Lisa Ryan

Efficient Large-Scale Energy Storage Dispatch: Challenges in Future High Renewable Systems

Future power systems with high penetrations of variable renewables will require increased levels of flexibility from generation and demand-side sources in order to maintain secure and stable operation. One potential flexibility source is large-scale energy storage, which can provide a variety of ancillary services across multiple time scales. In order for appropriate levels of investment to take place, and in order for existing assets to be utilized optimally, it is essential that market signals are present which encourage suitable levels of flexibility, either from storage or alternative sources. Suboptimal storage plant dispatch due to uncertainty and inefficient market incentives are represented as operational constraints on the storage plant, and the impact of these inefficiencies are highlighted. Thus, changes required in operational practices for storage plant at different installed wind capacity levels, and the challenges that private storage plant operators will face in generating appropriate bids in a market environment at high variable renewable penetrations are explored. The impacts on system generating costs and storage profits are explored under different plant operating assumptions.

Sustainable Automobile Transport

Transport, and in particular road transport, represents a significant global threat to long-term sustainable development, and is one of the fastest-growing consumers of final energy and sources of greenhouse gas emissions. In this book, long-term energy–economy–environment scenarios are used to identify the key technological developments required to address the challenges passenger car transport poses to climate change mitigation and energy security. It also considers possible targets for policy support and examines some of the elements that contribute to the significant levels of uncertainty – particularly social and political conditions. The book then builds on this long-term scenario analysis with a broad review of recent empirical examples of relevant policy implementation to identify near-term options for the passenger transportation sector which may promote a shift towards a more sustainable transport system over the longer term.

The Consumer's Role in Flexible Energy Systems: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Changing Consumers' Behavior

A transition to fossil-free energy systems is necessary to secure a safe, reliable, and sustainable future. This implies increasing shares of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, and introduces new challenges in terms of flexibility, storage, and energy transmission. Consumers play a crucial role in achieving this energy transition, as consumer flexibility is required to accommodate variable generation and peak loads. This implies that consumers become more flexible in their energy use and adopt technologies that facilitate greater reliance on renewable energy sources.

Vehicle tax policies and new passenger car CO2 performance in EU member states

ABSTRACT This article explores the causes for differences in the average CO2 emissions intensity of the new passenger car (NPC) fleet in member states (MS) across Europe. Although EU policies mitigating CO2 emissions from NPCs have been in place since 1999, MS strongly diverge in the absolute amount and relative change in emissions over the last decade. The authors employ a qualitative approach to analyse the factors, in particular national vehicle taxes, contributing to this divergence and the relative contribution of national and European policies in reducing national CO2 emissions from NPCs. The analysis shows that there has been a significant reduction in CO2 emissions intensity of NPCs since 2007 across most MS, compared with the six years previous to that date. This would indicate that EU-wide policies, such as the CO2 vehicles regulation, along with the economic recession in 2008, have influenced national NPC CO2 emissions. Generally, countries with CO2-differentiated vehicle taxes are observed as more likely to have achieved greater reductions in CO2 emissions. However, over the same period there have been many confounding factors, such as economic instability in the EU, that also influence NPC emissions. Using more detailed case study analyses of six countries, the authors find that there is scope for well-designed national vehicle tax policies to drive NPC emissions down further than the EU average. In countries with the highest success rate, such as the Netherlands, the design of the vehicle tax, as part of a well-aligned policy package, has been very important in delivering the biggest reductions in CO2 emissions from NPCs. POLICY RELEVANCE The transport sector continues to be an intractable source of CO2 emissions. Governments around the world are seeking effective policies to deal with the increase in passenger car CO2 emissions appropriate to their own circumstances. This article examines the experience of EU MS with CO2-differentiated vehicle taxes in reducing CO2 emissions in the context of other national and international contributing factors. It should therefore both be useful to policy makers and contribute to climate policy research in general.

Designing retail tariffs to decarbonise the electricity system

Increasing recognition that current electricity retail tariffs are ill-adapted to future electricity systems and markets has motivated this paper to examine how retail tariffs need to be reformed to facilitate the energy transition. This paper reviews existing residential retail tariff structures and explores through case studies of Ireland, Italy, and California the implications of retail tariff structure and design for the policy targets of energy efficiency, renewable electricity generation, demand response, in addition to electricity system cost recovery. The research should add empirical insights to the body of academic literature on the subject and be of interest to policy makers wishing to consider retail tariff structures that promote decarbonisation of the electricity system through multiple objectives of improved energy efficiency and increased shares of renewable electricity with future electricity markets.