Seasonal impacts of climate change on electricity production

PESETA IV assesses the impacts of climate change on electricity production by hydro, wind, solar, nuclear and other thermal power plants, including biomass, coal, gas and oil. We assess these impacts in the present power system and in 2050 for a dynamic scenario in line with 2°C mitigation efforts. Both scenarios show that, at EU-level, the production of hydropower plants increases with global warming thanks to higher water availability (although this does not imply substantial development of new hydro plants), while nuclear power decreases. However, there are regional differences in the impacts, such as increased hydro production in the North, and a decline in hydro- and nuclear power production in southern Europe due to lower water availability for direct production or for cooling river-based plants. In northern Europe, the increasing availability of cheaper hydro results in substitution effects and lower production costs, while in southern Europe production costs could increase. Based on the modelling methodology used and the latest available climate simulations, the direct impacts of climate change on wind and solar production are not significant at EU-level. However, in the 2050 power system their capacity would increase in southern regions to compensate for the lost hydro and nuclear production. Climate change impacts on energy in the rest of the world show a negligible spill-over effect on Europe. Improved cooling technologies have the potential to reduce strongly the negative effects of water scarcity, particularly for nuclear plants in southern Europe.JRC.C.6-Economics of Climate Change, Energy and Transpor

Experimental Analysis of Energy Efficiency of Server Infrastructure in University Datacenters

With the increased number of user applications, the amount of data generated by users, the need for more intensive data processing, in modern data centers the question of energy efficiency arises. IT equipment requires permanent maintenance of appropriate climatic conditions, therefore significant investments are needed in cooling systems and ensuring a constant supply of electricity. In this paper, an experimental analysis is performed concerning the economic and environmental aspects of server virtualization, including the business value of virtualization. An analysis was conducted to be used concurrently on a traditional architecture and a virtual ecosystem. The acquired findings show considerable advantages of virtual and cloud ecosystem in the form of optimum provision and use of physical workstation properties. Through this paper, authors analysed the power utilization when utilizing a higher number of physical servers, as opposed to the same number of virtual servers. Acquired results present a assessment of accumulative energy utilization and load on physical units during optimal workload client requests during the working week. Through the paper authors presented the idea of low electric energy consumption, using the green datacenter concept and contribution to the advancement of IT technologies at the Singidunum University, which is also applicable to other modern university datacenters

MICROSTRUCTURE INFLUENCE ON FRICTION BEHAVIOR OF THE TI6AL4V BIOMEDICAL ALLOY AT LOW LOADS

Dynamic friction coefficient (COF) between Ti6Al4V and Al2O3 was analyzed under low loads (100 mN, 250 mN, 500 mN, 750 mN, 1000 mN), sliding speed (4 mm/s, 8 mm/s, 12 mm/s) at dry contact and in the Ringer's solution. Different Ti6Al4V microstructures were studied: Sample 1 - fully lamellar; Sample 2 - martensitic; sample 3 - equiaxed; and sample 4 - globular microstructure. The maximum COF values varied as: 0.4 - 1.23 (Sample 1), 0.5 – 2.8 (Sample 2), 0.4 – 1.1 (Sample 3), and 0.4 – 2.3 (Sample 4). Lamellar and martensitic microstructures were not beneficial for the tribological response since they exhibited severe wear and very high COF values. The globular Ti alloy microstructure showed extremely high COF and wear under dry conditions. In general, water quenching was not a favorable treatment for tribological behavior. The lowest COF values and wear volumes were exhibited in the case of equiaxed microstructure

The water-power nexus of the Iberian Peninsula power system: WATERFLEX project

Water availability influences power generation and its costs. Policies aimed at keeping the water stress index of thermal power plants within acceptable limits are needed. This report provides a model-based analysis of the water-power nexus in the Iberian Peninsula.JRC.C.7-Knowledge for the Energy Unio

Impact of a changing climate, land use, and water usage on water resources in the Danube river basin

Impact of a changing climate, land use, and water usage on water resources in the Danube river basinJRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

