Ronan Bolton

Reader

Ronan.Bolton@ed.ac.uk

+44 (0)131 650 6366

2.29

Chisholm House

High School Yards

Edinburgh

EH1 1LZ

Profile
Publications

Background

Ronan is a Reader in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies, Co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre and Co-Founder of the Electricity Markets Research Hub.

He has held visiting positions at the University of Melbourne and Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IRS), Berlin.

He has a PhD in Energy Policy from the University of Leeds

Research Interests

Ronan's work examines the interconnected policy, market and regulatory challenges of transforming carbon based energy systems. He has particular research interests in the areas of electricity market design and energy network regulation. He has studied the history and development of liberalisation processes in the energy sector and published a book on the history of electricity markets in Europe: Making Energy Markets: The Origins of Electricity Liberalisation in Europe (Palgrave Macmillan). You can hear about this work by listening to the following podcast interview.

He currently leads a project on electricity distribution networks and transitions which is funded by UK Research and Innovation.

Qualifications

PhD, Energy Policy, University of Leeds

MSc (Distinction), Environmental Sustainability, University of Edinburgh

BEng (First Class), Mechanical Engineering, University of Galway

Awards

Ronan was awarded the Panasonic Trust Fellowship (awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering), the EPSRC Doctoral Prize, best paper award by the Sustainability Transitions Research Network and at the Competition and Regulation in Network Industries conference.

Publications

Full publication list

PhD Topics

Ronan is interested in supervising PhDs in: Energy Policy, Electricity Market Design; Energy Regulation, Political Economy of Energy; Sustainability Transitions.

PhD in Science and Technology Studies (opens in new window)

