The transition from a centralized to a decentralized energy infrastructure is one of the most discussed features of the future energy system. With the fast growth of renewable energy technologies, which can be integrated in the built environment and in contexts like small production centers, the development of distributed energy generation and storage systems closer to consumers is expected to play a significant role in driving the change. Within this context, the role of Energy Communities is emerging and is at the center of numerous studies. The Green Village in Delft is developing the 24/7 Energy Lab project, focusing on providing reliable, affordable and clean energy to a small-scale energy community by means of a system composed of solar panels for energy generation, batteries for electrical energy storage, and an hydrogen storage system consisting of electrolyzers, fuel cells and hydrogen tanks for seasonal energy storage. Previous research has highlighted how an off-grid configuration would result in inconveniently high costs for the community's users, if compared to the average cost of energy in The Netherlands. The aim of this thesis is to study the system in a grid-connected configuration, and in particular to find the optimal sizes of the components in order to achieve the best trade off between three conflicting objectives : minimizing total costs, maximizing self- sufficiency and maximizing reliability. After modeling the system's components and their mutual interactions, the optimization was carried out on MATLAB using a variant of the NSGA-II algorithm, which provides a Pareto Set of equally optimal solutions for the problem. The solutions were then ranked with a Technique for Order Preference based on Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), to assist the decision-making process. The simulations have determined that an installed capacity of 85.41 kWp (composed of 234 panels of 365 Wp each) results in the most effective choice for the solar energy generation, irrespective of the external conditions imposed. The optimal storage capacity, however, results significantly more influenced by factors such as grid imports limitations and price uncertainties. Under the conditions of limited imports from the grid, an optimal capacity of 75 kWh in the form of batteries was found. In general, the study confirms that the adoption of an hydrogen storage system is far from being convenient on a small scale residential level, regardless of the pricing conditions. The research has also posed an accent on the incremented costs incurred to reach full reliability of the system with low values of dependence from the grid, due to the high costs of the necessary storage equipment. Additionally, despite the best solutions found represent the optimal compromises balancing the conflicting objectives, reasonable solutions in terms of costs faced by the Community's users are usually not among the first choices of the ranking algorithm, mainly because they necessitate of at least 50% of the load to be supplied through grid imports.

Multiple challenges affect the effectiveness of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, such as accountability, intergenerational justice and developing countries’ increased participation in greenhouse gas emissions. The high complexity of information surrounding models’ assumptions, results, and scenarios related to climate change also presents a challenge, especially when communicating with policymakers. In this context, support tools such as policy platforms can help bridge the science-policy gap by allowing policymakers to understand scenarios and available policy levers, enabling a better understanding of relevant concepts and models or serving as hubs for disseminating best practices and success stories. Available literature often evaluates support tools within the context of use by regular citizens, making it unclear how policymakers perceive support tools and how well they meet their needs, pointing to an important knowledge gap. This thesis explores policymakers’ and policy advisors’ perceptions of the usefulness of climate change mitigation and adaptation (CCMA) policy platforms and the characteristics of such policy platforms they prefer in order to use them as support tools. A collective case study was conducted with ten CCMA policy platforms within the context of the EU-funded Horizon 2020 programme. In addition, interviews (11) and surveys (9) with policymakers and policymakers’ advisors in the Netherlands and seven other countries within and beyond the EU were conducted. Nine characteristics of CCMA policy platforms were identified: Transparency & Credibility of information, Ease of use, Flexibility of use, Accessibility & Portability, Education & Awareness, Communication of complex information, Data visualisation & interactivity, Actively maintained and supported, and Security & privacy. Interviews and surveys show that accessibility, relevance, applicability, and credibility were identified as the primary factors driving the perception of policymakers about the usefulness of CCMA policy platforms and four groups of characteristics were identified with decreasing levels of priority for policymakers: mandatory or must-have (formed by communication of complex information, free and open access to the tool, transparency regarding data sources and limitations, and high level of detail for spatial and temporal data); highly desirable or should-have (formed by availability of training and learning functionalities, availability of detailed documentation on concepts and models, interactive and easy-to-navigate elements, and availability of a web-based platform); ‘nice to have’ or could-have (user stories from policymakers or communities, availability of very recent data, ability to import user data/export results, and ability to modify parameters and run custom analyses), and indifferent (availability of languages beyond English and the ability to use the tool in mobile phones or tablets). Four main recommendations are made to improve the design and use of CCMA policy platforms: Incorporating systematic reviews of existing CCMA policy platforms as part of projects developing such platforms, involving boundary organisations in the development and use of CCMA policy platforms, developing CCMA policy platforms with longer life expectancies and developing CCMA policy platforms flexible for different needs and preferences of policymakers. With these results, new CCMA policy platforms can be developed with a better understanding of how useful policymakers perceive them and what they want from these support tools.

