Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) have proven to be a more stable and feasible source of energy than heir single source counterparts. The benefit of HRES is their ability to balance the stochastic behavior of wind and solar production. As result of this, they have been used as stand-alone systems with great success. Optimization studies in the field have shown optimum sizing of the components in the system to be a key element in order to increase feasibility. This paper focuses on the HRES impact on internal grid design and cost. The goal of the thesis is to create a mathematical function and graph on the internal grid design/cost relation for a virtual site with varying wind speed and solar irradiation. A secondary goal is to analyze how much Photovoltaics (PV) in Megawatt (MW) that can be connected to the internal grid post realization of the wind farm and to performed this analyze on the two specific case projects, Site A (17.25 MW) in Sweden and Site B (51.75 MW) in Italy. By utilizing a case study methodology, a mathematical model was created based on two case projects, both with potential to be a combined Wind-PV hybrid plants provided by the wind developer OX2. Identifiers for the two cases studied in this thesis where removed with respect to OX2’s ongoing projects. Hybrid renewable energy systems is a method of increasing the utilization of a regions RES, the system has an increase in overall power output compared to the single RES alternative. However, the internal grid cost was shown to be 3.85 % more expensive Site A and 5.3 % in Site B. This stood in direct correlation to the HRES in Site A using 8.6 % more cable for its internal grid and 29.7 % more in Site B, this is highly depending (depending on the location of the PV array). Furthermore, the case projects showed that the maximum PV to be connected post realization of the farm without major curtailment would be 11.5% of the wind farms rated power in the case of site A and 67.6 % in the case of Site B. Variations in wind speed and solar irradiation were shown to have some impact on grid cost. However, the results pointed out that grid cost in HRES is to a higher degree affected by total cable length in the internal grid than fluctuation in available energy sources. The extent of increase in cable length, the total grid investment cost rises up to 53.4 % for the two case projects.

Renewable energy (RE) resources are relatively unpredictable and dependent on climatic conditions. The negative effects of existing randomness in RE resources can be reduced by the integration of RE resources into what is called Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES). The design of HRES remains as a complicated problem since there is uncertainty in energy prices, demand, and RE sources. In addition, it is a multi-objective design since several conflicting objectives must be considered. In this thesis, an optimal sizing approach has been proposed to aid decision makers in sizing and performance analysis of this kind of energy supply systems. First, a straightforward methodology based on ε-constraint method is proposed for optimal sizing of HRESs containing RE power generators and two storage devices. The ε-constraint method has been applied to minimize simultaneously the total net present cost of the system, unmet load, and fuel emission. A simulation-based particle swarm optimization approach has been used to tackle the multi-objective optimization problem. In the next step, a Pareto-based search technique, named dynamic multi-objective particle swarm optimization, has been performed to improve the quality of the Pareto front (PF) approximated by the ε-constraint method. The proposed method is examined for a case study including wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, diesel generators, batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers, and hydrogen tanks. Well-known metrics from the literature are used to evaluate the generated PF. Afterward, a multi-objective approach is presented to consider the economic, reliability and environmental issues at various renewable energy ratio values when optimizing the design of building energy supply systems. An existing commercial apartment building operating in a cold Canadian climate has been described to apply the proposed model. In this test application, the model investigates the potential use of RE resources for the building. Furthermore, the application of plug-in electric vehicles instead of gasoline car for transportation is studied. Comparing model results against two well-known reported multi-objective algorithms has also been examined. Finally, the existing uncertainties in RE and load are explicitly incorporated into the model to give more accurate and realistic results. An innovative and easy to implement stochastic multi-objective approach is introduced for optimal sizing of an HRES. / February 2016

High efficiency of power converters placed between renewable energy sources and the utility grid is required to maximize the utilization of these sources. Power quality is another aspect that requires large passive elements (inductors, capacitors) to be placed between these sources and the grid. The main objective is to develop higher-level high frequency-based power converter system (HFPCS) that optimizes the use of hybrid renewable power injected into the power grid. The HFPCS provides high efficiency, reduced size of passive components, higher levels of power density realization, lower harmonic distortion, higher reliability, and lower cost. The dynamic modeling for each part in this system is developed, simulated and tested. The steady-state performance of the grid-connected hybrid power system with battery storage is analyzed. Various types of simulations were performed and a number of algorithms were developed and tested to verify the effectiveness of the power conversion topologies. A modified hysteresis-control strategy for the rectifier and the battery charging/discharging system was developed and implemented. A voltage oriented control (VOC) scheme was developed to control the energy injected into the grid. The developed HFPCS was compared experimentally with other currently available power converters. The developed HFPCS was employed inside a microgrid system infrastructure, connecting it to the power grid to verify its power transfer capabilities and grid connectivity. Grid connectivity tests verified these power transfer capabilities of the developed converter in addition to its ability of serving the load in a shared manner. In order to investigate the performance of the developed system, an experimental setup for the HF-based hybrid generation system was constructed. We designed a board containing a digital signal processor chip on which the developed control system was embedded. The board was fabricated and experimentally tested. The system’s high precision requirements were verified. Each component of the system was built and tested separately, and then the whole system was connected and tested. The simulation and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the developed converter system for grid-connected hybrid renewable energy systems as well as for hybrid electric vehicles and other industrial applications.

