Initial Investment Research Articles

Techno-economic analysis of a novel retrofit solution for the domestic hot water system: A comparative study

The retrofit solution for domestic hot water (DHW) system in existing buildings requires to ensure the long-term energy security and efficiency as well as to minimise occupants’ disturbance, construction works and installation costs. In this regard, the present study performs a techno-economic evaluation on a novel retrofit solution for DHW production in a pilot building. The proposed solution appoints a substantial role to the thermal energy storage through a 2-pipe hot water network utilisable for both DHW and heating purposes. The first storage level is provided by a centralised buffer storage supplied by a PV-BESS-driven heat pump while the second level consists of decentralised modular tanks installed in each dwelling for the production and storage of hot water. Firstly, experimental thermal performance of the proposed decentralised storages is investigated. By developing a dynamic simulation code, the energy efficiency of the proposed solution is compared to that of the existing system in the pilot building as well to that of a typical centralised system as a benchmark solution. Finally, economic analysis of the retrofit solution is performed to address capital expenditures of the system, including purchasing and installation costs, as well as its life cycle cost (LCC). The obtained results indicate that the proposed system reduces the annual energy consumption for DHW production more than 7,200 kWh, with respect to the existing DHW system. Furthermore, it is shown that, in the proposed system, the fraction of thermal loss from piping network decreases by 31.5%, compared to a typical DHW centralised system. Economic assessment of the proposed solution implies that this system, in terms of both mechanical and electrical components, requires 13.7% lower initial investment than a typical centralised system. However, the cost of control systems in this system is higher since it is inherently a control-based system.

RED WoLF hybrid energy storage system: Algorithm case study and green competition between storage heaters and heat pump

Green house gases reduction is critical in current climate emergency and was declared as major target by United Nations. This manuscript proposes the progressive adaptive recursive multi threshold control strategy for hybrid energy storage system that combines thermal storage reservoirs, heat pumps, storage heaters, photovoltaic array and a battery. The newest control strategy is tested in numerical experiment against primal dual simplex optimisation method as benchmark and previous iterations of RED WoLF threshold approaches. The proposed algorithm allows improvement in reduction of CO2 emissions by 9% comparatively to RED WoLF double threshold approach and by 26% comparatively to RED WoLF single threshold approach. Besides, the proposed technique is at least 100 times faster than linear optimisation, making the algorithm applicable to edge systems. The proposed method is later tested in numerical experiment on two measured datasets from Luxembourg school and office, equipped with batteries and ground source heat pumps. The system allows the reduction of CO2 emission and improvement of self-consumption, size reduction of the photovoltaic array installed at the facilities by at least by half as well as substituting battery storage by thermal storage, reducing the initial investment to the system. Intriguingly, despite 3.6 times difference in efficiency between heat pumps and storage heaters, the system equipped with latter have potential to achieve similar performance in carbon reduction, suggesting that energy storage have more prominent carbon reduction effect, than the power consumption, making cheaper systems with storage heaters a possible alternative to heat pumps.

Analisis Perbandingan Ekonomis Penggunaan Penerangan Jalan Umum Solar Cell dengan Penerangan Jalan Umum Konvensional di Bandar Udara Djalaluddin Gorontalo

This study aims to conduct an economic comparison analysis between the use of solar cell street lighting and conventional street lighting at Djalaluddin Airport in Gorontalo. The research method employed is quantitative, with data collection through observation, interviews, and document analysis. The findings indicate that the utilization of solar cell street lighting at UPBU Djalaluddin Airport is relatively ineffective from an economic standpoint. The operational costs for battery replacement in solar cell street lighting are comparatively higher than using PLN electricity in conventional street lighting. Furthermore, the initial investment cost for solar cell street lighting is significantly more expensive than conventional street lighting. The total costs of solar cell street lighting over a 10-year period are also higher compared to conventional street lighting. However, the operational costs for solar cell street lighting are simpler, limited to the expenses for cleaning the solar panels, while the operational costs for conventional street lighting depend on the government-regulated Basic Electricity Tariff (TDL).

Develop Proactive System for Risk Management (DPSRM) for Lagging Investment Project in Iraq.

