Energy Supply Facilities Research Articles

Growth of Horticultural Export Market: The implication of Post-harvest Handling Practices among Small Scale Farmers in South Rift, Kenya

The inclusion of rural smallholder farmers in the export of horticultural products has two major implications: increased household income through access to a promising global market and enhanced productivity, cumulatively contributing to the growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and foreign exchange. Currently, there are an estimated 2,500 smallholder farmers participating in horticultural exports South Rift of Kenya. Consequently, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between post-harvest handling practices by smallholder farmers and the growth of the horticultural export market. Quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire from a sample of 334 small-scale horticultural farmers, randomly selected for the study. Validity and reliability tests were conducted prior to the main study. Descriptive statistics and simple linear regression were employed to analyze the data. Post-harvest handling practices were assessed through the utilization of packaging materials, storage facilities, energy supply, hygiene, and transportation facilities. The findings indicated a statistically significant relationship between post-harvest handling practices and the growth of horticultural export markets. However, deficiencies were observed among small-scale farmers in South Rift, Kenya, in managing horticultural products after harvest. The study recommended for strategic interventions for the adoption of modern technologies in every stage of the supply chain and establishes collaborations with key stakeholders in order to minimize cost of investment per farmer and ultimately enhancing market standards compliance and competitiveness in the fruit and vegetable export market. Keywords: Post harvest, storage, packaging, Hygiene, Export, Markets

Simulation modelling of residual resource for hoisting mechanisms in the mining industry

The rationale for prolonging the operational life of the crane is rooted in the economic viability of conserving metal and energy, leading to ecological benefits. Cranes, being structures with a high metal content, contribute to pollution reduction by eliminating the necessity for additional manufacturing processes in mining, metallurgical, machinery plants, and energy supply facilities. To assess the remaining service life, statistical simulation modelling is employed. The objective is to showcase the feasibility of determining the residual resource within the time interval using the Monte Carlo method in simulation modelling. In this analysis, multiple random parameter values are generated, and calculations are performed to form a statistical distribution of the results. The reliability theory utilizes the Weibull distribution. Once the distribution parameters are established, the residual resource of the metal structure operating in the interval can be ascertained. A crane with a service life of more than twenty years is considered, and the quantity is modelled randomly within the range from zero to one. From twenty experiments, the results indicate an average resource with a confidence interval of few years.

BAS-PSO Algorithm for Integrated Energy System Optimization of Multiple Energy Supply Facilities

Regional low carbon will play an important role in the path of achieving the “double carbon” goal, and there are still many key technologies to be broken in its planning research. In this paper, an optimal scheduling model of integrated energy system with multiple energy supply devices is established by using Beetle Antennae Search-Particle Swarm Optimization (BAS-PSO) algorithm. First, in the scheduling model, a carbon trading mechanism is introduced and a stepped carbon trading cost model is constructed to constrain the carbon emissions of the plant. Then, using drosophila algorithm, the premise of whether wind power generation and photovoltaic power generation need to be built is determined by judging the economics of wind power generation and photovoltaic power generation in the construction area, and then the target power consumption curve and new energy power supply output curve are fitted. Then use the life cycle analysis method to analyze the carbon emissions generated by electric energy storage equipment, consider the carbon trading mechanism in the system economic operation model, and solve the model by BAS-PSO algorithm to overcome the problems of local optimum and slow convergence speed. Finally, a typical park integrated energy system is simulated to analyze the economic operation conditions and energy efficiency level of the system before and after participation in demand response. The innovation of this paper lies in considering the carbon trading mechanism and solving with the optimized BAS-PSO algorithm. Considering carbon trading can effectively improve the system wind power consumption capacity, and the optimized BAS-PSO algorithm improves the defects of traditional PSO. The simulation analysis results show that the established optimal scheduling model with multiple energy supply devices can realize the optimal operation of the integrated energy system of the park in the demand response environment; the improved BAS-PSO finds the lowest energy consumption within 100 iterations in 21 out of 50 iterations; the improved BAS-PSO algorithm reduces the energy consumption by 27.1 kW on average.

