The UK has seen periodic attempts to develop large district heating (DH) networks to make use of ... more The UK has seen periodic attempts to develop large district heating (DH) networks to make use of residual heat from industry and power generation. Under concerns about climate change and energy security, DH has recently re-emerged in policy visions for future heat systems with small decentralised combined heat and power (CHP) generators playing a key role in the establishment of such networks. This paper draws on Stewart Russell’s accounts of earlier DH programmes, asking to what extent the reasons he concluded CHP and DH were systematically excluded continue to marginalise the technologies. In spite of governance changes which ostensibly open new opportunities for experimentation, key structural issues challenge the development of decentralised energy, particularly the alignment of the electricity sector to a centralised system and the dependency of local governments with limited capacity on central government. The reluctance of central government to engage in system planning and t...
District heating in the UK: Prospects for a third national programme Citation for published versi... more District heating in the UK: Prospects for a third national programme Citation for published version: Hawkey, D 2014, 'District heating in the UK: Prospects for a third national programme ' Science & Technology Studies, vol 27, no. 3, pp. 68-89. Link:
About the book: Minimising the most severe risks of climate change means ending societal dependen... more About the book: Minimising the most severe risks of climate change means ending societal dependence on fossil fuels, and radically improving the efficiency with which we use all energy sources. Such deliberate transformative change is, however, without precedent. Sustainable Urban Energy Policy debates the major public issue of developing a sustainable, clean and affordable energy system by adopting a distinctive focus on heating in cities. In this way, the book constructs an original account of clean energy policy, politics and provision, grounded in new empirical data derived from case studies of urban and multi-level governance of sustainable heat and energy saving in the UK and Europe. Offering an original conceptual framework, this study builds on socio-technical studies, economic and urban sociology, human geography, applied economics and policy studies in order to understand energy governance and systemic change in energy provisions. This book is a valuable resource for students and academics in the areas of Science and Technology Studies, Sociology, Geography (Urban Studies) and Political Economy as well as energy policy makers, social housing providers and energy practitioners.
It is difficult to find dissent from the proposition that it is desirable to reduce the energy re... more It is difficult to find dissent from the proposition that it is desirable to reduce the energy required to keep buildings warm. However, translating this proposition into material investment in retrofitting existing buildings and raising minimum standards for new buildings is challenging given both the range of social interests impacted by implementation (building owners, occupants, utility companies, future generations, developers, etc.) and the fact that the financial benefits of energy saving are predicated on a counterfactual analysis and accrue over many years. Regulation of the energy performance of buildings, both newly constructed and renovated, is thus an area with much scope for contestation. In an attempt to establish a common approach, the European Commission (as part of the 2010 recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) required member states to calculate “cost optimal” building standards, meaning the standards for which the combined (discounted) costs of...
While urban heat networks are established components of energy systems in several European countr... more While urban heat networks are established components of energy systems in several European countries, district heating (DH) serves only around 1% of the UK's space and hot water heat demand. Many of the factors relevant to Scandinavian 20 th century development of DH (resource efficiency, affordable heat, regeneration, local revenue generation) inform contemporary UK plans, but climate protection policies are giving new impetus to low carbon energy innovation. A number of municipal authorities are actively developing DH projects, though in a context which differs significantly from those which supported earlier extensive innovation in Europe. Key differences include limited local authority powers, resources, and capacities; limited supportive institutions; and tensions between local initiatives and the global scale of key energy actors. Therefore, in spite of the maturity of DH technologies, and some supportive UK and Scottish governance measures, deployment of DH in the UK (and several other countries) represents a significant collective action problem. Using new qualitative data on UK, Dutch and Norwegian DH cases, we examine the local governance solutions and the prospects for effective governance of UK heat networks.
Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 2012
District heating infrastructure could contribute to the UK's energy policy goals of decarbonisati... more District heating infrastructure could contribute to the UK's energy policy goals of decarbonisation, renewable energy deployment, tackling fuel poverty and ensuring energy security. However, while a number of schemes have been developed over the last decade, deployment of the technology remains limited. This paper adopts a Technological Innovation Systems framework to ask what the principal challenges are to significantly scaling up the deployment of DH in the UK. While district heating networks are inherently local infrastructures, they are positioned in regulatory and market contexts organised at larger spatial scales, making geography an important factor and coordination across spatial scales an important policy area for accelerated deployment.
I hereby declare that this thesis is of my own composition, and that it contains no material prev... more I hereby declare that this thesis is of my own composition, and that it contains no material previously submitted for the award of any other degree. The work reported in this thesis has been executed by myself, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text.