To finalize any construction investment project, it would be necessary to identify the most significant problems and obstacles that lead to project reluctance and stalling. Unexpected events and conflicts may have disrupted these strategies and impacted project development. Due to the high initial investment costs of construction projects, crises can have an immediate impact, resulting in significant financial losses. The 2014 financial crisis was one of the most prominent crises that Iraq faced, which prompted the researcher to identify and evaluate those obstacles through this research and questionnaires using Pareto scientific theory to exclude factors that do not contribute to project lag. It was discovered that 28 obstacles contribute to project lag before and during implementation. Solutions are obtained by soliciting expert opinions and using the Delphi technique to reach a consensus and a software system to create a proactive plan to reduce and overcome these challenges.

Low-Carbon Investment and Credit Rationing

This paper develops a principal-agent model with adverse selection to analyse firms’ decisions between an existing carbon-intensive technology and a new low-carbon technology requiring an externally funded initial investment. We find that a Pigouvian emission tax alone may result in credit rationing and under-investment in low-carbon technologies. Combining the Pigouvian tax with interest subsidies or loan guarantees resolves credit rationing and yields a first-best outcome. An emission tax set above the Pigouvian level can also resolve credit rationing and, in some cases, yields a first-best outcome. If a carbon price is (politically) not feasible, intervention on the credit market alone can promote low-carbon development. However, such a policy yields a second-best outcome. The issue of credit rationing is temporary if the risks of low-carbon technologies decline. However, there are social costs of delay if credit rationing is not addressed.

AFFORDABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM’S AS A PANACEA FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN KANO METROPOLIS

The study assessed affordability and effectiveness of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy technologies for electricity generation in Kano Metropolis. Three local government areas were selected purposively namely Tarauni, Nassarawa and Ungogo. Household and Small-Scale Business users of solar PV energy and technicians were selected using snowball sampling, while marketers of the PV facilities were selected purposively. Data was analysed using SPSS software version 23 by IBM. The findings revealed that most of the users of solar PV systems considered the prices that was mostly within the range of $487-$973 for households and $292-$487 for small-scale businesses as affordable. Almost all users adjudged their systems as being efficient, durable and enhanced their profit in the investments. A significant number of users, technicians and sellers of the facilities were optimistic that there is widespread use of PV system consequently reduce the use of generator sets and therefore the greenhouse gases emitted by generator will also be reduce. However, high initial investment cost, improper installation, lack of awareness, sub-standard products, lack of government support were the major factors militating against the utilization of the solar PV energy around Kano Metropolis. Governments, International NGOs and Banks should provide low interest loans and grants to solar products producers, importers and users in the country. Subsidy and tax incentives to solar equipment producers, importers and users should be provided.

PERANCANGAN PEMBANGKIT LISTRIK TENAGA SURYA PADA ROOFTOP KANTOR PT BALI CUKUP MANDIRI

Solar Power Plant is a power generator that converts sunlight into electricity. Solar Power Plant has a simple concept, namely converting sunlight into electrical energy. These solar cells can produce unlimited energy directly taken from the sun, and do not require fuel, so solar cells are often said to be clean and environmentally friendly. This journal discusses how to design a Solar Power Plant system at PT Bali Cukup Mandiri. The design is in the form of calculating the number of solar panels that can be installed, the capacity obtained, calculating the required capital costs, choosing the appropriate type of Solar Power Plant, the profit and loss if the Solar Power Plant is installed, and a comparison of electricity costs before and after it is installed. The simulation results of Solar Power Plant electrical energy production using the Helioscope and HOMER applications. The calculation results for the Solar Power Plant system for a capacity of 8 kWp require 24 units of 335 Wp solar modules, using a Solar Power Plant installation system of 24 serial units, the capital cost for making Solar Power Plant is around Rp. 114,504,000 electricity generated by the PV system is 13,337 kWh/year and accommodates up to 49% of electrical energy. savings of IDR 16,303,604 in one year after deducting the total electricity bill payments. The total time needed to cover the initial investment in designing a rooftop solar system at PT Bali Cukup Mandiri is 8 years.

Czech qualified investor definition: considering minimal requirements

In recent years, qualified investor funds have become increasingly popular in the Czech Republic. Those who manage these funds know that only investors who meet the legal criteria to be a qualified investor can become one. In other words, failure to meet the criteria excludes a potential investor from participation. This paper focuses on the criteria to become a qualified investor and their proper fulfilment. Moreover, this paper provides brief thoughts on whether the minimum initial investment sum, as one of the criteria, should be reviewed in the context of recent regulatory developments.

