Supply Capacity Research Articles

A novel day-ahead scheduling model to unlock hydropower flexibility limited by vibration zones in hydropower-variable renewable energy hybrid system

Giving full play to the flexibility of hydropower and integrating more variable renewable energy (VRE) is of great significance for accelerating the transformation of China's power energy system. For middle- to large-sized hydropower units, its irregular vibration zone (VZ) is a major factor affecting its flexibility, because VZs limits the power output and adjustment range. In the existing studies on hydropower unit commitment and flexibility scheduling, VZs only limits the output of hydropower units, while the impact on the flexibility adjustment ability of units is ignored. The hydropower flexibility in day-ahead scheme is overestimated, which increases the risk of system flexibility shortage causing power curtailment and load loss. In this study, a novel day-ahead scheduling model considering the flexibility limited by the VZs and the probability of flexibility shortage is constructed for the day-ahead generation scheme of hydropower-VRE hybrid generation system (HVHGS) to optimize the target load, VRE output and hydropower unit commitments. The impaction of the VZs on hydropower flexibility is firstly modeled by chance constraints and stochastic programming method. Moreover, a data-driven model based on machine learning and an efficient solving approach based on successive linear programming is carry out to describe the uncertainty of VRE output more realistically and ensure the timeliness of optimization scheme, respectively. The proposed model is applied to a real hydropower station in the Hongshui River Basin in China. In 16 representative scenarios, the proposed model can complete the optimization in an acceptable time, with a maximum of 444.57 s. Compared with the traditional interval optimization model, the proposed model effectively improves the flexibility supply capacity of hydropower in the day-ahead scheme. The maximum reduction value of flexibility shortage probability and expectation reach 98.77% and 442.66 MW, respectively. In particular, the flexibility of the model is most obvious under heavy load demand in flood season, and it is almost not at the cost of daily target load adjustment, which provides practical reference for decision makers.

Impacts of spatial expansion by Phragmites australis on spatiotemporal variation of sulfur fractions in marsh soils of the Min River estuary, Southeast China

To investigate the impacts of spatial expansion by Phragmites australis on spatiotemporal variations of sulfur (S) fractions in marsh soils of the Min River estuary (Southeast China), the contents of total sulfur (TS) and inorganic sulfur (IS) fractions (Water-Soluble-S, W-S-S; Adsorbed-S, A-S; HCl-Soluble-S, H-S-S; and HCl-Volatile-S, H-V-S) were determined in soils of Cyperus malaccensis marsh (before expansion, BE stage), P. australis-C. malaccensis marsh (during expansion, DE stage) and P. australis marsh (after expansion, AE stage) by space-for-time substitution method. Results showed that the expansion of P. australis greatly altered the spatiotemporal variations of TS and IS fractions in marsh soils. The TS contents in soils at AE stage were significantly lower than those at DE and BE stages throughout a year (p < 0.01). Higher levels of W-S-S, A-S, H-S-S and total inorganic sulfur (TIS) generally occurred in soils at DE and AE stages, whereas higher values of H-V-S were observed in soils at BE stage. Although P. australis expansion did not alter the temporal variations of TS stock in soils greatly, the values during autumn and winter were generally higher than those in spring and summer (p < 0.05). The highest TIS stocks in soils of different expansion stages were observed in spring, while the lowest values occurred in summer. The expansion of P. australis significantly increased the IS supply capacity of soils and, compared with the BE stage, stocks of W-S-S, A-S, H-S-S and TIS in soils of all sampling seasons at DE and AE stages increased by 51.40 %, 50.76 %, 63.35 %, 50.52 % and 20.00 %, 31.46 %, 42.93 %, 27.56 %, respectively. It was worth noting that stocks of H-V-S in soils at DE and AE stages showed a decreasing trend compared to the BE stage, implying that the expansion of P. australis might reduce the production of sulfides. This paper found that, compared with C. malaccensis, the increased available IS stocks in soils might be an effective strategy for P. australis to maintain its expansion advantage and the decreased volatile-S in soils might be more favorable for boosting its competitiveness. Our study provided valuable information for understanding the interspecific competition mechanism between P. australis and C. malaccensis. Next step, in order to protect the diversity of marsh vegetations in the Min River estuary, effective measures should be taken to suppress the rapid expansion of P. australis.

