Members of wholeSEM's Imperial team have produced a new report for the Committee on Climate Change to identify and quantify the system integration costs of low-carbon generation technologies in the context of the future, largely decarbonised UK electricity system.

The report 'Value of Flexibility in a Decarbonised Grid and System Externalities of Low-Carbon Generation Technologies' was commissioned by the Committee on Climate Change to inform the 'Power sector scenarios for the fifth carbon budget' report, which was released last week. Imperial's report demonstrated that the "system integration cost" of low carbon technologies will depend significantly on the level of flexibility that may be available, particularly provided by demand side response, potentially energy storage and more flexible conventional gas plant.

Co author Professor Goran Strbac - a Co Investigator for wholeSEM - said "de-carbonisation pathway would be very much driven by the level of flexibility – that flexibility turned out be the key for cost effective decarbonisation of GB electricity system"

Under the Climate Change Act (2008), the Committee on Climate Change is required to advise the Government, by the end of 2015, on the level of the UK’s fifth carbon budget (the limit on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by the UK between 2028 and 2032).

As part of the wholeSEM project, our Imperial team are incorporating spatial and temporal detail, linking with flexible storage options, and combining with infrastructure decision making within a whole energy system context.

Further Information:

• 'Value of Flexibility in a Decarbonised Grid and System Externalities of Low-Carbon Generation Technologies'
• New low-carbon electricity generation is cost-effective option for UK power sector investment in 2020s and beyond
• Committee on Climate Change
  
• Professor Goran Strbac
  
• wholeSEM Work Package 4 - Infrastructure and Supply