Energy Transformation

This chapter1 offers a critical analysis and extension of dominant policy approaches on the transition to a low carbon economy, suggesting the need to embed that research within a much more political, politicised framework of socio-energy green transforma- tion. We suggest that as a central element socio-energy transformation is a clear recog- nition of the often ‘dirty politics’ involved in any transition from ‘dirty energy’. Energy transformations are political struggles, not simply technological, market-driven policy decisions. We also contend that they are characterised by biophysical/ecological, cul- tural, political economy and ethical considerations and choices. We suggest political contestation, struggle and antagonism are central to understanding and analysing, as well as effecting low carbon socio-energy transformations. In this we argue one can- not neatly separate the analytical from the normative. All seemingly descriptive analy- ses of energy transitions are also prescriptive, and always already political and ethical. Key to energy transformation struggles we contend are strategies to delegitimise as well as reframe ‘fossil fuels’ as ‘fossil resources’ with multiple, better uses than burn- ing them for energy.

Keywords: energy transformation, socio-energy system, politicisation, political strug- gle, the good life.

Investigation of fuel flows inside the injector is the main topic from early beginnings of development
of diesel fuel injection systems. Due to complex inside design of injector, a numerous different
experimental and numerical methods have been developed and used in past. In case of 1D numerical
modeling, a special attention was dedicated to high pressure pipe, while an injector is most often
modeled as a blend with known flow coefficient thanks to the experiment. However, development of
3D numerical method based on use of CFD increased knowledge about fuel flows, but it is generally
limited to the final segments of injector, i.e. needle seat, sac and nozzle. This paper presents a
universal one dimensional mathematical model for solving fuel flow across the whole inside the
injector. One dimensional mathematical model presented in this paper enables solving fuel flows
through inside the injector based on simple elements such as pipes, blends and pipe-volume
junctions. On that way, fuel flows, as well as fuel energy transformation, have been fully defined in
all points of a very complex inner side of the injector and shows characteristic places inside the
injector where special care has to be paid during design of new geometric shapes. Considering that
all existing research in the spray characteristics were based on a known pressure in front of the
injector, very good initial conditions for calculating the characteristics of dispersed fuel can be
obtained with this model, which up until now was not the case.

The climate policy of each of the Baltic states is shaped by external and internal conditions. As for the main external factors, they undoubtedly include the EU’s climate and energy policy and the activity of the Nordic countries in favour of sustainable development.
For three decades, the European Union has been the leader in energy transformation and combating the global greenhouse gas emissions. EU’s activities to date are founded on three pillars, namely: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the use of energy from renewable sources, and raising energy efficiency. Despite several noticeable shortcomings, such as the operation of the EU Emissions Trading System – especially in its initial phases, the European Union managed to reach the assumed target of a 20% reduction in emission in 2020. A wide scope of concrete programmes has also been implemented in relation to promoting the circular economy, reducing transport-related emissions and adapting to climatic changes. From a long-term perspective reaching 2050, the climate policy will become the main point of reference for other sector-specific policies. The reason lies in the new EU development strategy, known as the European Green Deal, which set is to achieve the neutral status of emissions in the organisation’s economy.
The Nordic countries have assumed a similar direction. Their climate policies are shaped by the political preferences of their citizens and the favourable discourse on “sustainable growth/green growth,” which resulted in the development of specialised “green” and “clean” technologies. Consequently, these ideas allowed for maintaining the economic growth while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emission. In spite of having different energy-related conditions, the Nordic countries have assumed coherent and,
in many respects, similar climate policies. All Nordic states favour a stronger regime regarding international climate-related commitments at global and regional levels. Therefore, they set ambitious national goals of reducing greenhouse gas emission, aiming at climate neutrality before 2035 (Finland), 2045 (Sweden) or 2050 (Denmark and Norway).
The effective influence of the Nordic countries on the international environment stems from their traditional and flexible approach focused on the constant search for a consensus in internal policies as well as believing in the quality of the proposed solutions for climate and energy policies. Their active foreign policy also plays an important role. It is based on the engagement in the activities of international organisations (UN, EU, NCM) and the political and economic cooperation with their allies (“green diplomacy”).

