Supervisor

Christina Speck (christina.speck∂kit.edu)

Introduction:

Vulnerable households, particularly those with low incomes, predominantly reside in rental housing situations. They are often excluded from discussions surrounding technologies like rooftop PV systems and heat pumps, which are typically geared towards homeowners. Furthermore, Germany, with over 50% of its population living in rental properties, surpasses the European average in this regard (Statistisches Bundesamt 2022). With the recently proposed PV strategy, the German federal government intends to simplify the installation and use of balcony PV systems in Germany (e.g., by allowing the use of all kinds of electricity meters, by simplifying the registry) (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz 2023) and targets tenants to become more engaged in the energy transition. However, this new landscape carries the inherent risk of exacerbating social inequality, by vulnerable groups not being able to afford balcony PV systems and removing them from the chance of energy savings and associated reduced electricity prices, potentially leaving vulnerable groups further marginalized. So how can tenants and especially low-income tenants be included in the expansion of renewable energies?

Objectives:

• Conduct a literature review of existing policy scenarios aiming at including tenants in renewable energy expansions.
• Translating policies into modelling scenarios for a Multi-Agent Simulation of a local energy neighbourhood.
• Develop a Multi-Agent Model to compare and evaluate different policy scenarios in their energy consumption and financial implications for tenants and landlords, as well as the fairness of each scenario in regard to agents’ costs in relation to their income.

Candidates should possess:

• Strong analytical and research skills.
• An interest in energy policies and energy system modelling.
• Proficiency in programming language python.
• Proficiency in quantitative analysis.
• A proactive and innovative mindset.

Formalities:

• The thesis can be undertaken in German or English.
• Interested candidates should submit a brief letter of motivation, a CV, and a current grade transcript.
• The project is ready to commence immediately.

Introductory Literature

Abdmouleh, Z., Alammari, R. A., & Gastli, A. (2015). Review of policies encouraging renewable energy integration & best practices. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 45, 249-262.

Bird, S., & Hernández, D. (2012). Policy options for the split incentive: Increasing energy efficiency for low-income renters. Energy policy, 48, 506-514.

Süsser, D., Ceglarz, A., Gaschnig, H., Stavrakas, V., Flamos, A., Giannakidis, G., & Lilliestam, J. (2021). Model-based policymaking or policy-based modelling? How energy models and energy policy interact. Energy Research & Social Science, 75, 101984.

Speck, C., Bluhm, S., Weinhardt, C., Zwickel, P., & Hagenmeyer, V. (2023, June). The Impact of Local Energy Market Participants’ Decisions on Efficient Energy Usage: Design of a Multi-Agent System. In 2023 19th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM) (pp. 1-8). IEEE.