• Energy Research

The ability of powerful incumbent actors to resist technological or institutional changes that threaten their vested interests is a core part of the literature on sustainable energy transitions, but more often asserted in general than tested in specific cases. This article presents analysis of a detailed study of the introduction of a Capacity Market(CM) for electricity in Great Britain in the period 2010–2011, using a process tracing approach. The study finds evidence to support the view that large electricity generators have a significant degree of structural power in relation to decision makers, that such companies did lobby the government through the CM policy process, and that the ideas deployed had an effect on the shape of the CM. However, there were also divisions amongst the large generating companies on whether they wanted a CM or not, and what its design should be. We also show that the institutional circumstances of the CM policy process we requite specific, giving opportunities for lobbying that may not be present in other cases. We conclude it is essential to have an analysis of incumbent power that is contingent on institutional context, the specific nature of interests and the deployment of ideas. To counter incumbent power and structural dependency during sustainable energy transformation, an independent but legitimate body is needed to the direction of policy.

AbstractThis research explores the relationship between technology scale, energy security and decarbonisation within the UK energy system. There is considerable uncertainty about how best to deliver on these goals for energy policy, but a focus on supply chains and their resilience can provide useful insights into the problems uncertainty causes. Technology scale is central to this, and through an analysis of the supply chains of nuclear power and solar photovoltaics, it is suggested that smaller scale technologies are more likely to support and enable a secure, low carbon energy transition. This is because their supply chains are less complex, show more flexibility and adaptability, and can quickly respond to changes within an energy system, and as such they are more resilient than large scale technologies. These characteristics are likely to become increasingly important in a rapidly changing energy system, and prioritising those technologies that demonstrate resilience, flexibility and adaptability will better enable a transition that is rapid, sustainable, secure and affordable.

This special edition to be published in Applied Energy brings together a range of papers that explore the complex, multi-dimensional and inter-related issues associated with the supply or value chains that make up energy systems and how a focus on them can bring new insights for energy security in a low carbon transition.\ud \ud Dealing with the trilemma of maintaining energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maintaining affordability for economies and end users are key issues for all countries, but there are synergies and trade-offs in simultaneously dealing with these different objectives. Currently, industrialised energy systems are dominated by supply chains based on fossil fuels and these, for the most part, have been effective in enabling energy security and affordability. However, they are increasingly struggling to do this, particularly in respect to efforts to tackle climate change, given that the energy sector is responsible for around two-thirds of the global greenhouse gas emissions [1]. A key challenge is therefore how to decarbonise energy systems, whilst also ensuring energy security and affordability. This special issue, through a focus on supply chains, particularly considers the interactions and relationships between energy security and decarbonisation.\ud \ud Energy security is a property of energy systems and their ability to withstand short-term shocks and longer-term stresses depends on other important system properties including resilience, robustness, flexibility and stability [2]. Energy systems are essentially a supply chain comprising of multiple and interrelated sub-chains based around different fuels, technologies, infrastructures, and actors, operating at different scales and locations – from extraction/imports and conversion through to end use [3]. These supply chains have become increasingly globalised and are influenced by the on-going shifts in global supply and demand. Thus the aim of this special issue is to explore and discuss how to enable the development of a secure and sustainable energy system through a better understanding of both existing and emerging low carbon energy supply chains as well as of new approaches to the design and management of energy systems. In part, because moving from a system dominated by fossil fuels to one based on low carbon creates a new set of risks and uncertainties for energy security as well as new opportunities.\ud \ud A large number of submissions from over 18 countries were received for this special edition and 16 papers were accepted after peer review. These address a variety of issues and we have chosen to discuss the findings under two key themes, although many of the papers cut across these: (1) Insights from, and for, supply chain analysis. (2) Insights for energy security and its management. We then provide in (3) a summary of insights and research gaps. Table 1 provides a snapshot of the areas covered by the papers showing: theme (s); empirical domains; and geographical coverage.

