Travel Report from the first field trip within the SIDA supported project "Mini-grids supplied by renewable energy - improving technical and social feasibility : Including visits to Ihushi Development Center, Tweyambe Secondary School and Mavuno Project in Tanzania. Conducted in April 2011

This report describes the outcome of the first visit to Tanzania, within the project "Mini-grids supplied by renewable energy - improving technical and social feasibility". The trip included visits to three different organizations; Ihushi Development Center (IDC) near Mwanza, TIDESO near Bukoba, and Mavuno Project in Karagwe. At IDC, a brief evaluation of the current power system was done and measuring equipment for long term measurements were installed. At all three locations investigations regarding the current and future electricity demand were conducted and connections to people relevant to the study were established. The report is including as well some technical specifications as some observations regarding organization and management of the technical systems. The trip was including only short visits and therefore only brief introductions to the different organizations, based on observations done by the author. The report is hence describing the author’s understanding of the technical system and social structures after only short visits to each of the organizations, and may differ from observations done at another point in time, over a different time period, or by some other person.This report describes the outcome of the first visit to Tanzania, within the project "Mini-grids supplied by renewable energy - improving technical and social feasibility". The trip included visits to three different organizations; Ihushi Development Center (IDC) near Mwanza, TIDESO near Bukoba, and Mavuno Project in Karagwe. At IDC, a brief evaluation of the current power system was done and measuring equipment for long term measurements were installed. At all three locations investigations regarding the current and future electricity demand were conducted and connections to people relevant to the study were established. The report is including as well some technical specifications as some observations regarding organization and management of the technical systems. The trip was including only short visits and therefore only brief introductions to the different organizations, based on observations done by the author. The report is hence describing the author’s understanding of the technical system and social structures after only short visits to each of the organizations, and may differ from observations done at another point in time, over a different time period, or by some other person.

Dynamic whole system testing of combined renewable heating systems : the current state of the art

Objective: For the evaluation of the energetic performance of combined renewable heating systems that supply space heat and domestic hot water for single family houses, dynamic behaviour, component interactions, and control of the system play a crucial role and should be included in test methods. Methods: New dynamic whole system test methods were developed based on “hardware in the loop” concepts. Three similar approaches are described and their differences are discussed. The methods were applied for testing solar thermal systems in combination with fossil fuel boilers (heating oil and natural gas), biomass boilers, and/or heat pumps. Results: All three methods were able to show the performance of combined heating systems under transient operating conditions. The methods often detected unexpected behaviour of the tested system that cannot be detected based on steady state performance tests that are usually applied to single components. Conclusion: Further work will be needed to harmonize the different test methods in order to reach comparable results between the different laboratories. Practice implications: A harmonized approach for whole system tests may lead to new test standards and improve the accuracy of performance prediction as well as reduce the need for field tests.

Extinction, pollution, and the sustainable use of exhaustible and renewable resources

Single ownership of natural resources is conunon in many developing countries and socialist economies. The sole owner is usually the .state or society at large, and governments are responsible for either distributing exploitation rights or engaging in exploitation through their own corporations. • Under this circumstance, the notion of externality may not fully explain pollution problems existent in these nations. This paper studies the case where a single agent owns both exhaustible and renewable resources, and attempts to maximize its welfare. The resources are either perfect or imperfect substitutes. Initially, exhaustible resource extraction does not affect the renewable resource, and sustainable growth is attainable. A lactor of pollution flowing from the extraction of the nc.nrenewable resource into the growth of the renewable resource is introduced. The continuous exploitation of the exhaustible resource leads to the " optimal " extinction of the renewable resource, and sustainable growth is no longer reached. Regulation from a supra governmental agency such as an multinational institution may prove to be of utmost importance, if sustainability is to be achieved. The paper is divided into five sections. Section two provides a brief survey of the relevant literature. Section three presents the model without pollution. This factor is introduced in section four. The final section discusses some possible approaches for attaining sustainable growth, and contains the concluding remarks .

Energy subsidies and WTO dispute settlement: why only renewable energy subsidies are challenged?

Over the past few years, renewable energy subsidies have become one of the main sources of trade disputes in the WTO. A total of six cases have been initiated against renewable energy subsidy programs since the first of such disputes was brought by Japan against Canada’s Feed in Tariff (FIT) program in 2010. Yet not even a single case has so far been initiated against the much larger and environmentally harmful fossil fuel subsidies. The main objective of this paper is to examine what makes renewable energy subsidies vulnerable to WTO dispute, as compared fossil fuel subsidies.

The relationships of alternative energies with the technology sector and non-renewable energies

Este trabalho tem como objectivo compreender de que forma os investidores veem as energias renováveis: se as veem como parte do sector tecnológico, à espera de novos desenvolvimentos, ou como uma alternativa aos métodos existentes de produção de energia. Para responder a esta questão, foi desenvolvido um modelo de vectores autoregressivos com quatro variáveis de forma a se poder aplicar um Granger causality test e Impulse Response function. Os resultados sugerem que para o período de 2002-2007 à escala global ambas as hipóteses se confirmam, porém de 2009-2014 os resultados sugerem que os investidores não reconhecem as energias renováveis como um ramo do sector tecnológico, neste período. Para além disso, durante o período de 2009-2014, e quando comparados investidores Americanos com Europeus, os resultados sugerem que apenas o último identifica as energias renováveis como uma fonte viável para a produção energética.

