Wind power can be related to natural disasters in several ways. This licentiate thesis gives some background and introduces four papers devoted to two aspects of this relation. The first section looks into how small-scale wind energy converters (WECs) could be used to generate power after a natural disaster. For this application diesel generators are the most common solution today, but there would be several advantages of replacing these systems. A study of off-grid systems with battery storage at 32 sites showed that photovoltaics (PV) were more suitable than WECs. The results were confirmed by a study for the entire globe; PV outperformed WECs at most sites when it comes to small-scale application. This is especially true for areas with a high disaster risk. Hybrid systems comprising both PV and WECs are however interesting at higher latitudes. For the Swedish case, it is shown that gridded data from a freely available meteorological model, combined with a statistical model, give good estimates of the mean wind speed at 10 meters above ground. This methodology of estimating the mean wind speed can be used when there is no time for a proper wind measurement campaign. The second section is directed towards wind power variability and integration. The results presented in the thesis are intended as a basis for future studies on how a substantially increased wind power capacity affects the electric grid in terms of stability, grid reinforcement requirements, increased balancing needs etc. A review of variability and forecastability for non-dispatchable renewable energy sources was performed together with researchers from the solar, wave and tidal power fields. Although a lot of research is conducted in these areas, it was concluded that more studies on combinations of the sources would be desirable. The disciplines could also learn from each other and benefit from the use of more unified methods and metrics. A model of aggregated hourly wind power production has finally been developed. The model is based on reanalysis data from a meteorological model and detailed information on Swedish WECs. The model proved very successful, both in terms of low prediction errors and in the match of probability density function for power and step changes of power. / Vindkraft kan relateras till naturkatastrofer på flera olika sätt. Den här licentiat\-avhandlingen ger bakgrund till och introducerar fyra artiklar som beskriver två aspekter av detta samband. I den första avdelningen undersöks hur småskalig vindkraft skulle kunna användas för att generera el efter en naturkatastrof. I dagsläget är det dieselaggregat som används för detta ändamål, men det skulle finnas stora fördelar med att övergå till förnybara system. En studie av 32 platser (myndigheten MSB:s utlandsstationeringar augusti 2012) visade att solceller var mer lämpade än vindkraftverk. Resultaten bekräftades av en studie för hela världen; solceller ger billigare system än småskaliga vindkraftverk för de flesta platser, inte minst om man tittar på områden som är utsatta för naturkatastrofer. Hybridsystem med både solceller och vindkraftverk var dock intressanta på högre breddgrader. För Sverige så visas det att data från en fritt tillgängliga meteorologisk modell tillsammans med en statistisk korrigering beroende på terrängtyp ger bra uppskattningar av medelvinden på 10 meters höjd. Den föreslagna metodiken kan vara användbar som ett komplement till vindmätningar eller om det inte finns tid eller möjlighet till en riktig mätkampanj. Den andra avdelningen är inriktad mot vindens variabilitet och integrering av vindkraft i kraftsystemet. De resultat som presenteras i denna avhandling är tänkta som en bas för framtida studier av hur en kraftigt ökad andel vindkraft påverkar elsystemet med avseende på stabilitet, nödvändiga nätförstärkningar, ökade krav på balanskraft etc. En översiktsstudie av variabilitet och prognosbarhet för intermittenta förnybara energikällor gjordes tillsammans med forskare inom sol-, våg och tidvattenkraft. Även om mycket forskning pågår inom dessa områden så var en slutsats att mer studier för kombinationer av olika källor skulle vara önskvärt. Forskare inom de olika disciplinerna skulle också kunna lära från varandra och dra fördel av gemensamma metoder och mått. Slutligen har en modell av aggregerad timvis vindkraftproduktion tagits fram. Modellen baseras på data från en meteorologisk modell samt detaljerad information om vindkraftverk i Sverige. Modellen visade sig vara mycket träffsäker, både vad gäller låga prediktionsfel och i överensstämmelse av sannolikhetsfördelning av effekt och stegförändring av timvis effekt.

The aim of this thesis study is to design a hybrid energy system comprised of wind turbines, diesel generators and batteries to provide electricity for an off - grid rural community in Kenya. Wind Measurements collected over six years from 12 locations in Kenya have been studied and one site selected for this project due to its wind potential, geographical location and socio-economic potential. The energy system is designed to cater for the electricity demand of 500 households, one school, one medical clinic and an irrigation system. The system will support up to 3000 people. The Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) is the software tool that has been used to simulate the hybrid system and analyze its results. The optimization has been carried out and presented according to cost of electricity and sensitivity graphs have been used demonstrate the optimization based on diesel price and wind turbine hub height.

