Low carbon technologies such as heat pumps, solar PV and EVs are increasingly seen as critical to successful decarbonisation. However, research suggests that increasing adoption of these technologies has the potential to push the energy system beyond its limits and risks failure. At the same time, how these limits are navigated, whether that be upgrading network capacity, installing energy storage, or more significant changes to infrastructure, could have large impacts on local areas where changes are made. It is as yet unclear how different stakeholders will value these different options, and where potential differences in value might arise. To further complicate matters, the conditions under which these different solutions will be implemented are deeply uncertain, making decision making more challenging. This project aims to address this problem by developing a modelling framework that can help decision-makers understand when distribution network might be exceeded their limits and evaluates different solutions in a large range of future conditions and from multiple stakeholder perspectives. This should hopefully help to highlight solutions that will be satisfactory for as many people, in as many conditions as possible, and facilitate decision-making that can enable rapid decarbonisation.
Profile
Adam is a 2nd year PhD student looking at energy system resilience. His background is in engineering, having completed a MEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Warwick where he first developed an interest in renewable energy technologies. He went on to pursue that interest in industry, holding the role of technical engineer for a renewable energy wholesaler. This role highlighted the complexity of decarbonisation in practice, and led him to study the topic in more depth through completion of an MSc in sustainable energy systems from the University of Queen Mary’s London.
Modelling energy system adaptability under deep uncertainty