Decarbonisation of different energy sectors of society is becoming a pressing issue globally withnumerous legislations and objectives being set to decarbonise electrical grids worldwide. Somehave already been met; however, islanded grids still heavily rely on fossil fuels to meet their electrical demand due to the weakness of their grid and limited available space forcing them to use space-efficient technologies such as diesel generators. This is the case of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands (Spain) which produces 80-90% of its electricity from fossil fuels. This study will analyse the feasibility of decarbonising the electrical grid of Fuerteventura using a decentralised grid system with wind, solar, and battery storage to achieve 100% renewable generation. To select the best hybrid energy system for the case study, a 9-step methodology has been presented and followed in which both descriptive (qualitative) and quantitative data have been used to provide the background knowledge of the study and the inputs for the analysis which is done using the microgrids optimisation model HOMER. The analysis aims to understand the grid and renewable resources on the island to later develop the different scenarios to be reviewed. The three different scenarios, wind-battery, solar-battery, and wind-solar-battery were modelled and simulated using the latest HOMER software. Results showed reduced LCOE and capital costs in the wind-solar-battery scenario compared to the wind-battery and solar-battery scenarios due to increased use of wind and lower capacity of installed batteries needed. Space availability was shown to be a problem for the scenarios using wind as the turbines would occupy 5% of the islands surface. Environmental and visual impacts would also be noticeable under the wind-battery and wind-solar-battery scenarios as the entire island is a Biosphere Nature Reserve and is a well-known touristic destination for natural virgin beaches. Additionally, the results showed that all 3 scenarios had excess electricity values above 50% of the total electrical production and still experienced some capacity shortages. To solve this, diversification of the generation and storage facilities, implementation of DSM (Demand side management) and V2G (Vehicle-to-grid), and interconnection of the islands is proposed with the latter being the most realistic solution. The study concludes the wind-solar-battery is the most technological and economically feasible solution although several issues need to be addressed for a similar project to be implemented on a real island.

