Modern Energy Economics, Policy and Technology - a course with four guest lecturers: RWE Renewables, Uniper (Gas), E.On Networks and Octopus Energy (Innovative retailing).
This course which has been running since 2015 aims to explain the practical aspects of energy economics. It draws in part on my experience from the oil industry (ExxonMobil), in energy consultancy (Deloitte and Standard & Poors), as Chief Economist of Germany’s largest power generator (RWE AG), as advisor to the Energy Transitions Commission and PWC on Power Market Design, and currently as Professor for Energy Economics, Ruhr University Bochum.
It focusses on how decisions driven by economics and policy and enabled by technology developments determine energy demand, the fuel mix, energy prices and greenhouse gas emissions. Important features are:
· The interaction between economics, policy, and technology
· Calculation of fixed and variable costs for energy plants and with taxes how prices are determined in wholesale and retail markets
· How and where competition takes place along the supply chain (e.g. tendering for new plants, wholesale markets, energy exchanges and at the retail level)
· How emissions can be reduced in each energy sector and the costs
The course consists of twenty lectures including and four pieces of coursework.
A special feature of the course is the inclusion of four guest lectures from industry experts:
RWE - Renewables project developments
Uniper - Natural gas procurement and trading
E.On - Development of the network to integrate renewables, allowed rate of return and tariff design
Octopus Energy - Innovation in electricity retailing to offer customers the lowest tariffs
The lecture plan is as follows:
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19-Oct-26 |
1 |
Introduction to energy |
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2 |
Energy demand by sector |
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26-Oct-26 |
3 |
Energy sources, properties, technology and units |
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4 |
Decision-taking - variable and fixed costs for operating and investment decisions |
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CW1 (Coursework 1) |
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02-Nov-26 |
5 |
Energy demand by type by end-use sector: buildings, industry, transport |
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6 |
Renewable Energy inc. support schemes |
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09-Nov-26 |
7 |
RWE Renewables |
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Review CW1 |
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CW2 |
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16-Nov-26 |
8 |
Energy efficiency |
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9 |
Fossil fuels |
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23-Nov-26 |
10 |
Uniper - Gas contracting and trading |
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Review CW2 |
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CW3 |
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30-Nov-26 |
11 |
Power generation costs, dispatching |
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12 |
Policy for decarbonisation - Green Deal, Energiewende |
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07-Dec-26 |
13 |
Carbon pricing and the ETS |
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14 |
Energy storage and supply security |
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14-Dec-26 |
15 |
E.On Power Networks |
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Review CW3 |
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CW4 |
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11-Jan-27 |
16 |
Consumer costs including taxes, network charges and surcharges |
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17 |
Hydrogen technology, clean fuels and costs |
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18-Jan-27 |
18 |
Octopus Energy |
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Review of CW4 |
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25-Jan-27 |
19 |
Competition along the supply chain - auctions, energy exchanges, retail markets |
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Revision |
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01-Feb-27 |
20 |
Energy of the future and the role of A.I. |
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Revision |
- Kursleiter/in: Graham Weale