Matching and coupling coordination between the supply and demand for ecosystem services in Hunan Province, China

Understanding of the ecosystem services (ESs) supply–demand balance, coupling, and coordination are vital for sustainable development in society. To reveal the changing pattern and underlying mechanisms of the supply–demand matching, coupling, and coordination in ESs, in this study, we used the InVEST model to quantify the supply of the following three ESs in Hunan Province in central China from 2000 to 2018: soil conservation (SC), water yield (WY), and carbon retention (CR). Using socioeconomic data, the capacity and demand for food supply (FS) and the demand for the other three ESs were quantitatively evaluated. The Z-score standardized data were used to divide the quadrants to clarify the supply–demand matching situation. Additionally, the elasticity coefficient model and coupling coordination degree (CCD) model were used to evaluate the supply–demand coupling relationship and coordination level. Our results indicate the following: (1) The supply of CR and FS in Hunan Province increased by 12.67% and 19.48%, respectively, while that of SC and WY decreased by 2.57% and 22.83%, respectively; the demand for SC, WY, CR, and FS increased by 0.329%, 9.43%, 142.05%, and 6.23%, respectively. The supply of CR is less than the demand, showing a clear supply–demand contradiction; the supply of SC, WY, and FS exceeded the demand; both had notable spatial heterogeneity. (2) The area of high supply–high demand (HS–HD) and high supply–low demand (HS–LD) matching types decreased, whereas the low supply–low demand (LS–LD) and low supply–high demand (LS–HD) matching types increased. Additionally, the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan urban agglomeration (CZX) and selected districts in northern and central Hunan face a shortage of ESs. (3) The supply–demand coupling relationship of the SC and FS services was primarily positive while that of the WY and CR services was negative. (4) The supply–demand CCD of the four ESs was in an unbalanced state and demonstrated different trends. This study provides novel insights for decision-making regarding the optimisation of the spatial pattern of the land use in Hunan Province.

Inter‐sectoral economic linkages in the Australian mining industry: Analysis using partial hypothetical extraction method

AbstractThe mining industry is not only one of Australia's main economic sectors but also one that the country is considered to have managed well. However, little is known about the industry's potential to contribute to the structural change of Australia's economy. We use the national input–output (IO) tables and apply the partial hypothetical extraction method (P‐HEM) within both the Leontief and Gosh IO frameworks to examine the inter‐sectoral linkages of the Australian mining and quarrying sector. Ee find that this sector demonstrates strong backward linkages (BL), but forward linkages (FL) appear to be weak, and they mainly involve non‐metallic materials. The mining and quarrying sector appears to generate linkages with the business services sector and the construction sector, which can potentially contribute to diversifying the economy. Such linkages may be realised via skilling and reallocating skilled labour and technical supplier capacity as well as via developing physical infrastructure that supports existing and new economic sectors. We find that the identified linkage pathways via the construction sector are tied to energy‐intensive but coal‐dependent sectors. Thus, these pathways are vulnerable because of the climate‐related need to move away from combusting coal and invest in cleaner sources of energy.

Analysis and Optimization Plan of Supply Chain Management in Chinese Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Industry

Supply chain management is the treatment of the entire production process of goods or services to maximize quality, delivery, customer experience, and profitability. Although the theoretical research on supply chain management in China's manufacturing industry has achieved certain results, how to properly utilize supply chain management in such a rapidly developing society is still an urgent issue. In addition, in China, electric vehicles have gradually replaced traditional fuel vehicles to gradually increase the market share and become the first choice of consumers to buy cars. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore the problems in the construction of supply chain management systems for Chinese electric vehicle enterprises through theoretical analysis, put forward suggestions for improvement, and choose Guangzhou Automobile Group as a case study. The difficulty of supply chain and supplier management caused by the multi-level supply chain, as well as the product problems of the enterprise, also exacerbate the exposure of its problems in supply chain management. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the management system to balance the customer's demand and the company's supply capacity, as well as to strengthen the logistics supervision system.

Drought effects on water status, plant hydraulics and growth in Eucalyptus grandis and clonal hybrids with red gums and E. urophylla

