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Existing literature on Zero Emission Neighborhoods(ZENs) and Buildings (ZEBs) only allow for reaching the zero emission target locally. This paper evaluates the impact of allowing to buy CO2 compensation to reach that target in the design of ZENs. This is motivated by questions regarding the relevance of investing in local renewable production (mainly from PV) in a power system dominated by renewable hydropower.Further, it contributes to the existing literature regarding ZENs and ZEBs by highlighting the importance of the choice of the CO2 factor of electricity for the design of ZENs’ energy system. A case study illustrates the impact of those choices on the resulting energy system design using the existing ZENIT model.Three CO2 factors for electricity are used in the case study:a yearly average CO2 factor for Norway (18gCO2/kWh), an hourly average CO2 factor for Norway and a yearly average European factor (at 132gCO2/kWh). The energy system design of the ZEN is little affected when using hourly CO2-factors compared to yearly average factors, while the European factor leads to less investment in PV. Hourly marginal CO2 emission factors are also investigated using three accounting methods. There are large differences in energy system design and emissions depending on where the factor is applied. The price of external compensation is varied between 0-2000e/tonCO2. A lower price of external CO2 compensations mainly reduces the amount of PV investment. Allowing the purchase of CO2 compensations at 250e/tonCO2 could reduce the total costs by more than 10%. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Implications of linking local and international emission targets. Political ambitions to mitigate climate change are driving the transformation of energy systems. These ambitions imply that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the energy sector must reduce dramatically within the next decades. While electricity systems undergo a major transformation to reduce GHG emissions, other economic sectors that overlap with the electricity sector are also changing to reach the goals of a low carbon society. The building sector improves its energy performance standards, and pilot projects worldwide are continuously demonstrating buildings producing more renewable energy than their total energy demand over the building's lifetime. Within FME ZEN, the vision is to develop Zero Emission Neighbourhoods (ZEN): a collection of buildings that contribute to net-zero GHG emissions over their lifetime. In this study, we aim to link the development of ZEN with the decarbonization of the power system on the European level. The case study is set in the context of Europe and European climate policy targets, and we analyse the development of the power system for different future scenarios. Results show limited ZEN development from the central power system perspective before 2050. After 2050, the combination of reduced technology costs for ZEN and a European system subject to strict emission regulation causes a significant development of ZEN across Europe, contributing to a decrease in total system costs by 4%. The feedback of the central power system is mainly less electricity production by nuclear and wind power plants. One important point is that surplus renewable energy produced within a neighbourhood does not reduce GHG emissions in the system directly. This is because the energy produced by the neighborhood does not replace energy produced with emissions but rather energy produced by other low carbon sources elsewhere in the system. However, we do observe that when ZENs are developed, the resulting emission allowance prices and total system costs are decreased. Hence, ZENs do not directly reduce emissions in the European power system, but has an indirect effect that reduces the cost of reaching the GHG emission targets. The role of emission compensation as a tool to reduce neighborhoods' net GHG emissions is a disputed assumption. Therefore, since we tackle this issue directly, the results from this study are important to quantify the overall benefit of ZEN in the European power system. Furthermore, the results can be applied in related fields of research, such as life cycle analyses of neighbourhoods.

Sesonglagring for varme som et tiltak for redusert effektbehov. Bruk av overskuddsvarme sammen med fjernvarme for å dekke oppvarmingsbehov i områder er et viktig tiltak for å frigjøre kapasitet i strømnettet til elektrifisering av transport og andre sektorer som krever strøm for å oppnå nullutslippsmålet. På Furuset er det planlagt å bygge et sesonglager for varme som benytter overskuddsvarme fra avfallsforbrenningsanlegget Klemetsrud på sommerstid, som blir tilgjengelig på Furuset ved at en fremfører fjernvarme til bydelen. Vi har undersøkt den samfunns-økonomiske lønnsomheten til sesonglagret kombinert med lavtemperatur fjernvarme ved å sammenlikne med to andre aktuelle alternativ: 1) kun direkte elektrisk oppvarming og 2) tradisjonell høytemperatur fjernvarme.

