Pathways to Sustainable European Energy Systems
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Pathways is part of the Alliance for Global sustainablility
"This project will show what pathways to a sustainable energy future means in practice.”
Karin Markides, President,
Chalmers University of Technology
Waste can contribute to sustainablility targets
According to current EU Directives, European waste management is required to undergo extensive changes. For instance, renewable waste fractions to landfill are to be reduced. Instead of being put on landfill, waste can be utilized, e.g. as fuel. This has a double greenhouse gas reducing effect, contributing significantly to the EU202020 targets.Read more
EU can become self sufficient in coal and gas
Looking at a longer perspective, indigenous fossil fuel production within EU27 will most likely continue to decrease. However, with concerted efforts to maximize production, the production decrease can be partly mitigated. This, combined with decreased fuel demand in the analysed pathways, implies that EU can become self sufficient in coal and, close to so, in gas. Read more
Legal preconditions are crucial for wind power expansion
The design of legal and administrative systems is crucial for the development of wind power. In Swedish law there are several counteracting factors and other barriers for wind power expansion. Less permits and strengthened state controlled planning, as in some other counties, could facilitate expansion.Read more
Mr Gas and little miss Biomass
- a hot Spanish love story
The efficient use of biomass is an important means in
attaining a sustainable energy system. Erik Pihl and Stefan Heyne have
investigated the possibilities to integrate biomass power generation with the
existing power generation system. Their work indicates the potential for biomass
power generation if co-located with natural-gas fired CCGT plants.
Read more
Path dependency in focus
In a comparative study similarities and differences in cases of market based and policy/government based infrastructure are analysed. We will look at two cases of planning and building of technical infrastructure that are differently regulated and organized; rail way lines and wind farms respectively.
Interreg Project: Pathways for CCS in the Kattegatt/Skagerrak region
The Interreg Project with the aim to investigate the opportunities for CCS in the Skagerrak region is now launched. Chalmers is responsible for work package 3 covering the political, judicial and economical perspectives of CCS in the area.
Read more
Read also the paper from the Interreg/Pahways researcher in the new journal
"Nordic Environmental Law Journal" (pp. 79-103) about CCS and regulation.
The competitiveness of District Heating
- consequenses of energy savings in the domestic sector
Researchers from Halmstad University show that the competitiveness of district
heating only decreases moderately with 20% energy savings in the domestic sector
but considerabely with 50% energy savings.
Read more
Emission standards can cause the EU ETS to fail
It is possible that there will come emissions performance standards (EPS), setting a roof for the CO2 emissions (CO2/kWhel) from the power production.
Great potential for CCS in the industrial sector
In the Pathway industrial group the potential for carbon capture and storage in the industrial sector is being assessed. The first results show that about 50% of all CO2 emissions from the industrial part of EU ETS can be captured with capture cost up to 45 €/tonne CO2. Read more
Are we prepared for a substantial change of the energy system?
A substainable energy and climate policy needs technical advances, but these are not sufficient. The policy needs a legal system clearly supporting the implementation. This situation does not exist in our countries today. Read more
Profit for PHEVs as providers of frequency control
The Pathways project shows that Hybrid Electric Vehicles can profit
by providing real time frequency control in the electricity grid.
Read more
Political springtime for nuclear energy? But what about the law?
The political message in 2009 is to rely upon nuclear energy for many years to come. Licences have already been issued to increase the production capacity in existing reactors and it is not unlikely that new reactors will be constructed, foremost to replace outdated existing ones. This policy has several legal implications.
Read more
Intensive cultivation of forests
A future scenario in Sweden is a significantly increased intensive cultivation of different kinds of forests. The biomass produced may be used as fuel instead of e.g. oil and coal. What are the legal constraints to such cultivation? Should we relieve existing legal restrictions in order to facilitate implementation of a new energy and climate policy?
