Wolf Fichtner

Smart Homes as a Means to Sustainable Energy Consumption: A Study of Consumer Perceptions

European and national policies are aimed at reducing greenhouse gases and increasing energy efficiency—also in the household sector. For this purpose, new solutions for private homes based on information and communication technologies (ICT) are being developed and tested. However, up to now, hardly anyone has seen, experienced or lived in an environment that offers the full range of ICT-based energy management solutions. In this study, consumer reactions to a fully furnished and equipped smart home are analysed using focus groups (four groups with a total of 29 participants). The analysis looks at consumer perceptions of and reactions to an energy management system which optimizes electricity consumption based on different ICT solutions. The topics that were demonstrated in practice and then discussed with the participants included variable tariffs, smart metering, smart appliances, and home automation. In general, there were positive group reactions to the smart home environment. Consumers saw many advantages for themselves; especially the chance to save money. However, giving up high levels of flexibility and adapting everyday routines to fit in with electricity tariffs were regarded as difficult. Smart appliances and smart meters were therefore considered to be necessary elements by most participants. Concerns regarding data privacy played a major role in one of the groups.

Barriers of interorganisational environmental management: two case studies on industrial symbiosis

The objective of this paper is to test the research hypothesis that interorganisational cooperation contributes to improved environmental management. Two case studies - one from the energy sector, the other from the waste disposal sector - are analysed. The results of the case studies support the hypothesis by showing that inter-company concepts can result in considerable cost savings and environmental benefits when compared to the optimal strategies implemented independently by the individual companies. Literature analysis and interviews of 25 decision makers of industrial companies have been used to identify the barriers of interorganisational environmental management.

The efficiency of international cooperation in mitigating climate change: analysis of joint implementation, the clean development mechanism and emission trading for the Federal Republic of Germany, the Russian Federation and Indonesia

This paper presents results of an analysis of the flexible instruments joint implementation, clean development mechanism and emission allowance trading with regard to achieving CO2 emission reduction targets economically. The analysis is based on the development and application of energy and material flow models for the considered countries, the Federal Republic of Germany as a host country with quantified emission reduction targets as well as the Russian Federation and Indonesia as potential partners. In this approach, a transparent and credible baseline for the calculation of emission credits is determined by developing consistent national emission reduction strategies for each country. The efficiency of international cooperation is subsequently analysed by linking the national models using a decomposition algorithm. Different assumptions with respect to the economic and political framework as well as regarding the impact of transaction costs associated with cooperation projects are considered. The model results show substantial potentials to limit emission reduction expenditures by multilateral cooperation. The most favourable types of cooperation projects for the considered countries are CO2 sequestration and power plant projects.

Compressed-air energy storage power plant investments under uncertain electricity prices: an evaluation of compressed-air energy storage plants in liberalized energy markets

In this paper a combined approach is introduced, integrating electricity prices simulated with the help of a financial model into an optimization model that evaluates a compressed-air energy storage (CAES) plant investment. The financial model based on a regime-switching approach delivers suitable price paths. Based on these price paths, the optimization model maximizes the annual return of the CAES plant, taking bidding strategies on the spot and reserve power markets into account. A Monte Carlo simulation is carried out for the annual return, which, in turn, is used to determine the expected net present value (NPV). A negative NPV is obtained when applying an interest rate of 6%. Thus, the investment in current CAES plants is not attractive, as energy companies generally expect an annual yield over 8%.

Electricity storage systems in the future German energy sector

Due to the growing feed-in of electricity based on renewables, electricity storage systems will be essential in the future energy sector. Because of the volatile feed-in, electricity will have to be shifted temporally. Additionally, load centers and regions of potentially high wind-based electricity production are located far away from each other in Germany, resulting in the need to transport electricity from the north to the south. According to the targets defined by the German government, more than 60% of electricity generation in 2040 is to be based on renewables. A strategic allocation of storage systems might help to improve the utilization of grid capacities and integrate renewables at the same time. To analyze this, we implemented the possibility to commission storage systems throughout Germany in the energy system model PERSEUS-NET-ESS. This investment and dispatch model includes a DC approach of the German transmission grid and, thus, calculates not only the installed capacities, but also their optimal allocation. Besides storage systems, gas turbines or load shift potentials can be used for the integration of renewables. In this paper, we use PERSEUS-NET-ESS to evaluate the alternatives taking the grid restrictions into account. Results indicate that it is beneficial to commission about 3.2GW of battery storage systems until 2040, provided that storage investment will drop to about 150?/kWh until then. The main part of the capacity is to be deployed in northern Germany close to the sea, where electricity from off-shore wind parks will be fed into the grid. At the same time, the storage systems will be located mainly close to congested grid lines. For the case of battery storage systems being impossible in the model, gas turbines are commissioned instead. Modeling will also consider the load shift potential due to electric mobility. It can substitute almost all of the commissioned storage systems and at the same time reduce the total generation capacity needed. A deterministic dispatch and investment model focusing on electricity storage systems.Analyses of the future German electricity system until 2040.Identification of convenient storage allocations in the German transmission grid.Load shifting by electric vehicle charging is an alternative to storage systems.Endogenous storage allocation mainly close to grid congestions.

