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Connecting new and renewable energy sources to the UK

electricity system
The UK Government has a target that by 2010, ten percent of all electricity should be delivered from renewable sources by
2010. It also aims to increase the number of combined heat and power (CHP) systems, where heat from electricity production
is used. Sources of energy such as wind, wave and solar power are distributed across the UK, in contrast to the present
arrangement where energy is drawn from large, centralised generators. In addition, CHP systems need to be close to where the
heat will be used. Therefore these sources also need to be embedded widely in the electricity distribution network.

Professor Nick Jenkins, from UMIST's Electrical Energy and Power Systems Group, is leading a research team addressing the
barriers to integrating renewables and CHP into the UK power network. They are defining the types of new and renewable
energy systems available and any improvements in technology likely, the probable location for systems, and the appropriate
regulations to encourage their integration. They will use computer models of the UK power network to analyse how connecting
new and renewable energy sources to the grid will impact on existing generators, the effects on the transmission of electricity
through the network, and how it will be distributed to customers. They will also examine current regulations, which do not
provide appropriate incentives for the connection of embedded generation, to recommend the policy changes required to assist
the integration of new and renewable energy sources.

The results will contribute to discussions between policy-makers and energy regulators to help resolve the conflict between
long-term environmental policies and economic regulations driven by short-term efficiency issues. Although focussed on 2010
targets, this project will also provide insights into how more radical changes may be made to further reduce carbon dioxide
emissions.

Technical and regulatory improvements will assist the connection of new and renewable sources of energy into the UK's current
electricity distribution network by the end of the decade.
© CSIRO

More information

Contact the lead investigator of Project IT1.30 (Integrating renewables and CHP into the UK electricity system):
Professor Nick Jenkins
Electrical Energy and Power Systems Group
UMIST, PO Box 88, Manchester, M60 1QD, UK
Phone: +44 (0) 0161 200 4813; Fax: +44 (0) 0161 200 4820
Email: n.jenkins@manchester.ac.uk

Other researchers involved in this project are:

Professor Goran Strbac, Electrical Engineering and Electronics, UMIST
Dr Jim Watson, SPRU, University of Sussex.

Project duration:
March 2001 to September 2003

Useful web sites:

The Tyndall Centre: www.tyndall.ac.uk
UMIST's Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics: www.ee.manchester.ac.uk
Department of Trade and Industry Embedded Generation Working Group: www.dti.gov.uk/energy/egwg/index.htm
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's report on Energy and the Environment: www.rcep.org.uk/energy.html

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