There is overwhelming scientific evidence that shows the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere is rising at an unprecedented rate. This is attributed to increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions, a large proportion of which originates from anthropogenic combustion of carbon-based fossil fuels for energy. There is therefore a strong argument for the increased role of less environmentally damaging, low carbon energy sources including renewable energy technologies. Run-of-river hydropower is one such renewable energy option, considered more environmentally benign than traditional hydropower which requires the construction of large dams to create a reservoir. The aim of this study was to develop a model to search for, and map, economically viable run-of-river hydropower resource that can function on any global catchment of any size. Development and testing of the model was conducted on China's 2 million km2 Yangtze River drainage basin, the third longest river in the world and a rich landscape for hydropower. A gridded, distributed hydrological model was developed integrating high-resolution meteorological datasets and a digital elevation model (DEM). Using the model, the surface hydrology of the Yangtze catchment was simulated at a timestep of 6 minutes to obtain the mean daily surface runoff for every day from the beginning of 1979 to the end of 2007. Observed river flow data from sub-catchments of the Yangtze were used to calibrate the model by differential optimisation, an evolutionary computation technique. Validation was carried out on a 1.6 million km2 sub-catchment resulting in a mean objective function of 0.95 (where a perfect fit would be 1.0) across 8 objective functions commonly used in hydrology. Catchment wide mean daily runoff data was used to develop flow duration curves across the catchment river network. Virtual power stations were constructed at each river cell, iteratively testing differing scheme configurations, and costed using the RETScreen methodology. A best performing hydropower network was determined by a conflict algorithm, designed to prioritise high profit schemes and to remove lower performing and conflicting schemes. This resulted in a potential run-of-river installed capacity across the Yangtze catchment of 103GW (at 10% discount rate), generating 394TWh per annum. This model would be a valuable tool in finding optimal locations for future hydropower resource.

The global requirement for sustainable energy provision will become increasingly important over the next fifty years as the environmental effects of fossil fuel use become apparent. Therefore, the issues surrounding integration of renewable energy supplies need to be considered carefully. The focus of this work was the development of an innovative computer aided design of a 3 Dimensional renewable energy platform for Togo’s smart grid power system infrastructure. It demonstrates its validation for industrial, commercial and domestic applications. The Wind, Hydro, and PV system forming our 3 Dimensional renewable energy power generation systems introduces a new path for hybrid systems which extends the system capacities to include, a stable and constant clean energy supply, a reduced harmonic distortion, and an improved power system efficiency. Issues requiring consideration in high percentage renewable energy systems therefore includes the reliability of the supply when intermittent sources of electricity are being used, and the subsequent necessity for storage and back-up generation The adoption of Genetic algorithms in this case was much suited in minimizing the THD as the adoption of the CHB-MLI was ideal for connecting renewable energy sources with an AC grid. Cascaded inverters have also been proposed for use as the main traction drive in electric vehicles, where several batteries or ultra-capacitors are well suited to serve as separate DC sources. The simulation done in various non-linear load conditions showed the proportionality of an integral control based compensating cascaded passive filter thereby balancing the system even in non-linear load conditions. The measured total harmonic distortion of the source currents was found to be 2.36% thereby in compliance with IEEE 519-1992 and IEC 61000-3 standards for harmonics This work has succeeded in developing a more complete tool for analysing the feasibility of integrated renewable energy systems. This will allow informed decisions to be made about the technical feasibility of supply mix and control strategies, plant type, sizing and storage sizing, for any given area and range of supply options. The developed 3D renewable energy platform was examined and evaluated using CAD software analysis and a laboratory base mini test. The initial results showed improvements compared to other hybrid systems and their existing control systems. There was a notable improvement in the dynamic load demand and response, stability of the system with a reduced harmonic distortion. The derivatives of this research therefore proposes an innovative solution and a path for Togo and its intention of switching to renewable energy especially for its smart grid power system infrastructure. It demonstrates its validation for industrial, commercial and domestic applications.

