This research investigates the emergence of new participatory spaces in the transition towards a low-carbon society. Specifically, it focuses on the emerging spaces and roles for community groups in renewable energy governance. The role of community groups in facilitating a low-carbon transition has received much attention in recent years, but has been insufficiently studied within the wider context of evolving state-civil society relations. This research puts forward an understanding of community energy initiatives that is neither inherently celebratory nor dismissive of community action, but argues that such initiatives should be understood based on the interactions – between practices, organisations and relations – within and external to these communities. In doing so, this research adopts an interdisciplinary approach, building on insights from both geography and political science to understand how opportunities for community participation are articulated in particular geographical and political contexts. Grounding this research in Scotland shows the unique ways in which devolution – from the UK Government to the Scottish Government, but primarily through the emerging powers for community groups in Scotland – has created a set of spatially and temporally-specific spaces and practices of intervention. The devolution of energy governance, and the diversity of practices emerging through this process, also raises questions, however, about the democratic qualities of these new spaces and practices. This research specifically explores this issue through building on the emerging concept of energy democracy. ‘Energy democracy’ is a concept that has been adopted by a growing number of international civil society actors who regard the transition to law-carbon energy sources as an opportunity not only for technological innovation but also for wider socio-economic transformation. Invoking an image of associative democracy, those advocating for greater energy democracy consider self-governing community groups as best placed to ensure that the transition towards a low-carbon society is one that is more inclusive, democratic and just. While energy democracy, like related concepts of energy citizenship and energy justice, aims to combine technological and social transformation, its activist roots also means it is noticeably different. This is evident in two ways. First, the current body of literature is largely uncritical and rather vague in nature. The second consequence of the activist roots of energy democracy is that it is diverse in its framing of the issue and its formulation of desired transition pathways. As its main contribution to existing academic debate, my thesis explores and expands the conceptual foundations of ‘energy democracy’ by evaluating its connections to different political theories, and the consequences of different interpretations for energy democracy research and practice. Secondly, I seek to develop the empirical evidence base for energy democracy. The current, primarily activist, literature on energy democracy often assumes rather than demonstrates that the forms of governance it promotes are more democratic than the status quo. This PhD therefore sets out to analyse the complex and varied ways in which local communities practice energy governance in Scotland. First, I introduce a quantitatively-developed typology of community energy projects in Scotland to highlight the diverse nature of the sector. Subsequently I demonstrate through qualitative interviews with community groups how the diversity of the sector (both within and between groups) both contributes to, and challenges, the democratic claims made for and by community energy. In the final part I show that the hybridity of spaces created by, and for, community energy intermediaries reflect the interactions between policy and community-action. Through a focus on the interaction between actors at different governance levels, my research helps to improve an understanding of the creation and contestation of new spaces of intervention in the Scottish energy transition as a process that not only reflects a broader (re)structuring of state-civil society relations, but also provides an early and somewhat experimental expression of such restructuring.

Building energy models are used to forecast building energy use to design and control efficient building energy systems. Building energy use can generally be decomposed into heating, ventilation and air conditioning, refrigeration, appliance and lighting loads. These loads will depend on multiple factors such as outdoor weather conditions, occupants, building type, controls and scheduling. Data-driven models have become more popular with the increase in smart meter data available that can be used to train and fit the models. Additionally, buildings with high refrigeration loads have greater heat harvesting potential, however, few data-driven models have been developed for buildings such as supermarkets and ice rinks. In this work, linear regression models are used to predict the disaggregated space cooling, heating, baseload and refrigeration components of building energy use. In most cases, measured aggregate electricity use is available, however individual appliances or component loads require submetering equipment which can be expensive. Therefore the proposed models use time-based and weather features to separate the thermal and baseload portions of the electrical load. A generalized approach is also used to predict new buildings with data from existing buildings. Furthermore, a simplified model is used to predict hourly space heating from monthly natural gas measurements and hourly weather measurements. The models were evaluated on real data from buildings in Ontario and the disaggregated loads were verified with synthetic data. The results found that aggregate use was predicted reasonably well using linear regression methods, with most building types having a median normalized root mean squared error between 0.2 and 0.3, depending on the forecasting period. The model is flexible as it does not require detailed information related to the building such as lighting or setpoint schedules, however, it can be adapted in the future to include additional information and improve predictive capability. