scholarly journals Unpacking the eagle collision risk model: practical guidance for wind energy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Evans ◽  
Misti Sporer ◽  
Wally Erickson ◽  
Joy Page

ABSTRACTClimate change is one of the greatest threats facing biodiversity, and solutions to reduce carbon emissions are needed to conserve species. Renewable energies are a prominent means to achieve this goal, but the potential for direct harm to wildlife has raised concerns as these technologies proliferate. To protect biodiversity, approaches that facilitate renewable energy development while protecting species are needed. In the United States wind energy developers must obtain a permit for any Bald or Golden eagles that might be killed at a facility. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service estimates fatalities using a Bayesian modeling framework, which combines pre-construction eagle surveys with prior information. The ways in which prior information is incorporated and how pre-construction monitoring affects model outcomes can be unclear to regulated entities and other stakeholders, creating uncertainty in the permitting process and retarding both the build-out of renewable energy and conservation measures for eagles. We conducted a simulation study quantifying the differences in predicted eagle fatalities obtained by incorporating prior information and using only site-specific survey data across a range of scenarios, evaluating the impact of survey effort on the magnitude of this effect. We identified predictable relationships between survey effort, eagle activity, facility size and discrepancies between estimates. We also translated these patterns into real-world financial costs, illustrating the interaction between pre-construction surveys, fatality estimates, and compensatory mitigation obligations in determining permit timing and expense.

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-45
Author(s):  
Angel Terziev ◽  
Ivan Antonov ◽  
Rositsa Velichkova

Abstract Increasing the share of renewable energy sources is one of the core policies of the European Union. This is because of the fact that this energy is essential in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions and securing energy supplies. Currently, the share of wind energy from all renewable energy sources is relatively low. The choice of location for a certain wind farm installation strongly depends on the wind potential. Therefore the accurate assessment of wind potential is extremely important. In the present paper an analysis is made on the impact of significant possible parameters on the determination of wind energy potential for relatively large areas. In the analysis the type of measurements (short- and long-term on-site measurements), the type of instrumentation and the terrain roughness factor are considered. The study on the impact of turbulence on the wind flow distribution over complex terrain is presented, and it is based on the real on-site data collected by the meteorological tall towers installed in the northern part of Bulgaria. By means of CFD based software a wind map is developed for relatively large areas. Different turbulent models in numerical calculations were tested and recommendations for the usage of the specific models in flows modeling over complex terrains are presented. The role of each parameter in wind map development is made. Different approaches for determination of wind energy potential based on the preliminary developed wind map are presented.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ramesh Kumar Behara

The growing needs for electric power around the world has resulted in fossil fuel reserves to be consumed at a much faster rate. The use of these fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas have led to huge consequences on the environment, prompting the need for sustainable energy that meets the ever increasing demands for electrical power. To achieve this, there has been a huge attempt into the utilisation of renewable energy sources for power generation. In this context, wind energy has been identified as a promising, and environmentally friendly renewable energy option. Wind turbine technologies have undergone tremendous improvements in recent years for the generation of electrical power. Wind turbines based on doubly fed induction generators have attracted particular attention because of their advantages such as variable speed, constant frequency operation, reduced flicker, and independent control capabilities for maximum power point tracking, active and reactive powers. For modern power systems, wind farms are now preferably connected directly to the distribution systems because of cost benefits associated with installing wind power in the lower voltage networks. The integration of wind power into the distribution network creates potential technical challenges that need to be investigated and have mitigation measures outlined. Detailed in this study are both numerical and experimental models to investigate these potential challenges. The focus of this research is the analytical and experimental investigations in the integration of electrical power from wind energy into the distribution grid. Firstly, the study undertaken in this project was to carry out an analytical investigation into the integration of wind energy in the distribution network. Firstly, the numerical simulation was implemented in the MATLAB/Simulink software. Secondly, the experimental work, was conducted at the High Voltage Direct Centre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The goal of this project was to simulate and conduct experiments to evaluate the level of penetration of wind energy, predict the impact on the network, and propose how these impacts can be mitigated. From the models analysis, the effects of these challenges intensify with the increased integration of wind energy into the distribution network. The control strategies concept of the doubly fed induction generator connected wind turbine was addressed to ascertain the required control over the level of wind power penetration in the distribution network. Based on the investigation outcomes we establish that the impact on the voltage and power from the wind power integration in the power distribution system has a goal to maintain quality and balance between supply and demand.


