Characteristics of Midwest Commercial Market Demand for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

This report summarizes the results of a commercial market survey conducted in four major midwest cities: Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City and Minneapolis. The purposes of the survey were to establish the general market requirements for fresh produce, particularly for potential new suppliers, and to estimate the demand for more than a dozen fruits and vegetables which Iowa may be able to produce competitively. The general conclusion reached is that all fresh produce marketed at this level has to be of top quality in appearance and packaging, and be precooled where necessary for extended shelf-life. In addition, major suppliers to retail chains (about 76 percent of the total market for fresh produce) must maintain consistent and reliable supplies at competitive prices. The large produce growing states, especially California, have set the industry\u27s quality standards. For Iowa growers to compete at the retail and wholesale level requires high professional standards in all aspects of fresh fruit and vegetable production and marketing

The Economic Feasibility of Expanding Iowa\u27s Fresh Vegetable Production for the Commerical Wholesale Market

The current financial crisis in Midwestern agriculture has prompted farmers and policymakers to search for profitable alternative crops that can diversify Iowa\u27s agriculture so that farmers and the state economy will be less reliant on corn, soybeans, cattle and swine. Among the alternative crops suggested for diversifying Iowa agriculture are fresh vegetables for the commercial wholesale market

Precooling Methods For Commercial Vegetable Producers

Horticultural product deterioration\u27\u27after harvest is caused by respiration, \u27a complex process which at higher temperatures causes\u27faster \u27 decay of the product. Vegetable products vary in their rate of respira tion; but for most \u27products,\u27 good cooling\u27is critical to retard physiolog ical deterioration\u27 and maintain shelf life \u27and quality [9,\u27p.\u27 35]\u27.\u2

The Wide-area Energy Management System Phase 2 Final Report

The higher penetration of intermittent generation resources (including wind and solar generation) in the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and California Independent System Operator (CAISO) balancing authorities (BAs) raises issue of requiring expensive additional fast grid balancing services in response to additional intermittency and fast up and down power ramps in the electric supply system. The overall goal of the wide-area energy management system (WAEMS) project is to develop the principles, algorithms, market integration rules, a functional design, and a technical specification for an energy storage system to help cope with unexpected rapid changes in renewable generation power output. The resulting system will store excess energy, control dispatchable load and distributed generation, and utilize inter-area exchange of the excess energy between the California ISO and Bonneville Power Administration control areas. A further goal is to provide a cost-benefit analysis and develop a business model for an investment-based practical deployment of such a system. There are two tasks in Phase 2 of the WAEMS project: the flywheel field tests and the battery evaluation. Two final reports, the Wide-area Energy Management System Phase 2 Flywheel Field Tests Final Report and the Wide-area Energy Storage and Management System Battery Storage Evaluation, were written to summarize the results of the two tasks

Renewable Energy Opportunities at Fort Sill, Oklahoma

This document provides an overview of renewable resource potential at Fort Sill, based primarily upon analysis of secondary data sources supplemented with limited on-site evaluations. This effort focuses on grid-connected generation of electricity from renewable energy sources and on ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling buildings. The effort was funded by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) as follow-on to the 2005 Department of Defense (DoD) Renewables Assessment. The site visit to Fort Sill took place on June 10, 2010

Economic and Non-proliferation Policy Considerations of Uranium Enrichment in Brazil and Argentina

The nuclear development programs of both Argentina and Brazil have, since the 1970s, been premised on the desire for self-sufficiency and assurance of nuclear fuel supply. While military rivalry and mutual distrust led to nuclear weapons related development programs in the 1970s and 1980s, both countries have since terminated these programs. Furthermore, the governments of both countries have pledged their commitment to exclusively non-explosive use of nuclear energy and have signed the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Utilizing rights provided for under the NPT, both Argentina and Brazil have nuclear fuel production facilities, with the notable exception of enrichment plants, that provide much of the current indigenous fuel requirements for their nuclear power plants. However, both countries are actively developing enrichment capability to fill this gap. The purpose of this report is to assess the economic basis and non-proliferation policy considerations for indigenous enrichment capability within the context of their desired self-sufficiency and to evaluate possible United States Government policy options

The Wide-Area Energy Storage and Management System – Battery Storage Evaluation

This report presents the modeling approach, methodologies, and results of the sodium sulfur (NaS) battery evaluation study, which was conducted by Battelle for the California Energy Commission (CEC)

Renewable Energy Opportunities at Fort Polk, Louisiana

This document provides an overview of renewable resource potential at Fort Polk, based primarily upon analysis of secondary data sources supplemented with limited on-site evaluations. This effort focuses on grid-connected generation of electricity from renewable energy sources and also on ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling buildings. The effort was funded by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) as follow-on to the 2005 Department of Defense (DoD) Renewables Assessment. The site visit to Fort Polk took place on February 16, 2010

Electric Power Interruption Cost Estimates for Individual Industries, Sectors, and U.S. Economy

During the last 20 years, utilities and researchers have begun to understand the value in the collection and analysis of interruption cost data. The continued investigation of the monetary impact of power outages will facilitate the advancement of the analytical methods used to measure the costs and benefits from the perspective of the energy consumer. More in-depth analysis may be warranted because of the privatization and deregulation of power utilities, price instability in certain regions of the U.S. and the continued evolution of alternative auxiliary power systems