There are two main types of logistical models used for long-term performance prediction of autonomous power systems: time series and probabilistic. Time series models are more common and are more accurate for sizing storage systems because they are able to track the state of charge. However, the computational time is usually greater than for probabilistic models. It is common for time series models to perform 1-year simulations with a 1-hour time step. This is likely because of the limited availability of high resolution data and the increase in computation time with a shorter time step. Computation time is particularly important because these types of models are often used for component size optimization which requires many model runs. This thesis includes a sensitivity analysis examining the effect of the time step on these simulations. The results show that it can be significant, though it depends on the system configuration and site characteristics. Two probabilistic models are developed to estimate the temporal resolution error of a 1-hour simulation: a time series/probabilistic model and a fully probabilistic model. To demonstrate the application of and evaluate the performance of these models, two case studies are analyzed. One is for a typical residential system and one is for a system designed to provide on-site power at an aquaculture site. The results show that the time series/probabilistic model would be a useful tool if accurate distributions of the sub-hour data can be determined. Additionally, the method of cumulant arithmetic is demonstrated to be a useful technique for incorporating multiple non-Gaussian random variables into a probabilistic model, a feature other models such as Hybrid2 currently do not have. The results from the fully probabilistic model showed that some form of autocorrelation is required to account for seasonal and diurnal trends. / Graduate

As society strives to transition for sustainable energy generation is it a major challenge to optimize and develop the renewable energy generation that currently exists, both in terms of individual components and their interactions in the entire energy system. The generation from renewable sources is often irregular and not always when the demand arises. By being able to store the excess energy generated and then deliver it when the demand occur results in a more sustainable energy system. Flow batteries are a possible technology for energy storage. An important component of flow batteries are vanadium and to find methods for extracting vanadium in an economical way is an important step in the development of this technology. The idea behind the thesis was therefore to investigate different extraction methods for vanadium where the most promising methods, from an economic and energy perspective, are examined in more detail. The vanadium should then be used to electrolyte in flow batteries. It has also been examined how the cost is affected by moving a planned facility for extraction from the ashes to a developing country with lower personnel costs. In the thesis was also included to explore similar projects on a larger scale conducted in Sweden, how the view of vanadium is from an EU perspective and how flow batteries can be a part of an energy system. The methods considered most promising is extraction from mineral mining and extraction from ashes. A planned production plant has been dimensioned for both processes of production and energy demand is calculated. The study showed that both processes are expected to produce vanadium below current purchase price, which would then contribute to a cheaper production cost of flow batteries. It turned out that the production of vanadium from ash extraction would be significantly reduced by moving the business to a developing country. The operation stage in the mining operation which accounts for the highest energy demand is the size reduction of the ore. In the extraction process of vanadium from ash, it is primarily the fusion furnace and the fly ash filter required which has the highest energy demand. The similar extraction projects investigated was, from ashes, the so-called SOTEX process in Stenungsund and the mineral mining process had the Ranstad project as reference. The EU approach to vanadium is currently that the metal is not classified as a critical raw material but if economic instability would occur in any of the major manufacturing countries it would be considered as a more critical raw material. Flow batteries functioning as energy storage in a PV hybrid system was investigated and it was concluded that flow batteries are technically well suited for energy storage in this type of system. / Då samhället strävar efter att övergå till en hållbar energiproduktion är det en stor utmaning att effektivisera och utveckla den förnyelsebara energiproduktion som idag finns, både när det gäller enskilda komponenter och deras samspel i hela energisystem. Produktion från förnyelsebara energikällor sker ofta ojämnt och inte alltid när behovet uppstår. Genom att kunna lagra den överskottsenergi som produceras och sedan leverera den då behovet uppstår medför det till ett mer hållbart energisystem. Flödesbatterier är en möjlig teknik för lagring av energi. En viktig komponent i flödesbatterierna är vanadin och att hitta metoder för att utvinna vanadin på ett ekonomiskt sätt är ett viktigt steg i utvecklingen av denna teknik. Idén bakom examensarbetet var därför att kartlägga olika utvinningsmetoder för vanadin där de mest lovande metoderna, från ett ekonomiskt och energi perspektiv, undersöks mer utförligt. Vanadinet i sin tur ska sedan användas till elektrolyt i flödesbatterier. Det har även undersökts hur kostnaden påverkas av att flytta en tänkt anläggning för utvinning ur aska till ett utvecklingsland med lägre personalkostnader. I examensarbetet ingick även att undersöka liknande projekt i större skala som bedrivits i Sverige, hur synen på vanadin är ur ett EU perspektiv samt hur flödesbatterier kan vara en del av ett energisystem. De metoder som ansetts mest lovande är utvinning från mineralbrytning samt utvinning ur aska. En tänkt produktionsanläggning har dimensionerats för båda processer där produktionskostnad och energiförbrukning beräknats. Studien visade att båda processerna förväntas kunna producera vanadin under dagens inköpspris vilket då skulle bidra till en billigare produktionskostnad för flödesbatterier. Det visade sig att produktionen av vanadin ur askutvinning skulle minskas avsevärt genom att flytta verksamheten till ett utvecklingsland. Det moment i gruvdriften som står för största energiförbrukningen är storleksreduceringen av den malm som bryts. Vid processen för utvinning av vanadin ur aska är det främst den smältningsugn samt det filter för flygaska som krävs. De liknande projekt som verkat inom utvinning ur aska var den s.k. SOTEX processen i Stenungsund och för mineralbrytning har Ranstad projektet undersökts. EU:s syn på vanadin är i nuläget att metallen inte klassas som en kritisk råvara men om ekonomisk instabilitet skulle uppstå i något av de större tillverkande länderna skulle råvaran klassas som mer kritisk. Flödesbatteri fungerande som energilagring i ett förnyelsebart energisystem undersöktes där slutsatsen var att flödesbatterier tekniskt sett är mycket väl lämpade som energilagring i denna typ av system.