Financing renewable energy projects via closed-end funds - a German case study

During recent years, closed-end funds have become one of the dominant financing schemes for wind farms in Germany. Having evolved out of the traditional model of local citizen-financed wind farms (‘Burgerwindpark’), closed-end wind funds can be seen as a logical consequence of the increasing professionalism and specialisation trend within the wind business as a whole. This article illustrates the basic market mechanisms behind the project development and financing approach based on closed-end funds and gives an overview on recent market developments in Germany. Finally, the transferability of this approach to other technologies or other regional markets is discussed.

A model to minimize joint total costs for industrial waste producers and waste management companies

The model LINKopt is a mixed-integer, linear programming model for mid- and long-term planning of waste management options on an inter-company level. There has been a large increase in the transportation of waste material in Germany, which has been attributed to the implementation of the European Directive 75/442/EEC on waste. Similar situations are expected to emerge in other European countries. The model LINKopt has been developed to determine a waste management system with minimal decision-relevant costs considering transportation, handling, storage and treatment of waste materials. The model can serve as a tool to evaluate various waste management strategies and to obtain the optimal combination of investment options. In addition to costs, ecological aspects are considered by determining the total mileage associated with the waste management system. The model has been applied to a German case study evaluating different investment options for a co-operation between Daimler-Chrysler AG at Rastatt, its suppliers, and the waste management company SITA P+R GmbH. The results show that the installation of waste management facilities at the premises of the waste producer would lead to significant reductions in costs and transportation.

How to integrate electric vehicles in the future energy system

Main challenges within the energy system of tomorrow are more volatile, less controllable and at the same time more decentralized electricity generation. Furthermore, the increasing research and development activities on electric vehicles (EV) make a significant share of electric vehicles within the passenger car fleet in 2030 more and more likely. This will lead to a further increase of power demand during peak hours. Answers to these challenges are seen, besides measures on the electricity supply side (e.g. investing in more flexible power plants or storage plants), in (1) grid extensions, which are expensive and time consuming due to local acceptance, and in (2) influencing electricity demand by different demand side management (DSM) approaches. Automatic delayed charging of electric vehicles as one demand side management approach can help to avoid peaks in household load curves and, even more, increase the low electricity demand during the night. This facilitates integrating more volatile regenerative power sources, too. Bidirectional charging (V2G) and storing of electricity extends the possibilities to integrate electric vehicles into the grid. But, comparing electricity storage costs and availability of electric vehicles with costs and technical conditions of other technologies leads to the conclusion, that vehicle to grid (V2G) is currently not competitive—but might be competitive in the future, e.g. within the electricity reserve market. In summary, the chapter gives an overview of the future electricity market with the focus on electric vehicles and argues for automatic delayed charging of electric vehicles due to economic and technical reasons.

Analyzing the regional development of the German power system using a nodal pricing approach

In this paper we present a modeling approach for the analysis of the long-term evolution of power systems, which considers the regional characteristics of power supply. This is realized by integrating a nodal pricing approach into an optimization model for power systems. To ensure an adequate representation of all regional data, the model is coupled with a Geographic Information System (GIS). Here, we apply the model to analyze the long-term regional development of the German power system.

Price spreads in electricity markets: What are fundamental drivers?

In this paper, we identify and analyze fundamental drivers on the base-peak spread of wholesale electricity prices. We set up scenarios for a model based analysis to test the influence of these drivers. An agent-based simulation approach is used to carry out this analysis. Results show that the gas-to-coal price difference is an essential factor for the development of the base-peak electricity price spread.