Chapter IX.50: Regulating the use of energy networks in liberalised markets

The role of regulation in geothermal energy in the UK

“…The network operator may charge significant connection fees on the basis that it does not have sufficient capacity to accommodate the generated electricity without network upgrade. Governance of the coordination between geothermal energy generators and the transmission and distribution networks is required to ensure that this does not prevent optimal use of geothermal power (Brunekreeft, 2015;Kallies et al, 2021). Similarly, deep geothermal operators that produce heat need a customer(s) to sell this to, unless they are the sole consumer of the abstracted heat, and heat has the additional challenge of higher energy losses than electricity during transportation which can limit it to more local use (Molar-Cruz et al, 2021).…”

“…The solution to the issues that arise as a result of the liberalisation of electricity in the UK is beyond the scope of this article. So far as the issue of the ability of geothermal power operations to connect to electricity networks is concerned, there is the need to develop a regulatory regime that facilitates, through market mechanisms or otherwise, the integration of geothermal energy into the electricity system and an increase in network capacity where necessary (Kallies et al, 2021;Department for Business, 2020). There is similarly a need for the development of a regulatory regime for heat networks that facilitates their use and the integration of geothermal energy.…”