Afforestation with Eucalyptus species occupies over a million hectares in Uruguay, and E. grandis is one of the most cultivated species, mainly for the timber industry. However, the increasing frequency of drought and heat waves in the region raises the need to evaluate hybrids with red gums (E. camaldulensis and E. tereticornis), since they are known to sustain gas exchange and growth even under severe drought conditions. Hybrids with E. urophylla are also evaluated for plantations in subtropical regions. This study aimed to compare the effects of drought on plant water status, hydraulics, and growth of E. grandis (one clone; G), E. grandis × camaldulensis (one clone; GC), E. grandis × tereticornis (one clone; GT), and E. grandis × urophylla (two clones; GU1 and GU2). Two drought-stress cycles were applied to six-month rooted cuttings from mid-spring to early fall under greenhouse environmental conditions. Predawn leaf water potential (?pd), midday leaf water potential (?md), relative leaf water content (RWC), stomatal conductance (gs), and plant growth were measured across each cycle. Daily fluctuation of Ψ was calculated as ΔΨ = Ψpd - Ψmd. Specific (kS) and leaf-specific (kL) hydraulic conductivities and specific leaf area (SLA) were measured at the end of the experiment. Percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity (PLC) was calculated after removing the xylem embolism. Preliminary results suggest that both red-gum hybrids had higher PLC under moderate-to-severe drought, as a consequence of maintaining high water potential gradients to sustain transpiration and carbon fixation throughout the experiment. Under the well-watered condition, no clonal difference was observed. Also, GT showed a three-fold increase in cavitation and had 1.5 times stomatal opening (gs) than the most drought-sensitive clone (E. grandis, G), and exhibited the lowest reduction (17%) in diameter growth under drought. Also, GC attained the highest height at the end of the study, 40% higher than E. grandis, and increased by 25% the SLA under drought. GU clones reached the highest diameter at the end of the study. Correlations among functional variables are explored, and the water supply capacity to the foliage among clones is discussed for a better understanding of drought resistance strategies and growth performance of the different taxa.

Energy management strategy optimization for hybrid energy storage system of tram based on competitive particle swarm algorithms

Trams with energy storage are popular for their energy efficiency and reduced operational risk. An effective energy management strategy is optimized to enable a reasonable distribution of demand power among the storage elements, efficient use of energy as well as enhance the service life of the hybrid energy storage system (HESS). Thus, an energy management strategy optimization method of HESS based on a fixed power threshold is developed. Firstly, the energy management strategy optimization models based on single thresholds and multiple thresholds are developed. Then, the improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm with competing variable weights is proposed to solve optimization models. Finally, Guangzhou Haizhu tram is used to illustrate the performance of the developed method, the minimum charge state of the power battery under multiple thresholds is improved by 23.36 % over that of single threshold, and the total energy consumption of the power battery pack is reduced by 58.10 %, which shows that the energy management strategy based on multiple thresholds has better effects in giving full play to the power supply capacity of supercapacitor and reducing the energy consumption of power battery. Compared with other two methods, the improved PSO method has more reliable in utilizing more energy from supercapacitor.

Building construction supply chain resilience under supply and demand uncertainties

This paper presents a multi-product, multi-period construction supply chain model, accounting for supplier capacity and material demand uncertainties. Robust optimisation is adopted to address model uncertainties. Research questions proposed are focused on: i). back-up sourcing and backordering decisions' sensitivity to associated cost factors, and ii). effects of the supply chain inventory system on the overall cost and risk management. The answers to these questions provide valuable insights for enhancing the resilience of construction supply chains and are informative for general contractors. Firstly, the back-up sourcing decision is the most sensitive to back-up suppliers' unit material price and unit transportation fees. Secondly, back-up sourcing and backordering primarily address the supply-side risk. Lastly, while inventory holding can be costly, it effectively mitigates the financial uncertainties resulting from varying project demand. These findings highlight the need for extensive quantitative modelling research on other resilient strategies in the context of construction supply chains.

Solar Energy for Water Optimization: Advancing Clean Water Distribution at Universitas Samudra

The use of solar energy has become increasingly popular in recent years due to sustainability and environmental benefits. Universitas Samudra is designing the centralization of water distribution using solar energy as an energy resource. By using solar energy, universities can reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs while improving access to clean water for students, staff, and the surrounding community. This paper explores the benefits, challenges, design, and optimization of solar energy in pure water distribution, focusing on the technical and optimization of implementing such systems. The optimization is based on the water demand analysis and water source regarding the rainwater harvesting, then distribution points, including time patterns, peak demands, and seasonal fluctuation. The analyzing variables include the flow and residual head at each point distribution, pressure drop, pipe sizing, storage tank sizing, and water supply capacity input to each storage tank. The data is also based on the university's master plan and blueprint for the next 30 years of Development. Furthermore, the data will be analyzed and calculated to obtain optimum distribution pump capacity and pump working hours. The system was Analysed and calculated using Epanet hydraulic modeling software. The calculations result are that the distribution pump capacity is 16 L/s, the head is 30 M, the works for five hours a day, the power is 4.7 kW, the total energy is around 23.5 kWh per day, and The solar panel is eight kWp

