Addressing the project implementation challenges in the Saudi Arabian power supply industry: an investigative approach towards improving project delivery

For many decades, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been widely known for being a reliable oil exporter. This fact, however, has not exempted it from facing significant domestic energy challenges. One of the most pressing of these challenges involves bridging the widening electricity supply-demand gap where, currently, the demand is growing at a very fast rate. One crucial means to address this challenge is through delivering power supply projects with maximum efficiency. Project delivery delay, however, is not uncommon in this highly capital-intensive industry, indicating electricity supplies are not coping with the demand increases. To provide a deeper insight into the challenges of project implementation and efficient practice, this research adopts a pragmatic approach by triangulating literature, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The research was conducted in the Saudi Arabian power supply industry – Western Operating Area. A total of 105 usable questionnaires were collected, and 28 recorded, semi-structured interviews were conducted, analysed and synthesised to produce a conceptual model of what constitutes the project implementation challenges in the investigated industry. This was achieved by conducting a comprehensive ranking analysis applied to all 58 identified and surveyed factors which, according to project practitioners in the investigated industry, contribute to project delay. 28 of these project delay factors were selected as the "most important" ones. Factor Analysis was employed to structure these 28 most important project delay factors into the following meaningful set of 7 project implementation challenges: Saudi Electricity Company's contractual commitments, Saudi Electricity Company's communication and coordination effectiveness, contractors' project planning and project control effectiveness, consultant-related aspects, manpower challenges and material uncertainties, Saudi Electricity Company's tendering system, and lack of project requirements clarity. The study has implications for industry policy in that it provides a coherent assessment of the key project stakeholders' central problems. From this analysis, pragmatic recommendations are proposed that, if enacted, will minimise the significance of the identified problems on future project outcomes, thus helping to ensure the electricity supply-demand gap is diminished.

An intelligent broker agent for energy trading:an MDP approach

This paper details the development and evaluation of AstonTAC, an energy broker that successfully participated in the 2012 Power Trading Agent Competition (Power TAC). AstonTAC buys electrical energy from the wholesale market and sells it in the retail market. The main focus of the paper is on the broker’s bidding strategy in the wholesale market. In particular, it employs Markov Decision Processes (MDP) to purchase energy at low prices in a day-ahead power wholesale market, and keeps energy supply and demand balanced. Moreover, we explain how the agent uses Non-Homogeneous Hidden Markov Model (NHHMM) to forecast energy demand and price. An evaluation and analysis of the 2012 Power TAC finals show that AstonTAC is the only agent that can buy energy at low price in the wholesale market and keep energy imbalance low.

Solid biofuel production by mechanical pre-treatment of brewers' spent grain

The brewing industry produces large amounts of by-products and wastes like brewers' spent grain (BSG). In Germany, each year approximately 2.1 million tonnes of BSG are generated. During the last years conventional routes of BSG utilization face a remarkable change, such as the decline in the demand as animal feed. Due to its high content of organic matter energetic utilization may create an additional economic value for breweries. Furthermore, in the recent past breweries tend to shift their energy supply towards more sustainable concepts. Although, a decent number of research projects were carried out already, still no mature strategy is available. However, one possible solution can be the mechanical pretreatment of BSG. This step allows optimized energy utilization by the fractionation of BSG. Due to the transfer of digestible components, such as protein, to the liquid phase, the solid phase will largely consist of combustible components. That represents an opportunity to produce a solid biofuel with lower fuelnitrogen content compared to only thermal dried BSG. Therefore, two main purposes for the mechanical pre-treatment were determined, (1) to reduce the moisture content to at least 60 % (w/w) and (2) to diminish the protein content of the solid phase by 30 %. Moreover, the combustion trials should demonstrate whether stable processes and flue gas emissions within the legal limits in Germany are feasible. The results of the mechanical pre-treatment trials showed that a decrease of the moisture and protein content has been achieved. With regard to the combustion trials inconsistent outcomes were found. On the one hand a stable combustion was realized. On the other hand the legal emission levels of NOx (500 mgm -3) and dust (50 mgm-3) could not be kept during all trials. The further research steps will focus on the optimization of the air/fuel ratio by reducing the primary and secondary air conditions. Copyright © 2014,AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.

