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UK’s energy transition receives funding boost

15 October 2024

The UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has been awarded £11 million to continue its work in advancing the UK’s energy transition, to which Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) remains a delivery partner.

Offshore Windfarm. Nicholas Doherty | Unsplash

UKERC was set up in 2004 in response to growing awareness of the scale of the climate change challenge. Since then, UKERC has become a trusted source of impartial analysis, valued across political parties and by industry and NGOs alike.

PML has collaborated with UKERC since 2009 and in that time has managed a range of research activities under the UKERC umbrella, including: the Energy, Environment and Landscapes theme during the previous round of funding; the joint ‘Marine energy, biodiversity and food nexus (EcoNex)’ project with the University of Aberdeen, and the release of first evidence base synthesis of global primary and UK grey literature on the ecosystem services outcomes of offshore wind farm (OWF) developments.

With this latest round of funding, PML will be leading the work package deliverable ‘Environmental Information for Energy System Planning’ to develop further the NEV-NetZero model, in collaboration with the University of Exeter.

Currently the model examines location choices for renewables, bio-crops and associated infrastructure across the UK, with a focus on how environmental considerations change those location decisions. Following guidance from key stakeholders including Crown Estate and renewables developers, NEV-NetZero will be extended to better capture the potential visual negatives of having altering the seascape due to offshore windfarms, and with other impacts on ecosystems services considered as appropriate, potentially including carbon and fisheries.

In addition to this, the Offshore Renewable Impacts on Ecosystem Services (ORIES) decision support tool, also developed in the previous round of UKERC funding, will be integrated with the NEV-Net Zero model, and policy relevant parameters will be added. This will enable users to predict better the effects of proposed offshore windfarms on marine habitats, biodiversity and ecosystem services, and inform decisions on Marine Net Gain.

Prof. Nicola Beaumont, UKERC Co-Director and Head of Science for Sea and Society at PML, said:

“We are thrilled to be part of this exciting next phase of UKERC to help provide expert knowledge, an independent voice and innovative thinking for the UK’s energy challenges and transition. The UK is facing a significant challenge in meeting Net Zero, with the energy transition playing a core role in this. This research will be crucial in ensuring that this transition takes place in a way that minimises environmental damage whilst maximising societal benefit. This is the firth tranche of funding that UKERC has received from UKRI, totalling 25 years of consistent support from EPSRC and ESRC, marking the importance of the centre and the longstanding influence which it has. This long term funding is unusual, UKRI funding is more often 3-4 years,  and this has enabled us to form deeply effective working relationships both within UKERC, and also externally with our established and trusted stakeholder base, giving us a meaningful opportunity to continue to make a tangible difference.”

“By continuing to develop the NEV-netzero model with the University of Exeter, it will allow decision makers to optimise the positioning of the energy infrastructure to minimise environmental damage and, therefore, maximise benefits to society, as well as providing better predictive capabilities on the effects of proposed offshore windfarms on marine habitats, biodiversity and ecosystem services, and help inform decisions on Marine Net Gain”.

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