Timber Production Opportunities from Private Native Forests in Southern Queensland

Historically, Queensland’s private native forests have supplied between 40 and 70% of the hardwood resource to the state’s primary processors. Hardwood timber production from state-owned native forests and plantations in Queensland has decreased substantially in recent decades, increasing the hardwood timber industry’s reliance on private native forests. However, timber production opportunities from these forests are poorly understood. This study assessed the future wood supply capacity from private native forests in southern Queensland assuming alternative levels of landowner interest in management for timber production and willingness to invest in silvicultural treatment. Commercial and harvestable private native forests in southern Queensland were classified into six forest types and their spatial distributions were assessed. Potential growth rates for each forest type were estimated based on available literature and expert opinion, and their ability to supply logs to industry with and without silvicultural treatments was projected. Commercial and harvestable private native forests were found to cover an area of approximately 1.9 M ha in southern Queensland, of which spotted gum (693,000 ha) and ironbark (641,500 ha) forest types are most common. The private native forest estate is distributed over 17,665 landholdings (LotPlans), with 17% of these accounting for 66% of the commercial and harvestable resource. Most private native forests have not been actively managed for timber production and are in poor condition. Nevertheless, they presently have the potential to supply between about 150,000 and 250,000 m3 of logs to industry per annum. Silvicultural treatments were found to have the potential to increase the mean annual increment of these forests by a factor of between two and four, indicating substantial opportunities to increase harvestable log volumes in the medium and long-term. Private native forests in southern Queensland could potentially more than compensate for the supply gap left by the declining area of state-owned native forests that are available for timber harvesting. Actual forest management performed and log volumes supplied to market will depend on the forest management decisions of thousands of individual landholders, which are influenced by their heterogeneous management objectives, the policy environment, perceptions of sovereign risk, timber markets and the long payback periods in forestry. An accommodating forest policy environment and landholder willingness to invest in forest management could maintain and potentially increase private hardwood log supply to industry, which would support farm income diversification and regional employment opportunities.

Match of the cross-period capacity on the third-party shared manufacturing platform with demand delay

In this paper, we aim at the cross-period matching problem on a third-party shared manufacturing platform (TSMP) that provides matching services for capacity demanders (CDs) and capacity suppliers (CSs). Considering the impact of delay in meeting demand, we formulate a bi-level multi-objective optimization model (BMOM) with the objective functions of maximizing the manufacturers’ matching rate and the TSMP’s commission revenue, in which the lower-level model optimizes the matching strategy for the current period, and the upper-level model matches the cross-period demand (i.e., the demand with delay). Then, we propose a method that combines the ε-constraint and a three-stage solution algorithm to solve the BMOM, and the performance of the proposed method is verified by comparing it with the optimization solver CPLEX in numerical experiments. The results of numerical experiments show that the method proposed in the paper has advantages in computational effectiveness and efficiency and can solve the current-period and cross-period joint matching problem of the TSMP, which provides a reference method for TSMPs to optimize the matching strategies.

Topography-driven differences in soil N transformation constrain N availability in karst ecosystems

Fragile karst ecosystems are characterized by complex topographic landscapes associated with high variations in vegetation restoration. Identifying the characteristics and driving factors of nitrogen (N) availability across the topographic gradient is essential to guide vegetation restoration in karst regions. In this study, we collected soil samples and plant leaves along the topographic gradient (ridge, upper slope, middle slope, and foot slope) of convex slopes in the karst fault basin of southwest China, and determined the indicators reflecting soil N availability, N transformation rates, and their controlling factors. Our results showed that foliar N content and δ15N value, soil inorganic N content and δ15N value, and foliar N:P ratio were substantially lower on the steep hillslopes than on the flat top ridge. Steep slope soils also had a lower enzyme C:N ratio but a higher enzyme N:P ratio than the flat ridge soils. Furthermore, the vector angles calculated by soil extracellular enzyme analysis were below 45o in all studied soils and decreased significantly with increasing slope, indicating that microbial growth was generally limited by N. These results jointly suggest the declines in soil N availability across the topographic gradient, which are further explained by the changes in soil inherent N transformation processes. As the slope became steeper, soil mineralization and autotrophic nitrification (ONH4) rates decreased significantly, while ratio of microbial NH4+ immobilization to ONH4 and NH4+ adsorption rate increased significantly, indicating the decrease in soil inorganic N supply capacity. We further found that deteriorated soil structure, decreased soil organic matter and calcium content, altered microbial abundance, and increased ratios of fungi to bacteria and gram-positive bacteria to gram-negative bacteria were the primary drivers of reduced N transformation rates and N availability across the topographic gradient. Overall, this study highlights the critical role of the topography in controlling soil N availability by regulating N transformation processes in karst regions. The topography should be considered an important factor affecting the functions and services of karst ecosystems.

