can be offset by lowering energy demands.
A global optimisation model (TIAM-UCL) was used to examine decarbonisation pathways for the global energy system. Based on core assumptions, where energy demands follow business as usual trends and degraded land is used for energy crops, the model was unable to find a solution for a 1.5°C target. Over the period 2020-2100, the carbon budget of GtCO2 is exceeded by 332 GtCO2.
Scenarios where also run to examine how the least-cost decarbonisation pathway changes if i) energy demands are significantly reduced, or ii) degraded land is used for large-scale afforestation instead of energy crops. Each option on its own reduced the CO2 budget exceedance but both were required to allow the model to meet the 1.5°C target.
Under the 2°C target, afforestation reduced the reliance on BECCS by 60%. Under the 1.5°C target, the system still used all of the biomass available, as the target is so ambitious. When the energy demands were lower, the effect of afforestation on biomass use was dependent on the climate target. Under the 2°C target, less biomass was used across all economic sectors, whereas under the stringent 1.5°C target, all the available wood and crop biomass was exploited, but its use shifted away from the production of liquid fuels towards use in power generation.
Lowering energy service demands had a larger effect on the energy mix than large-scale afforestation. This is because demands are lowered differently across the sectors according to their economic drivers. However, afforestation had a bigger impact on the marginal cost of climate change mitigation, as it substantially decreases the scale and pace of change required by the energy system, especially in the 2°C case.
Given its key role, afforestation should be considered more in deep decarbonisation scenarios, as should lower demand scenarios.
Lowering energy demand and introducing large-scale afforestation both present significant challenges and opportunities. Further work should focus on factors affecting the carbon sequestration potential of afforestation, along with an interdisciplinary research agenda on the scope for large scale energy demand reduction. Research on the social, technical and economic factors that affect the potential for converting abandoned agricultural land to energy crops or new forest would be beneficial. An interdisciplinary research agenda is needed that brings together techno-economic modelling and qualitative scenario development with research on the social change that could lead to large reductions in energy demand
Author(s): Froggatt, A., Kuzemko, C. and Blondeel, M.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): McEwen, N., McHarg, A., Munro, F., Cairney, P., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper examines how renewables in Scotland are shaped by decisions taken by the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the EU. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders, it explores the potential impact of Brexit on Scottish renewables.
Brexit has the potential to disrupt this relatively supportive policy environment in three ways in regulatory and policy frameworks governing renewable energy; access to EU funding streams; and trade in energy and related goods and services.
Our briefing identifies varying levels of concern among key stakeholders in Scotland. Many expect policy continuity, irrespective of the future UK-EU relationship. There is more concern about access to research and project funding, and future research and development collaboration, especially for more innovative renewable technologies. The UK will become a third country forthe purposes of EU funding streams, able to participate, but not lead on renewables projects, and there is scepticism about whether lost EU funding streams will be replaced at domestic levels.
While there is no real risk of being unable to access European markets even in a No-Deal Brexit scenario, trade in both energy and related products and services could become more difficult and more expensive affecting both the import of specialist labour and kit from the EU and the export of knowledge-based services. Scotlands attractiveness for inward investment may also be affected.
Author(s): Fawcett, T., Hampton, S. and Mallaburn, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
We welcome the idea of offering more policy support to SMEs to enable the uptake of energy efficiency opportunities, to the benefit of their enterprises, the economy as a whole and the environment. Researchers have previously argued that there is not enough policy focus on SMEs (Banks et al, 2012, Hampton and Fawcett, 2017) and this consultation was valuable as part of a wider process of policy development.
This response covers general issues about design of policy for energy efficiency improvement in SMEs, and offers specific evidence on Option 2: a business energy efficiency obligation.
Author(s): Jones, C.M. and Higginson, S.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing note brings together the current state of policy and activities that CREDS and UKERC have undertaken to support data sharing.
Author(s): Gross, R., MacIver, C. and Blyth, W.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bradshaw, M., Bell, K .and Webb, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
We welcome the re-assertion of key policy objectives and the commitment to a whole system approach described in the strategy. In our response we highlight a number of key areas that need to be addressed including the need for geographical specificity, and a hierarchy of objectives along with the introduction of low and stable prices as one of these objectives.
Author(s): Heptonstall. P, and Winskel. M
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This systematic review presents data on the total installed costs for domestic heat pumps in the UK and internationally. It covers historic and forecast costs, across a range of technology types and building contexts.
Author(s): Gross, R., Blyth, W., MacIver, C., Green, R., Bell, K. and Jansen, M.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
UKERCs response provides commentary and analysis on many of the wide range of topics encompassed in the consultation. This includes the overall vision and objectives, case for change, the evaluation criteria defined by BEIS, locational pricing and local markets, lessons from other countries, changes to wholesale markets and incentives for low carbon generation, flexibility and capacity.
Our response provides detailed and evidence-based analysis on each of these complex topics, drawing on UKERC research and wider outputs. We highlight some of the complex trade-offs involved and argue for a cautious and gradualist approach that builds on the progress already made in some areas.
Author(s): Ketsopoulou, I., Taylor, P., Watson, J., Winskel, M., Kattirtzi, M., Lowes, R., Woodman, B., Poulter, H., Brand, C., Killip, G., Anable, J., Owen, A., Hanna, R., Gross, R. and Lockwood, M.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The in-depth analysis presented in this report focuses on four key areas of the economy, highlighting how they may need to change to remain competitive and meet future carbon targets.
The report identifies how policy makersplan for disruptions to existing systems. With the right tools and with a flexible and adaptive approach to policy implementation, decision makers can better respondto unexpected consequences and ensure delivery of key policy objectives.
Author(s): Winskel, M. and Kattirtzi, M.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
There is an increasing sense of urgency about the global energy system transition. For many observers an urgent energy transition is also a necessarily disruptive one, in that it is only by radically remaking energy systems that an accelerated transition to low carbon and sustainable energy can be achieved.
Closer to home, there has been substantial progress in some parts of the energy system in the decade since the passing of the UK and Scottish Climate Change Acts. Other areas have shown little sign of change, and the transition ahead may well be more disruptive and intrusive than that seen so far. At the same time, there is also an emerging counter-narrative: that repurposing our existing energy assets (physical and social) offers the best and quickest transition path, since there is insufficient time to disrupt and remake.
Attending energy events and keeping up-to-date with emerging evidence can instil a sense of different experts talking past each other. For those involved in whole systems energy research, and working at the research-policy interface, this can be deeply frustrating. To help address this, UKERC – working with ClimateXChange (CXC), Scotland’s Centre of Expertise on Climate Change – has spent two years analysing disruption and continuity in the UK energy system.
As part of that work, we surveyed around 130 experts and stakeholders about disruption and continuity-led change in the UK energy transition. The experts were mostly UK based researchers working on ‘whole systems’ research projects, but also included policymakers, advisory bodies, think tanks, businesses (old and new) and civil society organisations. This report presents the results of this survey work.
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Brand, C., Anable, J. and Dixon, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Government has been seeking views on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible. In this joint UKERC/CREDS consultation response we provide views on the following aspects:
A phase out date of 2035 or earlier is sensible yet it might not be enough. Our research, recently published in the journal Energy Policy, has found that neither existing transport policies nor the pledge to bring forward the phase out date for the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles by 2035 or 2040 are sufficient to hit carbon reduction targets, or make the early gains needed to stay within a Paris compliant carbon budget for cars and vans.
Our research has shown that deeper and earlier reductions in carbon emissions and local air pollution would be achieved by a more ambitious, but largely non-disruptive change to a 2030 phase out that includes all fossil fuel vehicles. This would include all vehicles with an internal combustion engine, whether self-charging or not. However, only the earlier phase outs combined with lower demand for mobility and a clear and phased market transformation approach aimed at phasing out the highest-emitting vehicleswould make significant contributions to an emissions pathway that is both Paris compliant and meets legislated carbon budgets and urban air quality limits.
The proposed policy will involve high levels of coordination, intention and buy-in by policy makers, business and wider civil society. By far the biggest barrier to change will be the incumbent industries the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). They have a well-known track record of pushing back against EU vehicle regulations on the grounds of cost. In the case of electric powertrains, this push back is evident, with added resistance on the base of restricted supply chains and time to alter production processes. We suggest this is all the more reason to publish and implement a market transformation strategy now so that early wins which do not rely on supply chains or large transformations to the production line can mitigate against any later genuine supply-side constraints. Such a clear policy steer from the UK government is needed in order to ensure that UK consumers have more choice of cars than they may otherwise get if the OEMs restrict their sales of the most efficient vehicles into the UK market once out of the EU regulatory regime.
UKERC research into various phase-out policies has looked at how disruptive they would be for key stakeholders of the transport-energy system, and how much coordination would be needed to achieve the policy goals. This research has shown that in the Road-to-Zero ICE phase out by 2040 the main actors of the road transport and energy system are unlikely to undergo disruptive change. This is due to the relatively slow and limited evolution of the fleet towards unconventional low carbon fuels, the continuation of fuel duty revenue streams well into the 2040s and little additional reductions in energy demand and air pollutant emissions.
However, in the earlier (2030) and stricter (in what constitutes an ultra-low carbon vehicle) phase-outs we can expect some disruption for technology providers, industry and business in particular vehicle manufacturers, global production networks, the maintenance and repair sector as well as the oil and gas industry. There will also be localised impacts (some potentially disruptive) on electricity distribution networks and companies, even with smart charging.
Ending the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans earlier, coupled with the electrification of road transport should form a key part of long term decarbonisation policy, but it is not a panacea. First, an earlier phase out date of 2030 implies we have 10 years to plan for and implement a transition away from fossil-fuel ICE cars and vans. As we discussed in our response, our research suggests that this is achievable without significant disruption to the transport-energy system, but it needs to be linked to accelerated investment in charging networks, battery development and deployment, increased market availability of zero-emission vehicles, and equivalent-value support by the Government to level the playing field with the incumbents. Second, our research has shown multiple times that further and earlier policy measures that impact the transport-energy system are needed, including a clear and phased market transformation approach that targets high-emitting vehicles, access bans in urban areas, and dynamic road pricing that could fund an order of magnitude increase in investment in sustainable transport modes.
We support bringing the phase-outdate forward and urge it to be earlier than 2035 and include phasing out any non-zero tailpipe vehicles using a market transformation approach. We strongly believe Government has a crucial role to play in leading the way to decarbonise transport, going well beyond the proposed policy change of bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040 to 2035 or earlier.
Author(s): Li, P. and Strachan, N.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Li, P. and Strachan, N.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Hamilton. K
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Strachan, N. and Li, P.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Gross, R., Wade F. and Webb, J.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Roddis, P. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Social Value is a rising policy agenda in the UK, formalised in legislation by the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. It refers to social, economic and environmental benefits whose value is not captured in financial flows. Whilst multiple tools and methodologies are available to measure Social Value, there is little consensus on which method is best to use in different contexts. This report reviews options and considers how best to measure Social Value in the context of major energy infrastructure projects such as HPC.
The report finds that value is highly contingent and subjective, and that what is valuable is not always tangible. It therefore emphasises the importance of qualitative measures of Social Value alongside quantitative data or monetary estimates, recognising the limits of assigning financial values to some types of outcome. It also stresses the importance of involving stakeholders to find out what matters to them and what they most value.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project this report was developed during a secondment at EDF Energy
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the final of our four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Established in 2013, Brighton and Hove Energy Services (BHESCo) primary focus was to develop both renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, whilst also ensuring people have equal access to energy. BHESCo is rather unlike our other community energy case studies in that it operates very much like an Energy Services Company (ESCo), where they accept some degree of responsibility to provide the energy service that its customers ultimately desire (e.g. lighting, ambient temperature), rather than the straightforward supply of heat or electricity.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This report presents a case study of Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative, exploring how it financed the project against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
This report presents the first of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative (ECSC) is a Community Benefit Society (BenCom). Its objectives are a combination of environmental and social, with an explicit focus on reducing emissions, alleviating fuel poverty, improving energy security and promoting sustainable development education.
ECSC quickly settled on renewable power generation as a means of delivering this combination of environmental andsocial value. Today it operates 1.4 MW of solar PV panels on the roofs of 24 council-owned properties in Edinburgh, including schools, leisure centres and community halls.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the second of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Green Energy Mull (GEM) is a Community Benefit Company (BenCom) that owns and operates Garmony Hydro; a 400 kW run-of-the-river hydro scheme on the island of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, Tim., Hardy, J., Mclachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the third of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Gwent Energy (Wales) was formed in 2009 to deliver environmental benefit and cost savings to its local community. It aims to help local consumers save money on their energy bills through a combination of renewable energy, efficiency, storage and electric vehicle charging interventions, whilst simultaneously generating a surplus to fund local community initiatives.
Author(s): Wilson, G. and Rowley, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing note describes the amount of gas contained within Great Britain’s gas transmission and distribution networks, and how this changes over a day to support variations in demand. The hourly data covers the 63-month period from 2013-01-01 to 2018-03-07.
The amount of gas contained within the higher-pressure tiers of Britain’s gas transmission and distribution network is termed ‘linepack’; literally, it is the amount of gas packed into the pipelines.
Linepack is proportional to the pressure of the gas in the pipelines, increasing the pressure increases the amount of gas, and thus the energy contained therein. The amount of linepack changes throughout the day due to the varying levels of pipeline pressure. This flexing of pressure provides a method to help match the supply and demand for gas within a day.
The scale of energy that can be stored and released by varying linepack highlights its importance as a means of operational flexibility, helping to balance the changes in national primary energy demand.
The scale of the within-day flexibility currently provided by the natural gas transmission and distribution networks points to a formidable energy systems challenge; how to provide low-carbon within-day flexibility to future energy systems at a reasonable cost.
Author(s): Haf, S., Hirmer, S.A., Khalid, R., Roddis, P., Stabler, L., Warren, G., Foulds, C. ,Robison, R. and Rohse, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Stabler, L. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
At present, Governments commitment stands in sharp contrast with its inaction on heat decarbonisation to date. Under pressure to progress this agenda, Government has charged the Clean Heat Directorate with the task of outlining the process for determining the UK’s long-term heat policy framework, to be published in the Roadmap for policy on heat decarbonisation in the summer of 2020 (BEIS, 2017). This report, resulting from one of six EPSRC-funded secondments, is designed to support early thinking on the roadmap by answering the research question: How can Transitions research informs the roadmap for governing the UKs heating transition?
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with BEIS.
Author(s): Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P. and Gross, R.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cox, E., Bell, K. and Gross, R.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Haf, S. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Local Authorities role in the energy transition and working with their citizens in doing so, has been recognised as crucial to paving transition paths. Material collated within this report is intended to better inform Energy Cities and its partners, Local Authorities and Municipalities, civil society groups and others interested in how citizens can be supported and encouraged to participate in energy system developments as a part of the energy transition. The findings in this report are therefore intended to directly help Local Authorities across Europe in implementing more participative approaches to their governance practices in energy systems.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Energy Cities.
Author(s): Crawley, J., Ogunrin, S., Taneja, S., Vorushlyo, I. and Wang, X.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Colechin, M. and Quigley, C.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This workshop was a joint event organised by CREDS and UKERC Sarah Higginson, Catherine Jones, Kate Kwok, Marina Topouzi, Mike Fell, Gesche Huebner and facilitated by Mike Colechin
Author(s): Britton, J. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cox, E., Bell, K.. and Brush, S.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Bell, K.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The gas and electricity sectors feature many different actors that interact in different ways, through commercial arrangements and physical transfers of energy. The activities of the larger actors – generators, suppliers, gas shippers, and network owners and operators – are regulated through various licences.
There is then a raft of standards and codes that govern the interfaces between the actors and many of the characteristics of equipment that is connected to the networks. Most of these documents were established when the gas and electricity sectors were first liberalised in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although a number have seen various revisions since then, many industry observers have argued that they are out of step with technological and market developments and difficult to change.
This document contains the UKERC response to the 2019 consulation by BEIS/Ofgem about how and why the codes might be revised.
Author(s): Stevenson, L. and Royston, S.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The brief discusses the contextual nuances of staff travel choices and the potential of policy interventions to encourage sustainable travel modes. Through a detailed review of NHS parking policies and broader academic literature on transport practices. It underscores the need to develop comprehensive trave
Author(s): Pidgeon, N., Gross, R., Bell, K., Bradshaw, M., Chaudry, M., Hanna, R., Qadrdan, M., Lockwood, M., Webb, J. and Wu, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
It was submitted to in response to the Welsh Government call for evidence to inform the development of Wales decarbonisation pathway to Net Zero, whilst also providing an initial step towards potentially developing a Just Transition Framework for Wales.
Author(s): Prime, K.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The brief highlights innovative practices in prevention, repair, and recycling that can transform waste management systems, while acknowledging their interconnected complexities across practices. It underscores the need for local authorities to take a whole-system and cross-sectoral approach, empowering them with resources and policy fr
Author(s): Smith, W., Pidgeon, N., Demski, C. and Becker, S.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Rhodes, A., Heptonstall, P. and Speirs, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Hardt, L., Brockway, P., Taylor, P., Barrett, J., Gross, R. and Heptonstall, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the government is legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels.
Historically, the focus of energy policy in the UK has been on supply-side policies, such as decarbonisation of electricity generation through greater use of low carbon technologies like wind and solar. Increasingly, however, demand-side energy policies are being recognised as having important contributions to make to achieving emission reduction targets, through reducing energy demand or by making energy demand more flexible and compatible with variable renewable energy sources. Such demand-side policies can seek to promote a wide range of technologies and behaviours, for example improved buildinginsulation, reduction in the use of energy intensive materials and increases in teleworking to reduce commuting.
To fully realise the potential of demand-side energy policies, it is important that they can be adequately represented in quantitative energy models, because such models play an important role in informing UK energy policy. However, we do not currently have a good understanding of how well the different energy models that inform UK government energy policy represent energy demand and demand-side energy policies.
Therefore we have undertaken a Rapid Evidence Assessment (a constrained form of systematic review) to examine the energy models that have informed energy policy documents published by the UK government between 2007 and 2017. The overarching question this review seeks to address is:
How suitableare the energy models used toinform UK government energy policy for exploring the full range of contributions that demand-side energy policies can make to climate change mitigation?
Our Rapid Evidence Assessment reveals that the core strength of current energy modelling is the detailed representation of technologies, with many models featuring information on hundreds of potential technological options for increasing energy efficiency. Although uncertainties exist around these technological options, these models allow us to gain a coherent and realistic understanding of how different combinations of technologies could satisfy our future energy service demands under different low-carbon scenarios.
However, the modelling landscape reveals two key limitations with regard to the representationof non-technological drivers of energy demand:
Author(s): Chaudry M, Hawker G, Qadrdan M, Broad O, Webb J, Wade F, Britton J, Wu J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Lowes, R. and Woodman, B.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The paper investigates the importance of governance for energy system change and specifically investigates some of the areas where the UKs net zero target implies significant infrastructure change or expansion, namely in industry and associated with buildings and transport.
Author(s): Rafa, N. and Khalid, R.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Despite these benefits, barriers such as regulatory gaps, cultural inertia within the construction sector, and lack of consumer awareness hinder MMCs widespread adoption. In light of current challenges, the study underscores the imp
Author(s): Beaumont, N., Bell, K., Flower, J., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Qadrdan, M., Rhodes, A., Speirs, J., Taylor, P., Webb, J. and Wu. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Britton, J., Poulter, H. and Webb, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R. and Bell. K.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Pathways that are consistent with legislated net zero targets are likely to see highly significant changes to demand for electricity. When these changes will start to take place and how quickly is uncertain, which leads to challenges when setting price controls. Key elements to circumnavigate this will be flexibility and scenario planning.
The need for network reinforcement can be reduced by the appropriate use of flexibility, e.g. in the timing of EV charging. However, the means by which different sources of flexibility might be encouraged and then utilised are still immature and it is not yet clear which will actors prove to be the most significant and efficient in providing services.
Flexibility can only go so far in helping meet power supply needs; at some point, network capacity often proves the most cost-effective means, especially when considering its reliability and lifetime, and the opportunities provided by asset replacement. The triggering of investment in network assets presents an opportunity not just to meet the immediate need or that forecast for the next few years, but to provide for the maximum transfer that can be envisaged throughout the path to net zero. This is likely to be cheapest for consumers over the longer term as the incremental cost of additional electrical capacity is small relative to the total cost of aproject, it avoids the need for repeated interventions, andit saves on the long-term cost of network losses.
Ofgem has noted in the consultation document that some form of scenario planning of investment is likely to be needed. A number of scenarios should be developed that encompass key uncertainties but are consistent across Britain in respect of the whole, multi-vector system, and associated assumptions.
There should be engagement with Local Authorities and other stakeholders to develop regional plans of future energy needs, such as a Local Area Energy Plan. This engagement is important as local, regional, or devolved administration policies as well as different geographies and starting points can drive different actions.
Innovation is a long-term process and uncertainty is inherent to it there is always the potential for unforeseen things to arise. What this means for the energy system is that:
Where there is uncertainty about the effect or cost of new practices or technologies on an energy system and its users who ultimately pay but also benefit from innovations that are adopted it is reasonable for those users to share the risk by sharing the cost of resolution of the uncertainties. However, arguments might be made that costs should be shared not by energy system users, i.e. its customers, but by taxpayers, e.g. through funding by UKRI.
A less than perfect set of arrangements for the sharing of costs between different parties should be accepted if that is what is necessary to support R&D capacity, address risks, and drive innovation. Moreover, the amount of network customers money that is being proposed in RIIO-ED2 to support innovation is modest compared with the network companies total expenditure and the benefits that will accrue to customers and society as a whole in the energy system transition.
Good governance and good practice on the part of network licensees is essential to ensure that customers money is used effectively. In particular, we agree with Ofgem that data transparency associated with network innovation projectsneeds to be much improved.
In order that the scope of Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) funding is not set too narrowly, we think it important to have a clear understanding of what a successful energy system transition involves. We include in our response a first draft of a definition and include recommendations for the threshold that projects must meet to be funded.
Summary: The greatest challenges faced by Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) in forming investment plans relate to the gathering and use of information with suitable levels of spatial and temporal detail. Access to smart meter data should help, but innovation will be required to turn data into useful information.
A final observation is that it is important for the UKs economy as a whole that the UK has the capacity to undertake research and development, to innovate, and to generate evidence in order to drive the commercial viability of ideas
Author(s): Demski, C., Pidgeon, N., Evensen, D. and Becker, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the government has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels (Climate Change Act, 2008). This will require a large shift in the UK’s energy system, ranging from energy production, across transmission to consumption.
The public are implicated in the transition process as energy users, increasingly also as energy producers and as active members of society who might support or oppose energy projects and policies. Previous research (Demski et al., 2015; Parkhill et al., 2013) has shown that there is widespread public support for transitioning to a low-carbon, affordable and reliable energy system – however, this change is associated with costs and it remains to be seen how these costs will be covered.
This research explores the views of the British public on how the energy transition should be financed. Drawing on a survey of 3,150 respondents and focus groups in 4 locations across Great Britain, it investigates what responsibility members of the public assign to government, energy companies and the general public for financing energy system change.
The results highlight widespread support for an energy system that ensures affordability, reliability and low carbon energy sources. Energy companies and the government were assigned primary responsibility for contributing financially to energy transition, as they were seen to have the structural power and financial means to implement necessary changes. Respondents also indicated that the general public ought to contribute as well, although the public was perceived to be paying over the odds already (through bills to the energy companies and levies to the government). Nonetheless, research participants expressed willingness to accept between 9-13% of their energy bills going towards environmental and social levies.
Willingness to contribute financially towards the energy transition was also found to be dependent on the perception that energy companies and government are contributing financially and showing real commitment to energy system change. It was also notable that this condition was not currently thought to be met; distrust in this regard was particularly evident in focus group discussions.
Distrust in companies: People believe that the majority of energy companies are driven primarily by profit motives leading to inadequate commitments with regards to energy transition goals such as investing in low-carbon energy and ensuring energy affordability.
Distrust in government: The government, and politicians in particular, are seen as too closely connected to the energy industry, leading to inadequate and ineffective regulation of energy companies and their opaque practices.
Examining what underlies people’s distrust, it is evident that the public has a number of justice and fairness concerns that need to be addressed. In particular, beliefs concerning distributive justice (i.e. how costs are distributed across society) and procedural justice (i.e. respectful treatment, transparent practices and decision-making) are important for public acceptance of responsibility and costs.
Addressing the issues underlying the trust deficit will be challenging, but this is nonetheless important if we are to ensure that there is to be broad societal consent and engagement with the low-carbon energy transition. To begin this process, the briefing includes the following recommendations:
Author(s): Hirmer, S.A. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Energy is a crucial element for development in almost every aspect of community life such as education, health, food, and security, and it can contribute to farming productivity, income generation, and the creation of networks that enable youth to work from their villages. Despite this, around 1 billion people globally do not have access to sustainable energy sources, and 80% of those people live in rural areas across 20 countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. To decrease this energy access gap, and to improve rural livelihoods and increase economic opportunities in rural areas, Productive Uses of Energy (PUE) offer an untapped opportunity: examples of PUE include irrigation and post-harvest processing.
