A whole systems approach is required to achieve the 2035 target of decarbonising the electricity system in Great Britain.
To feed into the government's ongoing work on a delivery plan for a net zero electricity system, the National Engineering Policy Centre is organising a series of roundtable discussions. These are convened with senior representatives from industry, academia and government to discuss crucial systems-level challenges for an effective deliver plan. The roundtable series intends to build a greater shared understanding and recognition of the actions and barriers that need to be addressed to implement a net zero electricity system.
Roundtable themes
Five key topics have been identified as crucial to consider in depth for an effective delivery of the energy transition. These topics gave rise to five separate roundtable sessions:
- Decisions now for a future system: Making design and construction decisions for the electricity system of 2035 and 2050
- Local, regional and national: What interests, opportunities and challenges exist at these levels? How does each contribute to net zero?
- Consumers, flexibility and efficiency: How can consumption contribute to the decarbonisation of the electricity system?
- Governing transformation, transforming governance: Managing ambiguity, interconnection and digitalisation
- Delivering electricity decarbonisation by 2035: What do we need across industry capacity, procurement and skills?
Links to the summaries are added one by one as the roundtable summaries are published.
This roundtable series is being convened by the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC). The working group includes representatives from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the Energy Institute (EI), the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Permanent Way Institution (PWI), the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Energy Systems Catapult.
Members of the NEPC Working Group on decarbonising the electricity system:
- Dr Simon Harrison FREng (Chair), Group Head of Strategy, Mott MacDonald
- Eric Brown, Executive Adviser, Energy Systems Catapult
- Tim Chapman FREng, Partner and Director, Boston Consulting Group
- Peter Dearman FREng, Independent Consultant, Dearman Engineering
- Robert Friel, Managing Director, Apteno Consulting
- Professor Tim Green FREng, Professor of Power Engineering, Imperial College London
- Professor Nick Jenkins FREng, Professor of Renewable Energy, Cardiff University
- Professor Roger Kemp MBE FREng, Emeritus Professor of Engineering, Lancaster University
- Dr Cathy McClay OBE FREng, Director Energy Operations, ENOWA, NEOM
- Graham Oakes, Expert in Local, Community and Municipal Energy
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