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.

scholarly journals What small NGOs can deliver: A case study of a Canadian community-based project making fabric scrub caps for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 851-856
Author(s):  
Qiuyu Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
Local Healthcare

This essay examines how a small-scale non-governmental organization mobilizes community members in Montreal, Canada, to respond to the city’s shortage of personal protective equipment during COVID-19 by making more than 1600 scrub caps for local healthcare workers. As the CAP-MTL project has progressed, organizers have constantly adjusted how they run the project in order to meet evolving needs through three major phases: (1) centralizing resource allocation, (2) building a self-sufficient production team and (3) pairing volunteers with healthcare workers. This case study highlights how in crisis response projects, organizers must be flexible and adapt to fluid and dynamic situations.

scholarly journals Sustaining Forest Ecosystem Services Through Social Enterprises: Motivations and Challenges from a Case Study in Scotland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaohui Zhang ◽  
James S. Paterson ◽  
Teppo Hujala
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services

AbstractBoth the concepts of ecosystem services and social enterprise have gained popularity as means of addressing social and environmental issues in recent years. But while research on ecosystem services has focused on non-governmental organisation and local community-led approaches, the role of social enterprises has received less attention. In Scotland, social enterprises play an important role in delivering social and environmental justice, as well as reaping economic benefits through forest-based practices. These practices are often small-scale and attract participants from local communities. But despite this prominence their motivations and the challenges they face remain largely unexplored. This research attempts to integrate both concepts mainly using field observations and interviews, and to reinforce the findings with the existing literature. It explores the motivations and challenges of social enterprises in sustaining forest ecosystem services through a case study, and discusses their potential within the context of current policy. The research suggests that social enterprises are equipped to tackle a range of social and environmental issues. The enterprise under investigation aims to improve participants’ wellbeing and employability, as well as to provide public education and promote environmental awareness. But these efforts are often hindered by the difficulties of high requirements of the manager and staff members in balancing multiple objectives and most importantly, of managing financial risks. The research concludes that a practical method of assessing cultural ecosystem services as well as the use of innovative funding norms may resolve these challenges, allowing social enterprises to fill the current policy gap and create synergies in the fields of ecosystem services and social enterprise.

scholarly journals Local energy markets - an IT-architecture design

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (S2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bent Richter ◽  
Armin Golla ◽  
Klaus Welle ◽  
Philipp Staudt ◽  
Christof Weinhardt
Keyword(s):  
Energy Markets ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Local Energy ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
It Architecture ◽  
Decentralized Energy Systems ◽  
Decentralized Energy

AbstractIn recent years, local energy markets have become an important concept in more decentralized energy systems. Implementations in pilot projects provide first insights into different hypotheses and approaches. From a technical perspective, the requirements for the IT infrastructure of a local energy market are diverse, and a holistic view of its architecture is therefore necessary. This article presents an IT-architecture, which enables all basic local energy market functionalities, processes and modules based on the available literature. The proposed IT-architecture can serve as a blueprint for future local market projects as it covers the basic processes and is at the same time extendable. Furthermore, we give a detailed description of a real-world implementation of a local energy market using the described IT-architecture and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the utilized technologies along with this case study.

scholarly journals An assignment based on data driven journalism: a case study

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Simonite
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Writing Assignment

In a module designed to develop skills in presenting and evaluating statistics, students of mathematics and statistics were given an assignment asking them to research and write a piece of data driven journalism. Data driven journalism is a new phenomenon which has expanded rapidly due to the growth in open data, new visualisation tools and online reporting in newspapers, periodicals and blogs. The assignment provided students with a writing assignment that was individual, small-scale, research-based and embedded within their discipline. The students were asked to formulate a research question that could be investigated using survey data available from an electronic data archive. The result of the investigation was to be written up as a piece of data driven journalism for online publication, including a data visualisation. In addition to using discipline-based skills and written communication, the assignment required students to use research skills and digital literacy. An assignment set in the context of writing for the public extends students’ writing experience beyond the domains of discipline-based professional reports and academic writing. Data driven journalism provides opportunities to develop students’ writing alongside other skills for employment and can be used to design assessments for a wide range of disciplines.

