Downloads / Renewables

The role of utilities in enabling prosumers and flexible distributed energy resources

Daniel Quiggin, Chatham House This paper explores how utilities could transform as the electricity system undergoes a second phase of transformations and the business models they could develop. The main focus will be on the role existing power companies could play in enabling distributed energy resources (DERs) and prosumers to participate in an increasingly flexible electricity system, via energy service platforms. The electricity sector is experiencing a deep and profound disruptive shock, the effect is most obvious in Australia, the EU-28 and parts of North America, where once powerful utility companies are struggling in the current market and many are restructuring to survive. Three major factors define this phase of transformational changes: renewable deployment, slower than expected demand growth and in many jurisdictions, market reform. Whilst many utilities are now beginning to respond to the structural shifts embedded within the electricity systems they operate, it is becoming apparent that a second phase of transformational shifts is around the corner. This second phase is intimately linked to the first phase and is likely to have greater transformational impacts, amplifying the impacts Read more…

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Quiggin-The-role-of-utilities-in-enabling-prosumers-and-flexible-distributed-energy-resources.pptx 1.39 MBQuiggin-The-role-of-utilities-in-enabling-prosumers-and-flexible-distributed-energy-resources.pdf 809.02 KB
19th
Sep
2018

Continuity and Disruption in UK Energy System Change: Mapping Expert Differences – and Understanding their Implications

Mike Kattirtz, University of Edinburgh Energy systems globally are undergoing dramatic changes, and many observers anticipate accelerated changes in the years ahead. The changes are being driven by a combination of high-level national and international policy agreements, as well as more bottom-up, insurgent changes in the cost and performance of energy technologies (supply, storage and use) and also changing consumer behaviours and social practices. Less visibly, energy systems also exhibit strong elements of continuity, in terms of the renewal, extension and repurposing of existing technical infrastructures and institutions. This pattern of both disruptive and continuity-based change, which is particularly evident in the UK energy system, is reflected in energy experts’ varied prescriptions for energy system change. As a result, there are multiple working definitions of the energy system change and system integration, with many questions and uncertainties about future pathways such as the extent of system rescaling, the key public and private agents of change and the extent to which consumers and citizens are likely to play a significant role in driving change. In their review of energy scenarios, McDowall Read more…

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Kattirzi-Continuity-and-disruption-in-UK-energy-system-change.pptx 4.33 MBKattiritz-Continuity-and-disruption-in-UK-energy-sytem-change.pdf 973.16 KB
19th
Sep
2018

Unlocking the benefits to end consumers

Nicholas Rubin, ELEXON Ltd ELEXON recognises that how electricity is used is radically changing and that end consumers are being presented with more and more opportunities to actively manage their energy consumption and/or production. We recognise that the energy market (including central industry systems and processes) that facilitates this active participation will need to radically change too. A commitment to decarbonise the economy and developments in disrupting and decentralised technology, services and business models, amongst other things, is driving a great pace of change in the way electricity is produced and consumed. Whilst innovation in technology and service provision unlocks opportunities in the home, it is also unlocking opportunities that are making it a reality for smaller and smaller customers (including domestic customers) and businesses to actively participate at the heart of the electricity system, and provide services to each other and other actors across the system, in existing and new markets. On the one hand, these services might simply be based on the provision of smart meters to allow consumers to better manage their use, smart time of use Read more…

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Rubin-Unlocking-the-benefits-to-consumers-0918-v1.0.pptx 2.16 MBRubin-Unlocking-the-benefits-to-end-consumers1.pdf 319.46 KB
19th
Sep
2018

Energy cooperatives: a missing piece of the peer-to-peer energy regulation puzzle?

Alexandra Schneiders, UCL Energy Institute, University College London Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading, often facilitated through distributed ledgers (‘blockchains’), is emerging as a new mechanism for settling exchanges of energy between renewable energy generators and consumers, as well as matching local supply and demand. It is currently being tested in urban areas, where there are fewer renewable energy installations due to space constraints. The sharing of energy generated by a single installation (e.g. solar panels on the roof of a tower block) between residents, through a P2P blockchain-run energy trading platform, can tackle the disparity in renewable energy generation across the UK. Furthermore, grouping residents into a single legal entity, such as an energy cooperative, could resolve regulatory problems associated with P2P energy trading- such as the legal recognition of prosumers acting as consumers and entrepreneurs, as well as the validity of ‘smart contracts’ programmed to trade energy on the platform. Energy cooperatives are popular in European countries such as Denmark and Germany, where they benefit from government support. The situation is different in the United Kingdom, where energy cooperatives are Read more…

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Schneiders-Energy-Cooperatives-A-Missing-Piece-of-the-P2P-Energy-Regulation-Puzzle.pptx 1.44 MBSchneiders-Energy-cooperatives-a-missing-piece-of-the-peer-to-peer-energy-regulation-puzzle.pdf 460.95 KB
18th
Sep
2018