Les enjeux planétaires du développement durable et du réchauffement climatique remettent en cause le fonctionnement de nos sociétés. La transition énergétique se traduit notamment par l’augmentation de l’utilisation des énergies renouvelables et constitue ainsi le contexte de nos travaux. Dans le cadre d’un contrat CIFRE avec l’entreprise VALOREM, nous proposons des méthodologies pour le développement et la conception d’installations renouvelables soutenables. L’approche d’Ingénierie Des Modèles mise en place nous permet de garder une démarche scientifique cohérente entre une vue très générale du contexte d’insertion des renouvelables et une vision plus technique et opérationnelle pour le développement d’installations renouvelables. Dans un premier temps, nous avons décrit de manière macroscopique le contexte d’insertion des énergies renouvelables en France, en proposant un cadre conceptuel pour le développement de projet d’aménagement du territoire. Il permet l’analyse des systèmes sociotechniques en transition grâce à une formalisation UML2 d’une part, et une méthode d’évaluation de la durabilité d’un processus d’autre part. Nous avons illustré ce cadre sur deux cas d’étude : le succès du développement de la centrale hydro-éolienne de l’île d’El Hierro dans les Canaries et l’échec du barrage de Sivens dans le Tarn en France. Par comparaison, nous montrons que l’implication des parties prenantes sur l’ensemble du processus de développement est cruciale pour le succès d’un projet. Nous avons ensuite proposé une implémentation logicielle permettant le suivi et le pilotage de projet d’aménagement du territoire en temps réel à l’aide d’outils d’intelligence artificielle. Conscient des limites opérationnelles de notre proposition, nous avons décidé de changer de point de vue pour adopter une vision plus technique sur les énergies renouvelables. La transition énergétique fait évoluer le système électrique français d’un modèle centralisé vers un modèle décentralisé, ce qui amène VALOREM à reconsidérer ses propositions techniques de production d’énergies renouvelables. Entre autre, l’entreprise tend vers l’hybridation de ses centrales et constate le besoin d’un outil de dimensionnement en phase d’avant-projet, afin d’identifier les opportunités d’activités. Nous faisons donc la proposition d’un prototype logiciel qui se veut flexible en termes de modélisation des centrales de production hybrides renouvelables et en termes de définition des objectifs et contraintes à satisfaire. Il est codé en C++ et basé sur des modèles d’optimisation linéaires. Nous illustrons son opérationnalité sur quatre cas d’étude : deux orientés marché électrique et deux en autoconsommation (l’un isolé, l’autre connecté au réseau). Les résultats des études montrent que les coûts de stockage batterie sont trop élevés pour pouvoir envisager l’installation de batteries dans les centrales hybrides renouvelables. Les systèmes en autoconsommation connectés au réseau semblent être plus prometteurs. Enfin, nous terminons par une analyse environnementale de différentes sources de production électrique afin de déterminer celles vers lesquelles la transition énergétique doit être axée. Les résultats montrent que la biomasse, l’éolien et le PV au sol sont les moyens de production les plus propres. La conclusion de la thèse propose une réflexion ascendante en complexité vers l’implication des acteurs dans les modèles de processus de développement territoriaux. / Sustainable growth issues and climate change imply to shift our society organisation towards new paradigms. In the energy sector, it is illustrated by an energy transition via renewables. Within this context and the support of the company VALOREM, we propose a methodology for the sustainable development and design of renewable infrastructures. By using a Model Driven Engineering approach, we were able to adopt several viewpoints on renewable energy issues, while keeping a consistent scientific approach. First of all, from a holistic stance, we developed a conceptual framework for land settlement development process. Thanks to its modelling with UML2 and a methodology to assess the sustainability of processes, it can be used to analyse the trajectory of sociotechnical systems. The framework was tested on two case studies: the success of El Hierro hydrowind power plant implementation in Canary Islands and the failure of the Sivens dam project in the south of France. Their comparison shows that implication of stakeholders at all stages of the development process is crucial for the success of the project. We further propose to implement the conceptual framework as a software tool for the monitoring of land settlement project in real time, with the help of artificial intelligence concepts. However, this proposition was deemed not in line with Valorem’s priorities and we decided to focus on a technical instantiation of the framework for Hybride Renewable Energy Systems (HRES), which design and operation are part of VALOREM’s activity. As, the energy transition implies to change the electrical system model from a centralized to a decentralized one, there exists a need for a grassroots sizing tool for identifying new HRES opportunities. A software prototype for the grassroot optimal design of HRES was developed, offering flexibility in terms of modelling, setting constraints and defining objective functions. It is coded in C++ and based on linear programming model. We showed its relevance on four HRES case studies: two related to electricity market and two for self-supply of energy (one isolated and the other grid-connected). The results show that battery costs are too high to be profitable in HRES and that grid-connected systems seems to be a good alternative. Finally, we carried out an environmental impact assessment of several sources of electricity production to find out which are the “cleaner” ones. The results show that biomass, wind turbines and ground PV are those that should be considered for a sustainable energy transition. In the conclusion, we step back to a more complex viewpoint and develop perspectives to model human interactions within territory development process.

