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Zero‑carbon electricity is a pre-requisite for decarbonisation of the wider economy and many scenarios envisage rapid expansion of renewables. IEA estimates a need to double the annual rate of investment to 2030. A rapid transition to low carbon electricity creates a risk to investors because projects being financed now will generate their revenue in a zero‑carbon electricity system for which there is no track record of price formation. Although the cost of renewable power has fallen greatly, future revenues from renewables are still affected by market price risks that are often outside the control of generators. If risks are difficult to quantify, they may be mis-priced, leading to inefficient premiums being added to the cost of capital, which could increase the overall cost of the transition. In this context many countries around the world provide support for low carbon energy, such as the UK Contracts for Difference. In this paper we investigate exposure to price risk caused by uncertainty over the mix of technologies used to achieve decarbonisation, which we term 'transition risk', and how this varies under different technology mixes, and for different policy regimes. We show that exposing investors to transition risk could increase the cost of delivering the renewables needed for a zero‑carbon electricity system by around 25% or £7bn/year compared to policy options that reduce exposure to wholesale market price risk. The paper concludes that as long as transition risks remain high, de-risking policy mechanisms can help to minimise the overall cost of achieving net-zero. • We characterise the current stage of the low-carbon transition as a 'build phase', requiring large volumes of investment • Uncertainty over the final physical state of the decarbonised system causes significant financial risk to investors • 'Contracts for difference' (CfDs) help to manage this 'transition risk' and reduce the cost of capital for projects • Exposing projects fully to transition risk could increase costs by a third, and raise the cost of transition by £7bn per year [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the plays "The Deep Blue Sea", "Separate Tables" and "Ross," by British playwright Terence Rattigan. Role of the plays in reflecting the changing identity of Great Britain in the post-World War II period; Approach used by Rattigan to console his British post-imperialist audience; Significance of the characters in the plays and their actions.

Residential heat pumps are a critical energy transition technology, but their installed costs are often much higher than incumbent technologies – imposing a policy imperative, in the UK and elsewhere, to reduce deployment costs. Here, we systematically review historic and forecast UK and international data on heat pump installed costs. Installed costs are reported using three main metrics: Single Point Cost, Experience Rates and Percentage Cost Reduction. Experience Rates offer the highest quality metric, but there are few available studies, particularly for non-equipment costs. Single Point Cost is the most widely reported metric, but conflates diverse technologies and contexts. Percentage Cost Reduction is a relatively common forecasting metric, but may lack rigour. Historic data suggests that there has been no significant reduction in the average installed cost of heat pumps over the past decade in the UK, while modest cost reductions were seen internationally. At times, particular countries have aligned deployment growth with significant cost reduction. Forecast data suggests reductions in installed costs of 20–25 % between 2020 and 2030 in the UK – significant, but relatively modest compared to current UK policy goals. We conclude that heat pump deployment policy support should be resilient to fluctuations in installed costs, as the market grows. • We systematically review historic and forecast domestic heat pump installed costs. • High quality installed cost data is scarce, both in the UK and internationally. • No reduction found in average installed costs over the past decade in the UK. • Forecasts suggest significant but relatively moderate cost reductions by 2030. • Policy support should be resilient to fluctuations in installed costs over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]