North-West Russia in the context of European integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kochegarova Tamara

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Integration is one of the main consequences of globalization. Elements of microsystems are growing closer, which brings to the foreground problems of interaction and — in a longer perspective — those of close cooperation between different social systems. The article considers the case of North-West Russia, the only territory having a common border with the EU, in order to examine the issue of Russia using the geographical factor, which Otto von Bismarck called the most powerful and intrinsic factor in history. The significance of this factor increased after the Cold War. It was then when the independent Baltic States became a platform for emergence and recognition of the Baltic Sea region. The author focuses on the social and cultural integrity of the region and considers the traditional Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea states as interrelated components of a single region, different from other European regions in terms of economic interests, as well as its natural and sociocultural landscape.

Development of Gender Typicality and Felt Pressure in European French and North African French Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Adam J; Dumas, Florence; Loose, Florence; Smeding, Annique; Kurtz-Costes, Beth; Régner, Isabelle

2017-11-14

Trajectories of gender identity were examined from Grade 6 (M age  = 11.9 years) to Grade 9 in European French (n = 570) and North African French (n = 534) adolescents, and gender and ethnic group differences were assessed in these trajectories. In Grade 6, boys of both ethnic groups reported higher levels of gender typicality and felt pressure for gender conformity than girls. European French girls and boys and North African French girls reported decreasing gender typicality from Grade 6 to Grade 9, whereas North African French boys did not change. Felt pressure decreased among girls, did not change in European French boys, and increased in North African French boys. Ethnic and gender differences in gender identity development are discussed. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Techno-economic analysis of large-scale integration of solar power plants in the European grid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tielens, Pieter; Ergun, Hakan; Hertem, Dirk van [Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium). Electrical Engineering Dept.

2012-07-01

In this paper different options to connect large solar power plants in North Africa to the European power system are compared from a transmission system investment point of view. Three different possible DC connections from Tunisia to Italy are investigated from a cost-based perspective. In the second part of the paper, the impact of the power fluctuations from CSP and PV power plants on the frequency control is examined in a qualitative manner. It is shown that the frequency response mainly depends on the amount of PV installed and the inertia present in the grid. The results of the simulations give a first estimation of the maximum amount of PV integration in the Tunisian grid without reaching certain frequency limits after a sudden power fluctuation. (orig.)

Conditions, interventions, and outcomes in nursing research: a comparative analysis of North American and European/International journals. (1981-1990).

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, I L; Chalifoux, Z L; Evers, G C; De Geest, S

1995-04-01

This study compared the conceptual foci and methodological characteristics of research projects which tested the effects of nursing interventions, published in four general nursing research journals with predominantly North American, and two with predominantly European/International authorship and readership. Dimensions and variables of comparison included: nature of subjects, design issues, statistical methodology, statistical power, and types of interventions and outcomes. Although some differences emerged, the most striking and consistent finding was that there were no statistically significant differences (and thus similarities) in the content foci and methodological parameters of the intervention studies published in both groups of journals. We conclude that European/International and North American nursing intervention studies, as reported in major general nursing research journals, are highly similar in the parameters studied, yet in need of overall improvement. Certainly, there is no empirical support for the common (explicit or implicit) ethnocentric American bias that leadership in nursing intervention research resides with and in the United States of America.

Nuclear power and European Union enlargement challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chirica, T.; Bilegan, C.; Pall, S.; Sandru, P.

2000-01-01

In the nuclear power sector, the main concern for the candidate countries entering the European Union, remains the nuclear safety. New standards and regulation will be issued for improving the general quality of life in a sound environment. For the candidate countries entering the European Union, this situation represents a real challenge. Their national legislation must be improved to meet the European standards. The conditions are different from country to country, and more difficult for those, which operate ''non west European reactor type''. The paper also present the actual status of the Romanian legislation related to nuclear power and environment. There are presented the principles, terms and responsibilities contained in this legislation. The authors discuss some aspects related to the possibilities to improve the national legislation to meet the actual European Commission or EURATOM standards. (author)

The European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) increase in the North Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Raab, K.E.

2013-01-01

Small pelagic fish such as anchovy are of high socio-economic importance worldwide. They are known for strong fluctuations in abundance, for which the mechanisms are not always understood. European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) increased its population in the North Sea starting in

The importance of North Sea oil to European energy supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauw, R. De

1992-01-01

There is no doubt about the importance of North Sea oil to the energy supply of the European Community. One might however be used to it and forget about the nature and the size of its impact on our economies. Firstly, this paper intends to estimate this impact - past, present and future. Secondly, a more qualitative approach will explore possible consequences of the implementation of the internal market for North Sea oil. Thirdly, the assistance given by the Community to innovative technologies which enabled North Sea oil to contribute, under better economic conditions and within a safer environment, to our supply is recalled. And finally, some remarks on energy policy form an EC perspective, are offered. (author)

The situation of European power supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmer, H.J.

2008-01-01

The requirement for energy worldwide is going to rise dramatically in the next few years and decades. Despite all developments of renewable energy sources, and despite the expansion of nuclear power in some industrialized countries and emerging countries, coal will turn out to be the key source of energy in the 21st century. Europe as a whole has a lot to offer which strengthens its position with respect to present and future requirements to be met in the construction of new power plants as well as in electricity and power supplies. As regards nuclear power in Germany, if it is to be given another chance, we must seek a dialog, pointing out that - nuclear power offers advantages in ensuring energy supply in Germany, given the development in the world energy markets; - nuclear power makes an important contribution to climate protection; - Germany's energy supply must be adapted to the global situation; - nuclear power offers opportunities in education, training, research and development; - nuclear power is contributing massively to our economic prosperity. The future viability of European power supply will not depend on the debate about nuclear power in Germany. The debate will be decided chiefly by the world market and on a European level. (orig.)

Differences in Ostomy Pouch Seal Leakage Occurrences Between North American and European Residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Fellows, Jane; Forest Lalande, Louise; Martins, Lina; Steen, Anne; Størling, Zenia M

The purpose of this study was to compare experiences and concerns about pouch seal leakage between persons with ostomies residing in North America (Canada and the United States) and Europe (United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, France, and Italy). Differences in reported pouch wear time and accessories used between the 2 groups were also examined. Secondary analysis of data from a cross-sectional study (Ostomy Life Study). Responses from persons residing in European countries (n = 1939) were compared with responses of 1387 individuals residing in North American countries. Persons with an ostomy completed a questionnaire that focused on 4 topics related to the daily use of an ostomy pouching system (pouch seal leakage, ballooning, appearance of pouching system such as color and size of the pouch and whether it is discrete under clothing, and coupling failure of 2-piece pouching systems). Pouch seal leakage was defined as stomal effluent seeping between the skin and the wafer of the ostomy pouching system. Statistical analysis was performed using a proportional odds model including various variable effects. Special attention was given to frequency of pouch seal leakage occurrences. All tests were 2-sided; P values ≤.05 were deemed statistically significant. Participants living in the North American countries indicated they were more likely to experience leakage from the ostomy (odds ratio = 2.610, 95% CI 2.187-3.115; P < .0001). Findings also indicated they were more likely to worry about pouch seal leakage than those in the European countries' data set (odds ratio = 2.722, 95% CI 2.283-3.246; P < .0001). Participants residing in the North American countries had significantly longer wear times than those participants in the European countries (P < .0001, χ test). The use of accessories was associated with a longer pouching system wear time. Study results suggest that participants from the North American countries indicated significantly more

Radioactivity in north European waters: report of Working Group 2 of CEC project MARINA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camplin, W C [Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Lowestoft (UK). Directorate of Fisheries Research; Aarkrog, A [Risoe National Lab., Roskilde (Denmark)

1989-01-01

The primary objective of Working Group 2 of Project MARINA was to consider recent measurements of environmental radioactivity in north European waters and to use this, and other information, to report the likely magnitude of doses to the critical group from marine pathways. The monitoring data were supplemented, where appropriate, with predictions from simple models. The major sources of radioactivity studied were as follows: (i) liquid wastes from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants; (ii) liquid wastes from nuclear power plants and other major nuclear industry sites; (iii) solid waste disposal in the deep north-east Atlantic; (iv) fallout from Chernobyl; and (v) naturally-occurring radionuclides. Some of the largest doses from marine pathways are predicted for naturally-occurring radionuclides. In this case, the dominant radionuclide is polonium-210 and the dominant pathway is via consumption of molluscan species. The highest doses from the nuclear industry were due to the operation of the reprocessing plant at Sellafield. Discharges from this site have been decreasing substantially in recent years and, as a consequence, doses have also been reducing. (author).

Adequacy of operating reserves for power systems in future european wind power scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Das, Kaushik; Litong-Palima, Marisciel; Maule, Petr

2015-01-01

operating reserves. To study the effects of these imbalances, anticipated wind scenarios for European power systems are modelled for 2020 and 2030. Wind power forecasts for different time scales and real-time available wind power are modelled. Based on these studies, this paper qualitatively analyzes......Wind power generation is expected to increase in Europe by large extent in future. This will increase variability and uncertainty in power systems. Imbalances caused due to uncertainty in wind power forecast can trigger frequency instability in the system. These imbalances are handled using...... the adequacy of primary and secondary reserves requirements for future European power systems. This paper also discusses the challenges due to the uncertainty in wind power forecasts and their possible solutions for wind installation scenarios for 2020 and 2030....

The European nuclear power industry: Restructuring for combined strength and worldwide leadership

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forsberg, C.W.; Norman, R.E.; Reich, W.J.; Hill, L.J.

1993-01-01

The European nuclear power industry is being restructured from an industry drawn along national lines to a European-wide industry. This, in part, reflects growth of the European Economic Community, but it also reflects changes in the international nuclear power industry. The objectives of the participants, beyond better integration of the nuclear industry in Western Europe, are to (1) obtain European leadership of the worldwide commercial nuclear power industry, (2) improve medium- and long-term safety of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (FSU) power reactors, and (3) reduce domestic concerns about nuclear power. The activities to achieve these goals include (1) formation of Nuclear Power International (a joint venture of the German and French nuclear power plant vendors for design and construction of nuclear power plants), (2) formation of a utility group to forge agreement throughout Europe on what the requirements are for the next generation of nuclear power plants, and (3) agreement by regulators in multiple European countries to harmonize regulations. This is to be achieved before the end of the decade. These changes would allow a single design of nuclear power plant to be built anywhere in Europe. The creation of European-wide rules (utility requirements, engineering standards, and national regulations) would create strong economic and political forces for other European countries (Eastern Europe and FSU) to meet these standards

The European nuclear power industry: Restructuring for combined strength and worldwide leadership

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forsberg, C.W.; Norman, R.E.; Reich, W.J.; Hill, L.J.

1993-06-18

The European nuclear power industry is being restructured from an industry drawn along national lines to a European-wide industry. This, in part, reflects growth of the European Economic Community, but it also reflects changes in the international nuclear power industry. The objectives of the participants, beyond better integration of the nuclear industry in Western Europe, are to (1) obtain European leadership of the worldwide commercial nuclear power industry, (2) improve medium- and long-term safety of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (FSU) power reactors, and (3) reduce domestic concerns about nuclear power. The activities to achieve these goals include (1) formation of Nuclear Power International (a joint venture of the German and French nuclear power plant vendors for design and construction of nuclear power plants), (2) formation of a utility group to forge agreement throughout Europe on what the requirements are for the next generation of nuclear power plants, and (3) agreement by regulators in multiple European countries to harmonize regulations. This is to be achieved before the end of the decade. These changes would allow a single design of nuclear power plant to be built anywhere in Europe. The creation of European-wide rules (utility requirements, engineering standards, and national regulations) would create strong economic and political forces for other European countries (Eastern Europe and FSU) to meet these standards.

Rotational atmospheric circulation during North Atlantic-European winter: the influence of ENSO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Serrano, J. [UCM, Departamento de Geofisica y Meteorologia, Madrid (Spain); Institut Catala de Ciencies del Clima (IC3), Barcelona (Spain); Rodriguez-Fonseca, B.; Zurita-Gotor, P.; Camara, A. de la [UCM, Departamento de Geofisica y Meteorologia, Madrid (Spain); Blade, I. [UB, Departament d' Astronomia i Meteorologia, Barcelona (Spain)

2011-11-15

The dominant variability modes of the North Atlantic-European rotational flow are examined by applying a principal component analysis (PCA/EOF) to the 200 hPa streamfunction mid-winter anomalies (Jan-Feb monthly means). The results reveal that, when this norm is used, the leading mode (EOF1) does not correspond to the traditional North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO, which appears in our analysis as the second leading mode, EOF2) but is the local manifestation of the leading hemispheric streamfunction EOF. The regression of this regional mode onto the global SST field exhibits a clear El Nino signature, with no signal over the Atlantic, while the associated upper height anomalies resemble the Tropical/Northern Hemisphere (TNH) pattern. East of North America, this TNH-like wavetrain produces a meridional dipole-like pattern at lower levels. Although in some ways this pattern resembles the NAO (EOF2), the dynamics of these two modes are very different in that only EOF2 is associated with a latitudinal shift of the North Atlantic stormtrack. Thus, the choice of the streamfunction norm in the EOF analysis allows the separation of two different phenomena that can produce similar dipolar surface pressure anomalies over the North Atlantic but that have different impact on European climate. These two modes also differ on their contribution to variability at lower levels: while NAO-EOF2 is mostly confined to the North Atlantic, TNH-EOF1 has a more annular, global character. At upper levels NAO-EOF2 also produces a global pattern but with no annular structure, reminiscent of the ''circumglobal'' teleconnection. (orig.)

Europe's Constitutional Court : The Role of the European Court of Justice in the Intertwined Separation of Powers and Division of Powers in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knook, A.D.L.

2009-01-01

This book examines the Role of the European Court of Justice in the Intertwined Separation of Powers and Division of Powers of the European Union. This constitutional role is examined from five different angles. Chapters II and III examine the role of the Court of Justice in the Separation of Powers

Study on flexibility in the Dutch and NW European power market in 2020

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-04-01

There has been a debate in the Netherlands about the compatibility of new investment by individual utilities in the thermal plant park with Government policy to have 12 GW of onshore and offshore wind generation capacity installed by the year 2020. The key areas of concern are: (a) whether sufficient flexibility will exist in the power system to permit uncertain, intermittent wind generation output to be accommodated; and (b) whether the available sources of flexibility will be accessible by relevant market participants. In this context, EnergieNed asked Frontier Economics to carry out a study of the year 2020 for the Dutch and North West European power system. The requirement was to undertake quantitative modelling and qualitative analysis of the system in the year 2020 under a small number of scenarios in order to answer a series of specific questions. Frontier Economics was also asked to look at experience in Denmark and other countries with high wind and combined heat and power plant (CHP) penetration.