Energy access has gained a lot of attention following the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which under Goal 7 emphasizes the access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Energy is central in addressing the major global challenges of the 21st century, including poverty, climate change, famine to mention but a few; and yet a large number of people especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) still lack access to modern energy, such as electricity, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for lighting and cooking respectively. Initiatives have been taken at an international, regional and national level to address the issue of energy access, however, the problem continues to escalate in SSA. SSA countries have common energy challenges which could be tackled with common efforts through regional cooperation. Achieving cooperative outcomes can be difficult among countries on a bilateral basis. In this regard, the employment of a broader multi-country framework which can be utilized through the existing regional organizations and international organizations might be expected to lead to greater cooperation in the energy sector. This possibility is the springboard for the present research. In this thesis, I identify the key regional energy cooperative mechanisms employed by SSA regional organizations and ask whether these are efficient for tackling the challenge of energy access. The primary contribution of this work is to establish and propose a new method which could be employed by SSA regional bodies in both regulatory and infrastructural energy cooperative mechanisms to ensure that regional efforts are enhanced at the national level to tackle energy access and climate change challenges. I also propose a new definition of energy access which could be employed by regional and international organizations. This is much more than a matter of improving stipulative definitions: it is intended to contribute positively to an ongoing debate on the meaning of energy access and what such access entails.

This dissertation is comprised of three papers that analyze the relationship between political money, elite interests and policies. Individual papers in this work are connected through this overarching theme and the methodology that is used. Each paper employs statistical methods on large-scale datasets with an emphasis on network analysis. The first paper investigates the relationship between the strength of elite connections and the success of renewable energy and emission reduction policies. Based on an original dataset created from social media accounts of the ministers in 34 countries, this analysis uses a stochastic block model and modularity analysis to compare the strength of connections between different types of elites. The quantitative analysis is complemented by in-depth interviews conducted in seven European countries. The second paper explores the relationship between socio-political capital of state-level American politicians and their agenda holding power in legislation. Using a very extensive dataset on campaign contribution records and state-level bill proposals in the United States, this paper employs survival analysis to explore the aforementioned connection. The third paper is a quantitative description of the large datasets on federal- and state-level campaign contribution records and state-level bill proposals. Using visualization, network analysis, and clustering, the last part of the dissertation uncovers some of the connections between big political donors, parties, private sector, and legislation. The last paper in the dissertation also contains a typological identification section for donors and lawmakers. The goal of the dissertation is to expand the literature on elites, to explore what new stories can be told about political money in the United States, and to make use of large-scale datasets for more conclusive arguments in American politics and policy literature.

abstract: Nowadays, the widespread introduction of distributed generators (DGs) brings great challenges to the design, planning, and reliable operation of the power system. Therefore, assessing the capability of a distribution network to accommodate renewable power generations is urgent and necessary. In this respect, the concept of hosting capacity (HC) is generally accepted by engineers to evaluate the reliability and sustainability of the system with high penetration of DGs. For HC calculation, existing research provides simulation-based methods which are not able to find global optimal. Others use OPF (optimal power flow) based methods where too many constraints prevent them from obtaining the solution exactly. They also can not get global optimal solution. Due to this situation, I proposed a new methodology to overcome the shortcomings. First, I start with an optimization problem formulation and provide a flexible objective function to satisfy different requirements. Power flow equations are the basic rule and I transfer them from the commonly used polar coordinate to the rectangular coordinate. Due to the operation criteria, several constraints are incrementally added. I aim to preserve convexity as much as possible so that I can obtain optimal solution. Second, I provide the geometric view of the convex problem model. The process to find global optimal can be visualized clearly. Then, I implement segmental optimization tool to speed up the computation. A large network is able to be divided into segments and calculated in parallel computing where the results stay the same. Finally, the robustness of my methodology is demonstrated by doing extensive simulations regarding IEEE distribution networks (e.g. 8-bus, 16-bus, 32-bus, 64-bus, 128-bus). Thus, it shows that the proposed method is verified to calculate accurate hosting capacity and ensure to get global optimal solution. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2018

