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Professor Eleanor Denny
The Bursar, Provost's Office
Professor in, Economics

Biography

Eleanor Denny is Professor in Economics at the Economics Department at Trinity College Dublin, and a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (FTCD). In 2021 she was appointed as College Bursar and Director of Strategic Innovation.

​ Her research interests are in sustainable consumer behaviour, energy efficiency and energy economics. She has supervised 14 PhD students to completion and has been awarded multiple large international research grants including two European Commission Horizon 2020 projects. ​

She was a visiting scholar at the Harvard Environmental Economics Programme, the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a non-resident fellow of the Colorado School of Mines.

​She was the inaugural recipient of the European award for Excellence in Teaching in the Social Sciences and Humanities in 2012 (awarded by the Central European University in Budapest) and was awarded a Provost teaching award in Trinity College Dublin in 2010.

​She was the inaugural Director of Trinity Research in Social Science (TRiSS) representing over 200 social science academics and 50 postgraduates at TCD.

She is an independent member of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), and is a member of the external advisory board of the Irish Government Economic Evaluation Service (IGEES).

Publications and Further Research Outputs

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Ceolotto, S., Denny, E., Putting a New `Spin" on Energy Information: Measuring the Impact of Reframing Energy Efficiency Information on Tumble Dryer Choices in a Multi-country Experiment, Journal of Consumer Policy, 47, 2024, p51"108 Journal Article, 2024 TARA - Full Text DOI

McGowan, F.P., Denny, E., Lunn, P. D.,, Looking beyond time preference: Testing potential causes of low willingness to pay for fuel economy improvements, Resource and Energy Economics, 75, 2023 Journal Article, 2023 DOI TARA - Full Text

Carroll, J., Denny, E, Ferris, A., Petrov, I., Wu, H. , , A socio-economic examination of participation in socially innovative energy projects, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 48, 2023 Journal Article, 2023

Coyne, B., Denny, E., Fitiwi, D., The benefits of low-carbon energy efficiency technology adoption for data centres, in press, Energy Conversion and Management: X, 2023 Journal Article, 2023

Carroll, J. and Brazil, W. and Howard, M. and Denny, E., Imperfect emissions information during flight choices and the role of CO2 labelling, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 165, (112508), 2022 Journal Article, 2022 DOI

Eleanor Denny, Long-Term Energy Cost Labelling for Appliances: Evidence from a Randomised Controlled Trial in Ireland, Journal of Consumer Policy, 2022 Journal Article, 2022

Hangjian Wu, James Carroll, Eleanor Denny,, Harnessing citizen investment in community-based energy initiatives: A discrete choice experiment across ten European countries,, Energy Research & Social Science, 89, 2022 Journal Article, 2022 DOI

Coyne, B., Denny, E., Mind the Energy Performance Gap: Testing the Accuracy of Building Energy Performance Certificates in Ireland, Energy Efficiency, 14, (57), 2021 Journal Article, 2021 DOI

Aravena, C., Denny, E. , The impact of learning and short-term experience on preferences for electric vehicles, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 152, (111656), 2021 Journal Article, 2021 DOI

James Carroll, Claudia Aravena, Marco Boeri, Eleanor Denny, "Show Me the Energy Costs": Short and Long-term Energy Cost Disclosure Effects on Willingness-to-pay for Residential Energy Efficiency, The Energy Journal, 43, (2), 2021 Journal Article, 2021 DOI

Coyne, B., Denny, E., Applying a Model of Technology Diffusion to Quantify the Potential Benefit of Improved Energy Efficiency in Data Centres, Energies, 14, (22), 2021 Journal Article, 2021 DOI

Kontogianni, A.; Damigos, D.; Skourtos, M.; Tourkolias, C.; Denny, E.; Galarraga, I.; Kallbekken, S.; Lakić, E, Model Validity and Transferability Informing Behavioral Energy Policie, Energies, 14, (3122), 2021 Journal Article, 2021 DOI

