scholarly journals Energy and development in the periphery: A regional perspective on small hydropower projects

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jemma Bere ◽  
Calvin Jones ◽  
Stuart Jones ◽  
Max Munday
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Investment Model ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Local Energy ◽  
Small Hydropower ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Community Benefits

Investments in renewable energy have been identified as one mechanism for encouraging development in lagging regions, with community owned or operated facilities potentially having a relatively greater impact. The development of small hydropower installations in Wales is examined to establish the economic and community benefits of such schemes. The sector displays a number of locally beneficial economic characteristics that are absent from larger scale renewable investments. However, this is shown to be a fragile sector dependent on a small number of key individuals and institutions, and with an investment model relying on depreciating UK government subsidies. Following an introduction, the paper first examines why renewables, and small-scale, community renewables in particular, have attracted attention as a part response to declining economic, social and environmental conditions in rural communities. It then describes the Welsh energy and policy context before describing the data and the method employed in the research. The paper then examines the economic value of small hydropower developments, the nature and scale of impacts on local social capital and on communities, and then the extent to which small hydropower might be considered distinct from other local energy sectors in terms of business behaviours and inter-organisation relationships. The discussion then focuses on factors affecting prospects for the small hydropower sector, and which will limit how far development of the sector can lead to transformative outcomes for communities close to the natural resource.

scholarly journals Sources of Inefficiency in Small-Scale Irrigation in Ethiopia: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teshager Sisha ◽  
Surafel Dillie
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Analysis ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Household Head ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Frontier Analysis ◽  
Irrigation Technologies ◽  
Small Scale Irrigation

Abstract Increased production, food security, poverty reduction, and rural economic development can be supported by increasing efficiency in the use of scarce resources and technologies. Promoting small-scale irrigation practices may provide opportunities to improve the efficient utilization of land and labor. This paper assesses the extent of technical efficiencies of two household irrigation technologies: rope & washer and pulley practiced by farmers in two pilot areas of rural communities in Ethiopia. Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) was used to estimate efficiency levels and identify the factors affecting inefficiencies. Labor and land are found to have contributed a greater share in the quantity of production of the crops under study. Plough repetition and experience in irrigation also contributed significantly to increased output. The results obtained from the stochastic frontier analysis indicate that farmers are operating at a significantly lower mean efficiency level of 70%, indicating the existence of room for increased production without additional investment. Distance to the nearest market, female household head, higher dependency ratio and using rope & washer (compared to pulley) increases the likelihood of being inefficient, whereas higher educational attainment of the head of the household and irrigation experience reduces the probability of inefficiency.

scholarly journals The influence of hydrotechnical conditions on energy production in small-scale hydropower plants / Wpływ warunków hydrotechnicznych na wielkość produkcji energii w małych elektrowniach wodnych

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Marcin Bukowski
Keyword(s):  
Energy Production ◽  
Biomass Combustion ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Hydropower ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Technical Parameters ◽  
Energy Factors ◽  
Hydropower Plants ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Polish accession to the EU was followed by a need of adaptation of Polish legislation to the European requirements, also with regard to the energetic sector. The need of achieving 15% share of electric power from renewable sources in the total energy consumption till the year 2010 is a consequence of this decision. This target may be achieved in Polish conditions based on water and wind energy and from biomass combustion. The paper presents the influence of hydrologic conditions and technical parameters on the amount of produced energy. Factors affecting energy production in small hydropower plants were analysed. The formula was proposed to describe the effect of water flow in a river on energy production in small hydropower plants.

scholarly journals Bounded Rationality, Social Capital and Technology Adoption in Family Farming: Evidence from Cocoa-Tree Crops in Ivory Coast

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7483
Author(s):  
Francesco Cordaro ◽  
Alain Desdoigts
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
Ivory Coast ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Family Farming ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Civic Capital ◽  
The One

In this paper, we allege that the hypothesis in favor of bounded rationality is a plausible explanation when it comes to better understanding the sluggish pace of adoption of best available tree crop farming techniques in poor small-scale rural communities. Our research builds on data collection and analysis of cocoa farming in Ivory Coast. Firstly, we find that the cognitive scarcity under which smallholder farmers make their decisions, in particular, satisficing behavior and fast and frugal heuristics, outweigh the scarcity of financial and human resources. Secondly, we show that the structure of the environment measured through various dimensions of social capital influences human rationality and decision-making. On the one hand, the greater smallholder farmers’ civic capital (solidarity, reciprocity, trustworthiness, cooperation), the more likely they are to modify their farming practices (p < 0.05) and, more specifically, to exchange information, learn, and eventually revise these practices. On the other hand, the greater the number of organizations the farmers participate in, the greater the probability of modifying their practices (p < 0.01). Information about farming techniques disseminates through weak bridging ties built within agricultural organizations (e.g., cooperatives, extension services) rather than through strong bonding ties between family or diaspora members.

