Management Of Renewable Resources Research Articles

Pareto Fronts of the Set of Sustainable Thresholds for Constrained Control Systems

This paper is concerned with a dual object of the so-called viability kernel of a control system with mixed (state-control) constraints. This object, called the set of sustainable thresholds, describes the possible thresholds for which a given initial condition is viable. In this work, we are concerned with characterizing the weak and strong Pareto fronts of the set of sustainable thresholds and providing a practical method for computing such objects based on optimal control theory and a level-set approach. A numerical example, relying on renewable resource management, is shown to demonstrate the proposed method.

Game Theoretical Energy Management with Storage Capacity Optimization and Photo-Voltaic Cell Generated Power Forecasting in Micro Grid

In order to ensure optimal and secure functionality of Micro Grid (MG), energy management system plays vital role in managing multiple electrical load and distributed energy technologies. With the evolution of Smart Grids (SG), energy generation system that includes renewable resources is introduced in MG. This work focuses on coordinated energy management of traditional and renewable resources. Users and MG with storage capacity is taken into account to perform energy management efficiently. First of all, two stage Stackelberg game is formulated. Every player in game theory tries to increase its payoff and also ensures user comfort and system reliability. In the next step, two forecasting techniques are proposed in order to forecast Photo Voltaic Cell (PVC) generation for announcing optimal prices. Furthermore, existence and uniqueness of Nash Equilibrium (NE) of energy management algorithm are also proved. In simulation, results clearly show that proposed game theoretic approach along with storage capacity optimization and forecasting techniques give benefit to both players, i.e., users and MG. The proposed technique Gray wolf optimized Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (GARIMA) gives 40% better result and Cuckoo Search Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (CARIMA) gives 30% better results as compared to existing techniques.

Sustainable management of renewable resources: an experimental investigation in continuous time

ABSTRACTThis study addresses one of the most basic questions in renewable resource management: the ability of economic agents to exploit a renewable resource in an efficient and sustainable manner. In a laboratory experiment, subjects are presented with renewable resource extraction problems, where optimal management will lead to a stable steady state. A test of sustainability of the extraction practices shows that extraction behaviour results in steady states only 56% of the time. The mode of the steady state distribution coincides with the optimal steady state extraction. The trade-off between accruing a higher payoff in the present and sustaining the resource for future exploitation leads to suboptimal behaviours such as initial overextraction of the resource compared to the optimal extraction policy, costly downward adjustment of the extraction later in time, and settling down for lower long-run resource and extraction. The suboptimal behaviours lead to 17% loss in efficiency on average in terms of the accumulated payoff. We further look at extraction behaviour in terms of the degree of impatience it projects and find, based on their extraction decisions, that most of our subjects seem more impatient in managing their resource than is justified by the decision-making problem presented to them.

Towards sustainability? Forest-based circular bioeconomy business models in Finnish SMEs

In line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, the circular bioeconomy concept is gaining greater political momentum and research interest. A circular bioeconomy implies a more efficient resource management of bio-based renewable resources by integrating circular economy principles into the bioeconomy. These ideas have been well received at industry level since they are deemed to foster cost reductions, innovation and competitiveness. While recent scientific literature has dwelt on sustainability-related circular business models, empirical research on company-level implementation is only just emerging. Our study contributes to addressing this research lacuna by seeking answers to two questions: 1. How do small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) propose, create and deliver, and capture value through circular bioeconomy business models?; and 2. What are the business challenges and opportunities related to the operationalization of such business models? To this end, we employed content analysis on interview data gathered from managers in Finnish SME companies from the field of packaging, textiles, composite materials, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. We outlined the main business model archetypes, and identified the key characteristics that enable value capture and delivery for various stakeholders. The contribution of this study is duly two-fold. From the perspective of a theoretical contribution, we expand and refine the conceptualization of sustainable circular bioeconomy and related business models. In addition, based on our findings, we provide insights and recommendations for researchers and policy-makers to advance the sustainability transition to a circular bioeconomy in the context of the forest-based industry, and for the management of SMEs to reflect on company viability and growth.

A computer-based renewable resource management system for a construction company

Abstract The basic operation of a construction company involves the execution of tasks (building structures or building works) on sites. These projects are linked by the common resources of a building company used for the execution of different orders. The scheduling of a construction company programme is a continuous process with a dynamically changing look-ahead and scope of works. Decisions made on site by junior managers are based on their experience and intuition and are attempts at purposeful regulation – adaptation of the operative plan to the directive schedule, agreed with the investor, considering the progress of work. The quality of management decisions can be improved by implementing computer-based decision-supporting systems.

