• Energy Research

This paper proposes a linear programming problem to find the optimal planning and operation of aggregated distributed energy resources (DER), managed by an aggregator that participates in the day-ahead wholesale electricity market as a price-maker agent. The proposed model analyzes the impact of the size of the aggregated resources and gives the optimal planning and management of DER systems, and the corresponding energy transactions in the wholesale day-ahead market. The results suggest that when the aggregated resources are large enough, DER systems can achieve up to 32% extra economic benefits depending on the market share, compared with a business-as-usual approach (not implementing DER systems). info:eu-repo/semantics/draft

The transition of societies to a low carbon future presents several important political economy challenges. For example, can the deployment of low carbon solutions deliver economic prosperity and support policy makers in developing decarbonisation policy pathways around which societal and political consensus can build and be sustained? Taking the example of decarbonising private transport in the UK, we use a computable general equilibrium model – informed by energy systems analysis – to consider the potential wider economy impacts, over different timeframes, of electricity network upgrade costs to enable the EV rollout required by 2050. We demonstrate opportunities for both transitory and sustained gains in GDP, employment, and earnings across the UK economy. The key source of sustained expansion is the strength of domestic supply chains supporting the UK electricity sector. However, the transition pathway is sensitive to how network upgrade costs and trajectories respond to the speed of consumer behaviour adjustments, and to the price impacts of constrained wider economy expansion, with notable implications for the price of electricity. The key outcome of concern for UK policymakers is how a lasting constraint on total labour supply means that the EV rollout is associated with lasting impacts on electricity and other consumer prices.

Capítulos en libros The smart city is a sustainable and efficient urban center that provides high quality of life to its inhabitants with an optimal management of its resources, where clean and cost effective energy generation is a key issue. Under this setting, distributed generation can provide an adequate tool to deal with energy reliability and to successfully implement renewable sources; nevertheless, selection and scaling of energy systems, considering location, is not a trivial task. Frequently, the stakeholders analyze only one or two "popular" generation systems, and then calculate the output and return of investment in a simplified and approximated approach. This practice could lead the stakeholder to an inadequate technology mix. To tackle this problem, this paper reviews and models most common energy sources for distributed generation in a smart city context. Then, a technical economic analysis is developed for 2 cases, a household and a district, considering not only renewable sources but also efficient non-renewable technologies. The results of the numerical analysis help to assess the more adequate generation systems for a given application, energetic demand, and geographical characteristics. A well-developed analysis is essential for a better understanding of the available technologies and their synergies; as a result, the investors can choose the appropriate solutions, maximizing overall benefits. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The UK government's plans to decarbonise residential heating will mean major changes to the energy system whatever the specific technology pathway chosen, driving a range of impacts on users and suppliers. We use an energy system model (UK TIMES) to identify the potential energy system impacts of alternative pathways to low or zero carbon heating. We find that the speed of transitioning can affect the network investment requirements, the overall energy use and emissions generated, while the primary heating fuel shift will determine which sectors and networks require most investment. Crucially, we identify that retail price differences between heating fuels in the UK, particularly gas and electricity, could erode or eliminate bill savings from switching to more efficient heating systems.

We investigate the question of whether spending to enable ambitious EV roll-out programmes can in fact generate net gains across the wider economy. We use a multi-sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model for the UK economy and focus on the need to upgrade electricity networks to support an initial EV penetration scenario for the period to 2030. We find that large scale spending and cost recovery for network upgrades is likely to result in net negative impacts on key macroeconomic indicators, including real income available for spending across all UK households. This is due to a combination of time-limited network upgrade activity in the presence of capacity constraints combined with the need for costs to be passed on to electricity consumers through higher bills. But the lowest income households – the group of greatest concern to policymakers – suffer the smallest losses. Moreover, the EV uptake delivers sufficient gains t that deliver net positive impacts on all household incomes, with sustained expansion in GDP and employment across the economy. The key driver is a greater reliance on UK supply chains with the shift away from more import-intensive petrol and diesel fuelled vehicles towards electric ones.

This paper investigates the regional employment implications of the projected UK heat pump rollout, emphasizing the availability of a skilled workforce as a crucial enabler. The UK labour market, however, faces persistent worker and skills shortages, posing delivery and cost challenges and triggering wage-cost pressures that could displace employment across the economy. This highlights an urgent policy need to understand not only the level, type, quality, and regional location of labour demand but also the drivers and potential mitigation strategies. Using regional economic and workforce data, we map results from our dynamic economy-wide Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to provide new insights into the spatial distributional impacts of the UK heat pump rollout. Our findings indicate that net job creation is outpaced by real income gains, primarily driven by construction and manufacturing activities. Some regions exhibit lower relative job creation, partly due to rising labour costs affecting wage- and labour-intensive industries (e.g., finance, hospitality). Where energy efficiency gains from heat pump use translate to energy bill savings, the resulting boost to household spending power can help offset negative job impacts in consumer-facing sectors and host regions. This novel integrated analysis makes a significant contribution by developing urgently needed, robust, and detailed evidence based on a strengthened understanding of the low-carbon heat labour and skills demands, while also considering critical factors such as labour mobility and competition. The produced insight and the proposed approach has the potential to be applicable to analyse other energy transitions.

In this paper we conduct economy-wide scenario simulations to investigate whether and how the wider economic stimulus associated with deploying heat pumps in the UK may help mitigate the macroeconomic and distributional impacts of persistently high electricity and gas prices. Our results show that expansionary processes triggered by producing and installing heat pumps can help offset contractionary pressures associated with higher energy prices. However, outcomes depend on the extent of domestic supply chain content in manufacturing heat pumps, on installation costs to households, on how and where government revenues accrue. Moreover, the relative importance of drivers varies over time. For example, higher purchase and installation costs may support a greater initial stimulus via producer and domestic supply chain gains, despite the greater cost burden on households. However, over time, cost reductions are required to deliver the most favourable economy-wide outcomes.

Artículos en revistas Deployment of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) is already a reality for electricity supply and the debate whether distributed generation is going to replace almost totally or partially the current centralized generation paradigm is currently in place. Technical and economic advantages of DER have been addressed in the literature although regulation has also played a central role in DER deployment. This paper aims at contributing to that debate. Firstly, the advantages of both paradigms are reviewed and the cost recovery problem of the existing centralized related stranded costs discussed. Secondly, an optimization model , formulated to specifically address the discussion comparing both configuration paradigms. Main factors affecting the debate are identified and represented in the model: investment and operation costs, flexibility system requirements, demand response capabilities, building thermal demands, network investments and losses, and access-fee design, among others. Thirdly, a realistic case study, based on Spain, is presented and some qualitative conclusions extracted. Such kind of model is useful to undertake country specific studies either to perform sensitivity analysis revealing the relevance of the factors involved and the direct and indirect relationships among technologies, or to analyze the more efficient system configuration and align regulatory decisions towards it. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion