Verdien av en robust vannforsyning - Hvordan verdsette konsekvenser av brudd i drikkevannsforsyningen?

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Samfunnsøkonomisk optimale investeringer i robust drikkevannsinfrastruktur

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D:A4.1 Socio-economic impact assessment

The executive summary ends with six concise recommendations for facilitating more accountability for data management in cloud ecosystems: 1. Provide a stronger legal base for and enforcement of data protection and accountable behavior; 2. Facilitate independent auditing of responsible data stewardship; 3. Increase public awareness of the need for accountability; 4. Balance existing information asymmetries via partnerships; 5. Focus on larger enterprises working in the public sector first, as these can serve as an example for other types of businesses; 6. Demonstrate how A4Cloud tools and mechanisms can be turned into a business model in order to encourage greater uptake and use

Ny kampflybase - Konsekvenser for sivil luftfart: Kommentarer til Avinors rapport

Oppdragsgiver: Sør-Trøndelag fylkeskommuneAvinor har på oppdrag Fra Samferdselsdepartementet og i samråd med Forsvarsdepartementet laget en utredning om konsekvenser For sivil luftfart av lokalisering av ny kampflybase. På oppdrag Fra Sør-Trøndelag Fylkeskommune har SINTEF Foretatt en gjennomgang av Avinor sin rapport og gitt kommentarer som spesielt vedrører kapittel 5, 6, 10, 13 og 14. I mandatet Fra departementet er Avinor bedt om å gi innspill til en samfunnsøkonomisk analyse gjennom å klarlegge kvalitative og kvantitative konsekvenser For sivile aktører knyttet til sivil luftfart. Vi har Forståelse For at Avinors rapport må omhandle mange aspekter og har søkt å begrense vårt Fokus til kostnader og nytte som har relevans For en samfunnsøkonomisk analyse, samt beløpenes Forankring i de kvalitative beskrivelsene. Denne rapporten er derfor ingen evaluering av Avinors tallgrunnlag og kalkyler. I vår gjennomgang har vi bl.a. vurdert metodisk angrepsmåte, relevant dekning av sivile aktører, samt hvorvidt Avinor på en systematisk måte har beskrevet kvalitative og kvantitative konsekvenser For sivil luftfart.publishedVersio

The Portfolio Perspective in Electricity Generation and Market Operations

Selecting portfolios of electricity production assets, energy sources and market participation strategies facilitates usage and management of complementary resources. It helps also power producers to address uncertainties and to balance profit contributions, costs and risks. Therefore, portfolios should be composed wisely. Our paper will bring concepts of portfolio optimization closer to private energy producers. We highlight important aspects to be considered and outline key value drivers. However, we call also for critical thinking if portfolios of physical assets should be considered a panacea to address uncertainty in power generation and market operations. An example demonstrates that, sometimes, financial instruments rather than diversification into renewables may prove more efficient to hedge risk. In addition to the possibility of hedging through the portfolios, portfolio management can yield benefits for internal physical balancing and market access - but the value in terms of additional profit and risk reduction depends on market conditions.The Portfolio Perspective in Electricity Generation and Market OperationsacceptedVersio

The Portfolio Perspective in Electricity Generation and Market Operations

Selecting portfolios of electricity production assets, energy sources and market participation strategies facilitates usage and management of complementary resources. It helps also power producers to address uncertainties and to balance profit contributions, costs and risks. Therefore, portfolios should be composed wisely. Our paper will bring concepts of portfolio optimization closer to private energy producers. We highlight important aspects to be considered and outline key value drivers. However, we call also for critical thinking if portfolios of physical assets should be considered a panacea to address uncertainty in power generation and market operations. An example demonstrates that, sometimes, financial instruments rather than diversification into renewables may prove more efficient to hedge risk. In addition to the possibility of hedging through the portfolios, portfolio management can yield benefits for internal physical balancing and market access - but the value in terms of additional profit and risk reduction depends on market conditions.acceptedVersion© 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works

Genetic variability and structure of the water vole Arvicola amphibius across four metapopulations in northern Norway

Water vole Arvicola amphibius populations have recently experienced severe decline in several European countries as a consequence of both reduction in suitable habitat and the establishment of the alien predator American mink Neovison vison. We used DNA microsatellite markers to describe the genetic structure of 14 island populations of water vole off the coast of northern Norway. We looked at intra- and inter-population levels of genetic variation and examined the effect of distance among pairs of populations on genetic differentiation (isolation by distance). We found a high level of genetic differentiation (measured by FST) among populations overall as well as between all pairs of populations. The genetic differentiation between populations was positively correlated with geographic distance between them. A clustering analysis grouped individuals into 7 distinct clusters and showed the presence of 3 immigrants among them. Our results suggest a small geographic scale for evolutionary and population dynamic processes in our water vole populations

