Times Of Global Warming Research Articles

Assessing experimental silvicultural treatments enhancing structural complexity in a central European forest – BEAST time‐series analysis based on Sentinel‐1 and Sentinel‐2

AbstractAssessing the dynamics of forest structure complexity is a critical task in times of global warming, biodiversity loss and increasing disturbances in order to ensure the resilience of forests. Recent studies on forest biodiversity and forest structure emphasize the essential functions of deadwood accumulation and diversification of light conditions for the enhancement of structural complexity. The implementation of an experimental patch‐network in managed broad‐leaved forests within Germany enables the standardized analysis of various aggregated and distributed treatments characterized through diverse deadwood and light structures. To monitor the dynamics of enhanced forest structure complexity as seasonal and trend components, dense time‐series from high spatial resolution imagery of Sentinel‐1 (Synthetic‐Aperture Radar, SAR) and Sentinel‐2 (multispectral) are analyzed in time‐series decomposition models (BEAST, Bayesian Estimator of Abrupt change, Seasonal change and Trend). Based on several spatial statistics and a comprehensive catalog on spectral indices, metrics from Sentinel‐1 (n = 84) and Sentinel‐2 (n = 903) are calculated at patch‐level. Metrics best identifying the treatment implementation event are assessed by change point dates and probability scores. Heterogeneity metrics of Sentinel‐1 VH and Sentinel‐2 NMDI (Normalized Multi‐band Drought Index) capture the treatment implementation event most accurately, with clear advantages for the identification of aggregated treatments. In addition, aggregated structures of downed or no deadwood can be characterized, as well as more complex standing structures, such as snags or habitat trees. To conclude, dense time‐series of complementary high spatial resolution sensors have the potential to assess various aggregated forest structure complexities, thus supporting the continuous monitoring of forest habitats and functioning over time.

Sustainable Inference of Remote Sensing Data by Recursive Semantic Segmentation – a Flood Extent Mapping Study

In times of climate change and large machine learning models with petabytes of training data, the demand for responsible AI methodologies is more pressing than ever. This is in-particular true for the vast amount of remote sensing data. Its value to explore and inform about earth processes is of paramount importance, especially in times of global warming. Thus, it is nearly ironic that such applications can be the cause of substantial green-house-gas emissions, through energy demands from compute and communication systems. Thus, this study aims at reducing the data transfer between data centers while maintaining near-real time insights from remote sensing data. A recursive inference approach is introduced consisting of three steps: i) Data pyramid preparation in the host data center (sequence of upscaled raster data). ii) The transfer of low-resolution images to the service data center, where a deep-learning model performs a semantic segmentation task, including an uncertainty estimation. Images of higher resolution are then requested and segmented in a recursive fashion, in areas of high uncertainty only. iii) Finally, the merging of the predictions at different resolutions is performed to result in the final pixel-wise segmentation at scale. The method is demonstrated on synthetic and real-world data for a flood mapping task. A U-Net encoder-decoder model is used for the semantic segmentation task, using Monte-Carlo dropout to result in the uncertainty map. The proof-of-concept demonstrated a 35-38% performance gain per transferred pixel compared to high-resolution image segmentation only. Further, we perform a scaling study to estimate the true potential of the recursive inference approach, indicating the potential to reduce a data transfer by up to 98%, considering four hierarchy levels in the data pyramid. With this study, we hope to have contributed a small but important step towards sustainable machine learning.

Characteristics of population exposure to climate extremes from regional to global 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C warming in CMIP6 models

The intensities and occurrences of heat extremes are projected to increase in a warmer climate, and relevant policies have been established to address different warming levels. However, how climate extremes change at regional warming levels is not well-known because changes in temperature vary over different regions. This study investigated climate extremes and population exposure to these extremes at regional and global 1.5 °C or 2.0 °C warming over 58 reference regions with 16 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, 6th phase models. The years of reaching local 1.5 °C or 2.0 °C warming occurred earlier than the timing of global warming over certain land areas, with more than 30 years advance in northern high latitude land areas. Heat extremes are projected to increase in all reference regions under regional and global 1.5 °C or 2.0 °C warming. Moving from regional to global 1.5 °C or 2.0 °C warming, heat extremes were found to increase over most land areas, especially over mid- and high-latitude areas. Population exposure to climate extremes increased over more than half the land regions under regional to global 1.5 °C or 2.0 °C warming. Changes in population exposure to absolute heat extremes were mainly generated by changes in population over about 34 land regions, whereas changes in population exposure to percentile-based heat extremes over more than 40 land regions were mostly due to changes in climate extremes. These results provided references to establish relevant strategies at regional scale to address possible risks related to climate extremes.

Effect of Acute and Cumulative Stress on Gene Expression in Mammary Tissue and Their Interactions with Physiological Responses and Milk Yield in Saanen Goats

This study addresses the hypothesis that different acute stressors can cumulatively decrease milk yield. In fact, in a time of global warming, the impact of environmental stress and farm management practices on milk production remains unclear. In this context, our objective was to investigate the effect of acute and cumulative stress on gene expression in mammary tissue and their interactions with physiological responses and milk yield in Saanen goats. Thirty lactating goats were subjected to two treatments: (1) control (CT), in which goats were maintained following a habitual routine under comfort conditions; (2) stress (ST), in which the goats were subjected to different types of environmental stress: heat stress, adrenocorticotropic hormone administration, hoof care management, and exposure to rain. These stressors were performed sequentially, with one stress per day on four consecutive lactation days, to evaluate their effect on milk quality and milk yield. Our results showed that compared to CT goats, cumulative stress increased the gene expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) in mammary tissue, which are indicators of cortisol action, inflammatory response, and antioxidant enzymes. Furthermore, the acute challenges imposed on ST goats changed their rectal temperature and respiratory frequency and increased cortisol, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein release in plasma when compared to CT goats. Although these physiological and metabolic responses restore homeostasis, ST goats showed lower milk yield and higher somatic cell count in milk than CT goats. In conclusion, the results confirmed our initial hypothesis that different acute stressors cumulatively decrease the milk yield in Saanen goats.

Wordsworth, Ecocriticism, and Natural Education

ABSTRACT This essay argues that Wordsworth reinvents the Enlightenment’s concept of natural education in ways that resonate with theories of ecology in a time of global warming. In book 5 of The Prelude, Wordsworth launches a scathing satire against the modern educator, whose scheme of natural education resembles rationalist interpretations of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Wordsworth questions the naturalism of Enlightenment educational theory, arguing that modern education is rooted in a desire to control the course of both nature and human development. He reimagines natural education as a process that entails unpredictable and irreversible change. For Wordsworth, natural education is not a highway that leads directly towards a better future but is instead a broken and winding passage from one stage of life to another. Ecocritical scholars have embraced Wordsworth’s attack on rationalistic, anthropocentric conceptions of nature, but his ecological sensibility continues to be defined in relation to an outdated vision of pastoral renewal. This essay maintains that the sense of discontinuity that characterizes Wordsworth’s lyric narration of natural education approaches much more closely to twenty-first-century experiences of ecological chaos, estrangement, and loss.

Retraction Note: A critical assessment of extreme events trends in times of global warming

Retraction Note: A critical assessment of extreme events trends in times of global warming

Enhanced sub-cooling attained by using moisture condensate in-unit air conditioner

We live in a time of global warming. Global temperatures are rising almost every year as a result of climate change. In such a world, it is not hard to imagine that global cooling systems are more efficient than at any other time in human history. From our homes to our workplaces, from leisure centers to medical or laboratory purposes, it has become almost necessary for a person to be ventilated only for a variety of needs. We all know that air-conditioner use is very high during the summer and is followed by a small amount of reduced use during the rainy season. We also know that most air conditioning systems have an outlet for wastewater from machinery. The moisture present in the air when it comes in contact with the AC evaporator coil, turns into the water and will discharge from the system by passage. It means that AC in the coastal region, due to the high humidity in the air, will produce more polluted water than in the dry zone. It is therefore not uncommon to find people in many coastal areas reusing extruded water for other purposes such as flowering plants, washing dishes, etc. Cooling systems can work in both air conditioning and water cooling systems. Since it is very stable and has air-conditioning strategies, we often see air-conditioners installed as cooling methods unlike water cooling systems. Therefore in such 'tropical' countries, any efforts to increase AC efficiency will be welcomed. One way to achieve this goal is to provide a hybrid Cooling AC using the water it emits. In doing so, this test aims to reduce energy compensation and increase efficiency of the system. If successful, the whole project will help save energy and resources for the next generation. Global demand for Air conditioners will increase from 1.2 billion units today to 4.5 billion units by 2050. On an average, in India around six thousand trains use 7 to 15 tons of air conditioners every day. Thousands of liters of water that is being generated from the air conditioners is put to no use and let to be wasted, if we use that water to increase the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle we can reduce energy consumption. That will be for the benefit of future generations. With so much research going on around the world to make cooling systems more environmentally friendly, this small step is likely to change the future of ACs

