Thin film coatings of ZnO, TiO2, CeOX and BiOX have been deposited on soda lime silica glass through spray pyrolysis. The effects on the optical properties of the coated glass, as well as the possible impacts on the life expectancy and energy efficiency of PV-modules have been studied. ZnO and TiO2 coatings both reduced the transmission of UV radiation of wavelengths destructive to PV-modules. Therefore, both have the potential to increase the life expectancy of PV-modules if used on cover glass. The ZnO thin film also showed an increase in photoluminescence at 377 nm when radiated with UV radiation of 325 nm while TiO2 reduced the photoluminescence. ZnO coatings on the cover glass have the potential to increase the efficiency of PV-modules in addition to UV protection. No CeOX or BiOX films were found to be deposited with the method used. The ZnO and TiO2 coated samples showed a decrease in transmission of light, due to increased reflection and possibly scattering. This needs to be addressed if these kinds of coatings are going to be beneficial for Si PV-modules.

This thesis assessed the technical and economic premises for installing systems that process manure in order to recover nutrients and inherent energy. The main purpose of recovering nutrients was to extract phosphorus from the manure, so as to be able to distribute more of the manure on the farm without exceeding the phosphorus regulation. Three other scenarios were included as reference; conventional manure handling, solid-liquid separation only and solid-liquid separation including energy recovery. Since most important parameters for modeling scenarios in agriculture are site-specific (e.g. soil type, crop rotation and manure composition), the thesis results were based on a case farm. The case farm is a 675 ha dairy farm with approx. 1400 milking cows, located in Östergötland, Sweden. As for the results, it was first concluded that the central characteristics of manure were the content of dry matter (DM), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). The higher the DM content, the more fuel for energy recovery, and the higher the N:P-ratio, the more on-farm N can be utilized before having to consider the P regulation. The technical premises for farm-scale nutrient recovery were limited to commercial techniques from companies operating in Sweden, and included various possible processing methods, such as; pH modification, anaerobic digestion, coagulation-flocculation, precipitation, filtration and reverse osmosis. However, most methods were either too costly or simply not realistic to install on stand-alone farms, resulting in only two feasible options; struvite precipitation and secondary solid-liquid separation with a decanter centrifuge. The comparison in economic performance for all scenarios resulted as follows: nutrient recovery by struvite precipitation was the most profitable scenario of all, if struvite was allowed to replace mineral P fertilizer (i.e. end-product on-farm utilization). If not, it was more profitable to invest in only energy recovery, as nutrient recovery by secondary solid-liquid separation or struvite precipitation with end-product sales were not as profitable. However, the absolutely largest increase in profitability lies within investing in a primary solid-liquid separation. As for the case farm, this investment reduced costs by more than 2 MSEK, while any of the latter scenarios reduce costs by 0,1-0,2 MSEK. Furthermore, the possible utilization of the waste heat from energy recovery increased profitability by a factor of ten.

This thesis describes the current situation of the electrical grid on a general level and contemporary support policies for residents who feed renewably produced electricity into the grid within a Swedish context. It shows which issues currently exists and suggests a new way to value overproduced renewable electricity which is not self-consumed. This way is called a dynamic price function (DPF), and this thesis models, simulates and analyzes the DPF in order to create an economic incentive to support the balance of the electrical grid – one of its most important parameters. The suggested DPF could potentially work with any renewable source in any area, but the focus in this thesis has been on solar power-systems for households in local areas. While the currently support policies, which uses static models to value overproduced renewable electricity, have created important incentives for the initial penetration of solar power among local residents they do not scale well as the share of renewable production on a local level increase. This might cause negative impacts on the electrical grid. The thesis’ results show that by designing the DPF in certain ways it is possible to create an economic incentive for different behaviors. The most promising design incorporates three different incentives at the same time and they are: 1) to incentivize the initial penetration of solar power in local areas which do not have any production, 2) to incentivize a higher share of solar power, but not too high, and 3) to procure storage possibilities for overproduced electricity. These incentives do not only encourage a more even geographical distribution of solar power, but also allow for a higher share of solar power in the energy system without risking the balance of the grid.

