Renewable energy deployment depends as much on policy design as on engineering. The way governments structure support mechanisms determines who invests, which technologies are built and how quickly costs fall. This course studies the economic instruments governments use to push energy markets towards low-carbon results, taking UK renewables policy between 1990 and 2009 as its main case. Using published analysis and official UK policy papers, it links mechanism design, the history of policy and the economics of marine renewables, culminating in an evidence-based critique. It explains the kinds of risk that support mechanisms allocate, compares the UK Renewables Obligation with feed-in support in Germany, traces policy from the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation through the Renewables Obligation to the 2009 reforms, reads energy White Papers as policy artefacts, and examines why marine renewables present distinctive policy challenges.
Course at a glance: Duration 20 hours · Self-paced online · 8 sections, 27 lessons, a 103-page downloadable course book
What you will learn
- Explain how price, volume and balancing risk shape the effectiveness of renewable energy support mechanisms.
- Compare the UK Renewables Obligation with feed-in support using evidence from the UK and Germany.
- Trace the evolution of UK renewable energy policy from the NFFO through the RO to the 2009 strategy reforms.
- Analyse UK energy White Papers as policy artefacts by identifying goals, instruments and the gaps between them.
- Explain the purpose of RO banding, feed-in tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive.
- Explain why wave, tidal stream and tidal range technologies need distinctive policy treatment.
- Construct and defend an evidence-based critique of UK renewable energy policy evolution.
Inside the course: a high-level summary, section by section.
Mechanism design and risk
The course begins with the economics of support mechanisms. Renewable generators face three kinds of risk: price risk, uncertainty about what they will be paid; volume risk, uncertainty about whether their output will be bought; and balancing risk, the cost of matching output to contracted volumes. How a mechanism allocates these risks between generators, suppliers, network operators and consumers has a powerful effect on the cost of capital, the type of investor that can participate and the speed of deployment. Using evidence from the UK and Germany, the course compares a quota-based approach, the Renewables Obligation, with feed-in support under Germany’s EEG. Quota systems have genuine policy attractions, such as technology neutrality and control over total consumer cost, while feed-in approaches have different strengths; learners examine how these trade-offs affect large utilities, independent generators and community projects.
Early UK policy: the NFFO
Early UK renewable policy is examined first through its aims and origins, then through how the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation worked as a series of competitive tendering rounds. The course explores why the NFFO under-delivered relative to its contracted capacity, considering how competitive bidding, planning difficulties and the incentives it created interacted. The transition from the NFFO to the Renewables Obligation is traced, showing what policymakers sought to fix.
Reading White Papers
Energy White Papers are treated as policy artefacts. The course teaches learners to read them critically, identifying stated goals, chosen instruments and the gaps between ambition and delivery. The four pillars of UK energy policy are examined, along with the decision to recommit to the RO and the institutional and market reforms that accompanied it.
The 2009 reforms
The 2009 Renewable Energy Strategy marked a clear break from earlier policy. Rather than limiting renewables to the power sector, it fixed a legally binding target for energy as a whole: electricity, heat and transport. Learners look at the scale of the increase, the sector-by-sector expectations of the central scenario and the strategy’s arguments about investment and jobs. Reforms to the RO, including banding to provide differentiated support for technologies at different stages of maturity, are explained, along with the introduction of small-scale feed-in tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive. Learners consider how far these reforms answered earlier critiques.
Marine renewables
Marine renewable energy is different from more mature technologies. Wave, tidal stream and tidal range projects have distinct cost profiles, technology maturity and delivery challenges, and the course explains why generic support designed for faster-scaling technologies may not fit them. The Severn Estuary is used as a test case to explore how a project with very large long-term potential, high upfront cost and complex delivery challenges tests the capacity of the policy system, inviting learners to reason through the factors a policy team would need to weigh.
Building an evidence-based critique
The final section develops the skills of policy argument. Learners build an argument from evidence, structure a concise written critique of UK renewable policy evolution and defend their conclusions, drawing on mechanism design, policy history and marine energy economics. The emphasis is on making claims that the evidence can support, distinguishing between what a policy intended, what it actually delivered and why, and acknowledging the strongest counter-arguments. These are the same skills engineers need when writing consultation responses, investment memos or feasibility reports, where a clear, well-supported argument is often more persuasive than technical detail alone.
Lessons beyond the case study
Although the case study ends in 2009, the analytical tools are general. Any support scheme, whether a quota, a feed-in tariff, an auction or a contract with a guaranteed price, can be examined by asking who carries price, volume and balancing risk, what kinds of investor it favours, how it treats technologies at different stages of maturity and how well its instruments match its stated goals. Engineers who can apply these questions are better placed to judge whether a proposed project is likely to be financeable under a given regime and to anticipate how policy changes might affect it.
Why this matters in practice
Engineers working in renewable energy need to understand the policy and market frameworks that determine whether projects are viable. Understanding how support mechanisms allocate risk, how policy has evolved and why some technologies need tailored support helps engineers contribute to project development, investment decisions and policy consultations, and to communicate effectively with economists, financiers and policymakers. Policy frameworks change over time, so understanding the reasoning behind them is more durable than memorising the details of any one scheme.
Key takeaways
You leave able to explain how support mechanisms allocate risk, compare quota and feed-in approaches, trace UK renewable policy from the NFFO to the 2009 reforms, read White Papers critically, explain why marine renewables need distinctive treatment and construct an evidence-based policy critique.
How you study
The course is delivered fully online and is self-paced, so you can fit roughly 20 hours of study around professional commitments. Lessons combine clear explanation with examples, diagrams and short interactive checks, and the main sections end with graded quizzes (5 in total) so you can confirm you can apply each method before moving on. A 103-page course book can be downloaded and printed for offline reading and later reference.
Course contents
- Energy Economics Fundamentals: Why Support Mechanisms Matter; Three Kinds of Risk; EEG and RO Compared
- Policy Evolution, 1990-2003: Policy Aims and Origins; How the NFFO Worked; Why the NFFO Under-Delivered; From NFFO to RO
- The 2003 Energy White Paper: Reading a White Paper; The Four Pillars; Recommitting to the RO; Institutions and Market Reform
- 2009 Strategy and New Mechanisms: A Larger 2020 Target; Reforming the RO; FITs and the RHI
- Marine Renewable Economics: Why Marine Is Different; Wave, Tidal Stream, and Range; The Severn as a Test Case
- Applied Policy Critique: Building the Argument; Critique UK Policy Evolution
- Summary: Key Takeaways
Who this course is for
This course is for engineering graduates, renewable energy engineers, project developers, analysts and policy professionals who want to understand how energy policy and economics shape renewable deployment. No prior economics training is required.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Energy Policy and Economics take?
The course is designed for about 20 hours of study. It is self-paced and fully online, so you can spread it over a few weeks or complete it more quickly.
What is covered?
The course is organised into 8 sections with 27 lessons, moving from foundations to applied methods, as summarised above.
Is there material to keep after the course?
Yes. A downloadable 103-page course book accompanies the lessons for offline reading and later reference.
How is progress checked?
Each main section closes with a graded quiz (5 in total). The quizzes test understanding of the concepts and methods explained in the lessons rather than memorisation, and you can review the relevant lessons before attempting them.
Can I record this study for my own professional development?
Yes. The course notebook includes a self-assessment of the course objectives before and after study, a reflection page and a learning log, which you can use to keep your own record of professional development.
Duration: 20 hours
Related courses: H01 – Renewable Energy Technologies; D14 – Design of Fixed and Floating Offshore Systems; D05 – Offshore Hydromechanics; A09 – Sustainable Ship Design
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