The UK has seen periodic attempts to develop large district heating (DH) networks to make use of ... more The UK has seen periodic attempts to develop large district heating (DH) networks to make use of residual heat from industry and power generation. Under concerns about climate change and energy security, DH has recently re-emerged in policy visions for future heat systems with small decentralised combined heat and power (CHP) generators playing a key role in the establishment of such networks. This paper draws on Stewart Russell’s accounts of earlier DH programmes, asking to what extent the reasons he concluded CHP and DH were systematically excluded continue to marginalise the technologies. In spite of governance changes which ostensibly open new opportunities for experimentation, key structural issues challenge the development of decentralised energy, particularly the alignment of the electricity sector to a centralised system and the dependency of local governments with limited capacity on central government. The reluctance of central government to engage in system planning and t...
District heating in the UK: Prospects for a third national programme Citation for published versi... more District heating in the UK: Prospects for a third national programme Citation for published version: Hawkey, D 2014, 'District heating in the UK: Prospects for a third national programme ' Science & Technology Studies, vol 27, no. 3, pp. 68-89. Link:
About the book: Minimising the most severe risks of climate change means ending societal dependen... more About the book: Minimising the most severe risks of climate change means ending societal dependence on fossil fuels, and radically improving the efficiency with which we use all energy sources. Such deliberate transformative change is, however, without precedent. Sustainable Urban Energy Policy debates the major public issue of developing a sustainable, clean and affordable energy system by adopting a distinctive focus on heating in cities. In this way, the book constructs an original account of clean energy policy, politics and provision, grounded in new empirical data derived from case studies of urban and multi-level governance of sustainable heat and energy saving in the UK and Europe. Offering an original conceptual framework, this study builds on socio-technical studies, economic and urban sociology, human geography, applied economics and policy studies in order to understand energy governance and systemic change in energy provisions. This book is a valuable resource for students and academics in the areas of Science and Technology Studies, Sociology, Geography (Urban Studies) and Political Economy as well as energy policy makers, social housing providers and energy practitioners.
It is difficult to find dissent from the proposition that it is desirable to reduce the energy re... more It is difficult to find dissent from the proposition that it is desirable to reduce the energy required to keep buildings warm. However, translating this proposition into material investment in retrofitting existing buildings and raising minimum standards for new buildings is challenging given both the range of social interests impacted by implementation (building owners, occupants, utility companies, future generations, developers, etc.) and the fact that the financial benefits of energy saving are predicated on a counterfactual analysis and accrue over many years. Regulation of the energy performance of buildings, both newly constructed and renovated, is thus an area with much scope for contestation. In an attempt to establish a common approach, the European Commission (as part of the 2010 recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) required member states to calculate “cost optimal” building standards, meaning the standards for which the combined (discounted) costs of...
While urban heat networks are established components of energy systems in several European countr... more While urban heat networks are established components of energy systems in several European countries, district heating (DH) serves only around 1% of the UK's space and hot water heat demand. Many of the factors relevant to Scandinavian 20 th century development of DH (resource efficiency, affordable heat, regeneration, local revenue generation) inform contemporary UK plans, but climate protection policies are giving new impetus to low carbon energy innovation. A number of municipal authorities are actively developing DH projects, though in a context which differs significantly from those which supported earlier extensive innovation in Europe. Key differences include limited local authority powers, resources, and capacities; limited supportive institutions; and tensions between local initiatives and the global scale of key energy actors. Therefore, in spite of the maturity of DH technologies, and some supportive UK and Scottish governance measures, deployment of DH in the UK (and several other countries) represents a significant collective action problem. Using new qualitative data on UK, Dutch and Norwegian DH cases, we examine the local governance solutions and the prospects for effective governance of UK heat networks.
Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 2012
District heating infrastructure could contribute to the UK's energy policy goals of decarbonisati... more District heating infrastructure could contribute to the UK's energy policy goals of decarbonisation, renewable energy deployment, tackling fuel poverty and ensuring energy security. However, while a number of schemes have been developed over the last decade, deployment of the technology remains limited. This paper adopts a Technological Innovation Systems framework to ask what the principal challenges are to significantly scaling up the deployment of DH in the UK. While district heating networks are inherently local infrastructures, they are positioned in regulatory and market contexts organised at larger spatial scales, making geography an important factor and coordination across spatial scales an important policy area for accelerated deployment.
I hereby declare that this thesis is of my own composition, and that it contains no material prev... more I hereby declare that this thesis is of my own composition, and that it contains no material previously submitted for the award of any other degree. The work reported in this thesis has been executed by myself, except where due acknowledgement is made in the text.
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Papers by David Hawkey