As part of the 2025 DFES update, we conducted an analysis of the growth and impact of data centres in National Grid Electricity Distribution’s licence areas. This paper summarises the potential future uptake of data centres, the geographical factors driving AI growth in particular areas, and commentary on the wider network and societal impacts of data centre development in the UK.
Our latest paper considers recent biomethane supply projections and assesses the likely feasibility of this ‘green gas’ replacing fossil fuels for consumer use.
Ray Arrell reflects on the process pioneered by Regen back in 2015 – and how it has developed into a detailed, bottom-up approach to regional network planning.
With planning a critical enabler of net zero, our latest briefing explores the scale of the challenge and some of the practical solutions already being explored by local planning authorities.
With zonal pricing now ruled out, Johnny Gowdy considers the challenges and opportunities still facing the government to deliver investment and meaningful benefits for consumers before the next election.
Mark Howard, project manager at Regen, draws on his experience as an engineer installing and servicing low carbon heating technologies, to discuss why decarbonising heat is as much a people problem as it is an infrastructure problem, and proposes a package of solutions to build this approach into future policy.
Ray Arrell, Regen's Head of Technical Development and member of our internal Net Zero Task Force, summarises our work on looking to tackle our carbon emissions from office energy use.
Ray Arrell
Regen is working with Devon County Council to set up a Devon renewable electricity tariff that supports local, preferably community owned, generation.
Tamar Bourne
Heat Creatures was a Regen Art Lab residency, launched in autumn 2021 to explore how creative practice could open up difficult, technical conversations—starting with the decarbonisation of home heating.
Chloe Uden
In this blog, Grace Millman considers the potential application of hydrogen to decarbonise the industrial sector, exploring the steel and cement industries in particular.
Grace Millman
In an open letter to the energy minister signed by a group of our members, we set out six policies for the government to implement to decarbonise heat and buildings, secure future-proof green jobs and support small businesses.
The vision of the ReWiRE network is to make gender diversity a priority at all levels of the clean energy sector, making companies more resilient and able to innovate. The ReWiRE mentoring programme supports women in the clean energy industry to progress their careers.
Rachel Hayes
Joel Venn, head analyst at Regen, has undertaken analysis which visualises some of the changes in energy required to meet the UK's new climate target.
Joel Venn
Mark Howard, Regen's lead on the internal Sustainability Task Force, outlines Regen's net zero commitment, our journey to making it, and how others can join the Race To Zero.
From July to December 2020 Regen worked with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to produce energy efficiency demand reduction factors for both the North of Scotland and Central Southern England licence areas. This analysis used scenarios to look at the impact of domestic, commercial and industrial energy efficiency measures on electricity demand, down to primary substation level.
Jonty Haynes
Moving electricity from where it is generated to where it is used is fundamental to our energy system. After decades of incremental change, the UK's electricity infrastructure and systems now need to develop rapidly to support further decentralised generation as well as the increased electrification of transport and heat.
Poppy Maltby
Inspired by the recent budget announcements and the current economic and public health crisis, I'd like to look at the costs to the public of inefficient housing, which the government continues to show wavering commitment to rectifying (Green Homes Grant, I'm looking at you), through the lens of healthcare. While there are many relevant and undervalued benefits to society from improving low energy efficiency homes, including but not limited to financial and carbon emissions savings, I believe there is a case for change on healthcare grounds alone.
Sophie Whinney
Our latest paper with Kensa heat pumps shows how shared ground arrays could unlock a larger market for ground source heat pumps, whilst reducing peak winter electricity demand.
Tim Crook
The Crown Estate has now announced the results of the Round 4 leasing round and the winning developers who will take forward six new offshore wind farms (totalling almost 8 GW of capacity) in the waters around England and Wales.
Poppy Maltby, head of cities and regions at Regen, discusses the options for local authorities to procure local renewable electricity based on a feasibility assessment of the ‘Sleeving Pool’ approach for Bristol City Council.
This insight paper investigates the hydrogen value chain, from production to end-user, and assesses how this complex and multifaceted energy solution can best be supported by targeted policy interventions.
Johnny Gowdy
Johnny Gowdy, Regen's director, reacts to the Scottish Government's Update to the Climate Change Plan.
Regen was one of the partners on OpenLV, a network innovation trial with Western Power Distribution (WPD) which gave communities and businesses access to local electricity substation data.
Ofgem has today confirmed that they will define electricity storage as a subset of generation and amend the generation license accordingly.
Our policy and advocacy manager, Madeleine Greenhalgh, explores how carbon is measured and valued in flexibility markets.
Olly Frankland
Tamar Bourne, senior project manager at Regen, explores the potential for energy data to help us meet the net zero challenge in our local areas.
Hazel Williams
This guide is for people developing community energy projects who want to get a connection to the electricity network. It provides an introduction to the electricity network and an overview of the application process for different types of new energy generation relevant to community energy groups.