Пути укрепления энергетической безопасности изолированных районов Дальнего Востока и Арктики с применением инструментов «зеленой» модернизации промышленных объектов энергоснабжения

Subject/topic. The article is devoted to the search for ways to strengthen the energy security of isolated regions of the Far East and the Arctic using the tools of «green» modernization of industrial energy supply facilities. The subject of the research is ensuring the energy security of isolated energy regions. Goals/objectives. Based on an assessment of the state and problems of energy security in isolated regions of the Far East and the Arctic of Russia, practice-oriented recommendations for the comprehensive promotion of «green» modernization of industrial energy supply facilities have been identified and substantiated. Methodology. The basis of the work methodology are general scientific methods: synthesis and deduction. When analysing the technical condition and energy efficiency of energy supply facilities, the method of a sample survey of 24 enterprises located in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Kamchatka Territory and the Magadan Region was applied. The potential of modernization projects is illustrated by the case materials of the hybrid modernization project (Tabalah). Results. The article clarifies the problems of ensuring the energy security of isolated areas and systematizes advanced foreign experience. It has been determined that sanctions are one of the major challenges in the subject area. Proposed measures and tools to promote the «green» modernization of industrial power supply facilities, including a set of long-term guidelines for the modernization of energy systems, tools for digitalization of modernization projects, the development of a system of energy service contracts and «green» financing, as well as loop mechanisms for adaptation to sanctions risks. Conclusions/relevance. Modernization of energy facilities based on internal development and innovation can significantly improve the energy efficiency, sustainability, and environmental safety of isolated energy systems. Application. The results of the study can serve as the basis for the development of new approaches to ensuring energy security in Russia and the world.

Условия и перспективы развития зеленой экономики в Крыму

The article focuses on the current state and prospects for the development of tourism and the hospitality industry in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as a driver of the economic development of the region. The basis for such an understanding of the specifics of the economic development of the peninsula is that in recent years, in the total volume of sales of domestic tourism products in the Russian Federation as a whole, Crimea has steadily retained one of the leading places, while having a significant potential for expanding activities in this area. Thus, it seems reasonable to assume that the further progressive development of tourism and recreation will make it possible to consider them as an independent intersectoral economic complex, opening up the possibility of reaching the level of world trends in tourism. At the same time, there are a number of factors hindering the development of regional economy in these directions. Among them one of the main factor, in our opinion, is the fact that the hospitality industry, which includes the tourism and recreational sector, the sector of related services and all that provides infrastructure is a highly energyintensive industry, due to which its effective development and competitiveness are largely determined by the state of the local energy sector. Taking into account the hydrological features of the Crimea, as well as its location in a seismically active zone, which does not allow the construction of nuclear power plants on the peninsula, the object of the study, the results of which served the material for this article, was the level of energy supply for business entities and the population, the search for opportunities to optimize the use of non-standard ( renewable) sources of electricity, as well as the identification of possible sources and mechanisms for financing the construction of relevant energy supply facilities.

The Current Situation and Development of Electric Vehicle Energy Supply Facilities Construction Based on Structural Changes

The Current Situation and Development of Electric Vehicle Energy Supply Facilities Construction Based on Structural Changes

Environmental infrastructure and urban residents’ well-being: a system dynamics approach

The continuous expansion of environmental infrastructure systems plays a crucial role in urban sustainable development. While bringing significant environmental benefits, it also has negative impacts on the improvement of residents’ well-being (such as the ‘not in my backyard’ phenomenon). In this study, the system dynamics (SD) methodology is used to dissect the complex interactions between environmental infrastructure and urban residents’ well-being. Using Vensim modeling software and Chinese data from 2014–2019, this study designs basic and extended scenarios to discover urban environmental infrastructure development measures that effectively contribute to residents’ well-being. The simulation results reveal that, in the basic scenarios, the pattern focusing on environmental protection and resource-saving development is effective, while the collaborative development may have more long-term value. In comparison, in the extended scenarios, developing energy supply and pollution treatment facilities can effectively improve urban residents’ subjective well-being. But there are more factors to consider when planning urban green infrastructure.

Fragility of Built Urban Objects to Vicious Attacks: Assessment by Means of Limited Data on Abnormal Violent Actions

Abstract An assessment of fragility of objects built (constructed) in urban environment to deliberately imposed abnormal actions (loads) is considered. The actions under analysis are explosions, vehicular impacts and fires that can be imposed by acts of terrorism and sabotage as well as such highly random events as car crashes into structures due to unintentional roadway departures. The fragility is assessed by means of mathematical models known as fragility functions and developed for vulnerable building and transportation structures, protective barriers, and energy supply facilities. The result of fragility assessment is the probability of the damage that can be foreseen and modelled by means of mathematical models used for structural analysis. The case is studied where information on an abnormal action can be expressed in the form of a small-size statistical sample with components acquired in post-mortem investigations of attacks or unintentional accidents. The basic idea is an application of the statistical (bootstrap) resampling for the estimation the damage probability. The resampling procedure is applied to values of the fragility function that can be developed for the damage caused by the abnormal action in question. The values of the fragility function are estimated for components of the small-size sample of abnormal action values. The resampling of the fragility function values yields a conservative estimate of the damage probability expressed by the limit of a one-sided confidence interval. The estimate of the damage probability can be applied to making decisions concerning the level of resilience of vulnerable urban objects.

Procedure for modelling and calibrating operating thermal systems in buildings

Before applying energy improvement strategies to real energy supply facilities, it is necessary to have an accurate model of their dynamic energy behaviour in order to predict and optimize the results. However, contrary to experimental facilities, in real operating facilities, budget constraints and fast access to recorded data limit the number of installed sensors to the minimum required for control and maintenance purposes. The aim of this work is to validate an energy model based on a real thermal facility with the ASHRAE validation criteria. The database analysis reveals that the recorded data are limited and do not have the same sampling interval, varying from 15 min to 24 h. Then, the facility's energy consumption is simulated for typical days in TRNSYS and a novel application combining TRNSYS and Matlab software is used to iteratively calibrate the model. The calibration process applied reduces the uncertainty of the model from the initial values of 26.60 ± 0.78% and 60.76 ± 19.53% for the statistical indices, mean bias error (MBE) and coefficient of variation of the root mean square error (CV(RMSEP)), to the final values −1.89 ± 0.61% and 55.92 ± 17.89% respectively. The methodology developed in this work overcomes the difficulties derived from the limited data in the model design and calibration processes, resulting in a procedure that balances the little available building information and the computational effort, with satisfactory results. Therefore, it could be applicable in models with also high uncertainty and any facilities configuration.

Systemization of Indicators for Assessing the Impact of Power Engineering Facilities on the Environment of the Arctic Zone in Yakutia

The development of mineral resources in the Arctic zone of Yakutia is followed by a progressively increasing impact on the environment. Under these conditions, it is necessary to develop such directions for reducing the negative consequences of industrial development that could support the entire ecosystem of the North in a balanced state in strict accordance with the laws of structure, processes and changes in the landscape structure. This can provide a complex geoecological approach that involves a systematic study of the relationships between both natural and man-made objects. In general, this approach is based on the study of the impact processes of athropogenic activities on the environment, changes in the environment and consequences that affect natural and social conditions. Under conditions of extremely low resistance of natural landscapes to any impacts, it is necessary to assess and search for directions reducing the consequences of industrial development. In this regard, a schematic model of indicators systematization of environmental and socio-economic consequences of the functioning of energy supply facilities is developed on the example of the Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma river basins in accordance with the laws of structure, processes and changes in the landscape structure.

몽골-중국 경제협력: 사회간접자본 구축과 에너지 협력을 중심으로

This paper analyzes the background and process of economic cooperation between Mongolia and China, which focuses on establishment of social overhead capital and energy supply facilities, Mongolian coal exports to China. It is based on analyses of government policy documents and related literature. Mongolia and China collaborated construction of internal road network in Mongolia, and transport network connecting from Mongolia to Northern China and Russia. The internal network in Mongolia sought to connect from Ulaanbaatar to neighboring regions, Erlianhaote and Ganchimaodu. The immediate benefit for Mongolia was the injection of much needed capital, skilled manpower and technology from China, all of which Mongolia lacked. Beyond this, Mongolia stood to gain from social overhead capital projects and energy supply facilities, as well as alleviate difficulties in the domestic transportation. Externally, the expansion of Mongolia’s transport network aimed to increase coal exports to China. In addition, Shenhua Group and Chinese central government are trying to increase exports of Mongolian coal to China by expanding the railway network connecting the Chinese border with the Tavan tolgoy coal mine.BRHowever, Mongolia has some difficulties in the process of cooperation with China. The downswing for Mongolia‘s role in the process of domestic road network construction was that all the work was done by Chinese companies, because Mongolian firms did not meet the selection criteria set by the Asia Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Accordingly, Mongolian local companies had a difficulty in participating in its own social overhead capital construction projects which gave fund from multilateral development banks. Additionally, Mongolia’s dependence on China intensified, as experienced Chinese companies took charge of all of these construction projects. To protect their trust, the Chinese companies completed their assignments on schedule. Their performance, however, did not transfer the technical skills to Mongolian workers, including training in construction technology, and operating of technical equipment. Furthermore, the expansion of the railway network connecting Mongolia, China and Russia was expected to delay, pending economic feasibility studies and verification. Despite these challenges, Mongolia was expected to continue cooperating with China, to ease difficulties in domestic transportation, stabilize energy supply and increase coal exports to mainland China.

