Government officials in the Caribbean are encouraging the production of electricity from renewable energy sources to reduce the impact of high electricity rates to customers due to region's dependency on imported fossil fuel. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore the strategies electric utility managers in the Caribbean used to implement renewable energy technologies. The diffusion of innovation theory served as the conceptual framework for the study. Three managers of an electric utility in the Caribbean, who had created strategies to implement renewable energy technologies, participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews. These managers provided in-depth information on approaches used to implement these technologies. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis of data that were collected from the semistructured interviews and document reviews: development and integration of renewable energy technologies into utility operations, avoidance of future investments in fossil fuels, and inclusion of key stakeholders in the transition to implementing renewable energy technologies. The implications for social change to the Caribbean region from a successful implementation of the technologies may include employment opportunities through the creation of new industries, eradication of energy poverty, and a healthier and cleaner environment. Also, government officials can save significant foreign exchange by not having to import fossil fuel for electricity generation and use these savings to invest in other sectors that can provide further economic and social growth for the people of the region.

The huge natural energy resources available in the world’s oceans are attracting increasing commercial and political interest. In order to evaluate the status and the degree of acceptability of future Ocean Energy (OE) schemes, it was considered important to develop an Integrated Assessment Methodology (IAM) for ascertaining the relative merits of the competing OE devices being proposed. Initial studies included the gathering of information on the present status of development of the ocean energy systems on wave, OTEC and tidal schemes with the challenges faced for their commercial application. In order to develop the IAM, studies were undertaken for the development and standardization of the assessment tools focussing on: • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on emission characteristics. • Energy Accounting (EA) studies. • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) over different environmental issues. • Resource captures aspects. • Defining economy evaluation indices. The IAM developed from such studies comprised of four interrelated well defined tasks and six assessment tools. The tasks included the identification of the modus operandi on data collection to be followed (from industry) for assessing respective OE devices, and also advancing relevant guidelines as to the safety standards to be followed, for their deployment at suitable sites. The IAM as developed and validated from case studies in ascertaining relative merits of competing OE devices included: suitable site selection aspects with scope for resource utilisation capability, safety factors for survivability, scope for addressing global warming & energy accounting, the environmental impact assessment both qualitatively and quantitatively on different environmental issues, and the economic benefits achievable. Some of the new ideas and concepts which were also discovered during the development of the IAM, and considered useful to both industry and researchers are given below: • Relative Product Cost (RPC) ratio concept- introduced in making an economic evaluation. This is considered helpful in sensitivity analysis and making design improvements (hybridising etc) for the cost reduction of OE devices. This index thus helps in making feasibility studies on R&D efforts, where the capital cost requirement data and life span of the device is not well defined in the primary stages of development. • Determination of the threshold limit value of the barrage constant - considered useful in determining the efficacy of the planning process. The concept ascertained the relative efficiency achieved for various barrage proposals globally. It could also be applied to suggest the revisions required for certain barrage proposals and also found useful in predicting the basin area of undefined barrage proposal for achieving economic viability. • Estimations made on the future possibility of revenue earnings from the by-products of various OTEC types, including the scope of chemical hubs from grazing type OTEC plants. • Determination of breakeven point- on cost versus life span of wave and OTEC devices studied, which is useful in designing optimum life of the concerned devices. The above stated multi-criterion assessment methodology, IAM, was extended leading to the development of a single criterion model for ascertaining sustainability percent achievable from an OE device and termed IAMs. The IAMs was developed identifying 7 Sustainability Development Indices (SDI) using some the tools of the IAM. A sustainability scale of 0-100 was also developed, attributing a Sustainability Development Load Score (SDLS) percentage distribution pattern over each SDIs, depending on their relative importance in achieving sustainability. The total sum of sustainability development (SD) gained from each SDI gave the IAMs (for the concerned device), indicating the total sustainable percentage achieved. The above IAMs developed, could be applied in ranking OE devices alongside the unsustainable coal power station. A mathematical model of estimating the IAMs was formulated, in order to ascertain the viability to the sustainable development of any energy device. The instruments of IAM and IAMs which have been developed would be helpful to the OE industry in ascertaining the degree of acceptability of their product. In addition it would also provide guidelines for their safe deployment by assessing the relative merits of competing devices. Furthermore, IAM and IAMs would be helpful to researchers undertaking feasibility studies on R&D efforts for material development research, ‘hybridization studies’ (as also new innovations), cost reduction, the performance improvement of respective devices, and any economic gains. With future advancements in OE systems and the availability of field data from large scale commercial applications, the specific values/data of the IAM & IAMs may be refined, but the logic of the models developed in this research would remain the same.

