Supply chains and energy security in a low carbon transition

This special edition to be published in Applied Energy brings together a range of papers that explore the complex, multi-dimensional and inter-related issues associated with the supply or value chains that make up energy systems and how a focus on them can bring new insights for energy security in a low carbon transition. Dealing with the trilemma of maintaining energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining affordability for economies and end users are key issues for all countries, but there are synergies and trade-offs in simultaneously dealing with these different objectives. Currently, industrialised energy systems are dominated by supply chains based on fossil fuels and these, for the most part, have been effective in enabling energy security and affordability. However, they are increasingly struggling to do this, particularly in respect to efforts to tackle climate change, given that the energy sector is responsible for around two-thirds of the global greenhouse gas emissions [1]. A key challenge is therefore how to decarbonise energy systems, whilst also ensuring energy security and affordability. This special issue, through a focus on supply chains, particularly considers the interactions and relationships between energy security and decarbonisation. Energy security is a property of energy systems and their ability to withstand short-term shocks and longer-term stresses depends on other important system properties including resilience, robustness, flexibility and stability [2]. Energy systems are essentially a supply chain comprising of multiple and interrelated sub-chains based around different fuels, technologies, infrastructures, and actors, operating at different scales and locations – from extraction/imports and conversion through to end use [3]. These supply chains have become increasingly globalised and are influenced by the on-going shifts in global supply and demand. Thus the aim of this special issue is to explore and discuss how to enable the development of a secure and sustainable energy system through a better understanding of both existing and emerging low carbon energy supply chains as well as of new approaches to the design and management of energy systems. In part, because moving from a system dominated by fossil fuels to one based on low carbon creates a new set of risks and uncertainties for energy security as well as new opportunities. A large number of submissions from over 18 countries were received for this special edition and 16 papers were accepted after peer review. These address a variety of issues and we have chosen to discuss the findings under two key themes, although many of the papers cut across these: (1) Insights from, and for, supply chain analysis. (2) Insights for energy security and its management. We then provide in (3) a summary of insights and research gaps. Table 1 provides a snapshot of the areas covered by the papers showing: theme (s); empirical domains; and geographical coverage

Technology scale and supply chains in a secure, affordable and low carbon energy transition

AbstractThis research explores the relationship between technology scale, energy security and decarbonisation within the UK energy system. There is considerable uncertainty about how best to deliver on these goals for energy policy, but a focus on supply chains and their resilience can provide useful insights into the problems uncertainty causes. Technology scale is central to this, and through an analysis of the supply chains of nuclear power and solar photovoltaics, it is suggested that smaller scale technologies are more likely to support and enable a secure, low carbon energy transition. This is because their supply chains are less complex, show more flexibility and adaptability, and can quickly respond to changes within an energy system, and as such they are more resilient than large scale technologies. These characteristics are likely to become increasingly important in a rapidly changing energy system, and prioritising those technologies that demonstrate resilience, flexibility and adaptability will better enable a transition that is rapid, sustainable, secure and affordable

GB Energy Governance for Innovation, Sustainability and Affordability: An institutional framework

This is the final version. Available from the IGov website at the link in this record.IGov research sits within the University of Exeter’s Energy Policy Group and is an Established Career Fellowship funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

Risk, discretion, accountability and control: Police perceptions of sex offender risk management policy in England and Wales

© The Author(s) 2019. This article argues that understanding current approaches to sex offender risk management and its operationalization must account for front line situational decision-making practices and the culture from which they develop and operate. The research utilizes a mixed-methods approach, combining an online questionnaire survey (N = 227) with a series of semi-structured interviews (N = 27) with members of the police service of England and Wales. Analysis identifies ambivalence about the effectiveness of the current system of categorizing sex offenders and suggests concerns about accountability and a lack of resources results in discretion being used to engage with but also negotiate policy in practice. The article suggests that the task for sex offender risk management is to create classification tools that work with this discretion rather than against it

Codes Governance and Reform Discussion Paper

This discussion paper summarises some of the key points that were raised at a recent cross industry workshop run by the Energy Policy Group on the future of gas and electricity code governance in October 2015. More details of the event are available on IGov events page. The paper provides: Background context on the main energy industry codes and standards in Great Britain A history of reform efforts A summary of the key issues raised at the Codes Governance Workshop covering: 1) Access to Information; 2) Code Simplification & Consolidation; 3) Code Governance, Administration and Architecture. Conclusion

Challenge and change: Police identity, morale and goodwill in an age of austerity

One of the largest pieces of independent research on police attitudes in England and Wales. The research, led by Dr James Hoggett from UWE Bristol (the University of the West of England, Bristol), looked at police attitudes to current reform proposals that may impact on the profession. 13,591 police officers across 43 forces in England and Wales responded to a questionnaire into attitudes and morale amongst officers. The response rate reflects the views of about 10% of all serving police officers in England and Wales. The attitude and morale data provided consistent messages across the sample with only minor variations between ranks of officer or between police forces

A global analysis of igneous sill dimensions and their effect on sedimentary basins and petroleum system - statistics and modelling of seismic observations

Igneous sill intrusion majorly impacts sedimentary basins, causing forced folding of host rocks, thermal maturation of source rocks, and basinal fluid flow changes. However, the detail of these effects has received little study. Similarly, the mechanisms by which sills are emplaced in basins are poorly understood, and emplacement mechanism may influence the aforementioned basinal impacts. The key that ties impacts and mechanisms together is that models explaining both have not been tested due to a lack of data on sill dimensions. Seismic reflection data presents a unique opportunity to collect detailed measurements on sill dimensions. Work presented in this thesis suggests that the number, shape and dimensions of sills have significant differences between sedimentary basins, having major implications for palaeoclimate modelling. Comparing theoretical sill models with measurements of actual sills undermines many models based around linear elastic fracture mechanics. However, intrusion models which incorporate an overlying elastic plate predict far more accurate sill geometries in comparison with seismic measurements. Additionally, several authors have noted that there is a discrepancy between the amplitude of forced folds and the thickness of their underlying sills. This thesis shows that a large proportion of this discrepancy can be explained by compaction of the fold after sill emplacement. While collecting data on forced folds, a seismic reflector in the Northeast Rockall Trough was mapped which displays undulose topography. Multiple observations point to this reflector being an opal A - opal CT transition. Numerical modelling and kinetic parameterization of the opal A-CT indicates that this topography can arise from local lateral temperature variations. Finally, a recently published model for hydrocarbon prospectivity based on fluid flow arising from sill tips is investigated. It is demonstrated that the original study shows no evidence for the validity of the model, prompting new questions on the scale at which intrusions could affect fluid flow. This thesis therefore shows that current paradigms of sill intrusion mechanisms, palaeoclimate model parameterizations, opal A-CT formation mechanisms and intrusion related fluid flow all need to be reexamined

Bridging the gap - An evaluation of the Lighthouse integrated victim witness care program

The final project report for the Lighthouse integrated victim witness care program evaluation