Climate change and Europe’s water resources

In addition to the already existing pressure on our freshwater resources, climate change may further decrease water availability. In this study, projections of future water resources, due to climate change, land use change and changes in water consumption have been assessed using JRC’s LISFLOOD water resources model. The results presented are based on 11 climate models which project current and future climate under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs): RCP4.5 and RCP 8.5 emission scenario. RCP4.5 may be viewed as a moderate-emissions-mitigation-policy scenario and RCP8.5 as a high-end emissions scenario. A 30-year window around the year that global warming reaches 1.5oC, 2oC and 3oC above preindustrial temperature has been analysed and compared to the 1981-2010 control climate window (baseline). The 1.5°C and 2°C warming scenarios are explicitly considered in the Paris Agreement, while a 3°C global warming is a scenario that could be expected by the end of the 21st century if adequate mitigation strategies are not taken. First, we performed future projections without socio-economic developments to show the effect of climate change only. Next, an integrated assessment is performed including future changes in land use, water demand and population. This allows us to disentangle the effects of climate and socio-economic changes. In general, the climate projections reveal a typically North-South pattern across Europe for water availability. Overall, Southern European countries are projected to face decreasing water availability, particularly Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Italy and Turkey. Central and Northern European countries show an increasing annual water availability.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

Mogućnost primene virtualnog rotirajućeg češlja kod mehanizovanog ubiranja cvasti nevena (Calendula officinalis L.)

The objective of the investigation was to examine possibility of mechanized harvesting of marigold inflorescences by applying a virtual rotating comb type chamomile harvester. The impact of coefficient R, relation between the working device penetration into the inflorescences horizon and the average value of highest and lowest inflorescences span-width of inflorescences band, on harvest yield, was tested. It was found that for coefficient R value 1.3, in average 90 % of the inflorescences’ yield can be harvested. Future investigation should be directed towards solving the mechanical separation of the inflorescences from the harvested mass and process of shortening the inflorescences’ stems and determination of economic viability of mechanized harvest with proposed procedure.Cilj istraživanja bio je da se ispita mogućnost mehanizovanog branja cvasti primenom radnog organa tipa virtualnog rotirajućeg češlja, koji se koristi za ubiranje kamilice. Ispitan je uticaj koeficijenta R, koji predstavlja odnos dubine ulaska radnog organa u horizont cvasti i prosečne visine raspona najviših i najnižih cvasti na biljkama, na efikasnost ubiranja. Ustanovljeno je da pri veličini koeficijenta R = 1,3 može da se ostvari maksimalan udeo ukupne ubrane mase cvasti u biološkom prinosu cvasti u proseku 90 % (cvasti sa drškom dužine do 2 cm 65 % i preko 2 cm 35 %, obračunato na dužinu do 2 cm). Buduća istraživanja treba da se usmere ka rešavanju mehaničkog postupka separacije cvasti od stabljike i lišća i skraćivanja drški cvasti, kao i utvrđivanja ekonomske opravdanosti mehaničke berbe cvasti nevena prikazanim postupkom

Assessing the effects of water saving measures on Europe's water resources: BLUE2 project - Freshwater quantity

Using JRC's LISFLOOD water resources model, the effect of four policy measures on Europe's water resources were investigated under current and future climate. The measures evaluated were increasing irrigation efficiency, urban water use efficiency, cooling water usage for energy production, and urban waste-water re-use for irrigation. The measures were evaluated following their current planned implementation (BAU) under the Water Framework Directive. Furthermore, an Maximum Feasible Technology scenario was investigated for all 4 measures. Increasing irrigation efficiency shows to have the largest effect on improving water resources, under current climate. Under future climate change however, the projected decreases in water availability in especially the Mediterranean are larger than the increases obtained with improving irrigation efficiency. This may indicate that an increased level of ambition in water efficiency measures is required to reduce the impact of climate change on water resources.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource

Impact of a changing climate, land use, and water usage on Europe’s water resources: A model simulation study