With the adoption of the Act on Promotion of Use of Renewable Energy Resources in 2005, the Czech Republic took a significant step forward to examine the economic field of energy in general in light of environmental and climate protection. With this act, the Czech Republic followed the example of other European Union member states in asserting the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and seeking alternative energy resources in the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol obligations. The goal of this Master's thesis is to present and logically analyze the relevant legal legislation concerning renewable resources passed in the Czech law. The emphasis of this analysis of the Act No. 180/2005 Sb. on the Promotion of the Use of Renewable Energy Resources in the context of energy law, whereby the attention is placed on promotion of energy production, those in the Czech Republic represent two alternative schemes: "feed-in tariff" and "green bonus certificates." With the broad definition of renewable energy resources in the introduction, this thesis comprises a basic overview of this comprehensive legal problem. This thesis consists of five separate chapters, which are closely related.

Syfte: De globala växthusutsläppen är en stor fråga både för landet och världen. Därför måste man hitta alternativ samt lösningar till att producera förnyelsebar energi. En vision för förnyelsebar energi är att producera fastighetsnära förnybar energi. Målet med studien var att undersöka förnyelsebar energi för egenproducering i nybyggnationer med hänsyn till certifieringen för Miljöbyggnad för att bidra till en mer positiv utveckling i miljöarbetet. Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ inriktad forskning. För att lyckas besvara frågeställningar samt uppnå studiens mål samlades data genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och dokumentanalys. Urvalet av respondenter baserades på yrkesroll på det valda företaget. De dokument som analyserat var en checklista och en intern handbok som finns i det samarbetande företaget samt dokument från Sweden Green Building Council som behandlar Miljöbyggnad. Resultat: Arbetet kring förnyelsebar energi är något som prioriteras trots den höga engångskostnaden, eftersom det finns en långsiktig lönsamhet. Kommunikationen är därför viktig under projekteringen men att det finns bristande faktorer i efterarbetet. Nödvändigtvis behöver man inte installera elproduktionsanläggningar i Miljöbyggnad då det endast är en del av kravet på Guld-nivå. Ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv bör man ändå installera det vid nyproduktion och komplettera det med mätinstrument till anläggningarna för att följa upp resultatet. Konsekvenser: Den ekonomiska aspekten har en stor roll i projekteringen då det kan hindra hållbarhetslösningar. Därför är ekonomiska stöd inom energifrågor ett bra incitament för företag. Miljöbyggnad är sedan ett bra stöd i projektering för nyproduktioner eftersom en certifieringsprocess inte alltid är nödvändig. För att utveckla strukturarbetet bör kunskapsöverföring prioriteras mer. Begränsningar: Studien begränsas till Miljöbyggnad där enbart energiindikatorer har studerats. Fallstudien är begränsad till flerbostadshus för att minska studiens omfattning. De resultat och rekommendationer som presenteras är generellt giltiga för de företag som har liknande arbetssätt och rutiner. / Purpose: Global greenhouse emissions are a major issue for both the country and the world. Therefore, one has to find alternatives and solutions to produce renewable energy. A vision for renewable energy is to produce property-related renewable energy. The aim of the study was to investigate renewable energy for self-production in new construction, taking into account the certification for Miljöbyggnad to contribute to a more positive development in environmental work. Method: The study is a qualitatively oriented research. To succeed in answering questions and attaining the objective of the study, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The selection of respondents was based on the professional role of the chosen company. The documents that were analyzed were a checklist and an internal manual available in the cooperating company as well as documents from the Sweden Green Building Council that deals with Miljöbyggnad. Findings: The work on renewable energy is something that is prioritized despite the high one-time cost, as there is long-term profitability. Communication is therefore important during the design process, but there is a lack of factors in the finishing work. You do not necessarily need to install electricity production facilities in Miljöbyggnad as it is only part of the requirement for the Gold level. From a sustainability perspective, one should nevertheless install it in new production and supplement it with measuring instruments for the plants in order to follow up the result. Implications: The economic aspect has a major role in the design as it can prevent sustainability solutions. Therefore, financial support in energy issues is a good incentive for companies. Miljöbyggnad is then a good support in project planning for new production since a certification process is not always necessary. To develop the employee work structure, knowledge transfer should be given more priority. Limitations: The study is limited to Miljöbyggnad where only energy indicators have been studied. The case study is limited to apartment buildings to reduce the scope of the study. The results and recommendations presented are generally valid for those companies that have similar working methods and routines.

Thesis (MPA.) --University of Limpopo, 2016 / Refer to the document

In this thesis work, electricty generation modeling of the wind energy -one type of the renewable energy sources- is studied. The wind energy characteristics and the distribution of wind speed in a specific region is also examined. In addition, the power curves of the wind turbines are introduced and the relationship between the wind speed and wind power is explained. The generation characteristics of the wind turbines from various types of producers are also investigated. In this study, the main wind power forecasting methods are presented and the advantages and disadvantages of the methods are analyzed. The physical approaches, statistical methods and the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) methods are introduced. The parameters that affect the capacity factor, the total energy generation and the payback period are examined. In addition, the wind turbine models and their effect on the total energy generation with different wind data from various sites are explained. As a part of this study, a MATLAB-based software about wind speed and energy modelling and payback period calculation has been developed. In order to simplify the calculation process, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been designed. In addition, a simple wind energy persistence model for wind power plant operator in the intra-day market has been developed.