European stress tests for nuclear power plants. The Swedish National Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

On 11 March 2011, the Tohoku region in north Honshu, Japan, suffered a severe earthquake with an ensuing tsunami and an accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Due to the accident the Council of the European Union declared in late March that Member States were prepared to begin reviewing safety at nuclear facilities in the European Union by means of a comprehensive assessment of risk and safety ('stress testing'). On 25 May, SSM ordered the licensees of the nuclear power plants to conduct renewed analyses of the facilities' resilience against different kinds of natural phenomena. They were also to analyse how the facilities would be capable of dealing with a prolonged loss of electrical power, regardless of cause. On 31 October, the licensees reported on their stress tests to SSM. After reviewing these reports, SSM produced a summary stress test report, which was submitted to the Government on the 15 December. The present report is the national report on Swedish stress tests of nuclear power plants. The report will be submit to the European Commission no later than 31 December. Based on the review SSM has drawn the conclusion that the stress tests carried out by Swedish licensees are largely performed in accordance with the specification resolved within the European Union. The scope and depth of these analyses and assessments are essentially in accordance with ENSREG's definition of 'a comprehensive assessment of risk and safety'. The stress tests show that Swedish facilities are robust, but the tests also identify a number of opportunities to further strengthen the facilities' robustness. SSM will order the respective licensees to present an action plan for dealing with the results from the stress tests. The Authority will then examine the plans and adopt a standpoint on proposed measures as well as check that the necessary safety improvements are made. In a number of cases, the stress tests indicate deficiencies in relation to, or alternatively

Gas to Power in North America. Issues surrounding the use of natural gas in the next generation of North American power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorn, T.

2006-01-01

In January 2006 a study was concluded on Gas to Power in North America. This study has been prepared for EDI and IGU and is part of the Gas to Power Project, which has been set up in view of the pivotal role power is likely to play in the development of new gas markets and the realization that it will take enormous efforts to achieve the projected growth. In this report the focus is on North America

Energy Choices. A North European Energy Map; Vaegval Energi. Nordeuropeisk Energikarta

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Groenkvist, Stefan; Stenkvist, Maria; Paradis, Hanna

2008-11-15

Oil, coal and natural gas dominate the energy consumption in Northern Europe, as well as in the world at large. The energy supply mix varies between the countries of the region. For example, a large proportion of biomass and waste in Finland and Latvia (Norway) and Sweden use a high proportion of hydroelectric power, while Poland has a very high proportion of coal in their energy mix. Energy use per person in Northern Europe is more than twice as high compared with the average global - but lower than the average in the OECD. In Northern Europe, there are three separate networks for energy transfer: natural gas, electricity and heating. The expansion of the natural gas network has been strong since 1970. Gas pipelines today covers large parts of Europe and new pipelines are planned. The electricity grids and their transmission capacity has grown. Electricity began to be transferred between the Nordic countries during the 1960s. Today, the North European countries are linked with a number of high capacity cables. While the networks for district heating has grown, these systems are separate for individual cities. In recent years, the region's net imports of oil rose, as (Norway's oil production has declined since the early 2000s. On the other hand, the North European countries in 2007 became, for the first time, net exporters of natural gas. As the energy systems expand, trade in energy increases - both within the region and with the rest of Europe and the rest of the world. Several new energy projects are planned in Northern Europe for expanded capacity in oil refineries and new pipelines for natural gas and transmission lines for electricity. The energy integration in the region is therefore expected to increase further. In the long term, climate policy will be of greater importance, both for the region's use of primary energy and for the look of the region's future energy map

Making concentrated solar power competitive with coal: The costs of a European feed-in tariff

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williges, Keith; Lilliestam, Johan; Patt, Anthony

2010-01-01

The European Union has yet to determine how exactly to reach its greenhouse gas emissions targets for the future. One potential answer involves large-scale development of concentrated solar power (CSP) in the North African region, transmitting the power to Europe. CSP is a relatively young and little utilized technology and is expensive when compared to other methods of generation. Feasibility studies have shown it is possible to generate enough power from CSP plants in Africa to spearhead the EUs climate goals. However, the costs of such a project are less well known. Currently, CSP must compete with low cost coal-fired electricity plants, severely hindering development. We examine the possible investment costs required for North African CSP levelized electricity cost to equal those of coal-fired plants and the potential subsidy costs needed to encourage growth until the technologies reach price parity. We also examine the sensitivity of investment and subsidies to changes in key factors. We find that estimates of subsidy amounts are reasonable for the EU and that sensitivity to such factors as perceived risk and learning rates would enable policy-makers to positively influence the cost of subsidies and time required for CSP to be competitive with coal.

Costs of reducing water use of concentrating solar power to sustainable levels: Scenarios for North Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Damerau, Kerstin; Williges, Keith; Patt, Anthony G.; Gauche, Paul

2011-01-01

Concentrating solar power (CSP) has the potential to become a leading sustainable energy technology for the European electricity system. In order to reach a substantial share in the energy mix, European investment in CSP appears most profitable in North Africa, where solar potential is significantly higher than in southern Europe. As well as sufficient solar irradiance, however, the majority of today's CSP plants also require a considerable amount of water, primarily for cooling purposes. In this paper we examine water usage associated with CSP in North Africa, and the cost penalties associated with technologies that could reduce those needs. We inspect four representative sites to compare the ecological and economical drawbacks from conventional and alternative cooling systems, depending on the local environment, and including an outlook with climate change to the mid-century. Scaling our results up to a regional level indicates that the use of wet cooling technologies would likely be unsustainable. Dry cooling systems, as well as sourcing of alternative water supplies, would allow for sustainable operation. Their cost penalty would be minor compared to the variance in CSP costs due to different average solar irradiance values. - Highlights: → Scaling up CSP with wet cooling from ground water will be unsustainable in North Africa. → Desalination and alternative cooling systems can assure a sustainable water supply. → On large-scale, the cost penalties of alternative cooling technologies appear minor.

The link between eddy-driven jet variability and weather regimes in the North Atlantic-European sector

Science.gov (United States)

Madonna, E.; Li, C.; Grams, C. M.; Woollings, T.

2017-12-01

Understanding the variability of the North Atlantic eddy-driven jet is key to unravelling the dynamics, predictability and climate change response of extratropical weather in the region. This study aims to 1) reconcile two perspectives on wintertime variability in the North Atlantic-European sector and 2) clarify their link to atmospheric blocking. Two common views of wintertime variability in the North Atlantic are the zonal-mean framework comprising three preferred locations of the eddy-driven jet (southern, central, northern), and the weather regime framework comprising four classical North Atlantic-European regimes (Atlantic ridge AR, zonal ZO, European/Scandinavian blocking BL, Greenland anticyclone GA). We use a k-means clustering algorithm to characterize the two-dimensional variability of the eddy-driven jet stream, defined by the lower tropospheric zonal wind in the ERA-Interim reanalysis. The first three clusters capture the central jet and northern jet, along with a new mixed jet configuration; a fourth cluster is needed to recover the southern jet. The mixed cluster represents a split or strongly tilted jet, neither of which is well described in the zonal-mean framework, and has a persistence of about one week, similar to the other clusters. Connections between the preferred jet locations and weather regimes are corroborated - southern to GA, central to ZO, and northern to AR. In addition, the new mixed cluster is found to be linked to European/Scandinavian blocking, whose relation to the eddy-driven jet was previously unclear. The results highlight the necessity of bridging from weather to climate scales for a deeper understanding of atmospheric circulation variability.

The susceptibility of Asian, European and North American Fraxinus species to the ash dieback pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus reflects their phylogenetic history

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lene Rostgaard; McKinney, Lea Vig; Hietala, Ari M.

2017-01-01

susceptibility where closely related Asian, European and North American species in section Fraxinus had relatively high levels of H. fraxineus DNA in the leaves and supported high production of apothecia. Leaves from some North American species also contained relatively high levels of H. fraxineus DNA, supported...... that there is species-specific variation in disease susceptibility among European and North American Fraxinus species, but a wider comparison at the genus level has been missing so far. We assessed disease symptoms and pathogen apothecium development in 17 Fraxinus species from Asia, Europe and North America exposed...

["Us" and "them": European and North American attitudes to immigration].

Science.gov (United States)

Livi-bacci, M

1994-01-01

This work compares attitudes toward immigration in Europe and North America. Europe has adopted and reinforced a restrictive immigration policy since the 1970s, but family reunification and asylum for refugees have replaced labor migration to maintain the flow of newcomers over the past two decades. Illegal immigration has increased in countries such as Italy and Spain where immigration is a recent phenomenon. Migratory pressure from the former Soviet block, violence against immigrants in Germany and elsewhere, the crisis of social protection systems, economic recession and increasing unemployment have pressured European governments to reinforce their closed door policy. In the US, restrictions against immigration have relaxed greatly since adoption of the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. Over 800,000 immigrants have been admitted annually to the US in recent years. The factors explaining the different immigration policies in North America and Europe are not economic or demographic, but stem rather from history, social structure, the functioning of the labor market and social mobility. North America, more than Europe, has a positive view of immigration as contributing to the vitality and renewal of the culture and promoting development by broadening experience and knowledge. Immigration is regarded in Europe as, at best, a necessity in times of labor shortage and economic expansion. European countries tend to perceive themselves as totally formed and not requiring further cultural contribution. Homogeneity in culture, language, and religion is valued. Social mobility is possible in North America through professional success, but in the older and more hierarchical societies of Europe, social status is determined by birth and family or other connections. Since the early 1990s, public opinion toward immigration has become less favorable on both sides of the Atlantic, with increasing proportions favoring limitation. The positive perception of immigration in

The public life of the European North of Russia in the prehistoric era

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kondreskul A.M.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available the article gives the characteristics of the social life of the North of European Russia in the prehistoric era, examines its features in different periods of the stone age, defines the time (milestones and ways of penetration of the first people on the European North, clarifies the nature and causes of this process, techniques of adaptation of primitive communities, stresses the importance in this process of natural and geographical factors. At each stage of the development of the northern populations is characterized by changes in the economy, the stone industry, religion and art. The author demonstrates the continuity of the social order: from the community to the tribal community and tribe, focuses on the problem of the coexistence of Cro-Magnon and Neanderthals and the causes of the Neanderthals death, as well as military clashes between the tribes belonging to different archaeological cultures.

Analysis of North Sea Offshore Wind Power Variability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buatois, A.; Gibescu, M.; Rawn, B.G.; Van der Meijden, M.A.M.M.

2014-01-01

This paper evaluates, for a 2030 scenario, the impact on onshore power systems in terms of the variability of the power generated by 81 GW of offshore wind farms installed in the North Sea. Meso-scale reanalysis data are used as input for computing the hourly power production for offshore wind

Performance of Power System Stabilizer (UNITROL D) in Benghazi North Power Plant

OpenAIRE

T. Hussein

2011-01-01

The use of power system stabilizers (PSSs) to damp power system swing mode of oscillations is practical important. Our purpose is to retune the power system stabilizer (PSS1A) parameters in Unitrol D produced by ABB– was installed in 1995in Benghazi North Power Plants (BNPPs) at General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL). The optimal values of the power system stabilizer (PSS1A) parameters are determined off-line by a particle swarm optimization technique (PSO). The obj...

Th european market of the electric power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

This document presents the CRE (commission of the Electric power Control) progress report concerning the first july 2000 to the 30 june 2001. Three main subjects are discussed, illustrated by economic data and graphs: the electric power european market, the french market control and the CRE. A special interest is given to the deregulation of the market and its consequences. (A.L.B.)

Analysis of North Sea Offshore Wind Power Variability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aymeric Buatois

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper evaluates, for a 2030 scenario, the impact on onshore power systems in terms of the variability of the power generated by 81 GW of offshore wind farms installed in the North Sea. Meso-scale reanalysis data are used as input for computing the hourly power production for offshore wind farms, and this total production is analyzed to identify the largest aggregated hourly power variations. Based on publicly available information, a simplified representation of the coastal power grid is built for the countries bordering the North Sea. Wind farms less than 60 km from shore are connected radially to the mainland, while the rest are connected to a hypothetical offshore HVDC (High-Voltage Direct Current power grid, designed such that wind curtailment does not exceed 1% of production. Loads and conventional power plants by technology and associated cost curves are computed for the various national power systems, based on 2030 projections. Using the MATLAB-based MATPOWER toolbox, the hourly optimal power flow for this regional hybrid AC/DC grid is computed for high, low and medium years from the meso-scale database. The largest net load variations are evaluated per market area and related to the extra load-following reserves that may be needed from conventional generators.

Comparison of development trends of Czechoslovak and European nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cibula, M.

1988-01-01

Statistical and prognostic data were compared characterizing the development of the power industry, electric power generation and nuclear power in the CSSR and in other European countries. The penetration of nuclear power into the power industry of the individual countries is affected especially by the economic necessity of changing the level and structure of the respective country's national economy with primary power resources and electric power. The analysis shows among others that nuclear energy has become most widely introduced in countries where electric power makes up a high proportion of the power balance and where the country only has an average amount of primary power resources. By the year 2000 nuclear power is envisaged to make up 27.5 to 32.2% of total power output which corresponds to an annual increase of 5.6% in the power output of nuclear power plants. The dependence of Czechoslovakia's increase of power output on nuclear power is greater than that of both the European capitalist and socialist countries. (Z.M.). 1 fig., 4 tabs., 5 refs

Nuclear power and European Union enlargement challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chirica, Teodor; Bilegan, Constantin

2001-01-01

From 1991 through 1996 the European Union signed the Association Agreements with ten East European countries (EE10), namely: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania. In the period 1994-1996 European Union received membership applications from all ten countries. The paper analyzes the approach of complying the requirements and regulations for European Union accession in the field of the Romanian nuclear power based on the CANDU technology. In this process, the real challenge is represented by the preparation and implementation of new regulations aiming to improve the general business environment by introducing International Accounting Standards simplification of bankruptcy laws, reform of taxation procedures and secureness of financial instruments. A new stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund and World Bank was set out in late April 1999 for an one-year loan of 475 million dollars. (authors)

The health status of adolescents living at mid-latitude or in the European North in relation to anthropogenic pollution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. A. Kuznetsova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The distribution of health groups among 14-year-old adolescents (n = 707 living since birth under the conditions of mid-latitudes (the towns of Kirov and Yaransk and in the European North (the town of Ukhta and the settlement of Sedyu was compared to determine the impact of anthropogenic pollution at different latitudes on this indicator. It was shown that the conditions of the European North in the absence of anthropogenic pollution failed to affect the number of 14-year-old boys and girls having health groups I, II, III, IV, and V. Anthropogenic pollution was found to decline the number of health group I adolescents living in the European North, without influencing this indicator in those dwelling at mid-latitudes, but, in spite of the latitude of their residence, to increase that of persons with health group II, without having an impact on the number of persons with health groups III, IV, and V.