The building stock in the European Union accounts for over 40% of final energy use, where the usage of non-residential buildings may be up to 40% higher than the residential sector. Improving building energy efficiency across all categories of buildings is one key goal of the European energy policies, made prominent by the Climate and Energy package, Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD) and Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). In this study, a simulation model of an office-building complex utilizing district heating was created using transient simulation software TRNSYS. The model was validated using consumption data provided by the facility owner, after which an investigation of the energy saving potential along with the economic viability of adapting a new heat- and power supply system was conducted. The system designs were comprised of a geothermal energy system in combination with a PV-system and electricity storage. It was concluded that the systems were sufficient in maintaining an adequate indoor climate. Furthermore, the investments were ascertained as profitable and resulted in a decreased building specific energy demand.

EU har mål som syftar till att minska utsläppen av koldioxid för att förhindra den globala uppvärmningen. Uppvärmning och el till byggnader är stora källor till utsläpp av koldioxid, speciellt här i Norden där det är kallt och mörkt delar av året. Genom att inrikta sig på dessa två poster kan en stor genomslagskraft uppnås. Det finns teknik till att genomföra förbättringar. För att förbättringarna ska kunna tillämpas krävs det att lösningarna är ekonomiskt försvarbara. Ett ypperligt tillfälle använda den nya tekniken är då ett befintligt system behöver bytas ut. Då Bison är i just den situationen har deras energisystem legat till grund för den här utredningen kring energiförsörjning. Några förnybara tekniker har utretts ur ett ekonomiskt och miljömässigt perspektiv för att kunna jämföras och sedan vara till hjälp vid val av energisystem. Dessutom gjordes en analys över hur kostnad och utsläpp av koldioxid från nätel varierar med tid på dygnet och året utifrån olika framtidsutsikter. Resultaten visade att värmen produceras bäst med ved, både sett till kostnad och utsläpp av koldioxid. Elfrågan är mer komplex då en balans mellan kostnad och utsläpp för egenproducerad el och nätel vid en given tidpunkt är avgörande för lönsamhet och miljöpåverkan. Generellt är det inte lönsamt att sälja el, men det gör nytta för miljön. / EU has specified goals to decrease carbon dioxide emissions to prevent global warming. Heating and electricity consumption of buildings are large sources of carbon dioxide emissions, especially in Scandinavia where it is cold and dark major parts of the year. By focusing on these two areas a considerable decrease in emissions can be achieved. There are technics that when implemented will generate improvements. To apply these technics they need to be economically tenable. A great opportunity to apply the new technics is when an old energy system needs replacing. Bison is in exactly this situation and therefore their energy system has been the foundation for this thesis. A couple of renewable technics have been evaluated with an economic and an environmental perspective so that they can be compared when choosing a new energy system. An analysis of how costs and emissions for electricity from the grid vary with the time of day and time of the year was also done. The results showed that heat produced from wood was best from both perspectives. Electricity was more complex. Profitability and environmental impact was dependent on a balance at a given time between costs, emissions from grid electricity and selfproduced electricity. Generally, it is not profitable to sell self-produced electricity, although it has a positive impact on the environment.