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 future adoption towards energy-efficient appliances, it is imperative to understand the drivers and barriers behind consumer choices. The objective of this study is to understand the drivers and barriers behind the adoption of energy-efficient appliances in Indian households. These insights can be used to accelerate the adoption of these appliances and help India transition to a greener and more sustainable future. This study leverages an explanatory mixed methods approach in which a quantitative logistic regression model is followed by a qualitative analysis consisting of semi-structured expert interviews. This methodology is suitable for this research as it performs a robust empirical analysis of data through a regression. At the same time, the methodology allows deepening the understanding of observed patterns and contextualizes findings through expert insights. This synergy combines quantitative rigour with qualitative depth, providing a holistic understanding of factors influencing energy-efficient appliance adoption. The initial phase consisted of a critical literature review, showing a limited academic focus on understanding the drivers behind energy-efficient appliance adoption in the Indian household sector. Variables relevant to adoption patterns were developed in this section, based on an overview of the academic research. In addition, the policy environment was conceptualized to create an overview of the policy domain and understand the effect of various Indian policies on energy-efficient consumer choices. This overview aided the understanding of the breadth and impact of policy measures. The quantitative element of the mixed methods approach is a logistic regression model in R, leveraging the IRES survey and the AEEE energy-efficiency index datasets. To corroborate and contextualize the quantitative findings, a qualitative phase was developed, consisting of 10 semi-structured expert interviews in India with policymakers, researchers, industry leaders, and lobby organizations. Insights from the qualitative phase were systematically extracted using a thematic analysis. Lastly, an integration step was taken to combine the findings from both research phases and offer a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of drivers and barriers behind the adoption of energy-efficient lighting and fans. This quantitative analysis revealed key drivers behind the adoption of LED lighting and energy-efficient ceiling fans such as a clear relationship between household income and the adoption of energy-efficient appliances, with higher income levels correlating strongly with increased adoption likelihood. Awareness, particularly regarding star labeling and environmental benefits, along with higher education levels and living conditions, such as grid connections and climate zones also positively influences energy-efficient appliance adoption. Urbanization significantly impacts the adoption of energy-efficient ceiling fans, while its effect on LED lighting adoption, though present, is not statistically significant. State-level policy impacts appear more nuanced, highlighting the need for further qualitative exploration to understand underlying regional influences. In the thematic analysis following from the expert-interviews, patterns around evolving themes were developed, revealing the dynamics behind the observed relationships between variables...

Climate change has devastating effects on society, increasing the risk of natural disasters and associated health issues. These effects are caused by the greenhouse gases emitted by humans. Aligned with the Paris Agreement, the Dutch government aims to achieve a 100% reduction in emissions by 2050, striving for climate neutrality. Climate justice, an emerging theoretical concept, recognizes the unevenly distributed burdens and benefits of carbon emissions and calls for effective mitigation strategies. One of the most polluting sectors is the energy sector, which still heavily relies on fossil fuels. To achieve climate neutrality, a transition to sustainable forms of energy is necessary. Energy justice, a theoretical framework advocating for equitable energy distribution, representative energy decision-making, and a balanced cost-benefit distribution among citizens, has gained traction in recent academic literature. In the Netherlands, the energy transition is governed at regional and local levels through regional energy strategies. However, understanding of local and regional governance in this context is somewhat limited. This research combines the concepts of regional governance and the energy justice framework and applies them to the Rotterdam-The Hague energy region. The research objectives of this thesis are to comprehend regional energy decision-making, identify stakeholders experiencing energy injustices, examine how these injustices are currently addressed, and propose potential improvements. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach involving interviews and media analysis, the research reveals instances of energy injustices experienced by citizens in this region, including energy poverty. While the regional and local governments are presently unaware of this framework, they acknowledge the importance of a just energy transition and are actively developing strategies to mitigate these injustices. Policy recommendations encompass various levels: providing structural financial support to local governments at the national level, promoting knowledge exchange and cross-border collaboration at the regional level, and enhancing citizen participation, ownership in energy projects, and insulation programs at the local level. In conclusion, this thesis offers valuable insights into local and regional energy transition governance, focusing on energy justice, energy poverty, and citizen participation.