Enhanced sub-cooling attained by using moisture condensate in-unit air conditioner

We live in a time of global warming. Global temperatures are rising almost every year as a result of climate change. In such a world, it is not hard to imagine that global cooling systems are more efficient than at any other time in human history. From our homes to our workplaces, from leisure centers to medical or laboratory purposes, it has become almost necessary for a person to be ventilated only for a variety of needs. We all know that air-conditioner use is very high during the summer and is followed by a small amount of reduced use during the rainy season. We also know that most air conditioning systems have an outlet for wastewater from machinery. The moisture present in the air when it comes in contact with the AC evaporator coil, turns into the water and will discharge from the system by passage. It means that AC in the coastal region, due to the high humidity in the air, will produce more polluted water than in the dry zone. It is therefore not uncommon to find people in many coastal areas reusing extruded water for other purposes such as flowering plants, washing dishes, etc. Cooling systems can work in both air conditioning and water cooling systems. Since it is very stable and has air-conditioning strategies, we often see air-conditioners installed as cooling methods unlike water cooling systems. Therefore in such 'tropical' countries, any efforts to increase AC efficiency will be welcomed. One way to achieve this goal is to provide a hybrid Cooling AC using the water it emits. In doing so, this test aims to reduce energy compensation and increase efficiency of the system. If successful, the whole project will help save energy and resources for the next generation. Global demand for Air conditioners will increase from 1.2 billion units today to 4.5 billion units by 2050. On an average, in India around six thousand trains use 7 to 15 tons of air conditioners every day. Thousands of liters of water that is being generated from the air conditioners is put to no use and let to be wasted, if we use that water to increase the efficiency of the refrigeration cycle we can reduce energy consumption. That will be for the benefit of future generations. With so much research going on around the world to make cooling systems more environmentally friendly, this small step is likely to change the future of ACs.

Mechanism of Early Flowering in a Landrace Naked Barley eam8.l Mutant

The EARLY MATURITY 8 (EAM8) gene of barley is homologous to the EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3) gene in Arabidopsis, as loss-of-function mutations in this circadian clock gene promote rapid flowering. A previous study demonstrated that the early flowering phenotype of a hulless barley, Lalu, was due to allele eam8.l carrying an alternative splicing mutation in intron 3 that led to intron retention. In the present study, we verified that eam8.l encoded a truncated protein. Although EAM8 was expressed at a higher level in Lalu than in other barley lines with a longer growth period, it did not negatively regulate flowering time. This result further proved that the eam8.l protein was nonfunctional in regulating flowering in barley. The early flowering phenotype of Lalu plants was strongly dependent on the biosynthesis of gibberellin (GA). The eam8.l mutation stopped the suppression of GA biosynthesis, and Lalu accumulated excessive GA, especially in leaves. This was achieved through the upregulated expression of genes in the GA pathway, including GA20ox2, LFY1, SOC1, PAP2, and FPF3. The mutation of the EAM8 gene also abolished the inhibition of FLOWERING LOCUS T-like (FT1) gene expression at night. During the night, expression levels of the FT1 gene were higher than those during the day in Lalu. However, the GA-dependent pathway and FT1 gene mechanism are two independent pathways that promote flowering in Lalu. Alleles of EAM8, therefore, demonstrated an important breeding value in barley, which is probably effective in many other day-length-sensitive crop plants as well; thus, they could be used to tune adaptation in different geographic regions and climatic conditions, a critical issue in times of global warming.

