Community Energy Literature Review

    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted much discussion of energy supply issues and the possibility of energy rationing.  Earl (2020) cited the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, on the risk of energy shortages and rationing in Europe in the coming winter and the need for governments to reduce consumer demand and secure alternative energy supplies. The IEA had earlier called for restrictions on driving and air travel.  An article on the economic aspects of the situation points to the increasing risk of recession (Bakkum, 2022). The author considers it likely that “Russia will cut off more gas supplies to Europe” and notes that “Germany and the Netherlands have already moved to an emergency gas plan” prioritising energy security over climate ambitions. An opinion piece from Euromoney argues that energy price caps are unlikely to solve the problem for Europe which will be “running on empty by March”: it advocates testing the systems and pra...

In order to discuss the relationship between decarbonisation and fuel poverty, information on the definition of fuel poverty and its estimated scale is needed. The data which follow were taken from the ANNUAL FUEL POVERTY STATISTICS REPORT, 2018 (2016 DATA) Published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719106/Fuel_Poverty_Statistics_Report_2018.pdf The main body of the report is confined to England, but Annex C has data on the devolved nations. Fuel poverty in England is measured using the Low Income High Costs (LIHC) indicator, under which a household is considered to be fuel poor if: 1)        its required fuel costs are above the national median level, and 2)        if it were  to spend that amount, it would be left with a residual income     ...