74 research outputs found

    Four Essays on Imperfections in Energy Markets

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    The thesis at hand comprises four research papers analyzing market imperfections in European energy markets, in particular natural gas and balancing power markets. Chapter 2 finds that there was an economic rationale to construct an import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Lithuania and to secure a long term contract for LNG. Those measures taken in 2014 broke the gas monopoly of Russia’s Gazprom. Chapter 3 investigates potential reasons underlying price premiums of the Italian wholesale gas market to the German wholesale gas market. It is found that market power in the Italian gas market can rationalize historical gas prices in Italy as well as gas flows between Germany and Italy. Chapter 4 focuses on the role of Turkey in the Southern Gas Corridor in 2030. If the European gas markets in 2030 are characterized by an oligopolistic supply structure, Turkey is able to exert market power with gas transits resulting in higher gas prices compared to competitive transits, in particular in South Eastern Europe. Chapter 5 focuses on the missing market for hourly balancing power products in the German balancing power market design in 2014 that required a weekly balancing power provision. It is found that shorter time spans of procurement lower the costs of balancing power provision by up to 15%. Additionally, cases can be identified in which shorter time spans lead to higher market concentration compared to a weekly market design

    Benefits and Costs of Diversification in the European Natural Gas Market

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    Die Dissertationsschrift thematisiert die Frage nach den Kosten und Nutzen einer Diversifikationsstrategie im europäischen Erdgasmarkt und gliedert sich in neun Kapitel. In einer Vorbetrachtung beschreiben die Kapitel eins bis vier die Ausganglage mit Blick auf Angebots- und Nachfragestrukturen sowie der Gasinfrastruktur. Unsicherheiten in Bezug auf die Entwicklung der Nachfrage, Importverfügbarkeit und Preisniveaus werden diskutiert. In einem analytischen Rahmen wird das Thema Diversifikation in den Kontext der Energiesicherheit eingeordnet. Die Kapitel fünf bis sieben befassen sich mit der Beschreibung und der Analyse des europäischen Gasmarkts. Dafür wird ein lineares Modell, GAMAMOD-EU, entwickelt, welches als stochastische Optimierung den Ausbau der Erdgasinfrastruktur unter Einbezug von drei Unsicherheitsdimensionen in den Jahren 2030 und 2045 abbildet. Zusätzlich werden drei Diversifikationsstrategien in Hinblick auf Infrastrukturentwicklung und Versorgungssicherheit analysiert. In einer Erweiterung wird der Import Grüner Gase in die Betrachtung einbezogen. Kapitel acht stellt das deutsche Gasnetzmodell GAMAMOD-DE mit einer Fallstudie vor, die die Versorgungslage im kalten Winter 2012 nachmodelliert. Im abschließenden Kapitel neun werden die zu Beginn aufgeworfenen Forschungsfragen beantwortet, politische Handlungsempfehlungen gegeben und der weitere Forschungsbedarf skizziert.:Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Abbreviations Country Codes Nomenclature: GAMAMOD-EU Nomenclature: GAMAMOD-DE 1 Introduction 2 Uncertainties in Gas Markets 3 Diversification in Gas Markets to Ensure Security of Supply 4 Natural Gas Infrastructure 5 The European Natural Gas Market Model (GAMAMOD-EU) 6 Results on Security of Supply in the European Gas Market 7 Impact of Green Gas Imports on Infrastructure Investments 8 The German Natural Gas Market Model (GAMAMOD-DE) 9 Conclusion and Outlook Laws and Communication Papers References AppendixThe dissertation addresses the question of the costs and benefits of a diversification strategy in the European natural gas market and is divided into nine chapters. In a preliminary analysis, chapters one to four describe the initial situation with regard to supply and demand structures as well as the gas infrastructure. Uncertainties regarding the development of demand, import availability and price levels are discussed. In an analytical framework, the topic of diversification is placed in the context of energy security. Chapters five to seven deal with the description and analysis of the European gas market. For this purpose, a linear model, GAMAMOD-EU, is developed, which maps the expansion of the natural gas infrastructure as a stochastic optimisation, taking into account three uncertainty dimensions in the years 2030 and 2045. In addition, three diversification strategies are analysed with regard to infrastructure development and security of supply. In an extension, the import of green gases is included in the analysis. Chapter eight presents the German gas grid model GAMAMOD-DE with a case study, which models the supply situation in the cold winter of 2012. In the concluding chapter nine, the research questions raised at the beginning are answered, political recommendations for action are given and the need for further research is outlined.:Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Abbreviations Country Codes Nomenclature: GAMAMOD-EU Nomenclature: GAMAMOD-DE 1 Introduction 2 Uncertainties in Gas Markets 3 Diversification in Gas Markets to Ensure Security of Supply 4 Natural Gas Infrastructure 5 The European Natural Gas Market Model (GAMAMOD-EU) 6 Results on Security of Supply in the European Gas Market 7 Impact of Green Gas Imports on Infrastructure Investments 8 The German Natural Gas Market Model (GAMAMOD-DE) 9 Conclusion and Outlook Laws and Communication Papers References Appendi