Integrated design and sustainable assessment of innovative biomass supply chains: A case-study on miscanthus in France

Cost-efficient, environmental-friendly and socially sustainable biomass supply chains are urgently needed to achieve the 2020 targets of the Strategic Energy Technologies-Plan of the European Union. This paper investigated technical, social, economic, and environmental barriers to the development and innovation of supply chains, taking into account a large range of parameters influencing the performances of biomass systems at supply chain scale. An assessment framework was developed that combined economic optimization of a supply chain with a holistic and integrated sustainability assessment. The framework was applied to a case-study involving miscanthus biomass in the Burgundy region (Eastern France) to compare alternative biomass supply chain scenarios with different annual biomass demand, crop yield, harvest timing and densification technologies. These biomass supply chain scenarios were first economically optimized across the whole supply chain (from field to plant gate) by considering potential feedstock production (from a high-resolution map), costs, logistical constraints and product prices. Then sustainability assessment was conducted by combining recognized methodologies: economic analysis, multi-regional input-output analysis, emergy assessment, and life-cycle assessment. The analysis of the case study scenarios found that expanding biomass supply from 6,000 to 30,000 tons of dry matter per year did not impact the profitability, which remained around 20€ per ton of biomass procured. Regarding environmental impacts, the scenario with the lowest feedstock supply area had the lowest impact per ton due to low economies of scale. Mobile briquetting proved to be also a viable economic option, especially in situations with a considerable scattering of the crop production and expensive transportation logistics. By highlighting hot-spots in terms of economic, environmental and social impacts of biomass supply systems, this study provides guidance in the supply chain optimization and the design of technological solutions tailored to economic operators as well as other stakeholders, such as policy makers.acceptedVersio

Evaluering av T2-prosjektet ved Oslo Lufthavn. Sentrale læringspunkter og erfaringer fra gjennomføringen av Terminal 2 – prosjektet ved Oslo Lufthavn Gardermoen

På oppdrag av Avinor har SINTEF, NTNU og WSP Norge utført en evaluering av Terminal 2-prosjektet ved Oslo Lufthavn. Målet med evalueringen har vært å trekke ut sentrale læringspunkter og erfaringer fra prosjektet som Avinor og andre aktører med fordel kan trekke med seg til forberedelse og gjennomføring av fremtidige prosjekter. Hovedinntrykket fra evalueringen er at T2-prosjektet har vært vellykket og at prosjektet har mange ulike erfaringer og læringspunkter som Avinor og andre med fordel kan bruke i fremtiden. Spesielt vil vi trekke frem følgende forhold: - Ferdig innenfor tid og kostnad, noe som er uvanlig for "megaprosjekter" - Proaktiv prosjekteierstyring - Samlokalisering - Tett koordinering med og tidlig involvering av drift - Innovativ BIM-bruk - Trinnvis idriftsettelse og systematisk ferdigstillelse - Minimale forstyrrelser for daglig drift på grunn av utbyggingen Oppdragsgiver: Avinor ASpublishedVersio

Sustainability and the Social Construction of Technology: The Case of RWH as Source of Water Supply in Greater Accra

The paper discusses the sustainability of roof rainwater harvesting (RWH) in Greater Accra, Ghana We take a holistic approach, but focus especially on the social dimension. The discussion is grounded in a research and development project including a holistic sustainability assessment of selected RWH designs based on LCA, cost-benefit analysis and a KAP survey, as well as training of local artisans, stakeholder dialogue and pilot implementation of 21 RWH systems. The performance of the systems largely met the expectation. The households could expect long-term savings, and there were benefits in terms of convenience, hygiene and water sharing. On the other hand, high initial costs, limited awareness, and lack of capacity to implement supportive policies were impediments to wide-scale adoption. The sustainability of the solutions is discussed in further detail. A social construction of technology (SCOT) perspective is applied to throw light on how the stakeholders constructed drivers, barriers, and indeed the technical solutions themselves. We find that the technology was at a stage of low stabilization, meaning-wise, and this clearly affected its sustainability in the local context. The findings suggest that more attention should be paid to social construction in sustainability research and transition efforts.publishedVersio