This article shines a light on a less examined aspect of sustainable energy transitions: governing for demand side innovations in Germany. Demand innovations are considered to be central to affordable, efficient and politically acceptable energy system transformations, however many argue that not enough is being done in governance terms. In a departure from much analysis on demand policy demand innovations are defined broadly here to explicitly include demand side response, demand reduction and distributed energy – given that each has important roles to play within demand-oriented markets. Demand governance is conceptualised as a long-term political process that is both contextually specific but also open to challenge and change at various points in time. The single case study is Germany where demand governance, recent changes in energy markets, and implications for how the politics of energy are changing are all analysed. This paper reveals the specific ways in which critical policy debates emerge over time and influence political decision-making; the ways in which these debates relate to changes in energy markets; as well as a lack of governance in relation to enabling demand side response and local energy markets.

Improving the understanding of the politics of sustainable energy transitions has become a major focus for research. This paper builds on recent interest in institutionalist approaches to consider in some depth the agenda arising from a historical institutionalist perspective on such transitions. It is argued that historical institutionalism is a valuable complement to socio-technical systems approaches, offering tools for the explicit analysis of institutional dynamics that are present but implicit in the latter framework, opening up new questions and providing useful empirical material relevant for the study of the wider political contexts within which transitions are emerging. Deploying a number of core concepts including veto players, power, unintended consequences, and positive and negative feedback in a variety of ways, the paper explores research agendas in two broad areas: understanding diversity in transition outcomes in terms of the effects of different institutional arrangements, and the understanding of transitions in terms of institutional development and change. A range of issues are explored, including: the roles of electoral and political institutions, regulatory agencies, the creation of politically credible commitment to transition policies, power and incumbency, institutional systems and varieties of capitalism, sources of regime stability and instability, policy feedback effects, and types of gradual institutional change. The paper concludes with some observations on the potential and limitations of historical institutionalism, and briefly considers the question of whether there may be specific institutional configurations that would facilitate more rapid sustainable energy transitions.

The current transformation of energy systems around the world is fundamentally a policy-driven process, unlike previous socio-technical transitions. This article focuses on the challenges of constructing forward-looking policies for sustainable energy transitions in the presence of powerful incumbent interests, through an in-depth study of how the emerging option of demand-side response (DSR) was incorporated into the Capacity Market (CM) for electricity in Great Britain over the period 2010 to 2014. Drawing on extensive documentation related to the development of the CM rules and interviews with participants and close observers of the process, the paper provides an unusually detailed assessment of the influence of companies with large electricity generation assets. The evidence presented supports the hypotheses that these companies had influence through deploying public facing strategies, that they had been able to draw on close networks of contacts and networks with senior policy makers, and that the latter had internalised the ideas and interests of the former. Despite counter-lobbying by DSR firms and non-governmental organisations, institutional arrangements gave major generators an advantage in terms of access. The paper concludes by recommending the establishment of independent bodies to propose policies and monitor the process of their development during energy system transformations

This policy brief summarises the policy and governance work stream within the EPSRC funded (EP/V042505/1) Flex-Cool-Storeproject. The key findings include: • Overheating is already a problem in UK homes, and this will get worse as the climate warms, resulting in increasing levels of mortality, morbidity, and discomfort.• Without policy intervention it is likely there could be significant further uptake of active cooling by households, leading to direct and indirect carbon emissions, creating new challenges within energy systems, and leading to growing inequalities within society.• Policymakers need to coordinate and develop an integrated approach to decarbonise cooling, by supporting people to avoid the unnecessary use of active cooling, improving products within the market, and through initiatives to help shift and manage cooling loads within the energy system.• Supporting a passive first approach is a priority, with information, advice and support a key enabler, alongside improvements to building regulations and planning; existing homes are the main challenge.• There are five key recommendations to reduce risk and support action: act quickly and comprehensively; seek policy synergies; build on and share best practice; protect the most vulnerable and support all people; lead nationally and support action locally.