Aggregated Flexibility to support Congestion Management: A case study at Eneco CrowdNett

Increased variable renewable energy sources penetration in The Netherlands require more flexibility that could be provided by distributed energy resources located at small end-users combined with demand response. Aggregators could act as intermediary entities to exploit the flexibility potential of small end-users and create value for...

Exploring the value-stacking opportunities of batteries providing frequency containment reserve services in different regulatory environments

The security and reliability of the European power system network that is used to transmit electricity from producers to consumers is under increasing pressure. The penetration of renewable energy resources that have a variable and unpredictable energy output and the rising cost of the operation of fossil-based power generators are negatively...

The Financial Impact of Decentralised Energy Systems on Households: A case study at The Green Village

Exploring Trade-offs in Reservoir Operations through Many Objective Optimisation: Case of Nile River Basin

Water storage and diversion capacity of reservoirs in the Nile Basin are benefited for various purposes including agricultural irrigation and hydro-energy production. Filling and operation of the recently constructed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) have been subject to heated debate for its implications on downstream countries Sudan and...

Investigating whether the engagement of citizens in energy communities could lead to a rise in energy justice

Energy Communities are initiatives ran by members of the same or different communities with the aim of producing, distributing and consuming cleaner energy. The potential of these initiatives, as identified from this clean energy production, to play a key role in the energy transition is assumed to be vital as recognized by the European...

Using energy carrier price information to understand trade-offs between different configurations of a fully sector-coupled energy system model

Although there is a common understanding that the use of variable renewable energy sources (VRES) is needed in our collective attempt to decarbonise society, the type of technology that we should deploy, and where is not so clear. Stakeholders from real-world projects use the outcomes from optimisation models to aid their decision-making process...

Sustainability Value Creation Through Circular Business Model Experimentation: Improving Industrial Symbiosis Networks through a Case Study in the Netherlands

Exploring the role of offshore wind power in the Dutch energy system in 2040

The Dutch government has the ambition to be climate neutral by 2050. An important pillar to realizing this ambition is to place large numbers of wind turbines in the North Sea. The Dutch cabinet decided in 2022 to realize around 21 GW offshore wind capacity in 2030, but the offshore wind demand in the Netherlands after 2030 remains uncertain....

Energy Justice as a catalyst for Regional Energy Transitions: Understanding Governance and Decision-making in the Organisation of Equitable Participation and Local Ownership in the Regional Energy Strategy of the Rotterdam-The Hague Energy Region

This thesis delves into the intricate challenges facing The Netherlands as it aims to fulfil its ambitious CO2 emission reduction goals by means of the Regional Energy Strategy (RES) framework. A significant issue highlighted is the emergence of an unintended wealth gap and energy poverty affecting over 600,000 people, which restricts their...

Site Suitability Analysis of ground-based solar energy in the Netherlands

With the rapid increase in renewable energy demand, various kinds of renewable technologies have been realized. Of particular interest is that they require a certain amount of space, and they may conflict with other land utilization purposes such as food production, protected nature areas, and life-sustaining services, thus the land use pressure...

Analyzing the spatial relationship between energy and the built environment: A cluster-based approach to spatial planning

Due to climate change, there is a push toward a reduction of greenhouse gasses. Through spatial planning, the province of South Holland plays a role in this process. However, this requires insights into relation between the energy system and the built environment that is currently lacking. This thesis shows how spatial clustering using the K...

Determining Energy-Efficient Appliance Adoption Drivers in Indian Households: A Mixed Methods Analysis

At a time when India experiences rapidly rising living standards, while facing increasing sustainability challenges, decoupling economic growth from the increase in energy consumption is a critical challenge. Energy efficiency solutions in the residential sector have an important role, as these can significantly curb energy consumption. To steer...

An integrated modeling approach to provide flexibility and sustainability to the district heating system in South-Holland, the Netherlands

In the European Union, heating and cooling account for 50% of the total energy consumption and half of the carbon emissions, as 75% of the energy is still supplied by fossil fuels. In the Netherlands, energy transition decision-makers are sailing in the dark in an attempt to realize the heat transition in high-density areas. How can market...

Becoming green together: The case of SAENZ

To reach the Dutch renewable energy (RE) targets of 2030, the entire Netherlands has been investing in solar energy, electric vehicles and other systems based on RE. This increase of electricity use does not come without problems and the most pressing one is that of network congestion. Due to this, businesses are no longer able to expand their...