In the face of the current environmental crisis led by the extended use of fossil fuels to cover society’s energy needs, sustainability objectives have been defined around the world. In the European Union, the European Green Deal has emerged as a leading guideline for its member states to achieve energy neutrality by 2050. The Netherlands has acted accordingly establishing its Climate Act, and setting ambitious objectives for this same year. Among these objectives, a full halt in natural gas use finds its way. Considering that the building sector, and specifically households, present a high consumption of energy, it results important to analyze how this sector can reduce its gas consumption and migrate towards the use of renewable heat systems. The importance of behavioral characteristics and policy conditions that surround households regarding this transition has not been studied in depth in the documented literature and therefore stands as an opportunity area that this thesis covers. For achieving this, an agent-based model was developed using NetLogo, taking into account the characteristics of the Dutch population, being represented in the form of a sample neighborhood. The technical settings available in the model represent mature technologies that are currently in use in the Netherlands, and that can be used collectively or individually. Complementing and supporting these technologies, the Dutch government has made available a series of policy instruments, namely subsidies and credits, that financially support households in acquiring them. The availability of these subsidies is mainly dependent on the type of household ownership and additional factors, which are included in the model. A behavioral theory known as the theory of planned behavior was implemented to define the households’ behavior. This theory links three elements, namely attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, to the final intention of households to execute an action. Regarding this specific topic, the study found out that the main beliefs that influence attitude are environmental friendliness, awareness of gas-saving measures, energy independence and economic drive. The subjective norms, which relate to social influence, are represented through the concept of belief dynamics, which develops the idea that social connections can shape a household’s set of beliefs. Finally, perceived behavioral control, which is a measure of the apparent facility to execute a certain action, is reflected in four main external elements, namely the availability of subsidies, the municipality efforts, time availability, and financial capability of households. The results of the model showed that with the current conditions, the Netherlands would be able to achieve a total of 55% of gas-free households by 2050. This, in turn, would represent a reduction of 45% of the current natural gas being used. To evaluate the extent to which behavioral characteristics and policy conditions influence the heat transition, additional scenarios were developed, where random behavioral attributes were assigned. Following the same line, additional scenarios were defined where the number of available subsidies and the amount awarded per subsidy varied, in addition to a scenario with a higher gas price. These scenarios showed that behavioral characteristics are a very relevant factor and can shape the extent to which the heat transition can be achieved. The policy conditions showed an influence, both in the extent of the heat transition and on the uptake of specific technologies. However, the amount awarded per subsidy and the price of gas showed no relevant differences in gas consumption or technology choice. The results provide insights into the possibilities for policymakers to ensure that this transition is fulfilled. Policies should target the beliefs of society, either by inducing people into them or by reinforcing them. Besides this, technology choice seems to be directly influenced by the number of subsidies available for each specific technology, which could be useful to target specific technologies that might result more promising than others. Finally, considering that varying the amount awarded per subsidy did not generate a substantial difference, there is a possibility to redefine the subsidy schemes and reallocate this financial means to support the tenants, which is currently the group with the most restricted access to subsidies.

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-prototype algorithm can be used to find areas with similar characteristics. It also describes how this information can be used in spatial planning by decisionmakers like the province of South Holland.