Renewable energy is a current issue in the world as well as in Turkey. Turkey has developing policies in the renewable energy field. Although it is a beneficial mean of obtaining energy, there are barriers on renewable energy production. In order to develop renewable energies, those barriers have to be analyzed and suitable implementations should be developed to overcome them. In this thesis policy and implementation on the renewables are evaluated in general and specially for Turkey. The electricity market is one of the crucial factors of development of the renewable energy. The day-ahead market and renewable energy support mechanism in Turkey are investigated. Finally benefit calculations is carried out in order to compare benefits of renewable energy in market and support mechanisms by using real time price and production values of two renewable energy plants / a hydropower and a wind power plants. Further, outcomes of newly developed prediction project for wind power plants are evaluated in terms of market benefit.

Rural development by means of providing uninterruptible power supply has become a priority among developing countries. Nigeria especially has on its top agenda the mandate to provide clean and cost-effective means of energy to the rural communities, hardest hit by wave of incessant outages of electricity supply. Renewable Energy (RE), a clean form of energy that can be derived from natural sources is widely available throughout Nigeria but is not harnessed. In this dissertation a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) framework is proposed for renewable energy towards rural community development in Nigeria as indicated in the 18-point recommendations of Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN). Moreover, a cost-benefit analysis tool is formulated and developed from the CBA framework in order to analyze comparatively the costs and intangible benefits of renewable energy projects for rural application. A case study demonstrating the working methodology of the proposed framework is presented in order to establish the cost-benefit components by assessing the comparative cost-benefit analysis of RE at a rural site of Nigeria. Erinjiyan Ekiti rural area is located for CBA assessment with three RE resources (solar, wind and small hydro) selected for consideration. Through the application of Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), the respondents' willingness to pay for RE supply is obtained and RE benefits in monetary terms computed. Using three economic decision criteria namely: Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR); the three RE resources are ranked according to their economic viability. The result of the analysis provides useful insight to investors and decision makers into how RE projects in rural community should be conducted. Foremost, it is revealed that all three RE options will be economically viable if implemented, though adequate caution must be taken when making a decision. Based on the CBA assessment, the Small-Hydro Power (SHP) option is ranked as the most viable option. However, this is swiftly negated if RE social impact, such as the spiritual belief of the rural dwellers, who rely on the only potential river as a medium of communication with their ancestors, are taken into consideration. Furthermore, a sensitivity assessment of the three RE options revealed that only solar photovoltaic (PV) option is marginally viable, thus turns negative upon an assumed increase in discount rate of only 17%. Herein, the proposed CBA framework provides a useful insight into an efficient method of appraising RE projects in rural communities. A CBA simulation tool is formulated and adapted from the CBA framework to enable quicker, reliable and automated means of assessing RE projects with a view to making wise investment decision. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Rural development by means of providing uninterruptible power supply has become a priority among developing countries. Nigeria especially has on its top agenda the mandate to provide clean and cost-effective means of energy to the rural communities, hardest hit by wave of incessant outages of electricity supply. Renewable Energy (RE), a clean form of energy that can be derived from natural sources is widely available throughout Nigeria but is not harnessed. In this dissertation a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) framework is proposed for renewable energy towards rural community development in Nigeria as indicated in the 18-point recommendations of Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN). Moreover, a cost-benefit analysis tool is formulated and developed from the CBA framework in order to analyze comparatively the costs and intangible benefits of renewable energy projects for rural application. A case study demonstrating the working methodology of the proposed framework is presented in order to establish the cost-benefit components by assessing the comparative cost-benefit analysis of RE at a rural site of Nigeria. Erinjiyan Ekiti rural area is located for CBA assessment with three RE resources (solar, wind and small hydro) selected for consideration. Through the application of Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), the respondents' willingness to pay for RE supply is obtained and RE benefits in monetary terms computed. Using three economic decision criteria namely: Net Present Value (NPV), Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR); the three RE resources are ranked according to their economic viability. The result of the analysis provides useful insight to investors and decision makers into how RE projects in rural community should be conducted. Foremost, it is revealed that all three RE options will be economically viable if implemented, though adequate caution must be taken when making a decision. Based on the CBA assessment, the Small-Hydro Power (SHP) option is ranked as the most viable option. However, this is swiftly negated if RE social impact, such as the spiritual belief of the rural dwellers, who rely on the only potential river as a medium of communication with their ancestors, are taken into consideration. Furthermore, a sensitivity assessment of the three RE options revealed that only solar photovoltaic (PV) option is marginally viable, thus turns negative upon an assumed increase in discount rate of only 17%. Herein, the proposed CBA framework provides a useful insight into an efficient method of appraising RE projects in rural communities. A CBA simulation tool is formulated and adapted from the CBA framework to enable quicker, reliable and automated means of assessing RE projects with a view to making wise investment decision. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Land and Environment, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 361-386)