These pages set out our wider thinking on issues relating to innovation, governance and practice for a sustainable, secure and affordable energy system.
New Thinking
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New Thinking: Will the EV future be diverted by a charging let-down?
Will the EV future be diverted by a charging let-down? Jess Britton, IGov Team, 26th April 2018 Following the Government’s pledge to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in Britain by 2040 a host of support schemes for electric vehicles were announced in the Autumn Statement, including a Charging Investment Infrastructure Fund to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure, and more money to help people buy electric cars. Already 2018 has seen a flurry of announcements from both policymakers and energy companies, including the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) announcing
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Progress in Energy System Transformation: The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue
Progress in Energy System Transformation: The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue Anthony Froggatt, IGov Team and Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, 24th April 2018 Taking stock of progress in the transformation of the global energy sector is necessary, to assess the pace of technology deployment; the impact that this is having on current systems; and the challenges ahead. The 4th Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD) does just this, but it was also an occasion to assess the geographical breadth of the transformation. With BETD representatives from ninety countries, it is clear that there is now
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Postcard from Australia – A National Electricity Market Overview
Postcard from Australia A National Electricity Market Overview: decentralisation of electricity is not a future possibility, it is happening now Helen Poulter, IGov Team, 16th April 2018 Over the last few months, I have reported on a number of issues within the National Electricity Market (NEM), the electricity market for the eastern states of Australia, and its governance. These issues have arisen from the world leading levels of DER penetration in some of those States and also the rise of large-scale renewable energy generation within the NEM, particularly in South Australia (SA). What is noticeable is
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Postcard from Australia: Adelaide
Postcard from Adelaide Helen Poulter, IGov Team, 19th March 2018 On March 17th, South Australia (SA) will go to the polls to elect their state government and energy is dominating the campaign. Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia. SA has the highest adoption rates of large-scale renewables and domestic DER of any of the states of the National Electricity Market (NEM). In the case of DER the State has the highest percentage penetration rates in the world with 31% of households having PV installed. As a result, SA is currently experiencing problems associated with
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Postcard from Australia: Melbourne
Postcard from Melbourne Helen Poulter, IGov Team, 2nd March 2018 One issue that is being spoken about repeatedly here is how the governance structure of the National Electricity Market (NEM) of the Eastern States of Australia is slowing electricity system transformation. Melbourne is the capital city of the State of Victoria. Victoria is different from the other States in the NEM because for a number of reasons it is able to make quicker governance changes. It is this inability of all the other Australian states to move quickly within the NEM which may see the current mass
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Postcard from Australia: Canberra
Postcard from Canberra Helen Poulter, IGov Team, 12th February 2018 Last week I reported that the uptake of solar PV and storage was not completely due to the economic benefits that it can produce, but also to the idea of owning new technology. This idea – that Australians embrace new technology – was confirmed again this week, and although the FiT rate initially offered was extremely generous, it was also this willingness to try something new that led to the world-leading percentage of household ownership. Being in Canberra there has to be a political angle. When
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Postcard from Australia: Sydney
Postcard from Sydney Helen Poulter, IGov Team, 5th February 2018 This postcard from Australia, is the first of a series which is being undertaken during Phase 1 of research for my PhD looking at the role that adaptive governance will play in enabling energy system transformation. At the end of my stay, I will provide an overview postcard of energy in Australia. In between then and now, I will send postcards from different States and will also provide a comparison between the States in future postcards. This initial postcard is written after being in Sydney
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New Thinking: The RIIO-ED1 Price review – Just how successful is RIIO – update
RIIO Update Helen Poulter, IGov Team, 23rd January 2018 In June 2017 IGov reported on the RIIO ED1 price control. This was the first annual review by Ofgem of the RIIO ED1 price control – effected after the companies had been working to it for one year. The blog concluded that although there were minor improvements this new regulation strategy did not incentivise the DNO’s to do things differently. In July 2017, a report by Citizens Advice highlighted the forecasted RoRE (return on regulatory equity) – the financial return achieved by investors during the price
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New Thinking: The Capacity Market – How did we get here?
The Capacity Market – How did we get here? Matthew Lockwood, IGov Team, 15th January 2018 This winter is the first in which Britain’s electricity Capacity Market comes into play. The Capacity Market (CM) is part of a set of policy measures introduced in 2013 known as the Electricity Market Reform. The basic case made for a capacity intervention in the early 2010s was that increasing amounts of wind power would make average wholesale prices lower as well as making periods of high prices rarer and more unpredictable, with the result that no one would
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New Thinking: Waiting for the ER P2/6 review
Waiting for Godot the ER P2/6 review Matthew Lockwood, IGov Team, 11th January 2018 Yesterday a member of the IGov team attended the excellent (although somewhat male dominated) Conference on Electricity System Change: Flexibility and costs, organised by the University of Strathclyde, UKERC and the IEEE. The final panel featured Paul Bingham, recently appointed as Ofgem’s first ever Chief Engineer. One of the areas he mentioned an interest in was reviewing and updating industry standards for security of supply, which made a lot of sense within the context of a conference highlighting a system experiencing
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