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There has been a tremendous increase in the level of human activity on Earth since the start Industrial Revolution which has promoted great development within societies. However, recent scientific studies have shown that our actions have caused detrimental damage to our environment resulting in the observable phenomenon known as climate change. Some of the adverse effects of climate change include the destruction of habitats, changes in weather patterns and propagation of diseases ��� to name a few. This trend impacts all systems inhabiting our planet and has very grievous implications for the future if no action is taken. A major contributor to climate change is the transport sector which causes significant CO2 and green house gas pollution ��� due the heavy reliance on consuming fossil fuels. These harmful gases have been proven to facilitate global warming. The international community has recognised these undeniable facts and therefore is taking decisive steps to ensure that all sectors to become sustainable. There is a strong advocacy by the global community to promote "sustainable Transport" and ensure that the transport sector becomes emission free and less carbon intensive. An innovative solution to facilitate this transition to sustainable transport is the adoption of electric vehicles (EV���s) which are environmentally friendly and very efficient. EV���s are developing at a rapid pace and the EU is taking a lead in this revolution. Within the EU, the Netherlands has taken proactive steps to deploy as many EV within the country and has set ambitious goal to go all-electric by 2030. Given this bold target; this prompted the question that if the EV market share is forecasted to increase in the Netherlands, how much will it cost to install the appropriate infrastructure to accompany these vehicles? Hence the scope is to answer the following research question: ���To determine the financial viability of installing public electric vehicle charging infrastructure (Level 2 and 3) in the Netherlands���. It was concluded that public charging infrastructure is capital intensive and the associated costs cannot be borne by the government alone - effective financial co-operation between the public and private sectors is required. To get a holistic view to address this research question, global EV trends, the Dutch EV market and Dutch policies have been included.

Abstract Weather and climate variations on subseasonal to decadal time scales can have enormous social, economic, and environmental impacts, making skillful predictions on these time scales a valuable tool for decision-makers. As such, there is a growing interest in the scientific, operational, and applications communities in developing forecasts to improve our foreknowledge of extreme events. On subseasonal to seasonal (S2S) time scales, these include high-impact meteorological events such as tropical cyclones, extratropical storms, floods, droughts, and heat and cold waves. On seasonal to decadal (S2D) time scales, while the focus broadly remains similar (e.g., on precipitation, surface and upper-ocean temperatures, and their effects on the probabilities of high-impact meteorological events), understanding the roles of internal variability and externally forced variability such as anthropogenic warming in forecasts also becomes important. The S2S and S2D communities share common scientific and technical challenges. These include forecast initialization and ensemble generation; initialization shock and drift; understanding the onset of model systematic errors; bias correction, calibration, and forecast quality assessment; model resolution; atmosphere–ocean coupling; sources and expectations for predictability; and linking research, operational forecasting, and end-user needs. In September 2018 a coordinated pair of international conferences, framed by the above challenges, was organized jointly by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP). These conferences surveyed the state of S2S and S2D prediction, ongoing research, and future needs, providing an ideal basis for synthesizing current and emerging developments in these areas that promise to enhance future operational services. This article provides such a synthesis.

Government policies are crucial factors for supporting the growth of the electric vehicle (EV) industry—a growth that can be encouraged, for example, by subsidization designed to reduce the considerable anxiety stemming from the inconvenience of refueling at public charging stations. Subsidizing low priority charging for residential enables cost-effective load management for example controlling of EV charging power for grid reliability at the off-peak rate for 24 h. This solution provides the convenient recharging of EVs at home and prevents an expensive grid upgradation. To advance our understanding of the EV situation, this research used a regression model to forecast the growth rate of the EV market alongside the EV expansion policies in Thailand. The agreement between a policy and forecasting urges the government to prepare power system adequacy for EV loading. The analysis showed that power demand and voltage reduction in a typical low-voltage distribution system that assumes maximum EV loading constitute voltage violations. To address this limitation, this study proposed a rule-based strategy wherein low priority smart EV charging is regulated. The numerical validation of the strategy indicated that the strategy reduced power demand by 25% and 39% compared with that achieved under uncontrolled and time of use (TOU) charging, respectively. The strategy also limited voltage reduction and prolonged battery life. The study presents implications for policymakers and electricity companies with respect to possible technical approaches to stimulating EV penetration.

