An overview of renewable energy policy and regulatory considerations in Ouessant and the UEA campus

This is the final version of the reportIntroduction. This document provides a methodology for undertaking resource assessment of renewable technologies for remote communities and sets out to identify and describe the key policy and regulatory factors in expected to be relevant to the aims of the ICE project. These factors include policies and regulations that affect the production, distribution and consumption of energy in two locations. Together the two parts fulfil task T1.1 of the ICE project. [...]INTERRE

Auctions for the support of renewable energy in the UK: updated results and lessons learnt

This is the final version. Available from AURES II via the link in this recordBackground to this study. This report serves to restate and update the findings of AURES report D4.1-UK published in March 2016 (Fitch-Roy and Woodman 2016)1 . While the fundamental design of the UK auctions system remains largely unchanged, substantial shifts in the policy context and the additional experience and data from two further auction processes (one completed, another in progress at the time of writing) warrant an updated evaluation and report. The UK has been a frontrunner in the use of RES auctions. From early experiences with the Non Fossil-Fuel Obligation (NFFO) auctions in the 1990s to the current auction system, first announced in 2011, the use of competitive allocation mechanisms has been central to the UK’s approach to supporting new renewable electricity generation projects. However, the use and design of renewable auctions remain a source of policy debate and discussion in the UK. For example, the potential for a combination of auction dynamics and the application of a cap on the volume of ‘fuelled’ renewable technologies led to higher than necessary support costs being awarded to some projects has been the subject of an enquiry by the national audit office (NAO 2018). This remainder of this report adopts the following structure: Section 2 provides an updated overview of the UK electricity sector Section 3 outlines the key features of the UK RES auction system, including recent rule changes Section 4 updates our earlier evaluation of the programme in light of recent auctions Section 5 concludesEuropean Commissio

Comparison of auctions and alternative policy options for RES-E support

This is the final version of the report. Available from AURES via the DOI in this record.This report summarises the findings of Task 6.2 of the AURES project. It intends to compare auctions with alternative policy instruments and examines under which circumstances auctions may be superior and inferior to achieve intended policy targets. Among an abundant list of potential policy drivers, which may affect an instrument’s effectiveness, its efficiency or further success criteria, the basis for the present analysis is the factor risk. It is demonstrated that risk constitutes an important factor as it may have decisive effects on societal welfare and thus may affect the decision-making of policy makers. Given a degree of uncertainty regarding the marginal costs and the marginal benefits of renewable support, particularly the choice between price and quantity-based instruments may yield different welfare effects. Both instruments expose policy makers to a risk of setting inefficient investment incentives. However, while price instruments may reduce the risk of welfare losses given a relatively steep marginal cost and a comparably flat marginal benefit curve, a quantity scheme may be superior if the relation between the two curves is vice versa. Building on this insight, our analysis reveals that the incentives for the use of policy instruments to support the deployment of RES are both country and technology specific. In general, it appears that the incentive to employ a quantity-based mean such as an auction is larger when the natural resources of the technology that is to be supported are abundant and if that technology is rather well developed. Moreover, since within a country the market and natural conditions of the different RES technologies and hence their supply costs may vary considerably, our findings provide an argument against a technology-neutral support.EU Horizon 2020 program, grant number 64617

Defining incumbency: considering the UK heat sector

This is the final version of the article. Available from UKERC via the link in this record.This is working paper 1/3 from the Heat, Incumbency and Transformations (HIT) project.Incumbency is frequently considered as a barrier to the transformation of unsustainable socio-technical systems such as energy systems. However, despite wide use of the term, ‘incumbency’ has never been fully or adequately defined within the sustainable transitions literature. This working paper considers the use and meaning of the term incumbency in relation to sustainable transformations, specifically in relation to the UK’s heat system. It takes ideas of incumbency from other disciplines including economics, politics and innovation. Synthesising these literatures, the paper proposes a number of characteristics of incumbency. Finally we propose a definition of incumbency in relation to sustainability transformations, which suggests that incumbents are actors already present in a specific socio-technical system, who are likely to be involved with unsustainable practices, and who possess the capacity to affect system change.UKERC is funded by The Research Councils UK Energy Programme

Going around in circles? Conceptual recycling, patching and policy layering in the EU Circular Economy Package