This dissertation explores the potential of renewable energy and efficiency strategies to solve the energy challenges faced by the people living in the biosphere reserve of El Vizcaíno, which is located in the North Pacific region of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. This research setting provides a practical analytical milieu to understand better the multiple problems faced by practitioners and agencies trying to implement sustainable energy solutions in Mexico. The thesis starts with a literature review (chapter two) that examines accumulated international experience regarding the development of renewable energy projects as a prelude to identifying the most salient implementation barriers impeding this type of initiatives. Two particularly salient findings from the literature review include the importance of considering gender issues in energy analysis and the value of using participatory research methods. These findings informed fieldwork design and the analytical framework of the dissertation. Chapter three surveys electricity generation as well as residential and commercial electricity use in nine coastal communities located in El Vizcaíno. Chapter three summarizes the fieldwork methodology used, which relies on a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods that aim at enabling a gender-disaggregated analysis to describe more accurately local energy uses, needs, and barriers. Chapter four describes the current plans of the state government, which are focused in expanding one of the state’s diesel-powered electricity grids to El Vizcaíno. The Chapter also examines the potential for replacing diesel generators with a combination of renewable energy systems and efficiency measures in the coastal communities sampled. Chapter five analyzes strategies to enable the implementation of sustainable energy approaches in El Vizcaíno. Chapter five highlights several international examples that could be useful to inform organizational changes at the federal and state level aimed at fostering renewable energy and efficiency initiatives that enhance energy security, protect the environment, and also increase economic opportunities in El Vizcaíno and elsewhere in Mexico. Chapter six concludes the thesis by providing: a summary of all key findings, a broad analysis of the implications of the research, and an overview of future lines of inquiry.

This dissertation explores the potential of renewable energy and efficiency strategies to solve the energy challenges faced by the people living in the biosphere reserve of El Vizcaíno, which is located in the North Pacific region of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. This research setting provides a practical analytical milieu to understand better the multiple problems faced by practitioners and agencies trying to implement sustainable energy solutions in Mexico. The thesis starts with a literature review (chapter two) that examines accumulated international experience regarding the development of renewable energy projects as a prelude to identifying the most salient implementation barriers impeding this type of initiatives. Two particularly salient findings from the literature review include the importance of considering gender issues in energy analysis and the value of using participatory research methods. These findings informed fieldwork design and the analytical framework of the dissertation. Chapter three surveys electricity generation as well as residential and commercial electricity use in nine coastal communities located in El Vizcaíno. Chapter three summarizes the fieldwork methodology used, which relies on a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods that aim at enabling a gender-disaggregated analysis to describe more accurately local energy uses, needs, and barriers. Chapter four describes the current plans of the state government, which are focused in expanding one of the state’s diesel-powered electricity grids to El Vizcaíno. The Chapter also examines the potential for replacing diesel generators with a combination of renewable energy systems and efficiency measures in the coastal communities sampled. Chapter five analyzes strategies to enable the implementation of sustainable energy approaches in El Vizcaíno. Chapter five highlights several international examples that could be useful to inform organizational changes at the federal and state level aimed at fostering renewable energy and efficiency initiatives that enhance energy security, protect the environment, and also increase economic opportunities in El Vizcaíno and elsewhere in Mexico. Chapter six concludes the thesis by providing: a summary of all key findings, a broad analysis of the implications of the research, and an overview of future lines of inquiry.

