The thesis analyzes energy security in a group of countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the background of their relations with the Russian Federation. The first part defines energy security, then proceeds to a common energy policy of the European Union, analyzes the main problems and challenges and proposes possible solutions. The second part deals with energy dependency between the European Union and the Russian Federation, discusses Russian interests in the region and Russian energy policy. The last part of the thesis compares the energy policy of Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and Ukraine.

This master thesis analyses the German energy policy, mainly the new concept which is known as Energiewende. The thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter is about theoretical background. The second chapter deals with the energy policy in Germany. It mentions single concepts of the energy policy in Germany. It describes institutions and legislation, which are essential for the energy policy in Germany. It deals with the energy sources in Germany as well as with the electricity. The third chapter describes measures which are essential for success of Energiewende -- it refers mainly to the new network, electricity efficiency in all fields, new power plants and electricity storage. Last, the fourth, chapter evaluates the energy policy in Germany. It contains experts' points of view, opinions of people living in Germany (based on my own survey) and my own commentary, where are the conclusions summarized.

The thesis deals with the issue of energy security in geopolitically strategic region of South Caucasus. The focus is on analyzing the development of energy policy in the individual countries of the region since the collapse of the Soviet union. On this basis is determined the most important security challenge: Armenia. This challenge results from the need to counteract the influence of external actors in the region and to address long-standing regional conflicts that would contribute not only to the stability of the South Caucasus, but also help to fully realize the potential of the region as an important transit corridor for Caspian and Iranian energy resources.

This doctoral thesis focuses on Energy security of European Union with and accent on use of renewable energy sources as an energy security instrument. Main goal of this thesis was to identify, verify and then postulate options that could enhance current state of energy security of European Union. Main instrument of this activity is a theoretical model which introduces three specific options. First option is about off-grid and partially on-grid system used for home and autonomy energy production. Second option is a synergic link of infrastructure for off-shore wind farms with a marine energy. Third option is a maximization of energy efficiency, energy savings and energy storage concepts. Energy efficiency was identified as hierarchical condition mandatory for every single introduced options. All introduced options were verified against European energy law, against principles of energy security and against economical and security criteria. Final and most important criteria for plausibility of such options is embodied in European energy policy and current energy and climate strategies.

This research has developed a novel sustainability assessment framework for electricity technologies and scenarios, taking into account techno-economic, environmental and social aspects. The methodology uses a life cycle approach and considers relevant sustainability impacts along the supply chain. The framework is generic and applicable to a range of electricity technologies and scenarios. To test the methodology, sustainability assessments have been carried out first for different technologies and then for a range of possible future electricity scenarios for the UK. The electricity options considered either contribute significantly to the current UK electricity mix or will play a greater role in the future; these are nuclear power (PWR), natural gas (CCGT), wind (offshore), solar (residential PV) and coal power (subcritical pulverised). The results show that no one technology is superior and that certain tradeoffs must be made. For example, nuclear and offshore wind power have the lowest life cycle environmental impacts, except for freshwater eco-toxicity for which gas is the best option; coal and gas are the cheapest options, but both have high global warming potential; PV has relatively low global warming potential but high cost, ozone layer and resource depletion. Nuclear, wind and PV increase certain aspects of energy security but introduce potential grid management problems; nuclear also poses complex risk and intergenerational questions. Five potential future electricity mixes have also been examined within three overarching scenarios, spanning 2020 to 2070, and compared to the present-day UK grid. The scenarios have been guided by three different approaches to climate change: one future in which little action is taken to reduce CO2 emissions (‘65%’), one in which electricity decarbonises by 80% by 2050 in line with the UK’s CO2 reduction target (‘80%’), and one in which electricity is virtually decarbonised (at the point of generation) by 2050, in line with current policy (‘100%’).In order to examine the sustainability implications of these scenarios, the assessment results from the present-day comparison were projected forward to describe each technology in future time periods. Additional data were compiled so that coal with carbon capture and storage (CCS) – a potentially key future technology – could be included. The results of the scenario analyses show that the cost of generating electricity is likely to increase and become more capital-intensive. However, the lower-carbon scenarios are also at least 87% less sensitive to fuel price volatility. Higher penetration of nuclear and renewables generally leads to better environmental performance and more employment, but creates unknown energy storage costs and, in the case of nuclear power and coal CCS, the production of long-lived waste places a burden of management and risk on future generations. Therefore, the choice of the ‘most sustainable’ electricity options now and in the future will depend crucially on the importance placed on different sustainability impacts; this should be acknowledged in future policy and decision making. A good compromise requires strategic government action; to provide guidance, specific recommendations are made for future government policy.