There has been a significant increase in the interest and implementations of heat pump systems for HVAC purposes in general and of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) in particular. Though these systems have existed for decades, primarily in Europe, there has been an upward trend particularly in the United States in recent years. With the world-wide push toward CO2 emissions reduction targets, interest in heat pump systems to reduce CO2 emissions from heating and cooling is likely to only increase in the future. However, more than ever, financial considerations are also key factors in the implementation of any system. Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) coupled to vertical borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) have been promoted as a viable heat pump system in climates where traditional air source heat pumps (ASHPs) may operate inefficiently. This type of system claims superior performance to ASHPs due to the relatively consistent temperature of the ground compared to the air, offering a higher temperature heat source in the heating season and a lower temperature sink in the cooling season. Projects designing and installing such a GSHP system have been implemented at large scales on several university campuses to provide heating and cooling. In this study, we aim to test the idea that a GSHP system, as a replacement for an existing CHP heating and conventional cooling systems, could reduce CO2 emissions, as well as provide a cost benefit to a large energy consumer, in this case the University of Massachusetts. This will be done using the existing heating and cooling loads provided by the conventional system and an established technique of modeling the heat pumps and BHEs. The GSHP system is modeled to follow the parameters of industry standards and sized to provide the best overall lifetime cost. The result on the overall annual costs, emissions, and university microgrid are considered.

The purpose of this analysis is used PBS Turbo turbochargers like a steam-air turbine in the Flexible Energy System. The System is analogy of Brayton cycle with high efficiency, but heat is transferred to the cycle through a heat exchanger. Main parts of this work are the literature search, the thermodynamic model of the steam-air cycle, and solution for other possibilities. The goal is to find maximum available electrical output and efficiency. The thermodynamic model is used to: - check computation of the standard turbocharger - computation of the steam-air turbine contain one turbocharger - computation of the steam-air turbine contain two turbochargers. The steam-air turbine is different from the turbocharger. They are compared and than there is found some new design of the new steam-air turbine. The one-turbocharger steam-air turbine is used to test steam-air cycle. The double-turbocharger steam-air turbine is suitable for Flexible Energy System. This solution has a lot of advantages.

The aim of this thesis is to develop a new business model for district heating and cooling firms which can contribute to a stabilization of the Swedish national energy system. The business model is developed for a district heating and cooling firm and is exemplified with Fortum Heat. The theoretical investigation around the topic creates a rigid base for following qualitative empirical studies. Osterwalder’s canvas for business model generation is used together with a Casual Loop Diagram to identify a number of business opportunities which stabilizes the national energy system. One of the business opportunities is developed into a business model. The study results in a business model which offers Svenska Kraftnät an increased volume of electricity production through free capacity in CHP plants. This stabilizes the national energy system when the electricity production from renewable energy sources is low. Free capacity occurs due to more and more energy efficient buildings and investments in new production capacity. Heat from the electricity production is loaded into thermal storages to cover a part of the future need for heat. Heat can also be rejected as surplus heat into water if the demand for electricity is high. Renewable biofuels turn CHP plants into bio-condensing electricity power plants. A general exemplification of this situation at Fortum Heat shows positive economical results. Producing electricity independently of the current demand of heat makes it possible for Fortum Heat to be a part of Svenska Kraftnät commercialization of the power reserve. A finalizing discussion highlights aspects needed to be considered when implementing the business model at Fortum Heat.

This study presents a Techno-economic assessment of a renewables based power generation project for PS 21, a Pumping Station for Kenya Pipeline Company located in Nairobi, Kenya. The load for the pumping station is 1135 kW Continuous. The assessment criteria used was levelized cost of energy. The hybrid renewable energy system software HOMER was used for assessment, and modeling was done using hourly TMY data for solar irradiance and wind.  According to the results, Hybrid Solar PV-Wind- Battery renewable energy systems can supply adequate power for pumping station purposes. Optimization modeling at 2010 prices gave a levelized cost of energy of $0.2 per kWh for the most optimal solution which consisted of 2 No. 1650 kW Vestas V 82 Wind Turbines and 4070 kW of PV modules. This cost of energy just matches the purchase price from the National grid which varies between $0.14 and $0.2 per kWh, and therefore, the project is economically feasible. Mainly due to concerns of global warming, the view in the Kenyan government and society towards renewable energy is very favorable and  the project is also politically and socially feasible.   Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that wind energy is more viable than solar PV energy in areas of high wind speeds, with about 7.5 m/s annual average wind speeds.   The results show that the levelised cost of energy may be significantly decreased in future due to the fact that the cost of PV modules is progressively reducing. Payments for CERs under CDM mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol would lower the levelised cost of energy further. The Project was found to be feasible. / <p>I was a distance student and did the presentation online via centra.</p>