scholarly journals Monitoring photogenic ecological phenomena: Social network site images reveal spatiotemporal phases of Japanese cherry blooms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moataz Medhat ElQadi ◽  
Adrian G Dyer ◽  
Carolyn Vlasveld ◽  
Alan Dorin
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Social Network Site ◽  
Cherry Tree ◽  
Cultural Symbol ◽  
Network Site ◽  
Multi Stage

AbstractSome ecological phenomena are visually engaging and widely celebrated. Consequently, these have the potential to generate large footprints in the online and social media image records which may be valuable for ecological research. Cherry tree blooms are one such event, especially in Japan where they are a cultural symbol (Sakura, 桜). For centuries, the Japanese have celebrated Hanami (flower viewing) and the historical data record of the festival allows for phenological studies over this period, one application of which is climate reconstruction. Here we analyse Flickr social network site data in an analogous way to reveal the cherry blossoms’ seasonal sweep from southern to northern Japan over a twelve-week period.Our method analyses data filtered using geographical constraints, multi-stage text-tag classification, and machine vision, to assess image content for relevance to our research question and use it to estimate historic cherry bloom times. We validated our estimated bloom times against official data, demonstrating the accuracy of the approach. We also investigated an out of season Autumn blooming that has gained worldwide media attention. Despite the complexity of human photographic and social media activity and the relatively small scale of this event, our method can reveal that this bloom has in fact been occurring over a decade.The approach we propose in our case study enables quick and effective monitoring of the photogenic spatiotemporal aspects of our rapidly changing world. It has the potential to be applied broadly to many ecological phenomena of widespread interest.

Design of a microgrid local energy market on a blockchain-based information system

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 87-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedikt Kirpes ◽  
Esther Mengelkamp ◽  
Georg Schaal ◽  
Christof Weinhardt
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Smart Grid ◽  
System Architecture ◽  
Data Exchange ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
Local Energy ◽  
Value Proposition ◽  
Architecture Model ◽  
Key Stakeholders

Abstract In this paper, we propose a model-based system architecture for an interoperable blockchain-based local energy market for prosumers in a residential microgrid setting. Based on the Smart Grid Architecture Model our analysis deduced 21 organizational, informational, technical and blockchain requirements for a local energy market and its underlying information system. These are evaluated in the Landau Microgrid case study. We derive, that a clear value proposition for the key stakeholders, standardization of data exchange and communication, and a suitable physical implementation are the major challenges.

scholarly journals Digital Twins: State-of-the-Art and Future Directions for Modeling and Simulation in Engineering Dynamics Applications

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Wagg ◽  
K. Worden ◽  
R. J. Barthorpe ◽  
P. Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Asset Management ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Synthesis Process ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mathematical Framework ◽  
Digital Twin ◽  
Digital Twins

Abstract This paper presents a review of the state of the art for digital twins in the application domain of engineering dynamics. The focus on applications in dynamics is because: (i) they offer some of the most challenging aspects of creating an effective digital twin, and (ii) they are relevant to important industrial applications such as energy generation and transport systems. The history of the digital twin is discussed first, along with a review of the associated literature; the process of synthesizing a digital twin is then considered, including definition of the aims and objectives of the digital twin. An example of the asset management phase for a wind turbine is included in order to demonstrate how the synthesis process might be applied in practice. In order to illustrate modeling issues arising in the construction of a digital twin, a detailed case study is presented, based on a physical twin, which is a small-scale three-story structure. This case study shows the progression toward a digital twin highlighting key processes including system identification, data-augmented modeling, and verification and validation. Finally, a discussion of some open research problems and technological challenges is given, including workflow, joints, uncertainty management, and the quantification of trust. In a companion paper, as part of this special issue, a mathematical framework for digital twin applications is developed, and together the authors believe this represents a firm framework for developing digital twin applications in the area of engineering dynamics.