The policies of the Nordic countries also influenced the efforts of the Baltic states to mitigate climate change, mainly in the political sphere. Those states promised their support for the model of economic and social changes initiated by the Nordic countries. In practice, although on a smaller scale, the joint projects were to reduce CO2 emission, improve energy efficiency, facilitate information sharing, monitor decarbonisation processes, and boost the cooperation in developing more efficient and environmentally-friendly technologies. The experience of the Nordic countries in achieving their ambitious climate policy objectives may suggest that the new technologies and systemic solutions
lead to the successful protection of the climate that may be achieved at an economically acceptable cost.
Since the quite radical economic transformation in the early 1990s, the standards implemented within the EU climate and energy plan and the cooperation with the Nordic states, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia noted significant progress in their low-carbon economies. It was clearly exemplified by the noticeable decrease in greenhouse gas
emission, including CO2. In 2017, Lithuania lowered its carbon emission by 57%, Latvia by 56% and Estonia by 48%, all compared to 1990, which granted them a place among
the European leaders. At the moment, the Baltic states are responsible for only a small percentage of total CO2 emission in the EU. However, in terms of CO2 per capita, these
values vary strongly. Although the indicators for Lithuania and Latvia are below the EU average, the CO2 per capita in Estonia largely exceeds that average, mostly because of the high-carbon shale sector.
All three Baltic states gradually increase the share of energy generated within each country in their total consumption, with the smallest energy dependence noted for
Estonia (0.7%). Lithuania and Latvia still heavily depend on import – especially Lithuania, whose 74.2% dependency ratio greatly exceeds the EU average. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia notice actual progress in the use of renewable sources, as the share of renewable
energy in total consumption is gradually exceeding the assumed targets. Latvia is in a particularly favourable position as its rich water resources are used by the hydropower
sector. The increased share of RES in electricity generation is also highly dynamic. Lithuania and Estonia still obtain weaker results than Latvia (18%, 19% and 53% respectively) and are below the EU average (32%).
Energy efficiency of residential buildings and reducing emission in the transport sector, the share of which in the overall balance of emissions remains large, remain the important challenges faces by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. When it comes to Estonia, the fact that electricity generation highly depends on shale mining raises additional concerns about the high costs of political, economic and social adaptation.
Until now, climate issues were not prioritised in the politics of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, but they also were not the points of aggravated disputes among their main political forces. Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian societies are rather well-aware of the seriousness of the risks, yet matters related to climate change are still not of main importance.
Despite obvious ramifications and costs for their economies, the governments of the Baltic states have decided to support the EU goal of achieving the carbon-neutral status
by 2050. They also advocate the ambitious activities that would enable their citizens to benefit from the sustainable economic transformation.
A crucial variable determining the implementation of climate policies in the upcoming years is undoubtedly the global COVID-19 pandemic, which will significantly affect
production levels, consumption, employment, fuel and food prices. The transformation that will result from the pandemic may inhibit climate-related actions, e.g. due to exceedingly high social costs, but may at the same time be used as a stimulus for development, giving momentum to the modernisation of economies by decarbonising them.

Hydrogen is considered to be the fuel of the future. It is a cleaner alternative to the fossil fuels we consume every day. Of all the different hydrogen production pathways that exist, producing the gas by utilizing the power generated by renewable energy sources has been a topic of interest for many researchers across the world. The following work focuses on minimizing the energy loss by optimizing the size and the operating conditions of an electrolyzer directly connected to a photovoltaic (PV) module at different irradiance. The hydrogen, in the proposed system, is produced using a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. A nonlinear method is considered, because of the complexity of the system and the variation in maximum power points (MPP) of the PV module throughout the year. A generic model has been also developed to determine the performance of photovoltaic-electrolyzer (PV/EL) system. Additionally, a whole year weather data set is employed to estimate annual electricity generation, I-V curves and MPPs of the PV module.

Transformationspfade zu einem nachhaltigen Energiesystem beruhen meist auf modellbasierten Szenarien. In den Szenarien müssen gesell-schaftliche Prozesse und deren Interaktion mit technologischen, ökono-mischen und ökologischen Aspekten betrachtet werden. Dies setzt u. a. eine Integration zentraler Stakeholder-Positionen in die Szenarien vor-aus. Hierzu präsentieren wir Ansätze aus zwei Forschungsprojekten: Der erste Ansatz identifiziert gesellschaftliche Leitmotive der Energiewende und analysiert, in welchen technisch-ökonomischen Transformations-pfaden diese realisiert werden können. Der zweite Ansatz setzt auf eine partizipative Entwicklung von Storylines, um eine verbesserte Legiti-mation und Kommunikation von Transformationspfaden zu erreichen. Wir diskutieren die Herangehensweisen beider Ansätze, die Positionen von Stakeholdern methodisch zu erfassen und mit technisch-ökono-mischen Perspektiven zur Energiesystemtransformation zu verknüpfen. Guiding motives and storylines of the German energy transition How to systematically integrate stakeholder positions into energy transformation pathways Pathways towards sustainable energy transformations are usually premised on model-based scenarios. These scenarios have to incorporate societal dynamics and their interaction with technological, economic , and ecological processes. This also requires the consideration and integration of the stakeholders' positions into the scenarios. For this purpose, we present two different approaches: the first one identifies the stakeholders' guiding motives regarding the German energy transition and analyzes how these positions can be realized in technological and economic transformation pathways. In the second approach, storylines are developed in a participatory process with the stakehold-ers to ensure increased legitimacy and communication of the resulting pathways. For both approaches, we discuss the methodological capture of stakeholder positions and their subsequent integration into energy transformation pathways.