scholarly journals Analyzing National and Local Pathways to Carbon-Neutrality from Technology, Emissions, and Resilience Perspectives—Case of Finland

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sannamari Pilpola ◽  
Vahid Arabzadeh ◽  
Jani Mikkola ◽  
Peter Lund
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Market ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Flexibility Measures ◽  
Business As Usual

The Paris Climate Accord calls for urgent CO2 reductions. Here we investigate low and zero carbon pathways based on clean electricity and sector coupling. Effects from different spatialities are considered through city and national cases (Helsinki and Finland). The methodology employs techno-economic energy system optimization, including resilience aspects. In the Finnish case, wind, nuclear, and biomass coupled to power-to-heat and other flexibility measures could provide a cost-effective carbon-neutral pathway (annual costs −18%), but nuclear and wind are, to some extent, exclusionary. A (near) carbon-neutral energy system seems possible even without nuclear (−94% CO2). Zero-carbon energy production benefits from a stronger link to the broader electricity market albeit flexibility measures. On the city level, wind would not easily replace local combined heat and power (CHP), but may increase electricity export. In the Helsinki case, a business-as-usual approach could halve emissions and annual costs, while in a comprehensive zero-emission approach, the operating costs (OPEX) could decrease by 87%. Generally, electrification of heat production could be effective to reduce CO2. Low or zero carbon solutions have a positive impact on resilience, but in the heating sector this is more problematic, e.g., power outage and adequacy of supply during peak demand will require more attention when planning future carbon-free energy systems.

scholarly journals Carbon Neutral Urban Block in Athens - 2050

2021 ◽  
Vol 2042 (1) ◽  
pp. 012048
Author(s):  
Eleni-Marina Maragkaki ◽  
Kartikeya Rajput
Keyword(s):  
Heat Waves ◽  
Environmental Design ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Outdoor Comfort ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

Abstract Athens’ extensive urbanisation, lack of green areas and the extreme heat caused by increasingly frequent heat waves indicate the need for actions improving indoor and outdoor comfort, which is closely related to the energy consumption of the buildings. This work’s aim is to create a carbon neutral block in Athens on the 2050 horizon. The optimization of the block’s form based on principles of environmental design and climatic analysis was performed to enhance its environmental benefits. Simulations on the energy performance of the block and calculations on the ability to cover the energy loads by renewables were conducted. Finally, to meet the zero-carbon neutrality, a connection with the neighbouring blocks was established. The results demonstrate the benefits of a bioclimatic, carbon neutral building design in Athens and provide a practical prototype, which can be adapted in other projects, thereby enabling the shift to a more efficient and environmentally friendly built environment.

scholarly journals Bhutan: Can the 1.5 °C Agenda Be Integrated with Growth in Wealth and Happiness?

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorji Yangka ◽  
Peter Newman
Keyword(s):  
Urban Policy ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Hydro Power ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Business As Usual

Bhutan is a tiny kingdom nested in the fragile ecosystem of the eastern Himalayan range, with urbanisation striding at a rapid rate. To the global community, Bhutan is known for its Gross National Happiness (GNH), which in many ways is an expression of the Sustainable Development concept. Bhutan is less known for its policy of being carbon neutral, which has been in place since the 15th session of the Conference of Parties meeting in 2009 and was reiterated in their Nationally Determined Contribution with the Paris Agreement. Bhutan achieves its carbon neutral status through its hydro power and forest cover. Like most emerging countries, Bhutan wants to increase its wealth and become a middle income country by 2020, as well as increase its GNH. This article looks at the planning options to integrate the three core national goals of GNH, economic growth (GDP) and greenhouse gas (GHG). We investigate whether Bhutan can contribute to the 1.5 °C agenda through its ‘zero carbon commitment’ as well as growing in GDP and improving GNH. Using the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning model, this article shows that carbon neutral status would be broken by 2037 or 2044 under a high GDP economic outlook, as well as a business as usual scenario. National and urban policy interventions are thus required to maintain carbon neutral status. Key areas of transport and industry are examined under two alternative scenarios and these are feasible to integrate the three goals of GHG, GDP and GNH. Power can be kept carbon neutral relatively easily through modest increases in hydro. The biggest issue is to electrify the transport system and plans are being developed to electrify both freight and passenger transport.

District Heating Cost Optimization

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron P. Eicoff
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Cost Optimization ◽  
Capacity Utilization ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Central System ◽  
District Energy

When buildings of various use-types are served by a district energy system, many societal benefits occur, including improved capacity utilization, reduced energy use, and more cost-effective redundancy. In addition, a central system may benefit financially from commodity leveraging, utility incentives and cogeneration. Energy conversion and transport efficiency for steam and hot water are explored and presented. System optimization curves, including generation and distribution, are presented along with long-term financial comparisons to decentralized systems.

