This thesis involves an examination of the main international, regional and national legal regimes regulating marine renewable energy in England and Wales. Deriving from a complex patchwork of law and policy, developments have ensued in the absence of a distinct governing ‘legal regime’ and within a number of competing paradigms. This original synthesis attempts to identify lacunae, conflicts and connections within and between the span of legal genres that MRE evokes. Against a backdrop of climate change mitigation, the key findings show that despite the presence of political will for offshore renewable energies, MRE development faces a number of legal obstacles, all of which seek to protect other important public and private interests. Although predominantly satisfactory at the international level (international law of the sea), national private property rights, environmental protection laws and regulatory development controls each encompass particular legal incongruities that have the potential to act as barricades to development. This thesis discusses these issues and reaches conclusions as to potential areas for reform.

In a time of a fast growing renewable electricity generation sector, there are challenges regarding the integration of such generation with current transmission infrastructure. Such challenges include problems associated with the intermittent power output of renewable energy sources and the inability to control there output to meet varying electrical demand. Using part of this available energy for the provision of domestic heating loads may help bridge the gap between supply and demand. The use of intermittent electrical energy sources for charging water based thermal energy stores was identified as a research gap. This research project studies the use of intermittent electrical supplies from wind turbines for the provision of space heating and hot water in domestic buildings. It also addresses how solar water heating may be incorporated into the same thermal energy storage unit to create a hybrid system. This thesis outlines and analyses two charge strategies that may be used to promote stratification in water based thermal energy stores when adding intermittent electrical energy. The first makes use of multiple heating elements switched on in sequence (direct system) while the second uses buoyancy forces to take cool water from the bottom of the tank, pass it through the heating element and then place it back in at the top of the tank at a higher temperature (side-arm). The research method includes; 1) a simplified theoretical simulation of direct and side-arm configurations in the transient system simulation software (TRNSYS) to identify system performance when charged from wind and solar energy; 2) a detailed theoretical representation of the side-arm charge mechanism with a modulating valve for TRNSYS; 3) an empirical validation of the detailed theoretical model of the side-arm charge cycle. Outcomes from the simplified theoretical model indicate that the side-arm configuration may have benefits over the direct configuration due to reduced heat loss from the tank, reduced auxiliary energy consumption and increased solar collector performance. The detailed theoretical representation of the side-arm was calibrated using the empirical data gathered. From this, important parameters affecting the performance of the side-arm charge cycle are evaluated. These include the effects of tank height, operating temperature and the power range from the intermittent electrical supply. It is identified that the assumptions made in the simple model are not possible to reproduce in real life and that an analysis using the complex model must be made in order to evaluate any potential benefits of the side-arm over a direct configuration.

This thesis investigates the role of support schemes to promote investment in renewable energy in the Nigerian power sector. The current situation does not favour investment in renewable energy. The argument developed by this thesis shows that the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme is most suitable for encouraging investment in renewable energy in Nigeria. Drawing from legal analysis of international best practice and established FIT schemes in Germany and China, the research puts forward assertions that the FIT, with a design structure containing a fixed tariff for a guaranteed duration, tariff differentiation and degression, purchase obligation, guaranteed priority and guaranteed access to the grid, review measures and effective administration and implementation can encourage investment in renewable electricity in Nigeria. The thesis goes on to discuss how typical models of the FIT schemes used in the developed world need to be adapted to meet the existing challenges in the Nigerian electricity market if the FIT scheme is to be effective. The principal challenge is that consumers are unable to bear the cost of subsidies to investment in renewable energy. There are the concerns that purchasers of renewable electricity are not creditworthy. There are also general rule of law challenges which may lead to regulatory uncertainties and changes in support offered to investors. These require departures in design from the typical FIT models including those employed by Germany and China. The thesis proposes solutions to the particular difficulties in using an FIT scheme in Nigeria and concludes by providing a legal framework that includes suggested responses. It proposes that the FIT should be financed by the Nigerian state, by establishing a fund from the oil revenue account under the constitution. The risks of non-payment by the purchasers should be removed by establishing government guarantees backed by international financial institutions. Measures such as saving provisions in the law, stabilisation clauses in investment contracts and reliance on the provisions of bilateral investment treaties are important mechanisms that are proposed to check regulatory and investment uncertainties. The thesis presents a proposal for a legal framework for promoting renewable energy in the Nigerian power sector that incorporates these solutions.

