Power Africa could provide long-term electricity boost

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Private Capital ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Slow Progress ◽  
Gas Supply

Subject Tracking progress on Power Africa. Significance US President Barack Obama's five-year Power Africa initiative announced in June 2013 faces growing criticism for slow progress as it approaches its halfway point in December. The US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) announced 'critical milestones' for commitments only last month for four flagship projects, two large-scale wind schemes in Kenya and thermal power plants in Senegal and Ghana. Impacts Power Africa will stand as a test of whether infrastructure deficits can be plugged by combining private capital with public guarantees. Private investment will not materialise in sufficient quantities so long as it operates within inefficient state-monopolised sectors. Inefficiencies such as gas-supply problems and subsidies will further undermine the effect of private investment operating on the margins.

India’s energy demands will keep coal fires burning

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Liquefied Natural Gas ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Indian Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Coal Fires ◽  
Vehicle Fleet

Subject India's short-term need for coal despite long-term plan for renewables. Significance Reports indicate that NTPC, the former National Thermal Power Corporation, India’s largest state-run electricity producer, is planning to invest 10 billion dollars over a five-year period in three new coal-fired power plants. The proposal is striking in the light of India’s commitment to renewable energy and its stance on climate change. Impacts India’s plans to shift its vehicle fleet to electricity by 2030 may bring increased coal use in the long term. The Indian government may face a backlash from the urban electorate if it fails to curb air pollution from coal burning. Liquefied natural gas imports may increase in the short term if underused gas-fired power plants are brought online.

Asteroid mining becomes a serious proposition

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
China Academy ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
The Us ◽  
Legal Foundations ◽  
Legal Frameworks

Subject Asteroid mining. Significance The US firm Planetary Resources in April completed successful tests in orbit of technology it plans to use to prospect for natural resources on asteroids from 2020. Separately, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology late last year announced long-term plans for large-scale asteroid mining. Meanwhile, US legislators have begun laying the legal foundations for a space mining industry. Significant technological challenges remain, but key technologies have already been demonstrated, making the industry a serious prospect. Impacts An investment bubble could follow dramatic early successes or technological breakthroughs. There may be international tension over ownership or priority of access unless new international legal frameworks are agreed in advance. Asteroid mining will not be a viable solution to terrestrial resource depletion for the foreseeable future.

Price stabilisation will encourage US shale sector M&A

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Oil Prices ◽  
Oil Industry ◽  
Short Cycle ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
Price Stabilisation ◽  
The Us ◽  
Increased Activity

Significance The current oil industry downturn has not led to the same sort of industry mega-mergers that previous down cycles have produced. However, as oil prices stabilise at 45-50 dollars per barrel and a return to 30-dollar oil looks less likely, the strongest US shale producers are initiating deals that position them to take advantage of the price recovery. Impacts Despite the broader industry downturn, the US shale sector remains an attractive long-term investment for many investors. Large-scale megaprojects are likely to fall out of favour as companies shift spending to smaller short-cycle investments, such as shale. Oilfield service companies will benefit from increased activity as stronger companies buy up weaker drillers.

scholarly journals A Combined Approach for Model-Based PV Power Plant Failure Detection and Diagnostic

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1261
Author(s):  
Christopher Gradwohl ◽  
Vesna Dimitrievska ◽  
Federico Pittino ◽  
Wolfgang Muehleisen ◽  
András Montvay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Failure Detection ◽  
Energy Yield ◽  
Combined Approach ◽  
Levelized Cost Of Electricity ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Model Based

Photovoltaic (PV) technology allows large-scale investments in a renewable power-generating system at a competitive levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and with a low environmental impact. Large-scale PV installations operate in a highly competitive market environment where even small performance losses have a high impact on profit margins. Therefore, operation at maximum performance is the key for long-term profitability. This can be achieved by advanced performance monitoring and instant or gradual failure detection methodologies. We present in this paper a combined approach on model-based fault detection by means of physical and statistical models and failure diagnosis based on physics of failure. Both approaches contribute to optimized PV plant operation and maintenance based on typically available supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) data. The failure detection and diagnosis capabilities were demonstrated in a case study based on six years of SCADA data from a PV plant in Slovenia. In this case study, underperforming values of the inverters of the PV plant were reliably detected and possible root causes were identified. Our work has led us to conclude that the combined approach can contribute to an efficient and long-term operation of photovoltaic power plants with a maximum energy yield and can be applied to the monitoring of photovoltaic plants.

scholarly journals Cities Exacerbate Climate Warming

Urban Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Lahouari Bounoua ◽  
Kurtis Thome ◽  
Joseph Nigro
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Warming Trend ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Surface Warming ◽  
The Us

Urbanization is a complex land transformation not explicitly resolved within large-scale climate models. Long-term timeseries of high-resolution satellite data are essential to characterize urbanization within land surface models and to assess its contribution to surface temperature changes. The potential for additional surface warming from urbanization-induced land use change is investigated and decoupled from that due to change in climate over the continental US using a decadal timescale. We show that, aggregated over the US, the summer mean urban-induced surface temperature increased by 0.15 °C, with a warming of 0.24 °C in cities built in vegetated areas and a cooling of 0.25 °C in cities built in non-vegetated arid areas. This temperature change is comparable in magnitude to the 0.13 °C/decade global warming trend observed over the last 50 years caused by increased CO2. We also show that the effect of urban-induced change on surface temperature is felt above and beyond that of the CO2 effect. Our results suggest that climate mitigation policies must consider urbanization feedback to put a limit on the worldwide mean temperature increase.

