Gotland is a pilot area for Sweden to achieve carbon neutrality, which means that achieve a 100% sustainable energy supply is significant for Gotland energy development. Gotland has good sunshine conditions and solar radiation, but the development of solar energy is relatively slow. In order to prove that Visby, the largest city in Gotland, has good solar energy potential, this paper aims to investigate the PV potential for non-residential buildings in Visby by modelling the installation of roof solar panels on representative non- residential buildings (Visby Galleria, surrounding buildings in Stenhuggarvägen) through quantitative research methods. From the final result of the modelling, the solar energy potential per square meter of Visby's non-residential buildings is 121kWh, and the total solar electricity generation potential is 708 GWh. The research results show that Visby's non-residential buildings have high solar power potential, and it can be used as one of the methods to achieve a 100% sustainable energy supply.

Dans le contexte de développement durable et de transition énergétique, le secteur du bâtiment représente en France une véritable mine pour mettre en œuvre les ambitions de maîtrise de la demande en énergie. Réglementations nationales et locales ont été progressivement et substantiellement modifiées, et le processus de conception des bâtiments a dû évoluer pour les respecter. La conception a ainsi été questionnée par d'ambitieuses prescriptions visant la performance énergétique.Nous nous interrogeons sur les réajustements opérés par les concepteurs de bâtiments suite à cette série de prescriptions. Nous montrons que les prescriptions énergétiques des collectivités locales passent en majeure partie par des outils relevant de l'urbanisme opérationnel. De plus, après une période d'apprentissage en raison d'une nouvelle définition de la performance énergétique, le secteur de la conception se caractérise par une certaine stabilité, caractérisée par le retour de routines, la recherche de conventions partagées entre la maîtrise d'ouvrage et la maîtrise d’œuvre et le maintien d'un désintérêt tacite pour la prise en compte des usages. Nous étudions alors comme une innovation (la performance énergétique globale) s'est développée pour être ensuite intégrée au régime de la construction.Nous mobilisons la sociologie pragmatique, et plus particulièrement le courant des économies de la grandeur développé par L. Boltanski et L. Thévenot, ainsi que les travaux du courant conventionnaliste pour analyser trois opérations immobilières en logement collectif, de taille variée mais caractérisées par la recherche de la performance énergétique : la Tour Elithis Danube (Strasbourg, 67), l'éco-quartier des Passerelles (Cran-Gevrier, 74) et Les Jardins de Mûres (Mûres, 74). / In a context of sustainable development and energy transition, the French building sector represents a lever to carry out and achieve energy demand management ambitions. National and local rules regarding construction were progressively and substantially modified, and the building design process had to evolve to abide by these rules. Building design has been called into question by requirements aimed at energy performance.We question the readjustments implemented by building designers to follow these requirements. We show that local authorities mostly use operational urban planning to carry their energy requirements. Besides, after a learning period due to the implementation of a new definition of energy performance, the building sector has known stabilisation, characterized by the return of routines and the seek for shared conventions between the project owner and the project manager team. We study how an innovation (the global energy performance) developped and has been adopted by the socio-technical regime of construction.We mobilize the pragmatic sociology; particularly the French branch of sociological economy developed by L. Boltanski and L. Thévenot, and also researches on conventionalism, in order to study three estate operations. These operations belong to multi-unit housing, are of various sizes and are all characterized by a search of energy performance. They are located in different places: in the city of Strasbourg (Alsace) and in the area of Haute-Savoie.