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This dissertation includes three studies that examine the remarkable rise of China’s renewable energy industry and its technological contributions to the global industry. China has emerged as the world’s largest carbon emitter by a large margin, and many of its cities experience high levels of air pollution. The Chinese government has turned to wind – and later solar – as alternative power sources to help decarbonize its electricity system and ameliorate increasingly urgent air pollution problems. Through these efforts, China has markedly expanded the share of renewable energy in its energy mix, and in the process absorbed a fair amount of relatively advanced technology, establishing itself as a competitive location to manufacture clean power equipment. In short order China has bolstered its international standing as a renewable energy powerhouse. The first study evaluates the question of whether China's wind industry has become an important source of clean energy technology innovation. Results indicate that while China has delivered enormous progress in terms of wind capacity, the outcomes were more limited in terms of innovation and cost competitiveness. Chinese wind turbine manufacturers have secured few international patents and achieved moderate learning rates relative to the global industry’s historical learning rate. The success of China’s transition to a low-carbon energy system will be key to achieve the global level of emissions reductions needed to avoid large negative consequences from climate change. The second study shows that China made progress in bringing down the levelized cost of wind electricity and cost of carbon mitigation. However, widespread grid-connection issues and wind curtailment rates caused much higher-than-anticipated costs of renewable energy integration. China has emerged as the global manufacturing center for solar photovoltaic products, and Chinese firms have entered all stages of the supply chain in short order. The third study provides detailed expert assessments of the technological and nontechnological factors that led to the surprised success of China’s silicon photovoltaic industry. Expert judgments suggest that continued declines in in module and system costs and improvements in performance will allow solar photovoltaic to be competitive with fossil fuels in China.

The concentration photovoltaics (CPV) application promises to produce lower price electricity with less semiconductor usage in comparison with the common flat plate PV module. The compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) shows great potential in both economics and efficiency in low the concentration photovoltaics (LCPV) system because it does not require a tracking system and is able to concentrate light with a large incident angle range. A detailed investigation has previously been carried out regarding the novel CPC module purposed (Su et al., 2012a). The validation of the experiment shows the Lens-Walled CPC gives a superior optical and electrical performance compared with other CPCs. Non-uniform light distribution is a common issue with all CPC designs as it has a major influence on the concentration of solar cell performance. In order to study the effects of non-uniform distributed light on solar cell behavior in-depth, two simulation approaching methods including array modelling and finite element modelling (FEM) were carried out. Both simulation approaches observed a reduction in the solar cell fill factor (FF) under non-uniform distributed light. The high resistive losses in the cell are the main cause of this phenomenon. Three simulation models with different cell grid designs were studied to further study the influence of non-uniform distributed light. The light profiles from three different CPCs were implemented with the FEM model. The result shows although solid CPC has the highest current output in a certain condition, the Lens-Walled CPC has the most uniform light distribution, which reduces the influence from non-uniform light distribution to solar cell performance.

Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It has an isolated electricity grid and energy system which is fully reliant on imported fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels for electricity generation has a negative impact on the environment due to the greenhouse gas emissions and importing the fuels places a huge burden on the economy of the country and a risk in terms of the electricity supply security of the island. One way to reduce dependency on imported fuels is to implement renewable energy solutions in the island. There are many studies assessing the availability of renewable energy sources, evaluating future electricity demand and investigating methods of demand reduction in Cyprus but there are a very limited number of studies specifically produced for Cyprus that address the integration and cost of renewable energy sources and explore their effects on the grid system. This thesis illustrates the big picture of Cyprus in terms of availability of exploitable renewable energy sources, current electricity generation and electricity demand characteristics. In order to address the grid code barrier, the grid codes of developed European countries are investigated. From this research, amendments to the current grid are produced. These additional mandatory codes will form the infrastructure for renewable energy projects and bring knowledge to the current system operator from other experienced countries. In addition renewable energy technologies worldwide are investigated in terms of output capacity, energy pricing, investment, and operation costs. Pricing and cost information is applied to the case of Cyprus. By further optimizing the technologies appropriately to Cyprus conditions, current and future cost analysis is produced. By producing reliable data on the cost and performance of renewable energy technologies the significant barrier to the uptake of these technologies is lowered. This will enable governments and financial bodies to arrive at an accurate assessment of which renewable energy technologies are the most appropriate for their particular circumstances.