The Impact of Wind Power on European Natural Gas Markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-09-06

Due to its clean burning properties, low investment costs and flexibility in production, natural gas is often put forward as the ideal partner fuel for wind power and other renewable sources of electricity generation with strongly variable output. This working paper examines three vital questions associated with this premise: 1) Is natural gas indeed the best partner fuel for wind power? 2) If so, to what extent will an increasing market share of wind power in European electricity generation affect demand for natural gas in the power sector? and 3) Considering the existing European natural gas markets, is natural gas capable of fulfilling this role of partner for renewable sources of electricity?.

Wind power within European grid codes: Evolution, status and outlook

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vrana, Til Kristian; Flynn, Damian; Gomez-Lazaro, Emilio

2018-01-01

Grid codes are technical specifications that define the requirements for any facility connected to electricity grids. Wind power plants are increasingly facing system stability support requirements similar to conventional power stations, which is to some extent unavoidable, as the share of wind...... power in the generation mix is growing. The adaptation process of grid codes for wind power plants is not yet complete, and grid codes are expected to evolve further in the future. ENTSO-E is the umbrella organization for European TSOs, seen by many as a leader in terms of requirements sophistication...... is largely based on the definitions and provisions set out by ENTSO-E. The main European grid code requirements are outlined here, including also HVDC connections and DC-connected power park modules. The focus is on requirements that are considered particularly relevant for large wind power plants...

European surveillance for enterovirus D68 during the emerging North-American outbreak in 2014

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poelman, Randy; Schuffenecker, Isabelle; Van Leer-Buter, Coretta

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: In August and September 2014, unexpected clusters of enterovirus-D68 (EV-D68) infections associated with severe respiratory disease emerged from North-America. In September, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) asked European countries to strengthen respiratory...... sample screening for enterovirus detection and typing in cases with severe respiratory presentations. OBJECTIVES: To provide a detailed picture of EV-D68 epidemiology in Europe by conducting a retrospective and prospective laboratory analysis of clinical specimens. STUDY DESIGN: An initiative supported...

Nuclear power and sustainable energy supply for Europe. European Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilden, W.

2005-01-01

The right energy mix is decisive. The European Commission feels that nuclear power can make an important contribution towards sustainable energy supply in Europe. Nuclear power should keep its place in the European energy mix. One important aspect in this regard is improved public acceptance through communication, transparency, and confidence building. High safety standards and a credible approach to the safe long-term management of radioactive waste are major components of this sustainable energy source. (orig./GL)

Fossil fuel power generation within the European Research Area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-12-10

The report is the first in a series of three produced by the PowerClean Thematic Network that looks at and defines future requirements for research and development of fossil fuel power generation in the European Union. It makes the case for fossil fuel R & D with emphasis on the need for clean coal technologies (to increased efficiency and other CO{sub 2} capture and storage) For satisfying future energy demands of the enlarged European Union between now and 2030. The report concludes that affirmative R, D and D action is needed to support the EU power industry, working together on a Europe-wide basis, to establish the use of coal and other fossil fuels in near-zero emissions power plant. The role model would be the European Research Area, as in the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), but with a more comprehensive range of technical objectives recognising the importance of fossil fuels. Section headings are: introduction; current energy use; future needs and requirements; the future for clean fossil fuel energy in Europe; comparison with approaches adopted elsewhere (USA Vision 21 and FutureGen programmes, Japan); and responsibilities for EU coal R, D & D. 14 refs., 9 figs., 4 tabs.

European clearinghouse on nuclear power plants operational experience feedback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ranguelova, Vesselina; Bruynooghe, Christiane; Noel, Marc

2010-01-01

Learning from operational experience and applying this knowledge promptly and intelligently is one of the ways to improve the safety of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Recent reviews of the effectiveness of Operational Experience Feedback (OEF) systems have pointed to the need for further improvement, with importance being placed on tailoring the information to the needs of the regulators. In 2007, at the request of a number of nuclear safety regulatory authorities in Europe, the Institute for Energy of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (EC JRC) initiated a project on Nuclear Power Plant operational experience feedback, which adopts an integrated approach to the research needed to strengthen the European capabilities for assessment of NPP operational events and to promote the development of tools and mechanisms for the improved application of the lessons learned. Consequently, a so-called ''European Clearinghouse'' on NPP OEF was established, which includes scientific officers from the EC JRC, a number of European nuclear safety regulatory authorities and some of their Technical Support Organizations (TSOs). The paper discusses the activities implemented in 2008 within the framework of the European Clearinghouse on NPP OEF (hereinafter called the European NPP Clearinghouse) and provides an overview of the main conclusions drawn from the safety studies performed. Outlook of the activities carried out in 2009 are given. (orig.)

Wood power in North Carolina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cleland, J.G.; Guessous, L. [Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)

1993-12-31

North Carolina (NC) is one of the most forested states, and supports a major wood products industry. The NC Department of Natural Resources sponsored a study by Research Triangle Institute to examine new, productive uses of the State`s wood resources, especially electric power generation by co-firing with coal. This paper summarizes our research of the main factors influencing wood power generation opportunities, i.e., (1) electricity demand; (2) initiative and experience of developers; (3) available fuel resources; (4) incentives for alternate fuels; and (5) power plant technology and economics. The results cover NC forests, short rotation woody crops, existing wood energy facilities, electrical power requirements, and environmental regulations/incentives. Quantitative assessments are based on the interests of government agencies, utilities, electric cooperatives, developers and independent power producers, forest products industries, and the general public. Several specific, new opportunities for wood-to-electricity in the State are identified and described. Comparisons are made with nationwide resources and wood energy operations. Preferred approaches in NC are co-generation in existing or modified boilers and in dedicated wood power plants in forest industry regions. Co-firing is mainly an option for supplementing unreliable primary fuel supplies to existing boilers.

North European Transect

Science.gov (United States)

Korja, Annakaisa; Heikkinen, Pekka J.; Roslov, Yuri; Ivanova, Nina; Verba, Marc; Sakoulina, Tamara

2010-05-01

A nearly continuous, 3600 km long, NE-running North European Transect (NET) is combined from the existing deep seismic reflection data sets in the Baltic Sea (BABEL, 1600 km), Northern Finland (FIRE 4-4A, 580 km) and Barents Sea (1-AR, 1440 km;). The reflective image of the deep crust is highly dependent on the thickness of the sedimentary cover. The cover is few hundred meters in the Baltic sea, few tens of meters in the land areas and few kilometers in the Barents Sea area. In the Barents Sea area, the seismic image is dominated by the layered structure of the sedimentary basins and the middle and lower crust are poorly imaged. Therefore the Moho boundary in the Barents Sea has been determined from wide-angle reflections. Geologically the transect covers the transition from Phanerozoic Europe to Precambrian Europe and back to the Phanerozoic Barents Sea Shelf. It displays how Northern Europe grew around Baltica in several tectonic episodes involving the formation and destruction of Columbia/Hudsonland, Rodinia and Pangea supercontinents. The paleo plateboundaries are traversed by subvertical transparent zones suggesting transpressional and trantensional environments. The BABEL lines image how the core of Baltica was formed by sequential accretion of microcontinents and arc terranes at the old continental margin during the Svecofennian Orogeny ~1.9-1.8 Ga .When Baltica joined the Columbia supercontinent, new terranes were added to its southern edge in the Sveocbaltic Orogeny (~1.8 Ga). During the dispersal of the Columbia, the Baltic Sea failed rift was formed, rapakivi granitoids were intruded and sedimentary basins were developed. An extended plate margin structure has been imposed on the Rodinian (Sveconorwegian) and Pangean additions (Variscan-Caledonian). Major crustal thinning takes place along a series of subvertical faults across the Trans-European Suture Zone marking the transition from Phanerozoic to Proterozoic Europe. The FIRE lines in Northen Finland

Perception of risks in renewable energy projects: The case of concentrated solar power in North Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komendantova, Nadejda; Patt, Anthony; Barras, Lucile; Battaglini, Antonella

2012-01-01

The world needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent climate change, while meeting the energy needs of developed and developing economies. Recent studies suggest that generation of electricity from concentrated solar power in North African countries and its transmission to Europe could provide European and North African partners with low-carbon electricity.The private capital will be likely required to achieve the scale of new investment and yet the North African region experience difficulties with sustaining high levels of foreign direct investment from the private sector. The literature identifies a number of risks as barriers to investment, and we examine these in the particular context of renewable energy development. We conducted three stages of interviews with stakeholders to learn their perceptions of the risks most likely to affect renewable energy projects. Three class of risks—regulatory, political, and force majeure (which includes terrorism)—stand out as being of high concern. Of these, regulatory risks are perceived as being the most consequential, and the most likely to occur. This suggests that attention to building the capacities of North African countries to develop, implement, and enforce sound regulations in a transparent manner could be an important step in promoting renewable energy cooperation with Europe.

North Atlantic variability and its links to European climate over the last 3000 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Moffa-Sánchez, Paola; Hall, Ian R

2017-11-23

The subpolar North Atlantic is a key location for the Earth's climate system. In the Labrador Sea, intense winter air-sea heat exchange drives the formation of deep waters and the surface circulation of warm waters around the subpolar gyre. This process therefore has the ability to modulate the oceanic northward heat transport. Recent studies reveal decadal variability in the formation of Labrador Sea Water. Yet, crucially, its longer-term history and links with European climate remain limited. Here we present new decadally resolved marine proxy reconstructions, which suggest weakened Labrador Sea Water formation and gyre strength with similar timing to the centennial cold periods recorded in terrestrial climate archives and historical records over the last 3000 years. These new data support that subpolar North Atlantic circulation changes, likely forced by increased southward flow of Arctic waters, contributed to modulating the climate of Europe with important societal impacts as revealed in European history.

Restraint and eating concern in North European and East Asian women with and without eating disorders in Australia and Singapore.

Science.gov (United States)

Soh, Nerissa Li-Wey; Touyz, Stephen; Dobbins, Timothy A; Surgenor, Lois J; Clarke, Simon; Kohn, Michael R; Lee, Ee Lian; Leow, Vincent; Rieger, Elizabeth; Ung, Ken Eng Khean; Walter, Garry

2007-06-01

To investigate eating disorder psychopathology, restraint and eating concern in young women with and without an eating disorder from two different ethnic groups in Australia and Singapore. The relationship of Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire Global, Restraint and Eating Concern scores to cultural orientation and sociocultural factors was analysed in 154 women with and without an eating disorder. Participants were from the following backgrounds: North European Australian, East Asian Australian, Singaporean Chinese and North European expatriates in Singapore. Women with eating disorders had similar psychopathology across the cultural groups. Among controls, Singaporean Chinese reported significantly greater overall eating disorder psychopathology than other cultural groups and greater restraint than North European Australians/expatriates. Eating concern was not associated with cultural group overall or acculturation to Western culture. Dissatisfaction with family functioning, socioeconomic status and education level were not significantly associated with any of the eating disorder measures. In eating disorder psychopathology, the specific symptom of eating concern may transcend cultural influences.

European parliament: nuclear power necessary for Eu at middle term

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2007-01-01

In a not binding resolution adopted with a very wide majority, the european deputies, reminding that 30 % of the European electricity is supplied by the nuclear power, considered on October 24., 2007, that this energy was indispensable to cover the energy basic needs of the medium-term. The European Parliament called member states to make efforts in the field of research and development in the sector of energy, nuclear or not. The deputies also asked to the European Commission to present legislative propositions concerning the capture and the storage of CO 2 . (N.C.)

Malaria incidence and prevention among European and North American travellers to Kenya.

OpenAIRE

Lobel, H. O.; Phillips-Howard, P. A.; Brandling-Bennett, A. D.; Steffen, R.; Campbell, C. C.; Huong, A. Y.; Were, J. B.; Moser, R.

1990-01-01

A longitudinal survey was conducted among travellers departing from Nairobi airport to determine the use of malaria prevention measures and assess the risk for malaria while travelling in Kenya. Among 5489 European and North American travellers, 68 different drug regimens were used for prophylaxis, and 48% of travellers used both regular chemoprophylaxis and more than 1 antimosquito measure during travel; 52% of 3469 travellers who used chemoprophylaxis did so without interruption during thei...

Hybrid Pricing in a Coupled European Power Market with More Wind Power

OpenAIRE

Bjørndal, Endre; Bjørndal, Mette; Cai, Hong; Panos, Evangelos

2015-01-01

In the European market, the promotion of wind power leads to more network congestion. Zonal pricing (market coupling), which does not take the physical characteristics of transmission into account, is the most commonly used method to relieve congestion in Europe. Zonal pricing fails to provide adequate locational price signals regarding the energy resource scarcity and thus creates a large amount of unscheduled cross-border flows originating from wind-generated power, making the interconne...

Links between North Atlantic atmospheric blocking and recent trends in European winter precipitation

Science.gov (United States)

Ummenhofer, Caroline; Seo, Hyodae; Kwon, Young-Oh; Joyce, Terrence

2015-04-01

European precipitation has sustained robust trends during wintertime (January - March) over recent decades. Central, western, and northern Europe have become wetter by an average 0.1-0.3% per annum for the period 1901-2010, while southern Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula, much of Italy and the Balkan States, has sustained drying of -0.2% per annum or more over the same period. The overall pattern is consistent across different observational precipitation products, while the magnitude of the precipitation trends varies amongst data sets. Using cluster analysis, which identifies recurrent states (or regimes) of European winter precipitation by grouping them according to an objective similarity criterion, changes in the frequency of dominant winter precipitation patterns over the past century are evaluated. Considerable multi-decadal variability exists in the frequency of dominant winter precipitation patterns: more recent decades are characterised by significantly fewer winters with anomalous wet conditions over southern, western, and central Europe. In contrast, winters with dry conditions in western and southern Europe, but above-average rainfall in western Scandinavia and the northern British Isles, have been more common recently. We evaluate the associated multi-decadal large-scale circulation changes across the broader extratropical North Atlantic region, which accompany the observed wintertime precipitation variability using the 20th Century reanalysis product. Some influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is apparent in modulating the frequency of dominant precipitation patterns. However, recent trends in the characteristics of atmospheric blocking across the North Atlantic sector indicate a change in the dominant blocking centres (near Greenland, the British Isles, and west of the Iberian Peninsula). Associated changes in sea level pressure, storm track position and strength, and oceanic heat fluxes across the North Atlantic region are also

European wind turbine testing procedure developments. Task 2: Power quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Poul Ejnar; Friis Pedersen, Troels; Gerdes, G.