Energy is an important input for various activities that provide impetus to economic, human and social development of any country. Among all the energy carriers, electricity is the most important and sought after energy carrier for its quality, versatility and ability to perform various technology driven end-use activities. Therefore access to electricity is considered as the single most important indicator determining the energy poverty levels prevailing in a country. Demand for electricity has increased significantly, especially in the developing countries, in recent years due to growth in population and intensification of economic activities. Therefore, providing quality and reliable electricity supply at low-cost has become one of the most pressing challenges facing the developing world. Although sufficient efforts have gone into addressing this issue, little progress has been made in finding a satisfactory solution in alleviating this problem. Currently, electricity supply is mostly dependent on centralized large-scale power generation. These centralized systems are strongly supply focused, fossil-fuel intensive, capital intensive, and rely on large-distance transmission and distribution systems. This results in electricity cost becoming unaffordable to the majority poor which comprises more than 70% of the total population in developing countries like India and the benefits of quality energy remaining with the rich, giving rise to inequitable distribution of energy. Continuous exploitation of fossil fuels has also contributed to local and global pollution. Therefore it is necessary to explore alternate means of providing energy access such that the energy carriers are clean, easy to use, environmentally benign and affordable to the majority of the rural poor. India is at a critical juncture of passing through the path of development. India is also in a unique position that its vast majority of rural population is energy poor which is disconnected from the electricity grid. In this context, the proposed research is an attempt towards developing a greater understanding on the issue of rural energy access and providing a possible solution for addressing this gap. This has been proposed to be achieved by adopting a decentralized energy planning approach and distributed energy systems mostly based on renewable energy sources. This is expected to reduce dependence on imported energy, promote self-reliance, provide economically viable energy services for rural applications and be environmentally safe. The focus is limited to biomass energy route which has many advantages; it is a geographically equitably distributed resource, geographical advantage of having potential to setup energy systems at any location where vegetation is present and not seasonal like other renewable energy technologies. A mathematical model-based approach is developed to assess the feasibility of such a proposal. Models are developed for performing biomass resource assessment, estimating end-use-wise hourly demand for electricity, performing capacity and location planning and assessing economic feasibility. This methodological framework was validated through a case study developed for the district of Tumkur in the state of Karnataka (a state in southern region of India). The literature survey was conducted exhaustively covering the whole span of supplyside and demand-side management of electricity systems, and grid-connected and stand-alone power generation systems, their technical, economic and environmental feasibilities. Literature pertinent to GIS applications in biomass assessment, facility location planning and scheduling models were also reviewed to discern how optimal capacity, location and economic dispatch strategy was formulated. Through the literature survey it was understood that there were very few attempts to integrate both demand-side management and supply-side management aspects in the rural energy context. GIS based mathematical models were sparsely used in rural energy planning and decision making. The current research is an attempt to bridge these gaps. The focus in this study is on effectively utilizing the locally available biomass resource. Assessment of Biomass Potential for Power Generation As a first step, the supply option was studied at village level by overlaying LULC (land use land cover) and village boundary GIS maps of Tumkur district. The result was fortified by the NDVI results from remote sensing images of land use pattern in Tumkur district. A detailed village-level assessment of wasteland potential was made for the entire district. The result showed which shows that in Tumkur district, roughly 17.3% of total geographical land was under exploitable wasteland. Using secondary data and literature, biomass potential indices were prepared for different wasteland types to determine the total biomass potential for power generation. The results based on the GIS data the assessment shows that Tumkur has roughly 17.3% of exploitable wasteland. A complete village-level annual power generation potential was assessed considering both energy plantations from wasteland, existing degraded forests and crop residues. Assessment of end-use-wise hourly Demand for Electricity at Village Level Household survey was conducted for 170 sample households randomly chosen from 15 villages, again randomly selected to represent different socio-economic categories. Using statistical tools like k-means clustering, one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD test, first the households were classified into three economic categories to study the distribution of the households in each sample village. Later based on the number of households of each type in a village, the villages were further classified into five groups based on their socio-economic status. This was done to select the right representative per-household power demand for a village of any particular socioeconomic category. The representative per household power demand in each economic category along with secondary data helped in deriving the electricity daily load profiles for all the villages. Representative demand profiles were generated for different seasons across different sectors namely domestic, agriculture and industry sectors at the end-use level comprising of activities like home lighting, appliances, irrigation pump sets operation and small industry operations. Mathematical Modeling for Optimal Siting of Biomass Energy Systems Since the power has to be generated through biomass route, biomass may have to be transported over a large geographical area which requires efficient design of logistic systems. Apart from that, a major component of cost of biomass power is the cost of