"This research focuses on studying the feasibility of tethered undersea kite (TUSK) systems for power generation. Underwater tethered kite systems consist of a rigid wing that moves in a circular or figure-8 path below the surface. The tether can connect to a platform mounted either on the surface or anchored to the seafloor. On the kite is a turbine that extracts energy from the kite’s forward motion, which has the potential to be several times the current velocity. This speed multiplication combined with the density increase of water as opposed to air is one of the main benefits of this class of systems over wind turbines. A scale-model TUSK kite was designed. Testing was conducted in a water flume at Alden Research Labs (ARL). Model scale factors were determined from a real world prototype TUSK system currently in commercial development. The scale-model kite was primarily constructed out of ABS plastic using 3D printing rapid prototyping methods. Other components of the system were either repurposed from prior projects or constructed with traditional methods. Testing was conducted at current speeds of 0.15 m/s, 0.31 m/s, and 0.46 m/s; kite pitch angles of 80?, 85?, and 90?; and over circular and figure 8 trajectory shapes. Data collected included the azimuth and declination angles of the rigid tether as well as the power output of the generator on board the kite. Filtering techniques were employed on the data to generate graphs of kite position, velocity, and output for analysis. Relationships between current velocity, kite velocity, kite pitch angle, and power output have been measured. Inaccuracies in the model and areas for improvement in future work have been identified."

It is undeniable that activities and events within the water, energy, and food (WEF) security nexus are inextricably linked and their relationships numerous and substantial. Complexity increases when factors governing the daily lives of humanity namely social, technology advancement, environment, economic, and policies (STEEP) adds upon the difficulty in addressing the relationships. It is thus paramount to address the problems from a holistic and systematic approach to maximise benefits as well as to minimize the negative impacts upon one another. However, there exists little to zero means of measuring their performance, whether qualitatively or quantitatively, within the context of a nexus. Moreover, minimal understanding exists regarding the relationships between the WEF securities in Malaysia, an emerging economy rich in natural resources, which envisions to be a developed nation. This research sought to establish a measurement system for the WEF security nexus in Malaysia within the context of resource security wellbeing, sectoral balance, and sustainable development using a System Dynamics (SD) approach. This entailed an extensive literature review and qualitative interview with key stakeholders from the industrial sectors. The front end of the SD process is concerned with obtaining important and relevant information from literature and interviews, which are then used to construct causal loop diagrams (CLD). The back end of the SD is concerned with converting the CLDs into a stock and flow diagram (SFD), which provides a platform for quantitative simulation of different well-designed scenarios. Key findings from this research can be highlighted; these include: renewables are necessary for the long-term energy plan of Malaysia, nuclear power is necessary to keep electricity tariff low, water tariff of supply and services are severely low, increasing self-sufficiency level (SSL) of Malaysia’s staple food is important, under-utilised crops are efficient in meeting nutrient requirements, and cash crops imposed systemic stresses upon the water sector more than the energy sector. Consequently, recommendations for policy makers are suggested accordingly to achieve a reasonable proportion of RE penetration, providing education on nuclear benefits, centralising and streamlining water governance, socio-economic improvement of water economics, increase SSL of staple food, embark upon widespread adoption of local under-utilized crops, and controlling land use of non-food crops. The outcome of this research forms a vital and novel contribution to knowledge, when it is a pioneering work to address the WEF security nexus for Malaysia; especially in considering their securities for the country as a system rather than unaffected individual entities. This work will contribute towards spearheading the awareness and, hopefully, trigger further and more in-depth work in transdisciplinary resource and technology management. As a pioneering effort, this research has nonetheless provided the foundation and the fundamental understanding to an integrative and inclusive cross-sectoral national resource backbone - The WEF security nexus measurement system of Malaysia.