This PhD thesis compares the effectiveness with which different installer businesses are able to fit small-scale renewable energy in UK homes. It looks particularly at how installer businesses can affect the rate and standards of uptake of these technologies. 388 installer businesses were surveyed in 2011 and 2012. From summer to autumn 2012, follow~up interviews were conducted with 24 installers, most of whom completed the main survey in late 2011. In late 2012, the main survey respondents were invited to complete a repeat survey to assess market change over the past 12 months. The results indicate an emerging and volatile market where solar PV, solar hot water and air source heat pumps are the dominant technologies. Most installers are very small: around half have five employees or less, or are no more than four years old . Installer business models can be characterized according to the different ways in which they create value (e.g. technology types installed), who they create value for (e.g. national versus local markets, marketing strategies), and their source of business competence (e.g. preferred training courses and manufacturers). Overall the results show the fundamental dependence of installer business models on government subsidies and the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. But they also continue to be affected by persisting barriers to the uptake of microgeneration heat technologies especially. Market confidence has been hit by the sharp reduction in Feed-In Tariffs for solar PV and ongoing delays to the Renewable Heat Incentive for residential installations. Installers also attributed low installation numbers to negative press coverage about renewable energy. The interviews have shed light on a training and inspection regime which is barely adequate in ensuring installation standards. Applying socio-technical transitions theory, it is concluded that multiple niches co-exist in the residential microgeneration market, and that while the solar PV niche has expanded and contracted in response to changes in the Feed-In Tariff, financial and non-financial barriers to microgeneration heat technologies persist and restrict them to early niche markets. The political regime actors who determine the energy mix in the UK remain entrenched in supporting the continuing prevalence of incumbent fossil-fuel based, centralized energy generation. If these regime actors were to perceive or respond to climate change as a disruptive landscape pressure, there would be an increased prospect of one or more of these microgeneration niches causing re-alignment of the dominant energy regime.

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This PhD study addresses the question of whether the environmental impact of renewable energy sources is related to the power flux density. The object was to examine whether there are some general rules concerning the environmental impact from renewable energy sources, and whether a common factor could be the power flux density, of unit kW/m2 as an underlying principle. The background and nature of the study are described with definitions of key concepts. The role of energy in the environment, powering the natural world and having a set of functions, are explained. The need for a general theory and the rationale is considered for eight primary renewable energy sources. The literature on environmental impact from these sources is reviewed. The theory and the hypothesis are explained with questions raised. A test devised to explore the relevant interactions (sediment transport and land use) is outlined, using data from a selection of well known hydro electric power developments. The 'Stream Power' concept and a variety of parameters were used for identifying losses of energy and power to a river's natural processes, resulting from impoundment dams. The test was carried out on the reservoir reach and the river downstream. It is concluded from applying the hypothesis to hydro electric power, that the environmental impact may indeed be related to the power flux density, for the two main impact parameters investigated, land use and sediment transport, though this is not conclusively statistically confirmed due to the small sample size. The hypothesis is extended in the Appendix to the other water based renewable energy sources, tidal barrage, marine current, and wave power, and to the lower energy flux density sources such as wind, solar and biomass. It is concluded tentatively that there is a qualitative argument that the environmental impact of all renewable energy sources may be related to power flux density, in terms of both land use and some functions in nature of the energy flow.

This research investigates the viability of renewable energy and energy storage to meet a significant and fundamental human need (in this case, large-scale drinking water supplies) unassisted by conventional power. The use of renewable energy to power reverse osmosis desalination plants to provide potable water for around 50,000 people in Newhaven, in South East England, and in Massawa in Eritrea, was investigated. The following energy sources, in a variety of combinations were specifically assessed: • Wind Power • Wave Power • Solar Power • Tidal Current Power • Hydrogen production, storage and use in Fuel Cells The following types of reverse osmosis plants were studied: • No Brine Stream Recovery (BSR) reverse osmosis plant • Pelton Wheel BSR reverse osmosis plant • Pressure Exchanger BSR reverse osmosis plant Modelling was conducted to derive the amount of water that each reverse osmosis plant would deliver from various combinations and amounts of renewable power input, at varying feedwater temperatures. Scenarios that were not able to deliver enough water to meet the users' needs were scaled-up so that they could .• The cost of the scaled-up scenarios that were able to meet the users' water demands were compared with the costs associated with the equivalent conventionally-powered scenario over a 25-year life. Specifically, the following were considered: l' 1 • A coal-fired plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS) at Newhaven and • A diesel generator at Massawa. This comparison was made with and without the external costs associated with conventional energy production and use. The most financially-attractive scenario at each site was then assessed for its ability to meet the daily demand for water, over the course of a year. A comparison of the most financially-attractive renewable energy option and the equivalent conventionally-powered scenario at Massawa was undertaken, based on Net Present Value (NPV) methodology.

