Keeping the lights on at an affordable cost in a low carbon world
The costs of producing electricity from renewable energy have been falling rapidly in recent years. This is good news as we move to a world where we must reduce the CO2 emissions associated with providing the energy services that the world requires while mitigating the worst effects of climate change. This talk will begin with an update on the latest costs for low CO2 electricity production.
Intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are often criticised as being unreliable at the electricity peak demand times which occur during winter peaks – the problem politicians often call “keeping the lights on”. However, in the 21st century there are more options available to achieve this and this talk will outline some of these and their current actual and planned deployment. Some international examples of successfully meeting peak demand in a “smart way” will be reported. These will include 3 examples of approaches that did not play a major part in “keeping the lights on” in the last century.
Eoin Lees has worked in sustainable energy for over 30 years, particularly in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Since 2003, he has been an independent consultant and worked with a wide range of clients including UK and overseas Governments, the EU, trade bodies and the private sector. From 2008-15, he was European senior advisor to RAP (an organisation devoted to furthering energy efficiency in regulated energy industries around the world).
He was the founding Chief Executive of the Energy Saving Trust (EST) from 1993 to 2003 and built the organisation from 1 employee to 110 in that period. He was responsible for the introduction of the energy efficiency obligations on UK regulated energy companies in 1994 and which grew to an annual expenditure by such companies of around €1.3 billion per year in 2012. He also broadened EST’s remit into greener road transport and into household and community renewable energy sources. Prior to that he was the Director of ETSU, which was then the UK Government’s agency for research and promotion of energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, fuel cells and strategic energy studies.
From 2001 -11, he was a member of Ofgem’s Environmental Advisory Group and also a Board Member and vice-President of the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. He is chair of the Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative (the first co-operative to build a wind farm in the UK) which has produced electricity from a 6.5MW wind farm in rural Oxfordshire since 2008. He is also a shareholder in the neighbouring 5MW Westmill Solar cooperative which has produced electricity since 2014.
A physicist by training, he is married with one grown-up son.