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Over the years, more distributed generation based on renewable energy sources are added to the distribution networks, therefore, active distribution network management is necessary to address local network congestion and voltage issues. Congestion control is one of the most hopeful approaches to resolving network issues among the diverse options. Traditionally, the transmission grid has been the level at which congestion management systems have been managed. However, the control method would have to be extended to the distribution network as well due to the widespread use of Distributed Generators (DGs) and the predicted harsh loading situations. Recently, scholars and others working in the electric grid industry have been more interested in strategies for reducing congestion in distribution networks and non-market-based approaches have been proposed. However, it might not be the best and most economical choice depending on the use case scenario. This paper presents an evaluation of four local flexibility market operators with the aim of reducing investment on the grid through network reinforcement. While network reinforcement is expensive, it is often the first option used by DSOs to address congestion issues since DSOs have done it repeatedly and are technically capable of doing so. In addition, reinforcement is a trustworthy solution. To address these problems based on the market, local flexibility markets are being developed. Flexibility markets are an effective strategy for maximizing the efficiency of the current distribution grids. Piclo Flex, Enera, GOPACS, and NODES are four innovative initiatives that incorporate flexibility markets that we evaluated in this thesis. There are differences amongst the projects in terms of the degree to which the flexibility markets are integrated into other existing markets, the quality of flexible service, the third-party market operators, the use of standardized commodities, and grid rules that require TSO-DSO/DSO-DSO coordination. Because each project has a unique vision, set of use cases, or level of project maturity, the answers to these questions vary. Our case study examination of the four ground-breaking projects will help the reader to understand the local flexibility markets and identify the most promising flexibility market operator to use when we are trying to postpone or defer network reinforcement which in turn reduces the investment on the grid.

Utilizing waste and wood pellets in gasification reactors is a promising solution to the waste and energy problem. However, plant shutdowns often occur due to failures in the feedstock handling systems. Unfortunately, research focusing on the flow properties and the impact of mechanical degradation on the flow properties of pellets is lacking. In this study, the flow properties of RDF, fresh wood pellets, and waste wood pellets with fines contents ranging from 0% to 30% were analyzed by Schulze Ring Shear Testing, angle of repose, angle of tilt, and Hausner ratio. The collected data was used to design a mass flow hopper and establish relationships between flowability and the angle of repose, angle of tilt, and Hausner ratio. Our findings revealed that the fines fraction significantly influenced wall friction at a fines content of just 10%. The fines could increase or decrease the wall friction angle depending on the material. Additionally, the fines content adversely affected the flowability, with flowability reaching the flowability of the fines fraction at 30% fines content. Mixtures of RDF with waste or fresh wood pellets showed consistent wall friction and flowability similar to the base materials. We observed that a higher angle of repose, angle of tilt, and Hausner ratio indicated lower flowability. However, their predictive accuracy was limited, and we do not recommend relying on them for hopper design. ; Mechanical Engineering | Multi-Machine Engineering

In 2015, the Paris Agreement was established with the aim to strengthen the global response in limiting the increase in the global average temperature. This can be achieved by, amongst other measures, lowering of CO2 emissions. The Paris Agreement was also signed by the Netherlands. Within the Netherlands, the construction sector has the largest environment impact of all sectors; accounting to 36% of the national CO2 emissions, 50% of the national material usage and 40% of the total energy consumption. Research has shown that implementing a CE in this sector may significantly lower these CO2 emissions and material usage. Despite the establishment of several national agreements aiming to accelerate the implementation of a CE in Dutch infrastructure projects, progress is slow. Several barriers are assumed to hamper this transition, while drivers may accelerate the transition towards a CE. This study aims to identify the barriers to and the drivers of the implementation of a CE in part of the Dutch construction sector; the infrastructure sector. The research question is “What are the barriers and drivers that respectively need to be overcome and enhanced in order to accelerate the implementation of a Circular Economy in Dutch infrastructure projects?” Based on a review of the literature on barriers and drivers for the implementation of a CE in general and in the construction sector, a literature-based framework of CE barrier- and driver-categories was developed. This framework provided the basis in formulating the questions for the interviews. A total of 15 interviews were conducted with respondents from a diverse and balanced group of stakeholders in the infrastructure sector. Respondents were asked what they think are the barriers and drivers for the implementation of a CE in Dutch infrastructure projects. A total of 135 barriers and 72 drivers were identified during the interviews, which could be grouped in the categories of the literature-based framework. The most frequently mentioned barriers relate to the ...

