86 research outputs found
Solar Bait: How States Attract Solar Investments from Large Corporations
Past literature in solar adoption has focused primarily on households without significant attention to the potential of commercial properties as sites for solar generation. Herein we examine firmsâ decisions to install solar panels on their properties using state-level data. We are interested in the effects of state-level characteristics, including policies and regulations, on firm decisions regarding solar investments. We find that state characteristics that influence the return-on-investment from solar installations, most notably solar intensity, are important for commercial adoption decisions. Further results suggest that certain state-level policies, in particular solar carve-outs in renewable portfolio standards, financing programs and tax breaks, can incentivize firms to install solar panels. The strongest result we observe across empirical specifications is that firm installation decisions are correlated with personal electric vehicle ownership rates. This may indicate a âgreenâ business marketing strategy, whereby firms install solar to improve their social responsibility image
Interstate Protectionism: The Case of Solar Renewable Energy Credits
Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) are financial instruments created by state policies to offer incentives for generating solar energy. In an effort to support in-state solar energy sectors and boost local employment opportunities, some states have closed off their SREC markets to out-of-state solar facilities. We examine the merits of such protectionist policy from the protectionist states perspective. We find that SREC market closure leads to higher in-state SREC prices, greater solar installation, and lower electricity prices. The study illustrates the economic incentives for protecting in-state SREC markets from out-of-state solar energy producers
Exploring the role of ICT on household behavioural energy efficiency to mitigate global warming
With the advent of ICT in the energy system, new possibilities to inform and influence residential electricity consumption become available. We explore the potential of ICT-based interventions in households to decrease electricity usage, improve energy efficiency and thus contribute to reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions from this sector. Based on a literature review on the subject, we suggest that ICT can affect some of the main behaviour-influencing factors, and discuss the causal avenues by which these effects can take hold. Our review finds that ICT-based effects on consumer behaviour can reduce household final electricity consumption by 0â5%. These and other findings from the literature are used to define parameter values, which reflect the efficacy of ICT at changing household energy usage patterns, and ultimately decreasing GHG emissions from the electricity sector. A quantitative analysis of the potential for ICT to contribute to reaching the 1.5âŻÂ°C target in the context of the European Union (EU) energy sector is performed. It is found that ICT-based interventions in household energy use could contribute between 0.23% and 3.3% of the EU CO2e reduction target from the energy sector that would keep warming under 1.5âŻÂ°C, corresponding to 4.5â64.7 mio. tCO2e abated per year.The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the PEAKapp project, grant agreement No. 695945 (http://www.peakapp.eu/)
Analyzing the energy system impacts of price-induced demand-side-flexibility with empirical data
Acknowledgements: The authors gratefully acknowledge funding for this research from the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the PEAKapp project, Grant agreement #695945 (http://www.peakapp.eu/). The authors also gratefully acknowledge fruitful discussions with Geraldine Henningsen and Jon-Gustav Kirkerud in the early stages of this research. For support with the literature review and preparing figures, the authors also ackowledge the support of Tabea Louisa Jaenicke, KonstantinosPaidis and Matteo Carnazzola. The usual disclaimer applies.Peer reviewedPostprin
6-[18F]Fluoro-L-DOPA and Cerebral Blood Flow in Unilaterally MPTP-Treated Monkeys
Intravenous administration of 15O-labeled
water and 6-[18F]-L-fluorodopa were used to
assess abnormal striatal activity in monkeys
after long-term recovery of unilateral lesions of
the dopaminergic nigro-striatal system induced
by the neurotoxin MPTP. PET data were
examined in relation to behavioral and
biological parameters. Cerebral blood flow and
6-[18F]-L-DOPA uptake were found to be
significantly reduced in the lesioned striatum,
compared to the unaffected side and to normal
controls. There was no correlation between
cerebral blood flow and any of the behavioral
parameters. The uptake rate constant of 18F-DOPA from blood to striatum and the ratios of
striatum to occipital areas were highly
correlated to the concentrations of homovanillic
acid in the cerebrospinal fluid of the same
animals but not to the rotational behavior. This
MPTP-inducedmodei of striatal dopamine
deficiency in primates presents similarities with
idiopathic Parkinson's disease and may be used
to evaluate the effects of dopaminergic lesions
and transplants on brain function
Recommended from our members
Bright and Fast Multicoloured Voltage Reporters via Electrochromic FRET
Genetically encoded fluorescent reporters of membrane potential promise to reveal aspects of neural function not detectable by other means. We present a palette of multicoloured brightly fluorescent genetically encoded voltage indicators with sensitivities from 8â13% ÎF/F per 100âmV, and half-maximal response times from 4â7âms. A fluorescent protein is fused to an archaerhodopsin-derived voltage sensor. Voltage-induced shifts in the absorption spectrum of the rhodopsin lead to voltage-dependent nonradiative quenching of the appended fluorescent protein. Through a library screen, we identify linkers and fluorescent protein combinations that report neuronal action potentials in cultured rat hippocampal neurons with a single-trial signal-to-noise ratio from 7 to 9 in a 1âkHz imaging bandwidth at modest illumination intensity. The freedom to choose a voltage indicator from an array of colours facilitates multicolour voltage imaging, as well as combination with other optical reporters and optogenetic actuators.Chemistry and Chemical BiologyEngineering and Applied SciencesPhysic
All-optical electrophysiology in mammalian neurons using engineered microbial rhodopsins
All-optical electrophysiologyâspatially resolved simultaneous optical perturbation and measurement of membrane voltageâwould open new vistas in neuroscience research. We evolved two archaerhodopsin-based voltage indicators, QuasAr1 and QuasAr2, which show improved brightness and voltage sensitivity, have microsecond response times and produce no photocurrent. We engineered a channelrhodopsin actuator, CheRiff, which shows high light sensitivity and rapid kinetics and is spectrally orthogonal to the QuasArs. A coexpression vector, Optopatch, enabled cross-talkâfree genetically targeted all-optical electrophysiology. In cultured rat neurons, we combined Optopatch with patterned optical excitation to probe back-propagating action potentials (APs) in dendritic spines, synaptic transmission, subcellular microsecond-timescale details of AP propagation, and simultaneous firing of many neurons in a network. Optopatch measurements revealed homeostatic tuning of intrinsic excitability in human stem cellâderived neurons. In rat brain slices, Optopatch induced and reported APs and subthreshold events with high signal-to-noise ratios. The Optopatch platform enables high-throughput, spatially resolved electrophysiology without the use of conventional electrodes
- âŠ