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Energy demand for buildings has been rising during recent years. Increasing building energy consumption has caused many energy-related problems and environmental issues. The on-site community energy system application is a promising way of providing energy for buildings. Community energy system usage reduces the primary energy consumption and environmental effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to the implementation of the stand-alone energy systems. Furthermore, due to the increase in electricity price and shortage of fossil fuel resources, renewable energies and energy storage technologies could be great alternative solutions to solve energy-related problems. Generally, the energy system might include various technologies such as internal combustion engine, heat recovery system, boiler, thermal storage tank, battery, absorption chiller, ground source heat pump, heating coil, electric chiller, solar photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal collectors, and seasonal thermal energy storage. The economic, technical and environmental impacts of energy systems depend on the system design and operational strategy. The focus of this thesis is to propose unified frameworks, including the mathematical formulation of all of the components to determine the optimal energy system configuration, the optimal size of each component, and optimal operating strategy. The proposed methodologies address the problems related to the optimal design of the energy system for both deterministic and stochastic cases. By the use of the proposed frameworks, the design of the energy system is investigated for different specified levels of GHG emissions ratio, and the purpose is to minimize the annual total cost. To account for uncertainties and to reduce the computational times and maintain accuracy, a novel strategy is developed to produce scenarios for the stochastic problem. System design is carried out to minimize the annual total cost and conditional value at risk (CVaR) of emissions for the confidence level of 95%. The results demonstrate how the system size changes due to uncertainty and as a function of the operational GHG emissions ratio. It is shown that with the present-day technology (without solar technologies and seasonal storage), the lowest amount of GHG emissions ratio is 37%. This indicates the need for significant technological development to overcome that ratio to be 10% of stand-alone systems. This thesis introduces novel performance curves (NPC) for determining the optimal operation of the energy system. By the use of this approach, it is possible to identify the optimal operation of the energy system without solving complex optimization procedures. The application of the proposed NPC strategy is investigated for various case studies in different locations. The usage of the proposed strategy leads to the best-operating cost-saving and operational GHG savings when compared to other published approaches. It has shown that other strategies are special (not always optimal) cases of the NPC strategy. Based on the extensive literature review, it is found that it is exceptionally complicated to apply the previously proposed models of seasonal thermal energy storage in optimization software. Besides, the high computational time is required to obtain an optimum size and operation of storage from an optimization software. This thesis also proposes a new flexible semi-analytical, semi-numerical methodology to model the heat transfer process of the borehole thermal energy storage to solve the above challenges. The model increases the flexibility of the storage operation since the model can control the process of the storage by also deciding the appropriate storage zone for charging and discharging. / Thesis / Doctor of Engineering (DEng)

An eight-lot residential subdivision in central Wairarapa is being developed to demonstrate the principles of sustainable resource management. Local energy sources for low and high grade use, including electricity sourced from proposed grid-integrated, on-site, distributed generation will supplement imported network electricity. A unique component is an internal loop grid for lot connection that interfaces with the local network through a single connection point. A decision model was designed as a decision-support tool for the development based on the annual supply-demand electrical energy balance, site infrastructure covenants and a range of economic and technology criteria. Solar and wind resources were assessed for potential supply of electricity to the community energy system. Three demand profiles were developed using supplied and estimated electrical demand data; and included assumptions on thermal performance of the houses, the use of low-grade heat, user behaviour, and appliance use. Supply and demand were analysed as daily average profiles by hour for each month of the year. The decision model outputs were designed to give a graphic view of the system options. The accompanying output datasets also enabled a number of scenarios for connection configurations, load management, and economic sensitivity to be explored for their impact on the communal approach to managing energy. The viability of the community energy system is significantly influenced by managing demand level in conjunction with system size, capital cost management, and tariffs for electricity import and export. Energy requirements could be best met in the short term by installing a site-wide mixed generation system of sized capacity between 5 and 11kW, supported by metering and information technology to deliver management data to the residents. Future research opportunities exist to continue monitoring technical, economic and social outcomes from this unique community development. Incentivising private investment in userfocussed energy innovations is an option for New Zealand to consider in the current climate of market-driven large scale electricity developments.

