abstract: The State of California has made great strides in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through mandated, rate-payer funded Investor Owned Utility (IOU) electricity Demand Side Management (DSM) programs. This study quantifies the amount of reduced GHG emissions in Arizona that result from DSM in that state, as well as the DSM reductions within Southern California Edison (SCE), Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E;), and San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E;) during the 2010 through 2012 California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) DSM program cycle. To accomplish this quantification, it develops a model to allocated GHG emissions based on "operating margin" resources requirements specific to each utility in order to effectively track, monitor, and quantify avoided emissions from grid-based utility resources. The developed model estimates that during the 2010-2012 program cycle, 5,327.12 metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) in GHG reductions (or 1.8 percent of total reductions) can be attributed to reduced demand from Arizona--based resources by California IOUs. By focusing on the spatial context of GHG emission reductions, this study models and quantifies the spill-over effect of California's regulatory environment into neighboring states. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Geography 2013

The Paris Agreement on climate change entered into force in 2016 and has been ratified by 193 of the 197 Parties to-date, followed by country targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions, not least through an increasing penetration of renewable energy sources. In its 2021 annual World Energy Outlook, the IEA envisages a Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario (NZE) in which renewables as a percentage of total energy supply increase from around 10% in 2020 to over 65% in 2050 and is reflected by a similar change in the percentage of variable renewables in total generation, thereby increasing the need for system flexibility. Thermal grids are a significant supplier of heat to buildings in Europe, Russia and China, providing 45 % of heat in some European countries. One of the advantages of district heating is its ability to consume multiple fuel sources, including electricity. Technologies for converting heat back to electricity mean that, in theory, district heating can adjust both the consumption of electricity, and potentially supply electricity, to provide short-term flexibility and ancillary services to the power grid, and thus may help to meet future system flexibility needs. This thesis describes the results of literature reviews and a techno-economic study to determine and quantify the potential for thermal grids to address future system flexibility needs, through possible contributions to the electricity balancing market or provision of ancillary services. These studies focus on the potential use of heat-to-power technologies in thermal grids; on identifying and quantifying short term heat storage options that can be used for increased flexibility in thermal grids; and whether the use of this flexibility could contribute to reduced curtailment of renewable electricity sources, leading to avoided emissions.  The results show that most thermal grids have multiple options for the storage of heat, with storage capacity already available that could potentially be used to provide additional flexibility. Stored heat may be converted to electricity with commercially available heat-to-power technologies, although economic feasibility may still be limited. It is shown that if storage flexibility is used to reduce the curtailment of renewable energy sources at a country scale through power-to-heat technology, this storage flexibility can lead to megatonnes of avoided CO₂eq emissions.

Research shows that the warming of the climate over the last century is extremely likely due to human activities. Furthermore, there is a need for an understanding how business activities counteract or contribute to climate change. In particular, the digitalization industry is often introduced as an important player in climate challenge. However, research also concludes that the digitalization industry’s impact on the climate is ambiguous, since it in some cases contributes to climate change and in other cases counteracts it. In order to understand the interplay between greenhouse gas emissions and digital solutions, it is necessary to outline and quantify the emissions from particular digitalization projects and furthermore the industry itself. The thesis takes off in a single case study at a Swedish digitalization consultancy company in order to investigate how both internal greenhouse gas emissions and greenhouse gas emissions from customer projects can be quantified as accurate and as often as possible. The findings disclose that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be tracked with an extremely short time step, practically continuously, especially if the tracking is integrated with the company’s ERP1 . Furthermore, the findings show that greenhouse gas emissions from customer projects can be quantified if interpreting and implementing