Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is the production of electricity and the simultaneous utilization of the heat produced by the generator prime mover. The energy efficiency advantages of CHP are undisputed, and yet, the continuously changing economic conditions make the implementation of such projects financially not viable if no incentives are available. This thesis attempts to demonstrate the economic benefits associated with DG-CHP. The identification and quantification of both benefits and costs to the different system stakeholders will serve to illustrate that additional DG-CHP installed capacity results in positive system wide benefits. Furthermore, it will be shown that there is justification to re-evaluate a more balanced allocation - among the different system stakeholders - of the benefits resulting from the implementation of DG-CHP technology in the New York State region.

As demand for renewable energy is increasing rapidly, the market for biomass pellets is expected to continue to grow in the near future. Most of the new raw materials that are discussed for pellet production have one thing in common; the production costs will increase compared to using traditional raw materials such as sawdust and planer shavings. The aim of this thesis is to investigate to what degree increased use of new raw materials for pellet production will affect the general pellet prices in Sweden and to survey what plans Swedish pellet producers have concerning new raw materials. To investigate the raw material situation of the Swedish pellet producers an industry survey was performed. Literature studies were also made on previous research in the subject field. Calculations of the production costs for pellets were done for the raw materials sawdust, wet sawmill chips and energy wood respectively.                 New raw materials are already used by the large-scale pellet producers in Sweden. It is mainly the large-scale producers that have started to use new raw materials such as energy wood, wet sawmill chips and dry chips. Around 65% of the respondents of the survey were planning for new raw materials. Most commonly planned for was energy wood. Most of the pellet producers in the survey were planning for raw materials that give high quality pellets. The minimum price for pellets is in the long run set by the production costs. The raw material costs are the most important part of the production costs and according to results from the survey they also affect the pellet prices most. For pellets made of sawdust the raw material costs were typically 2/3 of the total production costs in 2009. In calculations of production costs, wet sawmill chips resulted in a decreased cost by 4% compared to sawdust, mainly because of less expensive raw material. Energy wood also resulted in decreased production costs by 4% compared to sawdust, assuming that the thermal energy needed for drying could be entirely produced with the bark from the debarking process. Both energy wood and wet sawmill chips could hence decrease the production costs and thereby the price for pellets. Even though there is a much greater maximum pellet production potential for wet sawmill chips than for sawdust the amounts of available raw material will, among other factors, depend on the development in the pulp industry.

