8 services found

Ricardo-AEA Ltd services

Energy Markets

Energy markets around the world have recently undergone substantial changes including deregulation, privatisation, mergers, the growing trend towards decarbonisation, and the unbundling of former state-owned monopolies. A number of different energy markets models have been implemented internationally. Contemporary concerns about energy security, coupled with the need to integrate large volumes of new renewable energy technologies and efficiently pool capital intensive resources, have driven a trend towards the development of regional energy markets involving agreements between neighbouring countries. Linkages between electricity markets and the behaviour of upstream oil and gas markets are becoming increasingly important in many parts of the world, creating significant political and economic complexities. In addition, the development of low carbon markets creates a whole new series of commercial considerations.

Energy Resource Planning

Integrated resource planning seeks to establish the most energy efficiency balance between different types of generation and the correct balance of supply and demand, establishing tradeoffs between (for example) the implementation of energy efficiency measures and the provision of new power plant. Today although the commercial context has largely changed from the days of centrally planned infrastructure, sustainable investment in the energy sector still requires the ability to understand underlying economics of the energy industry and translate this understanding into commercially viable business cases. In addition, the introduction of renewable and thermal energy technologies , which are often growing rapidly and dispersed around energy networks, create a host of new challenges for energy planners and system operators.

Strategic Business Planning

The energy sector continues to attract strong inflows of investment, but in many regions external constraints mean that capacity shortages exist. In addition, there are many parts of the world where elements of the sector remain in public hands, and there is ongoing need for energy sector reform to improve efficiency and create a climate conducive to sustainable investment. Particular challenges exist in regions which are highly dependent on expensive or scarce primary fuels, or where there is a need to recover from historical underfunding of the energy sector, perhaps due to wider economic circumstances. There is also a need to adapt business models to take account of potentially disruptive technologies such as distributed generation, smart metering, customer demand participation, smart grids and real-time asset management. Well designed strategic business planning has become a crucial key tool for investors to gain maximum successes.

Change Management

The energy industry has seen substantial change over the past 20 years, resulting in wide-scale privatisation, downsizing and restructuring into new commercial entities. In many parts of the world these processes are still ongoing, and new commercial or public sector entities are being set up. In addition, regulatory organisations and government departments continue to evolve their organisations to fit commercial or corporatized models. For change management to be a success it is also important to understand the contextual issues of the industry in each country, for example, the overall size and shape of the sector, cultural and social factors (such as local labour and working practices), and the role electricity plays in overall national economic policy.

Sustainability

PPA Energy understands Sustainability to mean that the energy sector needs to be environmentally sustainable at the same time as being economically sustainable. Key pillars of sustainability include: energy efficiency , loss management, and customer participation in supply and demand management; integration of renewable energy and green energy technologies; awareness of, and management of, carbon emissions and carbon reduction, and in many regions of the world, the fundamental issue of providing affordable access to electrical energy to all social groups and to areas without access to public electricity supply.

Innovation

Today, the pressures of environmental concerns, the need for green energy, energy security, and the growth of renewable energy and the need to make assets work harder and longer all present significant technical challenges, both for new investors, and for the owners of more established electrical systems, as they seek to adapt their infrastructure and their business model to more innovative solutions. Thus, innovation matters because it is “the successful exploitation of new ideas” and is not merely R&D. Often innovation involves new processes, technologies or technological applications it can deliver substantially better products and services, as well as new, cleaner, and more efficient production processes and improved business models.

Renewable Energy Solutions

Renewable energy solutions can reduce greenhouse gases, avoid long term energy price increases, and provide sustainable and secure sources of energy. While the renewable energy fuel is often free, the benefits of renewable energy can only be realised though significant upfront investment. Hence renewable energy policy is focused on creating bankable projects that can repay this investment. Key to the success of policies and investments is a detailed understanding of the economic, technical and environmental aspects of each technology.

Energy and Carbon Regulation Services

Energy systems require radical transformation to meet energy and climate change goals. In turn, this requires effective policy measures. Energy policies must change both the way we supply energy as well as how it is used across the spectrum of industrial, commercial and residential sectors. Regulatory systems have an important part to play, from incentivising industrial emissions abatement through carbon market measures, to developing energy audit programmes to help SMEs manage energy costs. Governments in developed, emerging and least-developed countries are all implementing approaches to meet their local needs and circumstances.