The perception of climate change as an emergency has provided the primary impetus to a transition from conventional fossil-based energy sources to renewables. The use of renewable energy sources is essential to sustainable development, since it is the only way that quality of life can remain high while greenhouse gas emissions are cut. Still, at the time of writing, renewables contribute a small part of the total primary energy use worldwide. Much research has gone into understanding barriers to the full-scale adoption of renewable energy sources. Still, many of the tools used have focused primarily on optimal paths, which are useful in the long-term but problematic in non-equilibrium markets. In the shorter term, behavior is thought to be more governed by existing institutions and commitments until those frameworks can be changed. This means that understanding people's attitudes towards renewables is key towards understanding how adoption will take place and how best to incentivize such action. Particularly, decisions are made by investors, who serve as intermediaries between what customers/public want and the existing institutions (what is possible). Understanding their responses to the current state of affairs as well as perturbations in the form of policy changes is important in order to effect change or make sure that policies will work as intended. <br> <br> First, the shifting demand landscape is considered, specifically in Indiana cities. Heating is shrinking as a driver of primary energy use over time due to climate change, while transport increases relatively. Electricity demand continues to increase, and the potential for electrification of transport can add to this potential. This led to a focus on the electricity sector for further work. Noticing that adoption lags public support led to a comparison of levelized cost of electricity and net present value metrics for 18 dominant technologies in two power markets in the US. Capacity markets and solar renewable energy credits lead to differences between cost and net present value in PJM, making natural gas the most attractive technology there. Noting the difference in electricity price between the two markets also provides a caution regarding the employment of carbon pricing in PJM, since that is an additional cost to the consumer who is already paying twice to fossil based generation in that region, once for energy provision and once for reliability. <br> <br> Individual technologies represent only part of the question, however, since generation capacity is added to bolster existing supplies. In order to study the portfolio, historical risk is considered along with levelized costs to identify optimal portfolios in CAISO and PJM. Then electricity is treated as a social good, and a sustainability profile was built for each technology balancing current equity and risks to future generations. This allowed quantification and identification of barriers to market acceptance of renewables, but it also led to a recognition of where useful metrics are still lacking. For example the use of land provides an important barrier to the adoption of renewables, and is a potent potential barrier for future acceptance. It is not well understood, however, which led to a critical review of existing technologies. <br> <br> The work in this dissertation provides one of the first mixed methods attempts to assess energy demand for cities including the end use of cooling. It provides a simple model that demonstrates the importance of capacity markets in determining the profitability of different energy technologies. It provides a guide to the emerging issue of land use by energy systems, a key consideration for the study of the food-energy-water nexus. It is the first use of portfolio optimization for sustainability studies. This is an important methodological tool since it allows a comprehensive sustainability analysis while providing a sense of the difference between immediate and future risks. The tool also allows users to diagnose which technologies are incentivized and which are deterred by market factors, as well as the strength of the deterrence. This is helpful for policy makers in understanding how incentives should be structured.

The Swedish mining and minerals sector is one of the most prominent greenhouse gas emitters in the country. At the same time, it also provides Sweden and other nations with vast amounts of important metals and minerals, which are not easily replaced. However, in light of the increasing urgency to reduce global greenhouse gas concentrations, it is imperative that the combustion of fossil fuels is decreased. This quantitative case study uses a document review and interviews to investigate the prerequisites and technical potential for decarbonising the Dannemora iron ore mine in eastern Sweden. Furthermore, a comparative life cycle inventory based on methods from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol is performed in order to calculate potential savings of both energy and greenhouse gases from exchanging conventional underground mining equipment with more sustainable alternatives. Results show that emissions from underground activities in the Dannemora mine could potentially be reduced by up to 90 %, and energy consumption by up to 64 %. It was however also shown that no viable emission-free explosives currently exist that could safely replace conventional alternatives. Further research needs to be conducted in order to investigate the effects of Scope 3 emissions from the production of battery electric mining vehicles, as this would have an effect on overall GHG and energy savings.

Poland is known for its hesitant attitude towards the Green New Deal. Such approach is often expressed in the political discourse of the governing party, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość. Despite approval of the European Green Deal, Polish action plans for energy transition are not ambitious. A significant part of Polish society, characterized by low environmental awareness, opposes decarbonization. This paper examines factors limiting and enabling a Green New Deal in Poland as seen through the perspective of Polish media discourse. Content analysis was applied to identify the frequency of aspects mentioned in national newspapers supporting or hindering the agenda of a Polish Green New Deal. The study is focused on media coverage of the ecological crisis, the European Union effect, neo-pluralist mobilization, or green conversion prospects, as factors potentially enabling a Green New Deal in Poland. It concentrates on media coverage related to the Soviet legacy, dependency on dirty energy, and the domestic power of energy firms and corporatist links between the ruling party and state- owned companies, and Euroscepticism, as prospective factors disenabling a Green New Deal in Poland. The findings raise a question if the promotion of universal environmental and energy standards is possible given countries’ differences in economic profile and level of development.