Despite the benefits of PUE, they are often not considered in the planning off-grid rural electrification developments. This may be partially attributed to a lack of capital; riskyframework conditions; and a lack of clear policy guidelines available on the subject. The latter of which was the focus of this research project.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Practical Action.
Author(s): Maximov, S.,Rickman, J., Gross, R. and Ameli, N.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Smith, J., Britton, J. and Cieszewska, B.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The challenge of rapidly decarbonising our energy system can’t be addressed if only half of the population is involved. Unfortunately it’s old news that women are significantly underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, with the UK having the lowest proportion of female engineers in the EU. Across all academic disciplines women account for 58% of Postgraduate students but only 25% of Professors.
Our research explores the current state of gender balance in UK energy research. We looked at the data and talked to female energy researchers about their experience of securing research funding and of academic life. They told us what needs to change.
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bell, K., Brand, C., Wade, F., Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Kuzemko, C., Froggatt, A., Bradshaw, M., Lowes, R., Webb, J., Dodds, P., Chilvers, J. and Hargreaves, T.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this issue of UKERCs annual Review of Energy Policy, we discuss some of the effects of COVID-19 on the energy system and how the unprecedented events of 2020 might impact energy use and climate policy in the future.
Focusing on electricity demand, transport, green jobs and skills, Brexit, heat, and societal engagement, the Review reflects on the past year and looks forward, highlighting key priorities for the Government.
Key recommendations
Electricity
The scale of investment in the power system required over the coming decade is huge. A big challenge is market design. We need a market that can incentivise investment in low carbon power and networks at least cost whilst also providing incentives for flexibility. Output from wind and solar farms will sometimes exceed demand and other timesfallto low levels. The right mix of flexible resources must be established to deal with variable output from renewables, with the right market signals and interventions in place to do this at least cost.
Mobility
The end of the sale of fossil fuel cars and vans by 2030 must be greeted with enthusiasm. Yet if this is to play its part in a Paris-compliant pathway to zero emissions, it must be one of many policy changes to decarbonise UK transport. Earlier action is paramount, and we recommend a market transformation approach targeting the highest emitting vehicles now, not just from 2030. Phasing-in of the phase-out will save millions of tons of CO2 thus reducing the need for radical action later on. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan has a lot to deliver.
Green jobs and skills
COVID-19 recoverypackages offer the potential to combine job creation with emissions reduction. A national housing retrofit programme would be a triple win, creating jobs, reducing carbon emissions and make our homes more comfortable and affordable to heat. However, UKERC research finds that there are significant skills gaps associated with energy efficient buildings and low carbon heat. UKERC calls for a national programme of retraining and reskilling that takes advantage of the COVID downturn to re-equip building service professions with the skills needed for net zero.
Brexit
As the UK leaves the EU on the 1st January it will lose many of the advantages of integration. With new regimes for carbon pricing, trading, and interconnection yet to be agreed, there will be a high degree of uncertainty in the near to medium term. Given upward pressure on energy costs,delays to policy, and this uncertainty surrounding new rules, the overall effects of Brexit are not positive for UK energy decarbonisation.
Heat
UKERC research calls for action on heat to deliver the net zero technologies that we know work - insulating buildings and rolling out proven options. We need to end delay or speculation about less-proven options. Analysis is consistent with recent advice from the CCC that heat policy should focus on electrification whilst exploring options for hydrogen. We need to break the pattern of ad hoc and disjointed policy measures for heat and buildings, and develop a coherent, long-term strategy. This would be best achieved as an integral part of local and regional energy plans, involving local governments as coordinating agents. The aspirations for heat cant be realised unless we also take actionon the skills gap.
Societal engagement with energy
Achieving net zero in 2050 will entail significant changes to the way we live, what we eat and how we heat our homes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that when faced with a threat, society can change rapidly. Engaging society with the net zero transition also needs to change, it needs to be to be more ambitious, diverse, joined-up and system-wide, and recognise the many different ways that citizens engage with these issues on an ongoing basis.
Author(s): Gross, R., Bradshaw, M., Bridge, G., Weszkalnys, G., Rattle, I., Taylor, P., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable,J., Beaumont, N., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Lovett, A., Shepherd, A..
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
With a focus on gas and the UK continental shelf, industrial decarbonisation, heat, mobility and the environment, we look at developments both at home and internationally and ask whether the UK is a leader in decarbonisation, and if the transition is being managed as well as it could be.
Author(s): Gross, R., Webb, J., Bradshaw, M., Bell, K., Taylor, P., Gailani, A., Rattle, I., Brand, C., Anable, J., Kuzemko, C. and Froggatt, A.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Taylor, P., Bays, J., Bradshaw, M., Webb, J., Britton, J., Bolton, R., Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable, J., Brand, C., Rattle, I., Gailani, A., Bell K., Halliday, C., Shepherd, A., Watson, S., Lovett, A. and Hastings, A.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Nash, S., Jansen, M., Rickman, J. and Bell, K.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Britton, J. and Webb. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Bell, K., Bridge, G., Britton, J., Cooper, S., Gailani, A., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Munoz, C.C., Poulter, H., Rattle, I., Sugar, K., Turner, K., Webb, J. and Whitmee, S.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Allan, G., Barkoumas, C., Ross, A. and Sinha, A.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this working paper, we look at the economic, energy, and emissions consequences for the UK of non-energy or invisible energy policies (Cox et al, 2019). These are policies which, while not explicitly energy-focused, impact on energy use and emissions. We examine this from a sectoral perspective, looking at differences in consequences when policies are successful in raising exports for individual sectors of the UK economy.
The central purpose of this paper is to extend that previous work and reflect the detailed industrial focus of the UK Government's Sector Deals' by looking below the aggregate level. We wish to focus on the incremental changes in economic activity, territorial industrial emissions and energy use (as well as the indicators of emissions- and energy-intensity of GDP) that could arise from success in increasing exports in specific industrial sectors. The opportunities and challenges for the UK to benefit at a sectoral level from international activity in low carbon sectors is the focus of work by Carvalho and Fankhauser (2017). That work does not however examine the consequences of achieving export growth at the sectoral level, or the quantitative scale of such impacts, or any trade-off's between successes in different low carbon sectors.
By looking these factors we can identify whether it may be possible to target export policies at specific sectors to stimulate greener growth, i.e. positive impacts on economic indicators with (desirable) reductions in energy use and/or emissions. While we might expect that such sectors could include those with lower energy and emissions per unit of output, or smaller links to energy-using sectors, the full (economic and environmental) system-wide consequences of increasing exports at the sectoral level can be examined using an appropriately detailed CGE model of the UK. Specifically, we are interested in the following question: are there differences in the consequences for economic, energy and emissions indicators when policies are successful in raising exports for individual sectors of the UK economy?
Author(s): Gailani, A., Cooper, S., Allen, S., Taylor, P. and Simon, R.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Thompson, O., Rohse, M. and Barber, J.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Emerging from a placement at the Office for Product Safety and Standards, UK, the study underscores the importance of reflexive, flexible, inclusive and interactive policymaking that integrates public engagement and considers the intricate relationships between social, technologic
Author(s): Qadrdan, M., Woodman, B. and Wu, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cairney, P., Munro, F., McHarg, A., McEwen, N., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper uses the example of a changing UK/Scottish government relationship after Brexit to demonstratehow to analyse the role of politics and policymaking in the transformation of energy systems.
Brexit will create a new division of policymaking responsibilities between EU, UK, and devolved governments.
In this paper we divide energy policy competences according to levels of government. Initially, it suggests that we cangenerate a clear picture of multi-level policymaking. However, the formal allocation of competences only tells a partialstory, because actual powers may operate differently from the strict legal picture. These blurry boundaries betweenresponsibilities may be further complicated by Brexit, even if it looks like the removal of a layer of government willsimplify matters.Instead of imagining clearlines of accountability, think of energy policy as part of a complex policymaking system in which the link between powers, practices, and outcomes is unclear and an energy system, in which government isonly one of many influences on outcomes.
Key findings
Author(s): Walker, A., Coonick, A., Greenham, N., Vinnicombe, K., Walls, M., Stojkovoska, B., Lucas, R., Klassen, A., Robertson, N., Dale, P., Agha, I., Warren, P., Tan, K.T., Bedford, S., Jones, L., Dobson, R., Thirkill, A., Burns, W. and Stoker, D.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: REGEN
Regen has run the Solar Commission, a project that has been set up as part of the UKERC Whole Systems Network Fund.
Innovation and falling costs are leading to solar power playing an increasing role in the energy system. The UK has considerable scientific, technical and business experience in solar power and including technology, power storage, control systems, financing, and power purchase arrangements.
The role of the Commission has been to stimulate new thinking and encourage collaboration between academics, industry and system operators on the role of solar power in the energy system. The Commission examined areas where the UK could use its scientific and technical capabilities to play a leading role in innovation and industrial strategy opportunities in solar power.
The Commission was formed of industry leaders, academics and others and the Commissioners were responsible for investigating the future role of solar power in the energy system, considering the UK’s areas of strength in research and innovation in solar.
The findings will be used to inform and influence decision makers and leading players in the UK energy system and have been published in a non technical briefing at the House of Lords on 9 July 2019. The project engaged new voices and maximise female representation through collaboration with Regen’s Entrepreneurial Women in Renewables initiative.
This report presents the conclusions of the Commission, setting out:
A key finding of the Commission is that the UK has strong capabilities in many of the disruptiveinnovations transforming the solar PV market. The UK’s strengths in areas like innovative solar celltechnologies, storage, information and communication technologies and finance have sometimesbeen obscured by a focus on China’s domination of the manufacture of current generation crystallinesolar PV panels.
Author(s): Allan, G., Barrett, J., Brockway, P., Sakai, M., Hardt, L., McGregor, P.G., Ross, A.G., Roy, G., Swales, K. and Turner, K.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This study investigates how an increase in exports (a key pillar in the UK Industrial Strategy) could impact energy and industrial policy by comparing two types of energy-economy models.
Achieving the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions set out in the UK Climate Change Act will require a significant transformation in the UK's energy system.
At the same time, the government is pursuing a new UK Industrial Strategy, which aims to improve labour productivity, create high-quality jobs and boost exports across the UK.
The economic and the energy systems in the UK are tightly linked and so policies adopted in one area will produce spillover effects to the other.
To achieve the objectives set out in the two strategies it is therefore vital to understand how the policies in the energy system will affect economic development and vice versa.
Our study contributes to this by investigating how an increase in exports (a key pillar in the UK Industrial Strategy) could impact energy and industrial policy.
We address this question by systematically comparing the results of two types of energy-economy models of the UK, a computable general equilibrium model (CGE) and a macroeconometric (ME) model.
In both models we analyse a stimulus to demand from an increase in exports arising from a successful export strategy as motivated by the UK Industrial Strategy.
The qualitative results of the export stimulus are similar across all models in that GDP and employment are always stimulated. In this sense, the results are reassuring for the UK’s Industrial Strategy that emphasises export promotion.
However, the models also find that total energy use and CO2 emissions increase, and so does the energy intensity and emissions intensity of GDP.
The increase in CO2 emissions occur because the study identifies the energy and CO2 impacts of an export shock with other things remaining unchanged. Therefore the models do not simultaneously incorporate the UK carbon budgets or policies to support energy efficiency and decarbonisation of energy supplies.
However, our analysis reveals the likely adjustment of energy and climate policies to counteract the increase in CO2 and energy intensity that may result from export promotion. It therefore emphasises the need to complement UK industrial policies with appropriate action on energy use and carbon emissions to meet statutory carbon targets set by the Climate Change Act (2008).
The results highlight the interdependence of the energy and economic systems. They show that there are benefits to coordinating strategic initiatives aimed at stimulating economic activity with those aimed at tackling carbon emissions, as envisaged in the UK’s Clean Growth Strategy.
Author(s): Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Chi, L. and Wu, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Rosenow, J., Lowes, R., Broad, O., Hawker, G., Wu, J,. Qadrdan, M. and Gross, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Katris, A., Turner, K., McEwen, N., Munro, F., Cairney, P. and McHarg, A.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Energy Efficient Scotland (EES) is a large scale energy efficiency improvement programme to be implemented in Scotland. Over a 20-year period, currently scheduled to start in 2020, an amount in excess of 10billion is planned to be directed to the improvement of the energy efficiency in domestic and non-domestic buildings.
Funding for energy efficiency projects will come not only from the Scottish Government but also private interest-free and low interest loans as well as the successor(s) to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). Aside from directing investment funds to the Scottish economy, promotion and support of energy efficiency through programmes such as EES, is one of the few instruments at the Scottish Governments disposal to conduct energy policy, especially on the energy demand side.
EES was officially announced in May 2018 with the publication of the EES Route Map. At that time the UK was already in the process of leaving the European Union: commonly referred to as Brexit.
Brexit, regardless of its final shape (which is currently unknown), is expected to affect policies in multiple ways including limitations to EU funds, skilled labour movement restrictions and increased import prices to name a few examples (among the potential impacts highlighted by different studies, reported in a 2018 Institute for Government report ). The magnitude and the exact nature of any impacts will be affected by the exact form that Brexit will have. In this shifting socio-economic landscape, EES will undoubtedly be affected in a range of ways.
In this working paper,we explore the funding limitations that Brexit could introduce to EES. Specifically, we identify two EES funding mechanisms that are likely to be affected; government-issued grants and privately-provided loans. For different reasons, these mechanisms are of paramount importance in order to achieve the EES goals as specified in the EES Route Map.
Author(s): Khalid, R. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Jansen, M., Rickman, J., MacIver, C. and Bell, K.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This working paper is an update to our November 2021 briefing paper: Risk and investment in zero-carbon electricity markets.
Author(s): Brand, C., Anable, J., Philips, I. and Morton, C.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The transport sector remains at the centre of any debates around energy conservation, exaggerated by the stubborn and overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels by its motorised forms, whether passenger and freight, road, rail, sea and air.
The very slow transition to alternative fuel sources to date has resulted in this sector being increasingly and convincingly held responsible for the likely failure of individual countries, including the UK, to meet their obligations under consecutive international climate change agreements.
Electrification of transport is largely expected to take us down the path to a zero carbon future (CCC, 2019; DfT, 2018). But there are serious concerns about future technology performance, availability, costs and uptake by consumers and businesses. There are also concerns about the increasing gap between lab and real world performance of energy use, carbon and air pollution emissions. Recently, the role of consumer lifestyles has increased in prominence (e.g. IPCC, 2018) but, as yet, has not been taken seriously by the DfT, BEIS or even the CCC (2019).
Societal energy consumption and pollutant emissions from transport are not only influenced by technical efficiency, mode choice and the pollutant content of energy, but also by lifestyle choices and socio-cultural factors. However, only a few attempts have been made to integrate all of these insights intosystems models of futuretransport energy demand and supply (Creutzig et al., 2018) or narratives of low carbon transport futures (Creutzig, 2015).Developed under the auspices of UKERC the Transport Energy Air pollution Model (TEAM) has been designed to address these concerns and uncertainties in exploring pertinent questions on the transition to a zero carbon and clean air transportation future.
TEAM is a strategic transport, energy, emissions and environmental impacts systems model, covering a range of transport-energy-environment issues from socio-economic and policy influences on energy demand reduction through to lifecycle carbon and local air pollutant emissions and external costs.
TEAM is a major update of UK Transport Carbon Model of 2010. To use the updated model for research purposes, please contact Christian Brand, noting that due to its size (the complete suite of modelling databases uses about 500MB of storage space) the model can only be made available by request.
Author(s): Brand, C., Anable, J., Philips, I. and Morton, C.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The transport sector remains at the centre of any debates around energy conservation, exaggerated by the stubborn and overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels by its motorised forms, whether passenger and freight, road, rail, sea and air.
The very slow transition to alternative fuel sources to date has resulted in this sector being increasingly and convincingly held responsible for the likely failure of individual countries, including the UK, to meet their obligations under consecutive international climate change agreements.
Electrification of transport is largely expected to take us down the path to a zero carbon future (CCC, 2019; DfT, 2018). But there are serious concerns about future technology performance, availability, costs and uptake by consumers and businesses. There are also concerns about the increasing gap between lab and real world performance of energy use, carbon and air pollution emissions. Recently, the role of consumer lifestyles has increased in prominence (e.g. IPCC, 2018) but, as yet, has not been taken seriously by the DfT, BEIS or even the CCC (2019).
Societal energy consumption and pollutant emissions from transport are not only influenced by technical efficiency, mode choice and the pollutant content of energy, but also by lifestyle choices and socio-cultural factors. However, only a few attempts have been made to integrate all of these insights intosystems models of futuretransport energy demand and supply (Creutzig et al., 2018) or narratives of low carbon transport futures (Creutzig, 2015).Developed under the auspices of UKERC the Transport Energy Air pollution Model (TEAM) has been designed to address these concerns and uncertainties in exploring pertinent questions on the transition to a zero carbon and clean air transportation future.
TEAM is a strategic transport, energy, emissions and environmental impacts systems model, covering a range of transport-energy-environment issues from socio-economic and policy influences on energy demand reduction through to lifecycle carbon and local air pollutant emissions and external costs.
TEAM is a major update of UK Transport Carbon Model of 2010. This report contains the detailed appendices relating to TEAM :
To use the model for research purposes, please contact Christian Brand, noting that due to its size (the complete suite of modelling databases uses about 500MB of storage space) the model can only be made available by request.
Author(s): Abeysekera, M., Fuentes Gonzalez, F., Gross, R., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M. and Wu, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has provided research and analysis across the whole energy system since 2004, with funding provided by the Research Councils through a succession of five year phases. Research related to low carbon heat became a significant focus during Phase 3 (2014 2019) and the current Phase 4 includes a research theme devoted to decarbonisation of heating and cooling, with several of our other themes providing relevant insights. Our whole systems research programme addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a net zero energy system and economy.
In this submission we address specific consultation questions where UKERC evidence and analysis provides us with relevant insights. In addition there are a number of high level observations that we provide in these introductory remarks.
Overall, we are concerned that the measures outlined in the consultation need to be set within a coherent and ambitious package of policies that work together to drive the UKs transformation to sustainable heating at a rate commensurate with the goal of net-zero by 2050. While we appreciate there are some uncertainties over the future role of the gas grid and the potential for hydrogen for heating, immediate progress in heat system decarbonisation is clearly required as part of this multi-decadal transformation. As the consultation notes, heat pumps offer a low regrets option in some applications and it is widely acknowledged that the UK has a small supplier base and very low level of heat pump deployment compared to many countries. Increasing consumer and installer familiarity, and growing the skills base and supply chain all feature strongly in the process of learning by doing that reduces heat pump costs. Ifheat pump deployment were to proceed linearly to 2050 in line with some scenarios for deployment, annual installations would need to increase by an order of magnitude. Whilst welcome, the current proposals are not sufficient to deliver a large scale market for heat pumps. Ambition and clarity of purpose are essential if heat system decarbonisation is to succeed. We also stress the importance of providing support to support the development of large low carbon heating systems, including systems attached to heat networks. We appreciate that the provisions laid out in the consultation pertain only to specific schemes and note the observations made in the consultation about support for heat networks.
Alongside the required policy changes necessary to support specific heating technologies, wider governance changes will be needed to drive the UK transformation to low carbon heating.Whilst regulation and other forms of financial support for building efficiency improvement are noted in the consultation, we note that it is likely to be important to use sticks as well as carrots if the highest carbon heating systems are to be removed and building efficiency increased. However, it will also be important to consider ownership and regulation of heat networks, the role of local authorities and opportunities for innovation that may be unlocked through regulatory change such as encouraging electricity suppliers to offer smart heating tariffs or enabling community ownership of heat distribution schemes.
While we appreciate these issues are beyond the scope of the current consultation, it is important that these considerations inform policy choices made now.
Author(s): Ruddell, A.J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This UKERC Research 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
Author(s): Hannon, M.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This UKERC Research 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
Author(s): Silvast, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This UKERC Research 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: WHOLE SYSTEM RESEARCH
Author(s): UKERC
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) is in its fourth five-year phase of research and engagement activities, which will run until April 2024. In addition to the core programme of research, a number of mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that participation in UKERC is broad, flexible and addresses the needs of the wider UK research community.
A Flexible Fund of around £3m (valued at 80% FEC) has been set up in order to commission new research and facilitate the integration of the existing programme. The Fund is overseen by UKERC’s independent Research Committee. The key aims of the Fund are:
This report presents the outputs of two key consultation activities on potential Flexible Fund topics :
Author(s): Taylor, P. and Watson, J
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
We support the mission-oriented approach of the Industrial Strategy and the inclusion of a specific grand challenge on clean growth. Delivering this challenge will require a holistic approach from government that includes the following objectives (Busch et al., 2018)
The first of these objectives points to the need for industrial innovation to go beyond the purely technical and to encompass new ways of doing business and capturing value. The second includes the need for greater industrial energy efficiency, but goes beyond this to include the much larger opportunities that could be realised by changing the demand for the goods and services produced by industry (Scott et al., 2019). The third necessitates an economy-wide approach to decarbonisation in the UK to maximise synergies between sectors (e.g. increased use by industry of decarbonised electricity), while ensuring that action on climate change does not lead to carbon leakage outside the UK.
Download the full submission to read the response to the specific questions posed by the consultation.
Author(s): Temperton, I. and Watson, J.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
There is global consensus that carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) will be essential to successfully tackling climate change and meeting the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) recently consulted on the potential business models for carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS). This was seeking to understand how a core set of CCUS specific risks, which have been presented as an intractable problem for previous projects may be mitigated through the development of business models.
UKERC provided a response to the recent BEIS consultation on CCUS
Author(s): Turner, K., Katris, A., Calvillo., Stewart, J. and Zhou, L.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Braunholtz-Speight, T., McLachlan, C., Mander, S., Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Hardy, J., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
What might community energy in the UK look like in the long term ? What does it need for it to thrive ?
This report provides a summary of practitioner and stakeholder responses to these questions, and many more, that explore the future of community energy in the UK.
Through a series of workshops held across the UK over the winter of 2018-19, invited participants were encouraged to explore and debate the future of community energy.
We found that community energy actors feel they have lots to offer to, and gain from, the transition to a decentralised and flexible energy system. The system appears to be moving towards a future where there is a clear need for organisations that combine technical knowledge with the skills and trust to effectively engage citizens – such as community energy groups.
Author(s): Mottram, H.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Through a case-study of Yorkshire water, staff interviews, examination of its current practices and insights from academic literature, the brief identifies opportunities for reducing energy use in water management. It underscores the need to enhance public awareness of water-energy interdependencies, emphasising shared responsibility for environmen
Author(s): Giulietti. M, Burlinson. A and Davillas. A
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Daniel_Watanabe, L., Moore, R. and Tongue, B.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This policy brief explores the dual nature of DHTs in contributing to and mitigating healthcares carbon footprint. Focusing on Englands National Health Service (NHS), the study delves into how the adoption of digital technologies could either reduce or exacerbate the healthcare sectors carbon footprint, raising critical questions for the NHSs digital transformation efforts.
The analysis reveals that while DHTs offer avenues for reducing emissionssuch as telehealth reducing the need for patient and cl
Author(s): Bays, J., Nduka, E., Jimoh, M., Liu, L., Silva, N., Liu, X., Bharucha, Z., Khalid, R., Caprotti, F., Bobbins, K., Pailman, W., Bookbinder, R., Garret, J. and Gul, M.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Burns, W., Longuere, K-S. and Watson, J.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Ensuring diversity in research and innovation is vital for effective delivery of the Governments Clean Growth, and broader Industrial Strategies. As the Industrial Strategy argues, organisations with the highest levels of diversity are 15% more likely to outperform their rivals.
Over the past two and a half years, the UK Energy Research Centre has managed 1.5m of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funding through the Whole Systems Networking Fund (WSNF). It has worked with stakeholders from universities, public-private partnerships, and NGOs, to pilot a model to diversify the UKRI energy portfolio through inclusiveness, encouraging gender balance and the nurturing of new voices and ideas.
This report details the operation of the fundand provides an overview of the funded projects. It also summarises thekey learning from the programme, grouping findings into the following categories:
At the conclusion of the Whole Systems Networking Fund, 80% of the funding had been allocated to projects led by women. Demonstrating that with the appropriate mechanisms in place mainstreaming gender balance across the energy portfolio is achievable.
Author(s): Vorushylo, I., Ogunrin, S., Ghosh, R., Brandoni, C. and Hewitt, N.J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Steering Committee consisting of female representatives from key organisations in the NI heat sector, including the Department for the Economy, the Utility Regulator, a local renewable industry group (NIRIG), the transmission and distribution system operators (NI Electricity Networks and SONI), an energy charity (NEA Northern Ireland), the Consumer Council and a public affairs consultancy (Stratagem).
Publisher: Sam Cooper, University of Bath
Period: 2030-01-01 - 2050-01-01
Rights: CC-BY
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
No Publications in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Publisher: UKERC Industrial Decarbonisation Team
Period: 2017-01-01 - 2050-12-31
Rights: UK Open Government Licence (OGL)
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Fawcett, T., Hampton, S. and Mallaburn, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
We welcome the idea of offering more policy support to SMEs to enable the uptake of energy efficiency opportunities, to the benefit of their enterprises, the economy as a whole and the environment. Researchers have previously argued that there is not enough policy focus on SMEs (Banks et al, 2012, Hampton and Fawcett, 2017) and this consultation was valuable as part of a wider process of policy development.