abstract: With the increasing penetration of converter interfaced renewable generation into power systems, the structure and behavior of the power system is changing, catalyzing alterations and enhancements in modeling and simulation methods. This work puts forth a Hybrid Electromagnetic Transient-Transient Stability simulation method implemented using MATLAB and Simulink, to study power electronic based power systems. Hybrid Simulation enables detailed, accurate modeling, along with fast, efficient simulation, on account of the Electromagnetic Transient (EMT) and Transient Stability (TS) simulations respectively. A critical component of hybrid simulation is the interaction between the EMT and TS simulators, established through a well-defined interface technique, which has been explored in detail. This research focuses on the boundary conditions and interaction between the two simulation models for optimum accuracy and computational efficiency. A case study has been carried out employing the proposed hybrid simulation method. The test case used is the IEEE 9-bus system, modified to integrate it with a solar PV plant. The validation of the hybrid model with the benchmark full EMT model, along with the analysis of the accuracy and efficiency, has been performed. The steady-state and transient analysis results demonstrate that the performance of the hybrid simulation method is competent. The hybrid simulation technique suitably captures accuracy of EMT simulation and efficiency of TS simulation, therefore adequately representing the behavior of power systems with high penetration of converter interfaced generation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2018

Thesis (Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there are several challenges that hinder development. One of these challenges is access to electricity. There are numerous benefits to having access to reliable electricity. These include less time spent fetching water from rivers and dams, as water purification systems for households could be used in villages; children in villages would be able to spend more time doing their schoolwork and not fetching wood for fire; and automated irrigation systems could be used for villagers to farm and make an income. Finding alternative ways to generate electricity would enable access to electricity for regions that currently do not have the electricity. This means that large organisations need to find alternative ways of generating electricity, as they have the means to do so. With the current renewable energy technologies available, there are now more ways in which electricity could be generated. The use of biomass is no exception to this. With constant developments in the renewable energy sector, waste-to-energy (WtE) is proving to be a viable method to generate electricity. The main aim of this research was to determine if a commercial food retailing organisation could use their food waste for generating electricity for their own use to reduce their demand from the central grid. A way of determining the viability of this type of technology is using a software that simulates renewable energy projects. In this research, an organisation was contacted for waste data. Systems for two of the stores will be simulated and results will be discussed. The organisation will remain anonymous. The software used in this research is System Advisor Model (SAM), which was developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the United States. In the results, three results were discussed. These are the monthly energy, monthly heat rate and the monthly boiler efficiency for each of the stores for Store 1, the annual energy simulated was 138,509 kWh and 131,677 kWh for Store 2. Monthly energy averages for each store were 11,542 kWh for Store 1 and 10,973 kWh for Store 2, respectively. There are several opportunities for research based on the findings. These include researching other food sectors in the study; conducting a financial analysis of small-scale WtE systems; constructing a prototype of the system; and using three different softwares to simulate a system for the same project.

Esta dissertação visa estimar o potencial de energia elétrica do biogás, conhecido também como gás de aterro, gerado por resíduos sólidos urbanos (RSU) no Brasil. A estimativa foi aplicada para todos os 5.565 municípios do Brasil. O método utilizado para estimar a geração de biogás foi o IPCC 2000 (First Order Decay - FOD), pois leva em consideração inúmeros parâmetros, como a composição da matéria orgânica no aterro, teor de umidade do lixo, grau de compactação, temperatura no interior do aterro. Adicionalmente, este método é o mais difundido mundialmente e é o mesmo método utilizado para inventários de Gases de Efeito Estufa no Brasil, permitindo, dessa forma, comparações entre os estudos. No método, foram empregados os dados dos censos do IBGE 1970, 1980, 1991, 2000, 2010 de forma a representar fielmente o crescimento populacional e possibilita estimar a quantidade de resíduos sólidos gerados para todos os anos estudados. No estudo, foram analisados três cenários distintos representando diferentes tendências na gestão de resíduos no Brasil (cenários de referência, otimista e pessimista). O potencial elétrico do biogás no Brasil de acordo com o Cenário de referência para 2013 é de 983 MW, representando 1,6 % da potência elétrica instalada atual e para o ano de 2020, o potencial é de 1.602 MW. Concluindo o estudo, foram realizadas análises financeira e de sensibilidade em três diferentes projetos para avaliação da viabilidade de cada projeto. / This dissertation aims to estimate the potential for energy recovery from landfill gas through municipal solid waste (MSW) in Brazil. The survey was carried out in all 5,565 municipalities in Brazil. The used method to estimate the generation of landfill gas was the IPCC 2000 (First Order Decay - FOD) because it takes into account several parameters, such as: the type of organic matter, the waste moisture content, degree of compaction and temperature inside the landfill. Additionally, this method is the most widespread in the world and it is the same method used in greenhouse gases inventories in Brazil, thus allowing comparisons between these studies. In the method, data from national census of 1970, 1980, 1991, 2000, 2010 was used in order to accurately represent the population growth and allows estimating the amount of solid waste generated in every year. The study analyzed three different scenarios representing different trends in the solid waste management in Brazil (reference, optimistic and pessimistic scenarios). The electrical potential of landfill gas in Brazil (in the reference scenario) in 2013 is 983 MW, representing 1.6% of the current installed capacity and for 2020, the electrical potential is 1,602 MW. Concluding this study, a financial and sensitivity analysis as carried out on three different projects to evaluate the feasibility of each project.