The acceptability of alcohol fuels for automobile engines

The aim of this project was to carry out an investigastion into suitable alternatives to gasoline for use in modern automobiles. The fuel would provide the western world with a means of extending the natural gasoline resources and the third world a way of cutting down their dependence on the oil producing countries for their energy supply. Alcohols, namely methanol and ethanol, provide this solution. They can be used as gasoline extenders or as fuels on their own.In order to fulfil the aims of the project a literature study was carried out to investigate methods and costs of producing these fuels. An experimental programme was then set up in which the performance of the alcohols was studied on a conventional engine. The engine used for this purpose was the Fiat 127 930cc four cylinder engine. This engine was used because of its popularity in the European countries. The Weber fixed jet carburettor, since it was designed to be used with gasoline, was adapted so that the alcohol fuels and the blends could be used in the most efficient way. This was mainly to take account of the lower heat content of the alcohols. The adaptation of the carburettor was in the form of enlarging the main metering jet. Allowances for the alcohol's lower specfic gravity were made during fuel metering.Owing to the low front end volatility of methanol and ethanol, it was expected that `start up' problems would occur. An experimental programme was set up to determine the temperature range for a minimum required percentage `take off' that would ease start-up since it was determined that a `take off' of about 5% v/v liquid in the vapour phase would be sufficient for starting. Additions such as iso-pentane and n-pentane were used to improve the front end volatility. This proved to be successful.The lower heat content of the alcohol fuels also meant that a greater charge of fuel would be required. This was seen to pose further problems with fuel distribution from the carburettor to the individual cylinders on a multicylinder engine. Since it was not possible to modify the existing manifold on the Fiat 127 engine, experimental tests on manifold geometry were carried out using the Ricardo E6 single cylinder variable compression engine. Results from these tests showed that the length, shape and cross-sectional area of the manifold play an important part in the distribution of the fuel entering the cylinder, ie. vapour phase, vapour/small liquid droplet/liquid film phase, vapour/large liquid droplet/liquid film phase etc.The solvent properties of the alcohols and their greater electrical conductivity suggested that the materials used on the engine would be prone to chemical attack. In order to determine the type and rate of chemical attack, an experimental programme was set up whereby carburettor and other components were immersed in the alcohols and in blends of alcohol with gasoline. The test fuels were aerated and in some instances kept at temperatures ranging from 50oC to 90oC. Results from these tests suggest that not all materials used in the conventional engine are equally suitable for use with alcohols and alcohol/gasoline blends. Aluminium for instance was severely attacked by methanol causing pitting and pin-holing in the surface.In general this whole experimental programme gave valuable information on the acceptability of substitute fuels. While the long term effects of alcohol use merit further study, it is clear that methanol and ethanol will be increasingly used in place of gasoline.

Calculating the balance between water resources and water demands:an approach using risk analysis

Predicting future need for water resources has traditionally been, at best, a crude mixture of art and science. This has prevented the evaluation of water need from being carried out in either a consistent or comprehensive manner. This inconsistent and somewhat arbitrary approach to water resources planning led to well publicised premature developments in the 1970's and 1980's but privatisation of the Water Industry, including creation of the Office of Water Services and the National Rivers Authority in 1989, turned the tide of resource planning to the point where funding of schemes and their justification by the Regulators could no longer be assumed. Furthermore, considerable areas of uncertainty were beginning to enter the debate and complicate the assessment It was also no longer appropriate to consider that contingencies would continue to lie solely on the demand side of the equation. An inability to calculate the balance between supply and demand may mean an inability to meet standards of service or, arguably worse, an excessive provision of water resources and excessive costs to customers. United Kingdom Water Industry Research limited (UKWlR) Headroom project in 1998 provided a simple methodology for the calculation of planning margins. This methodology, although well received, was not, however, accepted by the Regulators as a tool sufficient to promote resource development. This thesis begins by considering the history of water resource planning in the UK, moving on to discuss events following privatisation of the water industry post·1985. The mid section of the research forms the bulk of original work and provides a scoping exercise which reveals a catalogue of uncertainties prevalent within the supply-demand balance. Each of these uncertainties is considered in terms of materiality, scope, and whether it can be quantified within a risk analysis package. Many of the areas of uncertainty identified would merit further research. A workable, yet robust, methodology for evaluating the balance between water resources and water demands by using a spreadsheet based risk analysis package is presented. The technique involves statistical sampling and simulation such that samples are taken from input distributions on both the supply and demand side of the equation and the imbalance between supply and demand is calculated in the form of an output distribution. The percentiles of the output distribution represent different standards of service to the customer. The model allows dependencies between distributions to be considered, for improved uncertainties to be assessed and for the impact of uncertain solutions to any imbalance to be calculated directly. The method is considered a Significant leap forward in the field of water resource planning.