The widespread adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the smart grid is transforming the traditional grid into a more complex system. EVs have the ability to both charge and discharge, acting as loads that draw high power and sources that inject energy back into the grid. Consequently, energy sharing and management within smart grid communities integrated with EVs have become interesting aspects to study in order to efficiently utilize this energy. However, most existing research focuses solely on energy sharing within single communities, utilizing homogeneous energy profiles and neglecting the potential of heterogeneous energy across multiple communities. EVs also possess the capability to travel to different places and communities, where they can engage in energy sharing with areas that have varying load profiles and prices. In this work, a novel three-level energy sharing management approach is proposed for a multiple community system integrating movable energy storage such as EVs. This model involves three main entities: the Utility Company (UC), Community Energy Aggregator (CEA), and EVs. The energy sharing problem is formulated as a Stackelberg game, with all entities striving to maximize their utility through optimal strategies, including pricing, energy demand, or supply. The proposed model is validated through comparison with typical human charging behavior, as well as single- and multiple-community two-level game models. The findings reveal that the proposed model successfully optimizes pricing and energy strategies, significantly lowering the peak-to-average ratio and smoothing the overall energy profile.

Abstract This study investigates the effectiveness of an Optimal Time Recommendation model (OTR) in encouraging citizens to shift the usage of their home appliances, such as dishwasher to off-peak hours. The research was conducted at the HSB Living Lab + in Gothenburg city, involving 74 participants from diverse social groups, including students, one-person households, couples, and families with kids. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys, interviews, and data from self-reporting QR-code or iPad-based web-interface. Participants were provided with personalised recommendations generated by the OTR model, which considered factors such as energy demand, grid load, electricity pricing and level of CO2. The recommendations aimed to assist users in identifying the optimal time slots for operating their home appliances during off-peak, motivated by the lower price, lower CO2 emission or both. Results indicated a positive response from participants across all social groups. Most participants reported an increased awareness of their energy consumption patterns and a willingness to adopt delay shifting practices. However, some frictions and obstacles to adopt shifting time of the behaviour were highlighted as well. The findings from this case study contribute to the existing knowledge on flexibility and Demand-Side Management (DSM). These findings can inform home appliances producers to increase the delay start function usability, policymakers to emphasise the eco-design of the white goods, and researchers in developing effective strategies to encourage energy conservation practices on a larger scale.