O presente estudo teve como principal objetivo avaliar a produção de hidrogênio a partir de diferentes concentrações de vinhaça de cana-de-açúcar a 370°C e 55°C. Além disso, os consórcios microbianos mesófilo e termófilo utilizados nos ensaios em reatores em batelada foram caracterizados por meio da técnica de clonagem e sequenciamento do gene RNAr 16S visando conhecer a diversidade de bactérias. Os ensaios de produção de hidrogênio foram realizados após o enriquecimento dos consócios microbianos a partir de lodo de reator UASB em condição mesófila e termófila utilizando vinhaça como fonte de carbono. Todos os ensaios foram realizados em triplicata de reatores em batelada com aproximadamente 2, 5, 7 e 12 g DQO/L de vinhaça, sendo monitorada a produção de hidrogênio, ácidos orgânicos e solventes, além de carboidratos totais solúveis. O potencial de produção de hidrogênio foi maior para concentrações crescentes de vinhaça; ou seja, de 4,3 para 28,4 mmol \'H IND.2\' nos ensaios a 37°C. Para os ensaios termófilos esses valores foram bastante similares entre si, variando de 5 a 6,7 mmol \'H IND.2\'. Em relação ao rendimento de produção de \'H IND.2\', observou-se que não ocorreu variação com aumento da concentração de substrato para os ensaios mesófilos (10 mmol \'H IND.2\'/g carboidratos totais), todavia, para os ensaios termófilos o rendimento diminuiu com o aumento da concentração de vinhaça, ou seja, de 21,7 (2 g DQO/L) para 3,2 mmol \'H IND.2\'/g carboidratos totais (12 g DQO/L). Nos ensaios mesófilos, obteve-se degradação acima de 79% do substrato orgânico, enquanto para os ensaios termófilos esse valor variou de 36 a 6 %. Os metabólitos gerados foram ácido acético e butírico nos ensaios mesófilos e, somente ácido butírico nos ensaios termófilos. Clones provenientes do consórcio mesófilo foram similares a microrganismos das famílias Clostridiaceae (75%) e Ruminococcaceae (22%). Em contrapartida, no consórcio termófilo, 96% dos clones foram filogeneticamente relacionados a Thermoanaerobacterium. As cepas microbianas isoladas (CA e C1) apresentaram rendimento de produção de hidrogênio de 10 e 1,1 mmol \'H IND.2\'/g glicose, respectivamente. CA e C1 foram similares (100%) a Clostridium acetobutylicum e Clostridium carboxidivorans. / The present study aimed to evaluate the production of hydrogen from different concentrations of sugar cane vinasse at 37°C and 55°C. Moreover, the mesophilic and thermophilic microbial consortia used in the hydrogen production tests were characterized by cloning and sequencing techniques to know its microbial diversity. Hydrogen production tests were carried out after the microbial enrichment from a UASB granular sludge at a temperature of 37°C and 55°C using vinasse as sole carbon source. All assays were performed in triplicate of batch reactors with about 2, 5, 7 and 12 g COD/L of vinasse. During the assays \'H IND.2\', solvents and organic acids production as well as the soluble carbohydrates were measured. Potentials of hydrogen production increased with the increasing concentration of substrate in the mesophilic tests (4.3 to 28.4 mmol \'H IND.2\'). However, for the thermophilic tests, the hydrogen production potentials were very similar among them, ranging from 5 to 6.7 mmol \'H IND.2\'. For the mesophilic tests, the hydrogen yields did not change with increasing the vinasse concentration for the (values around 10 mmol \'H IND.2\'/g carbohydrates), however, for the thermophilic tests the hydrogen yields decreased with the increase of vinasse concentration, the yield ranged from 21.7 (2 g COD/L) to 3.2 mmol \'H IND.2\'/g carbohydrate (12 g COD/L). The efficiency of substrate degradation was higher for mesophilic tests, and its minor value was 79%. For the thermophilic tests, the substrate consumption was lower, and the values ranged from 36 to 61%. The metabolites generated were acetic and butyric acids for tests at 37°C and butyric acids for the tests at 55°C. The mesophilic clones were similar to the family Clostridiaceae (75%) and Ruminococcaceae (22%). In contrast, the thermophilic consortium presented 96% of clones related to Thermoanaerobacterium. Isolated bacterial strains (CA and C1) showed hydrogen yields of 10 and 1.1 mmol \'H IND.2\'/g glucose, respectively. CA and C1 were similar to Clostridium acetobutylicum (100%) and Clostridium carboxidivorans (100%).

