Dead Battery? Wind Power, The Spot Market, and Hydro Power Interaction in the Nordic Electricity Market

It is well established within both the economics and power system engineering literature that hydro power can act as a complement to large amounts of intermittent energy. In particular, hydro power can act as a "battery" where large amounts of wind power are installed. This paper attempts to extend that literature by describing the effects of cross-border wind and hydro power interaction in a day-ahead "spot" market. I use simple econometric distributed lag models with data from the Nordic electricity market and a sample of Norwegian hydro power plants with water storage magazines. I suggest that wind power mainly affects prices in the hydro power area by way of shifting the shadow value of water. The empirical results support this view.Wind Power; Hydro Power; Nordic Electricity Market; Empirical

What Happens When it's Windy in Denmark? An Empirical Analysis of Wind Power on Price Variability in the Nordic Electricity Market

High levels of wind power penetration will tend to affect prices in a deregulated electricity market. Much of the analysis in the literature has focused on the effect that wind power has on average electricity prices, this paper attempts to test the effect that wind power production has on the variability of wholesale electricity prices in the spot market. I use a simple distributed lag econometric model and five years worth of hourly and daily data from Denmark, which is one of the few places with a long history of significant wind power penetration. I show that wind power has the effect of reducing intra-day variability but that this result only partially carries over to price variation over weekly time windows. I suggest that the reduction in price variability in turn is due to a steeper supply schedule at peak-load times.Wind Power; Nordic Electricity Market; Empirical; Time Series

The Decision to Scrap a Wind Turbine: Opportunity Cost, Timing and Policy

This paper attempts to empirically identify the key factors involved in the decision to scrap a wind turbine using data from Denmark. The importance of the opportunity cost of operating an older wind turbine is shown to be a prominent factor in the decision to scrap. I show the strong effect that renewable energy policy plays in the decision to scrap a turbine. Through the use of both non-parametric and semi-parametric duration models and an instrumental variables approach I identify a strong effect for scrapping schemes put in place by the Danish government. I also obtain the, initially, counter-intuitive result that more effective wind turbines have a higher hazard of being scrapped.Wind Power; Denmark; Empirical; Duration Models; Scrapping

Rocket noise filtering system using digital filters

A set of digital filters is designed to filter rocket noise to various bandwidths. The filters are designed to have constant group delay and are implemented in software on a general purpose computer. The Parks-McClellan algorithm is used. Preliminary tests are performed to verify the design and implementation. An analog filter which was previously employed is also simulated

The effect of oil prices on offshore production : evidence from the Norwegian continental shelf

I use detailed field-level data on Norwegian o↵-shore oil field production and a semi-parametric additive model to control for the production profile of fields to estimate the e↵ect of oil prices on production. I find no significant evidence of a concurrent reaction of field production to oil prices, though a slight lagged e↵ect is found of the magnitude of approximately 2 to 4% for a 10 dollar per barrel increase in the real price of oil. Most of this e↵ect appears to come in the planning phase of a field’s development

Adults in the room? The auditor and dividends in small firms: Evidence from a natural experiment

We examine the effect of auditing on dividends in small private firms. We hypothesize that auditing can constrain dividends by way of promoting accounting conservatism. We use register data on private Norwegian firms and random variation induced by the introduction of a policy allowing small private firms to forgo the use of an auditor to estimate the effect of auditing on dividend payout. Identification is obtained by a regression discontinuity around the arbitrary thresholds for the policy. Propensity score matching is used to create a balanced synthetic control. We consistently find that forgoing auditing led to a significant increase in dividends in small private firms

The information continuum model of evolution

Most biologists agree that evolution is contingent on inherited information shaped by natural selection. This apparent consensus could be taken to indicate agreement on the forces shaping evolution, but vivid discussions reveal divergences on how evolution is perceived. The predominant Modern Synthesis (MS) paradigm holds the position that evolution occurs through random changes acting on genomic inheritance. However, studies from recent decades have revealed that evolutionary inheritance also includes DNA-methylation, RNA, symbionts, and culture, among other factors. This has fueled a demand of a broader evolutionary perspective, for example from the proponents of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES). Despite fundamental disagreements the different views agree that natural selection happens through dissimilar perpetuation of inheritable information. Yet, neither the MS, nor the ESS dwell extensively on the nature of hereditary information. We do - and conclude that information in and of itself is immaterial. We then argue that the quality upon which natural selection acts henceforth is also immaterial. Based on these notions, we arrive at the information-centric Information Continuum Model (ICM) of evolution. The ICM asserts that hereditary information is embedded in diverse physical forms (DNA, RNA, symbionts etc.) representing a continuum of evolutionary qualities, and that information may migrate between these physical forms. The ICM leaves theoretical exploration of evolution unrestricted by the limitations imposed by the individual physical forms wherein the hereditary information is embedded (e.g. genomes). ICM bestows us with a simple heuristic model that adds explanatory dimensions to be considered in the evolution of biological systems.publishedVersio

Production, mortality, and infectivity of planktonic larval sea lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837): current knowledge and implications for epidemiological modelling

Current sea louse models attempt to estimate louse burdens on wild and cultured salmon by predicting the production and distribution of lice larvae and estimating the risk of transmission. While physical characteristics of water bodies and weather can be accurately modelled, many aspects of sea lice biology require further parameterization. The aims of this review are (i) to describe current knowledge regarding the production, mortality, and infectivity of planktonic sea lice larvae and (ii) to identify gaps in knowledge and suggest research approaches to filling them. Several major gaps are identified, and those likely to have the greatest impact on infection levels are (i) egg production, viability and hatching success, (ii) predation in plankton and (iii) copepodid infectivity profiles. A key problem identified in current parameter estimates is that they originate from a number of sources and have been determined using a variety of experimental approaches. This is a barrier to the provision of “best” or consensus estimates for use in modelling. Additional and more consistent data collection and experimentation will help to fill these gaps. Furthermore, coordinated international efforts are required to generate a more complete picture of sea louse infections across all regions experiencing problems with sea lice

The Effect of Oil Price on Field Production: Evidence from the Norwegian Continental Shelf

Abstract I use detailed field-level data on Norwegian off-shore oil field production and a semi-parametric additive model to control for the production profile of fields to estimate the effect of oil prices on production. I find no significant evidence of a concurrent reaction of field production to oil prices, though a slight lagged effect is found of the magnitude of approximately 2 to 4% for a 10 dollar per barrel increase in the real price of oil. Most of this effect appears to come in the planning phase of a field's development

A study of the large scale circulation and water mass formation in the Nordic seas and Arctic ocean

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1994.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-212).by Cecilie Mauritzen.Ph.D