    Towards effective public-private partnerships in research and innovation: A perspective for African Science Granting Councils

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    Public-private partnerships in research and innovation (PPPs in RI) have become a key element in research and innovation policy. The study presents an analysis of the processes, practices and bottlenecks in promoting PPPs by science granting councils in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings reveal that different partnership collaborations in Africa evolve in episodic fashion, driven by resource scarcity within universities. Here PPP linkages are used to strengthen industrial bases; whereas in the North PPPs help maintain a leadership edge in technology. The study finds that partnerships are influenced by geographic consideration, and that institutional rigidities constitute major barriers to sustainable partnerships.Department of International Development (DFID)National Research Foundation (NRF), South Afric

    Communicating the Past in the Digital Age: Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Methods in Teaching and Learning in Archaeology (12-13 October 2018)

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    Recent developments in the field of archaeology are not only progressing archaeological fieldwork but also changing the way we practise and present archaeology today. As these digital technologies are being used more and more every day on excavations or in museums, this also means that we must change the way we approach teaching and communicating archaeology as a discipline. This volume presents the outcome of a two-day international symposium on digital methods in teaching and learning in archaeology held at the University of Cologne in October 2018. Specialists from around the world share their views on the newest developments in the field of archaeology and the way we teach these with the help of archaeogaming, augmented and virtual reality, 3D reconstruction and many more

    Stereotype

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    Throughout northern Europe, thousands of burial mounds were erected in the third millennium BCE. Starting in the Corded Ware culture, individual people were being buried underneath these mounds, often equipped with an almost rigid set of grave goods. This practice continued in the second half of the third millennium BCE with the start of the Bell Beaker phenomenon. In large parts of Europe, a ‘typical’ set of objects was placed in graves, known as the ‘Bell Beaker package’. This book focusses on the significance and meaning of these Late Neolithic graves. Why were people buried in a seemingly standardized manner, what did this signify and what does this reveal about these individuals, their role in society, their cultural identity and the people that buried them? By performing in-depth analyses of all the individual grave goods from Dutch graves, which includes use-wear analysis and experiments, the biography of grave goods is explored. How were they made, used and discarded? Subsequently the nature of these graves themselves are explored as contexts of deposition, and how these are part of a much wider ‘sacrificial landscape’. A novel and comprehensive interpretation is presented that shows how the objects from graves were connected with travel, drinking ceremonies and maintaining long-distance relationships

    Seasonal variability in leaf and whole-tree responses of Populus tremula L. to elevated CO2 and drought

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    Trees are exposed to unprecedented climate change, characterized by rapidly rising atmospheric CO2 concentration and longer and more intense drought episodes. Despite research efforts to predict effects of elevated CO2 (eCO2) on tree functioning, its temporal and spatial variability and the interaction between eCO2 and drought remain intensely debated. To address these knowledge gaps, this PhD dissertation investigates the effects of eCO2 on one-year-old European aspen trees at the beginning and the end of the growing season, and under well-watered and drought conditions. For this, leaf and whole-tree water use, carbon gain and carbon loss were monitored during two consecutive growing seasons under ambient or elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration. The conducted literature review and experiments highlight three important insights. First, the magnitude of the effects of eCO2 is highly variable over time, even within a single growing season, as a likely result of the different seasonal carbon requirements throughout plant development. Second, tree responses to eCO2 should not be derived from observations made at the leaf level. Finally, the alleviating effects of eCO2 when facing drought were limited to the leaf level and the late season in European aspen, suggesting a negligible role of CO2 fertilization in mitigating detrimental effects of drought
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