2001-01-01

The present report describes the work done in the power quality subtask of the European Wind Turbine Testing Procedure Developments project funded by the EU SMT program. The objective of the power quality subtask has been to make recommendations andprovide background for new standards...... for measurement and testing of wind turbine power quality. The focus in the work has been to support the ongoing standardisation work in IEC with a new standard IEC61400-21 for measurement and assessment of powerquality characteristics of grid connected wind turbines. The work has also been based on the power...... quality measuremnet procedure in the Measnet cooperation of European test stations for wind turbines. The first working item of the project has been toverify the state of the art of the measurement procedures by analyses and comparisons of the measurements and data processing software of the participating...

Humic substances elemental composition of selected taiga and tundra soils from Russian European North-East

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lodygin Evgeny

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Soils of Russian European North were investigated in terms of stability and quality of organic matter as well as in terms of soils organic matter elemental composi­tion. Therefore, soil humic acids (HAs, extracted from soils of different natural zones of Russian North-East were studied to characterize the degree of soil organic matter stabilization along a zonal gradient. HAs were extracted from soil of different zonal environments of the Komi Republic: south, middle and north taiga as well as south tundra. Data on elemental composition of humic acids and fulvic acids (FAs extracted from different soil types were obtained to assess humus formation mechanisms in the soils of taiga and tundra of the European North-East of Russia. The specificity of HAs elemental composition are discussed in relation to environmental conditions. The higher moisture degree of taiga soils results in the higher H/C ratio in humic substances. This reflects the reduced microbiologic activity in Albeluvisols sods and subsequent conser­vation of carbohydrate and amino acid fragments in HAs. HAs of tundra soils, shows the H/C values decreasing within the depth of the soils, which reflects increasing of aromatic compounds in HA structure of mineral soil horizons. FAs were more oxidized and contains less carbon while compared with the HAs. Humic acids, extracted from soil of different polar and boreal environments differ in terms of elemental composition winch reflects the climatic and hydrological regimes of humification.

Phenotypic variability in a panel of strawberry cultivars from North America and the European Union

Science.gov (United States)

The phenotypic diversity in 96 antique and modern cultivars from the European Union and North America was evaluated in Michigan and Oregon, in 2011 and 2012. A total of thirty-five fruit and developmental characteristics were measured. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed among cultivars...

Power Markets. Creating a regional power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beckman, K.; Belin, H.

2009-01-01

One article and one column in the section 'Power markets'. In the article attention is paid to the leading role of the Netherlands in the pursuit of a fully integrated North West European electricity market. the column 'View from Brussels' focuses on the 'Sustainable Energy Europe' campaign and the related EU Sustainable Energy Week in February 2009

North European Understanding of Zero Energy/Emission Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marszal, Anna Joanna; Bourrelle, J. S.; Nieminen, J.

2010-01-01

countries are still to adopt a national definition for these types of buildings. This results often in more than one understanding of ZEBs in each country. This study provides a concise source of information on the north European understanding of zero energy/emission buildings. It puts forward a number......The worldwide CO2 emission mitigation efforts, the growing energy resource shortage and the fact that buildings are responsible for a large share of the world’s primary energy use drives research towards new building concepts, in particular Zero Energy/Emission Buildings (ZEBs). Unfortunately...... may observe a correlation between the zero energy/emission building approach adopted by a country and this particular country’s utility grid characteristics. Moreover, it is to be noted that the ZEB concept is not well defined at the national level in northern Europe and that all of the participating...

Large scale solar thermal power for the European Union{exclamation_point}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

1997-06-01

Southern Europe, on the edge of the sunbelt, represents the ideal location for solar thermal generated power. Last year. SAWIE reported on the THESEUS project, a proposed 50 MWe solar thermal power plant for Frangokastello, southern Crete, which was submitted for support under the European Union`s THERMIE Programme. Funding was approved for the design phase for this innovative power plant, the first large-scale SEGS-style plant on European soil, at the end of last year. However, the THERMIE Programme also provided support for another Southern European plant, proposed by Colon Solar for Huelva in Southern Spain. Whilst hurdles remain to be overcome before both plants are built and commissioned, there is an excellent chance that by the start of the new Millennium, the solar collectors from these two plants could be generating over half a million MWh of energy a year. SAWIE compares the two projects. (author)

AFLP markers for the assessment of genetic diversity in european and North American potato varieties cultivated in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeed Tarkesh Esfahani

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Information about the genetic diversity of potato germplasm in Iran is important for variety identification andto enhance the classification of germplasm collections and exploit them in breeding programs and for the development andintroduction of new varieties. AFLP fingerprinting was applied to a group of cultivated potato varieties to find if there is anygeographical differentiation in potato diversity from Europe and North America. The high level of polymorphism within potatovarieties and the high number of variety-specific bands suggest that AFLPs are powerful markers for diversity analysis inpotato varieties. No region-specific AFLP markers were found (present in varieties from the same origin and absent inothers. The UPGMA dendrogram revealed four distinct clusters corresponding almost to the geographical origin of thevarieties. However, the bootstrap support for branches was rather weak. No clusters clearly distinguished varieties fromEurope and North America. Varieties from the same geographical origins however tended to group together within eachcluster. The mean similarity and the UPGMA dendrogram both suggest that North American varieties have nearly identicalgenetic diversity to European varieties. The results of AMOVA revealed large within-region variations which accounted for94.5% of the total molecular variance. The between-region variation, although accounting for only 5.5% of the total variation,was statistically significant. AFLP technology was successfully used to evaluate diversity between different geographicalgroups of potatoes and is recommended for potato genetic studies.

The new regulatory state: the social powers of the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Walby, S

1999-03-01

The understanding of the European Union poses a challenge for Sociology and its traditional conceptions of the state. In particular, the impact of the social dimension has been underestimated and undervalued. This paper explores the implications of the developing social dimension of the European Union for European social relations in the context of globalization which allegedly reduces the power of states to act effectively in the social realm. It argues for a broader conceptualization of the social dimension and for a new conception of the regulatory state. It argues that the significance of a politico-legal project social justice. It concludes with a re-consideration of the powers of the state in an era of globalization

Open access to natural gas pipeline transportation in North America: Lessons for the European internal energy market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreyfus, D.A.; Koklauner, A.B.

1991-01-01

The North American natural gas industry's experience with deregulation is described, with emphasis on the transition to competition and the conditions for viability under open access. Lessons learned from the North American experience are then examined for relevance to the European situation, which is emphasizing greater access to transmission systems. It is found likely that the European proposal will frequently operate only to facilitate negotiations among players already active in the gas market, and is less likely to introduce a large number of independent transactions or new merchants. Challenges for the system will include: government assurance of reliability to domestic gas users who have made arrangements with foreign suppliers; administration of pipeline grids; resolution of competing claims on available transmission services; planning for future suppliers; and impact on investment. 8 refs., 1 fig

Recreational Industry in the North of European Russia: Case Assessment, Komi Republic

Science.gov (United States)

Yakovleva, M. P.; Kuchkina, E.; Iyevlev, N.; Lyaskovsky, S.

2012-12-01

At the past AGU Annual Meeting in 2011, we presented information about development of the recreation industry in European Russia within the "Silver Ring" Project (http://neespi.org/web-content/meetings/AGU_2011/Yakovleva-poster.pdf). This Project can be considered as a system of actions directed to a comprehensive socio-economic development of the Northwest of the Russian Federation that includes 11 provinces ("oblast", "republic", "okrug") of the country. Among the provinces included in the Project, The Komi Republic is one of the most interesting regions. The Komi Republic is located in the North of European Russia within the gridbox restricted by 59N - 69N latitudes and 45E - 66E longitudes. The region is populated by indigenous northern nations: Komi, Russians, Karels, Ved', Permyaks, and others. It is characterized as an ecologically clean territory, has a small population density, is rich with natural reserves, and has abundant forest and water resources. Flora and fauna of the Republic are unique and attractive. Rich biodiversity and abundance of fish and game allow hunting and sport fishing. As of January 1, 2010, The Komi Republic has 240 territories of special environmental protection ("zakazniki") with restricted human activity. This allows a diversity of field trips devoted to in-depth studies of regional ecosystems as well as tourist visits aiming to enjoy unique nature and ethnic-cultures of the North.

European and North American Schools of Public Health – Establishment, growth, differences and similarities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jadranka Bozikov

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Unlike European Schools of Public Health, whose development was primarily influenced by the medical profession and was linked to the healthcare system, North American Schools of Public Health operate as independent academic institutions engaged in research and education of Public Health specialists. While Public Health has been recognised as a distinctive profession in USA and Canada for almost a century, in many European countries it is not recognized as such and, accordingly, there are no well-defined job positions for graduates. Similarities and differences between the European and American Schools of Public Health are reviewed and the importance of classification of core competences, responsibilities and scope of knowledge required for Public Health practice was pointed out as a prerequisite for accreditation of study curricula. For the professionalization of Public Health in Europe further efforts are needed.

Corporate realignments in the natural gas industry: does the North American experience foretell the future for the European Union?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rutledge, I.; Wright, Ph. [Sheffield Univ., Energy Studies Programme (United Kingdom); Wright, Ph. [Montpellier-1 Univ., CREDEN-LASER, 34 (France)

2000-09-01

This paper seeks to explore the extent to which the corporate realignments which have occurred in the North American Natural Gas Industry during a now relatively lengthy experience with liberalization involving a large number of players, will be imitated in the future by European Union countries other than the UK (which is of course already long-embarked along the path of Anglo-Saxon liberalization). The paper first of all catalogues the North American experience, drawing on company performance data assembled by the authors over the last decade (Rutledge and Wright, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000). Secondly, this empirical exploration gives way to theoretical speculation: are there elements of the North American experience for which explanatory generalizations are possible? Thirdly, these empirical and theoretical insights are employed to identify and explore actual and potential differences in the corporate evolution of the European Union natural gas industry. (authors)

Training of nuclear power plant personnel in the member states of the European Community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misenta, R.; Matfield, R.S.; Volta, G.; Ancarani, A.; Lhoir, J.

1981-01-01

After the Three Mile Island accident the Commission of the European Communities undertook various actions in order to assess the status of the training of nuclear power plant personnel with particular attention to their training for incidents and accidents. This presentation attempts a review of the training situation in the six member states of the European Community together with some other European states, that are operating nuclear power plants. Schemes for the training of control room operators, shift leaders, major European training centres and simulator training will be described

The European Commission: nuclear power has an important role to play

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2008-01-01

The European Commission (E.C.) thinks that nuclear power has an important role to play: first to reduce CO 2 emissions and secondly to reinforce energy self-reliance of the member states. The decision to introduce nuclear power in their energy mix belongs to every state but the E.C. has also highlighted that if adequate investment are quickly made 2 thirds of the electricity produced in the European Union in 2010 could by from low-carbon-emitting sources. Today with 148 reactors operating in 15 member countries nuclear power contributes to 1 third of the electricity produced. Another issue that is looming is the security of electricity supplying. A study has shown that the security level is worsening (particularly in winter) because of the greater part of wind energy in the energy mix as wind energy is not necessarily available when energy demand is peaking. The E.C. has proposed a new directive drawing a common standard frame for nuclear safety requirements concerning design, site selection, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Each member state will have the choice to implement stiffer regulations. The European Union must reduce its dependency on Russian gas by increasing its storing capacities, by easing gas exchanges between member states and by importing more liquefied natural gas. European member states will have to invert 1000*10 9 euros in gas and electrical power infrastructures in the next 25 years. (A.C.)

Role of hydrogen in future North European power system in 2060

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meibom, Peter; Karlsson, Kenneth Bernard

2010-01-01

the heat production in heat pumps and electric heat boilers, and by varying the production of hydrogen in electrolysis plants in combination with hydrogen storage. Investment in hydrogen storage capacity corresponded to 1.2% of annual wind power production in the scenarios without a hydrogen demand from...... the future success of fuel cell technologies have been investigated as well as different electricity and heat demand assumptions. The variability of wind power production was handled by varying the hydropower production and the production on CHP plants using biomass, by power transmission, by varying...

Severo-Zapad Rossii v kontekste obshheevropejskoj integracii [North-West Russia in the context of European integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kochegarova Tamara

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Integration is one of the main consequences of globalization. Elements of microsystems are growing closer, which brings to the foreground problems of interaction and — in a longer perspective — those of close cooperation between different social systems. The article considers the case of North-West Russia, the only territory having a common border with the EU, in order to examine the issue of Russia using the geographical factor, which Otto von Bismarck called the most powerful and intrinsic factor in history. The significance of this factor increased after the Cold War. It was then when the independent Baltic States became a platform for emergence and recognition of the Baltic Sea region. The author focuses on the social and cultural integrity of the region and considers the traditional Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea states as interrelated components of a single region, different from other European regions in terms of economic interests, as well as its natural and sociocultural landscape.

North American free trade and the European situation compared.

Science.gov (United States)

Weintraub, S

1992-01-01

The author analyzes and compares the trade situation in the European Community (EC) with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He finds that "while both the EC and NAFTA are designed to provide trade preferences to the member countries, the two groupings differ markedly in other respects. The Treaty of Rome, establishing what is now the EC, consciously used economic means to foster political cohesion in Western Europe; whereas, the NAFTA negotiations seek free trade rather than more comprehensive economic integration precisely to minimize political content. The EC contains many social provisions absent from the NAFTA discussions, the most important of which is the right of migration from one EC country to another." The effects of NAFTA on the economy of Mexico and on Mexican migration to the United States are also assessed. excerpt

Sewage Management Changes in the North-eastern Poland After Accession to the European Union

Science.gov (United States)

Skarżyński, Szymon; Bartkowska, Izabela

2018-02-01

Poland's accession to the European Union contributed to the infrastructure development of the whole country. One of the elements of the modernized infrastructure is the sewage network and facilities on this network, as well as facilities for waste water treatment and disposal of sludge. A wide stream of funds flowing to the country, and consequently also to the north-eastern polish voivodeships (Podlaskie, Warmian-Masurian, Lublin), allowed modernization, organize, and sometimes to build a new sewage management of this part of the country. The main factors and parameters that allow us to evaluate the development of the sewage management in north-eastern Poland are included: percentage of population using sewage treatment plants, number of municipal sewage plants with the division of their type, number of industrial plants, number of septic tanks, amount of sewage purified in a year, amount of sludge produced in the year, design capacity of sewage treatment plant, size of plant in population equivalent (PE). From a number of investments in the field of wastewater management carried out in the discussed area in the period after Poland's accession to the European Union, 9 investments were considered the most important, 3 from each of the voivodeships.

Excavations at Pukearuhe (N99/49), North Taranaki, 1968

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawrence, J.; Prickett, N.

