Developing an optimal electricity generation mix for the UK 2050 future

H. Sithole, T.T. Cockerill, K.J. Hughes, D.B. Ingham, L. Ma, R.T.J. Porter and M. Pourkashanian

Energy, 2016, vol. 100, issue C, 363-373

Abstract: The UK electricity sector is undergoing a transition driven by domestic and regional climate change and environmental policies. Aging electricity generating infrastructure is set to affect capacity margins after 2015. These developments, coupled with the increased proportion of inflexible and variable generation technologies will impact on the security of electricity supply. Investment in low-carbon technologies is central to the UK meeting its energy policy objectives. The complexity of these challenges over the future development of the UK electricity generation sector has motivated this study which aims to develop a policy-informed optimal electricity generation scenario to assess the sector's transition to 2050. The study analyses the level of deployment of electricity generating technologies in line with the 80% by 2050 emission target. This is achieved by using an excel-based “Energy Optimisation Calculator” which captures the interaction of various inputs to produce a least-cost generation mix. The key results focus on the least-cost electricity generation portfolio, emission intensity, and total investment required to assemble a sustainable electricity generation mix. A carbon neutral electricity sector is feasible if low-carbon technologies are deployed on a large scale. This requires a robust policy framework that supports the development and deployment of mature and emerging technologies.

Keywords: Decarbonisation; Optimisation; Scenarios; Transitions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (25)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544216300019
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:100:y:2016:i:c:p:363-373

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.01.077

Access Statistics for this article

Energy is currently edited by Henrik Lund and Mark J. Kaiser

More articles in Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().