Nuclear versus Coal plus CCS: A Comparison of Two Competitive Base-load Climate Control Options

In this paper we analyze the relative importance and mutual behavior of two competing base-load electricity generation options that each are capable of contributing significantly to the abatement of global CO2 emissions: nuclear energy and coal-based power production complemented with CO2 capture and storage (CCS). We also investigate how, in scenarios from an integrated assessment model that simulates the economics of a climate-constrained world, the prospects for nuclear energy would change if exogenous limitations on the spread of nuclear technology were relaxed. Using the climate change economics model WITCH we find that until 2050 the resulting growth rates of nuclear electricity generation capacity become comparable to historical rates observed during the 1980s. Given that nuclear energy continues to face serious challenges and contention, we inspect how extensive the improvements of coal-based power equipped with CCS technology would need to be if our model is to significantly scale down the construction of new nuclear power plants.Economic Competition, Electricity Sector, Nuclear Power, Coal Power, CCS, Renewables, Climate Policy

VirtuWind: Virtual and programmable industrial network prototype deployed in operational wind park.

With anticipated exponential growth of connected devices, future industrial networks require an open solutions architecture facilitated by standards and a strong ecosystem. Such solutions should also deal with range of quality of service requirements imposed by industrial networks. Preserving strict quality of service is particularly challenging when services pass across domains of multiple provides. VirtuWind aims to develop and demonstrate a Software Defined Networking and Network Function Virtualization ecosystem, based on an open, modular and secure framework to address stringent requirements of the industrial networks. A prototype of the framework for intra-domain and inter-domain scenarios will be showcased in real Wind Parks, as a representative use case of industrial networks. This paper details this vision and explains steps forward

Market Based Approaches for Dynamic Spectrum Assignment

Abstract—Much of the technical literature on spectrum sharing has been on developing technologies and systems for non-cooperative) opportunistic use. In this paper, we situate this approach to secondary spectrum use in a broader context, one that includes cooperative approaches to Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA). In this paper, we introduce readers to this broader approach to DSA by contrasting it with non-cooperative sharing (opportunistic use), surveying relevant literature, and suggesting future directions for researc

Simulating Cellular Communications in Vehicular Networks: Making SimuLTE Interoperable with Veins

The evolution of cellular technologies toward 5G progressively enables efficient and ubiquitous communications in an increasing number of fields. Among these, vehicular networks are being considered as one of the most promising and challenging applications, requiring support for communications in high-speed mobility and delay-constrained information exchange in proximity. In this context, simulation frameworks under the OMNeT++ umbrella are already available: SimuLTE and Veins for cellular and vehicular systems, respectively. In this paper, we describe the modifications that make SimuLTE interoperable with Veins and INET, which leverage the OMNeT++ paradigm, and allow us to achieve our goal without any modification to either of the latter two. We discuss the limitations of the previous solution, namely VeinsLTE, which integrates all three in a single framework, thus preventing independent evolution and upgrades of each building block.Comment: Published in: A. Foerster, A. Udugama, A. Koensgen, A. Virdis, M. Kirsche (Eds.), Proc. of the 4th OMNeT++ Community Summit, University of Bremen - Germany - September 7-8, 201

A Demand-Supply Matching-Based Approach for Mapping Renewable Resources towards 100% Renewable Grids in 2050

Recently, many renewable energy (RE) initiatives around the world are based on general frameworks that accommodate the regional assessment taking into account the mismatch of supply and demand with pre-set goals to reduce energy costs and harmful emissions. Hence, relying entirely on individual assessment and RE deployment scenarios may not be effective. Instead, developing a multi-faceted RE assessment framework is vital to achieving these goals. In this study, a regional RE assessment approach is presented taking into account the mismatch of supply and demand with an emphasis on Photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine systems. The study incorporates mapping of renewable resources optimized capacities for different configurations of PV and wind systems for multiple sites via test case. This approach not only optimizes system size but also provides the appropriate size at which the maximum renewable energy fraction in the regional power generation mix is maximized while reducing energy costs using MATLAB’s ParetoSearch algorithm. The performance of the proposed approach is tested in a realistic test site, and the results demonstrate the potential for maximizing the RE share compared to the achievable previously reported fractions. The results indicate the importance of resource mapping based on energy-demand matching rather than a quantitative assessment of anchorage sites. In the examined case study, the new assessment approach led to the identification of the best location for installing a hybrid PV / wind system with a storage system capable of achieving a nearly 100% autonomous RE system with Levelized cost of electricity of 0.05 USD/kWh