This thesis focuses on the discussion of the diversifying natural gas imports into the European Union and the role played by the Caspian region in this respect. The aim of the thesis is to describe the European Union's energy policy in the natural gas sector and to analyze the role of Caspian natural gas and the project of the Southern Gas Corridor. The question of relevance of the Caspian natural gas for strengthening the European Union's energy security comes along at the right time in the current debate on the further development of climate and energy policy. The policy, along with the draft framework for the creation of the Energy Union of 2015, integrates previously parallel European policies related to fight against climate change, energy security, internal energy market and external energy relations with third countries. The thesis is based on the hypothesis that the Caspian region is an alternative resource region capable of providing a diversification of natural gas imports to the European Union. The basic research questions are the following; "Is the European Union capable of influencing the conditions under which Caspian gas will be transported to Europe?" and "Is the Southern Gas Corridor capable of meeting the expectations of its planned volume of 60-120 billion cubic meters of natural...

The master's thesis Multi-level governance in the field of renewable energy: the case of Brittany focuses on the development of renewable energies in the French region of Brittany. The theoretical approach is based on the distinction of two types of multi-level governance developer by Hooghe and Marks. The thesis aims to investigate whether these two types can be found in the case of Brittany. Changes in the position of the region on the energy field caused by the process of energy transition are also addressed. The development of energy policy at the European level is described since it has decisive influence on the renewable energy sources. The EU set binding targets through its Climate and Energy Package which are then transposed to the national level. The thesis continues by investigating the role of the French regions in the field of renewable energy and comes to the conclusion that the regions have been empowered through the process of energy transition. Regions are actively involved in the development of renewable energy as is shown in the case of Brittany; nevertheless, they are still dependent on the decisions taken at the national level.

Energy sector transformation is of interest to policy makers and energy researchers. Critical to this transformation is efficient (i.e. least-cost) infrastructure investment planning for new generation and transmission infrastructure investments. Similarly, energy policies designed to encourage low carbon electricity generation have fueled much of the transformation globally over the past two decades. However, knowledge gaps remain with respect to the unique economic and geographic features of Small Island Developing States (SIDS); recommendations from previous studies often have limited applicability to the SIDS context. This dissertation addresses these concerns, contributing to our understanding of least-cost planning methods for new infrastructure investments as well as energy policies appropriate for small, isolated and often heavily indebted nations. The island of Jamaica is used as a case study to gain insights more applicable to the broader SIDS context.<div><br></div><div>The first problem this dissertation addresses is the impact of simultaneously planning for generation and transmission infrastructure instead of sequentially optimizing these decisions, as is commonly done. Energy infrastructure planning in SIDS treats transmission infrastructure as an afterthought once generation investments have been determined, potentially leading to sub-optimal investments. Using a dynamic optimization model of generation and transmission infrastructure, we find that it is more cost effective to co-optimize generation and transmission investments. The substitutability between local generation and remote generation, facilitated by transmission infrastructure, underpins this result. <br></div><div><br></div><div>The second empirical problem we address is the impact of loop flow on optimal infrastructure investment decisions. The Energy Information Agency (EIA) defines loop flow as “the movement of electric power from generator to load by dividing along multiple parallel paths; it especially refers to power flow along an unintended path that loops away from the most direct geographic path or contract path” (EIA, n.d.). We find no evidence that loop flow affects optimal investment decisions in Jamaica. We attribute this to an abundance of transmission capacity and the relative simplicity of Jamaica’s network design. Results may differ for other SIDS with different starting configurations.<br></div><div><br></div><div>The third problem this dissertation addresses centers on energy policy. We quantify the cost to the Jamaican society under four different policy scenarios: a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 30% by year 2030, a carbon tax, a production tax credit and an investment subsidy for specific renewable energy resources (solar and wind). We find that if the decision makers’ primary concern is reducing carbon emissions, a carbon tax is the economically efficient choice (of the four options); an RPS has the second-lowest cost to society. Assessing the tradeoffs associated with each option, a carbon tax is efficient but increases the average annual cost of electricity. If, however, the decision makers’ primary objective is energy independence and not carbon emissions reduction, then the RPS may be a better alternative than a carbon tax.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Collectively, this dissertation demonstrates a method for improving long-term planning in the electricity sector in SIDS. It also quantifies the cost to society of implementing a menu of carbon mitigating policies, removing the ambiguity that persists in energy policy setting. Not only does this dissertation advance the energy economic literature by specifically addressing the economic and geographic features of SIDS, but we make our data and program files freely accessible. This is one measure that helps to overcome the data limitation hurdle that is a main contributor to the dearth of energy economics research more applicable to SIDS.<br></div>

