| 1. |
- Carlson, Ola, 1955, et al.
(författare)
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Harnessing energy flows: technologies for renewable power production
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 32-45
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this chapter, the technologies for renewable power production of today andin the near future will be described and explained. Renewable power productionis electric power production without using a fuel that will end some day in thefuture. In this chapter, as in this book, power production based on renewable fuels(biomass) is excluded1.Some of the technologies such as wind or solar has reached industry massproduction in recent years, hydro power has been in operation more than 100years and others like wave or ocean current power have still some development todo before robust power production units are available.
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| 2. |
- Ehnberg, Jimmy, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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Grid and storage
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 46-59
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 3. |
- Grahn, Maria, 1963, et al.
(författare)
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Utilising excess power: the case of electrofuels for transport
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 128-137
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- If the production of electricity at a given moment in time is higher than demandwe may talk about excess electricity.1 It is possible to store excess electricity andstorage solutions might be essential for achieving very high renewable energyshares in the energy system. The most common purpose for storing electricity isof course to convert the stored energy back to electricity when needed. Currentlythere are not many mature alternatives for seasonal energy storage. Pumpedhydro, hydrogen and compressed air are facing challenges with geographicaldistribution and ecological footprint, technical limitations or low density.2 Anotheroption is to convert electricity into an energy carrier that can be used for otherpurposes, and not just as a medium for electricity storage. One possibility is to useperiods of excess electricity for the production of carbon-based synthetic fuels,so called electrofuels,3 that can be used for various purposes, e.g. for heating,as a transportation fuel or in the chemical industry for the production of plastics,textiles, medicine and fertilizers. One challenge, common to all energy storage technologies, is to be economicallyviable in spite of the fact that excess, or low priced, electricity will likely be availableonly a fraction of the time. This chapter aims to explore the challenges andopportunities of using electrofuels to utilise excess electricity. Production processesare described and costs are estimated to underpin a discussion on what isrequired to make electrofuels competitive with gasoline.
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| 4. |
- Göransson, Lisa, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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Intermittent renewables, thermal power and hydropower - complements or competitors?
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 119-127
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Around 80% of the electricity demand in the world is still supplied by fossil fuelledpower or nuclear, i.e. thermal generation. Wind and solar power is integrated intothe electricity generation systems to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide emissionsassociated with the generation of electricity as well as to enhance security ofsupply. Wind and solar power plants differ from thermal generation in two importantways: they have very low running costs (and high capital costs) and a generationlevel that depends on external elements. Due to the low running costs thereare strong economic incentives for the employment of wind and solar power tosupply the electricity demand once the capacity has been put in place. However,the share of the load that can be supplied by wind and solar power in a certainhour or second varies irregularly since it depends on prevailing wind speeds, solarirradiation and cloudiness.Thermal units are most efficiently run continuously at rated power. However, in amixed renewable-thermal system they may have to compensate for fluctuations in wind and solar generation. Thus, depending on the characteristics of the renewable-thermal system, part of the decrease in fuel costs and emissions realised bywind and solar power may be offset by a reduced efficiency in the operation of thethermal plants. This chapter discusses the interaction between intermittent renewablepower and thermal power, and investigates briefly the impact of including amore controllable renewable source such as hydropower in these mixed systems.
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| 5. |
- Hammar, Linus, 1979
(författare)
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Will ocean energy harm marine ecosystems?
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 84-93
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Human activity tends to excavate the natural capital and degrade the ecosystemservices on which civilization depends. For long-term sustainability a more proactiveresource management is needed.1 Since natural and social systems are complex,environmental impacts of new technologies can be very difficult to predictbeforehand, but once technical systems have spread and have become widelyaccepted they tend to be hard to control. Will ocean energy development be asafe path towards sustainable power production, or will it inflict additional burdenon already deprived marine life? In this chapter it will be argued that the answer ismuch dependent on adaptive engineering and prospective planning.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Jacobsson, Staffan, 1951, et al.
(författare)
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Towards a strategy for offshore wind power in Sweden
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 160-171
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The first offshore wind power farm was built in 1991 (in Denmark) but the diffusionof wind turbines took place mainly onshore.1 By 2013, European offshore turbinessupplied 24 TWh but there are expectations of a supply of 140 TWh by 2020.2For 2030, UK and Germany expect the supply to increase to about 115 and 87TWh respectively.3 The longer term potential is much larger and in the EuropeanCommission’s Vision 2050 scenario analysis, 800 TWh are supplied (see Chapter3 on the global potential).4 Hence, offshore wind power is seen as a strategictechnology in EU’s efforts to decarbonise electricity generation.Multifaceted government policies are applied in mainly UK, Germany and Denmarkto support development and deployment of offshore wind power, that is, interventions are not limited to forming a market but include other dimensions inthe industrialisation of the technology. Expectations of an extensive deploymentare shared by many firms in the value chain, including component suppliers,turbine manufacturers, utilities, harbours, shipyards and logistics firms. A wholeindustrial system has begun to develop in northern Europe.In this chapter, we argue that Sweden should shift from a passive to an activestance towards offshore wind power and initiate a process that eventually leadsto a large-scale deployment. In the next section, we argue that offshore windpower is a desirable technology to develop in Sweden and we suggest a target forSweden in 2030. This is followed by an analysis of mechanisms that may obstructmeeting that target and points to ways of overcoming these. In the final section, wediscuss how a strategy for Sweden could be formed.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Kåberger, Tomas, 1961
(författare)
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Drivers and barriers for renewable power
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 9-17
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 10. |
- Lauber, V., et al.
