The Political Economy of Sustainable Energy Energy, Climate and the Environment Series Series Editor: David Elliott, Emeritus Professor of Technology, Open University, UK Titles include: David Elliott (editor) NUCLEAR OR NOT? Does Nuclear Power Have a Place in a Sustainable Future? David Elliott (editor) SUSTAINABLE ENERGY Opportunities and Limitations Horace Herring and Steve Sorrell (editors) ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION The Rebound Effect Matti Kojo and Tapio Litmanen (editors) THE RENEWAL OF NUCLEAR POWER IN FINLAND Antonio Marquina (editor) GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE Prospects and Policies in Asia and Europe Catherine Mitchell THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY Ivan Scrase and Gordon MacKerron (editors) ENERGY FOR THE FUTURE A New Agenda Gill Seyfang SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION, COMMUNITY ACTION AND THE NEW ECONOMICS Seeds of Change Joseph Szarka WIND POWER IN EUROPE Politics, Business and Society Energy, Climate and the Environment Series Standing Order ISBN 978–0–230–00800–7 (hb) 978–0–230–22150–5 (pb) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England The Political Economy of Sustainable Energy Catherine Mitchell Professor of Sustainable Energy Policy, Exeter University, UK © Catherine Mitchell 2008, 2010 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2010 978-0-230-53711-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2008 Published in paperback 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN 978-0-230-24172-5 ISBN 978-0-230-27945-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230279452 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 Contents List of Abbreviations vi Acknowledgements ix Series Editor’s Preface x 1. Breaking Free of the Band of Iron 1 2. The Regulatory State Paradigm – and Its Challenges 21 3. The Difficulty of Delivering the ‘Right’ Change Quickly Enough 61 4. Preferable Intervention – the Pursuit of Nuclear Power 96 5. Renewable Energy in the UK 121 6. Markets and Networks – Pure Paradigm and Effect 136 7. New Zealand as a Case Study 162 8. Examining European Political Paradigms 178 9. ‘Just do it’ – Solutions, Opportunities and Realities 198 Notes 215 References and Further Reading 217 Index 230 List of Abbreviations AGR Advanced Gas Reactor BE British Electric BETTA British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements BMU German Ministry of Environment BNFL British Nuclear Fuels Limited CAR competitive at risk CBI Confederation of British Industry CCGT combined cycle gas turbine CCS carbon capture and storage CERT Carbon Emission Reduction Target CNE Spanish National Energy Commission CHP combined heat and power CORWM Committee on Radioactive Waste Management CO carbon dioxide 2 DEA Danish Energy Authority DEFRA Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Dena German Energy Agency DERA Danish Energy Regulatory Authority DG distributed generation DNO distribution network operator DTI Department of Trade and Industry (now Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) DTI DGSEE Department of Trade and Industry Centre for Distributed Generation and Sustainable Electrical Energy EASC Environmental Audit Select Committee EC European Commission EDF Electricité de France EEC Energy Efficiency Commitment EECA Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, New Zealand EGWG Embedded Generation Working Group EU European Union EUETS European Union Emissions Trading Scheme EWP Energy White Paper vi List of Abbreviations vii FIT feed-in tariff GB Great Britain GBSO Great Britain System Operator GEMA Gas and Electricity Markets Authority GW gigawatt GWP global warming potential IEA International Energy Agency IFI Innovation Funding Incentive ILW intermediate level wastes IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change kW kilowatt kWh kilowatt-hour LLW low level wastes LTS large technical system MED Ministry of Economic Development, New Zealand MfE Ministry for the Environment, New Zealand MP Member of Parliament mt million tonnes MW megawatt MWh megawatt-hour NAO National Audit Office NDA Nuclear Decommissioning Authority NETA New Electricity Trading Arrangements NFFO Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation NGO non-governmental organization NHS National Health Service NII Nuclear Installations Inspectorate Novem Dutch Energy Agency NZ New Zealand NZEECS New Zealand Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy NZES New Zealand Energy Strategy OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Ofgem Office of Gas and Electricity Markets PIU Performance and Innovation Unit POST Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology ppm parts per million PV photovoltaics PWR Pressurized Water Reactor RAB Regulatory Asset base viii The Political Economy of Sustainable Energy RCEP Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution RCF Rock Characterization Facility R&D research and development RD&D research, development and demonstration REA Renewable Energy Association REC Regional Electricity Company RIA regulatory impact assessment RO Renewables Obligation ROC Renewables Obligation Certificate RPI-X Retail Price Index minus X RPZs Registered Power Zones RSP regulatory state paradigm SDC Sustainable Development Commission SE Scottish Executive (now Scottish Government) SME small and medium enterprises SRO Scottish Renewables Obligation TEC transmission entry capacity THORP Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant TNUoS Transmission Network Operator Use of System TO Transmission Operator UCL University College London UKERC UK Energy Research Centre WWF World Wide Fund for nature Acknowledgements This book would not have come into being without the stimulation and help of a large number of people and institutions. There are those who have, over the years, caused me to get irritated enough with (sustainable) energy policy in the UK to want to write a book. There are numerous friends, colleagues and contacts I have had conversations and discussions with about (some of) the topics in the book. Others have sent me interesting papers and given me comments on chapters. Thanks to all of them. In addition, I would like to thank the ESRC for awarding me a Sustainable Technologies Programme Fellowship which enabled me to spend time thinking about sustainable energy in a somewhat broader way than I have done in the past and which gave me the time to write this book. I would also like to thank David Elliott for being such a diligent and thoughtful series editor. Philippa Grand and Hazel Woodbridge at Palgrave Macmillan have been extraordinarily patient and helpful. Finally, I would like to thank Bridget Woodman, a colleague at Sussex, Warwick and Exeter Universities, who has been as patient and helpful as Philippa and Hazel while at the same time providing timely, insightful and practical comment and support throughout. ix