1984-01-01

The 1968 salvage excavations at Pukearuhe (N99/49), north Taranaki, are reported. Pukearuhe was for long a Ngati Tama fortification; in the period 1865-1885 it was occupied by european forces, firstly, imperial troops and Taranaki military settlers, later, armed constabulary. Ngati Tama and european occupation was based on the powerful strategic situation of Pukearuhe at the northern gateway into Taranaki. Excavations revealed evidence of the Maori and European occupation. Radiocarbon dates were obtained for Maori occupation. European material adds to the knowledge of sites relating to the period of military conflict in Taranaki which extended from 1860 to the early 1880s

Chances of coal in European power industry

Science.gov (United States)

Łukaszczyk, Zygmunt; Badura, Henryk

2017-11-01

Poland's accession to the European Union has reduced the remnants of import barriers. Moreover, the consolidation and commercialization of the energy sector, the implementation of climate package elements and a whole host of other determinants have caused hard coal mining to begin functioning in a highly competitive market, and its negotiating position, as well as the possibility of survival, depends not only on the level of coal prices in international markets, but also on internal competition. This paper discusses the position of power coal on international markets and presents some current problems concerning the functioning of particular segments of the hard coal market in the European Union and Poland in terms of opportunities and threats that are a result of climate and energy policy.

Exploring the meteorological potential for planning a high performance European electricity super-grid: optimal power capacity distribution among countries

Science.gov (United States)

Santos-Alamillos, Francisco J.; Brayshaw, David J.; Methven, John; Thomaidis, Nikolaos S.; Ruiz-Arias, José A.; Pozo-Vázquez, David

2017-11-01

The concept of a European super-grid for electricity presents clear advantages for a reliable and affordable renewable power production (photovoltaics and wind). Based on the mean-variance portfolio optimization analysis, we explore optimal scenarios for the allocation of new renewable capacity at national level in order to provide to energy decision-makers guidance about which regions should be mostly targeted to either maximize total production or reduce its day-to-day variability. The results show that the existing distribution of renewable generation capacity across Europe is far from optimal: i.e. a ‘better’ spatial distribution of resources could have been achieved with either a ~31% increase in mean power supply (for the same level of day-to-day variability) or a ~37.5% reduction in day-to-day variability (for the same level of mean productivity). Careful planning of additional increments in renewable capacity at the European level could, however, act to significantly ameliorate this deficiency. The choice of where to deploy resources depends, however, on the objective being pursued—if the goal is to maximize average output, then new capacity is best allocated in the countries with highest resources, whereas investment in additional capacity in a north/south dipole pattern across Europe would act to most reduce daily variations and thus decrease the day-to-day volatility of renewable power supply.

Features of selenium metabolism in humans living under the conditions of North European Russia.

Science.gov (United States)

Parshukova, Olga; Potolitsyna, Natalya; Shadrina, Vera; Chernykh, Aleksei; Bojko, Evgeny

2014-08-01

Selenium supplementation and its effects on Northerners have been little studied. The aim of our study was to assess the selenium levels of the inhabitants of North European Russia, the seasonal aspects of selenium supplementation, and the interrelationships between selenium levels and the levels of thyroid gland hormones. To study the particular features of selenium metabolism in Northerners over the course of 1 year, 19 healthy male Caucasian volunteers (18-21 years old) were recruited for the present study. The subjects were military guards in a Northern European region of Russia (Syktyvkar, Russia, 62°N latitude) who spent 6-10-h outdoors daily. The study was conducted over a 12-month period. Selenium levels, glutathione peroxidase (GP) activity, as well as total triiodothyronine (T3), total thyroxin (T4), free thyroxin, free triiodothyronine, and thyrotropin (TSH) levels, were determined in the blood serum. The study subjects showed low levels of plasma selenium throughout the year. We observed a noticeable decrease in plasma selenium levels during the period from May to August, with the lowest levels in July. Selenium levels in the military guards correlated with the levels of selenium-dependent GP enzyme activity throughout the year. Additionally, we demonstrated a significant correlation between selenium and pituitary-thyroid axis hormones (total T3, free T4, and TSH) in periods in which plasma selenium levels were lower than the established normal ranges. Over the course of 1 year, low levels of plasma selenium affect GP activity and thyroid hormone levels in humans living in North European Russia.

THE ANALYSIS OF ABSORPTION CAPACITY OF EUROPEAN FUNDING IN THE NORTH WESTERN REGION OF ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Droj Laurentiu

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the Romanian absorption capacity of the funds allocated through the REGIO programme, which is part of ERDF programme. Within the paper are presented the concept of absorption capacity and several opinions regarding its main composing elements. Also the Regio programme, its main axis and its budget is briefly presented. In the last chapter of the analysis a thorough analysis of the implementation of REGIO in the Romanian North-West Region was carried out and several causes for the low absorption of European Founds have been identified.. The process of improving the absorption capacity of European Funds is still at the beginning in Romania and will certainly become an important issue over the following years at all levels of the Romanian society and at the level of the European Funding Authorities as well.

A Model of Small Capacity Power Plant in Tateli Village, North Sulawesi

Science.gov (United States)

Sangari, F. J.; Rompas, P. T. D.

2017-03-01

The electricity supply in North Sulawesi is still very limited so ubiquitous electric current outage. It makes rural communities have problems in life because most uses electrical energy. One of the solutions is a model of power plants to supply electricity in Tateli village, Minahasa, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The objective of this research is to get the model that generate electrical energy for household needs through power plant that using a model of Picohydro with cross flow turbine in Tateli village. The method used the study of literature, survey the construction site of the power plant and the characteristics of the location being a place of research, analysis of hydropower ability and analyzing costs of power plant. The result showed that the design model of cross flow turbines used in pico-hydro hydropower installations is connected to a generator to produce electrical energy maximum of 3.29 kW for household needs. This analyze will be propose to local government of Minahasa, North Sulawesi, Indonesia to be followed.

Biography of a technology: North America's power grid through the twentieth century

Science.gov (United States)

Cohn, Julie A.

North Americans are among the world's most intense consumers of electricity. The vast majority in the United States and Canada access power from a network of transmission lines that stretch from the East Coast to the West Coast and from Canada to the Mexican Baja. This network, known as the largest interconnected machine in the world, evolved during the first two thirds of the twentieth century. With the very first link-ups occurring at the end of the 1890s, a wide variety of public and private utilities extended power lines to reach markets, access and manage energy resources, balance loads, realize economies of scale, provide backup power, and achieve economic stability. In 1967, utility managers and the Bureau of Reclamation connected the expansive eastern and western power pools to create the North American grid. Unlike other power grids around the world, built by single, centrally controlled entities, this large technological system emerged as the result of multiple decisions across eighty-five years of development, and negotiations for control at the economic, political, and technological levels. This dissertation describes the process of building the North American grid and the paradoxes the resulting system represents. While the grid functions as a single machine moving electricity across the continent, it is owned by many independent entities. Smooth operations suggest that the grid is a unified system; however, it operates under shared management and divided authority. In addition, although a single power network seems the logical outcome of electrification, in fact it was assembled through aggregation, not planning. Interconnections intentionally increase the robustness of individual sub-networks, yet the system itself is fragile, as demonstrated by major cascading power outages. Finally, the transmission network facilitates increased use of energy resources and consumption of power, but at certain points in the past, it also served as a technology of

Cultural and gender convergence in adolescent drunkenness: evidence from 23 European and North American countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Kuntsche, Sandra; Knibbe, Ronald; Simons-Morton, Bruce; Farhat, Tilda; Hublet, Anne; Bendtsen, Pernille; Godeau, Emmanuelle; Demetrovics, Zsolt

2011-02-01

To investigate time-trend changes in the frequency of drunkenness among European and North American adolescents. Cross-sectional surveys in the 1997/1998 and 2005/2006 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study (HBSC). High schools in 23 countries. A sample of 77 586 adolescents aged 15 years was analyzed by means of hierarchical linear modeling. The frequency of drunkenness. We observed a significant increase of about 40% in the mean frequency of drunkenness in all 7 participating Eastern European countries. This increase was evident among both genders, but most consistently among girls. Meanwhile, it declined in 13 of 16 Western countries, about 25% on average. Declines in Western countries were particularly notable among boys and in North America, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Despite this gender convergence, with few exceptions (Greenland, Norway, United Kingdom) boys continued to have a higher frequency of drunkenness in 2005/2006 than girls. The confirmed cultural convergence implies that adoption and implementation of evidence-based measures to mitigate the frequency of adolescent drunkenness such as tax increases and restricting alcohol access and advertisement should get the same priority in Eastern European countries as in Western countries. Policy measures that might facilitate decreases in drunkenness such as server training and the promotion of alcohol-free leisure-time activities should be reinforced in Western countries. The gender convergence implies that prevention policy should be less exclusively focused on male adolescents.

Sewage Management Changes in the North-eastern Poland After Accession to the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skarżyński Szymon

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Poland's accession to the European Union contributed to the infrastructure development of the whole country. One of the elements of the modernized infrastructure is the sewage network and facilities on this network, as well as facilities for waste water treatment and disposal of sludge. A wide stream of funds flowing to the country, and consequently also to the north-eastern polish voivodeships (Podlaskie, Warmian-Masurian, Lublin, allowed modernization, organize, and sometimes to build a new sewage management of this part of the country. The main factors and parameters that allow us to evaluate the development of the sewage management in north-eastern Poland are included: percentage of population using sewage treatment plants, number of municipal sewage plants with the division of their type, number of industrial plants, number of septic tanks, amount of sewage purified in a year, amount of sludge produced in the year, design capacity of sewage treatment plant, size of plant in population equivalent (PE. From a number of investments in the field of wastewater management carried out in the discussed area in the period after Poland's accession to the European Union, 9 investments were considered the most important, 3 from each of the voivodeships.

Cleaning power and abrasivity of European toothpastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wülknitz, P

1997-11-01

For 41 toothpastes available to European consumers in 1995, the cleaning efficacy was evaluated in comparison with abrasivity on dentin (RDA value). For cleaning power assessment, a modified pellicle cleaning ratio (PCR) measurement method was developed. The method is characterized by a five-day tea-staining procedure on bovine front teeth slabs on a rotating wheel, standardized brushing of the slabs in a V8 cross-brushing machine, and brightness measurement by a chromametric technique. All tested products were in accordance with the new DIN/ISO standard 11,609 for toothpastes in terms of dentin abrasivity. Not a single product exceeded an RDA value of 200. The majority of toothpastes (80%) had an RDA value below 100. Only three products surpassed the reference in cleaning power. Most products (73%) had a cleaning power (PCR value) between 20 and 80. The correlation between cleaning power and dentin abrasion was low (r = 0.66), which can be explained with the different influence on dentin and stains by factors like abrasive type, particle surface and size, as well as the chemical influence of other toothpaste ingredients. Some major trends could be shown on the basis of abrasive types. The ratio PCR to RDA was rather good in most silica-based toothpastes. A lower ratio was found in some products containing calcium carbonate or aluminum trihydrate as the only abrasive. The addition of other abrasives, such as polishing alumina, showed improved cleaning power. Some active ingredients, especially sequenstrants such as sodium tripolyphosphate or AHBP, also improve the PCR/RDA ratio by stain-dissolving action without being abrasive. The data for some special anti-stain products did not differ significantly from standard products. Compared with data measured in 1988, a general trend toward reduced abrasivity without loss of cleaning efficacy could be noticed on the European toothpaste market. This may be mostly due to the increased use of high-performance abrasives such

Analysis of Axial Turbine Pico-Hydro Electrical Power Plant in North Sulawesi Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Sangari, F. J.; Rompas, P. T. D.

2018-02-01

This study presents analysis of pico-hydro electrical power plant in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The objective of this study is to get a design of axial turbine pico-hydro electrical power plant. The method used the study of literature, survey the construction site of the power plant and the characteristics of the location being a place of study, analysis of hydropower ability and analyzing costs of power plant. The result showed that the design of axial turbine pico-hydro installation is connected to a generator to produce electrical energy maximum can be used for household needs in villages. This analyze will be propose to local government of Minahasa, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The European Union’s normative power in global politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manners, Ian

2012-01-01

comparison. Both political and scholarly assessments argue that ‘we are one of the most important, if not the most important, normative powers in the world’ (Barroso in Peterson, 2008: 69) and that ‘Europe has tremendous normative power’ (Moravcsik, 2010: 18). The normative power approach set out here makes...... it possible to explain, understand, and judge the EU in global politics by rethinking the nature of power and actorness in a globalising, multilateralising and multipolarising era. The EU uses normative power in global politics but the question is whether it is more prone than other actors to do so? In areas...... which are core to the ‘European project’, it seems clear that the EU is more disposed to use normative power....

Obligations to power supply and Antitrust Law of the European Community; Strombezugsverpflichtungen und EG-Kartellverbot

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lerch, Dirk

2008-07-01

In the European electricity supply industry, a change to competition-oriented national markets under development of a common European electricity market is observed for some years. Under this aspect, the author of the contribution under consideration reports on obligations to the current power supply and on the trust prohibition in the European Community. The contribution under consideration consists of the following three chapters: (a) Discussion of fundamental questions regarding to cartel legal evaluation of obligations to power supply; (b) Conditions of the art. 81 sect. 1 EEC and application to obligations for power supply; (c) Exemption from the obligation to power supply according to art. 1 sect. 3 EEC. In particular, the regulation of the group exemption for vertical agreements of 22nd December, 1999, is considered.

Effects of Scandinavian hydro power on storage needs in a fully renewable European power system for various transmission capacity scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Kies, Alexander; Nag, Kabitri; von Bremen, Lueder; Lorenz, Elke; Heinemann, Detlev

2015-04-01

The penetration of renewable energies in the European power system has increased in the last decades (23.5% share of renewables in the gross electricity consumption of the EU-28 in 2012) and is expected to increase further up to very high shares close to 100%. Planning and organizing this European energy transition towards sustainable power sources will be one of the major challenges of the 21st century. It is very likely that in a fully renewable European power system wind and photovoltaics (pv) will contribute the largest shares to the generation mix followed by hydro power. However, feed-in from wind and pv is due to the weather dependant nature of their resources fluctuating and non-controllable. To match generation and consumption several solutions and their combinations were proposed like very high backup-capacities of conventional power generation (e.g. fossile or nuclear), storages or the extension of the transmission grid. Apart from those options hydro power can be used to counterbalance fluctuating wind and pv generation to some extent. In this work we investigate the effects of hydro power from Norway and Sweden on residual storage needs in Europe depending on the overlaying grid scenario. High temporally and spatially resolved weather data with a spatial resolution of 7 x 7 km and a temporal resolution of 1 hour was used to model the feed-in from wind and pv for 34 investigated European countries for the years 2003-2012. Inflow into hydro storages and generation by run-of-river power plants were computed from ERA-Interim reanalysis runoff data at a spatial resolution of 0.75° x 0.75° and a daily temporal resolution. Power flows in a simplified transmission grid connecting the 34 European countries were modelled minimizing dissipation using a DC-flow approximation. Previous work has shown that hydro power, namely in Norway and Sweden, can reduce storage needs in a renewable European power system by a large extent. A 15% share of hydro power in Europe

New institutional analysis of European electric power reforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez, Yannick

2002-01-01

This research thesis reports a comparative analysis of reforms of the electric power sector implemented in European countries. In the first part, the authors proposes a presentation of the theoretical framework adopted for this analysis which is notably based on the New Institutional Economy approach. He also proposes an approach to the electric power industry based on the Transaction Cost Theory, and presents an overview of the various European reforms in the field of electricity, and of still unresolved problems which emerged after the creation of different power markets. The next part addresses an assessment of the attractive and desirable characters of reforms which have been implemented in the United Kingdom, in Germany and in Spain, with an attempt to identify winners and losers, and to classify these reforms. In the third part, the author defines a framework for the analysis of the feasibility of reforms which combine institutional and industrial dimensions, notably by reference to Noll and Williamson works. In the last part, the author sheds a new light on the concept of credibility. He introduces the conventional arbitrage of the Transaction Cost Theory between commitment stability and flexibility to generate uncertainty. He notably shows that the main problem in centralised institutional environments, is to guarantee the stability of commitments in front of opportunism, whereas in decentralised institutional environments, the main problem is to produce flexibility to manage uncertainty [fr

Power learning or path dependency? Investigating the roots of the European Food Safety Authority.

