Power and heat transformation policy: Actor influence on the development of the UK’s heat strategy and the GB Renewable Heat Incentive with a comparative Dutch case study

The system for space and water heating in the UK must be transformed if policy goals are to be met. This transformation will require major technological and social changes including the renovation of homes and other buildings, the replacement of any appliances which combust fossil fuels with low carbon heat technologies and infrastructure changes. An effective Government strategy will need to drive these changes through policies, regulations and the development of a clear vision. The UK Government has already made a number of policy interventions associated with decarbonising heating. Transformations of large systems, such as the UK heat system, have been increasingly considered from the perspective of ‘sustainability transitions’, a branch of theory which considers the transitions of large socio-technical systems from being ‘unsustainable’ to ‘sustainable’. The ‘multi-level perspective’ is a model which has emerged from the ‘sustainability transitions’ literature as potentially valuable. However, this model and wider approaches to ‘sustainability transitions’ have been accused of not paying enough attention to the complex social phenomenon of power. Greater insights around power and policy change associated with transitions could strengthen transitions theories by providing evidence of how power can affect socio-technical change. Employing an approach to power called the ‘four faces of power’ and using a methodology called the ‘EAR instrument’ based on data triangulation which has never before been applied to UK energy policy issues, this inter-disciplinary research investigates the combined issues of power, transitions and the policies associated with UK’s heat system. Power in this thesis is understood as the ability of actors to affect policy and governance associated with the decarbonisation of heat. Therefore an actor is considered powerful or to have had power if their behaviour has successfully affected policy change. The thesis examines if actors have had the power to affect historic UK heat policy and what approaches have been used to attempt to influence it. In doing so, the research provides original contributions to the literature on UK energy policy which has seen little focus on heat decarbonisation and similarly little focus on how politics and influence affect policy change. A Dutch case study has also been completed as the Netherlands has a similar, highly natural gas dependent heat system. Similarities and differences between the two countries have been investigated. Numerous attempts to influence heat policy by various actors have been identified in both countries. Approaches used to have power over policy and the actors involved in attempts to have power have been considered in detail. Only some attempts to influence have been successful and contextual and institutional issues have also affected power struggles. The size of actor has not determined policy influencing success in this analysis. The power associated with policy change is shown to be an important element of the UK’s heat transformation. As actors primarily attempt to influence policy based on their own interests and appear to have some success, a major issue for transitions may be that the speed and direction of transitions reflect politically active actors’ interests, rather than wider societal interests. However, in this study, actor power has operated to both constrain and emancipate the transformation showing that power is not, in this example, one directional

Antioxidants that protect mitochondria reduce interleukin-6 and oxidative stress, improve mitochondrial function, and reduce biochemical markers of organ dysfunction in a rat model of acute sepsis

Funding This study was funded by the Medical Research Council (Grant number G0800149). Research material from this study is not available. Acknowledgement We are very grateful to Dr Robin A.J. Smith, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, for the generous gifts of MitoE and MitoQ, without which this work would not have been possible.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Spherical harmonic representation of the main geomagnetic field for world charting and investigations of some fundamental problems of physics and geophysics

Quiet-day data from MAGSAT were examined for effects which might test the validity of Maxwell's equations. Both external and toroidal fields which might represent a violation of the equations appear to exist, well within the associated errors. The external field might be associated with the ring current, and varies of a time-scale of one day or less. Its orientation is parallel to the geomagnetic dipole. The toriodal field can be confused with an orientation in error (in yaw). It the toroidal field really exists, its can be related to either ionospheric currents, or to toroidal fields in the Earth's core in accordance with Einstein's unified field theory, or to both

Cooling is hotting up in the UK

The cooling of buildings is currently responsible for about 20% of total electricity use worldwide. It is estimated that the electricity needed for cooling will more than triple by 2050. Despite this concerning outlook, little attention has been paid to cooling demand in policy and research in the United Kingdom (UK). The demand for space cooling in the UK’s domestic and non-domestic buildings is currently small—about 10% of total electricity use. However, this has the potential to increase as the climate warms and expectations of comfort grow. This paper reviews UK cooling demand and how this has been considered in energy policy. Following a thorough review of the existing literature using a cooling decarbonisation framework (Avoid, Improve and Shift), it is clear there is a limited understanding of the future UK cooling demand for domestic buildings in a warmer future as well as how policy makers and households should act. More importantly, this sector appears under-represented in the UK research and policy landscape compared to heating despite obvious technological crossovers associated with electrification. Several policy and research recommendations have been made based on these findings

Spherical harmonic representation of the main geomagnetic field for world charting and investigations of some fundamental problems of physics and geophysics

The data processing of MAGSAT investigator B test tapes and data tapes, and tapes of selected data on 15 magnetically quiet days is reported. The 1980 World Chart spherical model was compared with the MAGSAT (3/80) and MAGSAT vector data were used in the models. An article on modelling the geomagnetic field using satellite data is included

Pharmacological activation of endogenous protective pathways against oxidative stress under conditions of sepsis

Funding The study was funded entirely by institutional funds.Peer reviewedPostprin

Melatonin as a potential therapy for sepsis : a phase I dose escalation study and an ex vivo whole blood model under conditions of sepsis

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This study was funded by the Chief Scientist Office, NHS Scotland. We would like to thank all the volunteers who gave up their time and blood to take part in the study and the data monitoring committee and staff of the intensive care unit for their support. In addition, thanks to Dr Malachy Columb for performing Page's trend test for us and to Annette Fearnley at Nu-Pharm Ltd for her advice.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Policy change, power and the development of Great Britain's Renewable Heat Incentive

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.The role of socio-political power is central to the development of policy, but systematic analyses of power associated with the development of energy policy are rare. Power is also an important yet somewhat under-researched aspect of socio-technical transitions research. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) policy aims to increase deployment of low-carbon heat in Great Britain and begin a transformation to a low carbon GB heat system. This article analyses the socio-political power associated with the development of the RHI policy based on Lukes' 'dimensions of power' approach using a methodology based on triangulation. We identify a number of policy change episodes during the development of the RHI and describe the influence of key actors on the policy. Despite the common assumption of the power of incumbents, we show that those actors with niche technological expertise, close relationships with Government actors and actors within the administration have been the most powerful drivers of policy development and change. Niche actors sped up the introduction of the RHI scheme and have also had some success in increasing relative support for biomethane injection. The power of a civil servant to slow the introduction of the domestic element of the RHI has also been identified.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Hot stuff: Research and policy principles for heat decarbonisation through smart electrification

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThere is a need for major greenhouse gas emission reductions from heating in order to meet global decarbonisation goals. Electricity is expected to meet much of the heat demand currently provided by fossil fuels in the future and heat pumps may have an important role. This electrification transformation is not without challenges. Through a detailed narrative review alongside expert elicitation, we propose four principles for heat decarbonisation via electrification: putting energy efficiency first, valuing heat as a flexible load, understanding the emission impacts of heat electrification and designing electricity tariffs to reward flexibility. As a route to heat decarbonisation, when combined, these principles can offer significant consumer and carbon reduction benefits. In the short term these principles can encourage the smooth integration of heat electrification and in the longer term these principles are expected to reduce the scale of required infrastructural expansion. We propose a number of policy mechanisms which can be used to support these principles including (building) regulation, financial support, carbon standards, energy efficiency obligations and pricing.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC