Economic viability of solar thermal systems: comparison between Ukraine and Portugal

Mestrado APNOR em parceria com a Lutsk National Technical University - LNTU da UcrâniaThe challenges for energy resources and the concerns regarding environmental protection are significant and will require several changes, not only on how the energy is consumed but also how it is supplied. Solar thermal technologies can take the lead in meeting the decarbonisation targets in Europe. Solar thermal systems are used to convert solar radiation into heat to supply domestic hot water and space heating in residential buildings. The current study analyses the initial theoretical research on the solar energy use, solar technologies, influencing factors, trend predictions and prospects for the development. The main objective of the current research work is to define a costing methodology that allows determining the total investment cost of solar thermal systems according to the system size and specification. Therefore, there is a need to analyse the solar thermal systems from the perspective of economic benefits as well as performing the financial analyses for such systems in Portugal and in Ukraine. To achieve this goal it was measured the technical and economic aspects of solar thermal systems to estimate the average production cost. Financial analysis was performed in order to define viability of such project and included Net Present Value (NPV), Profitability Index (PI), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Economic Life calculation. Moreover, sensitivity analysis was carried out in order to determine how some crucial values such as discount rate and energy price changes affect the viability of solar thermal system in both countries. With the purpose of accomplishing such goal the real market data provided by “Termozona”, “Solius.Energias Renovaveis”, The International Renewable Energy Agency, Institute of Renewable Energy NANU for Ukraine and tariffs from EDP and World Bank of Sustainable energy were taken into account. The results of the analysis showed that from the economical perspective, in Portugal, there is a considerable market opportunity for solar thermal systems though the government support and subsidy schemes from European Union are still required. In Ukraine the thermal energy produced by solar thermal systems is still not competitive with conventional energy sources but have big perspectives in case the government will provide the necessary support in terms of subsidies, grants or mandates. Therefore, created economical model is a helpful instrument as a high correlation between the cost results and the market data were achieved. The empirical results provided necessary information to fulfil the purpose of study, which is to understand cost efficiency and economical viability of implementing solar thermal systems in Portugal and in Ukraine.Os desafios para os recursos energéticos e as preocupações com a proteção ambiental são significativos e exigirão várias mudanças, não apenas sobre como a energia é consumida, mas também como é fornecida. As tecnologias solares térmicas podem desempenhar um papel de liderança no cumprimento das metas de descarbonização na Europa. Os sistemas solares térmicos são usados para converter a radiação solar em calor para fornecer água quente sanitária e aquecimento do ambiente em edifícios residenciais. O presente estudo analisa a pesquisa teórica inicial sobre o uso de energia solar, tecnologias solares, fatores de influência, previsões de tendências e perspetivas para o desenvolvimento. O principal objetivo do presente trabalho é definir uma metodologia de custeio que permita determinar o custo total do investimento em sistemas solares térmicos de acordo com o tamanho e a especificação do sistema. Portanto, é necessário analisar os sistemas solares térmicos da perspetiva dos benefícios econômicos, bem como realizar as análises financeiras para esses sistemas em Portugal e na Ucrânia. Para atingir esse objetivo, foram medidos os aspetos técnicos e económicos dos sistemas solares térmicos nos dois casos de referência para estimar o custo médio de produção. A análise financeira foi realizada para definir a viabilidade desse projeto e incluiu o cálculo do Valor Atual Líquido (VAL), Índice de Rentabilidade (IR), Taxa Interna de Retorno (TIR) e Vida Económica. Análise de sensibilidade foi realizada para determinar como alguns valores cruciais, como taxa de desconto e mudanças no preço da energia, afetam a viabilidade do sistema solar térmico nos dois países. Com o objetivo de atingir esse objetivo, os dados reais de mercado fornecidos por “Termozona”, “Solius. Energias Renováveis”, Agência Internacional de Energia Renovável, Instituto de Energia Renovável NANU para Ucrânia e tarifas da EDP e Banco Mundial de Energia Sustentável foram levadas em consideração. Os resultados da análise mostraram que, do ponto de vista económico, em Portugal, existe uma considerável oportunidade de mercado para sistemas solares térmicos, embora ainda sejam necessários esquemas de apoio e subsídios do governo da União Europeia. Na Ucrânia, a energia térmica produzida por sistemas solares térmicos ainda não é competitiva com as fontes de energia convencionais, mas possui grandes perspetivas, caso o governo forneça o apoio necessário em termos de subsídios, doações ou mandatos. Como consequência, o modelo económico criado é um instrumento útil, pois foi obtida uma alta correlação entre os resultados de custo e os dados de mercado. Os resultados empíricos forneceram as informações necessárias para cumprir o objetivo do estudo, que consiste em entender a eficiência de custos e a viabilidade económica da implementação de sistemas solares térmicos em Portugal e na Ucrânia