Community energy is an umbrella term encompassing various forms of renewable energy initiatives involving citizens and communities. These initiatives have been highlighted as a strategy for more sustainable and just energy systems. While community energy is a marginal phenomenon in Sweden, there are still around 140 active community energy initiatives of which the majority are wind power cooperatives. An overview of both active and discontinued wind power cooperatives gives evidence of different types and levels of collaborations with municipal energy companies, pointing to the vital role these play in the emergence and development of wind power cooperatives in Sweden. Still, there is a lack of research engaging with wind power cooperatives on the local level. With this thesis, I address this research gap by conducting a qualitative case study of four wind power cooperatives in Sweden exhibiting different types and levels of collaborations with municipal energy companies. The aim is to explore ways to conceptualise these collaboration structures and create a better understanding of the implications they have on the emergence and development of energy cooperatives in general. To this end, I use the concept of modes of governance as an analytical tool to discern, describe, and conceptualise the various ways in which wind energy cooperatives and municipal energy companies collaborate. The findings indicate both differences and similarities between the various cases in terms of how and why wind power cooperatives and municipal energy companies collaborate. The results suggest that a productive and supportive collaboration structure between energy cooperatives and energy companies is characterised by principles of co-production such as mutual interests and benefits. In turn, the conditions for such a collaboration depend on internal and external factors such as personal ties, individual engagement, and institutional aspects like policies and tax rules. Further, the study indicates that while cooperative ownership still has a role to play in the expansion of renewable energy in Sweden, it will likely remain a niche phenomenon whose emergence and survival is dependent on facilitation and guidance by governments.

No description available.

Energy systems across the globe are going through a radical transformation as a result of technological and institutional changes, depletion of fossil fuel resources, and climate change. Accordingly, local energy initiatives are emerging and increasing number of the business models are focusing on the end-users. This requires the present centralized energy systems to be re-organized. In this context, Integrated community energy systems (ICESs) are emerging as a modern development to re-organize local energy systems allowing simultaneous integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) and engagement of local communities. With the emergence of ICESs new roles and responsibilities as well as interactions and dynamics are expected in the energy system. Although local energy initiatives such as ICESs are rapidly emerging due to community objectives, such as cost and emission reductions as well as resiliency, assessment and evaluation of the value that these systems can provide to both local communities and the whole energy system are still lacking. The value of ICESs is also impacted by the institutional settings internal and external to the system. With this background, this thesis aims to understand the ways in which ICESs can contribute to enhancing the energy transition. This thesis utilizes a conceptual framework consisting of institutional and societal levels in order to understand the interaction and dynamics of ICESs implementation.  Current energy trends and the associated technological, socio-economic, environmental and institutional issues are reviewed. The developed ICES model performs optimal planning and operation of ICESs and assesses their performance based on economic and environmental metrics. For the considered community size and local conditions, grid-connected ICESs are already beneficial to the alternative of solely being supplied from the grid, both in terms of total energy costs and CO2 emissions, whereas grid-defected systems, although performing very well in terms of CO2 emissions reduction, are still rather expensive. ICESs ensure self-provision of energy and can provide essential system services to the larger energy system. This thesis has demonstrated the added value of ICESs to the individual households, local communities and the society. A comprehensive institutional design considering techno-economic and institutional perspectives is necessary to ensure effective contribution of ICESs in the energy transition. / Energisystem över hela världen går igenom en radikal omvandling till följd av tekniska och institutionella förändringar, utarmning av fossila bränsleresurser och klimatförändringar. Följaktligen växer lokala energiinitiativ fram och ett ökande antal affärsmodeller fokuserar på slutanvändarna. Detta förutsätter att de nuvarande centraliserade energisystemen omorganiseras. I det här sammanhanget utvecklas integrerade samhällsenergisystem (ICES) som en modern utveckling för att omorganisera lokala energisystem som möjliggör samtidig integration av distribuerade energiresurser och engagemang från lokala samhällen. Med framväxten av ICES nya roller och ansvarsområden samt interaktioner och dynamik