A new UCL research centre, that brings academics together with industry and government to inform reform of the UK's electricity markets, has launched today.
The new UCL Centre for Net Zero Market Design will work across academia, industry, government, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders, to provide expert advice on the best policies and practices for creating and maintaining effective electricity markets as we decarbonise power systems in the UK and beyond.
Based at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, the new Centre will provide analysis and expert input for the UK Government's programme to decarbonise electricity over the decade, including the ongoing Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme.
The transition to net zero energy infrastructure will involve major changes for electricity generation, networks and flexibility, likely requiring hundreds of billions of pounds investment, mostly from the private sector. The Centre aims to provide recommendations to ensure that electricity markets are robust, power supplies are reliable, costs are manageable and carbon emissions are reduced to net zero. An initial project will examine how increasing periods of potential surplus generation (e.g. on very windy days) will impact further investment in renewables, and what market design changes may be needed to bring forward storage or other flexibilities.
The new centre also will work with masters courses at UCL to support the development of new talent and expertise, to help policymakers and industry to tackle upcoming electricity system challenges.