A stochastic model for the hourly solar radiation process for application in renewable resources management

Abstract. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the scientific community has made huge leaps to exploit renewable energy sources, with solar radiation being one of the most important. However, the variability of solar radiation has a significant impact on solar energy conversion systems, such as in photovoltaic systems, characterized by a fast and non-linear response to incident solar radiation. The performance prediction of these systems is typically based on hourly or daily data because those are usually available at these time scales. The aim of this work is to investigate the stochastic nature and time evolution of the solar radiation process for daily and hourly scale, with the ultimate goal of creating a new cyclostationary stochastic model capable of reproducing the dependence structure and the marginal distribution of hourly solar radiation via the clearness index KT.

МУЛЬТИАГЕНТНЕ МОДЕЛЮВАННЯ В УПРАВЛІННІ ВІДНОВЛЮВАЛЬНИМИ РЕСУРСАМИ

The article is devoted to the research of the renewable resource management and, in particular, the multi-agent approach. Multi–agent systems model the behaviour and interaction of microscopic entities by focusing on their relations to explore parameters and behaviour of the whole system on microscopic level. Multi-agent simulations of this kind allow us to study economic processes in a completely different way, focusing on examining the influence of microagents on the macroscopic parameters of the entire system. In recent related researches the emphasis has been placed on the relations between microscopic and macroscopic levels, using bottom – up and top – bottom approaches. The authors used the multi–agent approach in order to build a simulation of a renewable resource life cycle. There also was built a model, which uses such tool as the quota for the amount of the collectable resource for harvesting agents to explore how agents will change their behaviour. The behaviour of agents in the simulation is based on a maximization of its own benefit and the MRS (Marginal Rate of Substitution) parameter for the price evaluation. Several experiments were conducted for different values of the Quota parameter, during which the relation between the price level in the markets and the quota for resource extraction was shown. The description of the experiment, its results and conclusions are provided below. The developed solution simplifies the implementation of such experiments in this area, by making the process of their adjustment more flexible and simple. A framework for creating renewable resource management simulations is being developed. It simplifies the development of environments in order to explore them and to discover diverse patterns and laws within, using particular custom models of agent behaviour. The multi-agent simulator in this article was developed in order to illustrate and discuss the principles of the economic theory of the renewable resource management. This framework could be used in order to create the environments with the aim of their further studying, using different models of agent behaviour.

Tailoring large-scale electricity production from variable renewable energy sources to accommodate baseload generation in europe

Abstract This work investigates the possibility of combining large-scale penetration (around 50% of annual demand) of variable electricity production (wind and solar power) with baseload generation of electricity (e.g., via nuclear power or coal burning). A new methodology is developed that focuses on renewable resource and variation management in combination with transmission expansion and curtailment of excess electricity generation. Using the Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) measure in the objective function, the optimization model targets the residual load and tailors it to fit the baseload generation. Using Europe as an example, the results show that it is possible to tailor the residual load to fit the baseload with only a small sacrifice (∼1%) of output of generation from variable renewable energy sources (VRES). Expansion of the electricity transmission system is an important factor in accommodating baseload generation in systems with a high penetration level of VRES, whereby, for example, 50 GW of transmission capacity opens the way for baseload generation to increase from 20% to 32% of annual demand. The results show that wind power is the main contributor to VRES production, even in the case of exceptionally low future costs for solar PV.

Myopia and saliency in renewable resource management

An important challenge in managing renewable resources is to understand why owners and managers sometimes make decisions that deplete resources and future earnings, such as when graziers allow pastures and land condition to be degraded. In this paper, we test two potential reasons for unsustainable management practices, myopia and salience, with each explaining why resource managers may exhibit impatience in harvest decisions. Myopia is associated with decision makers placing lower weight on future outcomes than would be implied by their pure time preference. Salience is associated with overweighting of consumption ‘now’, implying inconsistency in time preferences. To test for these effects on renewable resource management, an incentivised, dynamic field experiment was carried out with rangeland grazing enterprise owners in north‐eastern Australia that related management choices with uncertain rainfall events to both profits and land condition over time. Results demonstrate that respondents exhibiting myopia/salience in their choices tended to achieve lower cumulative scores in the experiment, as well as lower land conditions on their properties as measured with remote sensing data. Our results explain why there may be persistent optimisation failures by resource owners that reduce both profits and environmental outcomes.

Retracted: Towards innovative industrialization for optimal renewable resource management

For the safeguarding of the environment, the use of the animal based Eco-composites bio-charges; turn out to be very advantageous. Those are resulting from a production mode implementing respectful optimization practices of the natural resources, and essential likewise to change in manner of thinking to replace the use of nonrenewable resources in current human activities, the exhaustion of the layers of fossil resources as well as overcoming the impact on the climatic change generated by this practice. Our contribution presents an empirical research which aims to classify a material of renewable resources which, in opposition to the Eco-composites, was neglected by the actors of materials.