Read moreCO2 capture in European heavy industries
The Pathway article "Assessment of the potential for CO2 capture in European heavy industries" aims to assess the role of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technologies in reducing CO2 emissions from the European industry sectors. The article will be presentated at the 5th Dubrovnik Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems in Dubrovnik, Croatia, September, 29 - October 3, 2009.
Read more
Two disputations
Two new Pathways' Doctoral thesis have recently been presented at Chalmers; Julia Hansson's "Perspectives on future bioenergy use and trade in a European policy context", and Mikael Odenberger's, "Pathways for the European electricity supply system to 2050 - implications from stringent CO2 reductions."
Read more
Two European Pathways
Two Pathways to Sustainable Energy systems are presented in brief, based on some results developed in different research groups within the Pathways project.
Read more
Progress in the Path-to-RES project
Path-to-RES is an Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) project aiming to develop a 7-step assessment tool which can evaluate and define pathways to sustainable local energy systems in European.
Read more
Modelling the European electricity
Four models are used to analyze the long-term development of the European electricity system in the Pathways project. Due to several reasons it is in this case more efficient to use four models each addressing specific issues rather than noe "super" model trying to incorporate "as much as possible". Read more
First doctoral thesis
The
first Pathways´ Doctoral thesis and a new licentiate thesis were finalized
during late 2008: the doctoral thesis "Renewable
Energy Development and the function of Law" by Maria Pettersson at Luleå
University of Technology, and the licentiate thesis "Wind
Power in Thermal Power Systems"
by Lisa Göransson at Chalmers University of Technology.
Read more
Pulp and paper industry
For chemical pulp mills there are many technology pathways which can increase energy efficiency and thus contribute to reduction of CO2 emissions. Read more
Resources of fossil fuel
Global oil resources have been investigated on three levels; country level, company level and field level. Significant resources have already been discovered beyond proven reserves, many prospectives regions remain to be fully explored and there are vast volumes of recoverable unconventional oil. Read more
Energy efficiency
Industry uses approximately 30% of all energy consumed in Europe, mainly the steel, cement, chemistry, refinery and pulp and paper sectors. There is a large technical potential to reduce energy consumption and CO2 in the industry sector. Read more
PHEVs in a power system with wind
A research group in the Pathways project has investigated the consequenses
of integrating plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV:s) in a wind-thermal
power system.The study shows that the alteration in load profile and the
flexibility provided by PHEV:s can reduce the emissions of the power system, mainly by reducing emissions related to thermal plant start-ups.
Read more
Cogeneration of biofuels and heat in the European district heating systems
EU:s 5000 DH systems contribute a substantial share of the total heat deliveries. The aim of this part of the Pathways project is to assess the potential for integration of liquid biofuel (BtL) plants with the DH systems in the European Union. Read more
Page updated: June 10, 2010
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Newsletter #2/2010
(June 2010)
"Download
it here!"
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New book:
"Wind power"
- with contribution from Pathways. Lisa
Göransson and Filip Johnsson writes about "Large-Scale Integration of Wind Power
in Thermal Power Systems"
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Stakeholder attitudes on CCS
- a new paper in "Greenhouse Gas Control 4 (2010).
More information - please contact Filip Johnsson
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Research workshop,
November 2009
Documentation from the workshop held at School of Business, Göteborg, Nov 5, 2009
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Research workshop,
September 2009
Documentation from the workshop held at Chalmers Göteborg, Sep. 29, 2009
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Pathways in
"ERA" and "Nordisk Energi" Read more about Mikael
Odenbergers thesis in the the journals "ERA" and "Nordisk Energi" . -------------------------
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Research workshop,
March 2009
The co-ordination of private and public interests regarding new energy infrastructure Read more
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Path-to-RES meeting
The 2nd Consortium meeting was
held in Arnheim, The Nether-lands, in March.
Read more
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Pathways in Washington
Pathway researchers are presenting results at a conference in Washing-ton ... Read more
Chalmers University of Technology