Forord. Forskning og innovasjon er grunnpilaren i vår visjon om å utvikle bærekraftige områder med null klimagassutslipp. Innovasjonskomiteen skal bistå senterledelsen i dette arbeidet gjennom å etablere gode innovasjonsprosesser i grensesnittet mellom FME ZEN og de offentlige og industrielle partnerne i forskningssenteret. I 2018 ble det utarbeidet og vedtatt en innovasjonsstrategi, der et rammeverk for identifisering, klassifisering og oppfølging av innovasjoner er implementert. Du sitter nå med den første utgaven av FME ZENs innovasjonsrapport som skal gi en lettfattelig oversikt over alle innovasjonene som så langt er registrert. Rapporten beskriver 32 innovasjoner på ulikt TRL-nivå (Technology Readiness Level), og starter med de som er kommet lengst i utviklingen.

Zero Emission Neighborhoods (ZEN) is a concept studied in particular in the research center on ZEN in smart cities in Norway to reduce the CO2 emissions of neighborhoods. One question coming along this concept is how to design the energy system of such neighborhoods to fit the ZEN definition[1]. From this definition we extract the CO2 balance, requiring an annual net zero emission of CO2 in the lifetime of the neighborhood. This paper proposes a MILP model for obtaining cost optimal design of ZEN’s energy system and demonstrates it on a case study. Different technologies are included as investment options and, notably PV as a mean of producing electricity on-site. Wind turbines are not included in this study because they would not be suitable in the context of most cities. The results highlight the importance of PV investment in reaching the ZEN requirements. For example, around 850 kW of solar is needed for our test cases of 10, 000 m2 of floor area, for an annual energy demand of around 700 MWh of electricity and 620 MWh of heat. The investments in other technologies are small in comparison.

Denne rapporten vurderer Campus Evenstad på veien mot ZEN. Hensikten med rapporten er å vurdere hvilke tiltak som er relevante fremover for å realisere energimål knyttet til ZEN, og den skal gi en forståelse for potensial, konsekvens, verdi og status knyttet til ulike tiltak relatert til drift og investeringer i energisystemet på Campus Evenstad. Vi trekker blant annet frem konsekvenser av ulik grad av selvforsynt fornybar energi. Fire faktorer vurderes for energisystemet: (1) Verdiskaping og regulatorisk rammeverk, (2) fremtidige investeringer, (3) driftsoptimalisering og styringssystemer og (4) utslippsreduksjoner. Lokal elektrisitetsforsyning skaper økonomisk verdi hovedsakelig gjennom sparte kostnader som følge av mindre behov for strømimport (i.e. levert elektrisitet til nabolaget). Det skapes verdi både gjennom (1) redusert levert strøm, (2) redusert nettleie og (3) øvrige reduserte elavgifter siden alle disse leddene av strømregningen baseres på netto strømforbruk. Vi har undersøkt potensielle fremtidige investeringer i energisystemet for Campus Evenstad ved hjelp av en optimeringsmodell. Våre analyser antyder at den mest kostnadseffektive måten å oppnå årlig kompensering av utslipp på er gjennom investeringer i flere solceller. I tillegg bør driftsoptimalisering gjennom planlagt ladning av batteri og elbiler eller foroppvarming av rom og vann for å redusere topplaster og minimere driftskostnader prioriteres fremover. Campus Evenstad bør i størst mulig grad benytte lokale enheter ved energiforsyning for å minimere utslipp. Denne påstanden kan forsvares ved at de lokale enhetene kun er driftet på fornybare energikilder som erstatter energi produsert med fossile energikilder andre steder i Europa. Rapporten kan brukes til å støtte videre beslutninger for Statsbygg på Campus Evenstad på veien mot ZEN. Den gir også innsikt i konsekvenser av energivalg generelt i ZEN som er relevant for øvrige ZEN-partnere. Arbeidet spenner på tvers av ulike fagfelt innenfor FME ZEN og binder sammen kunnskap knyttet til økonomiske, driftsmessige og tekniske aspekter ved utviklingen av et nullutslippsnabolag. This report evaluates Campus Evenstad towards becoming a ZEN. The goal is to present which measures are most relevant to realize ZEN goals related to energy and develop an understanding of potential, consequences, value, and status related to operations and investments in the energy system at Campus Evenstad. We evaluate consequences of achieving different degrees of on-site supply of renewable energy. Four aspects are evaluated for the energy system: (1) Value creation and regulatory framework, (2) future investments, (3) operational control and optimization, and (4) emission reductions. Local power supply generates economic value mainly through saved costs of reduced grid import (i.e. delivered electricity to the neighbourhood). Saved costs are achieved due to (1) less delivered electricity, (2) reduced grid tariff, and (3) reduced taxes and levies as the billing is based on net metering of delivered electricity. We have investigated future investments in the energy system at Campus Evenstad by using a linear programming model. The results show that investments in more PV is the most cost-efficient way of achieving annual compensation of emissions. In addition, operational control through planned charging of battery and electric vehicles or pre-heating space and water to reduce peak loads and minimize operational costs should be prioritized. Campus Evenstad should aim at self-consuming local energy resources to minimize emissions. This is because the local energy resources are based on renewable resources that replaces energy supply based on fossil fuels other places in Europe. This report can be used to support decisions for Statsbygg at Campus Evenstad on its way towards ZEN. More general, consequences of energy choices in a ZEN is investigated and will be relevant for other ZEN partners. The report incorporates several work packages in FME ZEN and connects economic, operational, and technical aspects in the development of a Zero Emission Neighbourhood. Acknowledgements. This report has been written within the Research Centre on Zero Emission Neighbourhoods in Smart Cities (FME ZEN). We acknowledge Zdena Cervenka who has initiated and motivated this report on behalf of the Norwegian Directorate for Public Construction and Property Management (Statsbygg). A special thanks goes to Igor Sartori and Karen B. Lindberg for helpful discussions along the way. Additional thanks go to technical staff at Campus Evenstad, Per A. Westgaard and Marius A. Kolby, for providing valuable input. We gratefully acknowledge the support from the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Directorate for Public Construction and Property Management (Statsbygg). We also acknowledge the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and SINTEF, as well as the ZEN partners: the municipalities of Oslo, Bærum, Bergen, Trondheim, Bodø, Elverum and Steinkjer, Trøndelag county, Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, Norwegian Building Authority, ByBo, Elverum Tomteselskap, TOBB, Snøhetta, ÅF Engineering AS, Asplan Viak, Multiconsult, Sweco, Civitas, FutureBuilt, Hunton, Moelven, Norcem, Skanska, GK, Caverion, Nord-Trøndelag Elektrisitetsverk - Energi, Smart Grid Services Cluster, Statkraft Varme, Energy Norway, and Norsk Fjernvarme.