The climate and the urban systems are changing, leading to new challenges and opportunities in the urban environment. Adaptation to these challenges is needed, using the vulnerability assessment areas that are vulnerable can be identified. Vulnerability is the likelihood a system experiences harm and is the combination of both risks and adaptability. Finding adaptability can be hard and is not straightforward, therefor this thesis aims to operationalize adaptability for the current urban environment, focussing on climate change and the physical indicators related to adaptability. Adaptability simply means the ability there is (within a system, society or city) to adapt. A lot of different definitions for adaptability (or adaptive capacity) can be found in literature, which makes talking about, using and comparing adaptability hard. Different fields of interest use different definitions, frameworks and approaches. Most of the definitions and frameworks found in the literature search of this thesis tend to be meant for assessing social adaptability on regional or country scale. They focus on institutions, economy and (technical) knowledge on larger scales. These assessments come down to, the third world countries have bad adaptability while the first world countries have better adaptability. For decision-making on municipality level assessment on smaller scale is needed. For this thesis a lot of indicators have been gathered (a grand total of 38) by literature research and interviews with experts. Indicators are one of the ways of assessing adaptability, so by selecting and combining indicators it is able to determine a measure for adaptability. The used indicators (9 in total) are grouped in so called determinants. There are indicators saying something about space that is available for climate proofing or the type of climate proofing (blue, green or grey solutions) that can be used (space: percentage buildings, percentage water and percentage greening). Furthermore there are indicators that express the ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate climate impacts of a typical Finnish wind farm. Three research questions were: 1) What is the typical Finnish wind farm’s carbon footprint? 2) what is the energy payback time of the typical Finnish wind farm? and 3) does the typical Finnish wind farm have a better net-negative impact on climate than the commercial forest area on which it was built? Data for the study were collected via academic literature, wind turbine life cycle assessment reports, geographic information system (GIS) analysis and through the Natural Resources Institute Finland’s Statistics database. The GIS analysis was conducted to retrieve the volume of roundwood on the wind farm’s site. The carbon footprint of the typical Finnish wind farm was found to be 7,18 g CO2e/kWh and the wind farm’s energy payback time 7,06 months. This study found that during 22 years (consisting of the wind farm’s construction and operation phases) the typical Finnish wind farm had a net-negative impact on climate change of at least 169 767,72 t CO2. In the absence of the typical Finnish wind farm, producing the equivalent amount of electricity by Finnish electricity mix was considered in calculating the net impact of the commercial forest area. This resulted in a net-positive impact on climate change of 192 393,42 t CO2. However, the typical Finnish wind farm did not represent a carbon sink. Climate impacts represent only a part of environmental impacts caused by wind power. The results of this study might have implications for the acceptability of wind power by general society as well as used for calculating climate impact assessment. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli arvioida tyypillisen suomalaisen tuulivoimapuiston ilmastovaikutuksia. Aihetta lähestyttiin kolmella tutkimuskysymyksellä selvittäen tuulivoimapuiston 1) hiilijalanjälki ja 2) energiantakaisinmaksuaika sekä 3) onko puistolla parempi nettonegatiivinen ilmastovaikutus kuin talousmetsällä, johon se on rakennettu. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin akateemisen kirjallisuuden, elinkaariarviointi-raporttien, paikkatieto-analyysin (GIS) ja Luonnonvarakeskuksen tietokannan avulla. GIS-analyysillä selvitettiin runkopuun määrä tuulivoimapuistoalueella. Tyypillisen suomalaisen tuulivoimapuiston hiilijalanjälki on tulosten perusteella 7,18 g CO2e/kWh ja tuulivoimapuiston energiantakaisinmaksuaika 7,06 kuukautta. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että 22 vuoden aikana (puiston rakentaminen ja tuotantovaihe) tyypillisellä suomalaisella tuulivoimapuistolla on nettonegatiivinen ilmastovaikutus, joka on vähintään 169 767,72 t CO2. Skenaariossa, että tuulivoimapuistoa ei rakennettaisi, talousmetsän ilmastovaikutusten laskennassa on huomioitu vastaava sähkömäärän tuotto suomalaisella energialähteiden yhdistelmällä. Tässä tapauksessa netto-positiivinen vaikutus on tulosten perusteella 192 393,42 t CO2. Tuloksia ei voi kuitenkaan tulkita niin, että tuulivoimapuisto olisi hiilinielu. Ilmastovaikutukset ovat yksi osa tuulivoiman aiheuttamista ympäristövaikutuksista. Tämän tutkielman tuloksilla voidaan hyödyntää ilmastovaikutusten arvioinnin laskennassa ja niillä olla osaltaan vaikutuksia siihen, kuinka tuulivoima nähdään yhteiskunnassa. ei tietoa saavutettavuudesta unknown accessibility

Smart grids are introduced as a promising concept to facilitate the future energy supply system without excessive distribution grid reinforcement, while maintaining the same level of reliability. Load management is expected to enable a higher grid capacity utilization, thereby deferring or eliminating the need for asset reinforcements and corresponding capital expenditures. However, estimation of the potential economic benefit is difficult, due to a high degree of uncertainty surrounding the electricity distribution grids. It is for instance uncertain what the future energy system will look like in terms of the penetration of new technologies and energy demand. Furthermore, it is unknown what the technical consequences of load management on the distribution grid assets are. A model was developed suitable for analysis of the economic consequences of smart grids on the medium voltage electricity distribution grids, in different environmental scenarios over the next three decades. The model takes capital expenditures as a result of grid reinforcement and costs of energy losses into account. Simulation shows that the economic benefit of smart grids with the goal of maximizing grid utilization is not guaranteed. Though smart grids induce significant capital expenditure savings resulting from peak shaving, they increase the costs of energy losses. The economic potential is highly dependent on the energy-transition scenario, more specifically on the degree of load flexibility of all consumers connected to the grid. The model can be improved in several areas, most notably by the technical implications of a ‘smart’ load profile on the distribution grid assets. ; MSc Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis, and Management ; Energy & Indusry ; Technology, Policy and Management

Newsletter from March 2022 - Have a look on the last news around the UPWARDS project.

The main aim of the Horizon Europe Fit4Micro Project is to develop a microCHCP unit running on sustainable liquid biofuels. The application of this unit is foreseen at multi-family houses and at remote or off-grid locations. This technology will lead to very high electrical efficiencies (>40%) and a flexible heat/power ratio. Moreover, the usage of a truly advanced and RED II compliant biofuel will guarantee a high GHG emission reduction. This flexible hybrid energy system is based on a double-shaft micro gas turbine (mGT) combined with a novel humidification unit, and will be able to provide renewable heating, cooling and power production, mainly for domestic usage. The Fit4Micro solution contributes to make Europe the first enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy. Proceedings of the 31st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 5-8 June 2023, Bologna, Italy, pp. 514-516