Globally and in most emerging economies such as South Africa, there is an urgent need to attain sustainable development goals as well as honor climate change mitigation commitments. In order to achieve this and to participate in a global transition to clean, low-carbon energy systems, it is imperative for South Africa to focus on its energy transition strategy. In South Africa, the current energy system is mainly reliant on fossil fuel, nuclear and gas energy sources. The high reliance on fossil fuels combined with an old fleet of power plants have intensified the challenges of unsustainability, poor security of supply, as well as unreliability demonstrated in frequent disruptions in the electricity supply. The South African energy supply system is in great need for transformation through the strengthening of cleaner and sustainable energy technologies. This thesis used the international energy supply mix comparison, energy supply mix drivers causality analysis, as well as the energy supply mix system modelling to investigate and propose an optimal energy supply mix which is aligned to the current South African national policy frameworks as well as the strategic targets and plans which enable a sustainable and secure energy transition. The overarching aim of this study was to investigate the role of renewable energy in the South African energy supply mix and economy. To do so, the specific research questions of the study were: 1) How is South Africa’s planned energy supply mix relative to the rest of the world and how has it changed in recent years? ; 2) What is the relationship between renewable energy and economic growth in South Africa?; 3) What is the optimal energy supply mix that is used in South Africa in order to assist with the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies? These questions were addressed through three research papers around which the thesis is structured. The study’s findings advance the EnergyPlan system modelling tool and methodology and its introduction in the South African context. In terms of its energy supply mix (specifically electricity supply mix), South Africa is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels and there is a need for diversification towards a cleaner and sustainable energy supply mix. As a result, it is evident that nonrenewable energy has the most impact on economic growth. There is also a need to increase R&D expenditure and energy technology development. The key contribution of this thesis is the introduction to the South African context an energy supply mix methodology and tool that can be used to accurately determine the maximum contribution of renewable energy into the South African energy supply mix at the least cost and minimum emissions enabling the transition from a fossil fuel dominated mix to one that has more renewable energy. Also providing an evaluation of the role of renewable energies in the future optimal energy supply mix of the country and empirically evaluating and discussing the current Intergrated Resource Plan (IRP) as part of the process. In this regard, identifying the gaps in the current energy mix against likely scenarios based on the current economic climate. As well as better informing the policy makers and key stakeholders in the electricity industry on the role and effect of preferring a renewable -based energy supply mix. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Eskom; University of Pretoria / Economics / PhD / Unrestricted

Community energy projects have such a fire burning inside of them. This often originates from or is at least fueled by the people in charge - let us call them driving spirits. We wondered what makes these inspiring persons so unique, which led us to our research question: What characteristics does a person need to become the driving spirit of a community energy project? We searched for existing driving spirits of European energy communities to let them tell their stories and have their voices be heard. In order to inspire others to realize their potential and possibly take action also outside of the academic world, we wrote our entire thesis in a storytelling approach. We set the scene by looking at the environment of energy communities and the role of the driving spirit. We analyzed the conducted semi-structured interviews and simultaneous observations using the theory of entrepreneurial leaders, to see whether their unique characteristics match the ones of our driving spirits. Overall, we found that their core characteristics are passion, vision, integrity, ability to motivate and the newly-identified aspect of team. These are complemented by resilience, self-confidence as well as being decisive, sociable, intuitive and flexible. Moreover, there exist interdependencies between the characteristics that have not been discussed in theory before. Going through this entire story of a thesis helped us analyze these people behind community energy projects, brought them closer to us and made us see how we - and maybe you - could potentially start our own story, following their example.