förväntas i energisystemet. Även om lokala energiinitiativ som ICES snabbt framträder på grund av samhällsmål, såsom kostnad och utsläppsminskningar samt resiliens, bedömning och utvärdering av det värde som dessa system kan ge till både lokala samhällen och hela energisystemet saknas fortfarande. Värdet av ICES-värden påverkas också av de institutionella inställningarna internt och externt för systemet. Med denna bakgrund syftar denna avhandling till att förstå hur ICES kan bidra till att förbättra energiövergången. Denna avhandling använder en konceptuell ram som består av institutionella och samhälleliga nivåer för att förstå samspelet och dynamiken i ICES-genomförandet. Nuvarande energitrender och de därtill hörande tekniska, socioekonomiska, miljömässiga och institutionella frågorna ses över. Den utvecklade ICES-modellen utför optimal planering och drift av ICES och bedömer deras prestanda baserat på ekonomiska och miljömässiga mätvärden. För den ansedda samhällsstorleken och lokala förhållandena är nätanslutna ICES redan fördelaktiga jämfört med alternativet att endast försörjas från nätet, både när det gäller totala energikostnader och koldioxidutsläpp, medan nät-defekterade system, även om de fungerar väldigt bra i termer av minskningen av koldioxidutsläppen fortfarande är ganska dyra. ICES garanterar självförsörjning av energi och kan tillhandahålla viktiga systemtjänster till det större energisystemet. Denna avhandling har visat mervärdet av ICES till de enskilda hushållen, lokalsamhällena och samhället. En omfattande institutionell utformning med hänsyn till de tekno-ekonomiska och institutionella perspektiven är nödvändigt för att säkerställa ett effektivt bidrag från ICES i energiövergången. / Los sistemas energéticos en todo el mundo atraviesan una transformación radical como resultado de cambios tecnológicos e institucionales, el agotamiento de combustibles fósiles y el cambio climático. Por consiguiente, las iniciativas locales de energía están surgiendo y los modelos de negocio se centran cada vez más en los usuarios finales. Esto requiere la reorganización de los actuales sistemas energéticos centralizados. En este contexto, los sistemas integrados de energía comunitaria (ICES, por sus siglas en inglés) están emergiendo como un desarrollo moderno para reorganizar los sistemas energéticos locales, permitiendo la integración simultánea de los recursos energéticos distribuidos y la participación de las comunidades locales. Con la aparición de ICESs se esperan nuevos roles y responsabilidades, así como interacciones y dinámicas, en el sistema energético. Aunque las iniciativas locales en materia de energía, como las ICESs, están surgiendo rápidamente debido a los objetivos de la comunidad, tales como la reducción de costos y emisiones, así como la resiliencia, y la evaluación, siguen careciendo del valor que estos sistemas pueden brindar tanto a las comunidades locales como a todo el sistema energético. El valor de los ICESs también se ve afectado por los entornos institucionales tanto internos como externos al sistema. Con este trasfondo, esta tesis pretende comprender las formas en que los ICESs pueden contribuir a mejorar la transición energética. Esta tesis utiliza un marco conceptual que consiste en niveles institucionales y sociales para comprender la interacción y dinámica de la implementación de los ICESs.  Además, esta tesis revisa las tendencias actuales de energía y los problemas tecnológicos, socioeconómicos, ambientales e institucionales asociados. La tesis desarrolla un modelo que optimiza la planificación y el funcionamiento óptimos de ICESs y evalúa su funcionamiento basado en métricas económicas y ambientales. Para el tamaño de la comunidad y las condiciones locales consideradas, los ICESs conectados a la red ya son beneficiosos tanto en términos de costos totales de energía como de emisiones de CO2 comparado con la alternativa de ser suministrados únicamente desde la red, mientras que los sistemas aislados y desconectados de la red, aunque desempeñándose muy bien en términos de reducción emisiones de CO2, siguen siendo bastante más costosos. Los ICESs garantizan el autoabastecimiento de energía y pueden proporcionar servicios esenciales al resto del sistema energético. Esta tesis demuestra el valor añadido de los ICESs a los hogares individuales, las comunidades locales y la sociedad. Un diseño integral que considere las perspectivas tecno-económicas e institucionales es necesario para asegurar la contribución efectiva de los ICESs en la transición energética. / Energiesystemen over de hele wereld gaan door een radicale transformatie als gevolg van technologische en institutionele veranderingen, uitputting van fossiele brandstoffen en klimaatverandering. Bijgevolg komen lokale energie-initiatieven op en richten steeds meer verdienmodellen zich op de eindgebruikers. Dit vereist dat de huidige gecentraliseerde energiesystemen opnieuw worden georganiseerd. In deze context komen geïntegreerde energiegemeenschapssystemen (ICESs) op als een moderne ontwikkeling om lokale energiesystemen te reorganiseren, welke gelijktijdige integratie van lokale energiebronnen en betrokkenheid van lokale gemeenschappen mogelijk maakt. Het wordt verwacht dat de opkomst van ICESs zowel nieuwe rollen en verantwoordelijkheden met zich meebrengt. Hoewel lokale energie-initiatieven zoals ICESs snel opkomen door de  doelstellingen van de gemeenschap, zoals