한국의 전력계통에서 재생에너지 보급확산에 대한 양수전원의 계통운영 효과 및 경제성 분석

The government of South Korea proclaimed Energy Transition 3020 and the details thereupon with the generation mix. According to the Basic Plan for Long-term Electricity, additional Pump Storage Hydropower (PSH) were planned to be installed as measure for the variability from the Renewables. However, despite of the astronomical hard cost required for the PSHs, there has been a lack of assessments on the economic feasibility and effectiveness of the PSHs. According to the simulation, there were total three scenarios with high load variability due to the Renewables. The monitoring factors in each scenario were changes, in the generation cost, generation by fuel type, reserve capability by the PSHs, and emission of product gas. Furthermore, the economic feasibility was assessed from the perspectives of the PSHs. Based on the simulation, it was concluded that the additional PSHs decrease the daily generation cost and the ramping of the thermal generation, the greater reserve capabilities procured. On the other hand, emission of the product gas increases due to greater pumping load on the thermal generation. Moreover, it is economically infeasible for the PSHs to salvage their initial investment cost. Thus, this paper implicates the regulatory improvements for the formulation of the just market environment.

KAJIAN POTENSI PEMBANGKIT LISTRIK TENAGA SURYA DI BANDARA SULTAN ISKANDAR MUDA BANDA ACEH

Sources of electrical energy in Indonesia still use a lot of conversion results from fossil energy such as coal, gas and oil. This fossil energy source is getting less and less and the price keeps going up and contributes a lot of carbon gas emissions that are released into the air, renewable energy, such as solar energy, wind, hydropower, and biomass are alternative energy sources that are environmentally friendly. which needs to be further developed in the future.The author's analysis will take into account the effect of implementing solar panels on several obstacles to the failure of the electricity supply from PLN at Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport. The purpose of implementing solar panels is to overcome the failure of PLN electricity supply, save electricity costs and reduce carbon gas emissions to the environment in a step to support the concept of an airport with green energy or Eco- Airport, in the calculation method using component analysis, the effect of temperature and also from an economic perspective on the initial investment of the project

Economic analysis of the initial investment for intermediary introduction of compressed natural gas in Romania

Due to greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution effects developing alternative energy sources in transportation activity is critical, under European Union (EU) targets.Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is an effective alternative fuel, cleaner than gasoline and diesel. The CNG vehicles' primary diffusion and adoption barrier is related to their limited autonomy, interconnection, and interoperability. Overcoming this barrier requires a fairly spread local infrastructure of filling stations. The paper analyzed the financial and economic desirability of the first CNG filling network in Romania, estimating sales based on fuzzy regression for forecasting the number of vehicles.The study revealed a highly financially unattractive investment, and it showed indecisive results in the economic analysis, forecasting the diffusion based on the current evolution in the EU countries, and if the benefits were limited to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. These results suggest the need for additional supporting policy measures focused on users.

Household energy consumption and the financial feasibility of self-consumption through photovoltaic panels in Spain

Energy consumption is one of the main costs faced by households, both financially and environmentally. This article analyses the energy consumption of Spanish households and the cost of installing solar panels in order to determine the potential of this form of energy production on a household level. The results show that households with a larger number of members have a higher total consumption but a lower consumption per person. The composition of the household is therefore a key determinant of the potential savings from solar panels. This alternative is financially viable, as the unit price paid for energy in these households is between €0.28 and €0.29 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while the average cost per kWh obtained from the panels is between €0.15 and €0.21. However, the current public subsidies for the installation of solar panels in Spain are inaccessible to 68% of the country’s households, and there are difficulties in the distribution of energy in neighbouring communities. In other words, although in financial terms home PV self-consumption is a financially viable option, the inability to obtaining subsidies makes the initial investment a major barrier for many households.

