Optimal Carbon Taxes for Emissions Targets in the Electricity Sector

The most dangerous effects of anthropogenic climate change can be mitigated by using emissions taxes or other regulatory interventions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper takes a regulatory viewpoint and describes the Weighted Sum Bisection method to determine the lowest emission tax rate that can reduce the anticipated emissions of the power sector below a prescribed, regulatorily-defined target. This bi-level method accounts for a variety of operating conditions via stochastic programming and remains computationally tractable for realistically large planning test systems, even when binary commitment decisions and multi-period constraints on conventional generators are considered. Case studies on a modified ISO New England test system demonstrate that this method reliably finds the minimum tax rate that meets emissions targets. In addition, it investigates the relationship between system investments and the tax-setting process. Introducing GHG emissions taxes increases the value proposition for investment in new cleaner generation, transmission, and energy efficiency; conversely, investing in these technologies reduces the tax rate required to reach a given emissions target

The water-power nexus of the Iberian Peninsula power system. WATERFLEX project

Water availability influences power generation and its costs. Policies aimed at keeping the water stress index of thermal power plants within acceptable limits are needed. This report provides a model-based analysis of the water-power nexus in the Iberian PeninsulaLa disponibilidad de agua influye en la generación de energía y sus costos. Se necesitan políticas dirigidas a mantener el índice de estrés hídrico de las centrales térmicas dentro de límites aceptables. Este informe proporciona un análisis basado en modelos del nexo entre el agua y la energía en la Península Ibéric

On the Solution of Revenue- and Network-Constrained Day-Ahead Market Clearing under Marginal Pricing-Part II: Case Studies

This paper presents the numerical analysis of the bilevel programming approach for revenue- and networkconstrained market clearing developed in its companion paper. The impact of minimum revenue conditions and minimum declared profits on generation and consumption levels as well as on locational marginal prices for energy is examined in detail through three case studies. First, the results from an illustrative example including minimum revenue conditions are comprehensively analyzed. The second case study is based on the IEEE Reliability Test System and considers minimum declared profits. In the third case study, a modified version of the IEEE 118-bus system is tested while accounting for minimum revenue conditions. In addition, the computational behavior of the proposed approach is illustrated with several case studies including the IEEE 300-bus system. Numerical results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach to handle revenue constraints as well as its superiority over the heuristic currently implemented in the Iberian electricity market. Moreover, simulations reveal that, unlike previous works in the literature, generation revenue constraints can be precisely incorporated in day-ahead market clearing while explicitly considering the standard economic-dispatch-based marginal pricing scheme and without requiring price uplifts

Health status and pesticide exposure level of terrestrial pesticide applicators in Córdoba, Argentina

Pesticide exposure in rural areas affects a sector of the population that is highly exposed and very vulnerable. Thus, agricultural workers represent a highly vulnerable population to the toxic effects of pesticide exposure. The rural area of Cordoba dedicated to extensive crops (soybean, corn, sorghum, peanuts, wheat and sunflower) experienced a rapid expansion in the last 20 years, with 7.3 million hectares in 2011/2012. The technological farming model used in the region requires increasing amounts of chemicals, to control pests, leading to a particular setting of sanitary risk to farm workers and rural communities. The study of health impacts of pesticides and the accurate estimation of pesticide exposure is of major concern in public health. This cross sectional study aimed to describe the health conditions of terrestrial pesticide applicators in Córdoba Province, Argentina, in relation to their pesticide exposure level.http://www.esl.unc.edu.ar/especial/Libro%20de%20Resumenes%20EIDIPA%202015%20final%20sin%20ISBN.pdfFil: Butinof, Mariana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Fil: Fernández, Ricardo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas; Argentina.Fil: Stimolo, María Inés. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Fil: Lantieri, María Josefina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; Argentina.Fil: Blanco, Marcelo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina.Fil: Díaz, María Del Pilar. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Salud Ocupaciona

High dielectric constant in Barium titanate-graphene composites around the percolation threshold

Resumen del trabajo presentado a la 14th International Conference of the European Ceramic Society, celebrada en Toledo (España) del 21 al 25 junio de 2015.Peer Reviewe

Occupational risks associated with the use of pesticides in the green belt of Córdoba, Argentina

Horticulture is an activity with high occupational risk and few studies have addressed this problem in Argentina. We studied groups of horticultural workers in the Green Belt of Córdoba City (GBCC) (Argentina) and identified some determinants of occupational accidents caused by the use of pesticides. An observational study was conducted, examining demographic, productive and labor issues in 101 workers. A Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) enabled distribution and covariance patterns to be visualized and typologies of individuals to be established. Logistic regression models were used to identify occupational accidents with pesticides. The MCA identified the more vulnerable groups: those using backpacks to apply pesticides, those who sprayed a great variety of pesticides, those working in small production units, and those living in their place of work. Accidents caused by the use of pesticides were associated with subjects who handle a large number of pesticides and work in small establishments. Determining factors for the occurrence of accidents were found to be higher levels of education (OR 4.23; p =0.046), the greater number of pesticides used (OR 5.44; p=0.013) and lower PPE level (OR 4.92; p= 0.021). This characterization identifies features of vulnerability to pesticide exposure in certain groups of horticulturists as well as determinants of accidents with pesticides.Fil: Franchini, Carlos Germán. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud; Argentin