Design and Assessment of Renewable Electricity Auctions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Auctions have recently been regarded as a useful alternative to other support schemes for setting the remuneration of renewable electricity (RES-E) worldwide. They have also been increasingly adopted in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, mostly due to their promise to support the deployment of RES-E projects cost-effectively. The aim of this article is to identify the design elements of RES-E auctions in SSA and assess their pros and cons with respect to different criteria. The results show that the design elements adopted in the SSA auctions are similar to other countries, but some design elements are deemed very relevant in order to address specific constraints to RES-E investments in SSA countries, including pre‑selection of sites, technology-specific (solar PV), and price‑only auctions. However, the main distinctive feature of auctions in SSA is that they are part of a broader policy mix of support mechanisms aimed at de‑risking and providing technical support

CNC Machines Integration in Smart Factories using OPC UA

This work was partially developed under the project TOOLING4G (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-024516) and the project S4PLAST - Sustainable Plastics Advanced Solutions (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-046089), supported by Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), Programa Operacional Regional de Lisboa, Portugal 2020 and Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). This project was also partially financed by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, within projects UIDB/00308/2020 and LA/P/0063/2020, and under the Scientific Employment Stimulus - Institutional Call CEECINST/00051/2018. Special thanks to the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest, a RUN-EU partner who also supported this workThis paper examines the idea of Industry 4.0 from the perspective of the molds industry, a vital industry in today’s industrial panorama. Several technologies, particularly in the area of machining equipment, have been introduced as a result of the industry’s constant modernization. This technological diversity makes automatic interconnection with production management software extremely difficult, as each brand and model requires different, mostly proprietary, interfaces and communication protocols. In the methodology presented in this paper, a development of monitoring solutions for machining devices is defined supporting the leading equipment and operations used by molds industry companies. OPC UA is employed for high-level communication between the various systems for a standardized approach. The approach combines various machine interfaces on a single system to cover a significant subset of machining equipment currently used by the molds industry, as a key result of this paper and given the variety of monitoring systems and communication protocols. This type of all-in-one approach will provide production managers with the information they need to monitor and improve the complete manufacturing process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Developing an OPC UA Server for CNC Machines

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing.Acknowledgements This work was developed under the project TOOLING4G (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-024516), supported by Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalizac¸ao (POCI), Portugal 2020 and Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). This project was also financed by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundac¸ao para a Ci ˜ encia e a Tecnologia, within projects UIDB/00308/2020 and UIDB/50014/2020.This paper addresses the concept of Industry 4.0 from the perspective of the molds industry, a key industry in today’s industrial panorama. With its constant modernization, several technologies have been introduced, in particular regarding machining equipment. With each brand and model requiring different (proprietary) interfaces and communication protocols, this technological diversity renders the automatic interconnection with production management software extremely challenging. In this paper a methodology to build monitoring solutions for machining devices is defined, based on the main equipment and operations used by molds industry companies. For a standardized approach, OPC UA is used for high-level communication between the various systems. As a key result of this paper, and given the variety of monitoring systems and communication protocols, the developed approach combines various different machine interfaces on a single system, in order to cover a relevant subset of machining equipment currently in use by the molds industry. This kind of all-in-one approach will give production managers access to the information needed for a continuous monitoring and improvement of the entire production process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stand-alone renewable energy auctions: The case of Peru

Electrification policies are crucial to improve the welfare of rural populationsworldwide. In this context, auctions for the deployment of stand-alone solar home systems (SASHS) are an appropriate alternative to facilitate access to electricity in rural areas. The aim of this paper is to analyze the design elements and functioning of the SASHS auction in Peru in order to derive lessons for the effective and efficient design of those auctions. Based on an analytical framework developed elsewhere, this article draws on official documents and data, secondary material and interviews with stakeholders. Our results show that some design elements are particularly suitable in this regard. In contrast to renewable electricity auctions in general, for which the volume auctioned is usually set as capacity (MW) or generation (MWh), the volume of SASHS auctions should be set in terms of the number of SASHS providing an electricity service.Geographical diversity,with different auctions per region, would ensure the adoption of a minimum amount of SASHS in a given geographical area. Financial solvency, but not technical reputation, should be required. Otherwise, only the incumbents would be able to participate in the auction. The choice of technology-specific, price-only, sealed-bid, single-item auctions brings benefits in terms of economies of scale, lower support or transaction costs and a greater transparency or simplicity. A correction factor on the remuneration which accounts for the quality of the service, as applied in the Peru auction, is suitable for this type of auctions. Finally, provision of technical information, which facilitates the participation in the auction, and the implementation of a non-disclosed ceiling price are deemed appropriate. In contrast, given the lowpresence of local companies in the Peruvian PV market, the adoption of local content requirements would lead to higher support costs without significantly increasing the local development potential.The authors would like to acknowledge Mr. Julio Eisman Valdés forhis guidance and support and Mr. Mats Marquardt (Factor) for editingsupport. Dr. Cabeza would like to thank the Catalan Government forthe quality accreditation given to her research group GREiA (2017 SGR1537). GREiA is certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology de-velopers from the Government of Catalonia. This work is partially sup-ported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia progra