Analyzing Financial Capital Behavior in the Renewable Energy Sector of Nepal

The paper aims at analyzing financial capital behavior in the renewable energy sector of Nepal. The study consists of a descriptive research design based on both primary and secondary data. The necessary primary data were collected through a field survey by using a structured questionnaire on a sample of 118 Nepalese renewable energy enterprises having 264 respondents while the secondary data were collected through the relevant publications from January to March 2016. The collected data were analyzed using simple statistical tools such as tables, mean, rank, and percentage to derive results leading to major findings of the study. The major components of the renewable energy sector comprise biogas, solar and micro-hydro companies ranging from micro to medium enterprises in Nepal. The study concludes that the initial investment appeared to vary with the sectors of enterprises. The major source of financial capital for renewable energy enterprises is their capital. Financial capital is a vital and basic requirement of entrepreneurship in the sector. This study is useful for biogas companies, solar companies, and micro-hydro construction companies to grow their own business by focusing on the financial capital behavior in the renewable energy sector of Nepal. The study can be extended by incorporating other sectors of renewable energy, such as improved cooking stoves, wind technology, and biomass sectors to get greater insight into the results.

Barriers to the integration of digital twin technology in manufacturing

Industry over the last ten years has been characterized by a high level of digital transformation, affecting all layers of production and all areas of the economy. One of the key trends in the digitalization of industry is the digital twin – a system that combines a physical object, its digital model, and a continuous link between the two. However, the integration of such a complex technological solution is fraught with a number of barriers that arise in one way or another in the way of technology users. The authors of the article analyzed 100 examples of digital twin use in industry according to 7 criteria, among which the scope of technology application, the most problematic stage of its integration, key technological, organizational, ecosystem and economic barriers, as well as recommendations on overcoming these barriers, which have been applied or are in the process of application, were highlighted. The article contains a layer of statistical data and infographics that confirm the key conclusions about the main barriers to the integration of digital twins, among which the lack of devices and equipment with the necessary capacity, the lack of existing strategies for the technology implementation, the lack of standards for industry regulation and high initial investment are the main ones. Each block of barriers is accompanied by real examples (cases) of use of digital twin in the domestic and foreign industry, among which there are such companies as KamAZ, UEC-Klimov, Tesla, Volvo, Norske Shell and others.

Offshore Electrical Grid Layout Optimization for Floating Wind—A Review

Electrical grid layout optimization should consider the placements of turbines and substations and include effects such as wake losses, power losses in cables, availability of different cable types, reliability-based power losses and operational/decommissioning cost besides the initial investment cost. Hence, optimizing the levelized cost of energy is beneficial capturing long-term effects. The main contribution of this review paper is to identify the current works and trends on electrical layout optimization for offshore wind farms as well as to analyze the applicability of the found optimization approaches to commercial-scale floating wind farms which have hardly been investigated so far. Considering multiple subproblems (i.e., micrositing and cabling), simultaneous or nested approaches are advantageous as they avoid sequential optimization of the individual problems. To cope with this combinatorial problem, metaheuristics seems to offer optimal or at least close-to-optimal results while being computationally much less expensive than deterministic methods. It is found that floating wind brings new challenges which have not (or only insufficiently) been considered in present optimization works. This will also be reflected in a higher complexity and thus influence the suitability of applicable optimization techniques. New aspects include the mobility of structures, the configurations and interactions of dynamic cables and station-keeping systems, the increased likelihood of prevailing heterogeneous seabeds introducing priority zones regarding anchor and riser installation, the increased importance of reliability and maintainability due to stricter weather limits, and new floating specific wind farm control methods to reduce power losses. All these facets are crucial to consider when thoroughly optimizing the levelized cost of energy of commercial-scale floating offshore wind farms.

Time-to-build and capacity expansion

In this study, we investigate a firm’s optimal investment timing and capacity decisions in the presence of uncertain time-to-build. The firm raises revenue from the investment after an uncertain amount of time elapses, while the time-to-build of the follow-up investment is expectedly shorter than that of the initial investment due to learning by doing. We derive the optimal investment strategies and examine the impact of time-to-build on the investment dynamics. We show that both the initial and follow-up investment can be made earlier in the presence of time-to-build than they would in the absence of the lags, especially in a volatile market. This is in contrast to the case of a single investment, whose timing is always delayed by the time-to-build. Furthermore, the capacity of the follow-up project dominates that of the initial project in the presence of time-to-build, whereas the latter dominates the former in the absence of lags. The capacity choice of each project, however, is nonmonotone with respect to the size of the lags. We also show that uncertainty delays investment even when the investment involves lags but the negative impact softens in the presence of time-to-build and learning effects.