АНАЛІЗ ІСНУЮЧИХ ПІДХОДІВ ЩОДО ОЦІНКИ ВТРАТ ВІД ДТП

The questions affecting rapid motorization, which directly affects the ever increasing problem of high accident rate on the roads, especially in the last decade. One important reason for this problem is the inconsistency of the transport infrastructure needs of society and the state in ensuring road safety.The questions affecting rapid motorization, which directly affects the ever increasing problem of high accident rate on the roads, especially in the last decade. One important reason for this problem is the inconsistency of the transport infrastructure needs of society and the state in ensuring road safety

Analysis of Productive Qualities of Pigs When Including DKB Feed Supplement in the Diet

Improving the efficiency of pig farming requires biologically complete feeding in accordance with the age, physiological and sexual characteristics of animals based on the knowledge of composition and nutritional value. The health and productivity of animals depends on the use of protein, fat, carbohydrates and minerals, and high-quality vitamins. Traditional feed does not provide animals with a sufficient and optimal ratio of minerals and vitamins. One of the factors providing young pigs with these nutrients may be the inclusion of the DKB vitamin-mineral energy supplement in the diet. The article analyzes the influence of DKB on the productivity of young pigs. The aim of the study was to justify an increase in productivity indicators of large white pigs feeding with DKB. In order to trace the impact of DKB on the productivity of pigs, we took into account the change in their live weight. During the experiment (60 days), 54 kg of the vitamin-mineral complex worth 3300 rubles was spent on the 20 piglets of the experimental group. This entailed an increase in the total costs. The results of the study indicate a positive effect of the additive on the dynamics and growth rate of the piglets of the experimental group and on the cost of feed and nutrients, which favorably affects the profitability and economic efficiency of pork production. Keywords: DKB vitamin-mineral energy supplement, piglets, live weight, growth dynamics, average daily gain, feed costs, profitability, economic efficienc