In this thesis, the possibility of implementing an hydrogen factory in the north of Norway was studied through the simulation of the system and an optimization of the needed investment with the exclusion of the grid and in the first scenario of 10% of the production coming from electrolysis. The same study was then repeated multiple times to study how the previous results changes if the proportion of hydrogen produced by electrolysis is increased. The necessary grid upgrade to avoid rationing was also found out. The main results were that the investment in wind power was mainly at bus 9 and 8 and that even if the electrolyzer size increased approximately linearly, the storage size on the other hand does not and increase greatly after the case 40%. The possibility of investing in solar was then added to the model at a price of 3,8$/Wp and it turned out to not be profitable at this price before the case 50%. It was however found that the addition of solar power yields a positive impacts on the size of the storage needed due to advantageous seasonal effects. The next step was to study different prices in order to find when solar becomes profitable. The resulting value for the case 10% was around 0.4$/Wp much lower than the current price of 1,6$/Wp but also reasonable in a longer term as suggested by some other studies. The next study was to account for the cost of the grid expansion in different cases to see if only limiting rationing is a good criteria. The simulation was used again with different grids and it appears that limiting the rationing was often giving the cheapest result even though upgrading the grid further do not result in a big increase in cost due to a trade off between operation cost and investment cost. The last study was focused on the behaviour of the hydro system during the previous simulation cases and it highlighted some interesting seasonal effect of the different technology. As of now, solar power does not appear to be a good solution for the case of 10% of the total hydrogen coming from electrolysis due to its cost. Wind power appears to be a preferable solution even if the investment is not large and thus does no take fully advantage of the resources of the north of Norway.