It is known that the heating and cooling market constitutes a large part of energy market across Europe and that the domestic and non-domestic buildings have together the largest share of energy demand. The aim of the European climate goals is to reduce the use of fossil fuel based systems and the allowance of energy demand. These have been striving reasons to increase efficiency and reduce GHG emissions on energy systems for buildings. The climate goals and regulations mentioned in this study implicates that European countries strives towards renewable sources in the heating sector, and encouraging heating networks with renewable sources. E.ON has developed a new low temperature district heating and cooling system called EctogridTM, a heat network integrated with heat pumps and cooling machines to supply energy. This thesis will thoroughly describe this heating and cooling system, called EctogridTM, and its constitutive components. The aim of this study is to determine whether the energy markets in Germany and United Kingdom are ready for an introduction of EctogridTM, and exploit existing and upcoming obstacles. To determine this, two research questions are answered through literature review, research and a case analysis. The first research question is evaluating the energy market in Europe with a focus on the heating demand in Germany and United Kingdom where fossil fuels are the dominating fuel. Second research question is comparing EctogridTM with a 4th generation district  heating  network, 4GDHn, in costs to evaluate the competitiveness with existing energy systems on the market. It is concluded that obstacles exist, how big they are for EctogridTM differs from country to country. How developed and flexible the infrastructure is, what energy sources and technologies are commonly used for heating purposes, building insulation, energy prices and regulations are factors that more or less variates from country to country and decides the severity of the feasible imposed obstacles. Germany and United Kingdom mostly uses decentralized gas boilers for the building heating demand, people often reasons them to have cheap running cost due to the energy prices. This study shows that that despite the big difference in energy price between gas and electricity for a household, heat pumps with a minimum COP of 3.5 will have lower running costs  than traditional gas boilers. Since EctogridTM uses heat pumps with a COP between 4-5, in optimal conditions, it is quite competitive in running cost to gas boilers. The obstacle here lies in most buildings being old and insufficient insulated for an EctogridTM system and the investment costs often being more expensive compared to gas boilers. Installing a heat pump or a gas boiler shows that the CO2 emissions per kWh of useful heat (kg CO2/kWh) are 0.31 for a gas boiler and 0.16 for an AHP which means a decrease in emissions of around 50% per useful kWh heat. The case study compared 4GDHn with an EctogridTM solution as an energy system. The case study consisted of 3 buildings with a heating and cooling need in a newly built area in Germany and United Kingdom. The study showed that an EctogridTM solution was more expensive for the customers but more profitable for producers when comparisons were made with regards to the current energy prices and estimations. However, a larger area with a much higher energy demand needs to be considered to see the real competitiveness of EctogridTM and electrified solution. A larger cooling demand will benefit EctogridTM  while reducing the profits of a 4GDHn. The uncertainty of the acquired data, since no pilot project exists yet, makes it hard to draw a certain conclusion whether it is a more competitive energy system than a 4GDHn and other current low carbon heating systems. / Värme- och kylbehovet utgör en stor del av energisektorn i Europa, där kommersiella och icke- kommersiella byggnaderna tillsammans står för den största andelen av energibehovet i energimarknaden. Målet med Europas klimatmål är bland annat att minska användningen av fossila bränslen samt energibehovet. Klimatpåverkan från värme- och kylsystem i byggnadssektorn har varit omfattande och klimatmålen motiverar ägarna av energisystemen att bli mer energi effektiva och minska deras växthusemissioner. Klimatmål och bestämmelser som nämns i denna rapport visar att länderna i Europa strävar efter att främja förnybara källor i värmesektorn, där värmenätverk är ofta nämnd.E.ON har utvecklat ett låg temperaturs nätverk som kallas för EctogridTM, där nätverket är integrerat med värmepumpar och kylmaskiner för att leverera energi. Det här arbetet kommer noggrant att beskriva EctogridTM och dess djupgående komponenter.Syftet med denna studie är att avgöra om energimarknaden i Tyskland och Storbritannien är redo för en implementering av EctogridTM, och upplysa om de existerande samt framtida hindren. För att svara på detta är två nyckelfrågor framtagna och besvarade genom litteraturstudie, forskning och en fallstudie.Första nyckelfrågan utvärderar energimarknaden i Europa med fokus i Tyskland och Storbritanniens värmebehov där användingen av fossila bränslen utgör större delen av marknaden. Andra nyckelfrågan jämför kostnaderna mellan EctogridTM  och 4:e generationens fjärrvärmenätverk, detta för att ta veta hur konkurrenskraftig EctogridTM är gentemot nuvarande och snarliknande energisystem i marknaden. Studien visar att hinder existerar när EctogridTM introduceras till marknaden, hur stora dom är kan variera mellan olika länder. Hur utvecklat och flexibelt infrastrukturen är, vilken energikälla samt teknologi som vanligtvis används för komfortvärmen, byggnadsisolering, energipriser och bestämmelser är faktorer som mer eller mindre varierar mellan länderna och  bestämmer storheten på hindret/n. Tyskland och Storbritannien använder mestadels lokala gaspannor för värmebehovet i byggnader. Ofta associeras gaspannor med låga driftkostnader på grund av energipriserna. Den här studien visar att värmepumpar med en genomsnittlig COP som är minst 3.5 har lägre driftkostnader än traditionella gas pannor, trots den stora skillnaden mellan gas- och elpriset. Då EctogridTM använder värmepumpar som i drift skall ha en genomsnittlig COP på mellan 4-5, vid optimala förhållanden, är detta system konkurrenskraftigt gentemot lokala gaspannor. Hindret här ligger i att de flesta byggnader inte är tillräckligt bra isolerade och kan implementera EctogridTM då systemet opererar i för låga temperaturer, samt att investeringskostnaderna oftast är betydligt dyrare än ett system med gaspanna. Vid installation av en luftvärmepump eller gaspanna visar att CO2 emissionerna per kWh nyttig värme (kg CO2/kWh) är 0.31 för en gaspanna och 0.16 för luftvärmepumpen, vilket leder till en halvering av CO2 utsläpp. Den skapade fallstudien jämför 4:e generationens fjärrvärmenät med en EctogridTM lösning, där systemen ska förse tre nybyggda fastigheters värme- och kylbehov i ett nybyggnationsområde i Tyskland samt Storbritannien. Fallstudien visade att implementerandet av EctogridTM var dyrare för kunden men avkastningen för energibolagen var högre än 4:e generationens fjärrvärmenät, detta baserades på nuvarande energipriser samt prissättningen. Men det är rekommenderat att göra en jämförelse över ett större område med högre energibehov än i denna fallstudie för att få en mer verklig uppfattning. Ökad andel av kylbehov än i denna fallstudie är även något att se över då det ökar avkastningen för EctogridTM och förväntas öka effektiviteten avsevärt för systemet. Något som inte är lika fördelaktigt för 4:e generationens fjärrvärmenät. Det är svårt att ge helt tillförlitliga slutsatser och resultat då ett pilotprojekt på EctogridTM inte existerar ännu, det vill säga den data som har varit grunden för vår analys och resultat är inte bekräftad att vara helt korrekta. Vilket gör att man med säkerhet inte kan säga om EctogridTM är mer eller mindre konkurrenskraftig än 4:e generationens fjärrvärmesystem och andra befintliga lågemitterande värmesystem.