O objetivo deste estudo foi estimar os efeitos da curva de aprendizado sobre a competitividade de fontes energéticas, tais como petróleo, carvão, gás natural, biomassa (etanol), hidroeletricidade, nuclear, eólica e fotovoltaica, e propor medidas regulatórias que incentivem as tecnologias renováveis. Para tanto, se propôs a utilização da abordagem de learning curves, que considera três efeitos principais para explicar a redução dos custos de produção: o efeito especialização (chamado de learning by doing), o efeito escala (scale effect) e o efeito da pesquisa e desenvolvimento - P&D (learning by searching). Identificou-se o peso desses efeitos por fonte energética com vistas a auxiliar no direcionamento de incentivos às energias renováveis, de modo a se decidir se a ênfase deve ser dada à especialização, escala ou P&D. Embora os modelos originais de learning curves tenham sido idealizados a partir da trajetória dos custos, devido a facilidades operacionais a literatura na área vem adotando o preço como proxy de custos. Neste estudo, a orientação do modelo a custos ou a preços foi objeto de uma avaliação através de análise concorrencial. Como resultado, verificou-se que a adoção de preços como proxy de custos mostrou-se possível para a maioria das fontes analisadas devido a um grau satisfatório de concorrência dos mercados relativos a essas fontes de energia. Uma vez definida a orientação do modelo, a metodologia proposta envolveu estimar os três efeitos por métodos econométricos. Os resultados indicaram que as fontes carvão, petróleo e gás, energia nuclear e fotovoltaica reagiram ao efeito aprendizado, embora não apresentassem resposta expressiva quanto aos gastos em P&D. Já as fontes eólica e etanol mostraram-se sensíveis aos gastos em P&D e ao efeito escala, sendo a escala também determinante dos preços da energia nuclear e hidroeletricidade. Esses resultados auxiliaram na proposição de medidas públicas específicas como estímulo às fontes renováveis. / The goal of this study is to estimate the effects of the learning process on the competitiveness of the main energy sources, such as oil, coal, natural gas, biomass (ethanol), hydroelectricity, nuclear energy, wind power, and photovoltaic energy, and propose regulatory measures to encourage renewable technologies. The learning curves approach adopted in this thesis considers three main effects to explain the reduction in production costs: the learning by doing effect, the scale effect and the learning by searching effect. The relevance of these three effects was identified for energy source, in order to assist in the incentives direction to promote renewable energy. Although the original models of learning curves approach have been conceived from the point of view of the costs, in the related literature the price has been adopted as a proxy due to operational facilities. In this study, the model orientation to costs or prices was chosen using a competitive analysis. It was found that price orientation could be applied to most sources, since there is enough competition in the markets. Once defined model orientation, the proposed methodology involves estimations of the three effects by econometric methods. The results showed that coal, oil and gas, nuclear and photovoltaic energy react to learning effect, though searching effect is not so important. Wind and ethanol are sensitive to searching and scale effects. Scale effects also determine the nuclear power and hydroelectricity prices. From these results, specific public measures are proposed for each renewable source.