The way we supply and use energy is changing. The traditional flow of energy from large centralised providers to consumers is being replaced by distributed and diverse sources of energy generation, while new energy-using technologies, such as electric cars, are making inroads into many aspects of our lives.
New energy systems need not just new technologies, but also new policies, governance arrangements, business and finance models, and an understanding of their wider impacts on our economy and society.
The University has significant strengths in interdisciplinary whole energy system research that can address these issues. We combine quantitative and qualitative research to solve the challenges presented by the transition to a low carbon future. Our approaches include:
- energy systems and multi-regional input-out modelling
- techno-economic assessments
- energy technology testing and simulation
- social and technical analysis of energy transitions
- institutional economics
- policy appraisal
- models of behaviour change related to the acceptance and adoption of new systems
- hydrogen as an energy vector.
This expertise is evidenced through our leadership roles in a number of nationally and internationally recognised interdisciplinary centres and projects, including the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, the UK Energy Research Centre, the Consortium for Modelling and Analysis of Decentralised Energy Storage and Living Well Within Limits.
Read our case study about a model for collective financing for local authority projects, devised by our researchers.
Work with us on the transition to a low carbon future
For enquiries about low carbon transitions email energy@leeds.ac.uk.