Satellite-enabled educational services specification and requirements analysis based on user feedback

Advanced tele-education services provision in remote geographically dispersed user communities (such as agriculture and maritime), based on the specific needs and requirements of such communities, implies significant infrastructural and broadband connectivity requirements for rich media, timely and quality-assured content delivery and interactivity. The solution to broadband access anywhere is provided by satellite-enabled communication infrastructures. This paper aims to present such satellite-based infrastructures that are capable of addressing the core requirements of rich media educational services in remote areas. The paper proceeds to examine a set of services that will realise such satellite-based distance learning systems and to assess the targeted users’ interest in such services. The presented work is undertaken within the framework of the EU-funded Broadband Access Satellite Enabled Education (BASE2) project. Furthermore, requirements analysis, based on the Volere template (Robertson) and on user feedback, is undertaken

Systemic Innovation in a Distributed Network Paradox or Pinnacle?

Previous research has suggested that there is a dichotomy of organisational practices: companies involved in autonomous or modularised innovations, it is argued, benefit from decentralised approaches where coordination primarily takes place through the marketplace, whereas the benefits of systemic innovation are said to be appropriated best by centralised organisations. However, case studies of subcontractors to the Danish wind turbine industry suggest that the ability to meet heterogeneous demands plays an important role for the success of different forms of organisational practices in relation to innovation. The modularised versus systemic architecture approach therefore appears to be a too sweeping dichotomy for describing what can better be perceived as an array of different practices for balancing innovation contribution with the ability of individual firms to appropriate innovation benefits – and a heterogeneous market perception is a core element in building and sustaining this ability.Organisational Forms, Innovation System, Knowledge Complementarities, Value Appropriation

A Life Cycle Assessment and Economic Analysis of Wind Turbines Using Monte Carlo Simulation

The United States depends heavily on nonrenewable fossil fuels to generate electricity. Using renewable energy sources, such as wind, could reduce air emissions and fossil fuel dependency. Previous studies have examined the life cycle costs and environmental impacts of using wind to generate electricity, but results have varied due to inconsistent modeling assumptions. This research uses Monte Carlo simulation to conduct an economic payback analysis and life cycle assessment of 11 modern, utility-scale wind turbines. Hourly meteorological data was used to evaluate 239 U.S. locations. For each location, the wind turbine with the shortest median payback period was assumed to be the economically preferred turbine model. This simulation demonstrates that variance in the model output is primarily caused by differences in location-specific climate data (wind speed, air density), Depending on the location, the median economic payback periods ranged from 2 to 132 years, 41% of the locations had median payback periods less than 10 years, and 63% less than 15 years, Considering a typical turbine lifespan of 15-30 years, wind turbines are not economically viable at all locations, At locations with favorable wind resources, wind turbines are likely to be superior to electricity production using natural gas or coal, For the preferred wind turbine, the median life cycle energy intensities at all 239 locations ranged from 0,05-0,54 (KWh energy inputs/KWh outputs), compared to 2,3 for natural gas and 2,6-3,5 for coal-fired electricity generation, The median CO2 (eq) intensity values range from 13-156 g-CO2 (eq)/kWh for the preferred wind turbine, compared to 585 g-CO2 (eq)/kWh for natural gas and 757-1042 g-CO2 (eq)/kWh for coal-fired power plants, SOx and NOx intensity values range from 0.04-0.50 g-SOx/kWh and 0.05-0.66 g-NOx/kWh for the preferred wind turbine

Database on wind characteristics - Contents of database bank

The main objective of IEA R&D Wind Annex XVII - Database on Wind Characteristics - has been to provide wind energy planners, designers and researchers, as well as the international wind engineering community in general, with a source of actual wind fielddata (time series and resource data) observed in a wide range of different wind climates and terrain types. Connected to an extension of the initial Annex period, the scope for the continuation was widened to include also support to the international windturbine standardisation efforts.. The project partners are Sweden, Norway, U.S.A., The Netherlands and Denmark, with Denmark as the Operating Agent. The reporting of the continuation of Annex XVII falls in two separate parts. Part one accounts in detailsfor the available data in the established database bank, and part two describes various data analyses performed with the overall purpose of improving the design load cases with relevance for to wind turbine structures. The present report constitutes thesecond part of the Annex XVII reporting. Both fatigue and extreme load aspects are dealt with, however, with the main emphasis on the latter. The work has been supported by The Ministry of Environment and Energy, Danish Energy Agency, The NetherlandsAgency for Energy and the Environment (NOVEM), The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration (NVE), The Swedish National Energy Administration (STEM) and The Government of the United States of America