This response covers general issues about design of policy for energy efficiency improvement in SMEs, and offers specific evidence on Option 2: a business energy efficiency obligation.
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Stabler, L. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
At present, Governments commitment stands in sharp contrast with its inaction on heat decarbonisation to date. Under pressure to progress this agenda, Government has charged the Clean Heat Directorate with the task of outlining the process for determining the UK’s long-term heat policy framework, to be published in the Roadmap for policy on heat decarbonisation in the summer of 2020 (BEIS, 2017). This report, resulting from one of six EPSRC-funded secondments, is designed to support early thinking on the roadmap by answering the research question: How can Transitions research informs the roadmap for governing the UKs heating transition?
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with BEIS.
Author(s): Lowes, R. and Woodman, B.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The paper investigates the importance of governance for energy system change and specifically investigates some of the areas where the UKs net zero target implies significant infrastructure change or expansion, namely in industry and associated with buildings and transport.
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Taylor, P., Bays, J., Bradshaw, M., Webb, J., Britton, J., Bolton, R., Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable, J., Brand, C., Rattle, I., Gailani, A., Bell K., Halliday, C., Shepherd, A., Watson, S., Lovett, A. and Hastings, A.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gailani, A., Cooper, S., Allen, S., Taylor, P. and Simon, R.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Rosenow, J., Lowes, R., Broad, O., Hawker, G., Wu, J,. Qadrdan, M. and Gross, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Mottram, H.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Through a case-study of Yorkshire water, staff interviews, examination of its current practices and insights from academic literature, the brief identifies opportunities for reducing energy use in water management. It underscores the need to enhance public awareness of water-energy interdependencies, emphasising shared responsibility for environmen
Author(s): Daniel_Watanabe, L., Moore, R. and Tongue, B.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This policy brief explores the dual nature of DHTs in contributing to and mitigating healthcares carbon footprint. Focusing on Englands National Health Service (NHS), the study delves into how the adoption of digital technologies could either reduce or exacerbate the healthcare sectors carbon footprint, raising critical questions for the NHSs digital transformation efforts.
The analysis reveals that while DHTs offer avenues for reducing emissionssuch as telehealth reducing the need for patient and cl
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2018-01-01 - 2018-12-31
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2021-05-20 - 2049-01-01
Rights: CC-BY
This data set was updated on 14/10/2021. The top-level folder holds the latest version and a README file detailing the changes. The original version is retained in a sub-folder.
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Lowes, R., Pidgeon, N., Barrett, J., Qadrdan, M., Gross, R. and Wu, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Warren, G. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment at the Energy Savings Trust.
Author(s): Fawcett, T., Hampton, S. and Mallaburn, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
We welcome the idea of offering more policy support to SMEs to enable the uptake of energy efficiency opportunities, to the benefit of their enterprises, the economy as a whole and the environment. Researchers have previously argued that there is not enough policy focus on SMEs (Banks et al, 2012, Hampton and Fawcett, 2017) and this consultation was valuable as part of a wider process of policy development.
This response covers general issues about design of policy for energy efficiency improvement in SMEs, and offers specific evidence on Option 2: a business energy efficiency obligation.
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the final of our four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Established in 2013, Brighton and Hove Energy Services (BHESCo) primary focus was to develop both renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, whilst also ensuring people have equal access to energy. BHESCo is rather unlike our other community energy case studies in that it operates very much like an Energy Services Company (ESCo), where they accept some degree of responsibility to provide the energy service that its customers ultimately desire (e.g. lighting, ambient temperature), rather than the straightforward supply of heat or electricity.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This report presents a case study of Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative, exploring how it financed the project against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
This report presents the first of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative (ECSC) is a Community Benefit Society (BenCom). Its objectives are a combination of environmental and social, with an explicit focus on reducing emissions, alleviating fuel poverty, improving energy security and promoting sustainable development education.
ECSC quickly settled on renewable power generation as a means of delivering this combination of environmental andsocial value. Today it operates 1.4 MW of solar PV panels on the roofs of 24 council-owned properties in Edinburgh, including schools, leisure centres and community halls.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the second of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Green Energy Mull (GEM) is a Community Benefit Company (BenCom) that owns and operates Garmony Hydro; a 400 kW run-of-the-river hydro scheme on the island of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland.
Author(s): Stabler, L. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
At present, Governments commitment stands in sharp contrast with its inaction on heat decarbonisation to date. Under pressure to progress this agenda, Government has charged the Clean Heat Directorate with the task of outlining the process for determining the UK’s long-term heat policy framework, to be published in the Roadmap for policy on heat decarbonisation in the summer of 2020 (BEIS, 2017). This report, resulting from one of six EPSRC-funded secondments, is designed to support early thinking on the roadmap by answering the research question: How can Transitions research informs the roadmap for governing the UKs heating transition?
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with BEIS.
Author(s): Haf, S. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Local Authorities role in the energy transition and working with their citizens in doing so, has been recognised as crucial to paving transition paths. Material collated within this report is intended to better inform Energy Cities and its partners, Local Authorities and Municipalities, civil society groups and others interested in how citizens can be supported and encouraged to participate in energy system developments as a part of the energy transition. The findings in this report are therefore intended to directly help Local Authorities across Europe in implementing more participative approaches to their governance practices in energy systems.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Energy Cities.
Author(s): Crawley, J., Ogunrin, S., Taneja, S., Vorushlyo, I. and Wang, X.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Smith, W., Pidgeon, N., Demski, C. and Becker, S.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Lowes, R. and Woodman, B.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The paper investigates the importance of governance for energy system change and specifically investigates some of the areas where the UKs net zero target implies significant infrastructure change or expansion, namely in industry and associated with buildings and transport.
Author(s): Rafa, N. and Khalid, R.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Despite these benefits, barriers such as regulatory gaps, cultural inertia within the construction sector, and lack of consumer awareness hinder MMCs widespread adoption. In light of current challenges, the study underscores the imp
Author(s): Beaumont, N., Bell, K., Flower, J., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Qadrdan, M., Rhodes, A., Speirs, J., Taylor, P., Webb, J. and Wu. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Hirmer, S.A. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Energy is a crucial element for development in almost every aspect of community life such as education, health, food, and security, and it can contribute to farming productivity, income generation, and the creation of networks that enable youth to work from their villages. Despite this, around 1 billion people globally do not have access to sustainable energy sources, and 80% of those people live in rural areas across 20 countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. To decrease this energy access gap, and to improve rural livelihoods and increase economic opportunities in rural areas, Productive Uses of Energy (PUE) offer an untapped opportunity: examples of PUE include irrigation and post-harvest processing.
Despite the benefits of PUE, they are often not considered in the planning off-grid rural electrification developments. This may be partially attributed to a lack of capital; riskyframework conditions; and a lack of clear policy guidelines available on the subject. The latter of which was the focus of this research project.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Practical Action.
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bell, K., Brand, C., Wade, F., Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Kuzemko, C., Froggatt, A., Bradshaw, M., Lowes, R., Webb, J., Dodds, P., Chilvers, J. and Hargreaves, T.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this issue of UKERCs annual Review of Energy Policy, we discuss some of the effects of COVID-19 on the energy system and how the unprecedented events of 2020 might impact energy use and climate policy in the future.
Focusing on electricity demand, transport, green jobs and skills, Brexit, heat, and societal engagement, the Review reflects on the past year and looks forward, highlighting key priorities for the Government.
Key recommendations
Electricity
The scale of investment in the power system required over the coming decade is huge. A big challenge is market design. We need a market that can incentivise investment in low carbon power and networks at least cost whilst also providing incentives for flexibility. Output from wind and solar farms will sometimes exceed demand and other timesfallto low levels. The right mix of flexible resources must be established to deal with variable output from renewables, with the right market signals and interventions in place to do this at least cost.
Mobility
The end of the sale of fossil fuel cars and vans by 2030 must be greeted with enthusiasm. Yet if this is to play its part in a Paris-compliant pathway to zero emissions, it must be one of many policy changes to decarbonise UK transport. Earlier action is paramount, and we recommend a market transformation approach targeting the highest emitting vehicles now, not just from 2030. Phasing-in of the phase-out will save millions of tons of CO2 thus reducing the need for radical action later on. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan has a lot to deliver.
Green jobs and skills
COVID-19 recoverypackages offer the potential to combine job creation with emissions reduction. A national housing retrofit programme would be a triple win, creating jobs, reducing carbon emissions and make our homes more comfortable and affordable to heat. However, UKERC research finds that there are significant skills gaps associated with energy efficient buildings and low carbon heat. UKERC calls for a national programme of retraining and reskilling that takes advantage of the COVID downturn to re-equip building service professions with the skills needed for net zero.
Brexit
As the UK leaves the EU on the 1st January it will lose many of the advantages of integration. With new regimes for carbon pricing, trading, and interconnection yet to be agreed, there will be a high degree of uncertainty in the near to medium term. Given upward pressure on energy costs,delays to policy, and this uncertainty surrounding new rules, the overall effects of Brexit are not positive for UK energy decarbonisation.
Heat
UKERC research calls for action on heat to deliver the net zero technologies that we know work - insulating buildings and rolling out proven options. We need to end delay or speculation about less-proven options. Analysis is consistent with recent advice from the CCC that heat policy should focus on electrification whilst exploring options for hydrogen. We need to break the pattern of ad hoc and disjointed policy measures for heat and buildings, and develop a coherent, long-term strategy. This would be best achieved as an integral part of local and regional energy plans, involving local governments as coordinating agents. The aspirations for heat cant be realised unless we also take actionon the skills gap.
Societal engagement with energy
Achieving net zero in 2050 will entail significant changes to the way we live, what we eat and how we heat our homes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that when faced with a threat, society can change rapidly. Engaging society with the net zero transition also needs to change, it needs to be to be more ambitious, diverse, joined-up and system-wide, and recognise the many different ways that citizens engage with these issues on an ongoing basis.
Author(s): Qadrdan, M., Woodman, B. and Wu, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Rosenow, J., Lowes, R., Broad, O., Hawker, G., Wu, J,. Qadrdan, M. and Gross, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Katris, A., Turner, K., McEwen, N., Munro, F., Cairney, P. and McHarg, A.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Energy Efficient Scotland (EES) is a large scale energy efficiency improvement programme to be implemented in Scotland. Over a 20-year period, currently scheduled to start in 2020, an amount in excess of 10billion is planned to be directed to the improvement of the energy efficiency in domestic and non-domestic buildings.
Funding for energy efficiency projects will come not only from the Scottish Government but also private interest-free and low interest loans as well as the successor(s) to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). Aside from directing investment funds to the Scottish economy, promotion and support of energy efficiency through programmes such as EES, is one of the few instruments at the Scottish Governments disposal to conduct energy policy, especially on the energy demand side.
EES was officially announced in May 2018 with the publication of the EES Route Map. At that time the UK was already in the process of leaving the European Union: commonly referred to as Brexit.
Brexit, regardless of its final shape (which is currently unknown), is expected to affect policies in multiple ways including limitations to EU funds, skilled labour movement restrictions and increased import prices to name a few examples (among the potential impacts highlighted by different studies, reported in a 2018 Institute for Government report ). The magnitude and the exact nature of any impacts will be affected by the exact form that Brexit will have. In this shifting socio-economic landscape, EES will undoubtedly be affected in a range of ways.
In this working paper,we explore the funding limitations that Brexit could introduce to EES. Specifically, we identify two EES funding mechanisms that are likely to be affected; government-issued grants and privately-provided loans. For different reasons, these mechanisms are of paramount importance in order to achieve the EES goals as specified in the EES Route Map.
Author(s): Khalid, R. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): UKERC
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) is in its fourth five-year phase of research and engagement activities, which will run until April 2024. In addition to the core programme of research, a number of mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that participation in UKERC is broad, flexible and addresses the needs of the wider UK research community.
A Flexible Fund of around £3m (valued at 80% FEC) has been set up in order to commission new research and facilitate the integration of the existing programme. The Fund is overseen by UKERC’s independent Research Committee. The key aims of the Fund are:
This report presents the outputs of two key consultation activities on potential Flexible Fund topics :
Author(s): Turner, K., Katris, A., Calvillo., Stewart, J. and Zhou, L.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Vorushylo, I., Ogunrin, S., Ghosh, R., Brandoni, C. and Hewitt, N.J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Steering Committee consisting of female representatives from key organisations in the NI heat sector, including the Department for the Economy, the Utility Regulator, a local renewable industry group (NIRIG), the transmission and distribution system operators (NI Electricity Networks and SONI), an energy charity (NEA Northern Ireland), the Consumer Council and a public affairs consultancy (Stratagem).
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Brand, C., Anable, J. and Dixon, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Government has been seeking views on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible. In this joint UKERC/CREDS consultation response we provide views on the following aspects:
A phase out date of 2035 or earlier is sensible yet it might not be enough. Our research, recently published in the journal Energy Policy, has found that neither existing transport policies nor the pledge to bring forward the phase out date for the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles by 2035 or 2040 are sufficient to hit carbon reduction targets, or make the early gains needed to stay within a Paris compliant carbon budget for cars and vans.
Our research has shown that deeper and earlier reductions in carbon emissions and local air pollution would be achieved by a more ambitious, but largely non-disruptive change to a 2030 phase out that includes all fossil fuel vehicles. This would include all vehicles with an internal combustion engine, whether self-charging or not. However, only the earlier phase outs combined with lower demand for mobility and a clear and phased market transformation approach aimed at phasing out the highest-emitting vehicleswould make significant contributions to an emissions pathway that is both Paris compliant and meets legislated carbon budgets and urban air quality limits.
The proposed policy will involve high levels of coordination, intention and buy-in by policy makers, business and wider civil society. By far the biggest barrier to change will be the incumbent industries the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). They have a well-known track record of pushing back against EU vehicle regulations on the grounds of cost. In the case of electric powertrains, this push back is evident, with added resistance on the base of restricted supply chains and time to alter production processes. We suggest this is all the more reason to publish and implement a market transformation strategy now so that early wins which do not rely on supply chains or large transformations to the production line can mitigate against any later genuine supply-side constraints. Such a clear policy steer from the UK government is needed in order to ensure that UK consumers have more choice of cars than they may otherwise get if the OEMs restrict their sales of the most efficient vehicles into the UK market once out of the EU regulatory regime.
UKERC research into various phase-out policies has looked at how disruptive they would be for key stakeholders of the transport-energy system, and how much coordination would be needed to achieve the policy goals. This research has shown that in the Road-to-Zero ICE phase out by 2040 the main actors of the road transport and energy system are unlikely to undergo disruptive change. This is due to the relatively slow and limited evolution of the fleet towards unconventional low carbon fuels, the continuation of fuel duty revenue streams well into the 2040s and little additional reductions in energy demand and air pollutant emissions.
However, in the earlier (2030) and stricter (in what constitutes an ultra-low carbon vehicle) phase-outs we can expect some disruption for technology providers, industry and business in particular vehicle manufacturers, global production networks, the maintenance and repair sector as well as the oil and gas industry. There will also be localised impacts (some potentially disruptive) on electricity distribution networks and companies, even with smart charging.
Ending the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans earlier, coupled with the electrification of road transport should form a key part of long term decarbonisation policy, but it is not a panacea. First, an earlier phase out date of 2030 implies we have 10 years to plan for and implement a transition away from fossil-fuel ICE cars and vans. As we discussed in our response, our research suggests that this is achievable without significant disruption to the transport-energy system, but it needs to be linked to accelerated investment in charging networks, battery development and deployment, increased market availability of zero-emission vehicles, and equivalent-value support by the Government to level the playing field with the incumbents. Second, our research has shown multiple times that further and earlier policy measures that impact the transport-energy system are needed, including a clear and phased market transformation approach that targets high-emitting vehicles, access bans in urban areas, and dynamic road pricing that could fund an order of magnitude increase in investment in sustainable transport modes.
We support bringing the phase-outdate forward and urge it to be earlier than 2035 and include phasing out any non-zero tailpipe vehicles using a market transformation approach. We strongly believe Government has a crucial role to play in leading the way to decarbonise transport, going well beyond the proposed policy change of bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040 to 2035 or earlier.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, Tim., Hardy, J., Mclachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the third of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Gwent Energy (Wales) was formed in 2009 to deliver environmental benefit and cost savings to its local community. It aims to help local consumers save money on their energy bills through a combination of renewable energy, efficiency, storage and electric vehicle charging interventions, whilst simultaneously generating a surplus to fund local community initiatives.
Author(s): Stevenson, L. and Royston, S.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The brief discusses the contextual nuances of staff travel choices and the potential of policy interventions to encourage sustainable travel modes. Through a detailed review of NHS parking policies and broader academic literature on transport practices. It underscores the need to develop comprehensive trave
Author(s): Lowes, R. and Woodman, B.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The paper investigates the importance of governance for energy system change and specifically investigates some of the areas where the UKs net zero target implies significant infrastructure change or expansion, namely in industry and associated with buildings and transport.
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bell, K., Brand, C., Wade, F., Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Kuzemko, C., Froggatt, A., Bradshaw, M., Lowes, R., Webb, J., Dodds, P., Chilvers, J. and Hargreaves, T.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this issue of UKERCs annual Review of Energy Policy, we discuss some of the effects of COVID-19 on the energy system and how the unprecedented events of 2020 might impact energy use and climate policy in the future.
Focusing on electricity demand, transport, green jobs and skills, Brexit, heat, and societal engagement, the Review reflects on the past year and looks forward, highlighting key priorities for the Government.
Key recommendations
Electricity
The scale of investment in the power system required over the coming decade is huge. A big challenge is market design. We need a market that can incentivise investment in low carbon power and networks at least cost whilst also providing incentives for flexibility. Output from wind and solar farms will sometimes exceed demand and other timesfallto low levels. The right mix of flexible resources must be established to deal with variable output from renewables, with the right market signals and interventions in place to do this at least cost.
Mobility
The end of the sale of fossil fuel cars and vans by 2030 must be greeted with enthusiasm. Yet if this is to play its part in a Paris-compliant pathway to zero emissions, it must be one of many policy changes to decarbonise UK transport. Earlier action is paramount, and we recommend a market transformation approach targeting the highest emitting vehicles now, not just from 2030. Phasing-in of the phase-out will save millions of tons of CO2 thus reducing the need for radical action later on. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan has a lot to deliver.
Green jobs and skills
COVID-19 recoverypackages offer the potential to combine job creation with emissions reduction. A national housing retrofit programme would be a triple win, creating jobs, reducing carbon emissions and make our homes more comfortable and affordable to heat. However, UKERC research finds that there are significant skills gaps associated with energy efficient buildings and low carbon heat. UKERC calls for a national programme of retraining and reskilling that takes advantage of the COVID downturn to re-equip building service professions with the skills needed for net zero.
Brexit
As the UK leaves the EU on the 1st January it will lose many of the advantages of integration. With new regimes for carbon pricing, trading, and interconnection yet to be agreed, there will be a high degree of uncertainty in the near to medium term. Given upward pressure on energy costs,delays to policy, and this uncertainty surrounding new rules, the overall effects of Brexit are not positive for UK energy decarbonisation.
Heat
UKERC research calls for action on heat to deliver the net zero technologies that we know work - insulating buildings and rolling out proven options. We need to end delay or speculation about less-proven options. Analysis is consistent with recent advice from the CCC that heat policy should focus on electrification whilst exploring options for hydrogen. We need to break the pattern of ad hoc and disjointed policy measures for heat and buildings, and develop a coherent, long-term strategy. This would be best achieved as an integral part of local and regional energy plans, involving local governments as coordinating agents. The aspirations for heat cant be realised unless we also take actionon the skills gap.
Societal engagement with energy
Achieving net zero in 2050 will entail significant changes to the way we live, what we eat and how we heat our homes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that when faced with a threat, society can change rapidly. Engaging society with the net zero transition also needs to change, it needs to be to be more ambitious, diverse, joined-up and system-wide, and recognise the many different ways that citizens engage with these issues on an ongoing basis.
Author(s): Gross, R., Bradshaw, M., Bridge, G., Weszkalnys, G., Rattle, I., Taylor, P., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable,J., Beaumont, N., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Lovett, A., Shepherd, A..
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
With a focus on gas and the UK continental shelf, industrial decarbonisation, heat, mobility and the environment, we look at developments both at home and internationally and ask whether the UK is a leader in decarbonisation, and if the transition is being managed as well as it could be.
Author(s): Taylor, P., Bays, J., Bradshaw, M., Webb, J., Britton, J., Bolton, R., Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable, J., Brand, C., Rattle, I., Gailani, A., Bell K., Halliday, C., Shepherd, A., Watson, S., Lovett, A. and Hastings, A.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Rosenow, J., Lowes, R., Broad, O., Hawker, G., Wu, J,. Qadrdan, M. and Gross, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Brand, C., Anable, J., Philips, I. and Morton, C.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The transport sector remains at the centre of any debates around energy conservation, exaggerated by the stubborn and overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels by its motorised forms, whether passenger and freight, road, rail, sea and air.
The very slow transition to alternative fuel sources to date has resulted in this sector being increasingly and convincingly held responsible for the likely failure of individual countries, including the UK, to meet their obligations under consecutive international climate change agreements.
Electrification of transport is largely expected to take us down the path to a zero carbon future (CCC, 2019; DfT, 2018). But there are serious concerns about future technology performance, availability, costs and uptake by consumers and businesses. There are also concerns about the increasing gap between lab and real world performance of energy use, carbon and air pollution emissions. Recently, the role of consumer lifestyles has increased in prominence (e.g. IPCC, 2018) but, as yet, has not been taken seriously by the DfT, BEIS or even the CCC (2019).
Societal energy consumption and pollutant emissions from transport are not only influenced by technical efficiency, mode choice and the pollutant content of energy, but also by lifestyle choices and socio-cultural factors. However, only a few attempts have been made to integrate all of these insights intosystems models of futuretransport energy demand and supply (Creutzig et al., 2018) or narratives of low carbon transport futures (Creutzig, 2015).Developed under the auspices of UKERC the Transport Energy Air pollution Model (TEAM) has been designed to address these concerns and uncertainties in exploring pertinent questions on the transition to a zero carbon and clean air transportation future.
TEAM is a strategic transport, energy, emissions and environmental impacts systems model, covering a range of transport-energy-environment issues from socio-economic and policy influences on energy demand reduction through to lifecycle carbon and local air pollutant emissions and external costs.
TEAM is a major update of UK Transport Carbon Model of 2010. To use the updated model for research purposes, please contact Christian Brand, noting that due to its size (the complete suite of modelling databases uses about 500MB of storage space) the model can only be made available by request.
Author(s): Brand, C., Anable, J., Philips, I. and Morton, C.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The transport sector remains at the centre of any debates around energy conservation, exaggerated by the stubborn and overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels by its motorised forms, whether passenger and freight, road, rail, sea and air.
The very slow transition to alternative fuel sources to date has resulted in this sector being increasingly and convincingly held responsible for the likely failure of individual countries, including the UK, to meet their obligations under consecutive international climate change agreements.
Electrification of transport is largely expected to take us down the path to a zero carbon future (CCC, 2019; DfT, 2018). But there are serious concerns about future technology performance, availability, costs and uptake by consumers and businesses. There are also concerns about the increasing gap between lab and real world performance of energy use, carbon and air pollution emissions. Recently, the role of consumer lifestyles has increased in prominence (e.g. IPCC, 2018) but, as yet, has not been taken seriously by the DfT, BEIS or even the CCC (2019).
Societal energy consumption and pollutant emissions from transport are not only influenced by technical efficiency, mode choice and the pollutant content of energy, but also by lifestyle choices and socio-cultural factors. However, only a few attempts have been made to integrate all of these insights intosystems models of futuretransport energy demand and supply (Creutzig et al., 2018) or narratives of low carbon transport futures (Creutzig, 2015).Developed under the auspices of UKERC the Transport Energy Air pollution Model (TEAM) has been designed to address these concerns and uncertainties in exploring pertinent questions on the transition to a zero carbon and clean air transportation future.
TEAM is a strategic transport, energy, emissions and environmental impacts systems model, covering a range of transport-energy-environment issues from socio-economic and policy influences on energy demand reduction through to lifecycle carbon and local air pollutant emissions and external costs.
TEAM is a major update of UK Transport Carbon Model of 2010. This report contains the detailed appendices relating to TEAM :
To use the model for research purposes, please contact Christian Brand, noting that due to its size (the complete suite of modelling databases uses about 500MB of storage space) the model can only be made available by request.
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Lowes, R., Pidgeon, N., Barrett, J., Qadrdan, M., Gross, R. and Wu, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Beaumont, N., Bell, K., Flower, J., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Qadrdan, M., Rhodes, A., Speirs, J., Taylor, P., Webb, J. and Wu. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Wilson, G. and Rowley, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing note describes the amount of gas contained within Great Britain’s gas transmission and distribution networks, and how this changes over a day to support variations in demand. The hourly data covers the 63-month period from 2013-01-01 to 2018-03-07.
The amount of gas contained within the higher-pressure tiers of Britain’s gas transmission and distribution network is termed ‘linepack’; literally, it is the amount of gas packed into the pipelines.
