МЕТОДИЧНІ ВКАЗІВКИ З АУДІЮВАННЯ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЮ МОВОЮ для самостійної роботи студентів першого курсу напрям підготовки 0305 Філологія

Подано методичні вказівки з аудіювання англійською мовою для самостійної роботи студентів першого курсу напряму підготовки 0305 Філологія

Diffusion of bioenergy in urban areas: socio-economic analysis of the planned Swiss wood-fired cogeneration plant in Basel

The municipal utilities of Basel (IWB) are in the process of building a 30 MW wood-fired CHP plant in the city of Basel, a project idea that was initially propelled by visionaries from the forest sector. The plant is attractive both politically and from a business perspective, as several goals related to the increased use of renewable energy can be achieved simultaneously. Moreover, significant woody biomass resources are awaiting further exploitation in the Basel region, which could help to improve markedly the cost effectiveness of forest maintenance. In this paper we study the history and some of the characteristics of the planned project from a socio-economic perspective. Of particular interest to our study is the early involvement of a large number of stakeholders with different interests. The project constitutes a pioneering project that could serve as an important non-Scandinavian model for similar projects in other parts of Switzerland, but also in Western and Central Europe as a whole. The lengthy decision-making and planning process offers interesting insights into the socio-economic drivers and barriers of large-scale bioenergy projects in urban settings, where wood heating systems are in general not as well established as in the countryside. We find that the interest of regional forest owners to tackle the problem of over-aged and largely unprofitable forests, coupled with a political climate that (1) favours green energy projects and (2) provides incentives for the municipal utility to produce more green energy from sources other than hydropower, have been the two main success factors for developing this particular biomass plant project.Urban biomass use, Wood energy, Cogeneration, Socio-economics, Basel, Switzerland

Exploring Experience Curves for the Building Envelope: An Investigation for Switzerland for 1970–2020

Energy efficiency potentials slumbering in the envelopes of existing and newly constructed buildings are significant and still largely untapped. Increasing concerns of policy-makers about non-sustainable energy use and its implications especially on climate change currently spur a growing interest in research in this area. The aim of this paper is to fill part of the existing knowledge gap by focusing on experience curve aspects of energy efficiency measures that concern state-of-the-art insulation methods, materials, and windows, and by studying the usefulness of such experience curves for the building envelope for energy policy design and evaluation. The analysis draws on a recent investigation of the situation in Switzerland (Jakob et al. 2002), but also contains a wider perspective especially regarding some more global technological trends and the market diffusion of innovative energy conservation technologies for the building envelope, policy designs, and policy programmes. The results derived from historical data analysis point to significant techno-economic progress over the last 30 years, and demonstrate the basic applicability, merits and limitations of the experience curve concept for energy policy design and impact analyses concerning the building envelope. We conclude from our analysis that building standards and labels can be important drivers for technoeconomic progress, apart from the energy conservation potentials offered, and that experience curves can be a useful tool for targeted and effective policy measures and for the promotion of labels and standards.Experience curve, building envelope, energy efficiency, policy design, energy paradox

The Economics of Adoption of Industrial Cogeneration: A Deterministic Model in Continuous Time

We conceptualize and model the decision-making problem of an industrial investor having the choice to adopt either some cogeneration or some heat-only generating technology, or a combination of the two. The deterministic model suggested is specified in continuous time, takes a lifetime perspective, and explicitly accounts for the impact of technical change and variations in other parameters on the optimal timing to adopt a cogeneration system and the optimal capacity choice/mix. The firm is flexible in postponing the investment decision. Uncertainty is incorporated by varying energy prices and base load duration. In a sensitivity analysis we show that the optimal capacity decision can change discontinuously due to regime shifts caused by changes in key variables, making investment decisions risky (risk of a suboptimal capacity choice) and optimal policy design very challenging. In numerical simulations, we provide evidence that technical progress and other changes in other important parameters can affect the optimal timing of adoption and the optimal capacity mix in important ways. Hence, if adopters are heterogeneous, this also has important implications on the optimal diffusion path of CHP technology. At the energy policy level, our findings of discrete jumps in the optimal cogeneration capacity level call for tailored cogeneration policies according to the specific characteristics of the firms, or industrial branches. At the more general level, the model could be useful for any kind of co-production where by-products can either be sold in the market or, alternatively, used as an input in some other production process of the firm concerned.Cogeneration; CHP; Technology adoption; Technical change

Optimal Technology Choice and Investment Timing: A Stochastic Model of Industrial Cogeneration vs. Heat-Only Production

