The decarbonisation of the energy system poses many challenges, from major investments to infrastructure redesign.
The decarbonisation of the energy system poses many challenges, from major investments to infrastructure redesign. Bureau of Land Management/CC BY 2.0

Headline: Energy Transitions and Public Policy

The research group Energy Transitions and Public Policy conducts problem-driven research about the transition to a climate-neutral energy system. The key aim is to inform policy choices, policy design and evaluation for a rapid and socially just transition with robust scientific insight.

The group conducts research on public policies for all stages of the energy transition: from innovation and diffusion of zero-carbon technologies to institutional reconfiguration and policies for phasing out fossil fuels. The researchers are interested in the interactions between different energy and climate policies and other policy aims, including market liberalisation, europeanisation, and social justice. They address policies at international, national, and regional levels.

The Energy Transitions and Public Policy group does empirically-driven research and draws on disciplines including transition studies, political science, and economics. The research questions are drawn from current debates, and are sometimes co-created with stakeholders, including policymakers, industry, or NGOs. The group is currently involved in three third-party funded projects, granted by the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme. In these projects, the group works to:

  • analyse impacts and trade-offs of policy options, strategies, and instruments to bring about a transition to a carbon-neutral energy sector (TRIPOD, SENTINEL);
  • improve understanding of how public policies and stakeholder activities advance transitions (TRIPOD, TIPPING+);
  • increase societal and political relevance of the tools used for transition analysis (SENTINEL, TRIPOD).
read more

Completed Projects

Concentrated solar thermal power uses heat from solar radiation to generate electricity. These systems use an array of reflectors to concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a small surface.

Market uptake of solar thermal electricity through cooperation (MUSTEC)

Concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in Southern Europe are capable of supplying dispatchable renewable electricity on demand both to domestic markets and to Central and Northern European countries. But various factors hinder their deployment. The MUSTEC research project proposes policy measures to overcome these obstacles.

The Sustainable Energy Transition Laboratory will develop a new framework for modelling energy systems.

The Sustainable Energy Transition Laboratory (SENTINEL)

The transition to a low-carbon energy system will involve a major redesign of the energy system with a focus on renewable energy sources. The Sustainable Energy Transitions Laboratory will develop, test and make freely available a modelling framework that helps a wide range of stakeholders make the critical decisions they are now faced with.

Workers install a reflective parabolic trough at a solar thermal power plant in Spain.

Solar Thermal Power Plants: Generating transformation knowledge with open data (Open CSP)

Solar thermal power plants are a controllable source of renewable electricity. The development of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies is promising, but their expansion has been overshadowed by solar photovoltaics, which are more affordable but less reliable. This project will collect and publish data relating to CSP projects worldwide with the aim of providing the research and policy community with a detailed, high-quality overview.