Green roofs on buildings – different view on its construction solution

The need of green in cities or the increase of its ratio is very requested in this time of global warming. Buildings in combination with traffic cause so called urban heat islands. The high surface temperature on the facade of buildings causes the increase of surrounding air temperature in the towns. This situation creates the discomfort for their citizens. Also we have to consider with higher operating costs for cooling systems in buildings. The solution how to help is the using of green architecture for each new building but also for reconstructed existing buildings. Green roofs and walls are not new and we have different construction solutions. But this article brings different view on the construction solution of green roofs. It should be the solution that can decrease the heat load of building. This proposed solution allows using the area of flat roof for installation of air handling units and their ducts. The design of space on the flat roof overarched by greens creates better conditions for the operations of air handling units during the hot summer days when the fresh air is sucked from the shaded space that is not overheated by solar radiation.

How Is Fashion Going: Structured Literature Review for Circular Economy in Fashion and Textile Industry

In a time of global warming, sustainability claims are prevalent in the fashion and textile industry. Fashion industry is experiencing a shift from a linear economy to a circular economy. The circular economy shift in fashion textiles, however, has very many dilemmas due to the close connection with its value chain. This paper will take the form of a literature review to discuss the methods used in transforming the circular economy in fashion and textiles and the dilemmas it faces, as well as the social issues arising from the transformation, from the design to the distribution to the recycling of a fashion item.

LcNAC13 Is Involved in the Reactive Oxygen Species-Dependent Senescence of the Rudimentary Leaves in Litchi chinensis.

Litchi is an important evergreen fruit tree. Floral formation in litchi is induced by low temperatures (LTs). However, unstable flowering is a challenge for litchi production in times of global warming and climate change. Previous studies have shown that the methyl viologen dichloride hydrate-generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) could promote flowering. Leaves in the panicles may affect the development of the inflorescence in litchi under high-temperature condition. In this study, potted litchi trees were transferred to growth chambers at LT and high temperature (HT). From a previous dataset of the RNA sequencing of the ROS-treated rudimentary leaves, a NAC transcription factor-encoding gene LcNAC13 was identified. By genetic transformation of LcNAC13 to Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco, it was found that the ROS-induced senescence of the leaves was accelerated. Silencing LcNAC13 by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) delayed ROS-dependent senescence. Our results suggested that LcNAC13 regulates rudimentary leaf senescence. Our study provided a new target gene for the future molecular breeding of new cultivars that could flower under global warming conditions.

A critical assessment of extreme events trends in times of global warming

This article reviews recent bibliography on time series of some extreme weather events and related response indicators in order to understand whether an increase in intensity and/or frequency is detectable. The most robust global changes in climate extremes are found in yearly values of heatwaves (number of days, maximum duration and cumulated heat), while global trends in heatwave intensity are not significant. Daily precipitation intensity and extreme precipitation frequency are stationary in the main part of the weather stations. Trend analysis of the time series of tropical cyclones show a substantial temporal invariance and the same is true for tornadoes in the USA. At the same time, the impact of warming on surface wind speed remains unclear. The analysis is then extended to some global response indicators of extreme meteorological events, namely natural disasters, floods, droughts, ecosystem productivity and yields of the four main crops (maize, rice, soybean and wheat). None of these response indicators show a clear positive trend of extreme events. In conclusion on the basis of observational data, the climate crisis that, according to many sources, we are experiencing today, is not evident yet. It would be nevertheless extremely important to define mitigation and adaptation strategies that take into account current trends.

Towards resilient and smart urban road networks: Connectivity restoration via community structure

In the time of global warming, smart and resilient cities need to have the ability to give quick responses to today’s frequent natural disasters. Building a resilient urban transportation system that can timely recover the accessibility of the rescue facilities is vital to the survival chances of citizens. From the perspective of selectively road restoration, we proposed a mixed integer programming model that is based on community hierarchy to provide quick disaster response for damaged urban road networks. This model can efficiently find roads that should give repairing priority to maximize the connectivity in a limited repairing scale. Network community structure has been innovatively introduced into our model, which can remarkably simplify the searching process by extracting critical connectivity information. The model has been tested on square-shaped road networks and Istanbul road networks. The results show that our community structure model gives superior solutions in significantly reduced computational time, and is practical in solving complex real-world large-scale connectivity repairing problems. These findings provide new insights into the understanding of the important role played by mesoscopic topological knowledge of road networks when seeking strategies and solutions for connectivity emergency restoration, which is significant for the development of resilient and sustainable cities. • We propose a community-based MIP approach for connectivity restoration. • The restoration strategies take the advantage of the mesoscopic structure. • The community structure markedly facilitates the optimization process. • The developed algorithms operate on large-scale urban road networks.