Works within

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

Publication	Research Explorer link
Bolton R. Negotiating risks in electricity market regimes: What lessons can be learned from the history of liberalisation reform for net zero transitions? Energy Research & Social Science. 2024 Dec;118:1-13. 103790. Epub 2024 Oct 29. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103790	View
Cameron L, Winskel M, Bolton R. Explaining the emergence and absence of seasonal thermal energy storage in the UK: Evidence from local case studies. Applied Energy. 2025 Jan;377(Part B):1-28. 124322. Epub 2024 Sept 26. doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.124322	View
Moncreiff H, Bolton R, Winskel M. Unpacking the strategy of an energy incumbent: A case study of a Dutch oil and gas company in transition. Energy Research & Social Science. 2024 May;111:1-9. 103490. Epub 2024 Feb 29. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2024.103490	View
Poulter H, Bolton R. The Case for the Regional Energy Strategic Planners UK Energy Research Centre. 2024.	View
Britton J, Poulter H, Rattle I, Bolton R, Webb J, Taylor P. Governing local energy and industrial decarbonisation in Britain: Planning innovations and implications for net zero GHG emission goals. In Governance innovations for climate and energy transitions in cities’ ECPR Joint Sessions. 2024	View
Bolton R, Poulter H. Low Carbon Technologies and the Grid: Analysing Regulation and Transitions in Electricity Networks. UK Energy Research Centre, 2024. 15 p.	View
Bolton R, Cameron L, Kerr N, Winskel M, Desguers T. Seasonal thermal energy storage as a complementary technology: Case study insights from Denmark and The Netherlands. Journal of Energy Storage. 2023 Dec;73(Part D):1-15. 109249. Epub 2023 Oct 16. doi: 10.1016/j.est.2023.109249	View
Bolton R, Bell K, Poulter H, Webb J. Strategic planning of electricity networks: Playing the long game. In Review of Energy Policy 2023. UK Energy Research Centre. 2023. p. 23-25 doi: 10.5286/UKERC.EDC.000967	View
Britton J, Webb J, Bolton R. Local and regional energy systems. In Review of Energy Policy 2023. UK Energy Research Centre. 2023. p. 8-10 doi: 10.5286/UKERC.EDC.000967	View
Bolton R. The use of net zero scenarios in regulation: A summary of Northern PowerGrid’s CMA appeal UK Energy Research Centre. 2023.	View
Bolton R. A history of electricity liberalisation: Origins and evolution of the Nordic model. Oil, Gas and Energy Law. 2023 Apr 25;21(2). Epub 2022 Nov 4.	View
Poulter H, Bolton R. Embedding broader values in the regulatory model: An analysis of Ofgem's consumer value proposition for the natural gas distribution sector. Utilities Policy. 2023 Feb;80:101470. Epub 2022 Dec 9. doi: 10.1016/j.jup.2022.101470	View
Bolton R. The history of electricity markets in Britain and Europe Springer Nature. 2022.	View
Bolton R. Making Energy Markets: The Origins of Electricity Liberalisation in Europe. 1 ed. Palgrave Macmillan, 2022. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-90075-5	View
Bolton R. Natural gas, rising prices and the electricity market The UK in a Changing Europe. 2022.	View
Reverdy T, Marty F, Bolton R. The redesign of electricity markets under EU influence: The capacity mechanism in France and Britain. In Webb J, Wade F, Tingey M, editors, Research Handbook on Energy and Society. Edward Elgar Publishing. 2021. p. 83-96. (Elgar Handbooks in Energy, the Environment and Climate Change). doi: 10.4337/9781839100710.00015	View
Poulter H, Bolton R. Remaking the regulatory model? Taking stock of ten years of customer engagement in Britain’s energy networks. Energy Research & Social Science. 2021 Nov 29;85:102389. Epub 2021 Nov 29. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2021.102389	View
Hannon M, Bolton R. Energy innovation and the sustainability transition. In Rubino A, Sapio A, La Scala M, editors, Handbook of Energy Economics and Policy: Fundamentals and Applications for Engineers and Energy Planners. 1 ed. Academic Press. 2021. p. 303-362 doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-814712-2.00008-7	View
Bolton R, Kilmartin A, Moncreiff H, van der Weijde AH. Policy and Strategy Framework for Energy Transitions in the North Sea Region. ENSYSTRA project report for the EU Commission. European Commission, 2021.	View
Bolton R, Clausen T. Ambiguous interventions: Capacity remuneration mechanisms and the politics of energy transition in Britain and Germany. Energy Research & Social Science. 2019 Oct;56:101218. Epub 2019 Jul 9. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2019.101218	View
Bolton R, Lagendijk V, Silvast A. Grand visions and pragmatic integration: Exploring the evolution of Europe’s electricity regime. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 2019 Sept;32:55-68. Epub 2018 May 5. doi: 10.1016/j.eist.2018.04.001	View
Silvast A, Bolton R, Lagendijk V, Szulecki K. Crossing borders: Social Sciences and Humanities perspectives on European Energy Systems Integration. In Foulds C, Robison R, editors, Advancing Energy Policy: Lessons on the Integration of Social Sciences and Humanities. 1st ed. Palgrave Macmillan. 2018. p. 97-110 doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-99097-2_7	View
Bolton R. Paying for Transitions: The allocation of ‘whole system’ energy costs and implications for the study of sustainability transitions. 2018. Paper presented at International Sustainability Transitions Conference, Manchester, United Kingdom.	View
Hall S, Foxon T, Bolton R. Investing in low carbon transitions: Energy finance as an adaptive market. Climate Policy. 2017;17(3):280-298. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2015.1094731	View
Bolton R, Foxon T, Hall S. Energy transitions and uncertainty: Creating low carbon investment opportunities in the UK electricity sector. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy. 2016 Dec 30;34(8):1387-1403. Epub 2015 Dec 14. doi: 10.1177/0263774X15619628	View
Rocholl N, Bolton R. Berlin’s electricity distribution grid: An urban energy transition in a national regulatory context. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management. 2016 Nov;28(10):1182-1194. Epub 2016 May 11. doi: 10.1080/09537325.2016.1182629	View
Bolton R, Hannon M. Governing sustainability transitions through business model innovation: Towards a systems understanding. Research Policy. 2016 Nov;45(9):1731-1742. Epub 2016 Jun 7. doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2016.05.003	View
Bolton R, Silvast A, Winskel M. The Implications of Brexit for Energy Policy Future of the UK and Scotland, Centre on Constitutional Change, University of Edinburgh. 2016.	View
Bolton R, Silvast A, Winskel M. The Implications of Brexit for Energy Policy Scottish ClimateXChange. 2016.	View
Hall S, Foxon TJ, Bolton R. Financing the Civic Energy Sector: How financial institutions affect ownership models in Germany and the United Kingdom. Energy Research & Social Science. 2016 Feb;12:5–15. Epub 2015 Dec 18. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2015.11.004	View
Bolton R. The Implications of Brexit for Energy Policy: A report for Climate Exchange and the Scottish Government. ClimateXChange, 2016.	View
Bolton R, Foxon TJ. A socio-technical perspective on low carbon investment challenges - Insights for UK energy policy. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 2015 Mar;14. Epub 2014 Sept 2. doi: 10.1016/j.eist.2014.07.005	View
Hannon M, Bolton R. UK Local Authority engagement with the Energy Service Company (ESCo) model: key characteristics, benefits, limitations and considerations. Energy Policy. 2015 Mar;78:198-212. Epub 2014 Nov 26. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2014.11.016	View
Bolton R, Foxon T. Infrastructure transformation as a socio-technical process: Implications for the governance of energy distribution networks in the UK. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2015 Jan;90, Part B:538–550. Epub 2014 Mar 11. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2014.02.017	View
Hoggett R, Bolton R, Candelise C, Kern F, Mitchell C, Yan J. Supply chains and energy security in a low carbon transition. Applied Energy. 2014 Jun 15;123:292–295. Epub 2014 Mar 3. doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.02.008	View
Taylor P, Bolton R, Stone D, Upham P. Developing Pathways for Energy Storage in the UK using a Coevolutionary Framework. Energy Policy. 2013 Dec;63:230-243. Epub 2013 Sept 17. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.08.070	View
Bolton R, Foxon TJ. Urban Infrastructure Dynamics: Market Regulation and the Shaping of District Energy in UK Cities. Environment and Planning A. 2013;45(9):2194-2211. doi: 10.1068/a45575	View
Bolton R, Hawkes A. Infrastructure, Investment and the Low Carbon Transition. In Mitchell C, Watson J, Whiting J, editors, New Challenges in Energy Security: The UK in a Multipolar World . Palgrave Macmillan. 2013. (Energy, Climate and the Environment).	View
Bolton R. Governing the Energy Transition: Reality, Illusion or Necessity? Routledge Studies in Sustainability Transitions (Book Review). Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 2013;7:73-75.	View
Taylor P, Bolton R, Stone D, Zhang XP, Martin C, Upham P. Pathways for Energy Storage in the UK: A Report for the Centre for Low Carbon Futures. The Centre for Low Carbon Futures, 2012. 56 p.	View
Taylor P, Bolton R, Stone D, Zhang XP, Martin C, Upham P. Pathways for Energy Storage in the UK. The Centre for Low Carbon Futures, 2012. 56 p.	View
Bolton R, Foxon TJ. Governing infrastructure networks for a low carbon economy: co-evolution of technologies and institutions in UK electricity distribution networks. Competition and Regulation in Network Industries. 2011;12(2):2-26.	View

Ronan Bolton's Research Explorer profile

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