Coyne B., Denny E.,, Retrofit Effectiveness: Evidence from a nationwide residential energy efficiency programme, Energy Policy, 159, 2021 Journal Article, 2021 DOI

Carroll, J., Aravena, C., Boeri, M., and Denny, E, The energy cost information gap and the effects of short and long-term monetary labels on household decisions, The Energy Journal, forthcoming, 2020 Journal Article, 2020

Schuitema, G., Aravena, C., Denny, E., The psychology of energy efficiency labels: Trust, involvement, and attitudes towards energy performance certificates in Ireland, Energy Research and Social Science, 59, 2020 Journal Article, 2020 DOI

Eleanor Denny, Student views on transition to Higher Education in Ireland: challenges, impacts and suggestions, Higher Education Quarterly, 2020, p1-33 Journal Article, 2020 DOI

James Carroll, William Brazil, Bruno Morando, Eleanor Denny, What Drives the Gender-Cycling-Gap? Census Analysis from Ireland, Transport Policy, 97, 2020, p95-102 Journal Article, 2020 DOI

O'Mahoney, A., Denny, E., Hobbs, B., O'Malley, M., The drivers of power system emissions: an econometric analysis of load, wind and forecast errors, Energy Systems, 9, (4), 2018, p853 - 872 Journal Article, 2018 DOI

Denny, E., O'Mahoney, A., Lannoye, E, Modelling the impact of wind generation on electricity market prices in Ireland: An econometric versus unit commitment approach, Renewable Energy, 104 , 2017, p109 - 119 Journal Article, 2017 DOI

Carroll, J., Denny, E., Lyons, S., The effects of energy cost labelling on appliance purchasing decisions: trial results from Ireland, Journal of consumer policy, 39, 2016, p23 - 40 Journal Article, 2016 DOI

Carroll, J., Aravena, C., and Denny, E. , Low energy efficiency in rental properties: Asymmetric information or low willingness-to-pay?, Energy Policy, 96, 2016, p617 - 629 Journal Article, 2016 DOI

Aravena, C.; Riquelme, A. and Denny, E. , Money, comfort or environment? Priorities and determinants of energy efficiency investments in Irish households, Journal of Consumer Policy, 39, 2016, p159 - 186 Journal Article, 2016 DOI

Denny, E & Weiss, J, Hurry or wait - the pros and cons of going fast or slow on climate change, The Economists Voice, 12, (1), 2015, p19 - 24 Journal Article, 2015 DOI

Power System Operation with Large Penetrations of Wind Power in, editor(s)Panos Pardalos , Handbook of Wind Power Systems, Springer press, 2014, [Eleanor Denny] Book Chapter, 2014 DOI

Denny, E., Reinterpreting the economics textbook: A student assignment, International Review of Economics Education, 16, (PB), 2014, p100-110 Journal Article, 2014 DOI

Denny, E., Factors Influencing the Performance of Non-Economics Majors in an Introductory Economics Course, International Review of Economics Education, 17, 2014, 1-16 Journal Article, 2014 DOI TARA - Full Text

Carroll, J., Lyons, S., Denny, E., Reducing household electricity demand through smart metering: The role of improved information about energy saving, Energy Economics, 45, 2014, p234-243 Journal Article, 2014 DOI

Energy Sector and Environmental Issues in, editor(s)O'Hagan, J. and Newman, C. , The Economy of Ireland: National and Sectoral Policy Issues, 12th edition, Dublin, Gill and MacMillan, 2014, [Denny, E.] Book Chapter, 2014 DOI

O'Mahoney, A., Denny, E., Electricity prices and generator behaviour in gross pool electricity markets, Energy Policy, 63, 2013, p628-637 Journal Article, 2013 DOI

Nyamdash, B., Denny, E., The impact of electricity storage on wholesale electricity prices, Energy Policy, 58, 2013, p6 - 16 Journal Article, 2013 DOI TARA - Full Text

Denny, E., Keane, A., A Smart Integrated Network for an Offshore Island, in IEEE proceedings, 101, (4), 2013, p942 - 955 Journal Article, 2013 TARA - Full Text DOI

