Virtual power players demand response programs management based on locational marginal prices

Power systems have been suffering huge changes mainly due to the substantial increase of distributed generation and to the operation in competitive environments. Virtual power players can aggregate a diversity of players, namely generators and consumers, and a diversity of energy resources, including electricity generation based on several technologies, storage and demand response. Resource management gains an increasing relevance in this competitive context, while demand side active role provides managers with increased demand elasticity. This makes demand response use more interesting and flexible, giving rise to a wide range of new opportunities.This paper proposes a methodology for managing demand response programs in the scope of virtual power players. The proposed method is based on the calculation of locational marginal prices (LMP). The evaluation of the impact of using demand response specific programs on the LMP value supports the manager decision concerning demand response use. The proposed method has been computationally implemented and its application is illustrated in this paper using a 32 bus network with intensive use of distributed generation.

Az ellátási lánc disztribúció oldalának menedzsment eszközei – empirikus elemzés = Management tools of the demand chain – an empirical analysis

A tanulmány célja, hogy bemutassa a Magyarországon működő vállalatok gyakorlatát az ellátási lánc disztribúció oldalának menedzsmentje területén egy empirikus kutatás eredményeinek segítségével. A dolgozat két részből épül fel. Az első részben egy elméleti áttekintés olvasható azokról a menedzsment eszközökről, amelyeket a vállalatok disztribúciós folyamataik során alkalmazhatnak az ellátási láncban. A második rész az empirikus kutatás eredményeit mutatja be. A felmérés során 92 vállalat (amelyből az elemzésbe 79 volt ténylegesen bevonható) vett részt, és válaszaik és a statisztikai elemzés alapján kirajzolódik egy kép, hogy milyen mértékben alkalmazzák a disztribúciós lánc menedzsment eszközeit, valamint milyen fejlettségi szintek különböztethetők meg az alkalmazás volumene alapján. = Aim of the paper is to present the operational practice of Hungarian companies in managing the distribution side of the supply chain (the demand chain), with the help of the results of an empirical research. The paper consists of two parts. In the first part, a literature review is presented about the management tools which companies may use while managing their distribution processes in the supply chain. In the second part I introduce the results of the empirical research. The survey was participated by 92 companies (of which 79 could be analysed) and according to their responses and the statistical analyses, a picture was formulated about how intensely they use the demand chain management tools, how developed they are in the application of those.

Adapting to climate change impacts on water resources in England - an assessment of draft Water Resources Management Plans

Climate change is expected to produce reductions in water availability in England, potentially necessitating adaptive action by the water industry to maintain supplies. As part of Ofwat's fifth Periodic Review (PR09), water companies recently released their draft Water Resources Management Plans, setting out how each company intends to maintain the balance between the supply and demand for water over the next 25 years, following Environment Agency guidelines. This paper reviews these plans to determine company estimates of the impact of climate change on water supply relative to other resource pressures. The approaches adopted for incorporating the impact in the plans and the proposed management solutions are also identified. Climate change impacts for individual resource zones range from no reductions in deployable output to greater than 50% over the planning period. The estimated national aggregated loss of deployable output under a “core” climate scenario is ~520 Ml/d (3% of deployable output) by 2034/35, the equivalent of the supply of one entire water company (South West Water). Climate change is the largest single driver of change in water supplies over the planning period. Over half of the climate change impact is concentrated in southern England. In extreme cases, climate change uncertainty is of the same magnitude as the change under the core scenario (up to a loss of ~475 Ml/d). 44 of the 68 resource zones with available data are estimated to have a climate change impact. In 35 of these climate change has the greatest impact although in 10 zones sustainability reductions have a greater impact. Of the overall change in downward pressure on the supply-demand balance over the planning period, ~56% is accounted for by increased demand (620 Ml/d) and supply side climate change accounts for ~37% (407 Ml/d). Climate change impacts have a cumulative impact in concert with other changing supply side reducing components increasing the national pressure on the supply-demand balance. Whilst the magnitude of climate change appears to justify its explicit consideration, it is rare that adaptation options are planned solely in response to climate change but as a suite of options to provide a resilient supply to a range of pressures (including significant demand side pressures). Supply-side measures still tend to be considered by water companies to be more reliable than demand-side measures.

