EMEE Virtual Summer Workshop 2021 – July 7- 8, 2021

The EMEE Virtual Summer Workshop for doctoral students and early career researchers will be
held online on July 7- 8, 2021.

The objective of the workshop is to have a friendly venue for doctoral students and early career researchers (such as post-docs) to receive feedback on their work from peers and selected faculty from the EMEE organizing committee.

There is no participation fee. We invite doctoral students and early career researchers who wish to be considered for presentations to submit extended abstracts (3-5 pages) structured as follows: 1) overview, 2) methods, 3) data and 4) preliminary results. Students and researchers interested in receiving feedback on new and less developed research ideas (eggtimers) are invited to submit a 1-2 page abstract.

The deadline for submitting the abstracts (in PDF format) is May 20th, 2021. The abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee, with acceptance decisions notified at the beginning of June 2021. The abstracts should be attached as PDF file to an email sent to the workshop address (emee-workshop@ethz.ch). Please write “EMEE Summer Workshop paper submission” in the email subject and specify whether you wish to be considered for the longer presentations, the shorter egg-timer presentations, or both.

Registration will open in June (no registration fee).

EMEE Scientific Committee:
– Anna Alberini, University of Maryland, USA
– David Broadstock, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
– Massimo Filippini, CEPE, ETH Zurich and USI, Switzerland
– Ken Gillingham, Yale University, USA
– Sébastien Houde, Grenoble Ecole de Management, and CEPE at ETH Zurich, Switzerland
– Davide Cerruti, CEPE at ETH Zurich, Switzerland
– Marta Talevi, Yale School of the Environment (YSE), Yale University, USA

Summer Workshop organizers:
– Massimo Filippini, CEPE at ETH Zurich and USI, Switzerland
– Kenneth Gillingham, Yale School of the Environment (YSE), Yale University, USA

Jacopo Torriti submission published by Environmental Audit Committee (Community Energy publications)

Jacopo Torriti has had his written evidence submitted on 24 March 2021, published by the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry, Technological Innovations and Climate Change: Community Energy.

Written evidence from Professor Jacopo Torriti

This evidence is submitted by Professor Jacopo Torriti from the School of Construction Management and Engineering at the University of Reading, an expert on energy policy.

  1. My evidence for the Technological Innovations and Climate Change: Community Energy inquiry looks at how an understanding of ‘demand-side’ energy is hugely beneficial in adopting energy technology to tackle climate change.
  2. Demand-side energy considerations look at how much energy is drawn from a power grid, who uses it and what for. There are clear benefits from an understanding of demand, including reducing the peak power generation needed, and better utilising renewable energy systems and battery storage.
  3. I will discuss demand side flexibility and how it will be critical in order make sure the UK minimise the costs of balancing demand and supply from renewables.
  4. As we better understand where flexibility can and should come from (residential sector, heating demand, electric vehicles), I highlight a growing market opportunity for ‘load shifting’, in which energy use is rescheduled outside of peak demand times with financial incentives, and how regulatory reform of tariffs stands to bring about estimated bill savings for UK residential customers of between £1.6bn-£4.5bn from 2021 to 2045, and a total saving in the UK of £8bn. I will also highlight some key considerations about adopting this for consumers.

‘Demand-side’

  1. Demand-side energy looks at the end users and means of distribution of energy, whether that is household consumers boiling a kettle, charging an electric vehicle; or a business powering their offices, server rooms, or manufacturing processes.
  2. It is important to understand how energy is used when considering how to change the energy system to make it environmentally sustainable. As well as developing increased share of energy from renewable sources, and improving the efficiency of systems, we need to reduce the burden of energy generation.
  3. I have been looking at how we reduce the need for energy production to cope with peaks of use. As the risk of peak demand exceeding supply is so undesirable, there are two ways to tackle the issue. Increase peak production, or reduce peak demand. Alongside other energy experts[i], I argue that in order to achieve a net zero carbon emission energy system in the UK, we must do both.

