Cost-effectiveness of virtual power plants (VPPs) based on residential aggregators

The domestic sector accounts for a third of the UK's energy consumption and with increasing pressure from net-zero targets, the potential of residential flexibility is more widely recognised by consumers, aggregators and governments. The development of near real-time metering systems and home energy management technologies provide new possibilities for residential demand-side control. Due to the increase in energy prices and government schemes for improving residential energy efficiency and flexibility, domestic consumers are more aware and willing to participate in balancing services. The aggregator business model is previously proven to be successful for commercial-scale markets, due to the adequate amount of flexibility during peak hours and the corresponding financial incentives. Similarly, the domestic aggregation market is expected to grow and there has been a few feasibility studies that demonstrate the benefits to the grid and economy. However, there is a need for a further in-depth study of the cost-effectiveness of residential aggregation to provide virtual power plant (VPP) actions to encourage the development of residential demand response (DR). Here, we model and compare profitable cost-effective VPP methods using residential aggregation through the integration of a novel market entity called the residential aggregator

Delineating Anaplasma phagocytophilum Ecotypes in Coexisting, Discrete Enzootic Cycles

Genetically distinct subpopulations have adapted to different niche

High-Resolution Genetic Fingerprinting of European Strains of Anaplasma phagocytophilum by Use of Multilocus Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Analysis▿

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a widely distributed tick-borne pathogen of humans, livestock, and companion animals. We used in silico methods to identify 10 variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) loci within the genome sequence of the A. phagocytophilum HZ strain and used these data to develop a multilocus VNTR-based typing scheme for the species. Having confirmed the stability of four of the loci in replicates of the A. phagocytophilum strain that had been subjected to different numbers of passages through cell cocultures in vitro, we then used this typing scheme to discriminate between 20 A. phagocytophilum strains of diverse geographical and host provenances. Extensive diversity was found at each of the four loci studied, with total allele numbers ranging from 13 to 18 and Hunter-Gaston discriminatory index values ranging from 0.93 to 0.99. Only 2 of the 20 strains examined shared alleles at all four loci. The discriminatory power of VNTR analysis was found to be greater than that of either partial msp4 or 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison. The extremely high sensitivity of this novel approach to the genetic fingerprinting of A. phagocytophilum strains should serve well in molecular epidemiological studies of infection transmission, particularly when fine-scale strain delineation is required