Optimal Scheduling Strategy for Electric Vehicle Charging Based on Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

The development of power demand side resources provides new opportunities and challenges for the advancement of energy revolution. Flexible loads such as electric vehicles provide a large number of load regulation resources for the power demand side, while distributed energy sources provide energy supply for the power demand side. Reasonable utilization of these flexible loads and energy supply facilities will be conducive to promoting the balance between supply and demand of the power demand side, promoting the development of new energy and improving the social and economic benefits. Considering the resource characteristics of electric vehicles and distributed energy, this paper sets up an optimal scheduling strategy based on particle swarm optimization algorithm. The grid-connected consumption of distributed energy is realized through charging and discharging load regulation of electric vehicles, which effectively saves the grid-connected cost of distributed energy and improves the market income of distributed energy operators and electric vehicle operators.

Research on optimal operation strategy of fuel cell vehicle charging-discharging-storage integrated station

The construction of energy supply facilities supporting fuel cell vehicles is the basis for the development of fuel cell vehicles. Aiming at the large-scale environmental protection supply of hydrogen energy for fuel cell vehicles, this paper proposes a construction idea and function setting for a fuel cell vehicle integrated station. Then, an optimized operation model of the fuel cell vehicle charging-discharging-storage integrated station is established. The model takes the total operating cost of the integrated station as the objective function, and considers the power balance and constraints of the electric-hydrogen system in the integrated station. Nonlinear programming tool is used to solve the model. It is verified by calculation examples that the integrated station proposed in this paper can effectively improve the power grid’s peak and frequency modulation capabilities based on the total daily income of ¥25,431, and increase the renewable energy consumption rate from 48.0% to 84.6%.

Research on the Impact of Social Capital on Villagers Willingness to Partake in the Supply of Rural Public Products

The supply of rural public products, as an important indicator to measure rural economic development, plays an important role in improving the quality of life of farmers and promoting the harmonious development of rural society. However, the current supply of public goods in China’s rural areas cannot meet the growing needs of farmers. Therefore, this article intends to analyze the specific situation of Chinese villagers’ willingness to participate in the supply of rural public products from the perspective of social capital, using the 2018 new rural community governance data and using the binary Logit model. The results of the study show that villagers are generally not very enthusiastic about participating in the supply of public goods in the village. The willingness of villagers in different regions to participate in the supply of public goods in the village is significantly different, and the eastern region is far lower than the western and central regions. Among the various dimensions of social capital, social trust, social networks and social participation of villagers to partake in village transport facilities, medical facilities and clean energy supply facilities willingness to have a significant positive impact. The gender of the villagers, whether he is a village official or not, and the degree of psychological cognition all have a significant positive impact on the willingness of the villagers to participate. Therefore, the Chinese government should pay attention to the positive effect of the informal system on villagers' participation in supply, actively cultivate and develop villagers' social capital in different dimensions, and arrange the supply of village public products in a reasonable manner according to the level of village development in accordance with local conditions.

EVIDENCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY RESILIENCE IN FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE AFTER THE GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE

Abstract. Taking the lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) occurred in March 2011, the nuclear-reliant energy policy in Fukushima Prefecture has been transformed to other energy (fossil fuel, renewable energy) to make their energy system with better resilience toward the future disaster. As the increased concern on the Global Warming, Fukushima Prefecture made more efforts on the promotions of the renewable energy than the fossil fuel power. Nine years has passed since the GEJE, however, the spatial variation of the energy supply facilities is not clarified and the resilience of its energy system has not been evaluated. Therefore, this study focused on spatial analysis on these energy supply facilities before and after the GEJE and discussing the energy resilience in Fukushima Prefecture toward future disasters or climate events. This approach will be helpful for policy makers to spatiotemporally evaluate the sustainable development on the energy system.

A Fuzzy Demand-Profit Model for the Sustainable Development of Electric Vehicles in China from the Perspective of Three-Level Service Chain

Electric vehicles have great potential in dramatically reducing environmental pollution, which has become an important strategic direction for future sustainable development. With the influence of policy support and market, the construction of new energy supply infrastructure in China has achieved remarkable outcomes. However, according to the actual use of the new energy supply facilities, there is still a severe imbalance between long queues and unattended charging stations in some areas. Therefore, this paper aims to establish a fuzzy demand-profit model to accurately optimize new energy supply from the perspective of the three-level service chain. Then, based on authoritative historical sales data of electric vehicles in China in 2011–2018, the model is used to analyze the fuzzy demand for electric vehicle charging capacity. The research results indicate that the fuzzy demand-profit model is an effective tool to promote the coordination of new energy supply, which will provide support for the sustainable development of electric vehicles in China.