In this work, an assessment of the impacts of climate change on Europe’s water resources has been performed, focusing on the effects of 2°C warming. Climate projections from 1981-2100 were run through a distributed hydrological model assuming constant land use and water demand (year 2006). In this study, the 2°C warming period of five climate change projections was analysed. As a consequence of a 2 degree climate change, it is expected that - except for the Mediterranean region - precipitation will increase in most parts of Europe with the highest values over the Alps and Eastern Europe. These increases in precipitation are most likely linked to the increase in temperature which triggers more convective storms in the summer months. The observed consequences of a 2 degree climate change for the river flow and extreme events – floods and droughts - are: • The annual median river discharge shows an increase in most parts of Europe, except for the Mediterranean area where a decrease in flow is projected in all four seasons. • As a consequence of climate change, extreme peak discharges are projected to increase in almost every part of Europe, even the Mediterranean. The highest increases in flood hazards are found in the summer months for the inland countries whereas coastal zones and parts of Scandinavia show a decrease in floods. These increases are probably linked again to the increase in temperature which triggers more convective storms with a higher probability of floods. Especially urban areas near larger rivers might need more attention to flood risk management and planning, due to projections of growth of urban areas and increased flood hazard. • Streamflow droughts will become more severe in the summer season mainly for the Mediterranean region (Spain, Portugal, Greece). This might have an impact for cooling water intake for industrial and energy production activities, irrigation water availability, critical environmental flow conditions, as well as hydropower potential. • According the climate change projections the most extreme events are projected to occur in summer with an increase in flood risk in the eastern part of Europe (e.g. Poland) and the Baltic countries and extreme droughts in the Mediterranean region. These projected future changes in the hydrological cycle are directly reflected in the water resources indicators. Especially the southern European countries are projected to face increased water shortages: • Climate change projections lead to an increase in the number of days per year that river flows are lower than a critical minimum in the Mediterranean regions and a decrease in the northern latitudes. Especially Spain and Portugal face increased low flow conditions. • The climate change projections lead to a decrease of groundwater resources in the southern European countries and an increase for the northern countries. Further over-abstraction of groundwater in southern European countries – beyond renewable capacity – might lead to critical deep groundwater levels and increased pumping costs to extract the water for use at the surface. • Soil moisture stress conditions - which could reduce agricultural crop yields, are especially increasing under the 2oC warming scenario in the already stressed areas in the Mediterranean. Specific crop yield effects are described in the report on agriculture. - • The southern European regions with already a high current water consumption relative to water availability are projected to be most affected by a 2-degree warming due to a decrease in freshwater resources, and at the same time an increased need for irrigation water due to higher evaporative demands. • In the Mediterranean countries and especially in Spain the water resources situation will become more unsustainable. Inflowing upstream freshwater is also not sufficient to meet local water needs under a 2 degree warming. • For eastern Europe, the projections indicate that some regions will rely to a reduced extent on upstream inflow to meet their local water demands. Policy implications: • Especially in the Mediterranean part of Europe, water savings will be essential to adapt to the decreasing overall water availability; savings could take place to increasing irrigation efficiency, sub-optimal or deficit irrigation strategies, efficiency increases in cooling processes in industry and energy production, public water savings, a better intra-annual management of water resources in a basin (e.g. storing winter water in hydropower reservoirs for irrigation water use in summer. Increased synergies between the water and agricultural policies are needed. • To raise awareness for the importance of water, setting a reasonable price on water will be an essential incentive for users for water savings. As long as water is either free of charge or to cheap, users will likely not be urged for savings. • A better control on and prevention of illegal abstractions is needed to prevent over-abstraction of groundwater in a number of European regions. A better reporting of water abstractions does help the monitoring of water resources as well. • Given the expected increase in flood hazard, especially in the urbanised areas – which in many cases are expected for further grow until 2050 according to JRC’s LUISA projections – flood risk management, prevention and adaptation to floods will become an even bigger issue.JRC.D.2-Water and Marine Resource