Decentralized and hierarchical voltage management of renewable energy resources in distribution smart grid

Since renewable energy resources such as wind and solar energy have intermittent nature, they cause significant fluctuations in distribution system voltages. This paper proposes a hierarchical and decentralized voltage management method for renewable energy resources in smart distribution system of electrical energy with the participation of reactive power of these resources. In this regard, the partitioning strategy of renewable energy resources into different independent areas, the modeling of optimal coordinated control level and a novel local real-time control level for reactive power control of renewable resources have been considered. The solving solution is based on the network sensitivity matrices. Finally, the obtained results from simulating the 34-bus test system as well as PG&E 69-bus distribution system with different levels of generation and load show the efficacy of the proposed method.

Renewable resource management in a seasonally fluctuating environment with restricted harvesting effort

This paper presents bio-economics of a renewable resources in a seasonally changing environment in which the resource exploitation is subjected to restrictions on harvesting effort. The dynamics of the resource is assumed to be governed by the logistic equation. Seasonality is incorporated into the system by choosing the coefficients in the growth equation to be periodic functions with the same period. A linear optimal control problem involving binding constraints on the control variable has been considered. As a result the concept of blocked interval plays a key role in the construction of optimal solution. In view of the periodicity associated with the considered problem, we first construct an optimal periodic solution. The optimal solution is established using the most rapid approach path to the said optimal periodic solution. The global asymptotic stability property of the optimal periodic solution enables construction of a suboptimal solution. The optimal solution is found to be periodic after some finite time and suboptimal solution approaches the optimal periodic solution asymptotically. Key results are illustrated through numerical simulation.

Perception, Utilization and Management of Renewable Natural Resources by Rural Women: A Brief Review

Natural resource management at household level assumes significance in effective utilization of scant resources. Over-exploitation of the country's resources like land, water, fuel etc. has resulted in degradation of resources mainly due to industrial pollution, soil erosion, deforestation and urbanization. Women have direct contact with natural resources like fuel, food and fodder, forest, water and land especially in rural areas where 70 percent of Indian population resides and directly dependent upon natural resources. Because women are the primary users of natural resources, their role in the management of renewable natural resources cannot be overlooked. Women are responsible for using these resources to satisfy the basic needs of their families. The scarcity of natural resources of water, fuel wood and fodder causes social tension and disturbances in the social system. This paper discusses the challenges in the management of renewable natural resources and participation and utilization of renewable natural resources by women who live in close association with these resources.

The spatial and temporal variation features of wind-sun complementarity in China

Wind and solar energy are two kinds of renewable energy resources with huge potential. Complementarity research between wind and solar resources is quite important for the efficient use of them due to their uncertainty and stochastic volatility. In this paper, the current situation of wind and solar photovoltaic power development in China is firstly introduced. Secondly, the dependence model of wind-sun energy is established by combining copula approach and the Gaussian kernel function, which is a kind of nonparametric kernel density estimation. The copula approach can characterize the dependence structure between the variables so completely that the Kendall’s rank correlation coefficient τ calculated from the model above is more accurate. The wind-sun complementarity maps of various regions in China for the whole year and four seasons are further built by using the k-means clustering algorithm with τ as the regionalization indicator. At last, the study analyzes spatial and temporal distribution features of wind-sun complementarity. The results are as following: in spatial dimension of China, Category I (-0.95<τ⩽-0.80) concentrates in the northwest of China; Category II (-0.80<τ⩽-0.60) diffuses in the north, west and a few coastal regions; Category III (-0.60<τ⩽-0.30) is dispersed in the eastern, southwestern and western regions; Category IV (-0.30<τ⩽0.10) is mostly in the central and southeastern regions. In general, the northwestern and northern regions are more likely to adopt the concept of wind-sun complementarity. In temporal dimension, wind-sun complementarity in spring and summer is superior to that in autumn and winter. The maps have a certain reference significance for renewable resources develop-planning and management in China.

Sustainable management of Danube renewable resources in the region of Iron Gate

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze sustainability of the constructed projects (Djerdap 1 and 2) and feasibility of the planned ones (Djerdap 3) on the river Danube in the region of Iron Gate, with multi-criteria focus on technical, economical and environmental parameters.Design/methodology/approachThe main objectives were achieved by using the methodology of a holistic multi-criteria approach. Electra method was applied. The design of the three projects on the international Danube River were analyzed, from technical, economical and environmental point of view, with the goal to manage a higher involvement of renewable resources.FindingsThe results of the research imply that the most profitable technical solutions cannot reach its realization and construction if the environmental quality criteria are not fulfilled and included in the multi-criteria optimization model. At the same time, the most sustainable and environmentally friendly technical solutions, such as the renewable hydro pump storage scheme, cannot be realized without proper project management and investment.Research limitations/implicationsThe results and conclusions are valid for all the structures and projects of renewable resources, where there is a conflict to the environment. This research has implications to all decision-making processes focusing on holistic analyses of conflicted techno-economical and environmental parameters.Originality/valueThe value of the paper and research is in proving the necessity of simultaneous analyses of technical, economical and environmental impacts on the projects. All the results of the research are beneficial for stakeholders who intend to invest in renewable hydro energy resources, in the function of sustainable development.

