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Introduction
Energy systems modelling is a key tool used to inform climate change policy. Building and running those models is far from a straightforward process, with the complexities involved having major consequences. What are the hidden assumptions used in energy systems models? How are the outputs used in policy development? What is the future of these tools? Our speaker will draw upon decades of experience in government to discuss the methods and processes used in BEIS’ energy system modelling, the key assumptions and their consequences, how the outputs are used in practice, and where models are headed.
Speaker:
Alec Waterhouse, Head of Central Modelling Team, BEIS
Alec is Head of the Central Modelling Team in the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy. His team are responsible for working out how much green-house gas the United Kingdom are projected to emit. He and his colleagues develop a range of models that make these projections, taking into account the effect of government policies and a host of other factors. The team also work on models that help to understand how we can meet our long term emissions targets and how government energy policies affect consumers. They have designed and built a bespoke policy simulation language for household energy modelling. He also leads for the department on quality assurance programme for analytical models. Alec started his working life as an engineer. After getting fed up of getting wet and dirty he moved into Operational Research. Since then he has worked in a wide variety of organisations ranging from the retail to public sector.
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