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Incisive commentary from RAP experts
RAP experts keep their finger on the pulse of the energy sector and provide timely analysis of topics impacting stakeholders TODAY.
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Europe’s gas decarbonisation package: Putting new wine in old wineskins?
Putting new wine in old wineskins is a timeworn saying first mentioned in the Bible. Doing so is not a good idea we are taught: ‘the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as… View Summary +
Rebalancing energy levies is a practical way to increase the electrification of heat
Every year households in the UK install about 1.7 million gas boilers. In May, the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council reported that 2021 looks to be a record year for gas boiler sales, with year-to-date sales up 41 per… View Summary +
Trust, not control: Germany, EVs and the power of consumer choice
‘How electric vehicles endanger electricity supply’ rang the alarm in a major German newspaper in 2018. The author warned that the local electricity networks would collapse if people returned from work in the evening and all charged their cars… View Summary +
Electrification: Using more to emit less
Estimating the emissions savings associated with electrification is complex. A number of analysts have made admirable attempts to appraise emissions savings resulting from a shift to electric vehicles (EVs) from internal combustion engine vehicles or to electric heat pumps from… View Summary +
How the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive risks destroying Europe’s forests
In meeting their 2020 renewable energy targets, EU Member States have overseen large increases in renewable power. But this has been accompanied by a less welcome development: a near doubling in the amount of energy derived from solid biomass, which… View Summary +
Building insulation: Is hydrogen our get out of jail free card?
In the board game Monopoly, an important feature is the ‘get out of jail free’ card, which allows players who end up in jail to avoid paying a fine to get out. In recent months, gas industry representatives have… View Summary +
How to get from a cottage industry to a million heat pumps a year
The UK has made incredible strides in decarbonising its power system beyond what many thought was possible. Carbon emissions were at a record low over the recent Easter weekend. While heat pumps have been seen as a strategically important sustainable… View Summary +
Pipe dream: alleviating energy poverty with hydrogen
The debate about how to reduce emissions from home heating is hotting up, but it risks being derailed by vocal proponents for the use of hydrogen in place of fossil gas. Affordable home heating with hydrogen is, quite literally, a… View Summary +
Unlocking electrification through rebalancing levies and taxes
I frequently receive requests for advice based on my personal experience as an owner of a heat pump and an electric vehicle. Often I get asked whether I now pay more for my energy than before. People are more keenly… View Summary +
What has gone wrong with the Green Homes Grant?
The Green Homes Grant risks becoming the second government home energy efficiency scheme in a decade designed to fail. The last decade wasn’t a good one for energy efficiency policy in the UK. We all remember the Green Deal,… View Summary +