The PLC Research in the Program Control System of Thermal Power Coal Handling

2012 ◽  
Vol 548 ◽  
pp. 812-816
Author(s):  
Xiao Min Chen ◽  
Xi Yan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Thermal Power ◽  
Chinese Economy ◽  
Power Requirement ◽  
Handling System ◽  
Human Power ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
Electricity System

With the rapid development of Chinese economy, the thermal power requirement is increasing not only in industry but also for the civil use in recent years. In China, the main fuel of thermal power is coal. Coal handling system places the consequence in the whole generate electricity system and has significant meaning to the power plant operation. The coal handling system of the thermal power plants has many types of equipment. The environment is vile with complicated control. If we control this system through manual mode, there will appear the imponderable questions. This article through the research of the coal handling system by the management of PLC can determine the long-term safe operation and reduce a mass of human power and material resources. It has the fundamental practical meaning and research value.

Russia's Baltic pipeline nearly ready but risks remain

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Content Type ◽  
Bilateral Agreement ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nord Stream ◽  
The Way

Significance Despite this, Biden indicated no change in the US position after a bilateral agreement with Germany effectively paved the way to completing the pipeline. Technically, Nord Stream 2 could begin partially operating in October. Impacts The recent spike in European gas prices to levels unseen since 2008 reinforces the case for Nord Stream 2's speedy completion. EU energy diversification, with a focus on renewables, poses long-term questions about the viability of both the Nord Stream pipelines. From October, Hungary will switch to Gazprom gas supplied via Serbia and Austria instead of through Ukrainian pipelines.

scholarly journals Chromosomal Rearrangements in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi Strains Isolated from Asymptomatic Human Carriers

mBio ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. David Matthews ◽  
Wolfgang Rabsch ◽  
Stanley Maloy
Keyword(s):  
Salmonella Enterica ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Chromosomal Rearrangements ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Bacterial Chromosomes ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACTHost-specific serovars ofSalmonella entericaoften have large-scale chromosomal rearrangements that occur by recombination betweenrrnoperons. Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain these rearrangements: (i) replichore imbalance from horizontal gene transfer drives the rearrangements to restore balance, or (ii) the rearrangements are a consequence of the host-specific lifestyle. Although recent evidence has refuted the replichore balance hypothesis, there has been no direct evidence for the lifestyle hypothesis. To test this hypothesis, we determined therrnarrangement type for 20Salmonella entericaserovar Typhi strains obtained from human carriers at periodic intervals over multiple years. These strains were also phage typed and analyzed for rearrangements that occurred over long-term storage versus routine culturing. Strains isolated from the same carrier at different time points often exhibited different arrangement types. Furthermore, colonies isolated directly from the Dorset egg slants used to store the strains also had different arrangement types. In contrast, colonies that were repeatedly cultured always had the same arrangement type. Estimated replichore balance of isolated strains did not improve over time, and some of the rearrangements resulted in decreased replicore balance. Our results support the hypothesis that the restricted lifestyle of host-specificSalmonellais responsible for the frequent chromosomal rearrangements in these serovars.IMPORTANCEAlthough it was previously thought that bacterial chromosomes were stable, comparative genomics has demonstrated that bacterial chromosomes are dynamic, undergoing rearrangements that change the order and expression of genes. While mostSalmonellastrains have a conserved chromosomal arrangement type, rearrangements are very common in host-specificSalmonellastrains. This study suggests that chromosome rearrangements in the host-specificSalmonella entericaserovar Typhi, the causal agent of typhoid fever, occur within the human host over time. The results also indicate that rearrangements can occur during long-term maintenance on laboratory medium. Although these genetic changes do not limit survival under slow-growth conditions, they may limit the survival ofSalmonellaTyphi in other environments, as predicted for the role of pseudogenes and genome reduction in niche-restricted bacteria.

scholarly journals Lost in migration: document quality for batch conversion to PDF/A

2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Erwin Suri ◽  
Mohamed El-Saad
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Batch Processing ◽  
Digital Archives ◽  
Adobe Acrobat ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Text Document ◽  
File Formats ◽  
Long Term Preservation

PurposeChanges in file format specifications challenge long-term preservation of digital documents. Digital archives thus often focus on specific file formats that are well suited for long-term preservation, such as the PDF/A format. Since only few customers submit PDF/A files, digital archives may consider converting submitted files to the PDF/A format. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThe authors evaluated three software tools for batch conversion of common file formats to PDF/A-1b: LuraTech PDF Compressor, Adobe Acrobat XI Pro and 3-HeightsTMDocument Converter by PDF Tools. The test set consisted of 80 files, with 10 files each of the eight file types JPEG, MS PowerPoint, PDF, PNG, MS Word, MS Excel, MSG and “web page.”FindingsBatch processing was sometimes hindered by stops that required manual interference. Depending on the software tool, three to four of these stops occurred during batch processing of the 80 test files. Furthermore, the conversion tools sometimes failed to produce output files even for supported file formats: three (Adobe Pro) up to seven (LuraTech and 3-HeightsTM) PDF/A-1b files were not produced. Since Adobe Pro does not convert e-mails, a total of 213 PDF/A-1b files were produced. The faithfulness of each conversion was investigated by comparing the visual appearance of the input document with that of the produced PDF/A-1b document on a computer screen. Meticulous visual inspection revealed that the conversion to PDF/A-1b impaired the information content in 24 of the converted 213 files (11 percent). These reproducibility errors included loss of links, loss of other document content (unreadable characters, missing text, document part missing), updated fields (reflecting time and folder of conversion), vector graphics issues and spelling errors.Originality/valueThese results indicate that large-scale batch conversions of heterogeneous files to PDF/A-1b cause complex issues that need to be addressed for each individual file. Even with considerable efforts, some information loss seems unavoidable if large numbers of files from heterogeneous sources are migrated to the PDF/A-1b format.

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