transportation of biomass from source to the power plant. Therefore it is important to determine the optimal siting of biomass energy systems to minimize the cost of transportation. Since these optimal locations are based on minimizing Euclidian distance, installing the power generation systems at these locations would also minimize total cost of local transmission and distribution. In order to locate the biomass energy system, K-medoid clustering algorithm was used to determine the optimal number of clusters of villages to minimize the Euclidean distance between the medoid of the cluster and the villages within the cluster, and minimize the total installed capacity to meet the cluster demand. The clustering algorithm was modified in such a way that the total capital cost of the power generation system installation was minimized. Since the total project cost not only depended on capital cost alone, but also on biomass transportation and power transmission costs, these costs were also included in the analysis. It was proposed to locate the energy systems at the medoids of the clusters. Optimal Capacity Planning Installing biomass power systems requires large investments. It is therefore necessary to reduce the peak demand to bring down the installed capacity required. This was achieved by developing heuristics to arrive at an optimal scheduling scheme of the end-use activities that would minimize the peak demand. The heuristics procedure was demonstrated on five representative villages, each from different economic category. The optimal demand profile was used as input in HOMER micro-energy system simulation software to perform a techno-economic analysis. The simulation facilitated a thorough economic feasibility study of the system. This included a complete analysis of the cash inflows and outflows, capital cost of the system, operation and maintenance cost, cost of fuel and estimation of total GHG emissions. There are many limitations in planning at village-scale. The results indicated that capacity planning done at the village level was prone to over-estimation of installed capacity of the system increasing the investment requirement, under utilization of the capacity and suffered from supply scarcity of biomass. This emphasized the need for looking at a bigger conglomerate of villages in other words cluster of villages. In the next step, the optimal capacity planning was performed for one of the clusters formed using the K-medoid clustering algorithm with the power generation system located at the medoid. For demonstrating the practical feasibility of extending the methodology to cluster level, a cluster with maximum number of villages was chosen from the optimal cluster set in the k-medoid algorithm output. The planning was conducted according to the socioconomic category of the villages in the cluster. Economic implications of Stand-alone (SA) vs Grid-connected (GC) Mode of Operation Other important question that was answered in this analysis was a comparison of GC systems with SA systems. Since extension of grid to a village that is not electrified involved drawing high voltage transmission lines from the nearest grid point, installation of distribution transformers and low transmission lines within the village for distribution. Since these involve high costs it was necessary to study whether or not it is feasible to extend the grid or install a stand-alone system. This question was answered by the breakeven distance for which grid extension becomes more economical than a SA system. For each village breakeven distance varied with the total installed capacity and the operational costs. This helped to compare the GC systems vis-à-vis SA systems from the point of view of economic feasibility. Summary It is necessary that planning and strategies be rational and reasonable for effectively assuaging the rural electrification imbroglio. The current study has highlighted the importance of integrating both demand-side-management and supply-sidemanagement of energy systems in the context of planning for power generation and distribution in rural areas. The key findings in the current study are: • The study showed the feasibility of biomass power systems in meeting the rural electricity needs. • Biomass assessment results showed that, if the power demand could be brought down by replacing the existing appliances with efficient ones (ex. compact fluorescent lamps and improved irrigation pump set valves), Tumkur district has enough biomass potential to meet both the current as well as increased future demands for electricity. • The optimal number of clusters minimizing total capital cost of biomass energy systems, transportation cost of biomass and distribution cost of power, was 96 for Tumkur district. For Kunigal block, the optimal number of clusters was 37 and 32 for supply and demand scenarios 1(BAU -Business As Usual) and 2 (with 10% increase in cropland and 20% increase in demand). • The optimal capacity planning emphasized the importance of clustering of villages for minimizing the total installed capacity. The result also showed that the breakeven distance was the determining factor about the choice of GC vs SA systems. The main contributions of this thesis are: i. Hourly demand pattern was studied to estimate the aggregate demand for electricity at village level for different sectors across various seasons. ii. Village-wise biomass resources potential for power generation was assessed iii. Optimal locations for siting biomass energy systems were identified using k-medoid clustering algorithm iv. An optimal scheduling of end-use activities was planned using heuristics method to minimize the installed capacity v. Optimal location, scheduling plan of end-use activities and optimal capacity were determined for individual villages as well as village clusters vi. The economic implications of grid extension vis-à-vis stand-alone mode of operation of the installed biomass energy systems were studied The generalized, multipronged approach presented in this thesis to effectively integrate both demand-side management and supply-side management in rural energy planning can be implemented for any rural region irrespective of the location. The results emphasized that for efficient demand-side and supply-side management, it is important to plan for clusters of villages than at the individual village level. The results reported in this thesis will help the policy and strategy makers, and governments to achieve rural electrification to a satisfactory extent to ensure continuous, uninterrupted and reliable power supply by determining the clustering strategy, optimal cluster size, optimal scale and siting of decentralized biomass power generation systems.