Entry on the Brazilian renewable power market: a case study

Conferências internacionais sobre o clima, bem como crescente conscientização sobre as questões de sustentabilidade lançaram luz sobre o papel fundamental que as energias renováveis poderiam desempenhar na transição energética. Ao contrário de combustíveis fósseis, elas podem ser regeneradas em um curto período de tempo e, por conseguinte, espera-se que sejam uma parte da solução para reduzir o aquecimento global. O Brasil sempre teve um forte setor hidrelétrico, mas agora está na vanguarda em relação a todas as outras fontes de energias alternativas, como energia eólica, biomassa o energia solar. Estas indústrias são uma promessa para um futuro próspero, graças ao potencial natural do país, bem como uma legislação de apoio, e estão atraindo muitas empresas locais e internacionais. Este estudo tem como objetivo preencher uma lacuna na literatura analisando o exemplo de uma empresa estrangeira que entra no mercado da energia renovável no Brasil. Baseando-se na literatura como um fundo conceptual, um único estudo de caso têm sido realizados para delinear todos os aspectos do processo de entrada. Neste desenvolvimento, relações causais entre as orientações estratégicas e a evolução do negócio foram identificadas. Esta pesquisa traz uma contribuição para as discussões acadêmicas sobre as dinâmicas de entrada no setor de energia renovável através de evidências do mercado brasileiro.

Rhamnolipids as biosurfactants from renewable resources: Concepts for next-generation rhamnolipid production

Several microorganisms are known to produce a wide variety of surface-active substances, which are referred to as biosurfactants. Interesting examples for biosurfactants are rhamnolipids, glycolipids mainly known from Pseudomonas aeruginosa produced during cultivation on different substrates like vegetable oils, sugars, glycerol or hydrocarbons. However, besides costs for downstream processing of rhamnolipids, relatively high raw-material prices and low productivities currently inhibit potential economical production of rhamnolipids on an industrial scale. This review focuses on cost-effective and sustainable production of rhamnolipids by introducing new possibilities and strategies regarding renewable substrates. Additionally, past and recent production strategies using alternative substrates such as agro-industrial byproducts or wastes are summarized. Requirements and concepts for next-generation rhamnolipid producing strains are discussed and potential targets for strain-engineering are presented. The discussion of potential new strategies is supported by an analysis of the metabolism of different Pseudomonas species. According to calculations of theoretical substrate-to-product conversion yields and current world-market price analysis, different renewable substrates are compared and discussed from an economical point of view. A next-generation rhamnolipid producing strain, as proposed within this review, may be engineered towards reduced formation of byproducts, increased metabolic spectrum, broadened substrate spectrum and controlled regulation for the induction of rhamnolipid synthesis. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans are structural renewable constituents of the rabbit vitreous body

Purpose: To characterize the vitreous intrinsic proteoglycans, investigate their dynamics, and examine their role in the supramolecular organization of the vitreous. Methods: Vitreous from normal rabbits was collected and processed for observation with the transmission electron microscope after treatment with glycosidases. Also, rabbits were injected intravitreally with [S-35]-sodium sulfate and sacrificed at several time intervals after the injection. Proteoglycans (PGs) were assayed in the vitreous supernatant or in whole samples extracted with guanidine hydrochloride by polyacrylamide or agarose gel electrophoresis, followed respectively by fluorography or autoradiography, and ion-exchange chromatography and gel-filtration chromatography, combined with glycolytic treatment of the samples. The sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were characterized by agarose gel electrophoresis after treating vitreous samples with protease and specific glycosidases. Results: the electron microscopic study revealed a network with hyaluronic acid ( HA) as thin threads coating and connecting collagen fibrils. The elimination of the HA coat showed chondroitin sulfate granules (8-25 nm) arranged at regular intervals on the fibril surface. The chondroitinase ABC digestion, besides removing the granules, also caused the formation of thicker bundles of the collagen fibrils. The PG and GAG analysis indicated that there are three renewable PGs in the vitreous ( e. g., one heparan-and two chondroitin-sulfate ones). Conclusions: At least one of the chondroitin sulfate PGs is involved in the interactions that occur in the vitreous structure, mainly by providing adequate spacing between the collagen fibrils, a condition that is probably required for the transparency of the vitreous.

Renewable drops electrochemical sensor for sulfide ions detection

The design and characteristics of a novel electrochemical system, which uses a drop as a renewable electroanalytical sensor, are described. This article describes the performance of the electrochemical system, the coupling of the experimental arrangement with flow injection technique and a demonstration of its applicability for the measurement of sulfide. The method is based on renewable drops of ferricyanide ions, buffered by borate. The ferrocyanide ions, product of the reaction between ferricyanide and sulfide ions, are oxidized on a platinum microelectrode and the current measured is related to sulfide concentration. The measurements can be done in continuous or static flow mode. In continuous mode, the detection limit is 5.0 x 10(-5) mol L-1.

Polishable and Renewable DNA Hybridization Biosensors

Routine applications of DNA hybridization biosensors are often restricted by the need for regenerating the single-stranded (ss) probe for subsequent reuse. This note reports on a viable alternative to prolonged thermal or chemical regeneration schemes through the mechanical polishing of oligonucleotide-bulk-modified carbon composite electrodes. The surface of these biocomposite hybridization biosensors can be renewed rapidly and reproducibly by a simple extrusion/polishing protocol. The immobilized probe retains its hybridization activity on confinement in the interior of the carbon paste matrix, with the use of fresh surfaces erasing memory effects and restoring the original target response, to allow numerous hybridization/measurement cycles. We expect that such reusable nucleic acid modified composite electrodes can be designed for a wide variety of biosensing applications.

Energy sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean: the share of renewable sources

Includes bibliography

Renewable energy sources in Latin America and the Caribbean: two years after the Bonn Conference

Includes bibliography

Public-private partnerships in renewable energy in Latin America and the Caribbean

Incluye Bibliografía

Renewable energies potential in Jamaica

Includes bibliography