Green energy : sustainable energy sources and alternative technologies

Despite the general evolution and broadening of the scope of the concept of infrastructure in many other sectors, the energy sector has maintained the same narrow boundaries for over 80 years. Energy infrastructure is still generally restricted in meaning to the transmission and distribution networks of electricity and, to some extent, gas. This is especially true in the urban development context. This early 20th century system is struggling to meet community expectations that the industry itself created and fostered for many decades. The relentless growth in demand and changing political, economic and environmental challenges require a shift from the traditional ‘predict and provide’ approach to infrastructure which is no longer economically or environmentally viable. Market deregulation and a raft of demand and supply side management strategies have failed to curb society’s addiction to the commodity of electricity. None of these responses has addressed the fundamental problem. This chapter presents an argument for the need for a new paradigm. Going beyond peripheral energy efficiency measures and the substitution of fossil fuels with renewables, it outlines a new approach to the provision of energy services in the context of 21st century urban environments.

A site selection process for environmental offsetting purposes in Queensland

A method of selecting land in any region of Queensland for offsetting purposes is devised, employing uniform standards. The procedure first requires that any core natural asset lands, Crown environmental lands, prime urban and agricultural lands, and highly contentious sites in the region be eliminated from consideration. Other land is then sought that is located between existing large reservations and the centre of greatest potential regional development/disturbance. Using the criteria of rehabilitation (rather than preservation) plus proximity to those officially defined Regional Ecosystems that are most threatened, adjacent sites that are described as ‘Cleared’ are identified in terms of agricultural land capability. Class IV lands – defined as those ‘which may be safely used for occasional cultivation with careful management’,2 ‘where it is favourably located for special usage’,3 and where it is ‘helpful to those who are interested in industry or regional planning or in reconstruction’4 – are examined for their appropriate area, for current tenure and for any conditions such as Mining Leases that may exist. The positive impacts from offsets on adjoining lands can then be designed to be significant; examples are also offered in respect of riparian areas and of Marine Parks. Criteria against which to measure performance for trading purposes include functional lift, with other case studies about this matter reported separately in this issue. The procedure takes no account of demand side economics (financial additionality), which requires commercial rather than environmental analysis.

The emerging management services of business transformation management

Business transformations are large-scale organizational change programs that, evidence suggests, are often unsuccessful. Our interest is in identifying the management capabilities required for the successful execution of these projects. We advance a service-oriented view of the enterprise, which suggests that different management services need to be identified and integrated in order to execute business transformation. In order to identify those management services that require integration, we conducted an exploratory empirical study of the demand for management services in US and Asia, and we show that two archetypes of management services exist in business transformation initiatives: transactional and transformational management services. We identify the relevant set of transactional and transformational services and discuss what the demand for these services implies for the execution of business transformations.

Aggregating energy supply and demand

Energy usage in general, and electricity usage in particular, are major concerns internationally due to the increased cost of providing energy supplies and the environmental impacts of electricity generation using carbon-based fuels. If a "systems" approach is taken to understanding energy issues then both supply and demand need to be considered holistically. This paper examines two research projects in the energy area with IT tools as key deliverables, one examining supply issues and the other studying demand side issues. The supply side project used hard engineering methods to build the models and software, while the demand side project used a social science approach. While the projects are distinct, there was an overlap in personnel. Comparing the knowledge extraction, model building, implementation and interface issues of these two deliverables identifies both interesting contrasts and commonalities.

