Chapter 4: Infrastructure Considerations for CO2 Utilization, in: Carbon Dioxide Utilization Markets and Infrastructure Status and Opportunities: A First Report

This chapter describes considerations for developing infrastructure for carbon dioxide (CO2) utilization, taking into account the CO2-derived products identified in Chapter 3 and the existing infrastructure discussed in Chapter 2. Infrastructure needs throughout the CO2 utilization value chain are examined, from capture to purification, transportation, conversion, and, where applicable, transportation of the CO2-derived product. Requirements for enabling infrastructure, namely, clean electricity, hydrogen, water, land, and energy storage, are also considered

Chapter 6: Priority Infrastructure Opportunities for CO2 Utilization, in: Carbon Dioxide Utilization Markets and Infrastructure Status and Opportunities: A First Report

Building on the analyses of carbon dioxide (CO2)-derived products, infrastructure requirements, and policy, regulatory, and societal considerations discussed in Chapters 2 through 5, this chapter presents a summary of priority infrastructure opportunities to enable CO2 utilization. The chapter begins by describing options for CO2 utilization infrastructure funding based on current policy and regulatory regimes, and considering successful examples in related industries. It then examines near-term opportunities for CO2 utilization infrastructure investments, as well as near-term actions to enable longerterm deployment options. A primary consideration for these opportunities is the ability of CO2 utilization to participate in a future circular carbon economy, which depends on the type of CO2 source, CO2-derived product lifetime, and life cycle emissions of other process inputs. The chapt

FARMAPRICE: A Pharmacogenetic Clinical decision support system for precise and Cost-Effective Therapy

Pharmacogenetic (PGx) guidelines for the precise dosing and selection of drugs remain poorly implemented in current clinical practice. Among the barriers to the implementation process is the lack of clinical decision support system (CDSS) tools to aid health providers in managing PGx information in the clinical context. The present study aimed to describe the first Italian endeavor to develop a PGx CDSS, called FARMAPRICE. FARMAPRICE prototype was conceived for integration of patient molecular data into the clinical prescription process in the Italian Centro di Riferimento Oncologico (CRO)-Aviano Hospital. It was developed through a coordinated partnership between two high-tech companies active in the computerization of the Italian healthcare system. Introducing FARMAPRICE into the clinical setting can aid physicians in prescribing the most efficacious and cost-effective pharmacological therapy available

Techno-Ecological Synergy: A Framework for Sustainable Engineering

Even though the importance of ecosystems in sustaining all human activities is well-known, methods for sustainable engineering fail to fully account for this role of nature. Most methods account for the demand for ecosystem services, but almost none account for the supply. Incomplete accounting of the very foundation of human well-being can result in perverse outcomes from decisions meant to enhance sustainability and lost opportunities for benefiting from the ability of nature to satisfy human needs in an economically and environmentally superior manner. This paper develops a framework for understanding and designing synergies between technological and ecological systems to encourage greater harmony between human activities and nature. This framework considers technological systems ranging from individual processes to supply chains and life cycles, along with corresponding ecological systems at multiple spatial scales ranging from local to global. The demand for specific ecosystem services is determined from information about emissions and resource use, while the supply is obtained from information about the capacity of relevant ecosystems. Metrics calculate the sustainability of individual ecosystem services at multiple spatial scales and help define necessary but not sufficient conditions for local and global sustainability. Efforts to reduce ecological overshoot encourage enhancement of life cycle efficiency, development of industrial symbiosis, innovative designs and policies, and ecological restoration, thus combining the best features of many existing methods. Opportunities for theoretical and applied research to make this framework practical are also discussed

Emerging clean energy technology investment trends

Early-stage capital providers and clean energy technology incubators are supporting a new wave of innovations focused on end-use efficiency and demand control. This wave complements expanding investments in supply technologies required for electricity sector decarbonization

