Everyone in the LoLo community would like to congratulate Ed Sharp on passing his viva with minor corrections in December 2015. We are also delighted to announce the first LoLo wedding will soon be forthcoming, congratulations Ed and Carrie!
His thesis is entitled “The spatiotemporal patterns of energy demand and supply in the UK”.
Ed tells us about his work and time with the LoLo CDT!
What was your PhD about?
My PhD set out to improve on national annual resolution scenarios of wind capacity and electricity demand using geographical information and high resolution weather data. Wind capacity from National Grid scenarios was redistributed to a 0.5 degree grid and generation simulated hourly over a 30 year period using climate reanalysis data. Domestic electricity demand was simulated at the same resolution using the same weather data. This allowed analysis to examine the impact of aggregated scenarios at a disaggregated resolution, challenging and complemented National Grid’s analysis.
Your view on the LoLo experience
Overall I had a very positive experience of life in the “LoLo sausage machine” (Lowe, 2015. pers. com.). Like any PhD, it had its up and downs, but having made it through – the ups far outweigh the downs. I suspect I am going to look back at this period of my life and think what a privilege it was to indulge my intellectual curiosity with no other demands on my time at work. The UCL Energy Institute has provided a stimulating and encouraging environment which is a million miles away from my previous life holding a spanner in the world’s worse places.
What you are doing now
I have stayed on at the UCL Energy Institute post PhD and I am currently working on an energy demand simulation tool for cities. This role utilises a lot of what I have learnt during my time at UCL. I am also continuing to use my PhD research in the development of spatiotemporally disaggregated wind generation models.
The spatiotemporal patterns of energy demand and supply in the UK – thesis