This paper investigates the development of neighbourhoods with ambitious emission targets in the Nordic countries and their value for the power system. The targets relate to compensating for emissions in neighbourhoods through local low-carbon electricity and heat production. The first part of our analysis investigates local generation expansion with a neighbourhood perspective using a mixed integer linear programming model. The second part investigates the value of representative neighbourhoods with a country perspective using a generation and transmission capacity expansion model. When coupling the models, results indicate that neighbourhoods with co-generation of electricity and heat are most attractive for the power system in the Nordics, while neighbourhoods with solar PV provide most emission reduction.

Desentraliserte fornybare energiressurser er raskt på vei inn kraftsystemet, og introduserer både nye muligheter og utfordringer for systemets aktører. Tidligere passive forbrukere inntar prosumer-rollen og den tradisjonelle ovenfra-og-ned-strukturen er i ferd med å endres. Med de samtidige fremskrittene innen informasjons- og kommunikasjonsteknologi, dukker det opp nye muligheter for å legge til rette for et mer forbrukersentrisk marked og investeringer i lokale energikilder. Peer-to-peer-markeder har dermed fått oppmerksomhet innen akademisk forskning og som pilotprosjekter de siste årene, med lovende resultater når det gjelder økonomiske fordeler. Imidlertid har det vært lite fokus på hvilken innvirkning slike markedsstrukturer vil ha på nettdriften i lavspente distribusjonsnett. Da markedsaktørene er koblet til et svært komplekst kraftsystem, med klare tekniske restriksjoner, er slike analyser essensielle for å kunne avgjøre om lokal krafthandel er gjennomførbart. I denne oppgaven gjøres en ny tilnærming på dette feltet ved å kombinere en flerperiodisk markedsoptimaliseringsmodell med et lastflytanalyseverktøy i MATLAB. Med denne metoden kan alle markedsavgjørelser valideres, men ikke nødvendigvis begrenses, av distribusjonsnettets tekniske spesifikasjoner. To ulike systemkonfigurasjoner med distribuert produksjon og lagring er analysert, med caser som sammenligner virkningen av å etablere et lokalt marked eller ikke. I tillegg introduseres en innovativ prismekanisme for å redusere det totale systemtapet i et endelig casestudie. Hovedfunnene indikerer at det ikke er noen vesentlig innvirkning på nettdriften av et lokalt marked når bare solcellepaneler er installert i systemet. Med desentraliserte batterier tilgjengelig førte peer-to-peer-handelen til flere spenningssvingninger og 13,79 % mer tap i nabolaget, enn tilfellet uten lokalt marked. Den foreslåtte prisstrategien reduserte disse tapene med 4,67 %. Dessuten viste etablering av et lokalt marked en høyere grad av uavhengighet fra det øvrige nettet og effektiv bruk av lokale ressurser for begge systemkonfigurasjoner. Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are rapidly entering the power system, introducing both new opportunities and challenges for the system operators. Formerly passive consumers are transitioning into the prosumer role, calling for a restructuring of the conventional top-down system. With the simultaneous advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), new frameworks to facilitate a more consumer-centric market and the deployment of DERs, are emerging. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) markets have thus gained attention in academic research and as pilot projects over the recent years, with promising results in terms of economic benefits. The impacts such market structures will have on the grid operations of low-voltage distribution networks are, however, little explored. As the peers are connected to a complex power system with hard technical constraints, such analyses are essential in order to determine the actual feasibility of local electricity trading. In this thesis, a novel approach is conducted by combining a multi-period market optimisation model with a power flow analysis tool in MATLAB. With this method, all market decisions can be validated, but not necessarily constrained, by the distribution grid's technical specifications. Two system configurations of DER and storage deployment are analysed, with comparative cases of the impacts of establishing a local market or not. Additionally, an innovative pricing mechanism for reducing total system losses is introduced in a final case study. The main findings indicate that there are no significant impacts on the grid operation of a P2P market when only Photovoltaics (PV) are installed in the system. With decentralised batteries available, the P2P trade induced more voltage fluctuations and 13.79 % more losses within the neighbourhood than the case with no local market. The proposed pricing strategy in the final case managed to reduce these losses with 4.67 %. Moreover, establishing a local market showed a higher degree of community resilience and effective use of local resources for both system configurations.