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With the need for clean energy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, the coming decades will see a transition of our energy system towards a higher share of renewable energy sources. With this work we aim at gaining insight in meteorological conditions that lead to extremely low energy generation and extremely high residual load (difference between production and demand) in European countries. We constructed a simplified climate-energy modeling framework in which extreme impact events on the European energy system can be examined. We compute daily electricity demand and the supply from hydropower, wind and photovoltaic solar, based on 2000 years of simulated present and future weather conditions for countries in Europe. From this data the meteorological drivers with high impact on the current energy system were investigated for individual countries and larger regions. Atmospheric blocking in summer can result in heatwaves and droughts that in turn result in long-lasting periods of high energy demands in countries with large cooling capacities (southern Europe) and low energy production in countries that rely on hydropower. In winter, dry and cold periods with lower than normal windspeeds lead to high residual load in northern European countries, especially around the North Sea. These countries have a high share of offshore wind and high installed heating capacities. Dry seasons lead to a higher sensitivity to wind and solar variability due to a decrease in balancing potential of hydropower. Additionally, the co-variability of electricity shortage events between countries is investigated. The goal is to identify balancing potential of transmission between countries. Due to different demand profiles across Europe and the spatial variability of weather the potential of extreme event reduction through cross-border transmission is high.

The concept of household metabolism was applied to enhance the understanding of the environmental impacts of household consumption in cities during the second phase of the ToolSust project. The household metabolism in four European cities was determined in terms of total energy requirements, including the direct and indirect energy requirement. Use was made of the Energy Analysis Program, EAP, developed at IVEM, to calculate the energy requirement of households. Energy intensities of consumer goods, calculated with country specific EAP databases, were combined with expenditure data to determine the total energy requirements of different types of households. The results are compared and the methodology is discussed in this report.

This report is the Dutch national report of the second work package of the ToolSust project. ToolSust, the involvement of stakeholders to develop and implement Tools for Sustainable households in the city of tomorrow, has been developed within the fifth framework program of the EU, as a part of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development: Key action 4: City of Tomorrow and Cultural Heritage, 4.1.2 Improving the Quality of Urban Life. In this second phase of the ToolSust project, the concept of household metabolism is applied to enhance the understanding of the environmental impacts of household consumption in the city of Groningen. The results are presented in this report. We express the household metabolism in terms of total energy requirements, including the direct and indirect energy requirement. To calculate the energy requirement of households, we make use of the Energy Analysis Program, EAP, developed at IVEM. Energy intensities of consumer goods, calculated with EAP, were combined with expenditure data to determine the total energy requirements of different types of households.

Focusing on reduction in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, a life-cycle-based analysis tool has been developed. The energy analysis program (EAP) is a computer program for determining energy use and greenhouse gas emissions related to household consumption items, using a hybrid calculation method. EAP consists of a number of fill-in screens corresponding to steps in the hybrid method, which in their turn correspond to different stages in life-cycles of consumer goods. The database incorporated in EAP comprises data about energy use and emissions of the main greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O) concerning materials. economic sectors, means of transport, etc. The use of the program in several projects showed the applicability and usefulness of EAP in research and policy. In this article EAP is applied to food: French beans as a metaphor for fruit and vegetables.

Onderliggend document is de rapportage over een project uitgevoerd in het kader van het Programma Nieuwe EnergieConversieSystemen en –Technologieën (NECST) vallende binnen de Uitvoeringsregeling: Besluit Subsidies Energieprogramma's (BSE) en gesubsidieerd via de NOVEM. De titel van dit project is: Perspectief op een optimale duurzame energie-infrastructuur op decentraal niveau. Het onderzoek in dit project richt zich op het ontwerpen en toepassen van een model voor de beoordeling van het energievoorzieningsysteem voor de gebouwde omgeving waarbij de wijk als uitgangspunt wordt genomen. Dit rapport onderverdeeld in 5 delen. In deel I wordt de systeemanalyse beschreven. Hierin wordt onderscheid gemaakt naar 4 schaalniveaus te weten internationaal, nationaal, de wijk en de woning. Aan de hand van een case-studie van de wijk Poelgeest in Oegstgeest wordt in deel II de nodige ervaring en inzicht verkregen om een model te maken dat ook daadwerkelijk aansluit bij de behoefte van degene waar het model voor bestemd is. In deel III worden de ideeën opgedaan bij de systeemanalyse en de eerste case-studie verwerkt tot een formeel model. Dit model is vervolgens geïmplementeerd. In deel IV staan de resultaten van de tweede case-studie beschreven. Hierin worden plannen voor het deelgebied Terwijde in de wijk Leidsche Rijn met het model doorgerekend. In deel V tenslotte staat de achtergrond van het model beschreven samen met een gebruikershandleiding.