Comparison of Central and Individual Heating Systems Used for Heating Housings

Today, energy production based on fossil energy sources has become seriously questioned by societies due to both cost and environmental pollution. Fossil energy sources are mainly used for heating houses, which constitute a significant part of energy consumption. In this study, central heating systems, which are the most widely used methods to meet the heat energy needs of buildings, and individual heating systems are examined and compared. In the study, the heat loss and energy need of a 5-story building consisting of 10 flats in Kars Center with a total heated area of 1080 m2 were calculated using the TS 825 calculation method, accordingly, calculation of heater devices for both systems, determination of heating system elements, annual fuel consumption amount and cost calculation has been made. Natural gas was used as fuel in both systems to be compared for heating the building. According to the values obtained as a result of the study, it was seen that individual heating systems have higher costs than central heating systems in terms of both initial investment and heating cost. It has been determined that central heating systems are more advantageous in terms of initial investment cost, fuel consumption, and total cost. While the total cost was 441096 TL for the central heating system, it was 508825 TL for the individual heating system.

Evaluating collaborative scenarios for short food supply chains: a case study on high‐level processing technology

SummaryThis study examined three collaborative scenarios for the implementation of a high‐level aseptic filling machine in small‐scale food processing for improved food safety in short food supply chains. A two‐stage research design was implemented, based on an exploration and evaluation phase. Two workshops were organised to conceptualise the following scenarios: mobile packaging, cooperative and individual ownership. A novel approach to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats‐analytical hierarchy process methodology was used to compare stakeholder perceptions and preferences for different scenarios within one case study. Financial benefits played a key role in each collaborative scenario. The most suitable scenario was found to be the mobile packaging, offering flexibility and no initial investment cost while enabling collaborations. The cooperative scenario has the potential for centralised logistics and marketing while being conscious of its organisational structure. Individual ownership should also focus on centralised logistics and marketing while considering food safety and flexibility limitations.

Optimization of pipe circuits in energy tunnels

Geothermal energy is a kind of green and renewable energy. Conventionally, ground source heat pumps can be used to harvest geothermal energy from the subsurface. To reduce the initial investment, a good solution is to use tunnel linings as heat exchangers to extract/dump heat. This special infrastructure is called an energy tunnel. In addition to the thermal performance, the impact of pipe network configuration on thermal efficiency is still challenging in the design of energy tunnels. To solve this problem, this study makes the first attempt to carry out research on the optimization of pipe circuits in energy tunnels by a series of numerical analyses. A fully coupled thermo-hydraulic 3D finite element model is established to investigate the response of tunnel-soil interaction under cyclical thermal loading (initial soil temperature varies from 8 °C to 18 °C), as well as the thermal transient interactions among air, absorber pipe, tunnel linings and ground, to quantify the amount of useful heat that can be extracted from the tunnel and the ground. On the other hand, the influence of 3 various heat-carrying pipes layout is also investigated. It is found that higher heat transfer efficiency can be obtained when the entrance and exit of pipelines are located below the tunnel in the study. The spatial location of pipelines will also affect the exchanged heat output.

Investigation on the thermal performance and economy of a solar assisted air source heat pump domestic hot water system

In order to increase the utilization of renewable energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a solar assisted - air source heat pump (SA-ASHP) domestic hot water supply system is proposed, designed and built, the thermal performance and economy are numerically simulated and experimentally verified, the optimal design parameters are determined based on the economic optimization analysis. The results show that the coefficient of performance (COP) of air source heat pump (ASHP) varies from 2.62 to 3.93 and the COP of SA-ASHP system varies from 2.76 to 6.26. The solar fraction varies from 8.83% to 45.51%, and varies greatly in different seasons. The simulated heat collection of solar collector, the power consumption and heating capacity of ASHP, and the total power consumption of water pump are in good agreement with the measured results. Compared with the existing SA-ASHP system, the annual cost has decreased by 1998.32USD, annual cost converted from initial investment has decreased by 629.08USD, operating cost has decreased by 1369.25USD and total power consumption has decreased by 16897.79 kWh of the optimized SA-ASHP system. The optimum ratio between the input power of ASHP and the collector area is 0.078 kW/m2. The research results play an important role in guiding the design, operation and heat source selection of domestic hot water (DHW) system in student dormitory.