Science.gov (United States)

Roederer-Rynning, Christilla; Daugbjerg, Carsten

2010-01-01

A key motive for establishing the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was restoring public confidence in the wake of multiplying food scares and the BSE crisis. Scholars, however, have paid little attention to the actual political and institutional logics that shaped this new organization. This article explores the dynamics underpinning the making of EFSA. We examine the way in which learning and power shaped its organizational architecture. It is demonstrated that the lessons drawn from the past and other models converged on the need to delegate authority to an external agency, but diverged on its mandate, concretely whether or not EFSA should assume risk management responsibilities. In this situation of competitive learning, power and procedural politics conditioned the mandate granted to EFSA. The European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council shared a common interest in preventing the delegation of regulatory powers to an independent EU agency in food safety policy.

European pathways for Slovak research and education in the nuclear power domain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slugen, Vladimir

2010-01-01

New approaches of the European Commission (DG RTD Energy) to the development of nuclear power engineering (focussed on fission and reactor systems) through various support programmes, which can be of use also in Slovak conditions, are discussed. The following topics are described in detail: Globalization of European research and education; Competency in the nuclear power domain; EU platforms for directing EURATOM research activities (SET, SNE-TP, ENEF, ENSREG); ENEN, EHRO-N, ENELA and their position in European education; Objectives of EURATOM research and professional training programmes; Focus on the creation of competencies serving the nuclear sector at the EU level (ECVET); and Towards mutual recognition of nuclear competencies new EURATOM educational programmes in the domain of fission (examples of EFTS: TRASNUSAFE, ENEN III, ENETRAP II, PETRUS II). (orig.)

Safety of nuclear power reactors in the former Eastern European Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chakraborty, S.

1995-01-01

This article discusses the safety of nuclear power plants in the former Eastern European countries (including the former Soviet Union). The current international design, fabrication, construction, operation, safety, regulatory standards and practices, and ways to resolve plant problems are addressed in light of experience with the Western nuclear power development programs

Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on European tropospheric composition: an observational and modelling study

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, R.; Chipperfield, M.

2017-12-01

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has a strong influence on winter-time North Atlantic and European circulation patterns. Under the positive phase of the NAO (NAO+), intensification of the climatological Icelandic low and Azores high pressure systems results in strong westerly flow across the Atlantic into Europe. Under the NAO negative phase (NAO-), there is a weakening of this meridional pressure gradient resulting in a southerly shift in the westerlies flow towards the sub-tropical Atlantic. Therefore, NAO+ and NAO- introduce unstable stormy and drier stable conditions into Europe, respectively. Under NAO+ conditions, the strong westerlies tend to enhance transport of European pollution (e.g. nitrogen oxides) away from anthropogenic source regions. While during NAO-, the more stable conditions lead to a build up of pollutants. However, secondary pollutants (i.e. tropospheric ozone) show the opposite signal where NAO+, while transporting primary pollutants away, introduces Atlantic ozone enriched air into Europe. Here ozone can form downwind of pollution from continental North America and be transported into Europe via the westerly flow. Under NAO-, this westerly ozone transport is reduced yielding lower European ozone concentrations also depleted further by ozone loss through the reaction with NOx, which has accumulated over the continent. Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), observed in the upper troposphere - lower stratosphere (UTLS) by satellite, peaks over Iceland/Southern Greenland in NAO-, between 200-100 hPa, consistent with trapping by an anticyclone at this altitude. During NAO+, PAN is enhanced over the sub-tropical Atlantic and Arctic. Model simulations show that enhanced PAN over Iceland/Southern Greenland in NAO- is associated with vertical transport from the troposphere into the UTLS, while peak Arctic PAN in NAO+ is its accumulation given the strong northerly meridional transport in the UTLS. UTLS ozone spatial anomalies, relative to the winter

Environmental challenges and opportunities of the evolving North American electricity market : European electricity generating facilities: an overview of European regulatory requirements and standardization efforts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nichols, L.

2002-06-01

Several factors are affecting power generating facilities, such as the opening of both electricity and gas markets, and the pressure applied on generators and governments to ensure a steady energy supply for consumers. An additional factor is the pressure for the closing of nuclear power facilities. European siting and emissions requirements for coal-fired and natural gas generating facilities were presented in this background paper. In addition, the author provided an overview of the standardization process in place in Europe. The European Union and its functioning were briefly described, as well as a listing of relevant organizations. The current trends were examined. The document first introduced the European Union, and the next section dealt with Regulatory regime: the internal energy market. The third section examined the issue of Regulatory regime: generation and environmental regulations. Section four presented environmental management systems, followed by a section on standardization. Section six discussed European organizations involved in electricity issues, while the following section dealt with European commission programs. The last section briefly looked at the trends in the electricity sector, broaching topics such as compliance, electricity generation, and emissions trading. 52 refs., 2 tabs

Integration of Renewable Generation in Power System Defence Plans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Das, Kaushik

Increasing levels of penetration of wind power and other renewable generations in European power systems pose challenges to power system security. The power system operators are continuously challenged especially when generations from renewables are high thereby reducing online capacity of conven......Increasing levels of penetration of wind power and other renewable generations in European power systems pose challenges to power system security. The power system operators are continuously challenged especially when generations from renewables are high thereby reducing online capacity......, one of them being the North East area with high share of wind power generation.The aim of this study is to investigate how renewable generations like wind power can contribute to the power system defence plans. This PhD project “Integration of Renewable Generation in Power System Defence Plans...

Developing the European Center of Competence on VVER-Type Nuclear Power Reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Geraskin, Nikolay; Pironkov, Lyubomir; Kulikov, Evgeny; Glebov, Vasily

2017-01-01

This paper presents the results of the European educational projects CORONA and CORONA-II which are dedicated to preserving and further developing nuclear knowledge and competencies in the area of VVER-type nuclear power reactors technologies (Water-Water Energetic Reactor, WWER or VVER). The development of the European Center of Competence for…

Fair chance required for nuclear power. Plea of the European Nuclear Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2005-01-01

The first Euroatom European nuclear conference was held in Brussels on November 25/26, 2004 was attended by more than 250 renowned experts, including more than 20 managers of the board from a dozen European countries. They all agreed that the construction of new nuclear power plants will depend on the public opinion, i.e. it will be a political and communication problem rather than a technical problem. A swing of public opinion is difficult as rational arguments do not apply when emotions are high. The economic efficiency of nuclear power was proved again by the new reactor constructed in Finland. (orig.)

Impact of the economic recession on the European power sector's CO2 emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Declercq, Bruno; Delarue, Erik; D'haeseleer, William

2011-01-01

This paper investigates the impact of the economic recession on CO 2 emissions in the European power sector, during the years 2008 and 2009. Three main determinants of the power sector's emissions are identified: the demand for electricity, the CO 2 price, and fuel prices. A counterfactual scenario has been set up for each of these, i.e., what these parameters would have been if not affected by the recession. A simulation model of the European power sector is then employed, comparing a historical reference simulation (taking the parameters as actually occurred) with the counterfactual scenarios. The lower electricity demand (due to the recession) is shown to have by far the largest impact, accounting for an emission reduction of about 175 Mton. The lower CO 2 price (due to the recession) resulted in an increase in emissions by about 30 Mton. The impact of fuel prices is more difficult to retrieve; an indicative reduction of about 17 Mton is obtained, mainly as a consequence of the low gas prices in 2009. The simulated combined impact of the parameters results in an emission reduction of about 150 Mton in the European power sector over the years 2008 and 2009 as a consequence of the recession. - Research highlights: → CO 2 emissions are simulated for the European power sector. → Emissions reduced drastically because of the economic recession in 2008 and 2009. → Lower electricity demand had highest impact and accounts for reduction of about 175 Mton. → Impact of different CO 2 and fuel prices on emissions is more limited.

Vessel guardians: sculpture and graphics related to the ceramics of NorthEastern European hunter-gatherers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Kashina

2015-12-01

Full Text Available North-Eastern European hunter-gatherer ceramic sculptures, relief sculptures and graphic images on vessels are discussed. Five groups of finds are distinguished according to their chronology (4000–2500 BC cal and represented subject (birds, human head, human figure, mammal head etc.. Their production believes to be a female craft, their making had ritual aims and their emerging was independent from any influences of pastoral/agricultural societies.

Renewable energy and CCS in German and European power sector decarbonization scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ludig, Sylvie

2013-11-06

system costs are lower when transmission and storage are available. Restrictions on transmission expansion induce high amounts of storage since high local shares of solar PV lead to large output variations. In contrast, a highly interconnected European power grid allows for optimized renewable power generation siting in regions with highest potentials, which requires large-scale transmission expansions but limits total power system costs. Results from a detailed study for Germany show that the level of power demand is strongly relevant for the realization of high renewable shares and ambitious decarbonization targets. A broad technology portfolio allows to hedge against the failure to meet efficiency goals for electricity demand. CCS is necessary to reach ambitious government targets if power demand is not sufficiently decreased by efficiency measures, as is offshore wind energy. Even in case of decreasing demand, at least one of both technologies needs to be available. The choice of transmission expansion corridors is strongly influenced by technology availability: in scenarios without offshore wind energy, north-south interconnections, which are crucial in all other scenarios, only play a minor role. The studies in this thesis show that a large-scale decarbonization of the German and European power sectors is achievable through large shares of renewable energy technologies for electricity generation. CCS is not a prerequisite for successful CO{sub 2} emission strategies, but allows reaching mitigation targets at a lower cost. A portfolio of renewable energy integration options is essential to manage temporal and spatial fluctuations; the optimal technology mix is determined by the underlying power system.

European Clearinghouse for Nuclear Power Plants Operational Experience Feedback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin Ramos, M.; Noel, M.

2010-01-01

In the European Union, in order to support the Community activities on operational experience, a centralized regional network on nuclear power plants operational experience feedback (European Clearinghouse on Operational Experience Feedback for Nuclear Power Plants) was established in 2008 at the EC JRC-IE, Petten (The Netherlands) on request of nuclear Safety Authorities of several Member States. Its main goal is to improve the communication and information sharing on OEF, to promote regional collaboration on analyses of operational experience and dissemination of the lessons learned. The enlarged EU Clearinghouse was launched in April 2010, and it is currently gathering the Regulatory Authorities of Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Czec Republic, France, Germany, Slovak Republic, and Spain (these last six countries as observers). The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, the IAEA, the EC Directorates General of the JRC and ENER are also part of the network. Recently, collaboration between some European Technical Support Organizations (such IRSN and GRS) and the EU Clearinghouse has been initiated. This paper explains in detail the objectives and organization of the EU Clearinghouse, as well as the most relevant activities carried out, like research work in trend analysis of events ocurred in NPP, topical reports on particular events, dissemination of the results, quarterly reports on events reported publicly and operational experience support to the members of the EU Clearinghouse. (Author)

Issues related to gas use by European power utilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jonchere, J.P.

1992-01-01

Gas-fired combined cycle frequently appears as a least-cost option for newly built power plants. Moreover, this option also brings obvious environmental benefits. But, power utilities, facing unavoidable long term uncertainties about electricity demand are not at ease with long term commitments such a a take-or-pay formula or a price indexation not reflecting the market place in the power generation industry. Due to the flexibilities in the management of existing power plants (deferred closures, etc...) or even on the demand side (load shifting, peak clipping, etc...), early decision making is not compulsory. Therefore, a gas breakthrough in the power sector interfuel competition will require a mutual understanding of constraints and flexibilities faced by partners: gas sellers and power utilities. A fair rent sharing between them would certainly be a prerequisite to a large but possibly temporary access of natural gas to the European power sector. 4 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

Policy strategies for an emergent technology: Lessons from the analysis of EV-policy in 8 North- European countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. van der Steen (Martijn); R.M. Van Schelven; P. Van Deventer (Peter); M. van Twist (Mark); R. Kotter

2015-01-01

textabstractThis paper presents data from a comparative study of EV-policies in 8 different North-European countries, that maps out all of the policies of these countries (and a range of regions and cities) that target passenger vehicles (PHEV and BEV), chargers (home, private, public; level 1-3),

Switzerland - its position within a liberalised European power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiener, E.

2005-01-01

This article takes a look at the situation in Switzerland shortly before parliamentary discussions on the liberalisation of Switzerland's electricity market. In particular the interconnection of Switzerland's electricity supply system with that of the rest of Europe is discussed. The power black-out that occurred in Italy in September 2003 is looked at. In particular, its relevance to power supply infrastructures is discussed and the fast-changing international configurations that are resulting from the liberalisation of electricity markets are looked at. Questions of international power transfer capacities and their allocation are looked at in detail in the light of the occurrences in 2003. The lessons that must be learned from the blackout are discussed and Switzerland's geographical position as an important hub of the European power transfer system are considered

The development strategies of the european electric power companies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heddebaud, D.

2005-01-01

This study takes stock on the european market of the electric power and of its development perspectives. It details the strategy and the place of the main operators and shows their forces and weaknesses. It provides a comparison of the financial performances of 28 companies (growth, margins, profitability, debt and war chest). (A.L.B.)

From the ecological niche to the mass market with 'Green Power Marketing' - 1st European Conference on Green Power Marketing 2001

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

This report summarises the information presented at the European Conference on Green Power Marketing held in 2001 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. It takes a look at the market chances of ecologically produced electricity for use in Switzerland and for export. The opinions of experts from the areas of research, business, politics, marketing and non-governmental organisations that were presented at the meeting are summarised. European perspectives and trends in the USA are discussed and examples of green power marketing in the USA and Holland are given. Marketing issues and price policies are discussed, as are labelling strategies and customer perception of 'Green Power' issues. Also, sales issues including e-marketing, power-market rules and certificate trading are dealt with

The development of the northern European fishery for north Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus during 1900-1950

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

MacKenzie, Brian; Myers, R.A.