Policies are regarded as the most important instrument in redirecting invention Policies are regarded as the most important instrument in redirecting invention investments away from fossil fuel technologies towards renewable energy technologies. Despite the importance and urgency in decarbonizing the economy, the literature on how different energy policies effect the development of renewable energy technologies is relatively scarce. A difficulty has been in justifying the operationalizing of policies in as both valid and reliable. This thesis tackles the operationalization difficulty and produces empirical evidence in how effective various policies are in incentivizing the development of renewable energy technologies (RET). The main findings are that government R&D expenditure increases firm innovation across all RET, demand-pull policies either increase the likelihood of firm inventions or has an insignificant effect and carbon taxation does not increase the likelihood of RET invention. / Politiska instrument är ansedda som de medel som kan ha störst inverkan att omdirigera innovation investeringar från fossila till förnyelsebara energier. Trots det angelägna och brådskande i att ekonomin blir fossilt oberoende finns det relativt lite litteratur på hur olika energipolitiska medel har för effekt på den tekniska utvecklingen av förnyelsebara energier. En svårighet har varit att berättiga operativiseringen av politiken vilken är både valid och tillförlitligt. Denna uppsats angriper svårigheten av att operativisera poliska instrument och producerar empiriska underlag för hur effektiva olika politiska medel är i att ge incitament till för att utveckla förnyelsebara energier (FE). De frästa resultaten är att statlig forskning och utveckling ökar sannolikheten att företags innovation inom alla FE, efterfråge-stimulerings politik antingen ökar eller har ingen påverkan på FE innovation och att koldioxidbeskattning inte ökar innovation inom FE.

Kärnkraft är ett kontroversiellt ämne, som ofta ger upphov till två läger – de som är positivt inställda och de som är negativt inställda till kärnkraft. NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) är ett fenomen som syftar till de som är positiva till kärnkraft generellt, men som inte vill ha den i sin närhet. Utfasningen av fossila bränslen och den kommande ökningen av energibehovet ställer frågan vilken roll kärnkraften ska spela i framtidens energiproduktion. Den svenska regeringen vill satsa mer på kärnkraft och har pekat ut olika platser som möjliga lokaliseringar för kärnkraft. Säffle är en av dessa platser.  Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka den lokala uppfattningen i fallet Säffle kring en potentiell kärnkraftsetablering i näromgivningen, samt vilka risker som invånarna ser med kärnkraft, för att se om NIMBY föreligger. Ett vidare syfte är också att undersöka hur invånarna i Säffle anser att energifrågan ska lösas.  Metoden som använts är mixed methods där både en kvantitativ enkät och kvalitativa intervjuer genomförts. Data från 59 enkätrespondenter har analyserats med deskriptiv statistik, och sex djupintervjuer har analyserats med kvalitativ innehållsanalys.  Resultatet pekar på att det finns olika läger hos respondenterna – de som är för och de som är mot kärnkraft. NIMBY föreligger endast i några få fall bland enkätens respondenter, däremot upptäcktes flera fall av omvänd NIMBY, där positiva yttranden om att förlägga ett kärnkraftverk i Säffle uttalades. Det finns olika faktorer som påverkar människors riskperception – de som är positiva till kärnkraft medger även de att det finns risker, samtidigt som de som är negativa också anser att det råder hög säkerhet vid svenska kärnkraftverk. Säkerhet och Rädsla var två således kategorier som identifierades. Både de som är positiva och de som är negativa till kärnkraft pratar om att ta ett miljöansvar, men ur olika utgångspunkter. Alla vill att Sverige satsar på förnyelsebar energi, och vissa vill addera kärnkraft till den mixen. Ingen vill satsa på kol eller olja. Det konstaterades också en brist på kommunikation från beslutsfattare om varför Säffle är utpekat som möjlig plats för kärnkraft i framtiden. / Nuclear power is a controversial subject that often gives rise to two camps – those who are in favor and those who are opposed to nuclear power. NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) is a phenomenon that refers to those who are generally supportive of nuclear power but do not want it in their vicinity. The phasing out of fossil fuels and the upcoming increase in energy demand raise the question of what role nuclear power should play in future energy production. The Swedish government wants to invest more in nuclear power and has identified various locations as possible sites for nuclear power plants, including Säffle.  The purpose of this essay is to examine the local perception in the case of Säffle regarding a potential nuclear power establishment in the vicinity, as well as the risks that residents associate with nuclear power, to determine if NIMBY exists. Another aim is to investigate how the residents of Säffle believe the energy issue should be resolved.  The method used is mixed methods, including both a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews. Data from 59 survey respondents have been analyzed using descriptive statistics, and six in-depth interviews have been analyzed using qualitative content analysis.  The results indicate that there are different camps among the respondents - those who are in favor and those who are against nuclear power. NIMBY exists only in a few cases among the survey respondents; however, several instances of reverse NIMBY were discovered, where positive statements about locating a nuclear power plant in Säffle were expressed. Various factors influence people's risk perception – those who are in favor of nuclear power also acknowledge the existence of risks, while those who are against it believe that Swedish nuclear power plants are highly secure. Safety and Fear were thus identified as two categories. Both those in favor and those against nuclear power discuss taking environmental responsibility, but from different perspectives. Everyone wants Sweden to invest in renewable energy, and some want to add nuclear power to the mix. No one wants to rely on coal or oil. A lack of communication from decision-makers regarding why Säffle has been identified as a potential site for nuclear power in the future was also noted.