62 M. ISKANDARoVA AND A. GENUS
and replace significant volumes of large, transmission-connected fossil-fuel
power stations with smaller, often distribution-network-connected, renewable generation technologies such as wind and solar. This fundamental shift
will have implications for how the energy system is operated.
A catalyst for the growth of renewables is the legal requirement that
the UK provide at least 15% of its energy from renewable energy sources
by 2020, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
being established in 2008 to deliver this target. The Climate Change
Act 2008 is part of the UK government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. The UK Renewable Energy strategy 2009 was instituted as an
action plan for delivering the UK’s renewable energy objectives, and the
Feed in Tariff (FiT) scheme was launched in 2010 as a policy mechanism
to accelerate investment in renewable energy.
Through its Microgeneration Strategy, launched in 2011, and the
Renewable Heat Incentive, the coalition government put in place a
range of financial incentives to encourage the deployment of small-scale,
on-site, renewable energy. This was followed by the announcement
of the Green Deal Scheme, a programme for building refurbishment
i.e. energy-saving improvements (the government scheme was closed
in 2015 and relaunched in 2017 as the Green Deal Finance company
backed by private investors). The energy efficiency agenda was underpinned by the Energy Efficiency Strategy of 2012, which set the direction for energy efficiency policy, and identified steps to stimulate the
energy efficiency market.
The UK government’s first ever Community Energy Strategy was
launched in 2014. It aimed to encourage communities to play a greater
role in achieving energy and climate change goals, e.g. community
involvement in generating electricity. Recent years have seen a growth
in small-scale installations of renewable energy aided by the UK FiT, but
since the UK general election in 2015, there have been substantial, negative changes to support for key renewable energy technologies (e.g. significant reduction of FiT).
The electricity market reforms aimed to attract investment needed to
replace and upgrade the UK’s electricity infrastructure and enable it to
meet the growing demand for electricity. one of the key mechanisms of
the reform is Contracts for Difference. It is designed to support investment in new low-carbon generation, with a technology-dependent fixed
price (BEIS 2015/2017). The reform was underpinned by the Energy
Act 2013, which aimed to maintain a stable electricity supply as coalfired power stations are retired.
and replace significant volumes of large, transmission-connected fossil-fuel
power stations with smaller, often distribution-network-connected, renewable generation technologies such as wind and solar. This fundamental shift
will have implications for how the energy system is operated.
A catalyst for the growth of renewables is the legal requirement that
the UK provide at least 15% of its energy from renewable energy sources
by 2020, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
being established in 2008 to deliver this target. The Climate Change
Act 2008 is part of the UK government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. The UK Renewable Energy strategy 2009 was instituted as an
action plan for delivering the UK’s renewable energy objectives, and the
Feed in Tariff (FiT) scheme was launched in 2010 as a policy mechanism
to accelerate investment in renewable energy.
Through its Microgeneration Strategy, launched in 2011, and the
Renewable Heat Incentive, the coalition government put in place a
range of financial incentives to encourage the deployment of small-scale,
on-site, renewable energy. This was followed by the announcement
of the Green Deal Scheme, a programme for building refurbishment
i.e. energy-saving improvements (the government scheme was closed
in 2015 and relaunched in 2017 as the Green Deal Finance company
backed by private investors). The energy efficiency agenda was underpinned by the Energy Efficiency Strategy of 2012, which set the direction for energy efficiency policy, and identified steps to stimulate the
energy efficiency market.
The UK government’s first ever Community Energy Strategy was
launched in 2014. It aimed to encourage communities to play a greater
role in achieving energy and climate change goals, e.g. community
involvement in generating electricity. Recent years have seen a growth
in small-scale installations of renewable energy aided by the UK FiT, but
since the UK general election in 2015, there have been substantial, negative changes to support for key renewable energy technologies (e.g. significant reduction of FiT).
The electricity market reforms aimed to attract investment needed to
replace and upgrade the UK’s electricity infrastructure and enable it to
meet the growing demand for electricity. one of the key mechanisms of
the reform is Contracts for Difference. It is designed to support investment in new low-carbon generation, with a technology-dependent fixed
price (BEIS 2015/2017). The reform was underpinned by the Energy
Act 2013, which aimed to maintain a stable electricity supply as coalfired power stations are retired.