2007-01-01

North Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, used to migrate to northern European waters (Norwegian Sea, North Sea, Skagerrak, Kattegat, and Øresund) where it supported important commercial and sportfisheries. The species disappeared from the region in the early 1960s and the species is now still...... increasing. The species was frequently sighted while fishermen were targeting other species (herring, mackerel) and occasionally was caught as bycatch with these and other species. Information from scientifically trained observers demonstrate that tuna schools were common in the North Sea for 2–3 months...... during the summers of 1923–1931. As fishermen realized that the species had market value, new catch methods were developed and employed. These included harpoon-rifle, improved hook and line methods, and hydraulically operated purse seines. Landings rose sharply as did the number of vessels...

European Crises of Legally-constituted Public Power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Poul F.

2017-01-01

. The dual (trans-)national re-constitution of Western Europe in the years immediately after the Second World War, which the European integration process was an integrated part of, successfully remedied this development. However, over the last decades, Europe has experienced a ‘turn to governance’, which......The ‘turn to corporatism’ in the interwar period implied an erosion of the fragile institutionalisation of legally-constituted public power due to its suspension of the legal infrastructure of society and the concomitant breakdown of the distinction between the public and private realms of society...

Characterization of solid radwaste generated at Virginia Power's Surry and North Anna stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lippard, D.W.; Elguindy, H.; Nelson, R.A.

1987-01-01

This paper describes the results of a study on characterization of the major constituents of the solid radwaste generated at Virginia Power's North Anna and Surry Power Stations. The characterization consisted of identifying the individual constituents of the dry active waste (DAW) and estimating the fraction of the total DAW (both weight and volume) made up by each constituent. The analysis of the characterization of solid waste streams generated at both North Anna and Surry stations has lead to recommending techniques for both source minimization and waste volume reduction

Results of stress tests of European nuclear power plants after the Fukushima-Daiichi accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovacs, Zoltan; Novakova, Helena

2012-01-01

In response to the Fukushima-Daiichi accident, the European Council laid down the requirement that a transparent and comprehensive risk assessment exercise ('stress tests') be carried out at each European nuclear power plant. The stress tests concentrated on the nuclear power plants' safety margins in the light of the lessons learned from the accident. The reviews focused on natural external events including earthquake, tsunami and extreme weather, loss of safety functions, and severe accident management. The stress test procedure comprised 3 steps: (i) The nuclear facility operators performed the stress tests and prepared proposals for safety improvements. (ii) The national regulators performed independent reviews of the stress tests and prepared national reports. (iii) The reports submitted by the national regulators were subjected to review at a European level. The article describes the scope of the stress tests and their results, verified at the European level. (orig.)

Cones, Seeds, and Foliage of Tetraclinis Salicornioides (Cupressaceae) from the Oligocene and Miocene of Western North America: A Geographic Extension of the European Tertiary Species.

Science.gov (United States)

Kvacek; Manchester; Schorn

2000-03-01

The cupressaceous genus Tetraclinis is recognized from the Oligocene and Miocene of western North America on the basis of co-occurring seed cones, seeds, and foliage branches. Morphological and anatomical comparisons with the two previously recognized European Tertiary species indicate that the North American specimens are morphologically inseparable from Tetraclinis salicornioides (Unger) Kvacek. The North American taxon is treated as a new variety, T. salicornioides (Unger) Kvacek var. praedecurrens (Knowlton) comb. et stat. nov., and is distinguished from the European representatives, T. salicornioides (Unger) Kvacek var. salicornioides, by slight anatomical differences in the leaf epidermis. Although cones and seeds of the fossil species are closely similar to those of extant Tetraclinis articulata, the foliage is more "spreading," composed of flattened segments with fused facial and lateral leaves that are apparently adaptive for a more mesic climate. The recognition of T. salicornioides in western North America along with the absence of Tetraclinis in the fossil and recent flora of eastern Asia provide evidence for communication of the species across the North Atlantic during the early or middle Tertiary.

Genetic diversity and population structure of 20 North European cattle breeds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

kantanen, J; Olsaker, Ingrid; Holm, Lars-Erik

2000-01-01

Blood samples were collected from 743 animals from 15 indigenous, 2 old imported, and 3 commercial North European cattle breeds. The samples were analyzed for 11 erythrocyte antigen systems, 8 proteins, and 10 microsatellites, and used to assess inter- and intrabreed genetic variation and genetic......, allelic diversity has been reduced in several breeds, which was explained by limited effective population sizes over the course of man-directed breed development and demographic bottlenecks of indigenous breeds. A tree showing genetic relationships between breeds was constructed from a matrix of random...... drift-based genetic distance estimates. The breeds were classified on the basis of the tree topology into four major breed groups, defined as Northern indigenous breeds, Southern breeds, Ayrshire and Friesian breeds, and Jersey. Grouping of Nordic breeds was supported by documented breed history...

Water constraints on European power supply under climate change: impacts on electricity prices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vliet, van M.T.H.; Vögele, S.; Rübbelke, D.

2013-01-01

Recent warm, dry summers showed the vulnerability of the European power sector to low water availability and high river temperatures. Climate change is likely to impact electricity supply, in terms of both water availability for hydropower generation and cooling water usage for thermoelectric power

THE EUROPEAN UNION MILITARY POWER: THE NEW CHALLENGES WITH OLD DILEMMAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Blerim Ramadani

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Recent crises show clearly that Europeans security depends on external developments. The Common Security and Defense Policy failed to provide security, while the European Union military missions were limited in terms of their scope. This inability threatens the interests and security of the member states. Exactly, this research explores the concept of military power of the EU. In order to elaborate anatomy of military power of the EU, the descriptive-analytic method is used. Military performance analysis proves that the EU is able to have the greatest impact in the global arena. The research shows that with the achievement of a political strategy among the stakeholder, on which the replacement of the consensus mechanism with an ordinary majority is predicted, the EU would be able to lead a proactive and efficient security policy.

Review on the Projections of Future Storminess over the North Atlantic European Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tina Mölter

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This is an overview of the results from previously published climate modeling studies reporting on projected aspects of future storminess over the North Atlantic European region (NAER in the period 2020–2190. Changes in storminess are summarized for seven subregions in the study area and rated by a categorical evaluation scheme that takes into account emission scenarios and modeling complexity in the reviewed studies. Although many of the reviewed studies reported an increase in the intensity of high-impact wind speed and extreme cyclone frequency in the second half of the 21st century, the projections of aspects of future storminess over the NAER differed regionally. There is broad consensus that the frequency and intensity of storms, cyclones, and high-impact wind speed will increase over Central and Western Europe, and these changes will probably have the potential to produce more damage. In contrast, future extratropical storminess over Southern Europe is very likely to decrease. For Northern and Eastern Europe the results of the evaluation are inconclusive, because there is an indication of increasing as well as decreasing development of the evaluated aspects of future storminess. Concerning the storm track, we found indications of a likely north- and eastward shift in most assessed studies. Results from three studies suggest a northeastward shift of the North Atlantic Oscillation.

Distribution, taxonomy and ecology of cinclus cinclus(Linnaeus,1758) in the European North of Russia

OpenAIRE

ESTAFYEV A.A.

2015-01-01

The work is devoted to a usual for the European North of Russia nesting and wintering water bird species, the dipper C. c. cinclus L. 1758. The anthropogenic load on water ecosystems in the region largely increases negatively affecting the population density of this bird. The paper reviews the population status of dipper since the XX century using the author’s data (1965-2014) and literature materials. The number of species remains high in natural habitats. Log drifting was not organized at t...

Issuing certifications of conformity to 'green' power. International approaches and European perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Truffer, B.; Markard, J.

1999-01-01

The deregulation of the power markets results in an increasing challenge to individual power generators and distributors to place their products in the market. To do so, they need to actively and credibly describe the advantages of their offers to customers. In the sector of the nascent market for power generated from renewable energy sources, independent product certification is an important factor of support. The article analyses international trends in certification procedures for green power with a view to the future of European labelling. (orig.) [de

The European Power System. Decarbonization and Cost Reduction: Lost in Transmissions?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaureguy-Naudin, Maite

2012-01-01

Europe's energy policy is commonly defined by three axes of equal importance: security of supplies, competitiveness and sustainable development. The European Commission is mandated to develop the policy tools that allow the implementation of this common policy. Early on, challenges arose from the trade-offs to be made not only between these three pillars but also between a common European policy and national approaches. The European Commission has always had to struggle in attempting to keep a balanced line. Over the past twenty years, the EU has been engaged in the liberalization of the electricity and gas sector. For a long time, liberalization was the main objective of European energy policy. Liberalization of the electricity sector was supposed to bring many benefits. Foremost, these included the more efficient allocation of generation and transmission capacities, and the enhancement of the competitiveness of the European economy as a whole, through lower energy costs. The trading of electricity output between countries was part of this strategy. Interconnections are vital to facilitating electricity trade between Member States. It is in this context that interest in cross-border interconnections has increased. However, new constraints have emerged and have put climate change at the top of European agenda. In December 2008, as part of the fight against climate change, the European Union adopted its Energy and Climate package endorsing three objectives for 2020: i) a 20% increase in energy efficiency, ii) a 20% reduction in GHG emissions (compared to 1990), and iii) a 20% share of renewable energy sources in final energy consumption. A direct consequence of the later objective is that renewable energy sources (RES) in electricity generation are expected to expand from 20.3% of electricity output in 2010, to around 33%, in order to meet the objective set by the European Commission. Hydroelectric power has limited additional potential due to geographical

76 FR 54259 - Virginia Electric and Power Company, Docket Nos. 50-338 and 50-339, North Anna Power Station...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-31

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2011-0185] Virginia Electric and Power Company, Docket Nos. 50.... NPF-4 and NPF-7, issued to Virginia Electric Power Company (the licensee), for operation of the North...) and (d) during declarations of severe weather conditions involving tropical storm or hurricane force...

SOLAR POWER PLANTS IN THE EU. AN ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY ENGINE FOR THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mircea SAVEANU

2014-10-01

Full Text Available We establish that the European Union is facing severe ecological problems, by analysing the ecological footprint of selected member states. Many of these problems are related to carbon and carbon equivalent emissions, some of which are generated by fossil fuel power plants. It is then shown that the European Union has potential in the solar power renewable energy sector. Finally, we calculate roughly how much land would be necessary in order to replace fossil fuel power plants, as well as nuclear plants, which are largely seen as environmentally dangerous. It is concluded that developing this alternative energy sector would help improve the ecological sustainability of the Union, by diminishing a significant part of its carbon footprint.

Transmission topologies for the integration of renewable power into the electricity systems of North Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brand, Bernhard

2013-01-01

A cost-minimizing electricity market model was used to explore optimized infrastructures for the integration of renewable energies in interconnected North African power systems until 2030. The results show that the five countries Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt could together achieve significant economic benefits, reaching up to €3.4 billion, if they increase power system integration, build interconnectors and cooperate on joint utilization of their generation assets. Net electricity exports out of North Africa to Europe or Eastern Mediterranean regions, however, were not observed in the regime of integrated electricity markets until 2030, and could only be realized by much higher levels of renewable energy penetration than currently foreseen by North African governments. - Highlights: • Market model to optimize North Africa's generation and transmission infrastructures until 2030. • Simulations consider existing interconnectors, power plant inventories, as well as national renewable goals. • Savings of up to €3.4 billion can be realized by more cooperation and integrated system planning. • No electricity exports to Europe in a competitive market framework, except for very high renewable penetrations

Trends of the electricity output, power conversion efficiency, and the grid emission factor in North Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, M. J.; Kim, Y. P.

2017-12-01

Recently, concerns about the atmospheric environmental problems in North Korea (NK) have been growing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2017), NK was the first ranked country in mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution in 2012. Reliable energy-related data in NK were needed to understand the characteristics of air quality in NK. However, data from the North Korean government were limited. Nevertheless, we could find specific energy-related data produced by NK in the Project Design Documents (PDDs) of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). There were the 6 registered CDM projects hosted by North Korea, developed as small hydropower plants. Several data of each power plant, such as the electricity output, connected to the Eastern Power Grid (EPG) or the Western Power Grid (WPG) in North Korea were provided in the CDM PDDs. We (1) figured out the trends of the electricity output, the `power conversion efficiency' which we defined the amount of generated electricity to the supplied input primary energy for power generation, and fuel mix as grid emission factor in NK as using the data produced by NK between 2005 and 2009, (2) discussed the operating status of the thermal power plants in NK, and (3) discussed the energy/environmental-related policies and the priority issues in NK in this study.

78 FR 8190 - Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore North Carolina...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-05

...] Commercial Leasing for Wind Power on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Offshore North Carolina--Call for... Commercial Leasing for Wind Power Offshore North Carolina (Call), published on December 13, 2012 (77 FR 7204). DATES: BOEM must receive your nomination describing your interest in obtaining a commercial wind lease...

Liberalising European electricity markets: opportunities and risks for a sustainable power sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ringel, M.