Author(s):  
Dilara Gulcin Caglayan ◽  
Heidi Ursula Heinrichs ◽  
Detlef Stolten ◽  
Martin Robinius

The transition towards a renewable energy system is essential in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The increase in the share of variable renewable energy sources (VRES), which mainly comprise wind and solar energy, necessitates storage technologies by which the intermittency of VRES can be compensated for. Although hydrogen has been envisioned to play a significant role as a promising alternative energy carrier in a future European VRES-based energy concept, the optimal design of this system remains uncertain. In this analysis, a hydrogen infrastructure is posited that would meet the electricity and hydrogen demand for a 100% renewable energy-based European energy system in the context of 2050. The overall system design is optimized by minimizing the total annual cost. Onshore and offshore wind energy, open-field photovoltaics (PV), rooftop PV and hydro energy, as well as biomass, are the technologies employed for electricity generation. The electricity generated is then either transmitted through the electrical grid or converted into hydrogen by means of electrolyzers and then distributed through hydrogen pipelines. Battery, hydrogen vessels and salt caverns are considered as potential storage technologies. In the case of a lull, stored hydrogen can be re-electrified to generate electricity to meet demand during that time period. For each location, eligible technologies are introduced, as well as their maximum capacity and hourly demand profiles, in order to build the optimization model. In addition, a generation time series for VRES has been exogenously derived for the model. The generation profiles of wind energy have been investigated in detail by considering future turbine designs with high spatial resolution. In terms of salt cavern storage, the technical potential for hydrogen storage is defined in the system as the maximum allowable capacity per region. Whether or not a technology is installed in a region, the hourly operation of these technologies, as well as the cost of each technology, are obtained within the optimization results. It is revealed that a 100 percent renewable energy system is feasible and would meet both electricity demand and hydrogen demand in Europe.


Author(s):  
Keenan Nakagawa ◽  
Amarjit Singh

The Kahuku Wind Farm of Hawaii has been laden with controversy since its inception in 2011. Although it was one of the two wind farms on Oahu responsible for supplying a combined 14% of the island’s renewable energy in 2018, citizens have been outspoken in their criticism of the facility. Local residents have cited concerns regarding adverse health effects to the surrounding community, as well as deaths of native birds and endangered bats caused by the turbines. The impact on the Hawaiian hoary bat population has been a focal point of numerous complaints, as more bats are being killed than initially predicted. To the dismay of their opponents, eight additional turbines are being erected in Kahuku as part of the Na Pua Makani Wind Energy Project. And, as of November 2019, approximately 200 individuals have been arrested while protesting it. To add to the controversy, wind farm officials are currently facing legal hurdles, as challengers are skeptical on whether the project’s environmental review correctly estimates the number of birds and bats that will fall victim to this new development. The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the issues associated with the Kahuku Wind Farm and Na Pua Makani Wind Energy Project, as well as the position and arguments of stakeholders and litigants.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0272989X2110428
Author(s):  
Fan Wang ◽  
Kristen N. Jozkowski ◽  
Shengfan Zhang

Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. HPV can cause genital warts and multiple types of cancers in females. HPV vaccination is recommended to youth age 11 or 12 years before sexual initiation to prevent onset of HPV-related diseases. For females who have not been vaccinated previously, catch-up vaccines are recommended through age 26. The extent to which catch-up vaccines are beneficial in terms of disease prevention and cost-effectiveness is questionable given that some women may have been exposed to HPV before receiving the catch-up vaccination. This study aims to examine whether the cutoff age of catch-up vaccination should be determined based on an individual woman’s risk characteristic instead of a one-size-fits-all age 26. Methods We developed a microsimulation model to evaluate multiple clinical outcomes of HPV vaccination for different women based on a number of personal attributes. We modeled the impact of HPV vaccination at different ages on every woman and tracked her course of life to estimate the clinical outcomes that resulted from receiving vaccines. As the simulation model is risk stratified, we used extreme gradient boosting to build an HPV risk model estimating every woman’s dynamic HPV risk over time for the lifetime simulation model. Results Our study shows that catch-up vaccines still benefit all women after age 26 from the perspective of clinical outcomes. Women facing high risk of HPV infection are expected to gain more health benefits compared with women with low HPV risk. Conclusions From a cancer prevention perspective, this study suggests that the catch-up vaccine after age 26 should be deliberately considered.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-569
Author(s):  
Srikanth Reddy ◽  
Lokesh Panwar ◽  
Bijaya Ketan Panigrahi ◽  
Rajesh Kumar ◽  
Lalit Goel ◽  
...  