The deployment of bioenergy technologies is a key part of UK and European renewable energy policy. A key barrier to the deployment of bioenergy technologies is the management of biomass supply chains including the evaluation of suppliers and the contracting of biomass. In the undeveloped biomass for energy market buyers of biomass are faced with three major challenges during the development of new bioenergy projects. What characteristics will a certain supply of biomass have, how to evaluate biomass suppliers and which suppliers to contract with in order to provide a portfolio of suppliers that best satisfies the needs of the project and its stakeholder group whilst also satisfying crisp and non-crisp technological constraints. The problem description is taken from the situation faced by the industrial partner in this research, Express Energy Ltd. This research tackles these three areas separately then combines them to form a decision framework to assist biomass buyers with the strategic sourcing of biomass. The BioSS framework. The BioSS framework consists of three modes which mirror the development stages of bioenergy projects. BioSS.2 mode for early stage development, BioSS.3 mode for financial close stage and BioSS.Op for the operational phase of the project. BioSS is formed of a fuels library, a supplier evaluation module and an order allocation module, a Monte- Carlo analysis module is also included to evaluate the accuracy of the recommended portfolios. In each mode BioSS can recommend which suppliers should be contracted with and how much material should be purchased from each. The recommended blend should have chemical characteristics within the technological constraints of the conversion technology and also best satisfy the stakeholder group. The fuels library is made up from a wide variety of sources and contains around 100 unique descriptions of potential biomass sources that a developer may encounter. The library takes a wide data collection approach and has the aim of allowing for estimates to be made of biomass characteristics without expensive and time consuming testing. The supplier evaluation part of BioSS uses a QFD-AHP method to give importance weightings to 27 different evaluating criteria. The evaluating criteria have been compiled from interviews with stakeholders and policy and position documents and the weightings have been assigned using a mixture of workshops and expert interview. The weighted importance scores allow potential suppliers to better tailor their business offering and provides a robust framework for decision makers to better understand the requirements of the bioenergy project stakeholder groups. The order allocation part of BioSS uses a chance-constrained programming approach to assign orders of material between potential suppliers based on the chemical characteristics of those suppliers and the preference score of those suppliers. The optimisation program finds the portfolio of orders to allocate to suppliers to give the highest performance portfolio in the eyes of the stakeholder group whilst also complying with technological constraints. The technological constraints can be breached if the decision maker requires by setting the constraint as a chance-constraint. This allows a wider range of biomass sources to be procured and allows a greater overall performance to be realised than considering crisp constraints or using deterministic programming approaches. BioSS is demonstrated against two scenarios faced by UK bioenergy developers. The first is a large scale combustion power project, the second a small scale gasification project. The Bioss is applied in each mode for both scenarios and is shown to adapt the solution to the stakeholder group importance and the different constraints of the different conversion technologies whilst finding a globally optimal portfolio for stakeholder satisfaction.

An imaginative development of renewable energy schemes leads to power generation where the energy was previously dissipated. This thesis describes a generic model that integrates disciplines to address the barriers to deployment of hydro schemes; it uses North-West England as a case study for demonstration. The model focuses on the need to make an economic decision as to whether development is appropriate or not and is defined by a loop that links essential questions. Decision making is complex requiring a variety of data sources as evidence and forms of evaluation, in order to simplify, the process progresses through a number of iterations. By starting with simple questions regarding each component and identifying obvious show-stoppers the advice on the decision is made efficiently. Each iteration requires more detailed assessment, but by posing simple questions first, time is not wasted in solving detailed problems in one area before finding that the development is stymied by a much simpler issue in a later section of the loop. The decision requires information from a number of sources starting with the energy available at different times of year and under different conditions. To maximise the value of the research carried out, the model has been presented as a web- based tool', freely available to anyone with internet access. The tool follows standard web protocols and is intuitive in its application, using a hierarchy of menus. To demonstrate the operation of the model the quantitative aspects of the first iteration round the loop are described. Further iterations are presented without quantification. Schemes in different stages of development have been investigated ranging from initial concepts through to operating hydro systems. One scheme, at Heron Corn Mill on the river Bela just south of Milnthorpe has progressed through the course of this research from an initial idea through to a functioning power plant.

