Design of maintenance structures for rural electrification with solar home systems. The case of the Moroccan program.

n decentralised rural electrification through solar home systems, private companies and promoting institutions are faced with the problem of deploying maintenance structures to operate and guarantee the service of the solar systems for long periods (ten years or more). The problems linked to decentralisation, such as the dispersion of dwellings, difficult access and maintenance needs, makes it an arduous task. This paper proposes an innovative design tool created ad hoc for photovoltaic rural electrification based on a real photovoltaic rural electrification program in Morocco as a special case study. The tool is developed from a mathematical model comprising a set of decision variables (location, transport, etc.) that must meet certain constraints and whose optimisation criterion is the minimum cost of the operation and maintenance activity assuming an established quality of service. The main output of the model is the overall cost of the maintenance structure. The best location for the local maintenance headquarters and warehouses in a given region is established, as are the number of maintenance technicians and vehicles required.

Is Spain Different? Innovation systems in the long-term development of the tourism sector. The IBEROSTAR case study.

Tourism is a highly competitive sector which is characterized by permanent transformation. Therefore, tourism firms depend largely on innovation to adapt themselves and compete, ensuring their survival and competitiveness. Despite research on innovation concludes that tourism firms are in most cases only moderately innovative, there are outstanding exceptions in specific fields and destinies. Spain, which is an unquestionable leader in tourism, constitutes one of them. In fact, Spanish tourism firms have shown a strong innovation capacity. They have improved and diversified their products thus meeting the requirements of a changing demand. This raises the need to properly understand how and why innovation takes place and who is involved in such a process. This paper aims to address these questions through the case study of one of the largest Spanish hospitality firms. The long history of Iberostar Group confirms that family firms and the networks they provide, along with environments that foster competition as was the case of the Spanish tourism industry, are important determinants of innovation particularly in a late-developed country.