Beyond the merit order effect: Impact of the rapid expansion of renewable energy on electricity market price

A drop in the average electricity market price owing to renewable energy with low marginal costs has been identified and explored as merit order effect. However, diffusion of variable renewable energy leads to concerns about the need for flexibility, decline of supply capacity, and volatility increase of electricity prices. For both decarbonization and stable electricity systems, understanding the drivers of market price is critical, but it is challenging because electricity markets are non-linear and affected by multiple factors. Hence, this research proposes a model based on machine learning techniques and explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) and estimates the multi-directional impact of renewable energy on the Japanese electricity market. The results reveal that the contribution of demand to market price is the largest, followed by solar generation and operable power facility capacity. This research identifies a large decline in the price triggered by solar power during the daytime; however, the effect of solar power varies by the time of day, season, and demand. Additionally, the results suggest that the market price increases when demand is high and solar generation is low, such as during summer evenings. Using XAI, this study quantitatively and visually demonstrated that interactions between solar power, demand, and operable power facility capacity are the key factors behind the high market volatility and price surge. It is important to manage the pace of plant installation and energy transition. Our study provides insights into how and when the market price changes with variable renewable energy and other policy-making factors.

Towards emission free construction sites in Northern Norway: Results from a regional survey

The concept of emission free construction sites (EFCS) has emerged as a prioritised measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Norwegian construction activities. EFCS have been evaluated through several pilot projects in Southern Norway, whilst none are found in Northern Norway. This study aims to investigate the major barriers and success factors for developing EFCS-projects in Northern Norway through a digital survey amongst construction industry representatives. The results indicate that major barriers for EFCS implementation are related to limited access and capacity of electricity and power supply, and limited availability and high costs of emission free technologies. Similar challenges are identified from EFCS projects in Southern Norway, making the cold climate, poor infrastructure, and remote conditions in Northern Norway an amplifier of these challenges. The identified success factors are to a large extent aligned with the major barriers, emphasizing improved power supply and charging infrastructure, as well as increased availability of emission free technologies. Predictable and equal requirement specifications in public tenders that reward those who invest in emission free technology are requested, emphasizing the importance of implementing requirements. Further work is needed to gather experience from EFCS pilots in cold and remote areas.

Combined Control Strategy for Proportional Current Sharing in DC Microgrid Clusters

The integration of adjacent DC microgrids (MGs) results in the formation of a DC MG cluster which can increase the system power supply capacity. This study proposes a control strategy for DC MG clusters which combines communication-free control and distributed fixed-time control to simultaneously achieve current sharing and voltage regulation with excellent transient characteristics. Firstly, a communication-free control, which presents greater flexibility than the distributed control, is used in the DC MG layer. Subsequently, the distributed fixed-time control is used in the DC MG cluster layer to balance the output current of each MG. The optimal control parameters are obtained by using the zero-pole distribution diagram and establishing a small-signal model of the DC MGs; the stability of the proposed control strategy is also verified. Different scenarios are considered to validate the plug-and-play capability and controller performance by using a DC MG experimental prototype. Real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) verification containing three MGs is conducted using two RT-boxes to prove the scalability of the proposed cluster control.

The goal and path of source network load storage coordination and interaction to help the construction of a new power system

Under the goal of “carbon peak and carbon neutral”, the characteristics of the power system mainly based on new energy will undergo significant changes. In order to solve the problem of insufficient power supply capacity caused by the precision of new energy generation, this paper puts forward the construction scheme of the new power system of source network, load, storage coordination, and interaction, and uses energy storage and flexible load adjustment to improve the transmission capacity of the connection line under emergency conditions. At the same time, energy storage centers and load aggregation providers are used to optimize the equivalent load under normal conditions and minimize the shortage of power supply capacity. Furthermore, the mathematical model of each index is established and the coordination level of source network load storage based on AHP-Delphi empowerment is proposed. Finally, the rationality of the actual planning scheme in the province is comprehensively evaluated, which provides a reference for the construction of the new power system.