the GHG Protocol with a soft system methodology (SSM) approach. The thesis contributes with (1) a general interpretation of the Corporate Standard (part of the GHG Protocol) in the context of digitalization; (2) a specific example of that interpretation and implementation; (3) a practical interpretation and implementation of the Project Protocol in the context of digitalization and its avoided or caused greenhouse gas emissions; and (4) a general and an in-depth analysis on the topic of quantifying a Swedish digitalization company’s greenhouse gas emissions and feasible approaches to assumption making. / Forskning slår fast att uppvärmningen av klimatet under det senaste århundradet med extremt hög sannolikhet är orsakad av människan. Det finns ett behov att förstå hur affärsverksamheter motverkar eller bidrar till klimatförändringarna. En del av denna affärsverksamheten sker inom digitaliseringsindustrin, vilken ofta presenteras som en central spelare i klimatfrågan. Å andra sidan visar forskning även på en osäkerhet gällande digitaliseringsindustrins påverkan på klimatet eftersom den i vissa fall bidrar till klimatförändringar medan den i andra fall motverkar dem. För att förstå samspelet mellan växthusgasutsläpp och digitala lösningar är det nödvändigt att överskåda och kvantifiera utsläpp från specifika digitaliseringsprojekt och, vidare, från själva industrin. Uppsatsen grundar sig i en fallstudie på ett svenskt digitaliseringskonsultbolag för att undersöka hur både interna utsläpp och utsläpp från kundprojekt kan kvantifieras så precist och så frekvent som möjligt. Resultaten pekar på att växthusgasutsläppen kan spåras och följas med extremt kort tidssteg, i stort sett kontinuerligt, i synnerhet om spårningen kan integreras med företagets affärssystem. Dessutom visar resultaten på att växthusgasutsläpp från kundprojekt kan kvantifieras om GHG Protocol tolkas och implementeras med hjälp av en “soft systems” metod (SSM). Uppsatsen bidrar med (1) en generell tolkning av Corporate Standard (en del av GHG Protocol) i en digitaliseringskontext; (2) ett specifikt exempel på en sådan tolkning och implementering; (3) en praktisk tolkning och implementering av Project Prototcol (en del av GHG Protocol) in en kontext av digitaliseringsbranschen och dess undvikta eller orsakade utsläpp; och (4) en generell och djupgående analys angående kvantifiering av ett svenskt digitaliseringsbolags växthusgasutsläpp och gångbara inställningar till att göra antaganden.

[pt] A eficiência energética (EE) terá um papel cada vez mais importante para garantir o futuro das novas gerações. Assim, o objetivo principal deste trabalho é estimar o quanto o PNEf (Plano Nacional de Eficiência Energética), publicado pelo governo brasileiro no final de 2011 irá economizar ao longo dos próximos 5 anos, evitando a construção de usinas de energia adicionais, bem como reduzindo a emissão de gases de efeito estufa na atmosfera. É também objetivo deste trabalho definir as premissas e formular diretrizes para que um possível leilão de eficiência energética seja implantado no Brasil. O custo marginal de operacão é calculado no planejamento de médio prazo do despacho para o sistema hidro-térmico brasileiro utilizando Programação Dinâmica Dual Estocástica. Foi incorporado no modelo do despacho hidro-térmico as políticas de eficiência energética de forma estocástica, havendo assim, vários cenários para a demanda de energia elétrica. Demonstrou-se que, mesmo para uma modesta redução do consumo com políticas de eficiência energética (menor que 1 porcento por ano), há uma economia nos próximos 5 anos em torno de 237 milhões de reais no cenário conservador e 268 milhões de reais no cenário otimista. Em comparação, a nova usina hidrelétrica Belo Monte irá custar em torno de 26 bilhões de reais a serem pagos ao longo de um período de 30 anos (ou seja, 867 milhões de reais em 1 anos). Conclui-se que, políticas de eficiência energética são preferíveis à construção de uma nova usina, mesmo sendo esta de fonte hidráulica. / [en] Energy efficiency will play an increasingly important role in future generations. The aim of this work is to estimate how much the PNEf (National Plan for Energy Efficiency) launched by the Brazilian government in 2011 will save over the next 5 years by avoiding the construction of additional power plants, as well as the amount of the CO2 emission. Besides, it is the aim of this work introduces the premises and guidelines of a possible demand side bidding in Brazil. The marginal operating cost is computed for medium term planning of the dispatching of power plants in the hydro-thermal system using Stochastic Dynamic Dual Programming, after incorporating stochastic energy efficiencies into the demand for electricity. We demonstrate that even for a modest improvement in energy efficiency (less than 1 percent per year), the savings over the next 5 years range from 237 million reais in the conservative scenario to 268 million reais in the optimistic scenario. By comparison the new Belo Monte hydro-electric plant will cost 26 billion reais to be repaid over a 30 year period (i.e. 867 million reais in 1 years). So in Brazil energy efficiency policies are preferable to building a new power plant.