Demand-side flexibility

  1. One way to reduce the impact of demand on our energy system is through ‘Demand-side flexibility’. What demand-side flexibility looks like in practice is the smoothing out of peak demands for energy, also called load shifting. This reduces the pressure for energy generation by taking away peaks. It also creates a market in which energy customers are financially rewarded for using energy outside of peak times.
  2. Demand-side flexibility crucially enables an energy system with increased mix of renewable energy to better cope with fluctuations in supply as well as demand. This flexibility, along with solutions for battery storage, will enable renewable energy to provide the bulk of UK energy even though some renewable sources such as solar and wind are more contingent factors such as the weather.
  3. The power of demand-side flexibility is in the creation of market incentives for electricity use during lower demand times. This has already been trialled [ii] in the commercial sector with great success, such as in 2017 where around 2.7GW which is equivalent to two large power stations was estimated to have taken part in a trial.
  4. A Carbon Trust and Imperial College report suggests that adopting would save the UK between £17bn and £40bn [iii] by 2050, “by reducing the required expenditure in low carbon generation, peaking plant and network reinforcement.”
  5. The UK Government’s Clean Growth Strategy recognises the need for a flexible energy system, and is outlined in Ofgem’s Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan [iv]. Some of their plans to create a ‘smart and flexible’ system have been achieved through the widespread adoption of smart meters. However, while 23.6 million [v] have been installed, it is the accompanying demand-side flexibility that will enable consumers to financially benefit by making energy use at certain times more financially attractive [vi].
  6. In addition, the Clean Growth Strategy is unambitious in adopting demand-side response (DSR), and I have argued [vii] that a more radical approach to flexibility is needed to ensure that the UK is able to have a market and regulatory system that matches our ambitions for renewable energy mix.

Impacts for consumers

  1. The benefits of employing DSR include making electricity cheaper at times where supply exceeds predicted demand, as well as decarbonising the energy sector and reducing public spending leading to better health and economic benefits for society.
  2. The idea within flexibility of ‘load shifting’ has been adopted at a commercial level, but not currently with residential customers, which accounted for 34% [viii] of electricity use in 2019. Given the changing nature of work following the Covid-19 pandemic, this figure is likely to be significantly higher as more people work from home.
  3. However, no such large-scale trials of consumer DSR have been implemented in the UK and currently our understanding of how households would adopt it are theoretical or based on equivalent models from industry.
  4. In my recent research [ix], I have looked at what any adoption of a ‘Time of Use’ tariff as part of increasing DSR for household electricity users would mean for different demographic groups based on certain domestic tasks. I found that adopting household flexibility will need to be done carefully in order to not penalise lower socioeconomic households where time scarcity is a major factor in domestic chores requiring electricity.
  5. I give an example of a single parent working as a nurse, who is time poor as well as potentially on a low income and is less able to flexibly use electricity outside of peak times. This demonstrates that adopting flexible tariffs for consumers needs to be carefully thought out to ensure that those who can’t benefit from such adoption are not further penalised.
  6. Overall, across all sectors, increasing flexibility of electricity demand (that is, reducing consumption at specific times of the day) would yield savings in the UK in the order of £8bn per year up to 2030 [x] and allow progress towards a zero-carbon electricity system; and regulatory reform of tariffs bringing about estimated bill savings for UK residential customers of between £1.6bn and £4.6bn from 2021 to 2045 [xi].

Recommendations

  1. In considering future incentives for community energy collectives for generation or distribution, attention should be paid to how communities (in both a residential sense as well as collective organisations) can support demand-side flexibility.
  2. Call on Government to promote demand-side solutions to reach Net Zero targets.
  3. Introduce plans for residential demand-side flexibility that promote fairness.
  4. Consider plans for ensuring that the benefits of demand-side flexibility are passed on to community energy collectives.

March 2021

References:
[i]  https://www.creds.ac.uk/wp-content/pdfs/CREDS-Shifting-the-focus-July2019.pdf p61
[ii] Grunewald, P. and Torriti, J. (2013) ‘Demand response from the non-domestic sector: Early UK experiences and future opportunities’. Energy Policy, 61. pp. 423–429. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.06.051
[iii] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/568982/An_analysis_of_electricity_flexibility_for_Great_Britain.pdf
[iv] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/633442/upgrading-our-energy-system-july-2017.pdf
[v] https://www.smart-energy.com/industry-sectors/smart-meters/23-6-million-smart-meters-in-gb-but-one-fifth-not-operating-smart/
[vi] Torriti, J. (2020). Appraising the economics of smart meters: Costs and benefits. Routledge
[vii] https://www.creds.ac.uk/wp-content/pdfs/CREDS-Shifting-the-focus-July2019.pdf p63, p65
[viii] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904805/DUKES_2020_Chapter_5.pdf p.2
[ix] Torriti, J., & Yunusov, T. (2020). It’s only a matter of time: Flexibility, activities and time of use tariffs in the United Kingdom Energy Research & Social Science, 69, 101697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101697
[x] Ibid
[xi] https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/system/files/docs/2020/06/mhhs_draft_impact_assessment_consultation_-_final_-_published_17_june_2020.pdf

Please see link on the website for further information: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/25131/html/)

 

Samuele Lo Piano will be Keynote Speaker at 10th Sensitivity Analysis of Model Output (SAMO) Conference

10th SAMO conference will be held at Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. The dates of the conference are March 14 -16, 2022. The venue is Florida State Conference Center.