As the UK seeks rapid increases in renewables, variability brings potential reliability and cost concerns for the future electricity system. This thesis presents statistical analysis of variability characteristics and investigates their implications through a simulation approach. Wind, solar and tidal current resources are considered with a regional focus on the Bristol Channel area. A preferred mix of renewables is proposed. Five separable variability impact areas are identified, noting implications for different stakeholders. Previous studies typically place emphasis on the existing energy system and on low renewables penetrations, with balancing cost and capacity credit attracting greatest attention. By focussing on underlying resource characteristics, this thesis identifies different limitations and priorities for energy system development. Supply duration gains significance at higher penetrations and curtailment will impose ultimate economic limits on the penetration of renewable energy. Limited benefit is seen from purported advantages of renewable availability patterns, described here as supply shape. Variability is a complex concept that cannot be defined by a single property, with different resources exhibiting different characteristics. Much existing representation of variability effectively describes persistence. This thesis extends analysis to statistical distribution and frequency characteristics, as well as giving consideration to predictability. Both analytical and simulation techniques are needed to fully explore variability characteristics and system impacts. Simulation is particularly necessary for investigating curtailment and supply duration. Together these complementary approaches show statistical distribution is more relevant to explaining curtailment than correlation. Of single resources in the regional case study, tidal current can achieve the highest penetration with the lowest curtailment. Optimum penetration can be increased by introducing both wind and solar as well as introducing small volumes of energy storage. An energy system wholly reliant on variable renewables is considered unfeasible as this would lead to excessive curtailment or require high storage volumes with accompanying low storage utilisations.

Despite a number of high level policies aimed at increasing the contribution of renewable energy to the UK's energy mix, generating capacity remains low. While many surveys have uncovered a general support for cleaner energy technologies, public opposition is still identified as a key barrier to the widespread deployment of renewable energy. In an effort to more fully understand the current debate this study turns away from the quantitative surveying approaches characteristic of most previous studies into public perceptions of renewable energy, towards a more interpretive understanding. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study aims to build a richer understanding of perceptions of renewable energy. Staying sensitive to the influences of worldviews and society, this study utilises cultural theory's three active ideal types to frame the renewable energy debate and better explore the critical points where perceptions either converge or diverge.

The need for the reduction of emissions especially from electricity generating facilities has led to an increased interest in electricity generation from renewable sources. Wind generation seems to be a favourable renewable generation considering, the growth rate of wind generation. But increase in wind generation is influencing the overall power system operation and planning in terms of voltage control, stability issues, system security and power quality. Also the local power flow pattern and the system's dynamic characteristics change with a large percentage of wind generation connected to the grid.

The Governments of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have committed to highly ambitious renewable energy targets for the 2020 Single Electricity Market (SEM) with accommodation of up to 40 % or 6 GW of renewables, mostly in the form of wind power. This aim requires appropriate flexible generators to support efficient and reliable future electricity market operation and utilisation of the maximum potential from wind power sources. Therefore the principal aim of this thesis is the investigation of the most appropriate flexible solutions for the 2020 SEM, in particular: peaking generators, energy storage, additional interconnection with neighbouring markets and new advanced CCGT power plants. These technologies are implemented through a series of policy and literature- supported future SEM models based on the current electricity market model PLEXOS and compared with each other in terms of technical benefits for the electricity market operation, economical advantages for the final consumer and investment viability. In order to achieve the core aim of this thesis, a comprehensive review of the current SEM, its generation profile, operation and trading arrangements, as well as future governments' goals and market development profile have been carried out. Thereafter, an appropriate methodology for the simulation of the SEM has been developed by using the Plexos software tool. Additional investigations of the GB market allowed an understanding of market misalignments to ensure efficient cross-border trading via interconnectors. Thus in exploring the potential for the future market harmonisation, a new methodology has been developed to represent the GB market in 2020 by a model constructed with the Plexos software. The final 2020 model was proved to be acceptable for the future modelling via an extensive validation and verification test. The modelling results suggest that the greatest benefits for the 2020 wind dominated SEM operation will occur through the use of Advanced CCGT power plants or Energy storage ,. systems. The additional interconnection option will become viable only under the government investment, although, even then, it would be sill less beneficial for the SEM in 2020 than Advanced CCGT or Energy Storage options. Peaking generators are the least advantageous among all other flexible generators.