Modelling Take-Up of Residential Solar PV in the UK

Sophie Heald, Cambridge Econometrics In February 2016, the solar PV tariff rate in the UK was reduced from 12.47 p/kWh to 4.39 p/kWh. Since that date, growth in small-scale residential solar PV in the UK has slowed dramatically (see Figure 1). In a recent study for the European Commission[1], we develop a new methodology to model prosumers’ investment decisions. We developed baseline projections and a series of scenarios to assess how take-up of residential Solar PV in the UK (and the wider EU) may be affected by future changes in policy and technology. Our method takes account of the fact that households weigh up a multitude of both financial and non-financial factors when deciding whether to invest in solar PV. In relation to these financial and non-financial drivers of investment, there is considerable heterogeneity among households. We derive distributions for the cost-effectiveness and overall attractiveness of investment among households in the UK and use this to develop projections of take-up of solar PV. For each year up to 2030, under specific assumptions about CAPEX and OPEX costs, policy support, future Read more…

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Heald-Modelling-take-up-of-residential-solar-PV-in-th-UK.pptx 1.63 MBHeald-Modelling-take-up-of-residential-solar-PV-in-th-UK.pdf 548.94 KB
18th
Sep
2018

Optimal Storage Investment and Management under Uncertainty – It is costly to avoid outages!

Mr Joachim  Geske, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom Prof Richard Green, Imperial College Business School, United Kingdom Overview: Storage has the technical potential to increase efficiency of electrical systems significantly – especially in the context of integrating intermittent renewable technologies. This is achieved by shifting energy from periods of low demand to periods of high demand. Thus, the utilization of medium load power plants is increased and the utilization of peak load power plants is reduced. The full extent of efficiency gain is achieved if generation capacity is adapted to the “equilibrated” load situation – with a higher base load and lower peak load share. In this case, the installed fossil generation capacity falls below peak load level. Since the amount of energy stored is generally limited, there is a risk of outages in cases of prolonged demand peaks. This problem does not occur in perfect foresight based analyses that are still the paradigm of electrical system analysis. The subject of this analysis is to show how storage is operated optimally under renewable and load uncertainty in the system context. Methodology: We Read more…

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GeskeGreen-Optimal-Storage-Management-Under-Uncertainty1.pdf 893.03 KBGeskeGreen-Optimal-Storage-Management-Under-Uncertainty.pdf 687.17 KB
22nd
Sep
2016

Political Power and the Development of UK Domestic Heat Policy

Mr Richard  Lowes, University of Exeter Energy Policy Group, United Kingdom Heat is around half of the UK’s total energy demand and its generation is responsible for a third of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the scale and importance of UK heat, it has received limited attention from researchers and policy makers and the growth in sustainable heating has been limited compared to the growth of sustainable electricity (Connor et al., 2015). This needs to change as most energy system models show that non-industrial heating will need to be almost completely decarbonised if the UK’s 2050 climate goal is to be met. This implies a complete transformation away from fossil fuels for heat with major disruption of the existing heating regime required and innovation in low-carbon forms of heat. The social and technological aspects of the UK heat regime are complex and interconnected and include culture, practices, institutions, physical infrastructure and industry. This system therefore has its own inertia and interests which means that disruption and innovation will be challenged and contested (Stirling, 2014). The existing heat regime actors, primarily Read more…

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Lowes_Political_Power_Renewable_Heat_Incentive1.pdf 987.97 KBLowes_Political_Power_Renewable_Heat_Incentive.pdf 716.15 KB
22nd
Sep
2016

Accelerating energy storage innovation – “ what is needed and how can it be achieved?

Prof Peter Taylor, University of Leeds, United Kingdom Dr Jonathan Radcliffe, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom Energy storage is increasing being recognised both in the UK and globally as an important component of a future low-carbon energy system, due to its ability to provide energy system flexibility by helping to balance supply and demand (Taylor et al, 2013). The term ‘energy storage’ encompasses a family of technologies, ranging across orders of magnitude in time and energy scales, covering the storage of electrical and thermal energy (and potentially other vectors, such as hydrogen) by means of a number of different physical processes. The various storage technologies are also at different stages of maturity; with some (such as pumped hydroelectricity and sensible heat storage) having been fully commercial for many years, while others (for example, certain battery chemistries and some materials for latent heat storage) still require fundamental research and development. In the UK, public investment in energy storage research, development and demonstration has increased substantially in recent years, with the aim of accelerating the commercialisation of a number of different technologies (Winskel et Read more…

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Taylor-Radcliffe-Accelerating-Energy-Storage-Innovation.pdf 724.98 KBTaylor-Radcliffe-Accelerating-innovation-in-energy-storage.pdf 516.95 KB
22nd
Sep
2016

A Fit-For-Purpose energy policy for the European Union

Ms Samuela  Bassi, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom Prof Samuel Fankhauser, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom Dr  Maria Carvalho, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom •           Overview  and relevance Following the Paris Agreement, the focus of EU decision makers has turned again towards domestic policy. Good European and national policies will be essential to achieve the target outlined in the EU’s intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) in the most cost effective way. It is therefore particularly crucial to understand what works in climate policy, and whether the current EU policy architecture is able to facilitate the technology development required to meet future carbon reduction targets.   This paper aims to identify the effectiveness of European and domestic policies. It investigates their effectiveness, credibility and unintended consequences. In particular, it assesses whether the current policy framework is fit for purpose to accommodate the required technological and economic transformation Read more…

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Carvalho_A_Fit-for-Purpose_Energy_Policy_for_the_European_Union1.pdf 1.02 MBCarvalho_A_Fit-for-Purpose_Energy_Policy_for_the_European_Union.pdf 319.17 KB
21st
Sep
2016

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