Assessment of rainwater harvesting potential for urban area under climate and land use changes using geo-informatics technology

Globally climate and land use change have put stress on the natural water resources which are depleting rapidly. This study's goal is to explore the rainwater harvesting (RWH) potential for Lahore city. Average annual rainfall records were used along with future projections of precipitation by global climate model GCM (MPI-ESM1–2-HR) under two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP2 and SSP5) to find the potential of rainwater harvesting. Land use land cover (LULC) maps of past (2010), present (2022) and future time periods (2035 and 2050) and built-up area for Lahore city was calculated in Arc Map using a geometry dialogue box that was estimated to be 1299.86 km2 of land in the year 2050. By the middle of the twenty-first century, rainfall in the Lahore district is predicted to increase by 12% and 16%, from 698.0 mm in the baseline time period (1990–2015) to 781.7 mm and 809.6 mm, respectively. This increased precipitation over the extent of built-up area could be harvested and utilized for different domestic, industrial, recreational and environment protection purposes. The study also concluded that RWH not only save the Lahore from urban flooding due to rain but also have potential to realize about 39.8% of water deficit of total water demand for Lahore. The daily supply capacity from Ravi River and WASA is 632 million gallon which is equal to only 54% of total water demand. The shortage of 487.2 million gallon per day could be succeed by using rainwater which have potential to realize about 19% of water shortage. In a similar manner, it is indicated based on outcomes of this study that method of RWH is very appropriate for major cities like Lahore in order to address present climate and land use change concerns, particularly in water-stressed nations like Pakistan.

Sustainable solution for water crisis in Indian coastal district: A multi-criteria approach to evaluating solar PV powered reverse osmosis desalination

Visakhapatnam, poised to become the executive capital of Andhra Pradesh, is confronting escalating population growth and water scarcity challenges. With over 19 lakh residents and an 11.96% growth rate, the city’s water demand is expected to outstrip its current supply capacity. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation relies on diverse water sources, but encroachments on water bodies and industrial pollution exacerbate the scarcity issue. Against this backdrop, desalination emerges as a sustainable solution, leveraging the city’s extensive coastline. This study explores the technical, economic, environmental, social, and political dimensions of implementing a solar-powered Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination plant in Visakhapatnam. While various desalination methods exist, solar-powered RO is highlighted for its ecological sustainability, utilizing abundant and renewable solar energy. The study employs the Multi-Criteria Decision-making Approach (MCDA) to comprehensively evaluate the proposed solution. The application of fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) aids in identifying the optimal solution under uncertain conditions. Furthermore, a graph theory and matrix approach are introduced to analyze the decision-making problem. The attribute digraph visually represents the relationships between different criteria, while the permanent matrix quantifies the relative importance of these criteria. The study location selection process involves linear normalization and a permanent matrix computation, ultimately ranking Chinna Rushikonda as the top choice for implementing a solar photovoltaic-powered RO desalination plant. The integration of MCDA, fuzzy TOPSIS, and graph theory provides a comprehensive and robust methodology for decision-making in complex projects, ensuring sustainable and well-informed choices.

Assessment of the Applicability of PV/T Electric Heating System for the Storage of Crude Oil

There are still some doubts about whether the solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system is applicable for the practical heating system of crude oil storage although there has been a lot of research work on PV/T and heating technology in the oil field. Due to the uneven distribution of solar radiation and uncertain thermal property of crude oil, the amount of energy provided and demanded is hard to evaluate. In this study, an electric heating system based on PV/T is proposed to be applied for the storage of crude oil. By establishing the mathematical model of the system, the energy supply capacity of PV/T and the heat demand of stored crude oil in typical seasons in Xinjiang are predicted by numerical method. The applicable scheme is discussed. This study may promote the application of PV/T heating systems in oil fields.

Building resilience for an uncertain drinking water future

AbstractEnhancing drinking water resilience has become increasingly important. However, a comprehensive analysis of drinking water emergency countermeasures is lacking. This study evaluated eight countermeasures including monitoring, local alternatives, reclaimed water, interconnection, bulk water, pre‐packaged water, emergency treatment, and isolation valves from resilience and sustainability (i.e., life cycle cost) perspectives. While countermeasures such as interconnections perform relatively well from both perspectives, there is a clear trade‐off between resilience and cost. Local alternatives and emergency treatment respond quickly and provide sustained supply during emergencies but may incur higher costs. Bulk water and pre‐packaged water are typically inexpensive but have limited supply capacity and take time to distribute. As future threats are likely to become more frequent and prolonged, it is prudent for service providers to invest in countermeasures that perform well in both resilience and cost and use an integrated approach that combines high capital projects with bulk/pre‐packaged water contracts.