ETI Highlights UK’s Possible Low Carbon Options

Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has publishes two potential scenarios depicting the UK’s low carbon energy system transition.

The “Options, Choices, Actions” Report displays how the UK can implement an affordable 35 year transition to a low carbon energy system by 2050, but there are different ways of getting there.

It concentrates on two potential scenarios called Clockwork and Patchwork.

Clockwork shows what could happen if well-coordinated, long term investments allow new energy infrastructure to be installed in a carefully planned and ordered manner.

In the Patchwork scenario central government takes less of a leading role so an informal network of distinct energy strategies develop at a regional level. Society becomes more actively engaged in decarbonisation, partly by choice and partly in response to higher costs.

Dr Scott Milne. ETI Strategy Analyst and Scenarios Project Lead said:

“The two scenarios we have described are not intended to be predictions or forecasts of the most probable outcomes, but we hope they will inform and provoke debate, and progress thinking about how we power the UK in the future.

“They are both plausible and affordable but require considerable co-ordination and planning as well as consumer and social engagement.

“We have around 10 years to plan, prepare and build up a suite of key low carbon technology options for the long term. During this time we recommend that the UK focuses its resources on learning about – and developing the capacity to implement – a basket of the most attractive supply and demand technologies.

“This includes bioenergy, carbon capture and storage, new nuclear, offshore wind, gaseous systems, efficiency of vehicles and efficiency/heat provision for buildings. Of these, bioenergy and CCS are by far the most critical because of the flexibility they bring to the system and the economic value they create through “negative emissions”, offsetting potentially expensive decarbonisation activity.”

Visit the following link for a full report “Options, Choices, Actions – UK scenarios for a low carbon energy system transition”