This is the final version. Available on open access from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordThe circular economy (CE) concept is informing the governance of resource use and waste management on a global scale, leading to widespread policy instrument innovation. However, the recent appearance of CE ‘policy portfolios’ raises questions about whether such policies are genuinely path-breaking or are merely adjustments to existing arrangements. Tracing the emergence of the European Union’s Circular Economy Package shows that, while some measures are genuinely novel, many others are ‘patched’ onto pre-existing instruments and that the overall portfolio exhibits a high degree of institutional ‘layering’. Given the evidence of relative ineffectiveness of past incremental environmental interventions, there is a mismatch between such approaches and the scale, pace and scope of transformation implied by contemporary articulations of the circular economy concept. Creating the policy conditions for sustainable production and consumption may require more radical policy formulations than CE proponents acknowledge

Green growth and competitiveness in EU climate policy: paradigm shift or 'plus de la même chose'?

This is the final version. Available from Edward Elgar Publishing via the DOI in this record. This chapter examines how green growth and competitiveness considerations inform EU climate policy and politics. Since the early 1970s, EU policy discourse has emphasised ‘win-win’ narratives in which pro-environmental action contributes to growth and addressing inconsistencies in the internal market. Indeed, the European Green Deal explicitly linked increased climate policy ambition with economic growth; the subsequent Covid-19 pandemic further strengthened talk of a ‘green recovery’. Critics, however, point to the risks that such framings strategically depoliticise EU climate and energy policy and exclude alternative approaches. To explore the dynamics of complementarity and tension between economy and environment, their chapter scrutinises three key areas of the EU’s strategic approach to climate policy: the circular economy, renewable energy development and the so-called New Consumer Agenda.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

The future of renewable energy auctions: scenarios and pathways

This is the final version. Available from AURES II via the link in this recordEuropean Commissio

Energy democracy: A digital future?

This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. Academic exploration of energy democracy has produced a rich theorization of its foundations that exhibits significant pluralism in response to different geographic, social, ideological and technical contexts. This paper develops the literature by considering how sociotechnical transitions associated with energy system digitalization may affect the theory and praxis of energy democracy. Our analysis draws on three dimensions of energy democracy: popular sovereignty, participatory governance, and civic ownership. Digitalization is shown to both present challenges and new avenues for the exercise and study of energy democracy. Firstly, digitalization simultaneously enables and constrains the exercise of popular sovereignty by diversifying energy citizen roles and complicating accountability. Secondly, digitalization creates new dimensions of risk around skills, knowledge and resource access, which can exclude citizens from participatory governance. Thirdly, digitalization challenges common conceptions of civic ownership by introducing new material-software dependencies and re-defining the assets that underpin the energy system. Finally, digitalization fundamentally changes the nature of decision-making, potentially undermining current understandings of the concept and its democratic function. Further exploration of ‘digital energy democracy’ would hold value for research and practice in the sector.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

All around the world: assessing optimality in comparative circular economy policy packages

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThe recent global diffusion of circular economy regulatory policy packages (CERPPs) raises questions over their extent, composition and, critically, potential effectiveness. While research into circular economy (CE) regulation is growing, a dearth of analyses of the optimal design of CE policy packages presents a clear gap in the literature. This paper therefore surveys current waste management policy to identify the degree to which circular economy practices are being translated into public policy globally. Examining resource use and waste management policy in 60 countries, the paper first provides a snapshot of the global spread of CE policy packages. Secondly, the assessment framework is applied to three case studies of recent CE policy packages from Finland, Greece and South Korea. These cases fall some way short of theoretical optimality, suggesting that long-term CERPP effectiveness is questionable.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Impacts of Competitive Seabed Allocation for Offshore Wind Energy: A cash flow analysis of implemented allocation scheme designs, results, and impacts

This is the final version. Available from AURES II via the link in this recordExecutive Summary Offshore wind is an important part of the accelerating transition to green energy sources in many maritime countries. To develop offshore wind projects, private developers require access to and tenure over the seabed, which is a scarce and valuable resource controlled and managed by governments. In this report we describe the currently implemented seabed allocation schemes for offshore wind around the world and analyse the economic effects of the fees embedded in the seabed lease agreements. We describe the allocation schemes for seabed including pre-qualification, fees, and method of competition for the examples of UK (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland), UK (Scotland), the United States and the Netherlands. Then, we use a discounted cash flow analysis to assess and compare the timeline and magnitude of the fees. We show that the costs embedded in the seabed lease agreements can be extensive and have been trending upward over time.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)European Union Horizon 202