O'Mahoney, A., Thorne, F., Denny, E., A cost-benefit analysis of generating electricity from biomass, Energy Policy, 57, 2013, p347-354 Journal Article, 2013 DOI

Keane, A., Tuohy, A., Meibom, P., Denny, E., Flynn, D., Mullane, A., O'Malley, M., Demand side resource operation on the Irish power system with high wind power penetration, Energy Policy, 39, (5), 2011 Journal Article, 2011 DOI

Infrastructure, Energy and Environment in, editor(s)J. O'Hagan and C. Newman , The Economy of Ireland: National and Sectoral Policy Issues, Gill and MacMillan, 2011, [Eleanor Denny, John O'Hagan] Book Chapter, 2011

Denny, E., Tuohy, A., Meibome, P., Keane, A., Flynn, D., Mullane, A., O'Malley, M., The Impact of Increased Interconnection on Electricity Systems with Large Penetrations of Wind Generation: A case study of Ireland and Great Britain, Energy Policy, 38, (11), 2010, p6946 - 6954 Journal Article, 2010 DOI

Nyamdash, B., Denny, E., O'Malley, M., The viability of balancing wind generation with large scale energy storage, Energy Policy, 38, (11), 2010, p7200-7208 Journal Article, 2010 DOI

Troy, N., Denny, E., O'Malley, M., Base-load Cycling on a System with Significant Wind Penetration, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 25, (2), 2010, p1088 - 1097 Journal Article, 2010 DOI TARA - Full Text

Tuohy, A., Meibom,P., Denny, E. & O'Malley, M. , Unit Commitment for Systems with Significant Wind Penetration, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 24, (2), 2009, p592 - 601 Journal Article, 2009 DOI TARA - Full Text

Denny, E., The Economics of Tidal Energy, Energy Policy, 37, 2009, p1914 - 1924 Journal Article, 2009 DOI

Denny, E. & O'Malley, M, The impact of carbon prices on generation cycling costs, Energy Policy, 37, 2009, p1204 - 1212 Journal Article, 2009 DOI

Keane, A., Denny, E., and O'Malley, M., Quantifying the Impact of Connection Policy on Distributed Generation, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 22, (1), 2007, p242 - 249 Journal Article, 2007 TARA - Full Text DOI

Denny, E and O'Malley, M, Quantifying the total net benefits of grid integrated wind, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 22, (2), 2007, p605 - 615 Journal Article, 2007 DOI TARA - Full Text

Denny, E and O'Malley, M, Wind Generation, Power System Operation and Emissions Reduction, IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 21, (1), 2006, p341 - 347 Journal Article, 2006 DOI TARA - Full Text

Bazilian, M., Denny, E., and O'Malley, M., Challenges of Increased Wind Energy Penetration in Ireland, Wind Engineering, 28, (1), 2004, p43 - 55 Journal Article, 2004 TARA - Full Text DOI

Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications

James Carroll, Kenneth Conway, Alastair Shannon, Eleanor Denny, The Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Electricity Demand: Evidence from Two Jurisdictions, IAEE Energy Forum, 2020, p51 - 54 Journal Article, 2020

Bryan Coyne, Eleanor Denny, An Economic Evaluation of Future Electricity Use in Irish Data Centres, 2018 Working Paper, 2018 URL

Carroll, J., Lyons, S., Denny, E, Appliance Purchases and Lifetime Monetary Consumption Information, Irish Economic Association Meeting, Limerick, May 2014, 2014 Conference Paper, 2014

Denny, E. Keane, A., Mullane, A., Concept Development of a Wind and Ocean Powered Smart Network for the Integrated Supply of Energy for Electricity, Heat and Transport in Irish Island Communities, Ireland, Sustainable Energy Ireland, 2011 Report, 2011

