Experiences and Lessons Learned from Stakeholder Engagement in Transitioning to Use of Community Energy Business Entity - In the Case of Remote Islands, Nagasaki

Five years have passed since the liberalization of retail electricity sales in Japan. Consumers are now free to choose their own power company and can make a contract with power companies that better suit their lifestyles. As a result of this liberalization, many electric power companies have come up with their own plans. In this trend, emerging community energy business entities that aim for "local production for local consumption" have recently begun to increase. This paper attempts to identify the strategies and challenges from the experience of stakeholder engagement in community energy initiatives. Stakeholder engagement in this context is a form of community engagement used to develop a viable agenda and implementation plan in line with the interests and needs of key stakeholders and constituencies. It is important to seek strategies to involve more stakeholders in decision-making when building new energy systems within a community, especially for in the development of remote island areas with rapidly declining populations. This paper focuses the case study of Nagasaki Prefecture, which has the largest number of remote island municipalities in Japan. Based on semi-structured interviews and document analysis, this research identifies the scope and engagement strategy of the community energy initiatives, and discuss lessons learned and challenges from the experience of energy stakeholder engagement. In the context of remote islands, a geographically isolated and resource-constrained area, both theoretical and practical issues are presented. This paper also presents options and outreach issues to encourage the broader range of stakeholder participation than just energy projects. Keywords: Community Energy Business Entities, Stakeholder Engagement, Community Engagement, Community Energy, Remote Islands, Nagasaki

Transcending the Corporeal in Later Old Age?

This symposium addresses the older body and later life. It focusses on the cultural and social implications of the corporeality of the ageing body. Specifically it seeks to explore the degree to which it is possible to transcend the constraints brought about by the body in later old age. Drawing the distinction between the third and fourth ages for understanding contemporary ageing the papers address three important dimensions of later old age. The first presentation by Gilleard directly addresses the corporeality of late old age noting its seeming undesirability and limitation. Gilleard posits that not only does the ageing body impact on the lived experiences of those in later old age but also acts as a cultural reference point for the representation of this period of the life course. Eliopoulos presents preliminary results from her qualitative study on social exclusion of individuals aged over 80 living in remote island environments of the Pacific Northwest. The research considers how such environments might, even in the absence of high levels of health and social care resources, mitigate some of the constraints associated with the ageing body. The chair, Paul Higgs will discuss the issue of ageism and how it is abstractly inscribed on the ageing body; often with little reference to the lived experiences of older people themselves. He will call for a more reflexive approach to ageism. Overall, the symposium seeks to draw gerontological attention to the complexities and possibilities surrounding the ageing body at later ages.

Economic Feasibility Study on PV/Wind Hybrid Microgrids for Indonesia Remote Island Application

This paper presents the economic feasibility of hybrid microgrid power system for three remote islands of Sumatra, Indonesia. The microgrid system simulated and analysed using Homer Pro software. Optimization results showed that the combination of photovoltaic (PV), diesel generation (G) and batteries (Batt) for microgrid power system in Mandeh and Lagundri Island area were the most economical configuration. Meanwhile, for Mentawai area, the combination of PV, Wind Turbine (WT), G, Batt was the most optimal since it has higher wind speed then the other two areas. The Mandeh area has the highest solar radiation compared to the other two areas, resulting in the lowest CoE of $0.096/kWh as well as the lowest investment and operational costs. For the fixed PV 100 kW scenario, the optimal configuration is obtained with 86 kW supplied by WT for the Lagundri location, and 67 kW supplied by WT for the Mentawai area, while the WT installation area is not recommended for Mandeh location. The power management analysis showed that the average and patterns of weather parameters including solar radiation and wind speed effect both PV and Wind electrical power production.

#Bucketlist: exploring the motivations of tourists to swim with humpback whales in Niue

Swim-with-whales tourism has become a growing aspect of the marine mammal tourism scene. Several remote island destinations allow for these in-water experiences. Understanding swim-with-whales tourists’ motivations is an important aspect to effectively promoting and managing these interactions. This paper focuses on tourist motivations for swimming with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Niue. A qualitative research approach using 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews was used to gain these. A thematic approach to understanding the data identified eight themes that describe intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in these whale-swim participants. Of particular interest was the emotional component of engaging in the activity. In contrast to other research on marine wildlife tourism motivations, the importance of learning was absent in this study. These findings highlight the personal and variable nature of individual motivations for participating in commercial whale-swims.

Hybrid Electrical System Optimization of Remote Island using HOMER

Renewable energy is an important solution in improving access to electricity, especially in isolated areas including the utilization of solar power however intermittency is becoming the main challenge that is faced in the application of Solar Power Plant (SPP). Hybrid system implementation becomes a strategy in an effort to improve system reliability based on the variation in load and intermittency of SPP. Salemo Island is one of the areas that has utilized SPP as one of the sources of electricity energy, but its operation has not been optimal as the load increases, therefore, a study was conducted to optimize the hybrid electrical system based on the current existing conditions. The results of the study showed that with the addition of SPP capacity of 200 kWp and the addition of batteries as much as 120 units, it could obtained an optimal Leveled Cost Of Energy (LCOE) value of 1,306 IDR/kWh and operating costs of 450 million with a Net Present Cost (NPC) of 8.4 billion and a capital cost of 3.2 billion. Another option is the addition of SPP 150 kWp with a lower capital cost value of 2.02 Billion, but greater than the aspect of operating cost of 883 million and LCOE of 1,897 Rp/ kWh

Bangladesh and Myanmar failings prolong Rohingya woes

Significance Dhaka has in recent months relocated some Rohingya refugees to newly built facilities on a remote island, Bhasan Char. The Bangladeshi authorities want refugees to return to Myanmar, as do most refugees themselves, but a formal repatriation process is nowhere in sight. Impacts Certain ASEAN members may face a fresh influx of Rohingya refugees that they are unwilling to accept. Myanmar’s anti-junta National Unity Government will talk up its relatively progressive Rohingya policy in a bid to gain external support. In the light of the coup, external players will be more concerned about stability in Myanmar than Rohingya repatriation.