Joel Venn, head analyst at Regen highlights the importance of granular-level modelling in creating a fairer and more decarbonised future.
Regen has conducted an innovation project with Western Power Distribution (WPD) and Wales & West Utilities to develop an integrated approach to electricity and gas scenario planning, funded by the Network Innovation Allowance.
Joe Noble, graduate intern at Regen, discusses the role of interseasonal storage in contributing to a net zero electricity system in the UK.
This month's graphic highlights the domestic fuel price distortion created by current environmental levies and highlights the opportunity to reconfigure these into a new domestic carbon levy.
A new paper published today by leading energy system experts Regen, identifies that heat energy, which now accounts for over a third of the UK’s carbon emissions, is the greatest decarbonisation challenge the UK faces to meet its net zero carbon commitment.
Madeleine Greenhalgh, policy and advocacy manager at Regen, has set out the key points in our response to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)’s Future Homes Standard consultation.
Regen director, Johnny Gowdy, ponders the future role of natural gas in a decarbonised world.
This week Ofgem have released a working paper which contains their initial thoughts on the crucial decision about the distribution connection boundary. We are gathering input from our members on their experiences of how the current high costs of connecting to the network have affected investments in distributed renewables and storage.
Our ambitious paper, Energy Networks for the Future, highlights the need for a new partnership between the public and private sector to deliver the energy infrastructure needed to achieve net zero decarbonisation.
OpenDSR is a government-funded project looking to demonstrate a concept for domestic demand side response (DSR) and support the development of a business model for the Energy Community Aggregator Service (ECAS), a community-owned DSR aggregator and energy service provider.
Regen's senior project manager, Poppy Maltby, explains Regen's response to the consultation on a Regulated Asset Base (RAB) Model for Nuclear.
Regen worked with the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) to explore the potential benefits for community energy organisations of engaging with the Catapult's Local Area Energy Planning (LAEP) process, as well as the benefits that their engagement would bring to the process. The output was a report for the ESC to inform the development of the LAEP process going forwards.
Regen’s senior project manager, Tim Crook, explains how community energy organisations could play a bigger role in providing network flexibility.
Regen’s smart energy expert, Tamar Bourne, takes a closer look at how new technology platforms, and new customer propositions, will enable consumers and business to buy clean and affordable energy users in the future.
Heat remains one of the most challenging areas of the UK energy system to decarbonise. A number of pathways are being explored, including deeper levels of energy efficiency, broad-scale electrification, low-carbon heat networks and the development of hydrogen as a new heating fuel.
An investigation is set to follow Friday's widespread power cut which will no doubt shed further light on what happened, why it happened, and the impact of the resulting shut down of sections of the high voltage network.
Hazel Williams, who leads Regen’s public sector advisory services and is an expert in issues relating to planning for sustainable energy, details a new report for the RTPI on the needs to change planning to support a smooth transition to a net zero-carbon future.
Regen is pleased to launch our latest paper, 'A bright future: opportunities for UK innovation in solar energy', at the House of Lords in collaboration with UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) and EPSRC.
To support Wales & West Utilities' future gas demand forecasting, network analysis and investment planning, Regen has been commissioned to undertake a Network Innovation Allowance funded project. The scope of the project is to develop and trial a new methodology to create a set of regional and sub-regional growth scenarios for gas and heat from a 2018 baseline out to 2035.
We are excited to publish our guide to local flexibility markets which outlines what they are and how community energy organisations can get involved. In this guide we explore the need for electricity system flexibility, review market development, highlight the case for open standards and outline the ECAS (Energy Community Aggregator Service) concept.
Regen have partnered with the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA), as part of the IWA's Re-energising Wales project, to set out a number of clear recommendations on how to protect, promote and achieve scale in community and local ownership of renewable energy in Wales.
This paper brings together an inspiring collection of articles, produced by leading women, on the key role diversity will play in the success of the smart and renewable energy sector in transforming our energy system.
When Professor David Sergeant, a scholar of literature and environment at the University of Plymouth, first spoke with Regen in 2014, the question was simple but profound: what happens when we bring people together to imagine better futures — and feed them while we do it?
Feast for the Future was a creative and participatory project exploring the future of energy through the shared experience of communal meals. Across South Devon, five community-led ‘Utopian feasts’ invited people to reimagine a fairer, cleaner, and more connected energy system. The meals became a medium for storytelling, conversation, and imagination—highlighting the links between food, energy, sustainability, and community.
When artist and activist Loraine Leeson and a group of older men from East London – known fondly as The Geezers – first began exploring tidal power on the River Thames, none of them imagined that their small experiment would evolve into Active Energy, a twelve-year collaboration recognised with Regen’s Arts and Green Energy Award.
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