The SAMO conference is devoted to advances in research on sensitivity analysis methods and their interdisciplinary applications. The SAMO conferences are held every three years. The aim of the SAMO conferences is to bring together users of sensitivity analysis in all disciplines of science. Sensitivity analysis methods are powerful tools in physics, operations research, chemistry, biology, engineering, environmental science, nuclear and industrial safety, economics and finance.

Plenary Speakers:

Agnès Lagnoux
Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse
Université Toulouse 2 Jean Jaurès
Toulouse, France

Juliane Mai
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON, Canada

Art Owen
Department of Statistics
Stanford University
Stanford, CA, U.S.A

Samuele Lo Piano
University of Reading
Reading, UK

Clémentine Prieur
Université Grenoble Alpes
Grenoble, France

Sébastien Da Veiga
Safran Tech
Paris, France

“A Place for Oil” Workshop, Monday 26 to Friday 30 April 2021

Dr. Penélope Plaza has been invited to contribute with the recently launched Centre for Energy Ethics, at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

She will be presenting at the A Place for Oil workshop, which takes place 2-4pm (BST), from Monday 26 to Friday 30 April 2021.

The workshop brings together museum curators from across the world and leading scholars researching industrial heritage to explore fundamental questions about the connections between oil, place, and memory in the context of the global shift towards renewable energies.

What does oil mean to those who live in places where it is produced? How are legacies of oil created and contested? And how will we remember the oil industry in the context of climate change and transitions to renewable energy sources?

Since the beginning of the industrial production of oil in the mid-19th century, oil and modernity have been closely intertwined. Literally and symbolically, oil industry fuelled economic transformations, the spread of cities, and the pursuit of global realities. As oil changed the world, it also transformed many specific places, especially where oil was produced. New towns were built and later abandoned, local communities destroyed and later re-created.

Today, as oil production is becoming increasingly problematized and other sources of energy begin to take its place, the time has come to reflect upon the role of oil and its heritage in these places of production. We are pleased to invite you to our week-long  workshop where we will explore these fundamental questions about the connections between oil, place, and memory.

The workshop brings together museum curators from across the world and leading scholars researching industrial heritage. We will visit the museum sites through virtual tours, explore their collections, and meet in virtual museum cafés to discuss how and why we memorialise oil.

To find out more about the ‘A Place for Oil’ workshop and to register, visit https://energyethics.ac.uk/a-place-for-oil/.

About the organiser: Dr Leyla Sayfutdinova is a Marie Curie Fellow at the Centre for Energy Ethics at the University of St Andrews. Her research project, Turning oil into stone: oil legacies in the narratives of urban continuity and change in Baku, Azerbaijan, examines the collective memory of oil production and its impact on urban identity.

Dr Penelope Plaza and the Venezuelan not-for-profit Collectivox were awarded a grant from The British Council Digital Collaboration Fund.

Dr Penelope Plaza and the Venezuelan not-for-profit Collectivox were awarded a grant from The British Council Digital Collaboration Fund.

The project Creating a Digital [CCSen365]: exploring ways to deliver a multi-sensorial and inclusive experience of Caracas architectural heritage via mobile phone was awarded a Research and Development small grant of £18,000.00 to explore ways to deliver a multisensorial and inclusive experience of Caracas architectural heritage via mobile phone.

The selection process was highly competitive; over 950 grant applications were received from across the globe.

Professor Jacopo Torriti appointed by Defra to Resources and Waste Targets Expert Group

The Resources and Waste Targets Expert Group provides independent technical advice to inform the development of legally binding resource efficiency and waste reduction targets for England.

The Environment Bill requires government to set at least one long-term target in the priority area of resource efficiency and waste reduction. The Resources and Waste Targets Expert Group is a task-and-finish panel formed to provide Defra with independent evidence advice linked to long-term targets in the area of Resource Efficiency and Waste Reduction.

For more information, including panel role, membership and minutes, see https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/resources-and-waste-targets-expert-group

 

UK Parliament inquiry | Environmental Audit Committee, House of Commons

The government’s target of building 300,000 new homes per year means that a huge amount of construction is anticipated over the coming decade. Although the operating energy efficiency of a building is taken into account, the embodied carbon cost of the construction is not required by current policy to be assessed or controlled, other than on a voluntary basis.

This inquiry will look into the sustainability of the built environment and at the best routes to net zero for the future building needs from low carbon materials through to policies to minimise the whole life carbon impact of new buildings.

Read the call for evidence for more detail about the inquiry.

Deadline: 18:00 BST, 15 May 2021

WEBINAR: Rethinking Electricity Markets for a Digital Energy Future

Over the past 10 years since Electricity Market Reform was instigated, the UK power sector has been transformed, with renewables thriving and cheap and coal almost eliminated.

But evidence from Energy Systems Catapult’s whole system analysis shows that the current framework is now progressively undermining wholesale electricity markets and creating a perpetual reliance on government decision-making to drive technology choices.