Innovations in peritoneal dialysis

Die Peritonealdialyse (PD) war früher eine geläufige Behandlung beim akuten dialysepflichtigen Nierenversagen. Zugunsten kontinuierlicher, extrakorporaler Nierenersatzverfahren verschwand sie von der Bildfläche der westlichen Welt, wohingegen sie in strukturarmen Ländern aufgrund ihrer Simplizität und geringen Ressourcenintensität weiter eingesetzt wird. Die Engpässe in der medizinischen Versorgung im Rahmen der COVID-19(„coronavirus disease 2019“)-Pandemie führten kürzlich zu erneuter weltweiter Beachtung der PD als sichere Option beim akuten dialysepflichtigen Nierenversagen. Von der Einführung biokompatibler Lösungen vor 20 Jahren war eine Reduktion von Mortalität oder technischem Versagen erwartet worden. Leider konnten Studien dieses bisher allenfalls andeuten, nicht aber beweisen. Eine innovative Option stellen immunmodulatorische Adjuvanzien dar, die die lokale Immunkompetenz verbessern und den Verlust der Funktion des Peritoneums verhindern sollen. Derzeit rückt die Vision einer tragbaren künstlichen Niere immer näher. Auch eine Intensivierung der Dialysedosis erscheint mit minimaler Dialysatmenge erreichbar. In Zeiten der globalen Erderwärmung könnten durch die Regeneration von Dialysat nicht nur relevante Mengen an Wasser eingespart, sondern auch die CO2-Bilanz günstig beeinflusst werden. Zusammenfassend erlebt die PD derzeit einen zweiten Frühling. Dieser Artikel beschreibt die derzeitigen und zukünftigen Entwicklungen dieses Verfahrens.

Expansion of Cold-Adapted Orchid Goodyera repens (Orchidaceae) in Times of Global Warming – Report from Southern Poland

In Central Europe Goodyera repens (L.) R. Br. is considered as species vulnerable to extinction, critically threatened, or even extinct, depending on the region. In recent years, this rare orchid clearly increases the number of sites within its natural range. The aim of the study is to present new data on the abundant occurrence of circum-boreal species in southern Poland (position of localities, the estimated number of specimens, habitat data) that indicate its ecological expansion. The localities of G. repens were described using the topogram method and then its distribution was shown using cartogram method. The study was conducted in the years 2010–2018 in the south-western part of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (S Poland) on the area of 337,5 km2. During the study the species was found for the first time on eleven localities. The largest populations were observed in secondary pine forests. The results of this study against the background of published data suggest the ecological expansion of the species in Poland, which is facilitated by the availability of suitable habitats. The expansion of this cold-adapted species is interesting in the context of the global warming.

Energy Conservation in the Acetogenic Bacterium Clostridium aceticum.

In times of global warming caused by the extensive use of fossil fuels, the need to capture gaseous carbon compounds is growing bigger. Several groups of microorganisms can fix the greenhouse gas CO2. Out of these, acetogenic bacteria are role models in their ability to reduce CO2 with hydrogen to acetate, which makes acetogens prime candidates for genetic modification towards biotechnological production of value-added compounds from CO2, such as biofuels. However, growth of acetogens on gaseous substrates is strongly energy-limited, and successful metabolic engineering requires a detailed knowledge of the bioenergetics. In 1939, Clostridium aceticum was the first acetogen to be described. A recent genomic study revealed that this organism contains cytochromes and therefore may use a proton gradient in its respiratory chain. We have followed up these studies and will present data that C. aceticum does not use a H+ but a Na+ gradient for ATP synthesis, established by a Na+-Rnf. Experimental data and in silico analyses enabled us to propose the biochemistry and bioenergetics of acetogenesis from H2 + CO2 in C. aceticum.