The world’s toughest mountain race

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-136
Author(s):  
Balvinder Kaur Kler
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Success Factors ◽  
Mount Kinabalu ◽  
Sports Tourism

Purpose The Climbathon is an annual mountain running championship that takes place in Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Participants race to the peak (4,095.2 metres) and back, a distance of 21 kilometres of rainforest and mountain terrain, with a steep vertical gain of 2,300 metres. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the first 25 years of the Climbathon and to identify the key success factors behind the staging of this small-scale international sports event in Southeast Asia. Design/methodology/approach The research design for this study is interpretive, utilises a qualitative case study approach incorporating analysis of documents, oral history interviews, and personal observations gained through attendance and volunteering at the event which produced six insights, suggested as key success factors for the Climbathon. This study was guided by one key research question, to understand what has ensured the continuity of this small-scale international sports event known as the Climbathon. Findings Findings suggest the Climbathon has endured the test of time due to an innovative use of the summit trail, adherence to international sporting regulations, a pro sports tourism public policy led by the tourism ministry, membership to international sports organisations, corporate sponsorship, and a special sense of place towards Mount Kinabalu and the Climbathon for the event organisers, volunteers and officials. Research limitations/implications This case study presents knowledge about the Climbathon but findings are not generalisable. Any application of the success factors would have to be as guidelines adapted for a specific sport event. The use of oral history as part of a case study is subjective and open to interpretation. Future work could incorporate interviews with participants, spectators, volunteers and the local sub-committees to gain alternative perspectives. Originality/value This study makes an original contribution to the events and tourism field by presenting a case study on the success factors of the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon. The study suggests a three pillar model of “Place-Plan-People” which may be used as a guiding philosophy for event development and delivery of small-scale international sports tourism events in Asia and elsewhere. The inclusion of oral history as part of a case study research design is novel and useful when knowledge is not available in any published form.

scholarly journals Load Classification: A Case Study for Applying Neural Networks in Hyper-Constrained Embedded Devices

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 11957
Author(s):  
Andrea Agiollo ◽  
Andrea Omicini
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Embedded Devices ◽  
Open Research ◽  
Made In ◽  
Constrained Devices

The application of Artificial Intelligence to the industrial world and its appliances has recently grown in popularity. Indeed, AI techniques are now becoming the de-facto technology for the resolution of complex tasks concerning computer vision, natural language processing and many other areas. In the last years, most of the the research community efforts have focused on increasing the performance of most common AI techniques—e.g., Neural Networks, etc.—at the expenses of their complexity. Indeed, many works in the AI field identify and propose hyper-efficient techniques, targeting high-end devices. However, the application of such AI techniques to devices and appliances which are characterised by limited computational capabilities, remains an open research issue. In the industrial world, this problem heavily targets low-end appliances, which are developed focusing on saving costs and relying on—computationally—constrained components. While some efforts have been made in this area through the proposal of AI-simplification and AI-compression techniques, it is still relevant to study which available AI techniques can be used in modern constrained devices. Therefore, in this paper we propose a load classification task as a case study to analyse which state-of-the-art NN solutions can be embedded successfully into constrained industrial devices. The presented case study is tested on a simple microcontroller, characterised by very poor computational performances—i.e., FLOPS –, to mirror faithfully the design process of low-end appliances. A handful of NN models are tested, showing positive outcomes and possible limitations, and highlighting the complexity of AI embedding.

Pluralizing Science for Inclusive Water Governance: An Engaged Ethnographic Approach to WaSH Data Collection in Delhi, India

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Heather O’Leary
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Methodological Innovation ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
The People ◽  
Inclusive Governance ◽  
Engaged Ethnography

This case study demonstrates how water scientists can shift standard methods for water sampling to include marginalized communities as partners in ethical research. This case argues that water inequities are magnified when participation in scientific inquiry limits the participation of certain groups of people. It used hydrogen sulfide (H2S) testing as part of a larger project tracking water purity practice patterns, responses, and research recommendations of the hydro-socially marginalized people—the people who face not only physical, but also political barriers to water. The methodological innovation draws from engaged ethnography to enable Delhi’s water-poor to sample their own water. In doing so, community members become active partners who can better direct scientific inquiry. Their participation as active partners further empowers them as water stakeholders. It reveals how everyday small-scale cooperative projects became catalysts to inclusive governance.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document