An Energy Community for Territorial Resilience: Measurement of the Risk of an Energy Supply Blackout

The Clean Energy Package is aimed at making the energy transition recommended by the European Union more competitive. Such an energy transition can be achieved through a variety of measures aimed at improving the security, sustainability and competitiveness of energy supply systems. These measures include the introduction of physical and regulatory infrastructures that are adequate to satisfy the energy market requirements, integrate renewable energies and ensure security of the energy supply. A risk-based approach is generally suggested for the electricity sector to prevent and manage electricity problems. A risk-based methodology is proposed in this work, and an assessment has been made of the first “oil free zone” in North-West of Italy, which is located in the Pinerolo area (near Turin). A quantitative risk analysis method was conducted considering the risk of blackouts on the national electricity grid, the probability of such occurrences, the extent of damage and the risk of exposure. The risk assessment was applied through a place-based approach, considering different types of stakeholders: private and public consumers, producers and prosumers. The risks of the analysed case study were then compared with their tolerability limits and assessed for different scenarios to reduce the risk of energy supply blackouts, including: a reduced energy consumption, an increased energy production, and an optimised energy supply and demand. The possibility of establishing an energy community was considered in the latter scenario. The results show that all the actions taken to reduce the risk of energy supply blackouts produce different results, depending on the considered user. All the stakeholders can benefit from participation in the energy community, not only from an environmental point of view, through the production of energy from renewable sources, but also from an economic one. These results are in line with what the European Community and the Italian “Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate” currently require, in terms of energy transition, pertaining to the sustainable development of a territory

Climate for development in Africa (ClimDev) – climate sciences and services for Africa. Strategic research opportunities for ClimDev-Africa

The purpose of this report is to present the ClimDev Partnership with a much narrower set of strategic research options by which ACPC and AfDB in particular could establish a unique presence in the realm of climate research and resilience planning. As a result, hitherto under-represented sectors and regions would be better equipped to manage risks as well as maximise development opportunities presented by climate variability and change. A gap analysis was undertaken using different sources of evidence drawn from bibliographic metrics, previous research prioritisation exercises, peer-reviewed and grey literature, meta-analysis of web-based material, conference proceedings, ClimDev reports and proposal short-listing, an inventory of climate data requests, case studies and consultations with African experts. Six research opportunities are proposed for consideration by ClimDev

From Structures to Services. The Path toBetter Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean

To close its infrastructure gap, Latin America and the Caribbean needs more than investment in new structures. It needs to become more efficient at investing in infrastructure and regulating a new range of services that have the potential to disrupt the energy, transport, and water sectors. The technological revolution makes a future with quality services possible, but not inevitable. This book offers policy options for countries to improve the access, quality, and affordability of services today, to ensure that they will be sustainable in the future, and to harness emerging technological advances for the benefit of all. This report aims to provoke discussion and further research on those many important issues and mark a path that helps the region move from structures to services and improve infrastructure for all

sustainable and resilient building design:

