EPC_Bolton_Foxon_Hall_Uncertainty_2016_final.pdf (189.62 kB)
Energy transitions and uncertainty: creating low carbon investment opportunities in the UK electricity sector
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 00:17 authored by Ronan Bolton, Tim FoxonTim Foxon, Stephen HallThis paper examines how actors in the UK electricity sector are attempting to deliver investment in low carbon generation. Low carbon technologies, because of their relative immaturity, capital intensity and low operational costs, do not readily fit with existing electricity markets and investment templates which were designed for fossil fuel based energy. We analyse key electricity market and infrastructure policies in the UK and highlight how these are aimed at making low carbon technologies ‘investable’ by reducing uncertainty, managing investment risks and repositioning actors within the electricity socio-technical ‘regime’. We argue that our study can inform contemporary debates on the politics and governance of sustainability transitions by empirically investigating the agency of incumbent regime actors in the face of uncertainty and by offering critical insights on the role of markets and finance in shaping socio-technical change.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Environment and Planning C: Government and PolicyISSN
0263-774XPublisher
SAGE PublicationsExternal DOI
Issue
8Volume
34Page range
1387-1403Department affiliated with
- SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2016-02-15First Open Access (FOA) Date
2016-02-15First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2016-02-12Usage metrics
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