On food security and alternative food networks: Understanding and performing food security in the context of urban bias

This paper offers one explanation for the institutional basis of food insecurity in Australia, and argues that while alternative food networks and the food sovereignty movement perform a valuable function in building forms of social solidarity between urban consumers and rural producers, they currently make only a minor contribution to Australia’s food and nutrition security. The paper begins by identifying two key drivers of food security: household incomes (on the demand side) and nutrition-sensitive, ‘fair food’ agriculture (on the supply side). We focus on this second driver and argue that healthy populations require an agricultural sector that delivers dietary diversity via a fair and sustainable food system. In order to understand why nutrition-sensitive, fair food agriculture is not flourishing in Australia we introduce the development economics theory of urban bias. According to this theory, governments support capital intensive rather than labour intensive agriculture in order to deliver cheap food alongside the transfer of public revenues gained from rural agriculture to urban infrastructure, where the majority of the voting public resides. We chart the unfolding of the Urban Bias across the twentieth century and its consolidation through neo-liberal orthodoxy, and argue that agricultural policies do little to sustain, let alone revitalize, rural and regional Australia. We conclude that by observing food system dynamics through a re-spatialized lens, Urban Bias Theory is valuable in highlighting rural–urban socio-economic and political economy tensions, particularly regarding food system sustainability. It also sheds light on the cultural economy tensions for alternative food networks as they move beyond niche markets to simultaneously support urban food security and sustainable rural livelihoods.

Encouraging Generosity: The practice & organisation of fundraising across nations

This paper is drawn from data provided by colleagues around the world who have written chapters for a book entitled ‘Palgrave Research Companion to Global Philanthropy’ (eds. P. Wiepking and F. Handy, forthcoming 2014). Whilst the focus of the book is a c omparative global study of charitable giving, it also contains information on the activity involved in prompting charitable gifts in each country or region. This paper synthesizes, analyses and discusses this data in relation to factors such as: how fundra ising is organized in different geographical domains; the most common methods of fundraising found in different countries; and the extent to which the fundraising industry is professionalized around the world. The paper begins by noting the lack of resear ch on fundraisers and fundraising in contrast to the extensive studies undertaken of donors. It argues that the demand - side of charitable transactions is worthy of greater attention, because giving and asking are two sides of the same coin. This paper seek s to help rectify the situation by drawing out issues related to the practice and organization of fundraising across the world and linking it to the patterns of charitable giving that are described in the book.

Encouraging Generosity: The Practice and organization of Fundraising Across Nations

The international collaboration in this book creates a unique opportunity to establish, discuss and draw conclusions about fundraising across nations. Based on the 26-country dataset provided by the authors in this volume, this chapter describes and analyzes for the first time the diverse fundraising environments around the world that are shaped by different historical, cultural, social, religious, political and economic conditions. It begins by noting the lack of research on fundraisers and fundraising in contrast to the extensive studies undertaken of donors, and argues that the demand side of charitable transactions is worthy of greater attention if a complete and dynamic understanding of giving is to be achieved. It then presents and discusses key themes related to fundraising in the countries represented in this book. A typology is suggested to impose order on the huge variety of fundraising approaches and stages of development in the organization of this activity around the world; this typology also strengthens understanding of the connection between asking and giving. After offering suggestions for future research in this area of study, the chapter ends by noting that despite global differences in the evolution of fundraising as a profession and the diversity of current contexts, fundraisers in every country face shared challenges that would benefit from greater exchange of knowledge and best practices.

A reassessment of energy and GDP relationship: The case of Australia

This paper investigates the long- and short-run relationships between energy consumption and economic growth in Australia using the bound testing and the ARDL approach. The analytical framework utilized in this paper includes both production and demand side models and a unified model comprising both production and demand side variables. The energy-GDP relationships are investigated at aggregate as well as several disaggregated energy categories, such as coal, oil, gas and electricity. The possibilities of one or more structural break(s) in the data series are examined by applying the recent advances in techniques. We find that the results of the cointegration tests could be affected by the structural break(s) in the data. It is, therefore, crucial to incorporate the information on structural break(s) in the subsequent modelling and inferences. Moreover, neither the production side nor the demand side framework alone can provide sufficient information to draw an ultimate conclusion on the cointegration and causal direction between energy and output. When alternative frameworks and structural break(s) in time series are explored properly, strong evidence of a bidirectional relationship between energy and output can be observed. The finding is true at both the aggregate and the disaggregate levels of energy consumption.