The challenges to which contemporary building design needs to respond grow steadily. They originate from the influence of changing environmental conditions on buildings, as well as from the need to reduce the impact of buildings on the environment. The increasing complexity requires the continual revision of design principles and their harmonisation with current scientific findings, technological development, and environmental, social, and economic factors. It is precisely these issues that form the backbone of the thematic book, Sustainable and Resilient Building Design: Approaches, Methods, and Tools. The purpose of this book is to present ongoing research from the universities involved in the project Creating the Network of Knowledge Labs for Sustainable and Resilient Environments (KLABS). The book starts with the exploration of the origin, development, and the state-of-the-art notions of environmental design and resource efficiency. Subsequently, climate change complexity and dynamics are studied, and the design strategy for climate-proof buildings is articulated. The investigation into the resilience of buildings is further deepened by examining a case study of fire protection. The book then investigates interrelations between sustainable and resilient building design, compares their key postulates and objectives, and searches for the possibilities of their integration into an outreaching approach. The fifth article in the book deals with potentials and constraints in relation to the assessment of the sustainability (and resilience) of buildings. It critically analyses different existing building certification models, their development paths, systems, and processes, and compares them with the general objectives of building ratings. The subsequent paper outlines the basis and the meaning of the risk and its management system, and provides an overview of different visual, auxiliary, and statistical risk assessment methods and tools. Following the studies of the meanings of sustainable and resilient buildings, the book focuses on the aspects of building components and materials. Here, the life cycle assessment (LCA) method for quantifying the environmental impact of building products is introduced and analysed in detail, followed by a comprehensive comparative overview of the LCA-based software and databases that enable both individual assessment and the comparison of different design alternatives. The impact of climate and pollution on the resilience of building materials is analysed using the examples of stone, wood, concrete, and ceramic materials. Accordingly, the contribution of traditional and alternative building materials to the reduction of negative environmental impact is discussed and depicted through different examples. The book subsequently addresses existing building stock, in which environmental, social, and economic benefits of building refurbishment are outlined by different case studies. Further on, a method for the upgrade of existing buildings, described as ‘integrated rehabilitation’, is deliberated and supported by best practice examples of exoskeleton architectural prosthesis. The final paper reflects on the principles of regenerative design, reveals the significance of biological entities, and recognises the need to assign to buildings and their elements a more advanced role towards natural systems in human environments

A framework for integrity assessment of multiscale energy infrastructures

The climate change phenomena represent a global issue that could significantly impact on world economic and social systems. During last decades, several international bodies and institutions (like the IPCC) developed scientific techniques to analyse the causes and effects of these phenomena, their evolution over time and possible future scenarios. According to these studies, in order to face climate change and air pollutant emissions issues several targets have been hypothesized and proposed. In particular, the ones related to the Paris Agreement (COP21) can be mentioned. These goals require, in the mid/long-term, significant changes in the structure of the energy systems at global level, aiming at achieving their substantial decarbonisation through the so-called “energy transition”. The implementation of this transition could be obtained by means of different pathways. In particular, two extreme options can be identified. On one side, a wide electrification of final uses, coupled with power generation from renewables and long-distance transmission through global interconnections. On the other, small-scale energy systems based on electricity, heat and gas produced by renewables sources, characterized by power generation from wind, solar photovoltaic and small hydro and with a relevant role played by storage systems. It can be expected that the future configuration of the global energy systems will be a mix of these extreme solutions. In every case, however, a crucial role will be played by the infrastructures for supplying, transmitting and distributing energy. For this reason, the integrity of these infrastructures – at all spatial levels (transnational gas and oil pipelines, maritime routes, power lines, district heating networks, etc.) – is a key factor for ensuring the long-term energy transition strategies. The integrity measures the capability of a given infrastructure to perform its function according to what is requested and to be properly managed from several points of view, including safety, environmental protection, maintainability, productivity, etc. Therefore, it is a concept more general than “security”, as it is multi-dimensional. Furthermore, the integrity is directly related to the development of infrastructures. The evolution of the current energy systems in the sense of the energy transition needs to plan the infrastructures architecture according to criteria that have to be not only technological, but also able to consider all the possible issues that can threat their integrity. In a long-term perspective, these issues should not be investigated through ex-post analyses, but they should be taken into account as much as possible in the design phase. Starting from this, the main goal of the doctoral project has been the identification of a multiscale approach for assessing the integrity of energy infrastructures. A two-dimensional scheme has been proposed, considering different spatial scales (energy corridors, transmission/distribution infrastructures, local networks) and kind of threats (natural, accidental, intentional) and assessing the impacts on the integrity dimensions (technological, geopolitical, environmental, economic) In particular, five case studies have been considered, covering all the considered spatial scales with respect to different integrity dimensions and threats. They focused on the geopolitical supply security, the resilience of distribution infrastructures, the effects of renewables penetration, the reliability of district heating networks and the impact of innovative vectors on the security. The obtained results showed that this multidimensional approach can be useful in defining guidelines for the integrity assessment and the development of energy infrastructure under a holistic perspective, in order to support the policy decision-making about strategical investments and their prioritization, planning, management, and identification and ranking of criticalities