Development of a generic assessment framework to evaluate decentralized water-energy nexus systems in neighborhoods: Case study City Nieuwegein

The pressure on water and energy resources, along with the transition towards new infrastructure, requires an integrated approach to achieve future-proof concepts. A nexus approach can contribute to this by including the interaction between water and energy. This is also known as a water-energy nexus (WEN). Furthermore, when considering...

A redefined Energy Landscape in the Post-Petrol Era: Phases of transition towards a circular sustainable future for the Port of Rotterdam region

The importance of the energy transition is an emergent issue on a global scale. The United Nations, the European Union, the Dutch National government and the Province of South-Holland all have set clear and urgent goals. But still, it seems very hard to find the right strategy to tackle this challenge, together with a desired circular economy...

Conceptualizing community in energy systems: A systematic review of 183 definitions

Community-based energy systems are gaining traction among policymakers and practitioners as promising models for implementing a low-carbon energy transition. As a result, there has been a proliferation of concepts in the scientific literature, such as community energy, energy communities, community solar, and community wind. However, what...

Planning the power plant: The role of architecture in the integration of decentralized energy systems

The cities of the 20th and 21st century have gone through an era of unbridled expansion, seizing an immeasurable amount of land and resources from across the globe. To secure a resilient and sustainable urban environment, the city is forced to revisit its networks, systems and land-use. Especially with the growing trend of urbanization. One of...

Energy storage for decentralized renewable energy generation to mitigate connection scarcity on the MV-grid

The goal of this research is to be used as a framework for adding energy storage to aid in the connection of decentralized renewable energy generation in areas with limited connection availability to the electricity grid. The dependence on fossil fuels is reduced with the aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the Netherlands this means that...

Exploring incumbents’ agency: Institutional work by grid operators in decentralized energy innovations

The agency of incumbents has gained increasing attention in the study of transitions. Recent studies show that besides being inert and resistant to change, incumbents can also support transitions. We focus on the agency of a particular type of incumbent, grid operators. In several countries, these actors play an active role in institutional...

The Acceptability of Decentralized Energy Systems: Identifying Value Conflicts Through Simulations Of Decentralized Energy Systems For City Districts

This research has been performed to help the Dutch government with the decisions and choices it has to make in order to meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement and the Climate Agreement. Decentralized energy systems can be a solution for meeting these requirements, however trade-offs have to be made between different system criteria, which...

Integration of decentralized solar collectors in Dutch district heating networks

Most of the heat in Dutch district heating networks is produced by fossil fuels. In this study the limits and most promising configurations for the feed-in of solar heat from consumers have been investigated. The results have been evaluated in terms of total annual solar gain, solar gain per collector area, solar fraction, CO2 reduction and...

Successful Development of Decentralised District Heating: Application of a Theoretical Framework

One of the most important goals for energy transition is to reduce CO2 by turning to renewable energy, such as solar and wind energy. However, the production of renewable energy is not always an integral part of the energy system. Instead, it may have a decentralized basis, even up to the household level. In the Netherlands, this decentralizing...