How much land-based greenhouse gas mitigation can be achieved without compromising food security and environmental goals?

Feeding 9-10billion people by 2050 and preventing dangerous climate change are two of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Both challenges must be met while reducing the impact of land management on ecosystem services that deliver vital goods and services, and support human health and well-being. Few studies to date have considered the interactions between these challenges. In this study we briefly outline the challenges, review the supply- and demand-side climate mitigation potential available in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use AFOLU sector and options for delivering food security. We briefly outline some of the synergies and trade-offs afforded by mitigation practices, before presenting an assessment of the mitigation potential possible in the AFOLU sector under possible future scenarios in which demand-side measures codeliver to aid food security. We conclude that while supply-side mitigation measures, such as changes in land management, might either enhance or negatively impact food security, demand-side mitigation measures, such as reduced waste or demand for livestock products, should benefit both food security and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. Demand-side measures offer a greater potential (1.5-15.6Gt CO2-eq. yr(-1)) in meeting both challenges than do supply-side measures (1.5-4.3Gt CO2-eq. yr(-1) at carbon prices between 20 and 100US$ tCO(2)-eq. yr(-1)), but given the enormity of challenges, all options need to be considered. Supply-side measures should be implemented immediately, focussing on those that allow the production of more agricultural product per unit of input. For demand-side measures, given the difficulties in their implementation and lag in their effectiveness, policy should be introduced quickly, and should aim to codeliver to other policy agenda, such as improving environmental quality or improving dietary health. These problems facing humanity in the 21st Century are extremely challenging, and policy that addresses multiple objectives is required now more than ever.

Key business factors for eco-innovation: an overview of recent firm-level empirical studies

[EN] The increasing interest in eco-innovation or environmental innovation as a strategy not only to address the serious global environmental problems but also as a source of competitive advantages for companies and for the emergence of new business areas, leads us to try to identify the different factors that act as determinants of its development and adoption at the micro level.

Wind generation output during cold weather-driven electricity demand peaks in Ireland

Recent cold winters and prolonged periods of low wind speeds have prompted concerns about the increasing penetration of wind generation in the Irish and other northern European power systems. On the combined Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland system there was in excess of 1.5 GW of installed wind power in January 2010. As the penetration of these variable, non-dispatchable generators increases, power systems are becoming more sensitive to weather events on the supply side as well as on the demand side. In the temperate climate of Ireland, sensitivity of supply to weather is mainly due to wind variability while demand sensitivity is driven by space heating or cooling loads. The interplay of these two weather-driven effects is of particular concern if demand spikes driven by low temperatures coincide with periods of low winds. In December 2009 and January 2010 Ireland experienced a prolonged spell of unusually cold conditions. During much of this time, wind generation output was low due to low wind speeds. The impacts of this event are presented as a case study of the effects of weather extremes on power systems with high penetrations of variable renewable generation.

Wind generation and electricity demand during the severe winter of 2009/10 in Ireland

Throughout the world the share of wind power in the generation mix is increasing. In the All Island Grid, of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland there is now over 1.5 GW of installed wind power. As the penetration of these variable, non-dispatchable generators increases, power systems are becoming more sensitive to weather events on the supply side as well as on the demand side. In the temperate climate of Ireland, sensitivity of supply to weather is mainly due to wind variability while demand sensitivity is driven by space heating or cooling loads. The interplay of these two weather-driven effects is of particular concern if demand spikes driven by low temperatures coincide with periods of low winds. In December 2009 and January 2010 Ireland experienced a prolonged spell of unusually cold conditions. During much of this time, wind generation output was low due to low wind speeds. The impacts of this event are presented as a case study of the effects of weather extremes on power systems with high penetrations of variable renewable generation.