The PhD defence will be in Abels utsikt - Niels Henrik Abels hus. The host of the session will moderate the technicalities while the chair of the defence will moderate the disputation.
Ex auditorio questions: the chair of the defence will invite the audience to ask questions ex auditorio at the end of the defence.
- Submit request to access (available from 8th of May 1:15 pm until 27th of May 1:15 pm)
Trial lecture
27th of May, time: 10:15 am, room 1259 (Abels utsikt).
Alternative approaches for robust optimization for power systems
Main research findings
The climate crisis and low-cost renewable technologies are driving a global energy revolution. However, switching to renewables relies on unpredictable weather. My thesis lays out how variable and extreme weather impacts future energy systems and develops methods to design more resilient systems.
Powering Europe with solar and wind energy is possible and affordable - if renewable systems remain resilient even during extreme weather events with low production. But how can one plan systems for many decades if we don't even know the weather in a few weeks? What is the type of weather that European system operators need to brace for?
To answer such questions, I use energy system models to analyse which generation, storage and transmission infrastructure is needed. Mathematical models show how the system works without having to construct it physically. The large computations inside the model usually find a cost-minimal solution. But the cheapest option is not necessarily the only solution nor the best, as reliability and social acceptance are crucial for a successful transition. I develop a novel tool finding many such "near-optimal" alternatives. Policymakers and transmission grid planners can use the tool to find more socially acceptable and resilient transition pathways.
Adjudication committee
- Associate Professor Trine Krogh Boomsma, University of Copenhagen
- Associate Professor Marta Victoria, University of Aarhus
- Associate Professor Thordis Thorarinsdottir, University of Oslo
Supervisors
- Professor Fred Espen Benth, University of Oslo
- Associate Professor Marianne Zeyringer, University of Oslo
Chair of defence
Head of Department Geir Dahl.
Host of the session
Associate Professor Thordis Thorarinsdottir, University of Oslo