In this paper we develop an economic model that explains the decision-making problem under uncertainty of an industrial firm that wants to invest in a process technology. More specifically, the decision is between making an irreversible investment in a combined heat-and-power production (cogeneration) system, or to invest in a conventional heat-only generation system (steam boiler) and to purchase all electricity from the grid. In our model we include the main economic and technical variables of the investment decision process. We also account for the risk and uncertainty inherent in volatile energy prices that can greatly affect the valuation of the investment project. The dynamic stochastic model presented allows us to simultaneously determine the optimal technology choice and investment timing. We apply the theoretical model and illustrate our main findings with a numerical example that is based on realistic cost values for industrial oil- or gas-fired cogeneration and heat-only generation in Switzerland. We also briefly discuss expected effects of a CO2 tax on the investment decision.Cogeneration, Irreversible investment, Risk, Uncertainty, Real options

Productivity in the Financial Sector: Brains Are More Important than Computers

A conventional decomposition of the financial sector's gross value added growth into its various components indicates that investments in Information and Communication Technologies are highly important. However, a more comprehensive calculation reveals that growth is the result of - in particular - the increased deployment of medium-skilled labour, without whom the technological potential could not be fully realized. Further, productivity increases in the financial sector are also the result of value chains restructured in favour of external intermediate inputs. Case studies and microeconomic assumptions serve to confirm these relations.Financial service industries, Stochastic production possibility frontiers, Efficiency analysis, Growth accounting

Volume distortion in groups

Given a space $Y$ in $X$, a cycle in $Y$ may be filled with a chain in two ways: either by restricting the chain to $Y$ or by allowing it to be anywhere in $X$. When the pair $(G,H)$ acts on $(X, Y)$, we define the $k$-volume distortion function of $H$ in $G$ to measure the large-scale difference between the volumes of such fillings. We show that these functions are quasi-isometry invariants, and thus independent of the choice of spaces, and provide several bounds in terms of other group properties, such as Dehn functions. We also compute the volume distortion in a number of examples, including characterizing the $k$-volume distortion of $\Z^k$ in $\Z^k \rtimes_M \Z$, where $M$ is a diagonalizable matrix. We use this to prove a conjecture of Gersten.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure

The circumstellar disk of FS Tau B - A self-consistent model based on observations in the mid-infrared with NACO -

Protoplanetary disks are a byproduct of the star formation process. In the dense mid-plane of these disks, planetesimals and planets are expected to form. The first step in planet formation is the growth of dust particles from submicrometer-sized grains to macroscopic mm-sized aggregates. The grain growth is accompanied by radial drift and vertical segregation of the particles within the disk. To understand this essential evolutionary step, spatially resolved multi-wavelength observations as well as photometric data are necessary which reflect the properties of both disk and dust. We present the first spatially resolved image obtained with NACO at the VLT in the L$_\text{p}$ band of the near edge-on protoplanetary disk FS Tau B. Based on this new image, a previously published Hubble image in H band and the spectral energy distribution from optical to millimeter wavelengths, we derive constraints on the spatial dust distribution and the progress of grain growth. For this purpose we perform a disk modeling using the radiative transfer code MC3D. Radial drift and vertical sedimentation of the dust are not considered. We find a best-fit model which features a disk extending from $2\,\text{AU}$ to several hundreds AU with a moderately decreasing surface density and $M_\text{disk}=2.8\,\times\,10^{-2}\,\text{M}_\odot$. The inclination amounts to $i=80^\circ$. Our findings indicate that substantial dust grain growth has taken place and that grains of a size equal to or larger than $1\,\text{mm}$ are present in the disk. In conclusion, the parameters describing the vertical density distribution are better constrained than those describing the radial disk structure.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 2 table

Economic and CO2 mitigation impacts of promoting biomass heating systems: an input-output study for Vorarlberg, Austria

This paper reports on an empirical investigation about the economic and CO2 mitigation impacts of bioenergy promotion in the Austrian federal province of Vorarlberg. We study domestic value added, employment and fiscal effects by means of a static input-output analysis. The bioenergy systems analysed comprise biomass district heating, pellet heating, automated wood chips heating systems, logwood stoves and boilers, ceramic stoves, and buffer storage facilities. The results indicate that gross economic effects are significant, both regarding investment and operation of the systems, and that the negative economic effects caused by the displacement of decentralised systems might be in the order of 20--40%. Finally, CO2 mitigation effects are substantial, contributing already in 2004 around 35% of the 2010 CO2 mitigation target of the Land Vorarlberg for all renewables set for 2010.Input-output analysis, Value added, Employment, Bioenergy

Promoting renewable electricity generation in imperfect markets: price vs. quantity control

The search for economically effcient policy instruments designed to promote the diffusion of renewable energy technologies in liberalized markets has led to the introduction of quota-based tradable `green' certifcate (TGC) schemes for renewable power. However, there is a debate about the pros and cons of TGC, a quantity control policy, compared to guaranteed feed-in tariffs (FIT), a price control policy. In this paper we contrast these two alternatives in terms of cost effectiveness and social welfare, taking into account that electricity markets are not perfectly competitive.Renewable electricity, Feed-in tariffs, Tradable green certifcates, Quota, Energy policy, Duopoly