Evaluating the evidence for targeting FOXO3a in breast cancer:a systematic review

Background: Tumour cells show greater dependency on glycolysis so providing a sufficient and rapid energy supply for fast growth. In many breast cancers, estrogen, progesterone and epidermal growth factor receptor-positive cells proliferate in response to growth factors and growth factor antagonists are a mainstay of treatment. However, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells lack receptor expression, are frequently more aggressive and are resistant to growth factor inhibition. Downstream of growth factor receptors, signal transduction proceeds via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3k), Akt and FOXO3a inhibition, the latter being partly responsible for coordinated increases in glycolysis and apoptosis resistance. FOXO3a may be an attractive therapeutic target for TNBC. Therefore we have undertaken a systematic review of FOXO3a as a target for breast cancer therapeutics. Methods: Articles from NCBI were retrieved systematically when reporting primary data about FOXO3a expression in breast cancer cells after cytotoxic drug treatment. Results: Increased FOXO3a expression is common following cytotoxic drug treatment and is associated with apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. There is some evidence that metabolic enzyme expression is also altered and that this effect is also elicited in TNBC cells. FOXO3a expression serves as a positive prognostic marker, especially in estrogen (ER) receptor positive cells. Discussion: FOXO3a is upregulated by a number of receptor-dependent and -independent anti-cancer drugs and associates with apoptosis. The identification of microRNA that regulate FOXO3a directly suggest that it offers a tangible therapeutic target that merits wider evaluation.

Low-temperature organic Rankine cycle engine with isothermal expansion for use in desalination

Groundwater salinity is a widespread problem that contributes to the freshwater deficit of humanity. Consequently, where conventional energy supply is also lacking, organic Rankine cycle (ORC) engines are being considered as a feasible option to harness readily available low-grade heat (<180°C) to drive the desalination of the saline water via reverse osmosis (RO). However, this application is still not very well developed, and has significantly high specific energy consumption (SEC). Hence, this study explores the isothermal expansion of the ORC working fluid to achieve improved efficiency for driving a batch-RO desalination process, "DesaLink". Here, the working fluid is directly vaporized in the expansion cylinder which is heated externally by heat transfer fluid, thus obviating the need for a separate external boiler and high-pressure piping. Experimental investigations with R245fa have shown cycle efficiency of 8.8%. And it is predicted that the engine could drive DesaLink to produce 256 L of freshwater per 8 h per day, from 4000 ppm saline water, with a thermal and mechanical SEC of 2.5 and 0.36 kWh/m3, respectively, representing a significant improvement on previously reported or predicted SEC values. © 2014 © 2014 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.

Protection schemes for meshed VSC-HVDC transmission systems for large-scale offshore wind farms

This chapter discusses network protection of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems for large-scale offshore wind farms where the HVDC system utilizes voltage-source converters. The multi-terminal HVDC network topology and protection allocation and configuration are discussed with DC circuit breaker and protection relay configurations studied for different fault conditions. A detailed protection scheme is designed with a solution that does not require relay communication. Advanced understanding of protection system design and operation is necessary for reliable and safe operation of the meshed HVDC system under fault conditions. Meshed-HVDC systems are important as they will be used to interconnect large-scale offshore wind generation projects. Offshore wind generation is growing rapidly and offers a means of securing energy supply and addressing emissions targets whilst minimising community impacts. There are ambitious plans concerning such projects in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region which will all require a reliable yet economic system to generate, collect, and transmit electrical power from renewable resources. Collective offshore wind farms are efficient and have potential as a significant low-carbon energy source. However, this requires a reliable collection and transmission system. Offshore wind power generation is a relatively new area and lacks systematic analysis of faults and associated operational experience to enhance further development. Appropriate fault protection schemes are required and this chapter highlights the process of developing and assessing such schemes. The chapter illustrates the basic meshed topology, identifies the need for distance evaluation, and appropriate cable models, then details the design and operation of the protection scheme with simulation results used to illustrate operation. © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2014.