Enabling mini-grid development in rural India

Rural electrification rates in India lag behind government goals, in part due to the inability of distribution companies (discoms) to fund central grid expansion. In the absence of central grid electrification, mini-grids offer significant potential for an immediate pathway towards rural electrification and the attendant gains in economic growth and productivity. Yet private investment in mini-grids has been virtually absent in India. Using a comprehensive lifecycle cost analysis, we find that mini-grids based on solar PV power and storage are more economical than incumbent energy services available to households without central grid connection. Under current law, a prospective entrepreneur in India does not require a license or certification in order to build a mini-grid and subsequently provide electricity services in the area covered by said installation. Conversely, there is no legal or regulatory framework that specifies what is to happen if the central grid were to be extended to an area that is already covered by a mini-grid. We report detailed survey evidence from interviews with entrepreneurs, analysts and policymakers whose assessments converge on the same point: mini-grid investments would be jeopardized in the event of central grid extension, precisely because discoms would, by regulatory order, provide electricity services at highly subsidized rates, well below their full economic cost. Our fieldwork suggests that the threat of central grid extension is the gateway barrier preventing mini-grid development in India. The issues associated with the gateway barrier have common elements with the so-called holdup problem as identified in the economics of organizations. There have been two recent federal policy guidelines and one actual-state level policy addressing the regulatory status of mini-grids. We examine the effectiveness of these policies/proposals in terms of an entrepreneur’s ability to develop mini-grids in the future

Enabling mini-grid development in rural India

Rural electrification rates in India lag behind government goals, in part due to the inability of distribution companies (discoms) to fund central grid expansion. In the absence of central grid electrification, mini-grids offer significant potential for an immediate pathway towards rural electrification and the attendant gains in economic growth and productivity. Yet private investment in mini-grids has been virtually absent in India. Using a comprehensive lifecycle cost analysis, we find that mini-grids based on solar PV power and storage are more economical than incumbent energy services available to households without central grid connection. Under current law, a prospective entrepreneur in India does not require a license or certification in order to build a mini-grid and subsequently provide electricity services in the area covered by said installation. Conversely, there is no legal or regulatory framework that specifies what is to happen if the central grid were to be extended to an area that is already covered by a mini-grid. We report detailed survey evidence from interviews with entrepreneurs, analysts and policymakers whose assessments converge on the same point: mini-grid investments would be jeopardized in the event of central grid extension, precisely because discoms would, by regulatory order, provide electricity services at highly subsidized rates, well below their full economic cost. Our fieldwork suggests that the threat of central grid extension is the gateway barrier preventing mini-grid development in India. The issues associated with the gateway barrier have common elements with the so-called holdup problem as identified in the economics of organizations. There have been two recent federal policy guidelines and one actual-state level policy addressing the regulatory status of mini-grids. We examine the effectiveness of these policies/proposals in terms of an entrepreneur’s ability to develop mini-grids in the future

Enabling micro-grid development in rural India

Rural electrification rates in India lag behind government goals, in part due to the inability of distribution companies (discoms) to fund central grid expansion. In the absence of central grid electrification, mini-grids offer significant potential for an immediate pathway towards rural electrification and the attendant gains in economic growth and productivity. Yet private investment in mini-grids has been virtually absent in India. Using a comprehensive lifecycle cost analysis, we find that mini-grids based on solar PV power and storage are more economical than incumbent energy services available to households without central grid connection. Under current law, a prospective entrepreneur in India does not require a license or certification in order to build a mini-grid and subsequently provide electricity services in the area covered by said installation. Conversely, there is no legal or regulatory framework that specifies what is to happen if the central grid were to be extended to an area that is already covered by a mini-grid. We report detailed survey evidence from interviews with entrepreneurs, analysts and policymakers whose assessments converge on the same point: mini-grid investments would be jeopardized in the event of central grid extension, precisely because discoms would, by regulatory order, provide electricity services at highly subsidized rates, well below their full economic cost. Our fieldwork suggests that the threat of central grid extension is the gateway barrier preventing mini-grid development in India. The issues associated with the gateway barrier have common elements with the so-called holdup problem as identified in the economics of organizations. There have been two recent federal policy guidelines and one actual-state level policy addressing the regulatory status of mini-grids. We examine the effectiveness of these policies/proposals in terms of an entrepreneur’s ability to develop mini-grids in the future