Research on Coordinated Optimization of Integrated Intelligent Energy Supply

The coordination and optimization of integrated intelligent energy resources is an advanced energy supply strategy. And it is also a key issue for the development of integrated intelligent energy resources. Meanwhile, the characteristics of energy supply equipment and equipment, load characteristics and user needs should be taken into account. In this paper, an integrated intelligent energy system of some enterprise is taken as an example to research the coordinated optimization of integrated intelligent energy supply. The energy supply facilities in the park include CCHP system, photovoltaic power generation system, water storage system and municipal power supply, cooling and heating. How to coordinate and optimize these energy supplies according to the characteristics of each energy supply unit, load time domain, electricity and gas price information will be the main content of this paper. In this paper, a coordinated energy supply strategy is proposed. And a whole system model is established. At last, the advantage of the strategy and the model is verified through simulation.

Supply Inadequacy Risk Evaluation of Stand-Alone Renewable Powered Heat-Electricity Energy Systems: A Data-Driven Robust Approach

Integration of heat and electricity supply improves the overall energy efficiency and system operational flexibility. The renewable powered heat-electricity energy system is a promising way to set up residential energy supply facilities in remote areas beyond the reach of power system infrastructures. However, the volatility of wind and solar energy brings about the risk of supply inadequacy. This article proposes a data-driven robust method to quantify two measures of such a risk in the stand-alone renewable powered heat-electricity energy system. The uncertainty of renewable generation is modeled through a family of ambiguous probability distributions around an empirical one based on the Wasserstein metric; then, the probability of heat and electricity load shedding during a short period and related penalty cost are discussed. Through a polyhedral characterization of renewable power feasible region, the load shedding probability under the Wasserstein ambiguity set comes down to a linear program. With a piecewise linear optimal value function of the penalty cost, its expectation under the worst case distribution in the Wasserstein ambiguity set also gives rise to a linear program. The proposed method requires moderate information on renewable generation and makes full use of available data, whereas sustains computational tractability. The evaluation result is robust against the inaccuracy of renewable power distributions. Case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Data Extraction Algorithm for Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) to Estimate the Maximum Economic Damage of Buildings for Economic Impact Assessment of Floods in Flanders, Belgium

Floods cause major disruptions to energy supply and transportation facilities and lead to significant impacts on the society, economy, and environment. As a result, there is a compelling need for resilience and adaptation against extreme flood events under a changing climate. An accurate focal priority analysis of how societies can adapt to these changing events can provide insight into practical solutions. Besides the social, ecological, and cultural impact assessments of floods, an accurate economic impact analysis is required to define priority zones and priority measures. Unfortunately, studies show that economic impact assessments can be highly inaccurate because of the margin of error in economic value estimation of residential and industrial buildings, as they account for a large part of the total economic damage value. Therefore, tools that can accurately estimate the maximum economic damage value (or replacement value) of residential and industrial buildings are imperative. This paper outlines a methodology to estimate the maximum economic value of buildings by using a data extraction algorithm for Energy Performance Certificates (EPC), through which the replacement value can be calculated for all of the buildings in Flanders, and in addition, across Europe.

Optimal sizing of an industrial microgrid considering socio‐organisational aspects

An industrial microgrid can be an effective way to introduce a high percentage of renewable power in the electrical energy supply of an industrial park. An optimal sizing process can be employed in the design phase of such a newly developed hybrid power system to assure the power system's technical and economic efficiency. While optimal sizing algorithms have been developed for different types of hybrid power systems, these often treat stand-alone systems and do not consider the socio-organisational drivers for inter-firm energy supply facilities. Here, a techno-economic optimisation is carried out using a genetic algorithm to determine the optimal system configuration of a grid-connected power system. The current development of the project Eiland Zwijnaarde in Ghent provides the basis for a concrete case study. The main results suggest that the optimal configuration consists of a significant share of renewable sources. A cogeneration unit can compensate the renewables' intermittent behaviour and lower the thermal energy cost. Large-scale electrical storage is found not to be profitable under the used control structure. A gradual ingress of firms in the park and the subsequent sloped annual energy demand have a negative effect on the power system's fraction of shared facilities.