POTEnCIA model description - version 0.9

This report lays out the modelling approach that is implemented in the POTEnCIA modelling tool (Policy Oriented Tool for Energy and Climate Change Impact Assessment) and describes its analytical capabilities. POTEnCIA is a modelling tool for the EU energy system that follows a hybrid partial equilibrium approach. It combines behavioural decisions with detailed techno-economic data, therefore allowing for an analysis of both technology-oriented policies and of those addressing behavioural change. Special features and mechanisms are introduced in POTEnCIA in order to appropriately reflect the implications of an uptake of novel energy technologies and of changing market structures, allowing for the robust assessment of ambitious policy futures for the EU energy system. The model runs on an annual basis with a typical projection timeline to 2050.JRC.J.1-Economics of Climate Change, Energy and Transpor

Urban carbon and energy analysis: calculation of energy flows and emissions from residential housing clusters and assessment of sustainable energy options

In the UK, the domestic sector accounts for around 30% of fuel-use and energy related carbon emissions, and therefore has the potential to deliver significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. The purpose of this work is to form and examine various heat and electricity supply scenarios at the street-level and identify which of these scenarios offer the most potential to reduce consumption of resources and carbon dioxide emissions. The path to realisation of a reduction in carbon emissions from the domestic sector incorporates three consecutive steps: (1) saving energy, (2) use of renewables and (3) use energy as efficiently as possible, including fossil fuels. In reality, there is a strong interaction between all three steps and often they take place simultaneously. The first two steps tend to minimise the use of fossil fuels, but not to eliminate them. In this work it is recognised that in mature urban regions fossil fuels cannot be readily displaced completely, but can be used in a more efficient way. This research considers what can be achieved by applying at or near to market technologies at the street level microgrid scale, such as Combined Heat and Power (CHP). The renewable energy technologies considered were photovoltaics (PV) for electricity generation, solar thermal for domestic hot water heating and ground source heat pumps (GSHP) for space heating. For the development of the models, the transient simulation package TRNSYS was used and a residential area in Southampton that represents a typical UK area, was chosen as a case study. The notion of combining a number of houses to form a local microgrid proved to be beneficial for all the technologies examined in this research. It was shown that renewable energy microtechnologies can improve their carbon performance up to 10% when operating as a microgrid, whilst estimated benefits were even greater for CHP systems. Parallel operation strategies were also investigated and it was shown that they have the potential to deliver further savings from microgrid schemes. Microgrids, although their high capital costs, were estimated to have better financial performance compared with the single house level for many of the cases examined. Increased generation and lower heating demand were the key outcomes due to the impact of change in climat

Beyond the activist ghetto: a deductive blockmodeling approach to understanding the relationship between contact with environmental organisations and public attitudes and behaviour

Current research on the behavioural impacts of social movements tends to focus on their influence on those most intensely involved. Consequently it overlooks the impacts that social movement organisations might have on those outside the activist ghetto. To begin to address this gap in the literature, this article examines the relationship between contact with environmental organisations and public attitudes and behaviour. Monitoring the electricity use of 72 households has facilitated analysis of its association with their environmental attitudes and contact with environmental organisations. Although standard statistical approaches fail to uncover a relationship between contact with environmental organisations and attitudes and behaviour, a deductive blockmodeling approach tells a different story. Low household electricity use is associated with households sharing pro-environmental attitudes and contact with environmental organisations. High energy use is associated with households not sharing any of these; and moderate energy use is associated with a moderate degree of sharing. Our findings reveal the need for systematic studies of environmental movement organisations’ impact on the public’s pro-environmental behaviour