Comic books aren’t just about superheros. They can also be a great way of communicating research.

Posted on by Richard Flockemann
Read the comic here

For many experts, Smart local energy systems (SLES) are crucial to the UK’s transition to a Net Zero energy system. Over the last two years, a research team led by Professor Adrian Smith at the Sussex Energy Group has analysed developments in smart local energy systems (SLES) in the UK, as part of an ESRC-funded  research project called ROLES.

Smart local energy systems are connected systems made up of technologies that generate, store and manage renewable energy. For example, a smart local energy system might be a household with solar panels, battery storage, smart appliances and smart meters, that could be be integrated with the local energy network to feed back energy when it is needed elsewhere. 

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Posted in All Posts, Community Energy, Community wealth building, Energy Governance and Policy, Energy infrastructure, Energy systems and supply technology, Just and Sustainable Transitions to Net Zero, Local Energy

New funding announced for energy demand research

Posted on by Mari Martiskainen — No Comments ↓

The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced £15 million of funding for the next phase of energy demand research in the UK. A new Energy Demand Research Centre, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), will be led by Professor Mari Martiskainen at the university of Sussex and Professor Sara Walker at Newcastle University, with ten additional universities and several external stakeholder partners involved in the programme. Below, Prof Martiskainen outlines plans for the Centre and why the focus on energy demand is so critical.

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Posted in 'Whole systems' perspectives, All Posts, Energy systems and supply technology, Just and Sustainable Transitions to Net Zero

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act: Will the Dramatic Enactment Translate into Dramatic Results?

Posted on by Richard Flockemann — No Comments ↓

By Roman Sidortsov

If there is ever a Hollywood film to be made about climate and energy legislation, the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will provide as good of a script as there will ever be. Typically mundane, the passing of the largest climate bill in U.S. history featured many twists and turns, ups and downs, and grand finale speeches about saving the world. The process features the transformation of a climate villain, Senator Joe Manchin, who infamously shot the text of a cap-and-trade bill in a political ad in 2010, into an unlikely climate hero who resurrected the legislation that he killed just a few weeks ago. The bill’s authors employed clever branding – the Inflation Reduction Act – to make the bill more palatable to not only climate activists but also fiscal hawks and the public concerned with rising prices. The drama had been omnipresent until the very end – just when all the hope of the Democratic Party to deliver on a President Biden’s signature campaign promise was lost; a compromise struck between the villain-turned-hero and the Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer saved the day.

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Posted in All Posts, Energy and Society, Energy Governance and Policy, Political economy of energy, Politics of energy and energy institutions

Is there an electoral politics of the allocation of industrial decarbonisation resources?

Posted on by Matthew Lockwood — No Comments ↓
Houses of Parliament. Located in London, England, UK. Original public domain image from Wikimedia Commons

One of the more challenging aspects of the net zero agenda is how to decarbonise heavy industry. Industries such as metals (including iron and steel), minerals, chemicals, food and drink, paper and pulp, ceramics, glass and oil refineries account for about 16% of UK territorial emissions, both from energy use and from carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced directly from industrial processes, such as calcination in the production of cement. Industry is commonly seen as a ‘hard to abate’ sector of the economy. A lot of industry is also exposed to international competition, so unless there is support from government there is a risk that it will close down and relocate, rather than actually cut emissions.

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Posted in All Posts, Energy Governance and Policy, Political economy of energy, Politics of energy and energy institutions

A closer look at the UK government’s big climate and energy reshuffle

Posted on by Marc Hudson — No Comments ↓

As covered in last week’s blog, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reshuffled his cabinet and split the business energy and industrial strategy department in two. What does all this mean? Is it window dressing and intra-government manoeuvring or a necessary reset? Marc Hudson takes a deep dive. 

BEIS is dead! Long live the EsNZ! In an announcement last week, Rishi Sunak, currently the UK Prime Minister, reshuffled his cabinet and also rearranged some big government departments.

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Posted in All Posts, Energy Governance and Policy, Politics of energy and energy institutions

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The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the individual authors and do not represent Sussex Energy Group.

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