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Environment & Energy Blogs
Network problems: The peculiar case of home heating in Northern Ireland
The recent cold snap – and the ensuing spike in home heating oil prices – underscores the decarbonisation challenge in Northern Ireland, argues Policy Exchange’s Matt Rooney.
Turning on the tap of reform: the UK water market and how consumers – and the environment – are losing out
Environment and Energy Research Fellow at Policy Exchange, Josh Burke, explores the recent speech by DEFRA Secretary Michael Gove on the water industry and finds much to praise – but also that there is more reform needed.
Glowing hot or cold? The future of nuclear power in the UK
Energy and Environment Research Fellow Matt Rooney analyses the Government’s long-term plans for nuclear power. Could Small Modular Reactors be a solution?
Don’t write off Blockchain because of the Bitcoin hype
Energy & Environment Research Fellow Joshua Burke examines the role of blockchain in building trust and transparency in structures of governance and how this can be applied to carbon-pricing schemes.
Comment on the Government’s 25-year environmental plan
Policy Exchange’s Josh Burke comments favourably on the Prime Minister’s speech on the environment – the first such speech by a Prime Minister in over 10 years.
The secret to cheaper energy – it’s all in the cost curve
The cost of energy is frequently cited as one of the issues voters care about most, but how can we bring costs down? Various new electricity generation technologies, like wave energy, tidal lagoons and small modular nuclear reactors, stand on the precipice of mass deployment. But industry alone may not be willing or able to make the leap from demonstration and commercial deployment. Should the Government intervene to help bridge the gap? In this article originally published in Business Green, Policy Exchange Research Fellow Matt Rooney explores the concept of ‘technological learning’. Can other technologies replicate the success of solar panels and wind turbines to bring costs down and make them competitive with established technologies?
Challenges and opportunities for the UK trade in waste
Following his evidence session to the Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub Committee, Energy and Environment Research fellow Joshua Burke reflects on the opportunities and challenges facing the UKs trade in waste post Brexit. The impact of tariff and non-tariff barriers on the regulatory, spatial, environmental and economic dimensions that govern the UK’s trade in waste are examined in the context of Refuse Derived Fuel.
The Helm Cost of Energy Review: the invisible hand versus the activist state
Matthew Rooney, Energy and Environment Research Fellow at Policy Exchange, responds to Dieter Helm’s recent Cost of Energy Review. The review, commissioned by the Government and released last week, sparked much debate online. The main dividing line, Rooney explains, is between those who believe that an activist state and large subsidies for renewable energy deployment are necessary to bring down costs, and those who think the Government’s main role is to create a level playing field for low carbon technologies to compete without subsidy. Helm’s big idea is a carbon tax with border carbon adjustments. Could that work and what are its potential benefits?
The Clean Growth Strategy: worth the wait?
Policy Exchange’s Energy and Environment Research Fellows, Matthew Rooney and Joshua Burke, respond to the Government’s Clean Growth Strategy. The long awaited strategy document detailing how the UK will meet their emissions reductions targets was published on Thursday. In it there is positive news for onshore wind, nuclear power and the hydrogen economy, whilst fracking is a notable absence. A next big decision for the Government to make is whether the UK will remain in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Policy Exchange are currently conducting research into the potential benefits of leaving the scheme and implementing a British carbon tax system.
A second wind: the economics of offshore become increasingly competitive
Following our ‘The electric economy: achieving our low carbon energy future‘ event this week, where experts debated the future of Britain’s electricity system, Joshua Burke – Policy Exchange Energy and Environment Research Fellow – further explores this area and, in particular, the potential economic benefits of offshore wind.