The threat of global climate change has brought on the need for a transition towards renewable energy sources and electrification, thereby creating a significantly increased demand for energy minerals and metals. Despite being on a path towards an energy system with net-zero emissions, the European Union (EU) is currently highly dependent on the import of these minerals and metals from outside of the Union. In addition to constituting a supply risk, the sourcing of energy minerals and metals form outside of the EU also leads to the displacement of the impacts that mining has on the environment, society, and the economy in places where pre -existing environmental and social vulnerabilities often enhance these damages. This study sets out to explore how the mining industry of the EU could contribute to the sustainable supply of energy minerals and metals,considering the current state of the industry and the interactions of different associated environmental, social, and economic sustainability aspects on different spatial scales. It is empirically explored from the perspective of the potential mining of battery minerals and metals in Sweden. Media articles on the subject are reviewed and stakeholders of such a potential mining sector are interviewed. Both sets of data are analysed using the frameworks of systems theory and environmental justice, as well as theories on the resistance to and acceptance of mining. The analyses of the empirical findings suggest that there are some unavoidable trade-offs associated with mining, where the global need to mine is put against local concerns. It is concluded that while there is potential for the EU mining sector to produce energy minerals and metals more sustainably than is currently the case, some environmental, social, and economic damages cannot be avoided. To enable the energy transition, there is a need to make trade-offs between different aspects of sustainability. However, there is a lack of guidelines for how these trade-offs, which often involve more than one spatial scale, should be made.Ultimately, the sustainability contributions of a EU energy mineral and metals mining sector is dependent on how sustainable mining is defined and which spatial boundaries are applied. To deal with the limitations of the sustainability concept, it is proposed that the question is also approached from a perspective of justice.

This thesis studies preconditions for clean hydrogen energy deployment in energy systems of Spain, Sweden, The UK, and China, considering these countries' geographical, political, and economic peculiarities. Countries' readiness for hydrogen energy uptake assessment is based on a comprehensive analysis of energy systems in selected countries by taking an integrated whole-system approach analyzing hydrogen supply in different infrastructure configurations as well as hydrogen transportation and storage and hydrogen use in the energy ecosystem. The readiness index of each country is evaluated in technological, political, societal, and economic dimensions, which are interdependent and influence not only each other, but the entire outcome of the energy transition phenomena studied in this thesis. The analysis concludes that the political dimension is the dominant one, as the government has the power to steer finance toward a green transition, making the desired change, such as clean hydrogen energy industry formation in the country, happen. Current energy transition entails economic and institutional change and deep industrial restructuring, all of which require specific policy instruments and conditionalities, balancing risks and behaviours in the process of the energy transition. Based on the results of this study, the UK and China have the highest political readiness among the analyzed countries, which also results in their higher economic, technology, and societal readiness levels.

In recent years, scholars of science and technology studies (STS) have increasingly turned their attention to the role of collective imagination in shaping sociotechnical futures. This scholarship leaves open the question of how the collectives involved in bringing these futures to life come into being. Starting with one episode in the ongoing conflict over the construction of Coastal GasLink pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory in settler-colonial Canada, this discourse analysis draws on scholarship in feminist, anticolonial, and co-productionist STS to study this process of collective formation in relation to sociotechnical futures. It does so by examining how oil and gas workers become enrolled into a sociotechnical imaginary I call Canadian resource techno-nationalism. Comparing media and politicians’ representations of oil and gas workers with White workers’ representations of themselves indicates that they can end up participating in this imaginary regardless of their affinity to it. Examining policy documents and scholarly literature about the inclusion of Indigenous knowledges in impact assessment, as well as political debates and mainstream media coverage about the conflict over the Coastal GasLink pipeline, draws attention to how elites’ active construction and protection of the boundary between knowledge and politics works to enroll Indigenous people into oil and gas jobs and, therefore, into the collective performing Canadian resource techno-nationalism. In both cases, elite actors deploy the resources at their disposal in ways that help funnel oil and gas workers into lives imagined for them, securing the power of the settler state in the process. This dynamic illustrates the importance of disentangling participation in the collective performance of sociotechnical imaginaries from freely given consent. Residents of liberal states can end up performing dominant imaginaries less out of any sense of affinity to them than as a response to the disciplinary power these imaginaries help sustain.