The digitalization of European universities’ tool infrastructure has transformed how institutions operate and deliver education to students, from sharing content on learning management systems to hosting lectures on video-conferencing platforms. However, despite many new benefits of digital education technologies (DETs) and their contribution to reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 targets for Quality Education, it also comes with new challenges like user privacy, environmental impacts, and shifting power dynamics between institutions and service providers. Additionally, concerns have been raised regarding the responsible development and longevity of the university’s digital infrastructure given the recent rapid digitalization trend and how new DETs are selected. Sustainability assessment can be a useful model to evaluate an institution’s DET selection process as it provides a holistic evaluation through a multidimensional perspective to develop a more responsible and future-proof approach to digital education infrastructure. However, a multidimensional sustainability analysis has not been applied in the context of DET selection. Therefore, it is unclear to decision-makers what sustainable DET looks like and what role sustainability plays in the DET selection process. This study addressed this gap by answering the following question: How are European higher education institutions incorporating sustainability into selecting digital education technologies? The sustainability dimensions of DETs were formulated by conducting a literature review of contemporary models, encompassing the environmental, social, and technological aspects. A more sustainable DET increases the positive impact along each of these dimensions. An environmentally sustain- able DET preserves and protects natural resources by reducing the environmental impact through its hardware and software. A socially sustainable DET increases equal access to education for all learners, regardless of socioeconomic status, disabilities, or geographic location while preserving individual privacy. A technologically sustainable DET is long-lasting, possesses the necessary functionalities, and balances a tool’s simplicity, openness, and ownership. While most sustainability models include the economic dimension, due to the university’s non-profit nature and the common prioritization of economic factors above other criteria in decision-making, this study excluded the economic dimension to examine the other dimensions more closely. Furthermore, the pedagogical dimension was omitted due to its sustainability considerations typically arising after the implementation of a DET, rather than during its selection stage and therefore is beyond the scope of this research. Four key actors involved in the DET selection process were identified through an actor analysis. These include the university’s Head of IT who oversees the institution’s infrastructure system and their IT tool specialists who provide technical expertise, service providers whose products comprise the DET market, and education associations who help universities procure DETs. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with European university Heads of IT to gather data on the current DET selection process and the challenges institutions face when incorporating sustainability into DET selection. The sustainability dimensions were used in conjunction with grounded theory open and axial coding analysis to evaluate the sustainability of current DET selection processes. The results showed that decision-makers predominantly utilize the EU-regulated tendering process to select DETs, which comprises minimal sustainability criteria while assigning significant importance to the economic factor (i.e., DET price). Additionally, interviewees shared they prioritize social and technological sustainability, specifically the privacy, data security, and functionality of DETs over other sustainability criteria. On the other hand, environmental sustainability is underrepresented in DET selection criteria. This is primarily due to the lack of available data and initiatives collecting DET environmental impact metrics, making it difficult for decision-makers to create relevant requirements and kickout criteria to compare DET options based on environmental sustainability. Finally, the analysis illustrated the three most common challenges that hinder sustainable DET selection are the limited financial and human resources, the insignificant or lack of sustainability criterion weighting, and the long and inflexible tender process. Overall, this study contributes to filling the knowledge gap in understanding the sustainability of current European universities’ DET selection process and highlights key challenges decision-makers and researchers should focus on to improve the sustainability of digital education technologies. Future research can build on this work by expanding the scope beyond Northwestern European institutions, interviewing other decision-maker actors, and developing a standardized selection process for sustainable DET selection. Additionally, recommendations were made to the four actor groups as well as general advice for universities to increase DET sustainability. The Head of IT should prioritize the environmental aspect in DET criteria and collaborate with service providers to address environmental impact metrics. They should also encourage the development of new tools by teachers and students. The IT tool specialist should engage in co-development with service providers for better tool support and to ensure a secure and functional digital infrastructure. Service providers need to align their products with sustainability criteria, propose pilot projects to universities, and share environmental impact metrics with relevant stakeholders. Education associations should organize collective efforts to enhance the sustainability of the DET tendering process and offer streamlined services like joint procurement and model contracts to simplify the selection process. Universities could transition to renewable energy to reduce DET’s carbon footprint, implement e-waste recycling and disposal programs, and support research into sustainable DET.