Urban heat resilience at the time of global warming: evaluating the impact of the urban parks on outdoor thermal comfort

BackgroundIn densely populated urban centers, increased air temperature due to urban heat island (UHI) effect can undermine the thermal comfort and health of citizens. Research has shown that large urban parks can mitigate the effect of UHIs and improve thermal comfort, especially in the warmer months of the year when temperature changes are more noticeable. This study investigated the cooling effect intensity (CEI) of the Retiro Park in the center of Madrid at three different distances from its southern edge and the impact of this cooling effect on thermal comfort from physiological and psychological perspectives. This investigation was performed by measuring microclimate data and conducting a survey simultaneously during the summer days.ResultsThe results showed that the CEI of the park varies with distance from its edge. Because of this effect, air temperature within the 130 m and 280 m distance of the park was, respectively, 1.6 °C and 0.9 °C lower than the temperature at the 520 m distance (the nearest heat island). After examining the effect of the park in terms of physiological equivalent temperature (PET), it was found that the PET at the 130 m and 280 m distance of the park was 9.3% and 5.4% less than the PET in the heat island domain. More than 81% of the respondents (in all three areas) had a mental image of the park as the place where they would experience the highest level of outdoor thermal comfort, and this rate was higher in the areas closer to the park. The analysis of citizens’ responses about perceived thermal comfort (PTC) showed that citizens in areas with higher CEI had perceived a higher degree of thermal comfort from the psychological perspective.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the significant role of large urban parks located in the core of the populated cities in providing thermal comfort for citizens from both physiological and psychological perspectives. Additionally, the results of this study demonstrated that among the environmental (natural and artificial) factors around the park (topography, urban structure, etc.), the aspect ratio has the greatest impact on thermal comfort.

The impact of occasional drought periods on vegetation spread and greenhouse gas exchange in rewetted fens.

Peatland rewetting aims at stopping the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and establishing net carbon sinks. However, in times of global warming, restoration projects must increasingly deal with extreme events such as drought periods. Here, we evaluate the effect of the European summer drought 2018 on vegetation development and the exchange of methane (CH4) and CO2 in two rewetted minerotrophic fens (Hütelmoor—Hte and Zarnekow—Zrk) including potential carry-over effects in the post-drought year. Drought was a major stress factor for the established vegetation but also promoted the rapid spread of new vegetation, which will likely gain a lasting foothold in Zrk. Accordingly, drought increased not only respiratory CO2 losses but also photosynthetic CO2 uptake. Altogether, the drought reduced the net CO2 sink in Hte, while it stopped the persistent net CO2 emissions of Zrk. In addition, the drought reduced CH4 emissions in both fens, though this became most apparent in the post-drought year and suggests a lasting shift towards non-methanogenic organic matter decomposition. Occasional droughts can be beneficial for the restoration of the peatland carbon sink function if the newly grown vegetation increases CO2 sequestration in the long term. Nonetheless, care must be taken to prevent extensive peat decay.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Impacts of the 2018 severe drought and heatwave in Europe: from site to continental scale'.

Financial and Economic Assessment of Tidal Stream Energy—A Case Study

This case study is based on actual project and consultancy work, balancing real life experience with a review and analysis of empirical and theoretical literature. Tidal stream energy (TSE) is still a nascent technology, but with much better predictability than the classical alternatives of sun and wind. Being still more expensive than other renewable technologies, it is important to find locations in order to initiate a learning process to bring down cost to a competitive level as it was the case for solar and wind technologies. Locations for an initial phase of operation of TSE small islands in the Philippines (and other Asian countries) were found to be most suitable, because expensive and polluting diesel generators can be replaced and a reliable 24 h electricity supply can be established. Different appraisal methods in different scenarios show that under normal circumstances a hybrid combination of TSE, solar energy and battery storage is financially and economically superior to existing fossil energy based power stations as well as to solar energy alone. However, the traditional financial approaches are not always reliable, in spite of superficial mathematical exactness, and the parameters used must be analysed carefully, especially if we deal with innovative technologies with fast changes. In times of global warming we must also include the controversial issue of evaluating damages from greenhouse gases if choosing fossil alternatives. When evaluating and planning renewable technologies, engineering know-how is important, but insufficient. Since financing is a crucial issue for most renewable technologies with high front loaded cost and long amortisation periods, a thorough and trustworthy financial and economic analysis is necessary not only to avoid financial failure later on, but also to attract stakeholders like private investors, banks and government institutions to support a still unknown technology.