Public policy and electrical-grid sector innovation

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the manner in which technological innovation in the European electrical-grid sector has developed by focusing, in particular, on the effect of public policy on innovation. To achieve this aim, this paper highlights how technological innovation and development progressed from the 1960s to the 1980s, and contrasts this period with the deregulated/privatization environment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a series of in-depth multiple company case studies of grid companies, some of their suppliers and other actors in their broader business network. Empirical data were collected through 55 interviews. Findings – The authors find that a phase of mutual collaboration was encouraged in the first period, which led to strong technological innovation with a focus on product quality and the development of functionality. Buyers played a pivotal role in the development of products and posed technical requirements. In contrast, the current role of the buyer has transformed principally into one of evaluating competing bids for specific projects. Today, buyers face increasing pressure to substantially lower CO2 emissions and transform the energy grid system. These goals are difficult to achieve without a new way of thinking about innovation. Research limitations/implications – Models to achieve innovation must not only focus on individual research projects; instead, the innovation should be factored into normal business dealings in the supply chain. Practical implications – We propose that policymakers and regulators need to: accommodate for innovation and address the collaborative elements of innovation when developing policies and regulations. Furthermore, regulators have the option of either developing a strategic vision for the electrical-grid network or incorporating sustainability into the evaluation of electrical grids and, thus, consumers’ willingness to pay. Originality/value – This paper makes a distinctive contribution in the area of innovation for electrical grids. Our paper shows how innovation and the development of new technology for electrical grids changed over time. Furthermore, this paper describes the energy sector in terms of a business network comprising the different actors involved in innovation and development and, thus, their role in the energy supply chain.

Enhanced renewable energy adoption for sustainable development in India:interpretive structural modeling approach

Poverty alleviation and social upliftment of rural India is closely linked with the availability and use of energy for development. At the same time, sustainable supply of clean and affordable renewable energy sources is required if development is to be sustainable, so that it does not cause any environmental problems. The purpose of this paper is to determine the key variables of renewable energy implementation for sustainable development, on which the top management should focus. In this paper, an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) - based approach has been employed to model the implementation variables of renewable energy for sustainable development. These variables have been categorized under ‘enablers’ that help to increase the implementation of renewable energy for sustainable development. A major finding of this research is that public awareness regarding renewable energy for sustainable development is a very significant enabler. In this paper, an interpretation of variables of renewable energy for sustainable development in terms of their driving and dependence powers has been examined. For better results, top management should focus on improving the high-driving power enablers such as leadership, strategic planning, public awareness, top management support, availability of finance, government support, and support from interest groups.

Techniques to improve forecasting models: applications to energy demand and price

This thesis is a study of three techniques to improve performance of some standard fore-casting models, application to the energy demand and prices. We focus on forecasting demand and price one-day ahead. First, the wavelet transform was used as a pre-processing procedure with two approaches: multicomponent-forecasts and direct-forecasts. We have empirically compared these approaches and found that the former consistently outperformed the latter. Second, adaptive models were introduced to continuously update model parameters in the testing period by combining ?lters with standard forecasting methods. Among these adaptive models, the adaptive LR-GARCH model was proposed for the fi?rst time in the thesis. Third, with regard to noise distributions of the dependent variables in the forecasting models, we used either Gaussian or Student-t distributions. This thesis proposed a novel algorithm to infer parameters of Student-t noise models. The method is an extension of earlier work for models that are linear in parameters to the non-linear multilayer perceptron. Therefore, the proposed method broadens the range of models that can use a Student-t noise distribution. Because these techniques cannot stand alone, they must be combined with prediction models to improve their performance. We combined these techniques with some standard forecasting models: multilayer perceptron, radial basis functions, linear regression, and linear regression with GARCH. These techniques and forecasting models were applied to two datasets from the UK energy markets: daily electricity demand (which is stationary) and gas forward prices (non-stationary). The results showed that these techniques provided good improvement to prediction performance.

Investigating the supply and demand relationship in a profession: the English and Welsh schools of librarianship and information Studies and the Higher Education Library and Information Services employment sector in England and Wales.