Linepack is proportional to the pressure of the gas in the pipelines, increasing the pressure increases the amount of gas, and thus the energy contained therein. The amount of linepack changes throughout the day due to the varying levels of pipeline pressure. This flexing of pressure provides a method to help match the supply and demand for gas within a day.
The scale of energy that can be stored and released by varying linepack highlights its importance as a means of operational flexibility, helping to balance the changes in national primary energy demand.
The scale of the within-day flexibility currently provided by the natural gas transmission and distribution networks points to a formidable energy systems challenge; how to provide low-carbon within-day flexibility to future energy systems at a reasonable cost.
Author(s): Bell, K.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The gas and electricity sectors feature many different actors that interact in different ways, through commercial arrangements and physical transfers of energy. The activities of the larger actors – generators, suppliers, gas shippers, and network owners and operators – are regulated through various licences.
There is then a raft of standards and codes that govern the interfaces between the actors and many of the characteristics of equipment that is connected to the networks. Most of these documents were established when the gas and electricity sectors were first liberalised in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although a number have seen various revisions since then, many industry observers have argued that they are out of step with technological and market developments and difficult to change.
This document contains the UKERC response to the 2019 consulation by BEIS/Ofgem about how and why the codes might be revised.
Author(s): Gross, R. and Bell. K.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Pathways that are consistent with legislated net zero targets are likely to see highly significant changes to demand for electricity. When these changes will start to take place and how quickly is uncertain, which leads to challenges when setting price controls. Key elements to circumnavigate this will be flexibility and scenario planning.
The need for network reinforcement can be reduced by the appropriate use of flexibility, e.g. in the timing of EV charging. However, the means by which different sources of flexibility might be encouraged and then utilised are still immature and it is not yet clear which will actors prove to be the most significant and efficient in providing services.
Flexibility can only go so far in helping meet power supply needs; at some point, network capacity often proves the most cost-effective means, especially when considering its reliability and lifetime, and the opportunities provided by asset replacement. The triggering of investment in network assets presents an opportunity not just to meet the immediate need or that forecast for the next few years, but to provide for the maximum transfer that can be envisaged throughout the path to net zero. This is likely to be cheapest for consumers over the longer term as the incremental cost of additional electrical capacity is small relative to the total cost of aproject, it avoids the need for repeated interventions, andit saves on the long-term cost of network losses.
Ofgem has noted in the consultation document that some form of scenario planning of investment is likely to be needed. A number of scenarios should be developed that encompass key uncertainties but are consistent across Britain in respect of the whole, multi-vector system, and associated assumptions.
There should be engagement with Local Authorities and other stakeholders to develop regional plans of future energy needs, such as a Local Area Energy Plan. This engagement is important as local, regional, or devolved administration policies as well as different geographies and starting points can drive different actions.
Innovation is a long-term process and uncertainty is inherent to it there is always the potential for unforeseen things to arise. What this means for the energy system is that:
Where there is uncertainty about the effect or cost of new practices or technologies on an energy system and its users who ultimately pay but also benefit from innovations that are adopted it is reasonable for those users to share the risk by sharing the cost of resolution of the uncertainties. However, arguments might be made that costs should be shared not by energy system users, i.e. its customers, but by taxpayers, e.g. through funding by UKRI.
A less than perfect set of arrangements for the sharing of costs between different parties should be accepted if that is what is necessary to support R&D capacity, address risks, and drive innovation. Moreover, the amount of network customers money that is being proposed in RIIO-ED2 to support innovation is modest compared with the network companies total expenditure and the benefits that will accrue to customers and society as a whole in the energy system transition.
Good governance and good practice on the part of network licensees is essential to ensure that customers money is used effectively. In particular, we agree with Ofgem that data transparency associated with network innovation projectsneeds to be much improved.
In order that the scope of Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) funding is not set too narrowly, we think it important to have a clear understanding of what a successful energy system transition involves. We include in our response a first draft of a definition and include recommendations for the threshold that projects must meet to be funded.
Summary: The greatest challenges faced by Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) in forming investment plans relate to the gathering and use of information with suitable levels of spatial and temporal detail. Access to smart meter data should help, but innovation will be required to turn data into useful information.
A final observation is that it is important for the UKs economy as a whole that the UK has the capacity to undertake research and development, to innovate, and to generate evidence in order to drive the commercial viability of ideas
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bradshaw, M., Bridge, G., Weszkalnys, G., Rattle, I., Taylor, P., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable,J., Beaumont, N., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Lovett, A., Shepherd, A..
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
With a focus on gas and the UK continental shelf, industrial decarbonisation, heat, mobility and the environment, we look at developments both at home and internationally and ask whether the UK is a leader in decarbonisation, and if the transition is being managed as well as it could be.
Author(s): Khalid, R. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Abeysekera, M., Fuentes Gonzalez, F., Gross, R., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M. and Wu, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has provided research and analysis across the whole energy system since 2004, with funding provided by the Research Councils through a succession of five year phases. Research related to low carbon heat became a significant focus during Phase 3 (2014 2019) and the current Phase 4 includes a research theme devoted to decarbonisation of heating and cooling, with several of our other themes providing relevant insights. Our whole systems research programme addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a net zero energy system and economy.
In this submission we address specific consultation questions where UKERC evidence and analysis provides us with relevant insights. In addition there are a number of high level observations that we provide in these introductory remarks.
Overall, we are concerned that the measures outlined in the consultation need to be set within a coherent and ambitious package of policies that work together to drive the UKs transformation to sustainable heating at a rate commensurate with the goal of net-zero by 2050. While we appreciate there are some uncertainties over the future role of the gas grid and the potential for hydrogen for heating, immediate progress in heat system decarbonisation is clearly required as part of this multi-decadal transformation. As the consultation notes, heat pumps offer a low regrets option in some applications and it is widely acknowledged that the UK has a small supplier base and very low level of heat pump deployment compared to many countries. Increasing consumer and installer familiarity, and growing the skills base and supply chain all feature strongly in the process of learning by doing that reduces heat pump costs. Ifheat pump deployment were to proceed linearly to 2050 in line with some scenarios for deployment, annual installations would need to increase by an order of magnitude. Whilst welcome, the current proposals are not sufficient to deliver a large scale market for heat pumps. Ambition and clarity of purpose are essential if heat system decarbonisation is to succeed. We also stress the importance of providing support to support the development of large low carbon heating systems, including systems attached to heat networks. We appreciate that the provisions laid out in the consultation pertain only to specific schemes and note the observations made in the consultation about support for heat networks.
Alongside the required policy changes necessary to support specific heating technologies, wider governance changes will be needed to drive the UK transformation to low carbon heating.Whilst regulation and other forms of financial support for building efficiency improvement are noted in the consultation, we note that it is likely to be important to use sticks as well as carrots if the highest carbon heating systems are to be removed and building efficiency increased. However, it will also be important to consider ownership and regulation of heat networks, the role of local authorities and opportunities for innovation that may be unlocked through regulatory change such as encouraging electricity suppliers to offer smart heating tariffs or enabling community ownership of heat distribution schemes.
While we appreciate these issues are beyond the scope of the current consultation, it is important that these considerations inform policy choices made now.
Author(s): Vorushylo, I., Ogunrin, S., Ghosh, R., Brandoni, C. and Hewitt, N.J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Steering Committee consisting of female representatives from key organisations in the NI heat sector, including the Department for the Economy, the Utility Regulator, a local renewable industry group (NIRIG), the transmission and distribution system operators (NI Electricity Networks and SONI), an energy charity (NEA Northern Ireland), the Consumer Council and a public affairs consultancy (Stratagem).
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
No Publications in this collection have been classified with this energy category
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Daggash, H.A., Fajardy, M., Heptonstall, P., MacDowell, N. and Gross, R.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This UKERC TPA working paper has been prepared to support the Committee on Climate Change’s advice to the UK government on the implications of the Paris Agreement on its long-term emissions reduction targets. In their recent reports, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have highlighted that large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR), defined as any anthropogenic activity that results in the net removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, is critical to meeting the Paris Agreement target.
This review addresses two technological CDR solutions that have been demonstrated: bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS). The overarching questions which this review addresses, for both BECCS and DACCS, are:
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gailani, A., Cooper, S., Allen, S., Taylor, P. and Simon, R.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Temperton, I. and Watson, J.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
There is global consensus that carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) will be essential to successfully tackling climate change and meeting the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) recently consulted on the potential business models for carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS). This was seeking to understand how a core set of CCUS specific risks, which have been presented as an intractable problem for previous projects may be mitigated through the development of business models.
UKERC provided a response to the recent BEIS consultation on CCUS
Publisher: Nature
Period: 2020-01-01 - 2020-12-31
Rights: CC-BY
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This report presents a case study of Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative, exploring how it financed the project against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
This report presents the first of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative (ECSC) is a Community Benefit Society (BenCom). Its objectives are a combination of environmental and social, with an explicit focus on reducing emissions, alleviating fuel poverty, improving energy security and promoting sustainable development education.
ECSC quickly settled on renewable power generation as a means of delivering this combination of environmental andsocial value. Today it operates 1.4 MW of solar PV panels on the roofs of 24 council-owned properties in Edinburgh, including schools, leisure centres and community halls.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, Tim., Hardy, J., Mclachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the third of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Gwent Energy (Wales) was formed in 2009 to deliver environmental benefit and cost savings to its local community. It aims to help local consumers save money on their energy bills through a combination of renewable energy, efficiency, storage and electric vehicle charging interventions, whilst simultaneously generating a surplus to fund local community initiatives.
Author(s): Walker, A., Coonick, A., Greenham, N., Vinnicombe, K., Walls, M., Stojkovoska, B., Lucas, R., Klassen, A., Robertson, N., Dale, P., Agha, I., Warren, P., Tan, K.T., Bedford, S., Jones, L., Dobson, R., Thirkill, A., Burns, W. and Stoker, D.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: REGEN
Regen has run the Solar Commission, a project that has been set up as part of the UKERC Whole Systems Network Fund.
Innovation and falling costs are leading to solar power playing an increasing role in the energy system. The UK has considerable scientific, technical and business experience in solar power and including technology, power storage, control systems, financing, and power purchase arrangements.
The role of the Commission has been to stimulate new thinking and encourage collaboration between academics, industry and system operators on the role of solar power in the energy system. The Commission examined areas where the UK could use its scientific and technical capabilities to play a leading role in innovation and industrial strategy opportunities in solar power.
The Commission was formed of industry leaders, academics and others and the Commissioners were responsible for investigating the future role of solar power in the energy system, considering the UK’s areas of strength in research and innovation in solar.
The findings will be used to inform and influence decision makers and leading players in the UK energy system and have been published in a non technical briefing at the House of Lords on 9 July 2019. The project engaged new voices and maximise female representation through collaboration with Regen’s Entrepreneurial Women in Renewables initiative.
This report presents the conclusions of the Commission, setting out:
A key finding of the Commission is that the UK has strong capabilities in many of the disruptiveinnovations transforming the solar PV market. The UK’s strengths in areas like innovative solar celltechnologies, storage, information and communication technologies and finance have sometimesbeen obscured by a focus on China’s domination of the manufacture of current generation crystallinesolar PV panels.
Publisher: Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Period: 2000-01-01 - 2022-12-31
Rights: Open Access
Publisher: Nature
Period: 2020-01-01 - 2020-12-31
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: UKERC
Period: 2021-04-01 - 2022-06-01
Rights: CC-BY
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Bell, K., MacIver, C. and Nash, S.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): McEwen, N., McHarg, A., Munro, F., Cairney, P., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper examines how renewables in Scotland are shaped by decisions taken by the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the EU. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders, it explores the potential impact of Brexit on Scottish renewables.
Brexit has the potential to disrupt this relatively supportive policy environment in three ways in regulatory and policy frameworks governing renewable energy; access to EU funding streams; and trade in energy and related goods and services.
Our briefing identifies varying levels of concern among key stakeholders in Scotland. Many expect policy continuity, irrespective of the future UK-EU relationship. There is more concern about access to research and project funding, and future research and development collaboration, especially for more innovative renewable technologies. The UK will become a third country forthe purposes of EU funding streams, able to participate, but not lead on renewables projects, and there is scepticism about whether lost EU funding streams will be replaced at domestic levels.
While there is no real risk of being unable to access European markets even in a No-Deal Brexit scenario, trade in both energy and related products and services could become more difficult and more expensive affecting both the import of specialist labour and kit from the EU and the export of knowledge-based services. Scotlands attractiveness for inward investment may also be affected.
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Rhodes, A., Heptonstall, P. and Speirs, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Jansen, M., Rickman, J., MacIver, C. and Bell, K.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This working paper is an update to our November 2021 briefing paper: Risk and investment in zero-carbon electricity markets.
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): McEwen, N., McHarg, A., Munro, F., Cairney, P., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper examines how renewables in Scotland are shaped by decisions taken by the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the EU. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders, it explores the potential impact of Brexit on Scottish renewables.
Brexit has the potential to disrupt this relatively supportive policy environment in three ways in regulatory and policy frameworks governing renewable energy; access to EU funding streams; and trade in energy and related goods and services.
Our briefing identifies varying levels of concern among key stakeholders in Scotland. Many expect policy continuity, irrespective of the future UK-EU relationship. There is more concern about access to research and project funding, and future research and development collaboration, especially for more innovative renewable technologies. The UK will become a third country forthe purposes of EU funding streams, able to participate, but not lead on renewables projects, and there is scepticism about whether lost EU funding streams will be replaced at domestic levels.
While there is no real risk of being unable to access European markets even in a No-Deal Brexit scenario, trade in both energy and related products and services could become more difficult and more expensive affecting both the import of specialist labour and kit from the EU and the export of knowledge-based services. Scotlands attractiveness for inward investment may also be affected.
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Cronin, J., Pye, S., Price, J. and Butnar, I.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This paper explores the sensitivity of energy system decarbonisation pathways to the role of afforestation and reduced energy demands as a means to lessen reliance on carbon dioxide removal.
The stringency of climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement has placed strong emphasis on the role of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) over this century. However, there are large uncertainties around the technical and economic viability and the sustainability of large-scale CDR options. These uncertainties have prompted further consideration of the role of bioenergy in decarbonisation pathways and the potential land-use trade-offs between energy crops and afforestation. The interest in afforestation is motivated by its potential as an alternative to large-scale bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), with its arguably lower risk supply chains, and multiple co-benefits. Furthermore, doubt over the viability of large-scale CDR has prompted a renewed examination of the extent to which their need can be offset by lowering energy demands.
A global optimisation model (TIAM-UCL) was used to examine decarbonisation pathways for the global energy system. Based on core assumptions, where energy demands follow business as usual trends and degraded land is used for energy crops, the model was unable to find a solution for a 1.5°C target. Over the period 2020-2100, the carbon budget of GtCO2 is exceeded by 332 GtCO2.
Scenarios where also run to examine how the least-cost decarbonisation pathway changes if i) energy demands are significantly reduced, or ii) degraded land is used for large-scale afforestation instead of energy crops. Each option on its own reduced the CO2 budget exceedance but both were required to allow the model to meet the 1.5°C target.
Under the 2°C target, afforestation reduced the reliance on BECCS by 60%. Under the 1.5°C target, the system still used all of the biomass available, as the target is so ambitious. When the energy demands were lower, the effect of afforestation on biomass use was dependent on the climate target. Under the 2°C target, less biomass was used across all economic sectors, whereas under the stringent 1.5°C target, all the available wood and crop biomass was exploited, but its use shifted away from the production of liquid fuels towards use in power generation.
Lowering energy service demands had a larger effect on the energy mix than large-scale afforestation. This is because demands are lowered differently across the sectors according to their economic drivers. However, afforestation had a bigger impact on the marginal cost of climate change mitigation, as it substantially decreases the scale and pace of change required by the energy system, especially in the 2°C case.
Given its key role, afforestation should be considered more in deep decarbonisation scenarios, as should lower demand scenarios.
Lowering energy demand and introducing large-scale afforestation both present significant challenges and opportunities. Further work should focus on factors affecting the carbon sequestration potential of afforestation, along with an interdisciplinary research agenda on the scope for large scale energy demand reduction. Research on the social, technical and economic factors that affect the potential for converting abandoned agricultural land to energy crops or new forest would be beneficial. An interdisciplinary research agenda is needed that brings together techno-economic modelling and qualitative scenario development with research on the social change that could lead to large reductions in energy demand
Author(s): McEwen, N., McHarg, A., Munro, F., Cairney, P., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper examines how renewables in Scotland are shaped by decisions taken by the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the EU. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders, it explores the potential impact of Brexit on Scottish renewables.
Brexit has the potential to disrupt this relatively supportive policy environment in three ways in regulatory and policy frameworks governing renewable energy; access to EU funding streams; and trade in energy and related goods and services.
Our briefing identifies varying levels of concern among key stakeholders in Scotland. Many expect policy continuity, irrespective of the future UK-EU relationship. There is more concern about access to research and project funding, and future research and development collaboration, especially for more innovative renewable technologies. The UK will become a third country forthe purposes of EU funding streams, able to participate, but not lead on renewables projects, and there is scepticism about whether lost EU funding streams will be replaced at domestic levels.
While there is no real risk of being unable to access European markets even in a No-Deal Brexit scenario, trade in both energy and related products and services could become more difficult and more expensive affecting both the import of specialist labour and kit from the EU and the export of knowledge-based services. Scotlands attractiveness for inward investment may also be affected.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, Tim., Hardy, J., Mclachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the third of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Gwent Energy (Wales) was formed in 2009 to deliver environmental benefit and cost savings to its local community. It aims to help local consumers save money on their energy bills through a combination of renewable energy, efficiency, storage and electric vehicle charging interventions, whilst simultaneously generating a surplus to fund local community initiatives.
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Publisher: Cox, E, Cardiff University
Period: 2022-03-15 - 2022-10-10
Rights: CC-BY
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): McEwen, N., McHarg, A., Munro, F., Cairney, P., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper examines how renewables in Scotland are shaped by decisions taken by the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the EU. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders, it explores the potential impact of Brexit on Scottish renewables.
Brexit has the potential to disrupt this relatively supportive policy environment in three ways in regulatory and policy frameworks governing renewable energy; access to EU funding streams; and trade in energy and related goods and services.
Our briefing identifies varying levels of concern among key stakeholders in Scotland. Many expect policy continuity, irrespective of the future UK-EU relationship. There is more concern about access to research and project funding, and future research and development collaboration, especially for more innovative renewable technologies. The UK will become a third country forthe purposes of EU funding streams, able to participate, but not lead on renewables projects, and there is scepticism about whether lost EU funding streams will be replaced at domestic levels.
While there is no real risk of being unable to access European markets even in a No-Deal Brexit scenario, trade in both energy and related products and services could become more difficult and more expensive affecting both the import of specialist labour and kit from the EU and the export of knowledge-based services. Scotlands attractiveness for inward investment may also be affected.
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): McEwen, N., McHarg, A., Munro, F., Cairney, P., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper examines how renewables in Scotland are shaped by decisions taken by the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the EU. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders, it explores the potential impact of Brexit on Scottish renewables.
Brexit has the potential to disrupt this relatively supportive policy environment in three ways in regulatory and policy frameworks governing renewable energy; access to EU funding streams; and trade in energy and related goods and services.
Our briefing identifies varying levels of concern among key stakeholders in Scotland. Many expect policy continuity, irrespective of the future UK-EU relationship. There is more concern about access to research and project funding, and future research and development collaboration, especially for more innovative renewable technologies. The UK will become a third country forthe purposes of EU funding streams, able to participate, but not lead on renewables projects, and there is scepticism about whether lost EU funding streams will be replaced at domestic levels.
While there is no real risk of being unable to access European markets even in a No-Deal Brexit scenario, trade in both energy and related products and services could become more difficult and more expensive affecting both the import of specialist labour and kit from the EU and the export of knowledge-based services. Scotlands attractiveness for inward investment may also be affected.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the second of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Green Energy Mull (GEM) is a Community Benefit Company (BenCom) that owns and operates Garmony Hydro; a 400 kW run-of-the-river hydro scheme on the island of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland.
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Heptonstall. P, and Winskel. M
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This systematic review presents data on the total installed costs for domestic heat pumps in the UK and internationally. It covers historic and forecast costs, across a range of technology types and building contexts.
Author(s): Maximov, S.,Rickman, J., Gross, R. and Ameli, N.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Roddis, P. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Social Value is a rising policy agenda in the UK, formalised in legislation by the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. It refers to social, economic and environmental benefits whose value is not captured in financial flows. Whilst multiple tools and methodologies are available to measure Social Value, there is little consensus on which method is best to use in different contexts. This report reviews options and considers how best to measure Social Value in the context of major energy infrastructure projects such as HPC.
The report finds that value is highly contingent and subjective, and that what is valuable is not always tangible. It therefore emphasises the importance of qualitative measures of Social Value alongside quantitative data or monetary estimates, recognising the limits of assigning financial values to some types of outcome. It also stresses the importance of involving stakeholders to find out what matters to them and what they most value.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project this report was developed during a secondment at EDF Energy
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Beaumont, N., Bell, K., Flower, J., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Qadrdan, M., Rhodes, A., Speirs, J., Taylor, P., Webb, J. and Wu. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Publisher: UKERC
Period: 2021-04-01 - 2022-06-01
Rights: CC-BY
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
No Publications in this collection have been classified with this energy category
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cox, E., Bell, K.. and Brush, S.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bell, K., Brand, C., Wade, F., Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Kuzemko, C., Froggatt, A., Bradshaw, M., Lowes, R., Webb, J., Dodds, P., Chilvers, J. and Hargreaves, T.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this issue of UKERCs annual Review of Energy Policy, we discuss some of the effects of COVID-19 on the energy system and how the unprecedented events of 2020 might impact energy use and climate policy in the future.
Focusing on electricity demand, transport, green jobs and skills, Brexit, heat, and societal engagement, the Review reflects on the past year and looks forward, highlighting key priorities for the Government.
Key recommendations
Electricity
The scale of investment in the power system required over the coming decade is huge. A big challenge is market design. We need a market that can incentivise investment in low carbon power and networks at least cost whilst also providing incentives for flexibility. Output from wind and solar farms will sometimes exceed demand and other timesfallto low levels. The right mix of flexible resources must be established to deal with variable output from renewables, with the right market signals and interventions in place to do this at least cost.
Mobility
The end of the sale of fossil fuel cars and vans by 2030 must be greeted with enthusiasm. Yet if this is to play its part in a Paris-compliant pathway to zero emissions, it must be one of many policy changes to decarbonise UK transport. Earlier action is paramount, and we recommend a market transformation approach targeting the highest emitting vehicles now, not just from 2030. Phasing-in of the phase-out will save millions of tons of CO2 thus reducing the need for radical action later on. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan has a lot to deliver.
Green jobs and skills
COVID-19 recoverypackages offer the potential to combine job creation with emissions reduction. A national housing retrofit programme would be a triple win, creating jobs, reducing carbon emissions and make our homes more comfortable and affordable to heat. However, UKERC research finds that there are significant skills gaps associated with energy efficient buildings and low carbon heat. UKERC calls for a national programme of retraining and reskilling that takes advantage of the COVID downturn to re-equip building service professions with the skills needed for net zero.
Brexit
As the UK leaves the EU on the 1st January it will lose many of the advantages of integration. With new regimes for carbon pricing, trading, and interconnection yet to be agreed, there will be a high degree of uncertainty in the near to medium term. Given upward pressure on energy costs,delays to policy, and this uncertainty surrounding new rules, the overall effects of Brexit are not positive for UK energy decarbonisation.
Heat
UKERC research calls for action on heat to deliver the net zero technologies that we know work - insulating buildings and rolling out proven options. We need to end delay or speculation about less-proven options. Analysis is consistent with recent advice from the CCC that heat policy should focus on electrification whilst exploring options for hydrogen. We need to break the pattern of ad hoc and disjointed policy measures for heat and buildings, and develop a coherent, long-term strategy. This would be best achieved as an integral part of local and regional energy plans, involving local governments as coordinating agents. The aspirations for heat cant be realised unless we also take actionon the skills gap.
Societal engagement with energy
Achieving net zero in 2050 will entail significant changes to the way we live, what we eat and how we heat our homes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that when faced with a threat, society can change rapidly. Engaging society with the net zero transition also needs to change, it needs to be to be more ambitious, diverse, joined-up and system-wide, and recognise the many different ways that citizens engage with these issues on an ongoing basis.
Publisher: Cox, E, Cardiff University
Period: 2019-04-30 - 2024-04-29
Rights: CC-BY
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Froggatt, A., Kuzemko, C. and Blondeel, M.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cox, E., Bell, K. and Gross, R.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Crawley, J., Ogunrin, S., Taneja, S., Vorushlyo, I. and Wang, X.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cox, E., Bell, K.. and Brush, S.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Bell, K.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The gas and electricity sectors feature many different actors that interact in different ways, through commercial arrangements and physical transfers of energy. The activities of the larger actors – generators, suppliers, gas shippers, and network owners and operators – are regulated through various licences.
There is then a raft of standards and codes that govern the interfaces between the actors and many of the characteristics of equipment that is connected to the networks. Most of these documents were established when the gas and electricity sectors were first liberalised in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although a number have seen various revisions since then, many industry observers have argued that they are out of step with technological and market developments and difficult to change.
This document contains the UKERC response to the 2019 consulation by BEIS/Ofgem about how and why the codes might be revised.
Author(s): Chaudry M, Hawker G, Qadrdan M, Broad O, Webb J, Wade F, Britton J, Wu J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R. and Bell. K.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Pathways that are consistent with legislated net zero targets are likely to see highly significant changes to demand for electricity. When these changes will start to take place and how quickly is uncertain, which leads to challenges when setting price controls. Key elements to circumnavigate this will be flexibility and scenario planning.
The need for network reinforcement can be reduced by the appropriate use of flexibility, e.g. in the timing of EV charging. However, the means by which different sources of flexibility might be encouraged and then utilised are still immature and it is not yet clear which will actors prove to be the most significant and efficient in providing services.
Flexibility can only go so far in helping meet power supply needs; at some point, network capacity often proves the most cost-effective means, especially when considering its reliability and lifetime, and the opportunities provided by asset replacement. The triggering of investment in network assets presents an opportunity not just to meet the immediate need or that forecast for the next few years, but to provide for the maximum transfer that can be envisaged throughout the path to net zero. This is likely to be cheapest for consumers over the longer term as the incremental cost of additional electrical capacity is small relative to the total cost of aproject, it avoids the need for repeated interventions, andit saves on the long-term cost of network losses.
Ofgem has noted in the consultation document that some form of scenario planning of investment is likely to be needed. A number of scenarios should be developed that encompass key uncertainties but are consistent across Britain in respect of the whole, multi-vector system, and associated assumptions.
There should be engagement with Local Authorities and other stakeholders to develop regional plans of future energy needs, such as a Local Area Energy Plan. This engagement is important as local, regional, or devolved administration policies as well as different geographies and starting points can drive different actions.
Innovation is a long-term process and uncertainty is inherent to it there is always the potential for unforeseen things to arise. What this means for the energy system is that:
Where there is uncertainty about the effect or cost of new practices or technologies on an energy system and its users who ultimately pay but also benefit from innovations that are adopted it is reasonable for those users to share the risk by sharing the cost of resolution of the uncertainties. However, arguments might be made that costs should be shared not by energy system users, i.e. its customers, but by taxpayers, e.g. through funding by UKRI.
A less than perfect set of arrangements for the sharing of costs between different parties should be accepted if that is what is necessary to support R&D capacity, address risks, and drive innovation. Moreover, the amount of network customers money that is being proposed in RIIO-ED2 to support innovation is modest compared with the network companies total expenditure and the benefits that will accrue to customers and society as a whole in the energy system transition.
Good governance and good practice on the part of network licensees is essential to ensure that customers money is used effectively. In particular, we agree with Ofgem that data transparency associated with network innovation projectsneeds to be much improved.
In order that the scope of Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) funding is not set too narrowly, we think it important to have a clear understanding of what a successful energy system transition involves. We include in our response a first draft of a definition and include recommendations for the threshold that projects must meet to be funded.
Summary: The greatest challenges faced by Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) in forming investment plans relate to the gathering and use of information with suitable levels of spatial and temporal detail. Access to smart meter data should help, but innovation will be required to turn data into useful information.
A final observation is that it is important for the UKs economy as a whole that the UK has the capacity to undertake research and development, to innovate, and to generate evidence in order to drive the commercial viability of ideas
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bell, K., Brand, C., Wade, F., Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Kuzemko, C., Froggatt, A., Bradshaw, M., Lowes, R., Webb, J., Dodds, P., Chilvers, J. and Hargreaves, T.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this issue of UKERCs annual Review of Energy Policy, we discuss some of the effects of COVID-19 on the energy system and how the unprecedented events of 2020 might impact energy use and climate policy in the future.
Focusing on electricity demand, transport, green jobs and skills, Brexit, heat, and societal engagement, the Review reflects on the past year and looks forward, highlighting key priorities for the Government.
Key recommendations
Electricity
The scale of investment in the power system required over the coming decade is huge. A big challenge is market design. We need a market that can incentivise investment in low carbon power and networks at least cost whilst also providing incentives for flexibility. Output from wind and solar farms will sometimes exceed demand and other timesfallto low levels. The right mix of flexible resources must be established to deal with variable output from renewables, with the right market signals and interventions in place to do this at least cost.
Mobility
The end of the sale of fossil fuel cars and vans by 2030 must be greeted with enthusiasm. Yet if this is to play its part in a Paris-compliant pathway to zero emissions, it must be one of many policy changes to decarbonise UK transport. Earlier action is paramount, and we recommend a market transformation approach targeting the highest emitting vehicles now, not just from 2030. Phasing-in of the phase-out will save millions of tons of CO2 thus reducing the need for radical action later on. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan has a lot to deliver.
Green jobs and skills
COVID-19 recoverypackages offer the potential to combine job creation with emissions reduction. A national housing retrofit programme would be a triple win, creating jobs, reducing carbon emissions and make our homes more comfortable and affordable to heat. However, UKERC research finds that there are significant skills gaps associated with energy efficient buildings and low carbon heat. UKERC calls for a national programme of retraining and reskilling that takes advantage of the COVID downturn to re-equip building service professions with the skills needed for net zero.
Brexit
As the UK leaves the EU on the 1st January it will lose many of the advantages of integration. With new regimes for carbon pricing, trading, and interconnection yet to be agreed, there will be a high degree of uncertainty in the near to medium term. Given upward pressure on energy costs,delays to policy, and this uncertainty surrounding new rules, the overall effects of Brexit are not positive for UK energy decarbonisation.
Heat
UKERC research calls for action on heat to deliver the net zero technologies that we know work - insulating buildings and rolling out proven options. We need to end delay or speculation about less-proven options. Analysis is consistent with recent advice from the CCC that heat policy should focus on electrification whilst exploring options for hydrogen. We need to break the pattern of ad hoc and disjointed policy measures for heat and buildings, and develop a coherent, long-term strategy. This would be best achieved as an integral part of local and regional energy plans, involving local governments as coordinating agents. The aspirations for heat cant be realised unless we also take actionon the skills gap.
Societal engagement with energy
Achieving net zero in 2050 will entail significant changes to the way we live, what we eat and how we heat our homes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that when faced with a threat, society can change rapidly. Engaging society with the net zero transition also needs to change, it needs to be to be more ambitious, diverse, joined-up and system-wide, and recognise the many different ways that citizens engage with these issues on an ongoing basis.
Author(s): Gross, R., Webb, J., Bradshaw, M., Bell, K., Taylor, P., Gailani, A., Rattle, I., Brand, C., Anable, J., Kuzemko, C. and Froggatt, A.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Taylor, P., Bays, J., Bradshaw, M., Webb, J., Britton, J., Bolton, R., Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable, J., Brand, C., Rattle, I., Gailani, A., Bell K., Halliday, C., Shepherd, A., Watson, S., Lovett, A. and Hastings, A.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Nash, S., Jansen, M., Rickman, J. and Bell, K.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Chi, L. and Wu, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Abeysekera, M., Fuentes Gonzalez, F., Gross, R., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M. and Wu, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has provided research and analysis across the whole energy system since 2004, with funding provided by the Research Councils through a succession of five year phases. Research related to low carbon heat became a significant focus during Phase 3 (2014 2019) and the current Phase 4 includes a research theme devoted to decarbonisation of heating and cooling, with several of our other themes providing relevant insights. Our whole systems research programme addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a net zero energy system and economy.
In this submission we address specific consultation questions where UKERC evidence and analysis provides us with relevant insights. In addition there are a number of high level observations that we provide in these introductory remarks.
Overall, we are concerned that the measures outlined in the consultation need to be set within a coherent and ambitious package of policies that work together to drive the UKs transformation to sustainable heating at a rate commensurate with the goal of net-zero by 2050. While we appreciate there are some uncertainties over the future role of the gas grid and the potential for hydrogen for heating, immediate progress in heat system decarbonisation is clearly required as part of this multi-decadal transformation. As the consultation notes, heat pumps offer a low regrets option in some applications and it is widely acknowledged that the UK has a small supplier base and very low level of heat pump deployment compared to many countries. Increasing consumer and installer familiarity, and growing the skills base and supply chain all feature strongly in the process of learning by doing that reduces heat pump costs. Ifheat pump deployment were to proceed linearly to 2050 in line with some scenarios for deployment, annual installations would need to increase by an order of magnitude. Whilst welcome, the current proposals are not sufficient to deliver a large scale market for heat pumps. Ambition and clarity of purpose are essential if heat system decarbonisation is to succeed. We also stress the importance of providing support to support the development of large low carbon heating systems, including systems attached to heat networks. We appreciate that the provisions laid out in the consultation pertain only to specific schemes and note the observations made in the consultation about support for heat networks.
Alongside the required policy changes necessary to support specific heating technologies, wider governance changes will be needed to drive the UK transformation to low carbon heating.Whilst regulation and other forms of financial support for building efficiency improvement are noted in the consultation, we note that it is likely to be important to use sticks as well as carrots if the highest carbon heating systems are to be removed and building efficiency increased. However, it will also be important to consider ownership and regulation of heat networks, the role of local authorities and opportunities for innovation that may be unlocked through regulatory change such as encouraging electricity suppliers to offer smart heating tariffs or enabling community ownership of heat distribution schemes.
While we appreciate these issues are beyond the scope of the current consultation, it is important that these considerations inform policy choices made now.
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Chi, L. and Wu, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Ruddell, A.J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This UKERC Research 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
Publisher: Caroline Kuzemko, Warwick
Period: 2021-08-16 - 2021-09-15
Rights: Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-By)
A survey was undertaken with UK energy and climate change stakeholders involved in and/or effected by Brexit - it was undertaken as part of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKRC) funded project on 'Brexit and UK Net Zero Energy Policy'. The survey was designed to ascertain views on the implications of Brexit for energy and climate change policy and politics, and to build knowledge about actual effects in practice. There were 83 respondents - from UK government (Westminster and devolved), business (mainly energy industry and finance), think tanks and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics researching Brexit, and representatives of EU countries.
Data from the survey was used to inform the analysis underpinning 2 papers: the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) policy briefing paper, Brexit Implications for UK Decarbonisation Objectives, and the Policy & Politics journal article, Brexit Implications for Sustainable Energy in the UK.
Publisher: Cox, E, Cardiff University
Period: 2019-04-30 - 2024-04-29
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2018-01-01 - 2018-12-31
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: UKERC Industrial Decarbonisation Team
Period: 2017-01-01 - 2050-12-31
Rights: UK Open Government Licence (OGL)
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2021-05-20 - 2049-01-01
Rights: CC-BY
This data set was updated on 14/10/2021. The top-level folder holds the latest version and a README file detailing the changes. The original version is retained in a sub-folder.
Publisher: UKERC
Period: 2021-04-01 - 2022-06-01
Rights: CC-BY
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Kazaglis, A., Tam, A., Eis, J., Watson, J., Hughes, N., Gross, R. and Hanna, R.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This report, commissioned by the Aldersgate Group and co-authored with Vivid Economics, identifies out how the government can achieve a net zero target cost-effectively, in a way that enables the UK to capture competitive advantages.
The unique contribution of this report is to identify the lessons from successful and more rapid historical innovations and apply them to the challenge of meeting net zero emissions in the UK.
Achieving net zero emissions is likely to require accelerated innovation across research, demonstration and early deployment of low carbon technologies. Researchers analysed five international case studies of relatively rapid innovations to draw key lessons for government on the conditions needed to move from a typical multi-decadal cycle, to one that will deliver net zero emissions by mid-Century.
The case studies include:
The report also sets out which low carbon technologies are likely to have wider productivty and growth benefits in other industries for the UK. These include carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS); heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); wind energy; biofuels and batteries. These areas should be prioritised by the government’s innovation strategy going forwards.
Author(s): Chilvers, J., Pallet, H., Hargreaves, T., Stephanides, P. and Waller, L.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cronin, J., Pye, S., Price, J. and Butnar, I.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This paper explores the sensitivity of energy system decarbonisation pathways to the role of afforestation and reduced energy demands as a means to lessen reliance on carbon dioxide removal.
The stringency of climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement has placed strong emphasis on the role of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) over this century. However, there are large uncertainties around the technical and economic viability and the sustainability of large-scale CDR options. These uncertainties have prompted further consideration of the role of bioenergy in decarbonisation pathways and the potential land-use trade-offs between energy crops and afforestation. The interest in afforestation is motivated by its potential as an alternative to large-scale bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), with its arguably lower risk supply chains, and multiple co-benefits. Furthermore, doubt over the viability of large-scale CDR has prompted a renewed examination of the extent to which their need can be offset by lowering energy demands.
A global optimisation model (TIAM-UCL) was used to examine decarbonisation pathways for the global energy system. Based on core assumptions, where energy demands follow business as usual trends and degraded land is used for energy crops, the model was unable to find a solution for a 1.5°C target. Over the period 2020-2100, the carbon budget of GtCO2 is exceeded by 332 GtCO2.
Scenarios where also run to examine how the least-cost decarbonisation pathway changes if i) energy demands are significantly reduced, or ii) degraded land is used for large-scale afforestation instead of energy crops. Each option on its own reduced the CO2 budget exceedance but both were required to allow the model to meet the 1.5°C target.
Under the 2°C target, afforestation reduced the reliance on BECCS by 60%. Under the 1.5°C target, the system still used all of the biomass available, as the target is so ambitious. When the energy demands were lower, the effect of afforestation on biomass use was dependent on the climate target. Under the 2°C target, less biomass was used across all economic sectors, whereas under the stringent 1.5°C target, all the available wood and crop biomass was exploited, but its use shifted away from the production of liquid fuels towards use in power generation.
Lowering energy service demands had a larger effect on the energy mix than large-scale afforestation. This is because demands are lowered differently across the sectors according to their economic drivers. However, afforestation had a bigger impact on the marginal cost of climate change mitigation, as it substantially decreases the scale and pace of change required by the energy system, especially in the 2°C case.
Given its key role, afforestation should be considered more in deep decarbonisation scenarios, as should lower demand scenarios.
Lowering energy demand and introducing large-scale afforestation both present significant challenges and opportunities. Further work should focus on factors affecting the carbon sequestration potential of afforestation, along with an interdisciplinary research agenda on the scope for large scale energy demand reduction. Research on the social, technical and economic factors that affect the potential for converting abandoned agricultural land to energy crops or new forest would be beneficial. An interdisciplinary research agenda is needed that brings together techno-economic modelling and qualitative scenario development with research on the social change that could lead to large reductions in energy demand
Author(s): Ketsopoulou, I., Taylor, P., Watson, J., Winskel, M., Kattirtzi, M., Lowes, R., Woodman, B., Poulter, H., Brand, C., Killip, G., Anable, J., Owen, A., Hanna, R., Gross, R. and Lockwood, M.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The in-depth analysis presented in this report focuses on four key areas of the economy, highlighting how they may need to change to remain competitive and meet future carbon targets.
The report identifies how policy makersplan for disruptions to existing systems. With the right tools and with a flexible and adaptive approach to policy implementation, decision makers can better respondto unexpected consequences and ensure delivery of key policy objectives.
Author(s): Winskel, M. and Kattirtzi, M.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
There is an increasing sense of urgency about the global energy system transition. For many observers an urgent energy transition is also a necessarily disruptive one, in that it is only by radically remaking energy systems that an accelerated transition to low carbon and sustainable energy can be achieved.
Closer to home, there has been substantial progress in some parts of the energy system in the decade since the passing of the UK and Scottish Climate Change Acts. Other areas have shown little sign of change, and the transition ahead may well be more disruptive and intrusive than that seen so far. At the same time, there is also an emerging counter-narrative: that repurposing our existing energy assets (physical and social) offers the best and quickest transition path, since there is insufficient time to disrupt and remake.
Attending energy events and keeping up-to-date with emerging evidence can instil a sense of different experts talking past each other. For those involved in whole systems energy research, and working at the research-policy interface, this can be deeply frustrating. To help address this, UKERC – working with ClimateXChange (CXC), Scotland’s Centre of Expertise on Climate Change – has spent two years analysing disruption and continuity in the UK energy system.
As part of that work, we surveyed around 130 experts and stakeholders about disruption and continuity-led change in the UK energy transition. The experts were mostly UK based researchers working on ‘whole systems’ research projects, but also included policymakers, advisory bodies, think tanks, businesses (old and new) and civil society organisations. This report presents the results of this survey work.
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Hamilton. K
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Wilson, G. and Rowley, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing note describes the amount of gas contained within Great Britain’s gas transmission and distribution networks, and how this changes over a day to support variations in demand. The hourly data covers the 63-month period from 2013-01-01 to 2018-03-07.
The amount of gas contained within the higher-pressure tiers of Britain’s gas transmission and distribution network is termed ‘linepack’; literally, it is the amount of gas packed into the pipelines.
Linepack is proportional to the pressure of the gas in the pipelines, increasing the pressure increases the amount of gas, and thus the energy contained therein. The amount of linepack changes throughout the day due to the varying levels of pipeline pressure. This flexing of pressure provides a method to help match the supply and demand for gas within a day.
The scale of energy that can be stored and released by varying linepack highlights its importance as a means of operational flexibility, helping to balance the changes in national primary energy demand.
The scale of the within-day flexibility currently provided by the natural gas transmission and distribution networks points to a formidable energy systems challenge; how to provide low-carbon within-day flexibility to future energy systems at a reasonable cost.
Author(s): Stabler, L. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
At present, Governments commitment stands in sharp contrast with its inaction on heat decarbonisation to date. Under pressure to progress this agenda, Government has charged the Clean Heat Directorate with the task of outlining the process for determining the UK’s long-term heat policy framework, to be published in the Roadmap for policy on heat decarbonisation in the summer of 2020 (BEIS, 2017). This report, resulting from one of six EPSRC-funded secondments, is designed to support early thinking on the roadmap by answering the research question: How can Transitions research informs the roadmap for governing the UKs heating transition?
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with BEIS.
Author(s): Crawley, J., Ogunrin, S., Taneja, S., Vorushlyo, I. and Wang, X.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Britton, J. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cox, E., Bell, K.. and Brush, S.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Chaudry M, Hawker G, Qadrdan M, Broad O, Webb J, Wade F, Britton J, Wu J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Lowes, R. and Woodman, B.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The paper investigates the importance of governance for energy system change and specifically investigates some of the areas where the UKs net zero target implies significant infrastructure change or expansion, namely in industry and associated with buildings and transport.
Author(s): Beaumont, N., Bell, K., Flower, J., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Qadrdan, M., Rhodes, A., Speirs, J., Taylor, P., Webb, J. and Wu. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Britton, J., Poulter, H. and Webb, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bell, K., Brand, C., Wade, F., Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Kuzemko, C., Froggatt, A., Bradshaw, M., Lowes, R., Webb, J., Dodds, P., Chilvers, J. and Hargreaves, T.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this issue of UKERCs annual Review of Energy Policy, we discuss some of the effects of COVID-19 on the energy system and how the unprecedented events of 2020 might impact energy use and climate policy in the future.
Focusing on electricity demand, transport, green jobs and skills, Brexit, heat, and societal engagement, the Review reflects on the past year and looks forward, highlighting key priorities for the Government.
Key recommendations
Electricity
The scale of investment in the power system required over the coming decade is huge. A big challenge is market design. We need a market that can incentivise investment in low carbon power and networks at least cost whilst also providing incentives for flexibility. Output from wind and solar farms will sometimes exceed demand and other timesfallto low levels. The right mix of flexible resources must be established to deal with variable output from renewables, with the right market signals and interventions in place to do this at least cost.
Mobility
The end of the sale of fossil fuel cars and vans by 2030 must be greeted with enthusiasm. Yet if this is to play its part in a Paris-compliant pathway to zero emissions, it must be one of many policy changes to decarbonise UK transport. Earlier action is paramount, and we recommend a market transformation approach targeting the highest emitting vehicles now, not just from 2030. Phasing-in of the phase-out will save millions of tons of CO2 thus reducing the need for radical action later on. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan has a lot to deliver.
Green jobs and skills
COVID-19 recoverypackages offer the potential to combine job creation with emissions reduction. A national housing retrofit programme would be a triple win, creating jobs, reducing carbon emissions and make our homes more comfortable and affordable to heat. However, UKERC research finds that there are significant skills gaps associated with energy efficient buildings and low carbon heat. UKERC calls for a national programme of retraining and reskilling that takes advantage of the COVID downturn to re-equip building service professions with the skills needed for net zero.
Brexit
As the UK leaves the EU on the 1st January it will lose many of the advantages of integration. With new regimes for carbon pricing, trading, and interconnection yet to be agreed, there will be a high degree of uncertainty in the near to medium term. Given upward pressure on energy costs,delays to policy, and this uncertainty surrounding new rules, the overall effects of Brexit are not positive for UK energy decarbonisation.
Heat
UKERC research calls for action on heat to deliver the net zero technologies that we know work - insulating buildings and rolling out proven options. We need to end delay or speculation about less-proven options. Analysis is consistent with recent advice from the CCC that heat policy should focus on electrification whilst exploring options for hydrogen. We need to break the pattern of ad hoc and disjointed policy measures for heat and buildings, and develop a coherent, long-term strategy. This would be best achieved as an integral part of local and regional energy plans, involving local governments as coordinating agents. The aspirations for heat cant be realised unless we also take actionon the skills gap.
Societal engagement with energy
Achieving net zero in 2050 will entail significant changes to the way we live, what we eat and how we heat our homes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that when faced with a threat, society can change rapidly. Engaging society with the net zero transition also needs to change, it needs to be to be more ambitious, diverse, joined-up and system-wide, and recognise the many different ways that citizens engage with these issues on an ongoing basis.
Author(s): Gross, R., Bradshaw, M., Bridge, G., Weszkalnys, G., Rattle, I., Taylor, P., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable,J., Beaumont, N., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Lovett, A., Shepherd, A..
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
With a focus on gas and the UK continental shelf, industrial decarbonisation, heat, mobility and the environment, we look at developments both at home and internationally and ask whether the UK is a leader in decarbonisation, and if the transition is being managed as well as it could be.
Author(s): Taylor, P., Bays, J., Bradshaw, M., Webb, J., Britton, J., Bolton, R., Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable, J., Brand, C., Rattle, I., Gailani, A., Bell K., Halliday, C., Shepherd, A., Watson, S., Lovett, A. and Hastings, A.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Britton, J. and Webb. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Bell, K., Bridge, G., Britton, J., Cooper, S., Gailani, A., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Munoz, C.C., Poulter, H., Rattle, I., Sugar, K., Turner, K., Webb, J. and Whitmee, S.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gailani, A., Cooper, S., Allen, S., Taylor, P. and Simon, R.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Qadrdan, M., Woodman, B. and Wu, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cairney, P., Munro, F., McHarg, A., McEwen, N., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper uses the example of a changing UK/Scottish government relationship after Brexit to demonstratehow to analyse the role of politics and policymaking in the transformation of energy systems.
Brexit will create a new division of policymaking responsibilities between EU, UK, and devolved governments.
In this paper we divide energy policy competences according to levels of government. Initially, it suggests that we cangenerate a clear picture of multi-level policymaking. However, the formal allocation of competences only tells a partialstory, because actual powers may operate differently from the strict legal picture. These blurry boundaries betweenresponsibilities may be further complicated by Brexit, even if it looks like the removal of a layer of government willsimplify matters.Instead of imagining clearlines of accountability, think of energy policy as part of a complex policymaking system in which the link between powers, practices, and outcomes is unclear and an energy system, in which government isonly one of many influences on outcomes.
Key findings
Author(s): Allan, G., Barrett, J., Brockway, P., Sakai, M., Hardt, L., McGregor, P.G., Ross, A.G., Roy, G., Swales, K. and Turner, K.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This study investigates how an increase in exports (a key pillar in the UK Industrial Strategy) could impact energy and industrial policy by comparing two types of energy-economy models.
Achieving the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions set out in the UK Climate Change Act will require a significant transformation in the UK's energy system.
At the same time, the government is pursuing a new UK Industrial Strategy, which aims to improve labour productivity, create high-quality jobs and boost exports across the UK.
The economic and the energy systems in the UK are tightly linked and so policies adopted in one area will produce spillover effects to the other.
To achieve the objectives set out in the two strategies it is therefore vital to understand how the policies in the energy system will affect economic development and vice versa.
Our study contributes to this by investigating how an increase in exports (a key pillar in the UK Industrial Strategy) could impact energy and industrial policy.
We address this question by systematically comparing the results of two types of energy-economy models of the UK, a computable general equilibrium model (CGE) and a macroeconometric (ME) model.
In both models we analyse a stimulus to demand from an increase in exports arising from a successful export strategy as motivated by the UK Industrial Strategy.
The qualitative results of the export stimulus are similar across all models in that GDP and employment are always stimulated. In this sense, the results are reassuring for the UK’s Industrial Strategy that emphasises export promotion.
However, the models also find that total energy use and CO2 emissions increase, and so does the energy intensity and emissions intensity of GDP.
The increase in CO2 emissions occur because the study identifies the energy and CO2 impacts of an export shock with other things remaining unchanged. Therefore the models do not simultaneously incorporate the UK carbon budgets or policies to support energy efficiency and decarbonisation of energy supplies.
However, our analysis reveals the likely adjustment of energy and climate policies to counteract the increase in CO2 and energy intensity that may result from export promotion. It therefore emphasises the need to complement UK industrial policies with appropriate action on energy use and carbon emissions to meet statutory carbon targets set by the Climate Change Act (2008).
