The transition towards a sustainable energy system is a process that not only offers hope to steer the worlds current trajectory away from the devastating impacts of climate change but it also carries a lot of questions and uncertainties. These uncertainties spread across multiple sectors and discipline. During my carrier, I have been engaging with different actors in the power sector.  This helped me better understand how these uncertainties affect them specifically. For example, among the top priorities of an electricity service provider is that the service they offer to their customers must remain affordable and reliable. The intermittency of certain renewables, in particular wind and solar, can pose a […]

In pursuit of reaching the ambitious energy goals for 2030 and 2050, the countries surrounding the North Sea basin have substantially increased their efforts in deploying large-scale offshore wind farms (Fig. 1). However, several studies indicated a serious scarcity of suitable offshore locations for wind farms, in areas with a water depth above -55 m [1], especially in the southern part of the North Sea. Scenarios, such as Wind Europe Central Scenario for the deployment of renewable energy in the North Sea, propose up to 48 GW installed capacity by 2030 [2], approx. 3 times the installed capacity in 2019. Moreover, a large-scale deployment for offshore wind farms is raising […]

Introduction

The image of wind-turbines working along with large-scale PV plants is the first thing that comes to our mind, when we hear the term Energy Transition. In recent times, there has also been a focus on decarbonising the transport sector with electric vehicles powered by solar and wind energy. The coal gas fired heating system in buildings are being replaced with heat pumps in order to reduce the carbon footprint of our houses and commercial dwellings. While, these are extremely important steps, an important part of the jigsaw puzzle achieving a green transition of global economy remains relatively untouched. The industrial sector, especially the energy-intensive industries […]

Introduction to my research

My research mainly focuses on the modeling of investments and policies for a future low-carbon electricity system with the integration of large-scale variable renewable energy (VRE) for the North Sea Region. According to the EU Roadmap 2050, the power sector is expected to mitigate nearly all its CO₂ emissions by 2050. To achieve this goal, more and more wind- and solar power are invested in Europe for electricity supply. An electricity system with a high penetration level of VRE such as wind and solar may bring more challenges in load balance and system operation due to the intermittency of VRE resources. In regard to this, the main […]

Renewable advanced biofuels and their role in the energy system

Advanced biofuels are liquid fuels for transport produced from certain feedstock that meet sustainability and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission criteria. These can be lignocellulosic feedstocks (i.e. agricultural and forestry residues), non-food crops (i.e. grasses, miscanthus, algae), or industrial waste and residue streams that have low CO₂ emission or high GHG reduction, and reaches zero or low indirect land use change (ILUC) impact, overcoming the main drawbacks of conventional or first generation biofuels. By 2030, European Member States must require fuel suppliers to supply a minimum of 14% of the energy consumed in road and rail transport as renewable energy, with a […]

In this blog post, I will introduce my research in the ENSYSTRA project and my experiences so far.

About my research

ENSYSTRA project comprises 15 Ph.D. fellows studying the energy transition in an interdisciplinary way (divided into four work packages). I am part of the WP 2 – technologies and development pathways, where I study the developments of the key offshore renewable energy technologies in the market. Specific focus is given to offshore wind, wave & tidal technology, biofuel production from seaweed. In my research, I use quantitative methodologies like experience curves and bottom-up cost modeling to examine the learning process of offshore energy technologies. In other words, I identify what technological […]

Citizens’ empowerment and participation are seen as strategic to meeting the EU’s energy targets [1]. In line with this, the new EU Renewable Energy Directive and Electricity Market Directive include definitions for “renewable energy communities” and “citizen energy communities” respectively and are expected to promote the implementation of renewable energy projects with open and participatory forms of citizen ownership in the EU Member States. Citizen ownership is already common in some EU countries, but quite uncommon in some others [2]. Furthermore, citizen ownership is very diverse. Therefore, lack of awareness about the multiple citizen ownership models that already […]

The role of science, models and communication in energy transitions

In the autumn of 2019, the ENSYSTRA project joined up for a workshop hosted by Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. The main theme of this workshop was Modelling Energy Systems, focussing specifically on the application of models in science and the use of model results for policy and industrial decision making. Key questions: What can we actually learn from different types of models and what are potential strengths and weaknesses of different approaches? And what is a researcher’s role in the interaction with society and stakeholders?

The hosts from Chalmers University developed an interesting and intense […]

Energy systems in transition: A welcome to the ENSYSTRA project and a brief explanation of our research goals

By Benjamin R. Silvester, Former Lead Representative on the ENSYSTRA Early Stage Researcher (ESR) Committee – email: benjamin.r.silvester@uis.no

Hello, and welcome to the ENSYSTRA blog!

In our first instalment of our blog, I want to provide a brief overview of our project and outline some of our research goals.

The aim of this blog is to communicate the research, ideas, and experiences of the 15 early stage researchers (ESRs) currently enrolled on PhD programmes working on the ENSYSTRA project, and to update you, the reader, on the progress of our individual […]