<p>The Renewable Energies play a rather small role so far in the overall mixture for power generation, but they increasingly gain in importance. Nevertheless an independent marketability is not given yet. To reach the development goals which are requested by the European Commission, a monetary sponsorship at the expense of electricity consumers is required. Can this governmental interference be justified? Which problems arise with the subvention?</p>

The Renewable Energies play a rather small role so far in the overall mixture for power generation, but they increasingly gain in importance. Nevertheless an independent marketability is not given yet. To reach the development goals which are requested by the European Commission, a monetary sponsorship at the expense of electricity consumers is required. Can this governmental interference be justified? Which problems arise with the subvention?

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This thesis investigates the patterns of each type of energy consumption for fourteen countries, to study the link between energy consumption, economics and population. It was found that for all the countries studied, there is a decrease in energy consumption relative to economic growth. This shows that the world has become less energy based, and is more efficient in using energy to produce economic wealth. The carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for each fossil fuel type used for electricity generation in New Zealand: coal, gas and oil was also calculated. Gas is the main contributor of CO₂ by electricity generation for New Zealand. New Zealand's CO₂ emissions from electricity generation have nearly tripled in the last 12 years. Despite the environmental concerns of global warming and the Kyoto protocol, there has been a large increase in total CO₂ emitted. This increase has seen a replacement of gas by coal in order to continue to meet the electricity demand of the nation. New Zealand has a small energy market relative to the global market. World energy market patterns show a recent history of oil declining, coal declining, gas increasing and the significant presence of nuclear. Renewable energies are insignificant on the world scene. These are marked contrasts to the New Zealand scene. Of the renewable energy supply fuels, both hydro and geothermal have been in decline, from before deregulation. This trend will continue in the future if left to market forces. Although renewable energy may be a solution to New Zealand's energy supply, the increase in market share of other renewable energies to date is limited. They are unlikely to be sufficient to cover New Zealand's energy demand in the near future. With New Zealand being dependent on the world supply of oil, the expected depletion of the Maui gas field, the low market share for renewable energy and rising concerns about pollution, the green house effects and global warming, nuclear power is considered an option in New Zealand.