Designing the Electricity Market with Energy Storage Devices

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 31-43
Author(s):  
Tatiana A. VASKOVSKAYA ◽  
◽  
Boris A. KLUS ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Electricity Market ◽  
Power Flow ◽  
Optimal Power Flow ◽  
Storage Systems ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Energy Storage Systems ◽  
Storage Model ◽  
Optimal Power ◽  
Wide Range

The development of energy storage systems allows us to consider their usage for load profile leveling during operational planning on electricity markets. The paper proposes and analyses an application of an energy storage model to the electricity market in Russia with the focus on the day ahead market. We consider bidding, energy storage constraints for an optimal power flow problem, and locational marginal pricing. We show that the largest effect for the market and for the energy storage system would be gained by integration of the energy storage model into the market’s optimization models. The proposed theory has been tested on the optimal power flow model of the day ahead market in Russia of 10000-node Unified Energy System. It is shown that energy storage systems are in demand with a wide range of efficiencies and cycle costs.

scholarly journals Optimal Sizing of an Island Hybrid Microgrid Based on Improved Multi-Objective Grey Wolf Optimizer

Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1581
Author(s):  
Wenqiang Zhu ◽  
Jiang Guo ◽  
Guo Zhao ◽  
Bing Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Power Supply ◽  
Tidal Current ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Grey Wolf Optimizer ◽  
Grey Wolf ◽  
Hybrid Energy System ◽  
Hybrid Energy ◽  
Multi Objective

The hybrid renewable energy system is a promising and significant technology for clean and sustainable island power supply. Among the abundant ocean energy sources, tidal current energy appears to be very valuable due to its excellent predictability and stability, particularly compared with the intermittent wind and solar energy. In this paper, an island hybrid energy microgrid composed of photovoltaic, wind, tidal current, battery and diesel is constructed according to the actual energy sources. A sizing optimization method based on improved multi-objective grey wolf optimizer (IMOGWO) is presented to optimize the hybrid energy system. The proposed method is applied to determine the optimal system size, which is a multi-objective problem including the minimization of annualized cost of system (CACS) and deficiency of power supply probability (DPSP). MATLAB software is utilized to program and simulate the hybrid energy system. Optimization results confirm that IMOGWO is feasible to optimally size the system, and the energy management strategy effectively matches the requirements of system operation. Furthermore, comparison of hybrid systems with and without tidal current turbines is undertaken to confirm that the utilization of tidal current turbines can contribute to enhancing system reliability and reducing system investment, especially in areas with abundant tidal energy sources.

scholarly journals The Utilisation of Payment Models Across the HIV Continuum of Care: Systematic Review of Evidence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiago Rua ◽  
Daniela Brandão ◽  
Vanessa Nicolau ◽  
Ana Escoval
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Relative Magnitude ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Hiv Continuum Of Care ◽  
Clinical Conditions ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Payment Models

AbstractThe increasing chronicity and multimorbidities associated with people living with HIV have posed important challenges to health systems across the world. In this context, payment models hold the potential to improve care across a spectrum of clinical conditions. This study aims to systematically review the evidence of HIV performance-based payments models. Literature searches were conducted in March 2020 using multiple databases and manual searches of relevant papers. Papers were limited to any study design that considers the real-world utilisation of performance-based payment models applied to the HIV domain. A total of 23 full-text papers were included. Due to the heterogeneity of study designs, the multiple types of interventions and its implementation across distinct areas of HIV care, direct comparisons between studies were deemed unsuitable. Most evidence focused on healthcare users (83%), seeking to directly affect patients' behaviour based on principles of behavioural economics. Despite the variability between interventions, the implementation of performance-based payment models led to either a neutral or positive impact throughout the HIV care continuum. Moreover, this improvement was likely to be cost-effective or, at least, did not compromise the healthcare system’s financial sustainability. However, more research is needed to assess the durability of incentives and its appropriate relative magnitude.

scholarly journals A Reference Framework to Combine Model-Based Design and AR to Improve Social Sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2031
Author(s):  
Fabio Grandi ◽  
Riccardo Karim Khamaisi ◽  
Margherita Peruzzini ◽  
Roberto Raffaeli ◽  
Marcello Pellicciari
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Digital Models ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Digital Contents ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Virtual Simulations ◽  
Product And Process ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Time Information

Product and process digitalization is pervading numerous areas in the industry to improve quality and reduce costs. In particular, digital models enable virtual simulations to predict product and process performances, as well as to generate digital contents to improve the general workflow. Digital models can also contain additional contents (e.g., model-based design (MBD)) to provide online and on-time information about process operations and management, as well as to support operator activities. The recent developments in augmented reality (AR) offer new specific interfaces to promote the great diffusion of digital contents into industrial processes, thanks to flexible and robust applications, as well as cost-effective devices. However, the impact of AR applications on sustainability is still poorly explored in research. In this direction, this paper proposed an innovative approach to exploit MBD and introduce AR interfaces in the industry to support human intensive processes. Indeed, in those processes, the human contribution is still crucial to guaranteeing the expected product quality (e.g., quality inspection). The paper also analyzed how this new concept can benefit sustainability and define a set of metrics to assess the positive impact on sustainability, focusing on social aspects.

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