scholarly journals Photovoltaics Enabling Sustainable Energy Communities: Technological Drivers and Emerging Markets

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1862
Author(s):  
Alexandros-Georgios Chronis ◽  
Foivos Palaiogiannis ◽  
Iasonas Kouveliotis-Lysikatos ◽  
Panos Kotsampopoulos ◽  
Nikos Hatziargyriou
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Local Energy ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Open Research ◽  
Energy Community

In this paper, we investigate the economic benefits of an energy community investing in small-scale photovoltaics (PVs) when local energy trading is operated amongst the community members. The motivation stems from the open research question on whether a community-operated local energy market can enhance the investment feasibility of behind-the-meter small-scale PVs installed by energy community members. Firstly, a review of the models, mechanisms and concepts required for framing the relevant concepts is conducted, while a clarification of nuances at important terms is attempted. Next, a tool for the investigation of the economic benefits of operating a local energy market in the context of an energy community is developed. We design the local energy market using state-of-the-art formulations, modified according to the requirements of the case study. The model is applied to an energy community that is currently under formation in a Greek municipality. From the various simulations that were conducted, a series of generalizable conclusions are extracted.

Formalization as a tool for environmental peacebuilding? Artisanal and small-scale mining in Liberia and Sierra Leone

2021 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55
Author(s):  
Christina Ankenbrand ◽  
Abrina Welter ◽  
Nina Engwicht
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Benefits ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Ethical Sourcing ◽  
The Ideal

Abstract Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) has long been a vital source of livelihoods for rural populations in the global South. Yet, it has also been linked to a host of social, political and environmental adversities, including violent conflict. As environmental peacebuilding increasingly stresses the importance of livelihood improvement as a means of fostering peace in conflict-affected extractive societies, ASM formalization has been identified as a solution to mitigate the sector's challenges, thereby addressing underlying causes of conflict. This article critically investigates the contribution of ASM formalization to sustainable peace by focusing on its impact on the livelihood dimension of peacebuilding. It analyses the livelihood impact of three formalization interventions in the diamond sectors of two countries: cooperatives in Liberia, and, in Sierra Leone, ethical sourcing schemes and a community-based natural resource management initiative. In line with calls for a paradigm shift from a narrow legalization-centred understanding of formalization to a broader approach that accounts for livelihood quality, the analysis presented here focuses on interventions that were informed by the ideal of improving the well-being of ASM workers and communities. We propose three pathways through which ASM formalization could potentially contribute to livelihood enhancement: income security, working conditions and community benefits. Based on fieldwork, this article highlights the challenges of generating livelihood improvements through formalization. Even when specifically designed to address the needs of ASM communities, during implementation, they risk prioritizing a narrow conceptualization of formalization and thus failing to become a conductor of transformative change.

SUBMERGED CITRIC ACID FERMENTATION OF SUGAR BEET MOLASSES: INCREASE IN SCALE

1955 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 299-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Steel ◽  
C. P. Lentz ◽  
S. M. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Citric Acid ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Aeration Rate ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Acid Fermentation ◽  
Inoculum Level ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Beet Molasses ◽  
Initial Ph

Factors affecting the production of citric acid in the submerged fermentation of ferrocyanide-treated beet molasses by Aspergillus niger were studied in 2.5 and 36 liter fermenters. The small fermenters were used to determine the effects of changes in sterilization technique, phosphate supplement, ferrocyanide treatment, inoculum level, initial pH, fermentation temperature, and aeration rate. The relation between ferrocyanide concentration and inoculum level was also studied. Four different samples of molasses were fermented successfully. An average yield of 8.2% citric acid (64% conversion) was obtained from 51 small-scale fermentations. Comparable yields were obtained in the large fermenters under comparable conditions. Most of the information obtained with the small fermenters was applicable to the larger-scale fermenters, but in the latter the fermentation was significantly more stable. Aeration was the main problem in the scale-up and aeration rates approximately double those calculated on a fermenter cross-sectional area basis were required for comparable results in the large fermenters.

Species Responses to Grazing and Environmental-Factors in an Arid Halophytic Shrubland Community

1987 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
RB Hacker
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Soil Salinity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Species Responses

Species responses to grazing and environmental factors were studied in an arid halophytic shrubland community in Western Australia. The grazing responses of major shrub species were defined by using reciprocal averaging ordination of botanical data, interpreted in conjunction with a similar ordination of soil chemical properties and measures of soil erosion derived from large-scale aerial photographs. An apparent small-scale interaction between grazing and soil salinity was also defined. Long-term grazing pressure is apparently reduced on localised areas of high salinity. Environmental factors affecting species distribution are complex and appear to include soil salinity, soil cationic balance, geomorphological variation and the influence of cryptogamic crusts on seedling establishment.

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