This thesis analyzes the challenges associated with the countries in socioeconomic and political transition when on the path of integrating into the developed world unions or on the path of fulfilling projected renewable energy targets. As an example country, or as a study case here, The Republic of Serbia has been selected. The thesis addresses the question of how the Renewable Energy Market in Serbia is developing and how are the challenges being addressed. Thesis reveals that main obstacles come from the ownership of the energy and the power gird assets which are still entirely owned and controlled by the State. Due to this fact it is hard to introduce the planned renewable projects, mostly to be developed and owned by foreign entities, and at the same time to be forced to reduce domestic power production out of the thermal power plants. However, by being on the path to the EU, the renewable energy targets and the RES (Renewable Energy Sources) market have to be accomplished and the government has to show full legislative and policy support. It is also realized that there is a significant discrepancy between the "say and do" in the case of The Republic of Serbia, at least so far. The thesis highlights the important driving factors that, despite of the local resistance and sluggishness,...

Global warming is an impending crisis that poses severe ecological and economic consequences if left unaddressed. The primary cause of this crisis is the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), making it crucial to identify and implement effective emission-mitigating measures. One potential measure is renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic (PV) systems. This study aims to estimate the emission mitigation effect of PV systems in Sweden, a country of interest due to its already high share of green energy production. This poses a challenge in predicting the emission mitigation effect of PV adoption, as it relies on replacing fossil-based power production. By using a municipality-level panel data set spanning the years 2016-2020 coupled with a multiple regression approach, a statistically insignificant relationship is found between CO2 emissions per capita and installed PV effect per capita in Sweden. This counter-intuitive and unfortunate result emphasises the difficulty of designing effective environmental policy.

This paper explores alternative ways for smaller actors on the energy market to identify potential customers using publicly available data and different machine learning algorithms. During recent years, price has been considered to have the biggest impact on the behaviour of the consumers on the energy market. Since the bigger actors on the market can use their economies of scale to lower their prices, smaller actors need to find alternative ways to reach out to consumers. The machine learning algorithms in this paper will use the sales data from a small energy company, operating in Sweden and attempt to find a connection between existing customers using their demographic properties. By acquiring a deeper knowledge of what differentiates consumers that are willing to purchase energy from the energy company and the other consumers, the energy company may increase their rate of successful sales. Due to the lack of customer data avilable coupled with a lack of relevant public data, the results in this paper are not conclusive. However, it provides a baseline for future research as the results may be more reliable when the number of customers purchasing energy from The Energy Company increases. / Det här arbetet utforskar alternativa tillvägagångssätt för för mindre aktörer på energimarknaden att identifiera nya potentiella kunder, baserat på publikt tillgänglig data som analyseras med hjälp av maskininlärningsalgoritmer. På senare år har pris ansetts vara den faktor som påverkar val av leverantör mest. Eftersom större aktörer på marknaden kan utnyttja skalfördelar kan de pressa priserna hårt, medans mindre aktörer måste finna andra vägar att vinna nya kunder. Maskininlärningsalgoritmerna i den här uppsatsen kommer att använda försäljningsdata från ett litet energibolag, som bedriver verksamhet i Sverige, med målet att hitta ett mönster mellan existerande kunder och deras demografiska data. Genom att förskaffa sig djupare kunskap om vad som differentierar kunder kan energibolaget förbättra sin försäljning. På grund av en förhållandevis liten mängd kunddata och brist på publik data gick det inte att hitta ett betydande samband mellan kunderna och deras demografiska data. Resultaten utgör dock en bra grund för fortsatt forskning då resultaten blir mer pålitliga då mer kunddata införskaffas, vilket blir en naturlig följd av att energibolagets försäljning fortsätter utvecklas.