Прогнозування банкрутства підприємств Україні

У статті проведено компаративний аналіз методів та моделей прогнозування банкрутства підприємств України. Представлене дослідження надає можливість визначити, що у кожного конкретного методу або моделі прогнозування банкрутства є як загальні недоліки, так і особливі, які залежать від специфіки та умов господарювання у різних країнах світу. Через це, дуже важливим постає питання аналізу наявних методів та моделей прогнозування банкрутства, які найбільш повно та достовірно надають можливість о цінити фінансово- економічний стан підприємства саме у нашій державі. Визначено, що деякі зарубіжні методи або моделі прогнозування банкрутства не відповідають вимогам українських реалій, оскільки не відображають значну кількість коефіцієнтів фінансового стану підприємства, а також, в Україні велика кількість підприємств не представлена на фондовому ринку, що ускладнює або виключає варіанти розрахунку по багатьох моделях, які розраховані саме для цього. Проведене дослідження надало можливість визначити, що серед трьох основних підходів до оцінювання ймовірності банкрутств (дискримінантні моделі, порівняльні методи та моделі, що базуються на застосуванні штучних нейромереж) найбільші переваги продемонстрував останній підхід. Проведене дослідження надало змогу визначити, що використання порівняльних методів для аналізу функціонування українських підприємств не є надто популярним, оскільки вітчизняні компанії або не мають вільних коштів для подібних детальних досліджень, або не бажають відкривати своє реальне фінансове становище. При коректному використанні порівняльні методи є дієвим інструментом діагностики, що може доповнити інші методики дослідження та скорегувати отримані за їх допомогою діагностичні висновки. Необхідно продовжити вдосконалення механізмів оцінки фінансового стану, які враховували б характерні особливості українських підприємств, та адаптацію фінансових моделей, що базуються на вітчизняних стандартах обліку та звітності, а також, поступово, довести стандарти звітності українських підприємств до рівня кращих зарубіжних аналогів.The comparative analysis of methods and models of bankruptcy forecasting of Ukrainian enterpriseswas conducted in the article. The presented study provides an opportunity to determine that each particular method or model of bankruptcy prediction has both general and special disadvantages, which depend on the specifics and conditions of management in different countries of the world. Therefore, the question of analyzing of the existing methods and models of bankruptcy forecasting is very important, because it most fully and reliably provides an opportunity to assess the financial and economic state of the enterprise in our country. It is determined that some foreign methods or models of bankruptcy prediction do not meet the requirements of Ukrainian realities, as they do not reflect with a significant number of factors of the financial state of the enterprise, as well as in Ukraine a large number of enterprises have not represented in the stock market. That is why, it complicates or excludes variants of calculation on many models, which are designed for this purpose. The study made it possible to determine that among three main approaches for assessing the probability of bankruptcy (discriminant models, comparative methods and models based on the use of artificial neural networks) the last approach has demonstrated the most prominent advantages. The certain research gave an opportunity to discover that the use of comparative methods for analyzing the functioning of Ukrainian enterprises is not too popular, because domestic companies either do not have the funds for such detailed studies or they do not want to show their real financial situation. Using properly, comparative methods arethe effective diagnostic tools that can complement other research methods and correct the diagnostic findings obtained with their help. It is necessary to continue improving the mechanisms for assessing the financial situation that take into account the specific features of Ukrainian enterprises and adapting financial models based on domestic accounting and reporting standards

Season of birth influences life span of Mediterranean fruit flies, rats and mice

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e-RNA: a collection of web-servers for the prediction and visualisation of RNA secondary structure and their functional features

e-RNA is a collection of web-servers for the prediction and visualisation of RNA secondary structures and their functional features, including in particular RNA–RNA interactions. In this updated version, we have added novel tools for RNA secondary structure prediction and have significantly updated the visualisation functionality. The new method CoBold can identify transient RNA structure features and their potential functional effects on a known RNA structure during co-transcriptional structure formation. New tool ShapeSorter can predict evolutionarily conserved RNA secondary structure features while simultaneously taking experimental SHAPE probing evidence into account. The web-server R-Chie which visualises RNA secondary structure information in terms of arc diagrams, can now be used to also visualise and intuitively compare RNA–RNA, RNA–DNA and DNA–DNA interactions alongside multiple sequence alignments and quantitative information. The prediction generated by any method in e-RNA can be readily visualised on the web-server. For completed tasks, users can download their results and readily visualise them later on with R-Chie without having to re-run the predictions. e-RNA can be found at http://www.e-rna.org

Researching the Influence of Factors of Differentiation on Distribution of Incomes of Population

The article is aimed at researching the impact of differentiation factors on both primary and secondary income distribution and substantiating of analyzing these factors by the stages of the income distribution. The author believes that the factors listed in the publication should be supplemented with those related to the condition of the country’s economy as a whole. The transition to the socio-market relations leads to changes in labor, financial-credit, legal, investment, technical, socio-domestic spheres of activity of the society. Demonopolization of the economy, development of various forms of ownership leads to changes in the distributive relations. The general socio-economic situation largely determines the direction and strength of other factors influencing the stratification of workers by income level. Achievement of the goal set has stipulated the necessity to solve some problems, the main ones are: studying of the income differentiation; determination of influence of factors of differentiation on the primary on secondary distribution of the incomes of population; analyzing of the factors of differentiation by the stages of the income distribution