(författare)
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The response of incumbent utilities to the challenge of renewable energy
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 138-148
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Renewable energy sources such as biomass, wind and solar power are relativelynew means of generating electricity. Until recently, electricity was typically dominatedby fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil), large-scale hydro and nuclear power incentralised systems of very large, GW-scale generation units. In contrast, newrenewable power is typically built in smaller units and can attract investors outsidethe traditional circle of utilities and industrial self-generators.1 Whilst renewablesrely heavily on public funding to support their further development and deployment,they are becoming more competitive with traditional electricity generation technologiesand can seriously affect their profitability, even their survival.2 Togetherthese factors mean that incumbent utilities (i.e. major companies that dominateconventional electricity production) have been forced to respond to something werefer to as the ‘renewable challenge’.Since the 1990s, when many European electricity markets were ‘liberalised’, therehas been a trend towards further market concentration. This means that someincumbents are now among the most highly capitalised companies in the world.3Prior to liberalisation, many European utilities had close links to the state via publicownership and via sub-national or national monopolies. Utilities were seen as a key infrastructure industry and offered career opportunities to former political leadersand bureaucrats. Hence one would expect that utilities could face the renewablechallenge from a position of strength. Surprisingly this has not always been thecase. Incumbents in Germany and Sweden – the two countries discussed here –demonstrate a wide range of responses to the renewables challenge.In this chapter we analyse utilities’ responses to the renewable challenge using thereactive-defensive-accommodative-proactive scale as popularised by research onCorporate Social Responsibility.4 By responses, we refer primarily to incumbents’‘nonmarket’ strategies for dealing with renewables. Generally speaking, nonmarketstrategies are typically those that seek to influence “the social, political, and legalarrangements that structure interactions outside of, although in conjunction with,markets and private agreements”.5 Since public policy is a major determinantof market opportunities related to renewable energy, we focus particularly onincumbents’ attempts to influence renewable energy policies. However, in someinstances we describe how incumbents have sought to influence renewablesthrough court cases (legal arrangements) and the media (social arrangements).We trace incumbents’ nonmarket strategies in Germany and Sweden through timeto show that responses to the renewable challenge vary according to differentsocial and political contexts.
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| 11. |
- Molander, Sverker, 1957, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing environmental impacts of renewable power
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 60-71
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Electrical power systems based on renewable energy sources are often intuitivelyperceived as environmentally benign. This may be true at least for comparisonsbetween electricity generated by combustion of fossil fuels and non-combustionbasedrenewable sources, at least in terms of contributions to greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions (Chapter 7) and other air polluting gases. However, there existsno system generating electric power for applications on commercially relevantscales that is completely without unwanted environmental side effects; it is morea question of which environmental effects and their severity. Given the seriousimplications of climate change, the motivation to find substitutes for fossil-basedenergy systems is strong, but it is likewise important to not solve one environmentalproblem by creating another, although of a different type. In order to preventthat, systematic investigations and assessments of the environmental performanceof different renewable electricity sources become crucially important.The methods applied for environmental assessments of renewable energy sourcesneed to be applicable to a number of fundamentally different energy systems,spanning from the construction of offshore wind power farms to hydroelectricpower dams. These different energy sources provide a set of very differentenvironmental impacts occurring in many different ecosystems. The challenge ofthe environmental assessment methods is to deliver assessment results that arefair and encompass the various significant environmental impacts under different conditions. Particularly when seen from a life-cycle perspective, encompassingthe raw material extraction, production and use of the energy, a number of environmentalimpacts in terms of both resource extraction and emissions becomeapparent, even for renewable energy systems. Therefore, careful consideration ofenvironmental impacts of renewable energy systems along the entire life-cycle ofthe energy systems is important to avoid serious environmental repercussions (seealso Chapter 8).In addition, based on earlier experiences, it is apparent that the specific design,location and scale of e.g. hydro and wind power installations are factors thatto a large extent determine their environmental impacts (see also Chapter 9). Asmaller installation will often result in less environmental impact than a large-scale.These factors are so-called site-dependent and cannot easily be assessed in astandardised manner, which calls for flexible and adjustable assessment methodsthat can be adapted to the specific case. An unfortunate location of a hydropowerdam does not mean that the entire technology carry unacceptable environmentalimpacts, just that the specific location or design in the specific case is unfortunate.This chapter aims at a general description of the challenges posed when tryingto assess environmental impacts of renewable energy technologies and to, withlimited technical detail, introduce the ways environmental impacts are assessed.Furthermore, a few specific examples will be employed to exemplify environmentalimpacts of renewable power systems.
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Sandén, Björn, 1968, et al.
(författare)
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Are renewable energy resources large enough to replace non-renewable energy?
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 18-31
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- While the very large potential of renewable energy has been known to some scholarsat least since the end of the 19th century, the potential is still today commonlyunderrated in public debate. To get the physical proportions right is a necessaryfirst step in a sensible discussion on possible and desirable development paths.The primary purpose of this chapter is to answer the question if the resources ofrenewable energy flows are large enough to completely replace fossil fuels andnuclear energy, and to indefinitely support a world population of 9-10 billion peopleat a living standard equivalent to present day industrialised societies. A secondpurpose is to outline what expectations we may have on each of the differentrenewable flow resources.The potential of the conversion route via bioenergy is excluded from this discussionbut is treated more extensively in in another book in this e-book series.1 Ourscope is limited to potentials of electricity production, but since electricity is anenergy form of high quality (see Chapter 2) its use is versatile. It is not unlikely that many applications that today are powered by the chemical energy in fuelswill switch to electricity in the coming decades2. Electricity can also, at a cost,be converted to chemical energy stored in hydrogen or even hydrocarbons (seeChapter 12). Hence, a comparison makes sense not only to the global electricitydemand, but also to the total energy demand.
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| 14. |
- Sandén, Björn, 1968
(författare)
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Assessing renewable power
- 2014
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Renewable Power 2014. - 9789198097405 ; , s. 6-8
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
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