Concern has been expressed in the professional literature - borne out by professional experience and observation - that the supply and demand relationship existing between the 13 English and Welsh Library and Information Studies (LIS) Schools (as providers of `First Professional' staff) and the Higher Education Library and Information Services (HE LIS) sector of England and Wales (as one group of employers of such staff) is unsatisfactory and needs attention. An appropriate methodology to investigate this problem was devised. A basic content analysis of Schools' curricular and recruitment material intended for public consumption was undertaken to establish an overview of the LIS initial professional education system in England and Wales, and to identify and analyse any covert messages imparted to readers. This was followed by a mix of Main Questionnaires and Semi-Structured Interviews with appropriate populations. The investigation revealed some serious areas of dissatisfaction by the HE LIS Chiefs with the role and function of the Schools. Considerable divergence of views emerged on the state of the working relationships between the two sectors and on the Schools' successes in meeting the needs of the HE LIS sector and on CPD provision. There were, however, areas of substantial and consistent agreement between the two sectors. The main implications of the findings were that those areas encompassing divergence of views were worrying and needed addressing by both sides. Possible ways forward included recommendations on improving the image of the profession purveyed by the Schools; the forming of closer and more effective inter-sectoral relationships; recognising fully the importance of `practicum' and increasing and sustaining the network of `practicum' providers.

The effects of the changing energy situation on demand for industrial heat exchangers

The Project arose during a period in which the World was still coming to terms with the effects and implications of the so called 'energy crisis' of 1973/74. Serck Heat Transfer is a manufacturer of heat exchangers which transfer heat between fluids of various sorts. As such the company felt that past and possible future changes in the energy situation could have an impact upon the demand for its products. The thesis represents the first attempt to examine the impact of changes in the energy situation (a major economic variable) on the long term demand for heat exchangers. The scope of the work was limited to the United Kingdom, this being the largest single market for Serek's products. The thesis analyses industrial heat exchanger markets and identifies those trends which are related to both the changing energy situation and the usage of heat exchangers. These trends have been interpreted In terms of projected values of heat exchanger demand. The projections cover the period 197S to the year 2000. Also examined in the thesis is the future energy situation both internationally and nationally and it is found that in the long term there will be increasing pressure on consumers to conserve energy through rising real prices. The possibility of a connection between energy consumption and heat exchanger demand is investigated and no significant correlation found. This appears to be because there are a number of determinants of demand besides energy related factors and also there is a wide diversity of individual markets for heat exchangers. Conclusions are that in all markets, bar one, the changing energy situation should lead to a higher level of heat exchanger demand than would otherwise be the case had the energy situation not changed. It is also pointed out that it is misleading to look at changes in one influence on the demand for a product and ignore others.

The modelling of energy efficient drying for DSM (BL)

This thesis investigates the modelling of drying processes for the promotion of market-led Demand Side Management (DSM) as applied to the UK Public Electricity Suppliers. A review of DSM in the electricity supply industry is provided, together with a discussion of the relevant drivers supporting market-led DSM and energy services (ES). The potential opportunities for ES in a fully deregulated energy market are outlined. It is suggested that targeted industrial sector energy efficiency schemes offer significant opportunity for long term customer and supplier benefit. On a process level, industrial drying is highlighted as offering significant scope for the application of energy services. Drying is an energy-intensive process used widely throughout industry. The results of an energy survey suggest that 17.7 per cent of total UK industrial energy use derives from drying processes. Comparison with published work indicates that energy use for drying shows an increasing trend against a background of reducing overall industrial energy use. Airless drying is highlighted as offering potential energy saving and production benefits to industry. To this end, a comprehensive review of the novel airless drying technology and its background theory is made. Advantages and disadvantages of airless operation are defined and the limited market penetration of airless drying is identified, as are the key opportunities for energy saving. Limited literature has been found which details the modelling of energy use for airless drying. A review of drying theory and previous modelling work is made in an attempt to model energy consumption for drying processes. The history of drying models is presented as well as a discussion of the different approaches taken and their relative merits. The viability of deriving energy use from empirical drying data is examined. Adaptive neuro fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS) are successfully applied to the modelling of drying rates for 3 drying technologies, namely convective air, heat pump and airless drying. The ANFIS systems are then integrated into a novel energy services model for the prediction of relative drying times, energy cost and atmospheric carbon dioxide emission levels. The author believes that this work constitutes the first to use fuzzy systems for the modelling of drying performance as an energy services approach to DSM. To gain an insight into the 'real world' use of energy for drying, this thesis presents a unique first-order energy audit of every ceramic sanitaryware manufacturing site in the UK. Previously unknown patterns of energy use are highlighted. Supplementary comments on the timing and use of drying systems are also made. The limitations of such large scope energy surveys are discussed.