National Energy Research Network

The UK’s energy and climate change policy was today recalibrated for the long term, supported for the first time by comprehensive analysis of plausible pathways to a secure, low carbon energy system in 2050.

In the first ever Annual Energy Statement to Parliament, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne set out 32 actions being taken to accelerate the transformation of the energy system and wider economy.

These actions fall into four areas:

I. Saving energy through the Green Deal

II. Delivering secure energy on the way to a low carbon energy future

III. Managing our energy legacy responsibly and cost-effectively

IV. Driving ambitious action on climate change at home and abroad

Actions include a wide-ranging consulation on energy market reform and an accompanying review of Ofgem's role, a Smart Meter Prospectus, which sets out the broad technical details on the smart meter rollout, promises of new planning reform for major infrastructure projects, and the publication of the impact of energy policy on energy bills, which suggest business energy bills could rise by 26% over the next decade.

There's a lot of stuff here, including the publication of six consultations, and I would recommend you all visit the DECC website to see if and how it may affect you.

The ‘2050 Pathways Analysis’ is the Government’s first comprehensive, long-term look at the UK’s energy supply and demand sectors and greenhouse gas emissions to 2050. The accompanying online ‘2050 Pathways Calculator’ allows people to explore the combinations of effort in each sector which combine to meet the UK’s emission reduction targets while also matching energy supply and demand.

The analysis includes six pathways as illustrative examples of the possible pathways to 2050, plus one other pathway that shows what the world would look like if the UK choose a path reliant on heavy fossil fuel usage. These do not represent policy decisions and none of these is a preferred route.

These pathways differ but there are common conclusions:

* Ambitious per capita energy demand reduction is needed. The greater are the constraints on low-carbon energy supply, the greater the reduction in demand will need to be.

* A substantial level of electrification of heating, transport and industry is needed.

* Electricity supply may need to double, and will need to be decarbonised.

* A growing level of variable renewable generation increases the challenge of balancing the electricity grid.

* Sustainable bioenergy is a vital part of the low-carbon energy system, in sectors where electrification is unlikely to be practical, such as in long-haul freight transport and aviation and some industrial high-grade heating processes.

* The pathways also show an ongoing need for fossil fuels in our energy mix, although their precise long-term role will depend on a range of issues such as the development of carbon capture and storage.

* Emissions from agriculture, waste, industrial processes and international transport make up a small proportion of emissions today, but by 2050, if no action were taken, emissions from these sectors alone would exceed the maximum level of emissions for the whole economy.

The Government has worked with academics and members of the different industries to develop the figures and look at the potential for each sector. The publication of this work will enable a public debate about how the UK achieves its goals and ensure that all efforts add up to what is required. In the Call for Evidence the Department welcomes feedback on the assumptions, analysis and data used in this documentation.

To read the Analysis, click here. To have a go on the calculator, (great fun), click here.

Britain’s energy networks need to undergo a revolution if they are to meet the challenges of a low carbon economy. The way energy networks are designed and run will have to change dramatically over the next ten years to meet the challenge of connecting more local and remote renewable generation.

Networks will have to be smarter to balance more intermittent renewable generation sources while at the same time managing increased demand for electricity through the electrification of transport and heat. The step change in the size of the investment needed - £32 billion* in the next 10 years - means that networks need to be smarter to better support the Government’s policy goal of cutting emissions and securing energy supplies.

Ofgem’s new proposal is to deliver a sustainable network regulation by using a new price control model - RIIO (Revenue=Incentives+Innovation+Outputs). The RIIO model builds on the success of the previous RPI-X regime, but better meets the investment and innovation challenge by placing much more emphasis on incentives to drive the innovation needed to deliver the required outputs in terms of improved customer service and smarter grids.

These proposals will be subjected to a further round of consultation, with final proposals being published in September. To read the full report and attached documents, and to reply to the consultation, click here.

This competition is asking for young researchers, PhD students, as well as qualified Post Doctoral research staff to submit recently published peer reviewed research papers illustrating their expertise in risk based subjects of interest to insurers and reinsurers.

Lloyd's are offering a series of prizes for the best paper in the predefined prize categories and an additional prize of £3,000 for the best overall paper. Prize winners will be invited to Lloyd’s to present their research at a seminar, hosted by the Lighthill Risk Network, in November 2010. The prizes will be awarded during a dinner attended by leading academics and business experts in our historic Adam Room on 24 November.

To download the Lloyd's 'The Science of Risk' Prize briefing document, which contains all information about the entry requirements, the prize categories and details, click here.

University of East Anglia, 7th – 9th September 2010

Designed for both early career researchers (PGRs and Research Staff), this 3 day residential bespoke programme ‘Business Skills and the Low Carbon Economy’ offers you the chance to build on your career portfolio. The programme will equip you with:

• an awareness of the current climate change debate;

• an understanding of the low carbon economy; • the implications for business of international and UK policies and regulations for reducing carbon emissions;

• business basics – markets and customers, finance, project management;

• an awareness of the implications of the LCE for your research.

A linking theme throughout will be the ‘Build Your Own Company’ exercise where participants will work in groups to develop a business case with carbon reduction as a key element.

This pilot programme, which is funded under the Vitae Innovate Scheme, is FREE to researchers (PGR or Research Staff) at any UK university.

To apply for a place on the programme or find out more, please contact Ms Sarah Payne (s.payne@uea.ac.uk). Please put ‘Business Skills and the Low Carbon Economy’ in the subject line of your email.

Deadline for Applications: 2nd August