The results highlight the interdependence of the energy and economic systems. They show that there are benefits to coordinating strategic initiatives aimed at stimulating economic activity with those aimed at tackling carbon emissions, as envisaged in the UK’s Clean Growth Strategy.
Author(s): Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Chi, L. and Wu, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Jansen, M., Rickman, J., MacIver, C. and Bell, K.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This working paper is an update to our November 2021 briefing paper: Risk and investment in zero-carbon electricity markets.
Author(s): Abeysekera, M., Fuentes Gonzalez, F., Gross, R., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M. and Wu, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has provided research and analysis across the whole energy system since 2004, with funding provided by the Research Councils through a succession of five year phases. Research related to low carbon heat became a significant focus during Phase 3 (2014 2019) and the current Phase 4 includes a research theme devoted to decarbonisation of heating and cooling, with several of our other themes providing relevant insights. Our whole systems research programme addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a net zero energy system and economy.
In this submission we address specific consultation questions where UKERC evidence and analysis provides us with relevant insights. In addition there are a number of high level observations that we provide in these introductory remarks.
Overall, we are concerned that the measures outlined in the consultation need to be set within a coherent and ambitious package of policies that work together to drive the UKs transformation to sustainable heating at a rate commensurate with the goal of net-zero by 2050. While we appreciate there are some uncertainties over the future role of the gas grid and the potential for hydrogen for heating, immediate progress in heat system decarbonisation is clearly required as part of this multi-decadal transformation. As the consultation notes, heat pumps offer a low regrets option in some applications and it is widely acknowledged that the UK has a small supplier base and very low level of heat pump deployment compared to many countries. Increasing consumer and installer familiarity, and growing the skills base and supply chain all feature strongly in the process of learning by doing that reduces heat pump costs. Ifheat pump deployment were to proceed linearly to 2050 in line with some scenarios for deployment, annual installations would need to increase by an order of magnitude. Whilst welcome, the current proposals are not sufficient to deliver a large scale market for heat pumps. Ambition and clarity of purpose are essential if heat system decarbonisation is to succeed. We also stress the importance of providing support to support the development of large low carbon heating systems, including systems attached to heat networks. We appreciate that the provisions laid out in the consultation pertain only to specific schemes and note the observations made in the consultation about support for heat networks.
Alongside the required policy changes necessary to support specific heating technologies, wider governance changes will be needed to drive the UK transformation to low carbon heating.Whilst regulation and other forms of financial support for building efficiency improvement are noted in the consultation, we note that it is likely to be important to use sticks as well as carrots if the highest carbon heating systems are to be removed and building efficiency increased. However, it will also be important to consider ownership and regulation of heat networks, the role of local authorities and opportunities for innovation that may be unlocked through regulatory change such as encouraging electricity suppliers to offer smart heating tariffs or enabling community ownership of heat distribution schemes.
While we appreciate these issues are beyond the scope of the current consultation, it is important that these considerations inform policy choices made now.
Author(s): UKERC
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) is in its fourth five-year phase of research and engagement activities, which will run until April 2024. In addition to the core programme of research, a number of mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that participation in UKERC is broad, flexible and addresses the needs of the wider UK research community.
A Flexible Fund of around £3m (valued at 80% FEC) has been set up in order to commission new research and facilitate the integration of the existing programme. The Fund is overseen by UKERC’s independent Research Committee. The key aims of the Fund are:
This report presents the outputs of two key consultation activities on potential Flexible Fund topics :
Author(s): Braunholtz-Speight, T., McLachlan, C., Mander, S., Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Hardy, J., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
What might community energy in the UK look like in the long term ? What does it need for it to thrive ?
This report provides a summary of practitioner and stakeholder responses to these questions, and many more, that explore the future of community energy in the UK.
Through a series of workshops held across the UK over the winter of 2018-19, invited participants were encouraged to explore and debate the future of community energy.
We found that community energy actors feel they have lots to offer to, and gain from, the transition to a decentralised and flexible energy system. The system appears to be moving towards a future where there is a clear need for organisations that combine technical knowledge with the skills and trust to effectively engage citizens – such as community energy groups.
Publisher: Caroline Kuzemko, Warwick
Period: 2021-08-16 - 2021-09-15
Rights: Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-By)
A survey was undertaken with UK energy and climate change stakeholders involved in and/or effected by Brexit - it was undertaken as part of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKRC) funded project on 'Brexit and UK Net Zero Energy Policy'. The survey was designed to ascertain views on the implications of Brexit for energy and climate change policy and politics, and to build knowledge about actual effects in practice. There were 83 respondents - from UK government (Westminster and devolved), business (mainly energy industry and finance), think tanks and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics researching Brexit, and representatives of EU countries.
Data from the survey was used to inform the analysis underpinning 2 papers: the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) policy briefing paper, Brexit Implications for UK Decarbonisation Objectives, and the Policy & Politics journal article, Brexit Implications for Sustainable Energy in the UK.
Publisher: Cox, E, Cardiff University
Period: 2022-03-15 - 2022-10-10
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Cox, E, Cardiff University
Period: 2019-04-30 - 2024-04-29
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: UKERC Public Engagement Observatory
Period: 2017-01-01 - 2024-04-01
Rights: Open Access
GRN: EP/S029575/1
Period: 2019-05-01 - 2025-01-05
Funding Source: EPSRC
Author(s): Kazaglis, A., Tam, A., Eis, J., Watson, J., Hughes, N., Gross, R. and Hanna, R.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This report, commissioned by the Aldersgate Group and co-authored with Vivid Economics, identifies out how the government can achieve a net zero target cost-effectively, in a way that enables the UK to capture competitive advantages.
The unique contribution of this report is to identify the lessons from successful and more rapid historical innovations and apply them to the challenge of meeting net zero emissions in the UK.
Achieving net zero emissions is likely to require accelerated innovation across research, demonstration and early deployment of low carbon technologies. Researchers analysed five international case studies of relatively rapid innovations to draw key lessons for government on the conditions needed to move from a typical multi-decadal cycle, to one that will deliver net zero emissions by mid-Century.
The case studies include:
The report also sets out which low carbon technologies are likely to have wider productivty and growth benefits in other industries for the UK. These include carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS); heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); wind energy; biofuels and batteries. These areas should be prioritised by the government’s innovation strategy going forwards.
Author(s): Blondeel, M., Bradshaw, M., Froggatt, A. and Kuzemko, C.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Chilvers, J., Pallet, H., Hargreaves, T., Stephanides, P. and Waller, L.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Beaumont, N., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Taylor, P., Wade, F. and Webb, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Bell, K., MacIver, C. and Nash, S.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Warren, G. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment at the Energy Savings Trust.
Author(s): Cronin, J., Pye, S., Price, J. and Butnar, I.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This paper explores the sensitivity of energy system decarbonisation pathways to the role of afforestation and reduced energy demands as a means to lessen reliance on carbon dioxide removal.
The stringency of climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement has placed strong emphasis on the role of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) over this century. However, there are large uncertainties around the technical and economic viability and the sustainability of large-scale CDR options. These uncertainties have prompted further consideration of the role of bioenergy in decarbonisation pathways and the potential land-use trade-offs between energy crops and afforestation. The interest in afforestation is motivated by its potential as an alternative to large-scale bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), with its arguably lower risk supply chains, and multiple co-benefits. Furthermore, doubt over the viability of large-scale CDR has prompted a renewed examination of the extent to which their need can be offset by lowering energy demands.
A global optimisation model (TIAM-UCL) was used to examine decarbonisation pathways for the global energy system. Based on core assumptions, where energy demands follow business as usual trends and degraded land is used for energy crops, the model was unable to find a solution for a 1.5°C target. Over the period 2020-2100, the carbon budget of GtCO2 is exceeded by 332 GtCO2.
Scenarios where also run to examine how the least-cost decarbonisation pathway changes if i) energy demands are significantly reduced, or ii) degraded land is used for large-scale afforestation instead of energy crops. Each option on its own reduced the CO2 budget exceedance but both were required to allow the model to meet the 1.5°C target.
Under the 2°C target, afforestation reduced the reliance on BECCS by 60%. Under the 1.5°C target, the system still used all of the biomass available, as the target is so ambitious. When the energy demands were lower, the effect of afforestation on biomass use was dependent on the climate target. Under the 2°C target, less biomass was used across all economic sectors, whereas under the stringent 1.5°C target, all the available wood and crop biomass was exploited, but its use shifted away from the production of liquid fuels towards use in power generation.
Lowering energy service demands had a larger effect on the energy mix than large-scale afforestation. This is because demands are lowered differently across the sectors according to their economic drivers. However, afforestation had a bigger impact on the marginal cost of climate change mitigation, as it substantially decreases the scale and pace of change required by the energy system, especially in the 2°C case.
Given its key role, afforestation should be considered more in deep decarbonisation scenarios, as should lower demand scenarios.
Lowering energy demand and introducing large-scale afforestation both present significant challenges and opportunities. Further work should focus on factors affecting the carbon sequestration potential of afforestation, along with an interdisciplinary research agenda on the scope for large scale energy demand reduction. Research on the social, technical and economic factors that affect the potential for converting abandoned agricultural land to energy crops or new forest would be beneficial. An interdisciplinary research agenda is needed that brings together techno-economic modelling and qualitative scenario development with research on the social change that could lead to large reductions in energy demand
Author(s): Froggatt, A., Kuzemko, C. and Blondeel, M.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): McEwen, N., McHarg, A., Munro, F., Cairney, P., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper examines how renewables in Scotland are shaped by decisions taken by the Scottish Government, the UK Government and the EU. Drawing on interviews with stakeholders, it explores the potential impact of Brexit on Scottish renewables.
Brexit has the potential to disrupt this relatively supportive policy environment in three ways in regulatory and policy frameworks governing renewable energy; access to EU funding streams; and trade in energy and related goods and services.
Our briefing identifies varying levels of concern among key stakeholders in Scotland. Many expect policy continuity, irrespective of the future UK-EU relationship. There is more concern about access to research and project funding, and future research and development collaboration, especially for more innovative renewable technologies. The UK will become a third country forthe purposes of EU funding streams, able to participate, but not lead on renewables projects, and there is scepticism about whether lost EU funding streams will be replaced at domestic levels.
While there is no real risk of being unable to access European markets even in a No-Deal Brexit scenario, trade in both energy and related products and services could become more difficult and more expensive affecting both the import of specialist labour and kit from the EU and the export of knowledge-based services. Scotlands attractiveness for inward investment may also be affected.
Author(s): Fawcett, T., Hampton, S. and Mallaburn, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
We welcome the idea of offering more policy support to SMEs to enable the uptake of energy efficiency opportunities, to the benefit of their enterprises, the economy as a whole and the environment. Researchers have previously argued that there is not enough policy focus on SMEs (Banks et al, 2012, Hampton and Fawcett, 2017) and this consultation was valuable as part of a wider process of policy development.
This response covers general issues about design of policy for energy efficiency improvement in SMEs, and offers specific evidence on Option 2: a business energy efficiency obligation.
Author(s): Gross, R., Bradshaw, M., Bell, K .and Webb, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
We welcome the re-assertion of key policy objectives and the commitment to a whole system approach described in the strategy. In our response we highlight a number of key areas that need to be addressed including the need for geographical specificity, and a hierarchy of objectives along with the introduction of low and stable prices as one of these objectives.
Author(s): Gross, R., Blyth, W., MacIver, C., Green, R., Bell, K. and Jansen, M.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
UKERCs response provides commentary and analysis on many of the wide range of topics encompassed in the consultation. This includes the overall vision and objectives, case for change, the evaluation criteria defined by BEIS, locational pricing and local markets, lessons from other countries, changes to wholesale markets and incentives for low carbon generation, flexibility and capacity.
Our response provides detailed and evidence-based analysis on each of these complex topics, drawing on UKERC research and wider outputs. We highlight some of the complex trade-offs involved and argue for a cautious and gradualist approach that builds on the progress already made in some areas.
Author(s): Ketsopoulou, I., Taylor, P., Watson, J., Winskel, M., Kattirtzi, M., Lowes, R., Woodman, B., Poulter, H., Brand, C., Killip, G., Anable, J., Owen, A., Hanna, R., Gross, R. and Lockwood, M.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The in-depth analysis presented in this report focuses on four key areas of the economy, highlighting how they may need to change to remain competitive and meet future carbon targets.
The report identifies how policy makersplan for disruptions to existing systems. With the right tools and with a flexible and adaptive approach to policy implementation, decision makers can better respondto unexpected consequences and ensure delivery of key policy objectives.
Author(s): Winskel, M. and Kattirtzi, M.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
There is an increasing sense of urgency about the global energy system transition. For many observers an urgent energy transition is also a necessarily disruptive one, in that it is only by radically remaking energy systems that an accelerated transition to low carbon and sustainable energy can be achieved.
Closer to home, there has been substantial progress in some parts of the energy system in the decade since the passing of the UK and Scottish Climate Change Acts. Other areas have shown little sign of change, and the transition ahead may well be more disruptive and intrusive than that seen so far. At the same time, there is also an emerging counter-narrative: that repurposing our existing energy assets (physical and social) offers the best and quickest transition path, since there is insufficient time to disrupt and remake.
Attending energy events and keeping up-to-date with emerging evidence can instil a sense of different experts talking past each other. For those involved in whole systems energy research, and working at the research-policy interface, this can be deeply frustrating. To help address this, UKERC – working with ClimateXChange (CXC), Scotland’s Centre of Expertise on Climate Change – has spent two years analysing disruption and continuity in the UK energy system.
As part of that work, we surveyed around 130 experts and stakeholders about disruption and continuity-led change in the UK energy transition. The experts were mostly UK based researchers working on ‘whole systems’ research projects, but also included policymakers, advisory bodies, think tanks, businesses (old and new) and civil society organisations. This report presents the results of this survey work.
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Brand, C., Anable, J. and Dixon, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Government has been seeking views on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible. In this joint UKERC/CREDS consultation response we provide views on the following aspects:
A phase out date of 2035 or earlier is sensible yet it might not be enough. Our research, recently published in the journal Energy Policy, has found that neither existing transport policies nor the pledge to bring forward the phase out date for the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles by 2035 or 2040 are sufficient to hit carbon reduction targets, or make the early gains needed to stay within a Paris compliant carbon budget for cars and vans.
Our research has shown that deeper and earlier reductions in carbon emissions and local air pollution would be achieved by a more ambitious, but largely non-disruptive change to a 2030 phase out that includes all fossil fuel vehicles. This would include all vehicles with an internal combustion engine, whether self-charging or not. However, only the earlier phase outs combined with lower demand for mobility and a clear and phased market transformation approach aimed at phasing out the highest-emitting vehicleswould make significant contributions to an emissions pathway that is both Paris compliant and meets legislated carbon budgets and urban air quality limits.
The proposed policy will involve high levels of coordination, intention and buy-in by policy makers, business and wider civil society. By far the biggest barrier to change will be the incumbent industries the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). They have a well-known track record of pushing back against EU vehicle regulations on the grounds of cost. In the case of electric powertrains, this push back is evident, with added resistance on the base of restricted supply chains and time to alter production processes. We suggest this is all the more reason to publish and implement a market transformation strategy now so that early wins which do not rely on supply chains or large transformations to the production line can mitigate against any later genuine supply-side constraints. Such a clear policy steer from the UK government is needed in order to ensure that UK consumers have more choice of cars than they may otherwise get if the OEMs restrict their sales of the most efficient vehicles into the UK market once out of the EU regulatory regime.
UKERC research into various phase-out policies has looked at how disruptive they would be for key stakeholders of the transport-energy system, and how much coordination would be needed to achieve the policy goals. This research has shown that in the Road-to-Zero ICE phase out by 2040 the main actors of the road transport and energy system are unlikely to undergo disruptive change. This is due to the relatively slow and limited evolution of the fleet towards unconventional low carbon fuels, the continuation of fuel duty revenue streams well into the 2040s and little additional reductions in energy demand and air pollutant emissions.
However, in the earlier (2030) and stricter (in what constitutes an ultra-low carbon vehicle) phase-outs we can expect some disruption for technology providers, industry and business in particular vehicle manufacturers, global production networks, the maintenance and repair sector as well as the oil and gas industry. There will also be localised impacts (some potentially disruptive) on electricity distribution networks and companies, even with smart charging.
Ending the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans earlier, coupled with the electrification of road transport should form a key part of long term decarbonisation policy, but it is not a panacea. First, an earlier phase out date of 2030 implies we have 10 years to plan for and implement a transition away from fossil-fuel ICE cars and vans. As we discussed in our response, our research suggests that this is achievable without significant disruption to the transport-energy system, but it needs to be linked to accelerated investment in charging networks, battery development and deployment, increased market availability of zero-emission vehicles, and equivalent-value support by the Government to level the playing field with the incumbents. Second, our research has shown multiple times that further and earlier policy measures that impact the transport-energy system are needed, including a clear and phased market transformation approach that targets high-emitting vehicles, access bans in urban areas, and dynamic road pricing that could fund an order of magnitude increase in investment in sustainable transport modes.
We support bringing the phase-outdate forward and urge it to be earlier than 2035 and include phasing out any non-zero tailpipe vehicles using a market transformation approach. We strongly believe Government has a crucial role to play in leading the way to decarbonise transport, going well beyond the proposed policy change of bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans from 2040 to 2035 or earlier.
Author(s): Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Gross, R., Wade F. and Webb, J.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Roddis, P. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Social Value is a rising policy agenda in the UK, formalised in legislation by the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. It refers to social, economic and environmental benefits whose value is not captured in financial flows. Whilst multiple tools and methodologies are available to measure Social Value, there is little consensus on which method is best to use in different contexts. This report reviews options and considers how best to measure Social Value in the context of major energy infrastructure projects such as HPC.
The report finds that value is highly contingent and subjective, and that what is valuable is not always tangible. It therefore emphasises the importance of qualitative measures of Social Value alongside quantitative data or monetary estimates, recognising the limits of assigning financial values to some types of outcome. It also stresses the importance of involving stakeholders to find out what matters to them and what they most value.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project this report was developed during a secondment at EDF Energy
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the final of our four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Established in 2013, Brighton and Hove Energy Services (BHESCo) primary focus was to develop both renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, whilst also ensuring people have equal access to energy. BHESCo is rather unlike our other community energy case studies in that it operates very much like an Energy Services Company (ESCo), where they accept some degree of responsibility to provide the energy service that its customers ultimately desire (e.g. lighting, ambient temperature), rather than the straightforward supply of heat or electricity.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This report presents a case study of Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative, exploring how it financed the project against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
This report presents the first of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative (ECSC) is a Community Benefit Society (BenCom). Its objectives are a combination of environmental and social, with an explicit focus on reducing emissions, alleviating fuel poverty, improving energy security and promoting sustainable development education.
ECSC quickly settled on renewable power generation as a means of delivering this combination of environmental andsocial value. Today it operates 1.4 MW of solar PV panels on the roofs of 24 council-owned properties in Edinburgh, including schools, leisure centres and community halls.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the second of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Green Energy Mull (GEM) is a Community Benefit Company (BenCom) that owns and operates Garmony Hydro; a 400 kW run-of-the-river hydro scheme on the island of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, Tim., Hardy, J., Mclachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the third of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Gwent Energy (Wales) was formed in 2009 to deliver environmental benefit and cost savings to its local community. It aims to help local consumers save money on their energy bills through a combination of renewable energy, efficiency, storage and electric vehicle charging interventions, whilst simultaneously generating a surplus to fund local community initiatives.
Author(s): Haf, S., Hirmer, S.A., Khalid, R., Roddis, P., Stabler, L., Warren, G., Foulds, C. ,Robison, R. and Rohse, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Stabler, L. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
At present, Governments commitment stands in sharp contrast with its inaction on heat decarbonisation to date. Under pressure to progress this agenda, Government has charged the Clean Heat Directorate with the task of outlining the process for determining the UK’s long-term heat policy framework, to be published in the Roadmap for policy on heat decarbonisation in the summer of 2020 (BEIS, 2017). This report, resulting from one of six EPSRC-funded secondments, is designed to support early thinking on the roadmap by answering the research question: How can Transitions research informs the roadmap for governing the UKs heating transition?
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with BEIS.
Author(s): Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P. and Gross, R.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cox, E., Bell, K. and Gross, R.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Haf, S. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Local Authorities role in the energy transition and working with their citizens in doing so, has been recognised as crucial to paving transition paths. Material collated within this report is intended to better inform Energy Cities and its partners, Local Authorities and Municipalities, civil society groups and others interested in how citizens can be supported and encouraged to participate in energy system developments as a part of the energy transition. The findings in this report are therefore intended to directly help Local Authorities across Europe in implementing more participative approaches to their governance practices in energy systems.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Energy Cities.
Author(s): Crawley, J., Ogunrin, S., Taneja, S., Vorushlyo, I. and Wang, X.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Britton, J. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cox, E., Bell, K.. and Brush, S.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Stevenson, L. and Royston, S.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The brief discusses the contextual nuances of staff travel choices and the potential of policy interventions to encourage sustainable travel modes. Through a detailed review of NHS parking policies and broader academic literature on transport practices. It underscores the need to develop comprehensive trave
Author(s): Pidgeon, N., Gross, R., Bell, K., Bradshaw, M., Chaudry, M., Hanna, R., Qadrdan, M., Lockwood, M., Webb, J. and Wu, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
It was submitted to in response to the Welsh Government call for evidence to inform the development of Wales decarbonisation pathway to Net Zero, whilst also providing an initial step towards potentially developing a Just Transition Framework for Wales.
Author(s): Prime, K.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The brief highlights innovative practices in prevention, repair, and recycling that can transform waste management systems, while acknowledging their interconnected complexities across practices. It underscores the need for local authorities to take a whole-system and cross-sectoral approach, empowering them with resources and policy fr
Author(s): Hardt, L., Brockway, P., Taylor, P., Barrett, J., Gross, R. and Heptonstall, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the government is legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels.
Historically, the focus of energy policy in the UK has been on supply-side policies, such as decarbonisation of electricity generation through greater use of low carbon technologies like wind and solar. Increasingly, however, demand-side energy policies are being recognised as having important contributions to make to achieving emission reduction targets, through reducing energy demand or by making energy demand more flexible and compatible with variable renewable energy sources. Such demand-side policies can seek to promote a wide range of technologies and behaviours, for example improved buildinginsulation, reduction in the use of energy intensive materials and increases in teleworking to reduce commuting.
To fully realise the potential of demand-side energy policies, it is important that they can be adequately represented in quantitative energy models, because such models play an important role in informing UK energy policy. However, we do not currently have a good understanding of how well the different energy models that inform UK government energy policy represent energy demand and demand-side energy policies.
Therefore we have undertaken a Rapid Evidence Assessment (a constrained form of systematic review) to examine the energy models that have informed energy policy documents published by the UK government between 2007 and 2017. The overarching question this review seeks to address is:
How suitableare the energy models used toinform UK government energy policy for exploring the full range of contributions that demand-side energy policies can make to climate change mitigation?
Our Rapid Evidence Assessment reveals that the core strength of current energy modelling is the detailed representation of technologies, with many models featuring information on hundreds of potential technological options for increasing energy efficiency. Although uncertainties exist around these technological options, these models allow us to gain a coherent and realistic understanding of how different combinations of technologies could satisfy our future energy service demands under different low-carbon scenarios.
However, the modelling landscape reveals two key limitations with regard to the representationof non-technological drivers of energy demand:
Author(s): Rafa, N. and Khalid, R.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Despite these benefits, barriers such as regulatory gaps, cultural inertia within the construction sector, and lack of consumer awareness hinder MMCs widespread adoption. In light of current challenges, the study underscores the imp
Author(s): Beaumont, N., Bell, K., Flower, J., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Qadrdan, M., Rhodes, A., Speirs, J., Taylor, P., Webb, J. and Wu. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Britton, J., Poulter, H. and Webb, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Demski, C., Pidgeon, N., Evensen, D. and Becker, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the government has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels (Climate Change Act, 2008). This will require a large shift in the UK’s energy system, ranging from energy production, across transmission to consumption.
The public are implicated in the transition process as energy users, increasingly also as energy producers and as active members of society who might support or oppose energy projects and policies. Previous research (Demski et al., 2015; Parkhill et al., 2013) has shown that there is widespread public support for transitioning to a low-carbon, affordable and reliable energy system – however, this change is associated with costs and it remains to be seen how these costs will be covered.
This research explores the views of the British public on how the energy transition should be financed. Drawing on a survey of 3,150 respondents and focus groups in 4 locations across Great Britain, it investigates what responsibility members of the public assign to government, energy companies and the general public for financing energy system change.
The results highlight widespread support for an energy system that ensures affordability, reliability and low carbon energy sources. Energy companies and the government were assigned primary responsibility for contributing financially to energy transition, as they were seen to have the structural power and financial means to implement necessary changes. Respondents also indicated that the general public ought to contribute as well, although the public was perceived to be paying over the odds already (through bills to the energy companies and levies to the government). Nonetheless, research participants expressed willingness to accept between 9-13% of their energy bills going towards environmental and social levies.
Willingness to contribute financially towards the energy transition was also found to be dependent on the perception that energy companies and government are contributing financially and showing real commitment to energy system change. It was also notable that this condition was not currently thought to be met; distrust in this regard was particularly evident in focus group discussions.
Distrust in companies: People believe that the majority of energy companies are driven primarily by profit motives leading to inadequate commitments with regards to energy transition goals such as investing in low-carbon energy and ensuring energy affordability.
Distrust in government: The government, and politicians in particular, are seen as too closely connected to the energy industry, leading to inadequate and ineffective regulation of energy companies and their opaque practices.
Examining what underlies people’s distrust, it is evident that the public has a number of justice and fairness concerns that need to be addressed. In particular, beliefs concerning distributive justice (i.e. how costs are distributed across society) and procedural justice (i.e. respectful treatment, transparent practices and decision-making) are important for public acceptance of responsibility and costs.
Addressing the issues underlying the trust deficit will be challenging, but this is nonetheless important if we are to ensure that there is to be broad societal consent and engagement with the low-carbon energy transition. To begin this process, the briefing includes the following recommendations:
Author(s): Hirmer, S.A. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Energy is a crucial element for development in almost every aspect of community life such as education, health, food, and security, and it can contribute to farming productivity, income generation, and the creation of networks that enable youth to work from their villages. Despite this, around 1 billion people globally do not have access to sustainable energy sources, and 80% of those people live in rural areas across 20 countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. To decrease this energy access gap, and to improve rural livelihoods and increase economic opportunities in rural areas, Productive Uses of Energy (PUE) offer an untapped opportunity: examples of PUE include irrigation and post-harvest processing.
Despite the benefits of PUE, they are often not considered in the planning off-grid rural electrification developments. This may be partially attributed to a lack of capital; riskyframework conditions; and a lack of clear policy guidelines available on the subject. The latter of which was the focus of this research project.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Practical Action.
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bell, K., Brand, C., Wade, F., Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Kuzemko, C., Froggatt, A., Bradshaw, M., Lowes, R., Webb, J., Dodds, P., Chilvers, J. and Hargreaves, T.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this issue of UKERCs annual Review of Energy Policy, we discuss some of the effects of COVID-19 on the energy system and how the unprecedented events of 2020 might impact energy use and climate policy in the future.
Focusing on electricity demand, transport, green jobs and skills, Brexit, heat, and societal engagement, the Review reflects on the past year and looks forward, highlighting key priorities for the Government.
Key recommendations
Electricity
The scale of investment in the power system required over the coming decade is huge. A big challenge is market design. We need a market that can incentivise investment in low carbon power and networks at least cost whilst also providing incentives for flexibility. Output from wind and solar farms will sometimes exceed demand and other timesfallto low levels. The right mix of flexible resources must be established to deal with variable output from renewables, with the right market signals and interventions in place to do this at least cost.
Mobility
The end of the sale of fossil fuel cars and vans by 2030 must be greeted with enthusiasm. Yet if this is to play its part in a Paris-compliant pathway to zero emissions, it must be one of many policy changes to decarbonise UK transport. Earlier action is paramount, and we recommend a market transformation approach targeting the highest emitting vehicles now, not just from 2030. Phasing-in of the phase-out will save millions of tons of CO2 thus reducing the need for radical action later on. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan has a lot to deliver.
Green jobs and skills
COVID-19 recoverypackages offer the potential to combine job creation with emissions reduction. A national housing retrofit programme would be a triple win, creating jobs, reducing carbon emissions and make our homes more comfortable and affordable to heat. However, UKERC research finds that there are significant skills gaps associated with energy efficient buildings and low carbon heat. UKERC calls for a national programme of retraining and reskilling that takes advantage of the COVID downturn to re-equip building service professions with the skills needed for net zero.
Brexit
As the UK leaves the EU on the 1st January it will lose many of the advantages of integration. With new regimes for carbon pricing, trading, and interconnection yet to be agreed, there will be a high degree of uncertainty in the near to medium term. Given upward pressure on energy costs,delays to policy, and this uncertainty surrounding new rules, the overall effects of Brexit are not positive for UK energy decarbonisation.
Heat
UKERC research calls for action on heat to deliver the net zero technologies that we know work - insulating buildings and rolling out proven options. We need to end delay or speculation about less-proven options. Analysis is consistent with recent advice from the CCC that heat policy should focus on electrification whilst exploring options for hydrogen. We need to break the pattern of ad hoc and disjointed policy measures for heat and buildings, and develop a coherent, long-term strategy. This would be best achieved as an integral part of local and regional energy plans, involving local governments as coordinating agents. The aspirations for heat cant be realised unless we also take actionon the skills gap.
Societal engagement with energy
Achieving net zero in 2050 will entail significant changes to the way we live, what we eat and how we heat our homes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that when faced with a threat, society can change rapidly. Engaging society with the net zero transition also needs to change, it needs to be to be more ambitious, diverse, joined-up and system-wide, and recognise the many different ways that citizens engage with these issues on an ongoing basis.
Author(s): Gross, R., Bradshaw, M., Bridge, G., Weszkalnys, G., Rattle, I., Taylor, P., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable,J., Beaumont, N., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Lovett, A., Shepherd, A..
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
With a focus on gas and the UK continental shelf, industrial decarbonisation, heat, mobility and the environment, we look at developments both at home and internationally and ask whether the UK is a leader in decarbonisation, and if the transition is being managed as well as it could be.
Author(s): Gross, R., Webb, J., Bradshaw, M., Bell, K., Taylor, P., Gailani, A., Rattle, I., Brand, C., Anable, J., Kuzemko, C. and Froggatt, A.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Taylor, P., Bays, J., Bradshaw, M., Webb, J., Britton, J., Bolton, R., Chaudry, M., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable, J., Brand, C., Rattle, I., Gailani, A., Bell K., Halliday, C., Shepherd, A., Watson, S., Lovett, A. and Hastings, A.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Nash, S., Jansen, M., Rickman, J. and Bell, K.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Britton, J. and Webb. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Bell, K., Bridge, G., Britton, J., Cooper, S., Gailani, A., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Munoz, C.C., Poulter, H., Rattle, I., Sugar, K., Turner, K., Webb, J. and Whitmee, S.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Allan, G., Barkoumas, C., Ross, A. and Sinha, A.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this working paper, we look at the economic, energy, and emissions consequences for the UK of non-energy or invisible energy policies (Cox et al, 2019). These are policies which, while not explicitly energy-focused, impact on energy use and emissions. We examine this from a sectoral perspective, looking at differences in consequences when policies are successful in raising exports for individual sectors of the UK economy.
The central purpose of this paper is to extend that previous work and reflect the detailed industrial focus of the UK Government's Sector Deals' by looking below the aggregate level. We wish to focus on the incremental changes in economic activity, territorial industrial emissions and energy use (as well as the indicators of emissions- and energy-intensity of GDP) that could arise from success in increasing exports in specific industrial sectors. The opportunities and challenges for the UK to benefit at a sectoral level from international activity in low carbon sectors is the focus of work by Carvalho and Fankhauser (2017). That work does not however examine the consequences of achieving export growth at the sectoral level, or the quantitative scale of such impacts, or any trade-off's between successes in different low carbon sectors.
By looking these factors we can identify whether it may be possible to target export policies at specific sectors to stimulate greener growth, i.e. positive impacts on economic indicators with (desirable) reductions in energy use and/or emissions. While we might expect that such sectors could include those with lower energy and emissions per unit of output, or smaller links to energy-using sectors, the full (economic and environmental) system-wide consequences of increasing exports at the sectoral level can be examined using an appropriately detailed CGE model of the UK. Specifically, we are interested in the following question: are there differences in the consequences for economic, energy and emissions indicators when policies are successful in raising exports for individual sectors of the UK economy?
Author(s): Thompson, O., Rohse, M. and Barber, J.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Emerging from a placement at the Office for Product Safety and Standards, UK, the study underscores the importance of reflexive, flexible, inclusive and interactive policymaking that integrates public engagement and considers the intricate relationships between social, technologic
Author(s): Qadrdan, M., Woodman, B. and Wu, J.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cairney, P., Munro, F., McHarg, A., McEwen, N., Turner, K. and Katris, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing paper uses the example of a changing UK/Scottish government relationship after Brexit to demonstratehow to analyse the role of politics and policymaking in the transformation of energy systems.
Brexit will create a new division of policymaking responsibilities between EU, UK, and devolved governments.
In this paper we divide energy policy competences according to levels of government. Initially, it suggests that we cangenerate a clear picture of multi-level policymaking. However, the formal allocation of competences only tells a partialstory, because actual powers may operate differently from the strict legal picture. These blurry boundaries betweenresponsibilities may be further complicated by Brexit, even if it looks like the removal of a layer of government willsimplify matters.Instead of imagining clearlines of accountability, think of energy policy as part of a complex policymaking system in which the link between powers, practices, and outcomes is unclear and an energy system, in which government isonly one of many influences on outcomes.
Key findings
Author(s): Walker, A., Coonick, A., Greenham, N., Vinnicombe, K., Walls, M., Stojkovoska, B., Lucas, R., Klassen, A., Robertson, N., Dale, P., Agha, I., Warren, P., Tan, K.T., Bedford, S., Jones, L., Dobson, R., Thirkill, A., Burns, W. and Stoker, D.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: REGEN
Regen has run the Solar Commission, a project that has been set up as part of the UKERC Whole Systems Network Fund.
Innovation and falling costs are leading to solar power playing an increasing role in the energy system. The UK has considerable scientific, technical and business experience in solar power and including technology, power storage, control systems, financing, and power purchase arrangements.
The role of the Commission has been to stimulate new thinking and encourage collaboration between academics, industry and system operators on the role of solar power in the energy system. The Commission examined areas where the UK could use its scientific and technical capabilities to play a leading role in innovation and industrial strategy opportunities in solar power.
The Commission was formed of industry leaders, academics and others and the Commissioners were responsible for investigating the future role of solar power in the energy system, considering the UK’s areas of strength in research and innovation in solar.
The findings will be used to inform and influence decision makers and leading players in the UK energy system and have been published in a non technical briefing at the House of Lords on 9 July 2019. The project engaged new voices and maximise female representation through collaboration with Regen’s Entrepreneurial Women in Renewables initiative.
This report presents the conclusions of the Commission, setting out:
A key finding of the Commission is that the UK has strong capabilities in many of the disruptiveinnovations transforming the solar PV market. The UK’s strengths in areas like innovative solar celltechnologies, storage, information and communication technologies and finance have sometimesbeen obscured by a focus on China’s domination of the manufacture of current generation crystallinesolar PV panels.
Author(s): Katris, A., Turner, K., McEwen, N., Munro, F., Cairney, P. and McHarg, A.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Energy Efficient Scotland (EES) is a large scale energy efficiency improvement programme to be implemented in Scotland. Over a 20-year period, currently scheduled to start in 2020, an amount in excess of 10billion is planned to be directed to the improvement of the energy efficiency in domestic and non-domestic buildings.
Funding for energy efficiency projects will come not only from the Scottish Government but also private interest-free and low interest loans as well as the successor(s) to the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). Aside from directing investment funds to the Scottish economy, promotion and support of energy efficiency through programmes such as EES, is one of the few instruments at the Scottish Governments disposal to conduct energy policy, especially on the energy demand side.
EES was officially announced in May 2018 with the publication of the EES Route Map. At that time the UK was already in the process of leaving the European Union: commonly referred to as Brexit.
Brexit, regardless of its final shape (which is currently unknown), is expected to affect policies in multiple ways including limitations to EU funds, skilled labour movement restrictions and increased import prices to name a few examples (among the potential impacts highlighted by different studies, reported in a 2018 Institute for Government report ). The magnitude and the exact nature of any impacts will be affected by the exact form that Brexit will have. In this shifting socio-economic landscape, EES will undoubtedly be affected in a range of ways.
In this working paper,we explore the funding limitations that Brexit could introduce to EES. Specifically, we identify two EES funding mechanisms that are likely to be affected; government-issued grants and privately-provided loans. For different reasons, these mechanisms are of paramount importance in order to achieve the EES goals as specified in the EES Route Map.
Author(s): Khalid, R. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Jansen, M., Rickman, J., MacIver, C. and Bell, K.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This working paper is an update to our November 2021 briefing paper: Risk and investment in zero-carbon electricity markets.
Author(s): Brand, C., Anable, J., Philips, I. and Morton, C.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The transport sector remains at the centre of any debates around energy conservation, exaggerated by the stubborn and overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels by its motorised forms, whether passenger and freight, road, rail, sea and air.
The very slow transition to alternative fuel sources to date has resulted in this sector being increasingly and convincingly held responsible for the likely failure of individual countries, including the UK, to meet their obligations under consecutive international climate change agreements.
Electrification of transport is largely expected to take us down the path to a zero carbon future (CCC, 2019; DfT, 2018). But there are serious concerns about future technology performance, availability, costs and uptake by consumers and businesses. There are also concerns about the increasing gap between lab and real world performance of energy use, carbon and air pollution emissions. Recently, the role of consumer lifestyles has increased in prominence (e.g. IPCC, 2018) but, as yet, has not been taken seriously by the DfT, BEIS or even the CCC (2019).
Societal energy consumption and pollutant emissions from transport are not only influenced by technical efficiency, mode choice and the pollutant content of energy, but also by lifestyle choices and socio-cultural factors. However, only a few attempts have been made to integrate all of these insights intosystems models of futuretransport energy demand and supply (Creutzig et al., 2018) or narratives of low carbon transport futures (Creutzig, 2015).Developed under the auspices of UKERC the Transport Energy Air pollution Model (TEAM) has been designed to address these concerns and uncertainties in exploring pertinent questions on the transition to a zero carbon and clean air transportation future.
TEAM is a strategic transport, energy, emissions and environmental impacts systems model, covering a range of transport-energy-environment issues from socio-economic and policy influences on energy demand reduction through to lifecycle carbon and local air pollutant emissions and external costs.
TEAM is a major update of UK Transport Carbon Model of 2010. To use the updated model for research purposes, please contact Christian Brand, noting that due to its size (the complete suite of modelling databases uses about 500MB of storage space) the model can only be made available by request.
Author(s): Brand, C., Anable, J., Philips, I. and Morton, C.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The transport sector remains at the centre of any debates around energy conservation, exaggerated by the stubborn and overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels by its motorised forms, whether passenger and freight, road, rail, sea and air.
The very slow transition to alternative fuel sources to date has resulted in this sector being increasingly and convincingly held responsible for the likely failure of individual countries, including the UK, to meet their obligations under consecutive international climate change agreements.
Electrification of transport is largely expected to take us down the path to a zero carbon future (CCC, 2019; DfT, 2018). But there are serious concerns about future technology performance, availability, costs and uptake by consumers and businesses. There are also concerns about the increasing gap between lab and real world performance of energy use, carbon and air pollution emissions. Recently, the role of consumer lifestyles has increased in prominence (e.g. IPCC, 2018) but, as yet, has not been taken seriously by the DfT, BEIS or even the CCC (2019).
Societal energy consumption and pollutant emissions from transport are not only influenced by technical efficiency, mode choice and the pollutant content of energy, but also by lifestyle choices and socio-cultural factors. However, only a few attempts have been made to integrate all of these insights intosystems models of futuretransport energy demand and supply (Creutzig et al., 2018) or narratives of low carbon transport futures (Creutzig, 2015).Developed under the auspices of UKERC the Transport Energy Air pollution Model (TEAM) has been designed to address these concerns and uncertainties in exploring pertinent questions on the transition to a zero carbon and clean air transportation future.
TEAM is a strategic transport, energy, emissions and environmental impacts systems model, covering a range of transport-energy-environment issues from socio-economic and policy influences on energy demand reduction through to lifecycle carbon and local air pollutant emissions and external costs.
TEAM is a major update of UK Transport Carbon Model of 2010. This report contains the detailed appendices relating to TEAM :
To use the model for research purposes, please contact Christian Brand, noting that due to its size (the complete suite of modelling databases uses about 500MB of storage space) the model can only be made available by request.
Author(s): Abeysekera, M., Fuentes Gonzalez, F., Gross, R., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M. and Wu, J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has provided research and analysis across the whole energy system since 2004, with funding provided by the Research Councils through a succession of five year phases. Research related to low carbon heat became a significant focus during Phase 3 (2014 2019) and the current Phase 4 includes a research theme devoted to decarbonisation of heating and cooling, with several of our other themes providing relevant insights. Our whole systems research programme addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to a net zero energy system and economy.
In this submission we address specific consultation questions where UKERC evidence and analysis provides us with relevant insights. In addition there are a number of high level observations that we provide in these introductory remarks.
Overall, we are concerned that the measures outlined in the consultation need to be set within a coherent and ambitious package of policies that work together to drive the UKs transformation to sustainable heating at a rate commensurate with the goal of net-zero by 2050. While we appreciate there are some uncertainties over the future role of the gas grid and the potential for hydrogen for heating, immediate progress in heat system decarbonisation is clearly required as part of this multi-decadal transformation. As the consultation notes, heat pumps offer a low regrets option in some applications and it is widely acknowledged that the UK has a small supplier base and very low level of heat pump deployment compared to many countries. Increasing consumer and installer familiarity, and growing the skills base and supply chain all feature strongly in the process of learning by doing that reduces heat pump costs. Ifheat pump deployment were to proceed linearly to 2050 in line with some scenarios for deployment, annual installations would need to increase by an order of magnitude. Whilst welcome, the current proposals are not sufficient to deliver a large scale market for heat pumps. Ambition and clarity of purpose are essential if heat system decarbonisation is to succeed. We also stress the importance of providing support to support the development of large low carbon heating systems, including systems attached to heat networks. We appreciate that the provisions laid out in the consultation pertain only to specific schemes and note the observations made in the consultation about support for heat networks.
Alongside the required policy changes necessary to support specific heating technologies, wider governance changes will be needed to drive the UK transformation to low carbon heating.Whilst regulation and other forms of financial support for building efficiency improvement are noted in the consultation, we note that it is likely to be important to use sticks as well as carrots if the highest carbon heating systems are to be removed and building efficiency increased. However, it will also be important to consider ownership and regulation of heat networks, the role of local authorities and opportunities for innovation that may be unlocked through regulatory change such as encouraging electricity suppliers to offer smart heating tariffs or enabling community ownership of heat distribution schemes.
While we appreciate these issues are beyond the scope of the current consultation, it is important that these considerations inform policy choices made now.
Author(s): Hannon, M.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This UKERC Research 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
Author(s): Silvast, A.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This UKERC Research 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: WHOLE SYSTEM RESEARCH
Author(s): UKERC
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) is in its fourth five-year phase of research and engagement activities, which will run until April 2024. In addition to the core programme of research, a number of mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that participation in UKERC is broad, flexible and addresses the needs of the wider UK research community.
A Flexible Fund of around £3m (valued at 80% FEC) has been set up in order to commission new research and facilitate the integration of the existing programme. The Fund is overseen by UKERC’s independent Research Committee. The key aims of the Fund are:
This report presents the outputs of two key consultation activities on potential Flexible Fund topics :
Author(s): Taylor, P. and Watson, J
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
We support the mission-oriented approach of the Industrial Strategy and the inclusion of a specific grand challenge on clean growth. Delivering this challenge will require a holistic approach from government that includes the following objectives (Busch et al., 2018)
The first of these objectives points to the need for industrial innovation to go beyond the purely technical and to encompass new ways of doing business and capturing value. The second includes the need for greater industrial energy efficiency, but goes beyond this to include the much larger opportunities that could be realised by changing the demand for the goods and services produced by industry (Scott et al., 2019). The third necessitates an economy-wide approach to decarbonisation in the UK to maximise synergies between sectors (e.g. increased use by industry of decarbonised electricity), while ensuring that action on climate change does not lead to carbon leakage outside the UK.
Download the full submission to read the response to the specific questions posed by the consultation.
Author(s): Turner, K., Katris, A., Calvillo., Stewart, J. and Zhou, L.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Braunholtz-Speight, T., McLachlan, C., Mander, S., Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Hardy, J., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
What might community energy in the UK look like in the long term ? What does it need for it to thrive ?
This report provides a summary of practitioner and stakeholder responses to these questions, and many more, that explore the future of community energy in the UK.
Through a series of workshops held across the UK over the winter of 2018-19, invited participants were encouraged to explore and debate the future of community energy.
We found that community energy actors feel they have lots to offer to, and gain from, the transition to a decentralised and flexible energy system. The system appears to be moving towards a future where there is a clear need for organisations that combine technical knowledge with the skills and trust to effectively engage citizens – such as community energy groups.
Author(s): Mottram, H.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Through a case-study of Yorkshire water, staff interviews, examination of its current practices and insights from academic literature, the brief identifies opportunities for reducing energy use in water management. It underscores the need to enhance public awareness of water-energy interdependencies, emphasising shared responsibility for environmen
Author(s): Giulietti. M, Burlinson. A and Davillas. A
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Daniel_Watanabe, L., Moore, R. and Tongue, B.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This policy brief explores the dual nature of DHTs in contributing to and mitigating healthcares carbon footprint. Focusing on Englands National Health Service (NHS), the study delves into how the adoption of digital technologies could either reduce or exacerbate the healthcare sectors carbon footprint, raising critical questions for the NHSs digital transformation efforts.
The analysis reveals that while DHTs offer avenues for reducing emissionssuch as telehealth reducing the need for patient and cl
Author(s): Bays, J., Nduka, E., Jimoh, M., Liu, L., Silva, N., Liu, X., Bharucha, Z., Khalid, R., Caprotti, F., Bobbins, K., Pailman, W., Bookbinder, R., Garret, J. and Gul, M.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Burns, W., Longuere, K-S. and Watson, J.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Ensuring diversity in research and innovation is vital for effective delivery of the Governments Clean Growth, and broader Industrial Strategies. As the Industrial Strategy argues, organisations with the highest levels of diversity are 15% more likely to outperform their rivals.
Over the past two and a half years, the UK Energy Research Centre has managed 1.5m of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funding through the Whole Systems Networking Fund (WSNF). It has worked with stakeholders from universities, public-private partnerships, and NGOs, to pilot a model to diversify the UKRI energy portfolio through inclusiveness, encouraging gender balance and the nurturing of new voices and ideas.
This report details the operation of the fundand provides an overview of the funded projects. It also summarises thekey learning from the programme, grouping findings into the following categories:
At the conclusion of the Whole Systems Networking Fund, 80% of the funding had been allocated to projects led by women. Demonstrating that with the appropriate mechanisms in place mainstreaming gender balance across the energy portfolio is achievable.
Author(s): Vorushylo, I., Ogunrin, S., Ghosh, R., Brandoni, C. and Hewitt, N.J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Steering Committee consisting of female representatives from key organisations in the NI heat sector, including the Department for the Economy, the Utility Regulator, a local renewable industry group (NIRIG), the transmission and distribution system operators (NI Electricity Networks and SONI), an energy charity (NEA Northern Ireland), the Consumer Council and a public affairs consultancy (Stratagem).
Publisher: UKERC Public Engagement Observatory
Period: 2017-01-01 - 2024-04-01
Rights: Open Access
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Warren, G. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment at the Energy Savings Trust.
Author(s): Haf, S., Hirmer, S.A., Khalid, R., Roddis, P., Stabler, L., Warren, G., Foulds, C. ,Robison, R. and Rohse, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Haf, S. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Local Authorities role in the energy transition and working with their citizens in doing so, has been recognised as crucial to paving transition paths. Material collated within this report is intended to better inform Energy Cities and its partners, Local Authorities and Municipalities, civil society groups and others interested in how citizens can be supported and encouraged to participate in energy system developments as a part of the energy transition. The findings in this report are therefore intended to directly help Local Authorities across Europe in implementing more participative approaches to their governance practices in energy systems.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Energy Cities.
Author(s): Stevenson, L. and Royston, S.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The brief discusses the contextual nuances of staff travel choices and the potential of policy interventions to encourage sustainable travel modes. Through a detailed review of NHS parking policies and broader academic literature on transport practices. It underscores the need to develop comprehensive trave
Author(s): Hirmer, S.A. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Energy is a crucial element for development in almost every aspect of community life such as education, health, food, and security, and it can contribute to farming productivity, income generation, and the creation of networks that enable youth to work from their villages. Despite this, around 1 billion people globally do not have access to sustainable energy sources, and 80% of those people live in rural areas across 20 countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. To decrease this energy access gap, and to improve rural livelihoods and increase economic opportunities in rural areas, Productive Uses of Energy (PUE) offer an untapped opportunity: examples of PUE include irrigation and post-harvest processing.
Despite the benefits of PUE, they are often not considered in the planning off-grid rural electrification developments. This may be partially attributed to a lack of capital; riskyframework conditions; and a lack of clear policy guidelines available on the subject. The latter of which was the focus of this research project.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Practical Action.
Author(s): Bays, J., Nduka, E., Jimoh, M., Liu, L., Silva, N., Liu, X., Bharucha, Z., Khalid, R., Caprotti, F., Bobbins, K., Pailman, W., Bookbinder, R., Garret, J. and Gul, M.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Vorushylo, I., Ogunrin, S., Ghosh, R., Brandoni, C. and Hewitt, N.J.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Steering Committee consisting of female representatives from key organisations in the NI heat sector, including the Department for the Economy, the Utility Regulator, a local renewable industry group (NIRIG), the transmission and distribution system operators (NI Electricity Networks and SONI), an energy charity (NEA Northern Ireland), the Consumer Council and a public affairs consultancy (Stratagem).