Germany’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2045 underscores the need for climate action, with hydrogen’s multiple uses in industry, transport, and energy offering a viable solution. Efficient retrofitting of the extensive natural gas pipeline network can enable hydrogen to be transported from supply to demand centers. The aim of this study is to develop a hydrogen pipeline network strategy for Germany in 2045 that is consistent with carbon neutrality goals while minimizing associated costs. Using a single-period deterministic Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) approach, the focus is on estimating peak-hour transport demand derived from the spatial distribution of demand and supply. This estimation is based on openly available data from the Germany Energy Agency (dena) pilot study on carbon neutrality. The methodology aims to allocate hydrogen energy flows along existing pipelines through a retrofitting approach. The base scenario is derived from the projected hydrogen demand and supply for a carbon-neutral Germany in 2045, as estimated in the dena pilot study. To explore different possibilities, a sensitivity analysis compares five different demand scenarios. Each scenario examines different hard-to-abate subsectors that have limited options for decarbonization. Evaluating the routes and utilization rates across the pipeline network provides insights into the feasibility, with certain routes, particularly those originating in the north, emerging as key. The majority of pipelines in the network have low utilization rates below 25% in peak hours, which may indicate economic infeasibility or the need for alternative transport strategies. In addition, a cost of avoided emissions analysis weighs scenario-specific emission reductions against network costs. Of particular note is the network connecting CHP plants and energy-intensive industries, which appears to strike an optimal balance in terms of costs of avoided emissions and utilization rate in peak hours. Nevertheless, the study does not consider physical flow calculations, so further validation is required in this respect. The potential of the methodology, however, liesin its ability to quickly assess different scenarios and provide valuable insights into economic, environmental, and social impacts. / Tysklands åtagande om koldioxidneutralitet senast 2045 understryker behovet av klimatåtgärder, och vätgasens många användningsområden inom industri, transport och energi erbjuder en hållbar lösning. Effektiv eftermontering av det omfattande naturgasledningsnätet kan göra det möjligt att transportera vätgas från utbuds- till efterfrågecentra. Syftet med denna studie är att utveckla en strategi för vätgasnätet i Tyskland 2045 som är förenlig med målen för koldioxidneutralitet och samtidigt minimerar de tillhörande kostnaderna. Med hjälp av en deterministisk MILP-metod (Mixed Integer Linear Programming) för en enda period ligger fokus på att uppskatta efterfrågan på transporter under maxtimmar utifrån den rumsliga fördelningen av efterfrågan och utbud. Denna uppskattning baseras på öppet tillgängliga data från denas pilotstudie om koldioxidneutralitet. Metoden syftar till att fördela vätgasenergiflöden längs befintliga rörledningar genom en eftermonteringsstrategi. Det grundläggande scenariot härleds från den beräknade efterfrågan och tillgången på vätgas för ett koldioxidneutralt Tyskland 2045, enligt uppskattningar i dena-pilotstudien. För att utforska olika möjligheter jämförs fem olika efterfrågescenarier i en känslighetsanalys. Varje scenario undersöker olika delsektorer som är svåra att minska och som har begränsade alternativ för utfasning av fossila bränslen. Utvärderingen av sträckningarna och utnyttjandegraden i rörledningsnätet ger insikter om genomförbarheten, där vissa sträckningar, särskilt de med ursprung i norr, framstår som viktiga. Majoriteten av rörledningarna i nätverkethar låga nyttjandegrader under 25% under rusningstid, vilket kan indikera ekonomisk ogenomförbarhet eller behovet av alternativa transportstrategier. Dessutom väger en kostnads-/nyttoanalys av utsläpp scenariospecifika utsläppsminskningar mot nätverkskostnader. Särskilt värt att notera är det nätverk som förbinder kraftvärmeverk och energiintensiva industrier, vilket verkar ge en optimal balans när det gäller kostnader för utsläpp och nyttjandegrad. Studien tar dock inte hänsyn till fysiska flödesberäkningar, så ytterligare validering krävs i detta avseende. Metodens potential ligger dock i dess förmåga att snabbt bedöma olika scenarier och ge värdefulla insikter om ekonomiska, miljömässiga och sociala effekter.