A new report Rethinking Electricity Markets (launched on Wednesday 31 March) will set out proposals for a new wave of urgent reforms to push carbon emissions out of the electricity grid in a way that drives innovation and works for consumers.

You’re invited to a webinar to hear in-depth analysis on how Energy Systems Catapult is Rethinking Electricity Markets and take part in a Q&A about the merits of the proposed reforms.

Agenda:

10:00 – 10:10 am Introduction – The Challenge and Strategic Approach

Guy Newey, Strategy and Performance Director,

Energy Systems Catapult
10:10 – 10:20 am Looking Back: EMR The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

George Day, Head of Markets, Policy and Regulation,

Energy Systems Catapult
10:20 – 10:35 am Looking Forward: Electricity Market Reforms

Sarah Keay-Bright, Practice Manager – Markets, Policy and Regulation

Energy Systems Catapult
10:35 – 10:55 am Q&A
10:55 – 11:00 am Wrap Up and Close

Click here to register for this free webinar today!

How smart solar at scale can power UK’s economic recovery

In its latest report, ‘Smart Solar at Scale: Meeting the UK’s net-zero emissions and clean growth targets’, ResPublica argues that the energy sector can play a central role in powering the UK’s economic recovery, post-Covid-19. The report makes the case for scaling up the development and implementation of smart solar and battery storage technologies to meet the UK’s objectives for both carbon reduction and clean economic growth.

ResPublica says that the cost of energy and the concept of a fixed block of energy demand are the key challenges that need to be addressed. Existing energy regulations and legislative frameworks stand as barriers in resolving these issues and in reaping the benefits that Renewable deployment at scale can achieve.

ResPublica argues that increasing renewable capacity and storage on both sides of the meter allows for the localised and decentralised production of energy, which combined with advancements in battery storage technologies can unlock the capacity needed by the grid, to overcome shifts in demand.

The report examines the way energy storage is defined in current legislation and how this complicates and reduces the security of investments in it, furthering potential users’ lack of confidence in a storage service. In addition, the report looks into the lack of clarity of when storage can co-locate with renewables without interfering in existing agreements, which itself is also part of wider issues with transmission access rights.

ResPublica further suggests that Smart solar and batteries will play a critical role in delivering cost-effective, low-carbon energy which is secure and accessible to everyone. It will reduce the costs of energy systems, providing next-to-zero baseload costs of electricity. It will ensure advantage for the UK in an area where competition is fierce and of high geopolitical importance. So, a clear decision to continue the path of investment in smart solar can help ensure the country remains globally competitive, particularly now that we have left the EU.

Phillip Blond, Director of ResPublica said:

“We could be on the verge of a carbon-free energy system that delivers an abundant supply of close to zero-cost energy to all our homes and businesses. A system where real time energy data drives the demand and supply of energy through smart enabled premises and decentralised networks; and where neighbouring homes and businesses trade their surplus energy with each other. This is a vision of a highly distributed and widely owned energy infrastructure that enfranchises its customers and delivers clean, reliable energy at ever lower costs”

Prof. Jacopo Torriti, Report Author, said:

“Renewables are already playing a critical role in delivering low-carbon energy as they account for about one third of the overall national electricity supply. We need to ensure that renewables become increasingly cost-effective as this will make future electricity accessible to everyone. At the moment, the market does not sufficiently exclude high emitting power plants and too little value is given to low carbon flexibility. Our report suggests that investments in demand side response as well as electricity storage have significant potential in reducing the costs of balancing demand and supply”

 

 

Call for Applications: Inequality and the Environment Summer School

Columbia University’s Sustainable Development Doctoral Program is pleased to announce its tenth Annual Summer School, taking place online, from May 12 to May 20, 2021, in cooperation with the Alliance institutions of École Polytechnique, Sciences Po, Université Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne, and Columbia University and the Columbia Global Center in Santiago, Chile. This year’s topic is Inequality and the Environment, covering such topics as distributional impacts of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, unequal impacts of natural disasters, and environmental justice. The summer school will include presentations by world-class researchers and policy-makers and practical workshops focused on building skills in quantitative research tools, as well as discussion groups for participants with shared interests.

The program is geared toward graduate students in economics, environmental science, public policy, and related fields. We welcome applicants specializing in these and related topics. This will be an excellent opportunity for participants to exchange and generate new research ideas as well as enrich their academic network.

The applications for this year’s edition are now open – the deadline being set to 5 April 2021. We would be delighted to have some of your students join us. We would appreciate it if you could forward this information to interested students and relevant departments.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

  • When: May 12-14, May 19-20, 2021
  • Where: Online
  • Eligibility: PhD/research-based masters students
  • Apply: Here
  • Deadline for applications: 5 April 2021

Please find our flyer attached for more information. For further questions, contact sdev.summerschool@gmail.com.