This paper deals with the usage of photovoltaics in positive energy buildings. The European Union published in 2010 a directive about the energy performance of buildings in which article 9 states that all member States shall ensure that by the end of 2020 all new buildings should be “nearly zero-energy” buildings (by the end of 2018 for public buildings). This kind of nearly zero-energy buildings is starting to develop in France under the name “BEPOS” (which stands for POSitive Energy Building, in French), and this is the name that will be used in this document. 288 projects have been certified “BEPOS” as of 2012, according to the ADEME which published a map of all the BEPOS buildings in France (the ADEME is a French agency for the environment and the energy utilization, which is a major actor in the French energy policy, often deciding where to allocate funds). To be a BEPOS, these buildings need to produce electricity on site and photovoltaics are often considered as one of the most mature and competitive technology to do so, also the most used. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that photovoltaics are an economically viable means to reach the BEPOS quality label, and to provide data to quantify the cost and performance of a photovoltaic system. To achieve that, the technological and market conditions of photovoltaics in France are reviewed, and techno-economic calculations are made using data provided by solar and construction companies.

Der Umstieg auf erneuerbare Energien und die damit notwendigerweise verbundenen Veränderungen der bestehenden ökonomischen, technischen und sozialen Systeme wird immer wieder als Generationenaufgabe beschrieben – einer Aufgabe, die langfristiges Handeln und Entscheiden verlangt. Allerdings sind weder das politische noch das wirtschaftliche System bisher auf ein derart komplex langfristiges Handeln ausgelegt. Während zu den handlungszwingenden Erfordernissen in der Politik schnelle, die Legitimation wie auch die Wiederwahlchancen steigernde Erfolge zählen, ist die Wirtschaft vor allem an Effizienz und Gewinn orientiert. Das führt dazu, dass die im Grundsatz technisch realisierbare Energiewende vor allem an kurz- bis mittelfristigen politischen wie wirtschaftlichen Erfolgskriterien ausgerichtet ist und langfristige Belange wie bspw. Fragen der Ökologie und der Nachhaltigkeit eine nur nachgeordnete Bedeutung besitzen. Die Arbeit geht deshalb der Frage nach, wie und in welcher Form Langfristigkeit in Bezug auf Politik und politisches Steuerungshandeln erzeugt, sichergestellt und/oder aufrechterhalten werden kann. Dabei wird eine institutionalistische Perspektive eingenommen. Die gesamt Untersuchung stützt sich auf einen fokussierten Paarvergleich differenzanalytischer Art von qualitativen Fallstudien zur energiepolitischen Steuerung in Deutschland und Großbritannien im Zeitraum von 1989 bis 2017.