This paper presents a profit-based self-scheduling framework for generation company participation in energy and ancillary service markets under multi-constrained environment with renewable energy participation. The participation strategies of generation company include various objectives incorporating economic (profit maximization), environmental (emission minimization), and social (maximum load satisfaction) aspects. The total objective under single, dual and multi-constrained approaches is formulated along with appropriate constraints for energy, spinning reserve, and non-spinning reserve offerings in various markets. In addition, the impact of renewable energy participation in energy market on scheduling decisions of generation company in different markets is also examined. The renewable energy independent power producers namely wind energy and solar photovoltaic energy generators are considered in this study. The sensitivity analysis is also carried out to examine the impact of reserve deployment probability on optimal offerings and generation company surplus in energy as well as ancillary service markets. To solve the proposed framework, binary fireworks algorithm is used, considering the binary natured commitment problem of generation company’s thermal units. The simulation results of proposed framework tested using thermal units, wind energy independent power producer, solar photovoltaic independent power producer are presented for base case and various scenarios involving single, dual and multi objectives. The comparison shows the effectiveness of proposed multi-constrained approach in arriving at optimal offering of generation company under economic, environmental and social constraints. Therefore, this integrated approach can prove to be an effective tool for generation company participation in energy and ancillary service market under renewable participation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2096 (1) ◽  
pp. 012133
Author(s):  
V Chelukhin ◽  
A Vasiliev ◽  
Pyae Zone Aung

Abstract Recently, more and more attention is paid to renewable energy. Recently, green energy or renewable energy is increasingly beginning to squeeze traditional energy based on the combustion of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and so on. Basically, the development of renewable energy sources comes from wind energy and solar energy. However, as recent situations in Germany, the United States and others have shown, wind energy has its drawbacks. This is, first of all, the instability of the power supply, as well as the difficulty of converting variable wind energy into direct alternating current for industrial use. Solar energy also has its drawbacks. This is the need for large areas, the need for just such sunny areas and the cleaning of solar panels from snow, dust and other precipitation. Today, there is a search for renewable energy sources in all directions, the most insignificant options are being considered, such as, for example, at the junction of fresh water, salt water, some kind of energy is released. The paper considers a method of obtaining energy using the temperature difference between day and night. At any point in the world, the temperature is always higher during the day, and always lower at night. This so-called temperature drop can be from 3 to 12.15 and more degrees, for example, in Urengoy in winter it can reach 60 degrees. It’s the same on the planets: on the moon, especially on Mars. There, the temperature difference between day and night is about 60-80 degrees, since Mars has no atmosphere.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Mueller ◽  
Matthew M Brooks

The transition towards renewable energy is likely to be uneven across social and spatial dimensions. To ensure this transition is equitable and just, energy injustice has become the key framework for analyzing and interpreting the distribution of energy infrastructure. Wind energy development has experienced a significant gap between broad public support for increased development but persistent localized opposition to proposed projects, indicating that wind represents a locally unwanted land use. We argue that although the negative impacts of wind energy infrastructure are less extreme than those posed by other, more toxic, unwanted land uses, their status as a locally unwanted land use will produce similar distributional injustices as have been found throughout the environmental injustice literature. Using data from both the American Community Survey and the U.S. Wind Turbine Database, we use logistic and Poisson regressions, fixed effects, and temporal lags to evaluate the current landscape of wind energy injustice along the social dimensions of income, race and ethnicity, age, education, labor force participation, and rurality at three spatial scales: between all counties within the contiguous United States, between counties within states with wind energy, and between census tracts within counties with wind energy. We find results vary by scale and whether the model is comparing the presence of any development or the size of that development. The most evidence of injustice is visible at the within-county level related to whether or not there is any wind energy development, with few relationships present when evaluating the absolute size of development.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Sunar ◽  
Jayashankar M. Swaminathan

Electricity end-users have been increasingly generating their own electricity via rooftop solar panels. We study the impact of such distributed renewable energy (DRE) on utility profits and social welfare under net metering, which is a widespread policy in the United States. Utilities have been lobbying against net-metered distributed solar based on the common belief that it harms utility profits. We find that when wholesale market dynamics are considered, net-metered DRE may be a positive for utilities. That is, net-metered DRE strictly improves the expected utility profit when the utility’s self-supply is below a threshold and the wholesale electricity price is sufficiently responsive to wholesale demand fluctuations. Our paper distinctively considers both downstream and upstream impacts of net-metered DRE on utilities and analyzes the tradeoff between these impacts. Net-metered DRE can increase utilities’ expenses because of their required buyback from generating customers, and reduces their retail sales revenues. In addition, it can either reduce utilities’ wholesale procurement costs or affect their wholesale market revenues. Our results suggest that utilities might benefit from emerging business strategies that motivate their customers to install solar panels. Our numerical study uses data on the distributed solar in California and the wholesale electricity market operated by the California Independent System Operator, and demonstrates that our findings hold under realistic parameters. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, operations management.


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