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 involvement in the energy transition process. These concerns point to the necessity of comprehensive research to ensure marginalized groups’ active involvement in the energy transition. The core objective of this study is to scrutinize the impact of governance and decision-making practices in the Regional Energy Strategy of Rotterdam The Hague (RES-RDH) on energy justice principles. It seeks to define and understand the concepts of ’local ownership’ and ’equitable participation' within the RES-RDH context. By exploring ways to incorporate energy justice principles into decision-making processes, this research aims to create a comprehensive reference tool to guide the region’s energy transition towards fairness and equity. The investigation employs a literature review, policy document analysis, and interviews to address the main research question and its four sub-questions. The sub-questions focus on defining equitable participation and local ownership in the RES-RDH context, understanding the influence of institutional governance on these aspects, identifying specific challenges in organizing equitable participation, and exploring how energy justice principles can enhance decision-making processes. The findings collectively answer the main research question and contribute to the final reference tool’s development. The theoretical framework incorporates elements of energy justice and public decision-making, enabling a thorough exploration of the equitability and inclusivity of RES- RDH’s decision-making processes. It examines equitable participation, local ownership, and energy justice principles through theoretical lenses, emphasizing the importance of engaging diverse stakeholders, ensuring local community involvement, and balancing power dynamics...

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 Distribution System Operators (DSOs) by delivering electric flexibility services that support congestion management. Aggregator Eneco CrowdNett is planning to commission a pool of households which will have a combined system of solar-PV and residential Battery Energy Storage (BES) units. Next to optimizing the household’s self-consumption, these systems will jointly be able to deliver power to the grid. Therefore, the system as designed by Eneco CrowdNett is used as a case-study during this research. This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how the value of an Aggregator’s electric flexibility services can be determined for DSOs, without jeopardizing the business case for the Aggregator and the CrowdNett participants themselves. A tool that simulates the behavior of residential BES units connected to the LV distribution grid is developed and tested, followed by a reflection on its usability for other cases. The system under review in this study is framed as a Unit Commitment Problem (UCP), in which the generation units are represented by CrowdNett’s residential BES units that primarily deliver local service, but can also deliver congestion management services through load shifting. Linear Programming (LP) is considered a useful method to solve the UCP, which is implemented in the modelling software Linny-R. It can be concluded the value of Eneco CrowdNett’s electric flexibility services for DSOs can not be determined by exclusive using a Unit Commitment model with a LP solver to replicate the behavior of residential BES units located at the LV distribution grid. The model rather provides a tool to generally assess whether an Aggregator is able to reduce congestions in a given distribution network without jeopardizing her own business case and that of the end-users owning the BES units. The model should be supplied with input data regarding residential demand profiles, PV production profiles and the power capacity of the LV substation before the model output can be compared with the expected costs of grid reinforcements on a case-by-case basis to determine the value for DSOs.

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 electricity connection or even start their business to begin with. This has the effect that businesses cannot continue their sustainable efforts and in the worst cases it causes power to go out and stopping businesses from operating completely. A proposed solution to this problem is the introduction of a community energy system (CES). This concept and how it can be used in practice will be explored in this research in the context of an industrial park and with the support of business energy cooperative, SAENZ. They have already developed an industrial community energy system (InCES) in the form of a collective energy contract, and there is an opportunity in increasing the participation of their members. Through interviews and surveys, business owners are asked about three InCES scenarios and their more general opinion on InCES. To obtain a comprehensive view of the situation, two other stakeholders in this system are interviewed as well. These are the distribution systems operator (DSO) and the local government. The results show that business owners are willing to increase their participation in an InCES but give clear terms for doing so. They need transparent and complete information about the project and all its financial and juridical aspects. Besides, it should be easy to participate. The DSO highlighted that they support businesses organizing themselves like this and comments on how an InCES could help solve network congestion as it ensures efficient management of the energy system. The local government representative believes that they have little influence on the development of an InCES but that they do have an impact in motivating businesses to participate in an InCES. The research also shows the importance of an energy cooperative or any kind of group collaboration between businesses to organize an InCES. It is helpful in obtaining contact with stakeholders but also enhanced the group feeling between business owners and in turn their willingness to increase participation in an InCES.