kosten- en emissiereducties en veerkracht, schort het nog steeds aan beoordeling en evaluatie van de waarde die deze systemen kunnen hebben voor zowel de lokale gemeenschappen als het hele energiesysteem. De waarde van ICESs wordt ook beïnvloed door de institutionele kenmerken binnen en buiten het systeem. Met deze achtergrond beoogt dit proefschrift te begrijpen op welke manieren de ICESs kunnen bijdragen aan de verbetering van de energietransitie. Dit proefschrift maakt gebruik van een conceptueel raamwerk bestaande uit institutionele en maatschappelijke niveaus om de interactie en dynamiek van de implementatie van de ICES te begrijpen. De huidige energietrends en de bijbehorende technologische, sociaal-economische, milieu- en institutionele problemen worden beoordeeld. Het ontwikkelde ICES-model voert optimale planning en gebruik van ICESs uit en beoordeelt hun prestaties op basis van economische en milieu-indicatoren. Voor de beschouwde gemeenschapsgrootte en lokale omstandigheden zijn  op het net aangesloten ICESs al voordelig ten opzichte van het alternatief waarbij uitsluitend vanuit het net wordt geleverd, zowel wat betreft de totale energiekosten als de CO2-uitstoot, terwijl de grid-defected systemen, hoewel heel goed presterend in termen van CO2-emissiereductie, nog steeds vrij duur zijn. ICESs zorgen voor zelfvoorziening van energie en kunnen essentiële systeemdiensten leveren aan het grotere energiesysteem. Dit proefschrift heeft de toegevoegde waarde van ICESs voor de individuele huishoudens, lokale gemeenschappen en de samenleving aangetoond. Een uitgebreid institutioneel ontwerp met inachtneming van techno-economische en institutionele perspectieven is nodig om de effectieve bijdrage van de ICESs in de energietransitie te waarborgen. / <p>QC 20170911</p> / Sustainable Energy Technologies and Strategies

In the summer of 2007, a single neighbourhood in downtown Toronto contributed at least 13 percent of all residential grid???tie solar photovoltaic (PV) systems sold in the Canadian province of Ontario. On average, PV purchaser households produced 37 percent as much electricity as they consumed. This research investigates solar energy adoption in a community case study. Specifically, it investigates why some residents who sign up for a solar resource assessment through a community solar energy initiative (CSEI) decide to purchase, and others decide not to purchase in the short???term. Characteristics and perceptions of potential adopters are analyzed to better understand their motivations and barriers to adoption. Community energy projects became an official public policy goal in Ontario, with the passing of the Green Energy and Green Economy Act in 2009. Approximately 80 percent of Ontario???s anticipated generation capacity will need to be built, replaced or refurbished within 15 years. In this context, the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Ontario Power Authority, and Deloitte (one of Canada???s leading professional services firms), have partnered with a ???green benefit??? fund, the Community Power Fund, to help local community groups access resources to develop and establish renewable energy projects. Understanding solar energy adoption in a community context is therefore important to improve the effectiveness of such policies, including the disbursement of multi???million dollar grant funds. Differences between purchasers and non???purchasers in respect of adoption behaviour were found in this study to cluster around two general themes. The first theme concerns differences in compatibility of both the concept of solar energy systems, and their physical attributes, with characteristics of potential adopter households. Some compatibility issues are straightforward, e.g. availability of roof space with a southern orientation. Others are more complex, involving several interrelated perceptual and socio???demographic factors. For instance, while both purchasers and non???purchasers rated cost as a very important barrier, purchasers rated the motivation of solar energy systems to reduce climate change higher relative to the barrier of high financial costs than did non???purchasers. Purchasers were also more likely to possess a graduate degree, while non???purchasers were more likely to hold a professional degree. The second general theme relates to potential adopters??? trust and stake in the ability of the community???based initiative to reduce barriers in the adoption process. Since two types of solar energy systems are considered in the case study???PV and thermal (hot water)???differences are explored between each of three respondent groups: solar PV purchasers, solar hot water (SHW) purchasers, and non???purchasers. iv Surveys were used to gather data on adopter perceptions and characteristics. A participatory research design helped identify the research topic. Two main bodies of literature???community???based social marketing (CBSM) and diffusion of innovations theory???were drawn upon to conceptualize the adoption process and interpret the survey findings. These include five models of human behaviour that can be used to guide the design of CBSM campaigns. Diffusion theory was used as a basis for discussing ???perceived innovation attributes???. The study takes an integrated approach by considering both social and technical aspects of solar energy adoption, together with the issues of fuel substitution and household electricity demand.