Publisher: Caroline Kuzemko, Warwick
Period: 2021-08-16 - 2021-09-15
Rights: Open Data Commons Attribution License (ODC-By)
A survey was undertaken with UK energy and climate change stakeholders involved in and/or effected by Brexit - it was undertaken as part of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKRC) funded project on 'Brexit and UK Net Zero Energy Policy'. The survey was designed to ascertain views on the implications of Brexit for energy and climate change policy and politics, and to build knowledge about actual effects in practice. There were 83 respondents - from UK government (Westminster and devolved), business (mainly energy industry and finance), think tanks and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics researching Brexit, and representatives of EU countries.
Data from the survey was used to inform the analysis underpinning 2 papers: the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) policy briefing paper, Brexit Implications for UK Decarbonisation Objectives, and the Policy & Politics journal article, Brexit Implications for Sustainable Energy in the UK.
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2018-01-01 - 2018-12-31
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2021-05-20 - 2049-01-01
Rights: CC-BY
This data set was updated on 14/10/2021. The top-level folder holds the latest version and a README file detailing the changes. The original version is retained in a sub-folder.
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Blondeel, M., Bradshaw, M., Froggatt, A. and Kuzemko, C.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Bell, K., MacIver, C. and Nash, S.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Froggatt, A., Kuzemko, C. and Blondeel, M.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., MacIver, C. and Blyth, W.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Blyth, W., MacIver, C., Green, R., Bell, K. and Jansen, M.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
UKERCs response provides commentary and analysis on many of the wide range of topics encompassed in the consultation. This includes the overall vision and objectives, case for change, the evaluation criteria defined by BEIS, locational pricing and local markets, lessons from other countries, changes to wholesale markets and incentives for low carbon generation, flexibility and capacity.
Our response provides detailed and evidence-based analysis on each of these complex topics, drawing on UKERC research and wider outputs. We highlight some of the complex trade-offs involved and argue for a cautious and gradualist approach that builds on the progress already made in some areas.
Author(s): Bell, K., Blyth, W., Bradshaw, M., Green, R., Gross, R., Jansem, M., Ostrovnaya, A. and Webb, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Hamilton. K
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Gross, R., Wade F. and Webb, J.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the final of our four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Established in 2013, Brighton and Hove Energy Services (BHESCo) primary focus was to develop both renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, whilst also ensuring people have equal access to energy. BHESCo is rather unlike our other community energy case studies in that it operates very much like an Energy Services Company (ESCo), where they accept some degree of responsibility to provide the energy service that its customers ultimately desire (e.g. lighting, ambient temperature), rather than the straightforward supply of heat or electricity.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E. and Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This report presents a case study of Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative, exploring how it financed the project against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
This report presents the first of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative (ECSC) is a Community Benefit Society (BenCom). Its objectives are a combination of environmental and social, with an explicit focus on reducing emissions, alleviating fuel poverty, improving energy security and promoting sustainable development education.
ECSC quickly settled on renewable power generation as a means of delivering this combination of environmental andsocial value. Today it operates 1.4 MW of solar PV panels on the roofs of 24 council-owned properties in Edinburgh, including schools, leisure centres and community halls.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, T., Hardy, J., McLachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the second of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Green Energy Mull (GEM) is a Community Benefit Company (BenCom) that owns and operates Garmony Hydro; a 400 kW run-of-the-river hydro scheme on the island of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland.
Author(s): Cairns, I., Hannon, M., Braunholtz-Speight, Tim., Hardy, J., Mclachan, C., Mander, S., Manderson, E., Sharmina, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Commencing in 2016, the Financing Community Energy project provides a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the role of finance in the evolution of the UK community energy sector. This report presents the third of four case studies of UK community energy organisations, exploring how these organisations have sought to finance their projects against a backdrop of diminishing government support for grassroots sustainable development.
Gwent Energy (Wales) was formed in 2009 to deliver environmental benefit and cost savings to its local community. It aims to help local consumers save money on their energy bills through a combination of renewable energy, efficiency, storage and electric vehicle charging interventions, whilst simultaneously generating a surplus to fund local community initiatives.
Author(s): Haf, S. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Local Authorities role in the energy transition and working with their citizens in doing so, has been recognised as crucial to paving transition paths. Material collated within this report is intended to better inform Energy Cities and its partners, Local Authorities and Municipalities, civil society groups and others interested in how citizens can be supported and encouraged to participate in energy system developments as a part of the energy transition. The findings in this report are therefore intended to directly help Local Authorities across Europe in implementing more participative approaches to their governance practices in energy systems.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Energy Cities.
Author(s): Smith, W., Pidgeon, N., Demski, C. and Becker, S.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Hardt, L., Brockway, P., Taylor, P., Barrett, J., Gross, R. and Heptonstall, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the government is legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels.
Historically, the focus of energy policy in the UK has been on supply-side policies, such as decarbonisation of electricity generation through greater use of low carbon technologies like wind and solar. Increasingly, however, demand-side energy policies are being recognised as having important contributions to make to achieving emission reduction targets, through reducing energy demand or by making energy demand more flexible and compatible with variable renewable energy sources. Such demand-side policies can seek to promote a wide range of technologies and behaviours, for example improved buildinginsulation, reduction in the use of energy intensive materials and increases in teleworking to reduce commuting.
To fully realise the potential of demand-side energy policies, it is important that they can be adequately represented in quantitative energy models, because such models play an important role in informing UK energy policy. However, we do not currently have a good understanding of how well the different energy models that inform UK government energy policy represent energy demand and demand-side energy policies.
Therefore we have undertaken a Rapid Evidence Assessment (a constrained form of systematic review) to examine the energy models that have informed energy policy documents published by the UK government between 2007 and 2017. The overarching question this review seeks to address is:
How suitableare the energy models used toinform UK government energy policy for exploring the full range of contributions that demand-side energy policies can make to climate change mitigation?
Our Rapid Evidence Assessment reveals that the core strength of current energy modelling is the detailed representation of technologies, with many models featuring information on hundreds of potential technological options for increasing energy efficiency. Although uncertainties exist around these technological options, these models allow us to gain a coherent and realistic understanding of how different combinations of technologies could satisfy our future energy service demands under different low-carbon scenarios.
However, the modelling landscape reveals two key limitations with regard to the representationof non-technological drivers of energy demand:
Author(s): Beaumont, N., Bell, K., Flower, J., Gross, R., Hanna, R., Qadrdan, M., Rhodes, A., Speirs, J., Taylor, P., Webb, J. and Wu. J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Demski, C., Pidgeon, N., Evensen, D. and Becker, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the government has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels (Climate Change Act, 2008). This will require a large shift in the UK’s energy system, ranging from energy production, across transmission to consumption.
The public are implicated in the transition process as energy users, increasingly also as energy producers and as active members of society who might support or oppose energy projects and policies. Previous research (Demski et al., 2015; Parkhill et al., 2013) has shown that there is widespread public support for transitioning to a low-carbon, affordable and reliable energy system – however, this change is associated with costs and it remains to be seen how these costs will be covered.
This research explores the views of the British public on how the energy transition should be financed. Drawing on a survey of 3,150 respondents and focus groups in 4 locations across Great Britain, it investigates what responsibility members of the public assign to government, energy companies and the general public for financing energy system change.
The results highlight widespread support for an energy system that ensures affordability, reliability and low carbon energy sources. Energy companies and the government were assigned primary responsibility for contributing financially to energy transition, as they were seen to have the structural power and financial means to implement necessary changes. Respondents also indicated that the general public ought to contribute as well, although the public was perceived to be paying over the odds already (through bills to the energy companies and levies to the government). Nonetheless, research participants expressed willingness to accept between 9-13% of their energy bills going towards environmental and social levies.
Willingness to contribute financially towards the energy transition was also found to be dependent on the perception that energy companies and government are contributing financially and showing real commitment to energy system change. It was also notable that this condition was not currently thought to be met; distrust in this regard was particularly evident in focus group discussions.
Distrust in companies: People believe that the majority of energy companies are driven primarily by profit motives leading to inadequate commitments with regards to energy transition goals such as investing in low-carbon energy and ensuring energy affordability.
Distrust in government: The government, and politicians in particular, are seen as too closely connected to the energy industry, leading to inadequate and ineffective regulation of energy companies and their opaque practices.
Examining what underlies people’s distrust, it is evident that the public has a number of justice and fairness concerns that need to be addressed. In particular, beliefs concerning distributive justice (i.e. how costs are distributed across society) and procedural justice (i.e. respectful treatment, transparent practices and decision-making) are important for public acceptance of responsibility and costs.
Addressing the issues underlying the trust deficit will be challenging, but this is nonetheless important if we are to ensure that there is to be broad societal consent and engagement with the low-carbon energy transition. To begin this process, the briefing includes the following recommendations:
Author(s): Hirmer, S.A. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Energy is a crucial element for development in almost every aspect of community life such as education, health, food, and security, and it can contribute to farming productivity, income generation, and the creation of networks that enable youth to work from their villages. Despite this, around 1 billion people globally do not have access to sustainable energy sources, and 80% of those people live in rural areas across 20 countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. To decrease this energy access gap, and to improve rural livelihoods and increase economic opportunities in rural areas, Productive Uses of Energy (PUE) offer an untapped opportunity: examples of PUE include irrigation and post-harvest processing.
Despite the benefits of PUE, they are often not considered in the planning off-grid rural electrification developments. This may be partially attributed to a lack of capital; riskyframework conditions; and a lack of clear policy guidelines available on the subject. The latter of which was the focus of this research project.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Practical Action.
Author(s): Maximov, S.,Rickman, J., Gross, R. and Ameli, N.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Watson, J., Bradshaw, M., Froggat, A., Kuzemko, C., Webb, J., Beaumont, N., Armstrong, A., Agnolucci, P., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Day, B., Delafield, G., Eigenbrod, F., Taylor, G., Lovett, A., Shepard, A., Hooper, T., Wu, J., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Anable, J., Brand, C., Mullen, C., Bell, K., Taylor, P. and Allen, S.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bell, K., Brand, C., Wade, F., Hanna, R., Heptonstall, P., Kuzemko, C., Froggatt, A., Bradshaw, M., Lowes, R., Webb, J., Dodds, P., Chilvers, J. and Hargreaves, T.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
In this issue of UKERCs annual Review of Energy Policy, we discuss some of the effects of COVID-19 on the energy system and how the unprecedented events of 2020 might impact energy use and climate policy in the future.
Focusing on electricity demand, transport, green jobs and skills, Brexit, heat, and societal engagement, the Review reflects on the past year and looks forward, highlighting key priorities for the Government.
Key recommendations
Electricity
The scale of investment in the power system required over the coming decade is huge. A big challenge is market design. We need a market that can incentivise investment in low carbon power and networks at least cost whilst also providing incentives for flexibility. Output from wind and solar farms will sometimes exceed demand and other timesfallto low levels. The right mix of flexible resources must be established to deal with variable output from renewables, with the right market signals and interventions in place to do this at least cost.
Mobility
The end of the sale of fossil fuel cars and vans by 2030 must be greeted with enthusiasm. Yet if this is to play its part in a Paris-compliant pathway to zero emissions, it must be one of many policy changes to decarbonise UK transport. Earlier action is paramount, and we recommend a market transformation approach targeting the highest emitting vehicles now, not just from 2030. Phasing-in of the phase-out will save millions of tons of CO2 thus reducing the need for radical action later on. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan has a lot to deliver.
Green jobs and skills
COVID-19 recoverypackages offer the potential to combine job creation with emissions reduction. A national housing retrofit programme would be a triple win, creating jobs, reducing carbon emissions and make our homes more comfortable and affordable to heat. However, UKERC research finds that there are significant skills gaps associated with energy efficient buildings and low carbon heat. UKERC calls for a national programme of retraining and reskilling that takes advantage of the COVID downturn to re-equip building service professions with the skills needed for net zero.
Brexit
As the UK leaves the EU on the 1st January it will lose many of the advantages of integration. With new regimes for carbon pricing, trading, and interconnection yet to be agreed, there will be a high degree of uncertainty in the near to medium term. Given upward pressure on energy costs,delays to policy, and this uncertainty surrounding new rules, the overall effects of Brexit are not positive for UK energy decarbonisation.
Heat
UKERC research calls for action on heat to deliver the net zero technologies that we know work - insulating buildings and rolling out proven options. We need to end delay or speculation about less-proven options. Analysis is consistent with recent advice from the CCC that heat policy should focus on electrification whilst exploring options for hydrogen. We need to break the pattern of ad hoc and disjointed policy measures for heat and buildings, and develop a coherent, long-term strategy. This would be best achieved as an integral part of local and regional energy plans, involving local governments as coordinating agents. The aspirations for heat cant be realised unless we also take actionon the skills gap.
Societal engagement with energy
Achieving net zero in 2050 will entail significant changes to the way we live, what we eat and how we heat our homes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that when faced with a threat, society can change rapidly. Engaging society with the net zero transition also needs to change, it needs to be to be more ambitious, diverse, joined-up and system-wide, and recognise the many different ways that citizens engage with these issues on an ongoing basis.
Author(s): Gross, R., Bradshaw, M., Bridge, G., Weszkalnys, G., Rattle, I., Taylor, P., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable,J., Beaumont, N., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Lovett, A., Shepherd, A..
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
With a focus on gas and the UK continental shelf, industrial decarbonisation, heat, mobility and the environment, we look at developments both at home and internationally and ask whether the UK is a leader in decarbonisation, and if the transition is being managed as well as it could be.
Author(s): Gross, R., Webb, J., Bradshaw, M., Bell, K., Taylor, P., Gailani, A., Rattle, I., Brand, C., Anable, J., Kuzemko, C. and Froggatt, A.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Blyth, W., Gross, R., Nash, S., Jansen, M., Rickman, J. and Bell, K.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): UKERC
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) is in its fourth five-year phase of research and engagement activities, which will run until April 2024. In addition to the core programme of research, a number of mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that participation in UKERC is broad, flexible and addresses the needs of the wider UK research community.
A Flexible Fund of around £3m (valued at 80% FEC) has been set up in order to commission new research and facilitate the integration of the existing programme. The Fund is overseen by UKERC’s independent Research Committee. The key aims of the Fund are:
This report presents the outputs of two key consultation activities on potential Flexible Fund topics :
Author(s): Turner, K., Katris, A., Calvillo., Stewart, J. and Zhou, L.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2018-01-01 - 2018-12-31
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Sam Cooper, University of Bath
Period: 2030-01-01 - 2050-01-01
Rights: CC-BY
Publisher: Cardiff University
Period: 2021-05-20 - 2049-01-01
Rights: CC-BY
This data set was updated on 14/10/2021. The top-level folder holds the latest version and a README file detailing the changes. The original version is retained in a sub-folder.
Publisher: UKERC
Period: 2021-04-01 - 2022-06-01
Rights: CC-BY
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Chilvers, J., Pallet, H., Hargreaves, T., Stephanides, P. and Waller, L.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Cronin, J., Pye, S., Price, J. and Butnar, I.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This paper explores the sensitivity of energy system decarbonisation pathways to the role of afforestation and reduced energy demands as a means to lessen reliance on carbon dioxide removal.
The stringency of climate targets set out in the Paris Agreement has placed strong emphasis on the role of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) over this century. However, there are large uncertainties around the technical and economic viability and the sustainability of large-scale CDR options. These uncertainties have prompted further consideration of the role of bioenergy in decarbonisation pathways and the potential land-use trade-offs between energy crops and afforestation. The interest in afforestation is motivated by its potential as an alternative to large-scale bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), with its arguably lower risk supply chains, and multiple co-benefits. Furthermore, doubt over the viability of large-scale CDR has prompted a renewed examination of the extent to which their need can be offset by lowering energy demands.
A global optimisation model (TIAM-UCL) was used to examine decarbonisation pathways for the global energy system. Based on core assumptions, where energy demands follow business as usual trends and degraded land is used for energy crops, the model was unable to find a solution for a 1.5°C target. Over the period 2020-2100, the carbon budget of GtCO2 is exceeded by 332 GtCO2.
Scenarios where also run to examine how the least-cost decarbonisation pathway changes if i) energy demands are significantly reduced, or ii) degraded land is used for large-scale afforestation instead of energy crops. Each option on its own reduced the CO2 budget exceedance but both were required to allow the model to meet the 1.5°C target.
Under the 2°C target, afforestation reduced the reliance on BECCS by 60%. Under the 1.5°C target, the system still used all of the biomass available, as the target is so ambitious. When the energy demands were lower, the effect of afforestation on biomass use was dependent on the climate target. Under the 2°C target, less biomass was used across all economic sectors, whereas under the stringent 1.5°C target, all the available wood and crop biomass was exploited, but its use shifted away from the production of liquid fuels towards use in power generation.
Lowering energy service demands had a larger effect on the energy mix than large-scale afforestation. This is because demands are lowered differently across the sectors according to their economic drivers. However, afforestation had a bigger impact on the marginal cost of climate change mitigation, as it substantially decreases the scale and pace of change required by the energy system, especially in the 2°C case.
Given its key role, afforestation should be considered more in deep decarbonisation scenarios, as should lower demand scenarios.
Lowering energy demand and introducing large-scale afforestation both present significant challenges and opportunities. Further work should focus on factors affecting the carbon sequestration potential of afforestation, along with an interdisciplinary research agenda on the scope for large scale energy demand reduction. Research on the social, technical and economic factors that affect the potential for converting abandoned agricultural land to energy crops or new forest would be beneficial. An interdisciplinary research agenda is needed that brings together techno-economic modelling and qualitative scenario development with research on the social change that could lead to large reductions in energy demand
Author(s): Li, P. and Strachan, N.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Li, P. and Strachan, N.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Strachan, N. and Li, P.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Haf, S. and Robison, R.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Local Authorities role in the energy transition and working with their citizens in doing so, has been recognised as crucial to paving transition paths. Material collated within this report is intended to better inform Energy Cities and its partners, Local Authorities and Municipalities, civil society groups and others interested in how citizens can be supported and encouraged to participate in energy system developments as a part of the energy transition. The findings in this report are therefore intended to directly help Local Authorities across Europe in implementing more participative approaches to their governance practices in energy systems.
Delivered as part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment with Energy Cities.
Author(s): Hardt, L., Brockway, P., Taylor, P., Barrett, J., Gross, R. and Heptonstall, P.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the government is legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels.
Historically, the focus of energy policy in the UK has been on supply-side policies, such as decarbonisation of electricity generation through greater use of low carbon technologies like wind and solar. Increasingly, however, demand-side energy policies are being recognised as having important contributions to make to achieving emission reduction targets, through reducing energy demand or by making energy demand more flexible and compatible with variable renewable energy sources. Such demand-side policies can seek to promote a wide range of technologies and behaviours, for example improved buildinginsulation, reduction in the use of energy intensive materials and increases in teleworking to reduce commuting.
To fully realise the potential of demand-side energy policies, it is important that they can be adequately represented in quantitative energy models, because such models play an important role in informing UK energy policy. However, we do not currently have a good understanding of how well the different energy models that inform UK government energy policy represent energy demand and demand-side energy policies.
Therefore we have undertaken a Rapid Evidence Assessment (a constrained form of systematic review) to examine the energy models that have informed energy policy documents published by the UK government between 2007 and 2017. The overarching question this review seeks to address is:
How suitableare the energy models used toinform UK government energy policy for exploring the full range of contributions that demand-side energy policies can make to climate change mitigation?
Our Rapid Evidence Assessment reveals that the core strength of current energy modelling is the detailed representation of technologies, with many models featuring information on hundreds of potential technological options for increasing energy efficiency. Although uncertainties exist around these technological options, these models allow us to gain a coherent and realistic understanding of how different combinations of technologies could satisfy our future energy service demands under different low-carbon scenarios.
However, the modelling landscape reveals two key limitations with regard to the representationof non-technological drivers of energy demand:
Author(s): Chaudry M, Hawker G, Qadrdan M, Broad O, Webb J, Wade F, Britton J, Wu J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Gross, R., Bradshaw, M., Bridge, G., Weszkalnys, G., Rattle, I., Taylor, P., Lowes, R., Qadrdan, M., Wu, J., Anable,J., Beaumont, N., Hastings, A., Holland, R., Lovett, A., Shepherd, A..
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
With a focus on gas and the UK continental shelf, industrial decarbonisation, heat, mobility and the environment, we look at developments both at home and internationally and ask whether the UK is a leader in decarbonisation, and if the transition is being managed as well as it could be.
Author(s): Gailani, A., Cooper, S., Allen, S., Taylor, P. and Simon, R.
Published: 2021-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Allan, G., Barrett, J., Brockway, P., Sakai, M., Hardt, L., McGregor, P.G., Ross, A.G., Roy, G., Swales, K. and Turner, K.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This study investigates how an increase in exports (a key pillar in the UK Industrial Strategy) could impact energy and industrial policy by comparing two types of energy-economy models.
Achieving the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions set out in the UK Climate Change Act will require a significant transformation in the UK's energy system.
At the same time, the government is pursuing a new UK Industrial Strategy, which aims to improve labour productivity, create high-quality jobs and boost exports across the UK.
The economic and the energy systems in the UK are tightly linked and so policies adopted in one area will produce spillover effects to the other.
To achieve the objectives set out in the two strategies it is therefore vital to understand how the policies in the energy system will affect economic development and vice versa.
Our study contributes to this by investigating how an increase in exports (a key pillar in the UK Industrial Strategy) could impact energy and industrial policy.
We address this question by systematically comparing the results of two types of energy-economy models of the UK, a computable general equilibrium model (CGE) and a macroeconometric (ME) model.
In both models we analyse a stimulus to demand from an increase in exports arising from a successful export strategy as motivated by the UK Industrial Strategy.
The qualitative results of the export stimulus are similar across all models in that GDP and employment are always stimulated. In this sense, the results are reassuring for the UK’s Industrial Strategy that emphasises export promotion.
However, the models also find that total energy use and CO2 emissions increase, and so does the energy intensity and emissions intensity of GDP.
The increase in CO2 emissions occur because the study identifies the energy and CO2 impacts of an export shock with other things remaining unchanged. Therefore the models do not simultaneously incorporate the UK carbon budgets or policies to support energy efficiency and decarbonisation of energy supplies.
However, our analysis reveals the likely adjustment of energy and climate policies to counteract the increase in CO2 and energy intensity that may result from export promotion. It therefore emphasises the need to complement UK industrial policies with appropriate action on energy use and carbon emissions to meet statutory carbon targets set by the Climate Change Act (2008).
The results highlight the interdependence of the energy and economic systems. They show that there are benefits to coordinating strategic initiatives aimed at stimulating economic activity with those aimed at tackling carbon emissions, as envisaged in the UK’s Clean Growth Strategy.
Author(s): Bays, J., Nduka, E., Jimoh, M., Liu, L., Silva, N., Liu, X., Bharucha, Z., Khalid, R., Caprotti, F., Bobbins, K., Pailman, W., Bookbinder, R., Garret, J. and Gul, M.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
No Data in this collection has been classified with this energy category
No Projects in this collection have been classified with this energy category
Author(s): Jones, C.M. and Higginson, S.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This briefing note brings together the current state of policy and activities that CREDS and UKERC have undertaken to support data sharing.
Author(s): Haf, S., Hirmer, S.A., Khalid, R., Roddis, P., Stabler, L., Warren, G., Foulds, C. ,Robison, R. and Rohse, M.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Colechin, M. and Quigley, C.
Published: 2023-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
This workshop was a joint event organised by CREDS and UKERC Sarah Higginson, Catherine Jones, Kate Kwok, Marina Topouzi, Mike Fell, Gesche Huebner and facilitated by Mike Colechin
Author(s): Rhodes, A., Heptonstall, P. and Speirs, J.
Published: 2022-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Rafa, N. and Khalid, R.
Published: 2024-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Despite these benefits, barriers such as regulatory gaps, cultural inertia within the construction sector, and lack of consumer awareness hinder MMCs widespread adoption. In light of current challenges, the study underscores the imp
Author(s): Smith, J., Britton, J. and Cieszewska, B.
Published: 2019-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The challenge of rapidly decarbonising our energy system can’t be addressed if only half of the population is involved. Unfortunately it’s old news that women are significantly underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, with the UK having the lowest proportion of female engineers in the EU. Across all academic disciplines women account for 58% of Postgraduate students but only 25% of Professors.
Our research explores the current state of gender balance in UK energy research. We looked at the data and talked to female energy researchers about their experience of securing research funding and of academic life. They told us what needs to change.
Author(s): Khalid, R. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): UKERC
Published: 2020-01-01
Publisher: UKERC
The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) is in its fourth five-year phase of research and engagement activities, which will run until April 2024. In addition to the core programme of research, a number of mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that participation in UKERC is broad, flexible and addresses the needs of the wider UK research community.
A Flexible Fund of around £3m (valued at 80% FEC) has been set up in order to commission new research and facilitate the integration of the existing programme. The Fund is overseen by UKERC’s independent Research Committee. The key aims of the Fund are:
This report presents the outputs of two key consultation activities on potential Flexible Fund topics :