Analysis of performance of the forestry sector in the Czech and Slovak Republics

The forestry sector provides several social and economic benefits to the whole economy. It is based on the sustainable management of renewable natural resources and production of raw wood. It is therefore able of sustainable growth. The interest of the European Union is to build economy based on renewable natural resources, resulting in the need to pay increased attention to the development and support of the forestry. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the performance of forestry sector in the Czech and Slovak Republics for a period of five years. System of indicators measuring sectorial performance was set up to reach the goal. Obtained results in indicators have shown that the profitability and value added rate of Slovak and Czech forestry are at a high level and the performance is affected by high investment efficiency.

Contribution of citizen science to improve knowledge on marine biodiversity in the Gulf Region

Monitoring marine biodiversity is costly and practical solutions have to be implemented to identify species and their preferred habitats, particularly in this era of rapid global change. Citizen science has proven to be effective and with high potential for monitoring efforts, and has been extensively applied to biodiversity. We have used the citizen science approach to engage the general public and stakeholders to contribute improving the current knowledge of sea snake biodiversity in Qatar and the Gulf Region. Logistic regression analysis using demographic data from interview surveys conducted in Qatar has indicated that the people having seen more sea snakes are older than 30years and are Qatari citizens and/or fishermen from India.Of the ten species of sea snakes listed in the literature to be present in the Gulf Region, most of them have been reported for Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. However, the number of species present is often assumed based on their occurrence within the Arabian Gulf rather than on actual captures and appropriate identification. The creation of marine reference biological scientific collections to properly identify the species and make accurate biodiversity inventories is an urgent priority for the countries in the Gulf region. To this end, contributions by stakeholders and the general public for this study have proven to be very useful. However a larger networking with local and international scientists and stakeholders is still needed to adequately survey the country’s current biodiversity, identify research priorities and eventually provide the scientific input needed to assist biodiversity management related to renewable resource management and marine conservation in the Arabian Gulf Region.

Monitoring and controlling energy distribution: Implementation of a distribution management system based on Common Information Model

The management of renewable and distributed energy resources is changing the way in which electric distribution systems are being operated. Many companies commonly create several custom system solutions to manage power distribution. The functions provided by these systems are network visualization, state estimation, system control and data acquisition, among others. Despite their relevance, many mid-size or small distribution companies have problems to install one of these solutions because they are either very expensive, incompatible, or limited by difficulties in data exchange. As a possible solution to this problem, this paper presents the development of a Distribution Management System (DMS) based on open source technology. This system combines four main components: OpenDSS-framework, ActiveMQ-broker, applications for visualizing and editing electrical network, and Common Information Model (CIM). The tool is part of Tenergia R&D project 1This work is financed by R&D projects FITS 2013 – UREE10 – FONARSEC – Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation of Argentina, and PIDDEF 36/14 – Ministry of Defense of Argentina.1 and has a collection of applications designed to monitor and control the distribution networks located in Argentina.

International Trade and Each Management of Shared Renewable Resources

Using differential games, this paper analyzes output controls of internationally shared renewable resources such as transboundary natural forests. A two-country, two-good (that is, shared-resource and nonresource based goods) general equilibrium trading model is employed for this purpose. Each country non-cooperatively decides its extent of utilization of shared natural forests via welfare maximization of the country considering the other country’s utilization and the shared stock of natural forests. In this context, economists may have hitherto posited that both countries will choose incomplete specialization; that is, both countries not only use shared natural forests but also manufacture nonresource based goods. However, this paper shows that it cannot occur that both countries choose incomplete specialization along the transition process. This means that at least one country chooses complete specialization. If an incomplete specialization equilibrium occurs in both country contexts, at least one country does not follow non-cooperative welfare maximization. The key conditions are that the shared resource good’s price and market is common, that each country focuses on price, and that each good cannot be retained. Therefore, the results apply in the context of another shared resource good, that is, shared fisheries, for instance, tuna or eel.

Natural Resource Federalism: Preferences Versus Connectivity for Patchy Resources

We examine the efficiency of centralized versus decentralized management of spatially-connected renewable resources when users have heterogeneous preferences for conservation versus extraction. Resource mobility induces a spatial externality, while spatial preference heterogeneity drives a wedge between users’ privately optimal extraction rates. We first address these market failures analytically and show that the first is most efficiently handled with centralized planning while the second is best tackled with decentralized management. Except in special cases, neither approach will be first best, but which arises as second best depends on the relative strength of preference heterogeneity versus spatial mobility of the resource. We illustrate the theory, and test its robustness, with a numerical example.