Der Klimawandel ist ein essenzielles Thema unserer Generation. Umso wichtiger ist es, Maßnahmen in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit und Klimaschutz zu setzen. Da ein Großteil der CO2-Emissionen in Städten verursacht wird, beschäftigt sich diese Arbeit damit, welche Maßnahmen in fünf ausgewählten Städten getroffen werden, um den CO2-Ausstoß zu verringern. Diese Maßnahmen sollen einen wesentlichen Beitrag zu den aktuellen Klimaschutzzielen leisten. Die Städte Wien, Graz, München, Berlin und Lissabon werden hinsichtlich ihrer Konzepte in Bezug auf Nachhaltigkeit untersucht beziehungsweise wird dargelegt, welche Maßnahmen bereits durchgeführt werden. Diese vorliegende Arbeit kategorisiert die Schwerpunkte betreffend bautechnischer Anforderungen und Bauweisen, des Verkehrs beziehungsweise des öffentliche Verkehrsnetzes, der finanziellen Anreize und Förderungen sowie der Energiegewinnung und zukünftigen Investitionen. Der erste Teil dieser Arbeit befasst sich mit den Auswirkungen und den Zielsetzungen im Zusammenhang mit dem Klimawandel. Bei den Vorgaben wird näher auf das Europäische Klimagesetz sowie auf das Übereinkommen von Paris eingegangen. Darüber hinaus wird der derzeitige CO2-Ausstoß unterschiedlicher Länder aufgezeigt. Danach werden für jede der ausgewählten Städte Umweltschutzmaßnahmen aufgezeigt und zukünftige Ziele dargelegt. Da ein Großteil der Emissionen auf Gebäude und Verkehr zurückzuführen ist, werden einerseits die gesetzlichen Anforderungen an Gebäude aufgezeigt und andererseits Entwicklungen des Verkehrs. Bei Mobilitätsaspekten liegt der Fokus auf öffentlichem Verkehr sowie dem Radverkehr. Darüber hinaus erfolgt eine Aufstellung der Energiegewinnung sowie des Energieverbrauchs jeder der ausgewählten Städte. Abschließend wird eine Analyse aller Städte in Bezug auf ausgewählte Aspekte durchgeführt und gegenübergestellt. Des Weiteren wird die Arbeit abgerundet mit einem Überblick der Verbesserungspotentiale sowie jenen Bereich, in denen bereits ein wesentlicher Beitrag betreffend Klimaschutz stattfindet. Climate change is an essential issue of our generation. This makes it all the more important to take measures with regard to sustainability and climate protection. Since a large proportion of CO2 emissions are caused in cities, this work looks at what measures are being taken in five selected cities to reduce CO2 emissions. These measures are intended to make a significant contribution to the current climate protection goals. The cities of Vienna, Graz, Munich, Berlin and Lisbon will be examined with regard to their concepts with regard to sustainability or which measures are already being implemented. This present work categorizes the focal points regarding structural requirements and construction methods, transport or the public transport network, financial incentives and subsidies as well as energy generation and future investments. The first part of this work deals with the impacts and objectives related to climate change. The guidelines deal in more detail with the European Climate Act and the Paris Agreement. In addition, the current CO2 emissions of different countries are shown. Afterwards, environmental protection measures are identified for each of the selected cities and future goals are set out. Since a large part of the emissions is attributable to buildings and traffic, the legal requirements for buildings are shown on the one hand and developments in traffic on the other. When it comes to mobility aspects, the focus is on public transport and cycling. In addition, a list of the energy production and energy consumption of each of the selected cities is provided. Finally, an analysis of all cities with regard to selected aspects is carried out and compared. Furthermore, the work is rounded off with an overview of the improvement potentials as well as those areas in which a significant contribution to climate protection is already taking place. Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des Verfassers Masterarbeit Wien, FH Campus Wien 2022

Electric vehicles are gaining importance and help to reduce dependency on oil, increase energy efficiency of transportation, reduce carbon emissions and noise, and avoid tail pipe emissions. Because of short driving distances, high mileages, and intermediate waiting times, fossil-fuelled taxi vehicles are ideal candidates for being replaced by battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Moreover, taxis as BEVs would increase visibility of electric mobility and therefore encourage others to purchase an electric vehicle. Prior to replacing conventional taxis with BEVs, a suitable charging infrastructure has to be established. This infrastructure, which is a prerequisite for the use of BEVs in practice, consists of a sufficiently dense network of charging stations taking into account the lower driving ranges of BEVs. In this case study we propose a decision support system for placing charging stations to satisfy the charging demand of electric taxi vehicles. Operational taxi data from about 800 vehicles is used to identify and estimate the charging demand for electric taxis based on frequent origins and destinations of trips. Next, a variant of a set covering problem is formulated and solved, aiming at satisfying as much charging demand as possible with a limited number of charging stations. Already existing charging locations are considered in the optimization problem. In this work, we focus on finding regions in which charging stations should be placed, rather than exact locations. The exact location within an area is identified in a post-optimization phase (e.g., by authorities), where environmental conditions are considered, e.g., the capacity of the power network, availability of space, and legal issues. Our approach is implemented in the city of Vienna, Austria, in the course of an applied research project conducted in 2014. Local authorities, power network operators, representatives of taxi driver guilds as well as a radio taxi provider participated in the project and identified exact locations for charging stations based on our decision support system.