Research Expertise

Projects

  • Title
    • SocialRES
  • Summary
    • SocialRES is a research and innovation project funded by the European Union. The aim is to foster energy democracy through social innovation and active collaboration between cooperatives, aggregators of renewable energy and crowdfunding platforms.
  • Funding Agency
    • European Commission
  • Title
    • Greencar
  • Summary
    • The GREENCAR project explores consumer decision-making when buying vehicles and will trial new initiatives aimed at increasing the purchase of electric vehicles
  • Funding Agency
    • Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
  • Title
    • CONSEED
  • Summary
    • Consumer Energy Efficiency Decision Making www.conseedproject.eu/
  • Funding Agency
    • European Commission
  • Date From
    • December 2015
  • Date To
    • December 2018
  • Title
    • NEEPD
  • Summary
    • Nudging Energy Efficiency Purchasing Decisions www.neeepd.com
  • Funding Agency
    • Irish Research Council
  • Date From
    • December 2015
  • Date To
    • October 2018
  • Title
    • ESIPP
  • Summary
    • Energy Systems Integration Partnership Programme http://esipp.ie/
  • Funding Agency
    • Science Foundation Ireland
  • Date From
    • 2015
  • Date To
    • 2021
  • Title
    • ERC:GI
  • Summary
    • Grid Integration of Renewables
  • Funding Agency
    • Higher Education Authority
  • Date From
    • 2011
  • Date To
    • 2016
  • Title
    • SEES
  • Summary
    • Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems
  • Funding Agency
    • Science Foundation Ireland
  • Date From
    • 2011
  • Date To
    • 2016
  • Title
    • Energy Policy Research
  • Summary
    • Research into Irish electricity market issues
  • Funding Agency
    • Electricity Industry
  • Date From
    • 2007-2017
  • Title
    • An Enterprising Wind
  • Summary
    • An Economic Analysis of the Job Creation Potential of the Wind Sector in Ireland
  • Funding Agency
    • Siemens and the Irish Wind Energy Association
  • Date From
    • Jan 2013
  • Date To
    • Dec 2013
  • Title
    • The Economics of Co-Firing Peat with Biomass
  • Funding Agency
    • Teagasc
  • Date From
    • 2009-2013
  • Title
    • Cost benefit Analysis of Distributed Energy Resources
  • Funding Agency
    • Irish Research Council
  • Date From
    • 2007
  • Date To
    • 2010
  • Title
    • ATTIC
  • Summary
    • Attitudes to Transport, Insulation and Capital
  • Funding Agency
    • Irish Research Council
  • Date From
    • 2014
  • Date To
    • 2015

Keywords

Behavioural Economics; Electricity Storage; Emission; Energy and Climate Change; ENERGY EFFICIENCY; Environment, Natural Resources Economics; Renewable energies

Recognition

Representations

Independent Expert member, National Economic and Social Council 2018

Non-resident Fellow, Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines

Visiting Scholar, Harvard Environmental Economics Programme

Visiting Scholar, Havard Graduate School of Education

Journal reviewer (e.g. Energy Economics, Energy Policy, Nature, Applied Economics, Ecological Economics, IEEE Transactions and many others)

External Advisory Board member, Irish Government Economic Evaluation Service (IGEES) 2016

External Advisory Board member, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Behavioural Economics Unit 2017

External Advisory Board member, Steering Committee of Energy Policy Research Centre at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) 2010

Selection committee, European Award for Excellence in Teaching in Humanities and Social Sciences 2016

Expert reviewer for European Commission funded projects

External examiner for PhD theses (approximately 2 per year) in international universities

Awards and Honours

Fellow Trinity College Dublin 2018

Non-resident Fellow, Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines 2018

Visiting Scholar, Harvard Environmental Economics Programme 2014

Visiting Scholar, Harvard Graduate School of Education 2014

European Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Social Sciences and Humanities (presented by the Central European University) 2012

Provost Teaching Award 2010

Best Paper - Irish energy research conference 2005

UCD open postgraduate scholarship 2000

Patrick Semple Medal in Economics 1999

Memberships

Member of International Association of Energy Economics (IAEE)

Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE)

Member of American Economic Association