2003-01-01

The process of liberalising European electricity markets, encompassing a wide range of restructuring activities, has mainly been spurred by the attempt to increase the economic efficiency of the whole sector. This process might be used to trigger a development towards a sustainable power sector by increasing the use of renewable energy sources and enhancing energy efficiency on the supply and demand side. However, by taking a closer look at the current trends of the European electricity markets, it becomes obvious that the liberalisation not only implies opportunities but also risks for the creation of a sustainable power sector. Many of these risks are due to market distortions and imperfections caused by the delay in creating a fully functional single European market. Thus, in the short-term, the market liberalisation tends to constitute more risks than opportunities without government actions to prevent these risks. In the long run, though, the efficiency gains of the sector and the appearance of new market factors are likely to bring forth the opportunities of liberalisation and actively foster a transformation towards a sustainable electricity sector. (author)

Nuclear power plants in Europe 1995. Report about operation, construction, and planning in 18 European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

Report about Operation, Construction, and Planning in 18 European Countries Eighteen European countries operate and build, respectively, nuclear power plants in 1995. The ''Nuclear Power Plants in Europe 1995'' atw report singles out the main events and lines of development. As per August 1995, 214 (1994: 215) nuclear generating units (which means power reactors for the purposes of this report) with an aggregate 177,010 (176,322) MWe installed gross capacity are in operation in seventeen countries, and 26 (30) units with 24,786 (28,086) MWe are under construction in seven countries. This adds up to a total of 240 (245) nuclear generating units with an aggregate 201,796 (204,408) MWe. In the nuclear power plants in Europe, some 1048 TWh of nuclear power was converted into electric power in 1994; 792 TWh of this aggregate was converted in 137 units in the European Union (EU). In the EU the share of nuclear power in the public supply of electricity was 36%. Lithuania, with 77%, has the highest share of nuclear power in Europe, followed by France with 75% and Belgium with 56%. The lowest percentage, only 5%, is recorded in the Netherlands. As a consequence of electricity imports, nuclear power holds considerable shares in the public electricity supply also of countries in which no nuclear power plants are operated, such as Italy or Austria. (orig.) [de

Structural change in European power and gas industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

After decades of stability the European power and gas industries are now undergoing fundamental changes. Made possible by policy reforms and technological developments, these changes are largely driven by commercial forces which have developed their own momentum and dynamics. New commercial risks are a key feature of the emerging market order and companies cannot protect themselves through a ''no move strategy''. This report explores the key changes and examines the emerging commercial strategies in response to the new environment. (author)

Nuclear power's changing future - Fastest growth in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

Twenty-two of the last 31 nuclear power plants (NPPs) connected to the world's energy grid have been built in Asia, driven by the pressures of economic growth, natural resource scarcity and increasing populations. Of the new NPPs presently under construction, 18 of the 27 are located in Asia, while construction has virtually halted in Western European and North American countries with long-standing nuclear power programmes, says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA reports that although four Western European countries have decided to shut down their nuclear energy plants, the future of nuclear energy in Europe and North America is still far from clear, during a period when energy needs and concerns over global warming are both rising. Only one new NPP is beginning construction in Western Europe. No new NPPs are planned in North America, although that could change very soon. The Conference examines the status and future of nuclear power 50 years after the first nuclear energy producing plant came o n-line , at a plant near Moscow in the then Soviet Union on June 26, 1954. It covers the following topics: Nuclear Prospects in Near and Long-Term; Nuclear Power Today: Shifting to the East; Climate Change and Economics: Factors for Growth (NPPs Avoid Carbon Emissions, Costs are Low at Operating Plants; New Plants are Expensive); the Key Issues are Safety and Waste management; Uranium resources are abundant; sustainable development

Ancillary Services for the European Grid with High Shares of Wind and Solar Power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Van Hulle, Frans; Holttinen, Hannele; Kiviluoma, Juha

2012-01-01

to be better understood. This relates both to the technical capabilities of the plants for delivering specific services and to the quantification of the needs. The paper presents the approach of the European IEE project REserviceS, aiming at establishing reference guidance for the ongoing developments......With significantly increasing share of variable renewable power generation like wind and solar PV, the need in the power system for ancillary services supporting the network frequency, voltage, etc. changes. Turning this issue around, market opportunities will emerge for wind and solar PV...... technology to deliver such grid services. In the European power system, adequate market mechanisms need to be developed to ensure that there will be an efficient trading of these services. For that purpose a range of (economic) characteristics of wind (and solar) power as providers of grid services need...

Storage and balancing synergies in a fully or highly renewable pan-European power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmussen, Morten Grud; Andresen, Gorm Bruun; Greiner, Martin

2012-01-01

Through a parametric time-series analysis of 8 years of hourly data, we quantify the storage size and balancing energy needs for highly and fully renewable European power systems for different levels and mixes of wind and solar energy. By applying a dispatch strategy that minimizes the balancing energy needs for a given storage size, the interplay between storage and balancing is quantified, providing a hard upper limit on their synergy. An efficient but relatively small storage reduces balancing energy needs significantly due to its influence on intra-day mismatches. Furthermore, we show that combined with a low-efficiency hydrogen storage and a level of balancing equal to what is today provided by storage lakes, it is sufficient to meet the European electricity demand in a fully renewable power system where the average power generation from combined wind and solar exceeds the demand by only a few percent. - Highlights: ► We model a wind and solar based European power system with storage and balancing. ► We find that storage needs peaks when average renewable generation matches load. ► We find strong synergetic effects when combining storage and balancing. ► We study the effects of a storage capable of storing 6 h average use. ► We find a realisable fully renewable scenario based on wind, solar and hydro power.

North Anna Power Station - Unit 1: Overview of steam generator replacement project activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gettler, M.W.; Bayer, R.K.; Lippard, D.W.

1993-01-01

The original steam generators at Virginia Electric and Power Company's (Virginia Power) North Anna Power Station (NAPS) Unit 1 have experienced corrosion-related degradation that require periodic inspection and plugging of steam generator tubes to ensure their continued safe and reliable operation. Despite improvements in secondary water chemistry, continued tube degradation in the steam generators necessitated the removal from service of approximately 20.3 percent of the tubes by plugging, (18.6, 17.3, and 25.1 for steam generators A, B, and C, respectively). Additionally, the unit power was limited to 95 % during, its last cycle of operation. Projections of industry and Virginia Power experience indicated the possibility of mid-cycle inspections and reductions in unit power. Therefore, economic considerations led to the decision to repair the steam generators (i.e., replace the steam generator lower assemblies). Three new Model 51F Steam Generator lower assembly units were ordered from Westinghouse. Virginia Power contracted Bechtel Power Corporation to provide the engineering and construction support to repair the Unit 1 steam generators. On January 4, 1993, after an extended coastdown period, North Anna Unit 1 was brought off-line and the 110 day (breaker-to-breaker) Steam Generator Replacement Project (SGRP) outage began. As of this paper, the outage is still in progress

THESEUS: the first-scale 50 MEw THErmal Solar EUropean power station for the Island of Crete, Greece

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aringhof, Rainer [Pilkington Solar International (United States)

1996-03-01

The first solar power plant to receive funding from the European Union is to be constructed on the Island of Crete, Greece. This utility-scale 50 MWe plant is based on technology known as THERMIE (THErmal Solar European power station) and it represents a major breakthrough for Europe`s small solar thermal power community. The proposed THESEUS project uses an advanced parabolic trough collector field as the primary heat source and will be constructed between 1977 and 1999. (UK)

Economic analysis of the cross-border coordination of operation in the European power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janssen, Tanguy

2014-01-01

The electricity high voltage transmission networks are interconnected over most of the continents but this is not the case of the power system organizations. Indeed, as described with the concept of integrated power system, the organization over these large networks is divided by several kinds of internal borders. In this context, the research object, the cross-border coordination of operation, is a set of coordination arrangements over internal borders between differing regulatory, technical and market designs. These arrangements can include for instance the famous market couplings, some cost-sharing agreements or common security assessments among several other solutions. The existence and improvement of the cross-border coordination of operation can be beneficial to the whole integrated power system. This statement is verified in the European case as in 2012 where several regional and continental coordination arrangements are successfully implemented.In order to benefit from the European experience and contribute to support the European improvement process, this thesis investigates the cross-border coordination of operation in the European case with four angles of study. First, a modular framework is built to describe the existing solutions and the implementation choices from a regulatory point of view. Second, the thesis analyses the tools available to assess the impact of an evolution of the cross-border coordination. Third, the role of the European Union (EU) is described as critical both for the existing arrangements and to support the improvement process. The last angle of study focuses on two dimensions of the economic modes of coordination between transmission system operators. (author)

The power outage of November 4, 2006: a plea for a genuine European energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merlin, Andre

2006-01-01

As a power outage affected several millions European people in November 2006, this article identifies and discusses actions to be implemented at the European level to avoid such a situation and thus strengthen energy security for all European citizen. It proposes a detailed analysis of the situation of electricity transport grids before the incident, of what happened in terms of overloads for some very high voltage lines: the de-energizing of a line over the Ems River resulted in a domino triggering off of very high voltage lines connected to different areas of Europe; a decrease of current frequency resulted in the disconnection of power plants and grid managers had to reduce consumption in emergency. The article draws some early lessons of the incident before the UCTE (Power Transport Coordination Union) inquiry, and recommends some actions regarding grid coordination, harmonisation of abilities and decisions, and performance of provisional assessments of the electricity supply/demand balance

Proceedings of the CERI 2004 electricity conference : the future of electric power in North America. CD ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

This conference offered an opportunity to review energy markets in North American with particular reference to opportunities for traditional technologies and new generation technologies based on renewable energy sources including wind powered generation. The presentations focused on relative fuel prices and the potential for distributed generation and demand side management. Several presentations examined the issue of why Canadian and North American markets remain divided about the best market design and how to ensure reliability. The 6 sessions were entitled: the future of generation in Canada; wind power opportunities and constraints; new business opportunities for distributed power and demand side management; the future of restructuring in North America; reliability; and, the future of restructuring in Alberta. tabs., figs

The legal process of environmental evaluation and examination in North America and in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delpiano, V.

1999-01-01

The most important goal of the Environmental Law is to maximize the prevention approach. As so far, a scheme has been initiated since a few years to reach this objective: a legal environmental process with a lot of mechanisms whose the objective is to estimate the environmental impact of a project in order to control it. This legal environmental process including for example the Environmental Impact Assessment is more and more integrated in the environmental policies of the industrialized countries. It began in North America, first in the U.S.A. but also in Canada. A few years after, the countries of the Western Europe, particularly the European Unions, have introduced a similar legal process taking into account the specificities of these European countries. So if the goals of this legal environmental preventive approach are similar in North America and in Western Europe, the implementation is often different according to the legal, economic but also sociological structures of these two major regions. This Phd Thesis try to study the two major impacts of this legal evaluating process: it is implemented by the public authorities to reach with a best result a Sustainable Development. But also, it tries to combine the protection of the Environment and the utilisation of legal, economic and financial mechanisms of the Market to obtain a fair trade competition. (authors)

2nd European Conference on Green Power Marketing 2002

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

This report summarises the information presented at the European Conference on Green Power Marketing held in 2002 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. It takes a look at the market chances of ecologically produced electricity for use in Switzerland and for export. The opinions of experts from the areas of research, business, politics, marketing and non-governmental organisations that were presented at the meeting are summarised. International perspectives and trends are discussed and strategies and management issues are examined. Product and price policies are discussed, as are instruments for the communication of 'Green Power' issues. Also, issues concerning customer needs, renewable energy sources, climate change and sustainability are dealt with and the situation in Australia is looked at

Five years of partnership programme between German and East European nuclear power plant operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraemer, P.

1995-01-01

In a jointly adopted communique in August 1992 the regulations governing the partnerships were laid down. The following principles are given priority: bilateral exchange of operating experience on the basis of equal partnership; the knowledge gained from the exchange of experience is used to improve the operation and safety of the respective partner plant; the partnership programme is free from commercial interests and does not include transfer of funds. Since the establishment of the first partnership relations (Biblis) with an east european nuclear power plant (Balakowo) late in April 1990, a total of 126 reciprocal visits was paid, 82 of which to German nuclear power plants. The balance of the efforts made by German nuclear power plant operators to integrate east european nuclear plant operators can be considered positive. (orig./HP) [de

What will become of the european nuclear power plant market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goulden, O.A.

1976-01-01

In a forecast of the development of the future market for power plants and components in Europe a British consultant comes to the conclusion that the nuclear power programs established in various countries in 1974 are oversized in the light of the reduction in the increment of electricity consumption, which is expected to continue, if they are implemented in addition to existing and planned conventional thermal power stations, and that these programs are too costly if they are intended more or less only to substitute for other sources of energy. A streamlining process, which is deemed to be inescapable, is bound to result in a major cutback of the nuclear power station market in Europe and in a hard fight for survival among the power plant manufacturers now in the market. In the author's opinion, the only way out would be a uniform European electricity generation, transmission and distribution system with all the rationalization effects this would entail. (orig.) [de

EurObserv'ER's 2010 wind power barometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2011-01-01

For the first time in 20 years, the growth of the global wind power market faltered, stumbling by 5.8% to 35.7 GW in 2010. On one hand, the North American market has taken a knock while the European market has slowed down, on the other hand, Asian market growth has crept up steadily and now has a grip on more than half the global market. At the end of 2010 we had 194.5 GW of wind power installed across the world among which 84.3 GW installed in the European Union. Germany and Spain lead the European Union list for installed wind power with respectively 27.21 GW and 20.68 GW but when this capacity is divided by the population, Denmark ranks first with 686, 6 kW/1000 inhabitants followed by Spain with 449.6 KW/1000 inhabitants. 2010 was a record year for offshore wind power. The offshore share of the total wind power market rose to 12.2% in 2010. First available estimates indicate that the European Union's wind energy electricity output for 2010 should reach 147 TWh, which is an 11.2% rise on 2009. In 2010, the global leading manufacturer is probably Chinese. Back to 2009, the top 4 wind turbines suppliers were Vestas (Denmark), GE Wind (Usa), Sinovel (China) and Enercon (Germany). (A.C.)

Elvis to Eminem: quantifying the price of fame through early mortality of European and North American rock and pop stars.

Science.gov (United States)

Bellis, Mark A; Hennell, Tom; Lushey, Clare; Hughes, Karen; Tocque, Karen; Ashton, John R

2007-10-01

Rock and pop stars are frequently characterised as indulging in high-risk behaviours, with high-profile deaths amongst such musicians creating an impression of premature mortality. However, studies to date have not quantified differences between mortality experienced by such stars and general populations. This study measures survival rates of famous musicians (n = 1064) from their point of fame and compares them to matched general populations in North America and Europe. We describe and utilise a novel actuarial survival methodology which allows quantification of excess post-fame mortality in pop stars. Individuals from North America and Europe performing on any album in the All-Time Top 1000 albums from the music genres rock, punk, rap, R&B, electronica and new age. From 3 to 25 years post fame, both North American and European pop stars experience significantly higher mortality (more than 1.7 times) than demographically matched populations in the USA and UK, respectively. After 25 years of fame, relative mortality in European (but not North American) pop stars begins to return to population levels. Five-year post-fame survival rates suggest differential mortality between stars and general populations was greater in those reaching fame before 1980. Pop stars can suffer high levels of stress in environments where alcohol and drugs are widely available, leading to health-damaging risk behaviour. However, their behaviour can also influence would-be stars and devoted fans. Collaborations between health and music industries should focus on improving both pop star health and their image as role models to wider populations.

Fundamental properties of and transition to a fully renewable pan-European power system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruun Andresen, Gorm; Rasmussen, Morten Grud; Rodriguez, Rolando A.

2012-01-01

We introduce a top-down stylized model to analyse the impact of a transition to a European power system based only on wind and solar power. Wind and solar power generation is calculated from high-resolution weather data and based on the country specific electricity demand alone, we introduce...... a model of the conventional power system that facilitates simple spatio-temporal modelling of its macroscopic behaviour without direct reference to the underlying technological, economical, and political development in the system. Using this model, we find that wind and solar power generation can replace...... conventional power generation and power capacity to a large degree if power transmission across the continent is made possible....

Numerical simulation of the integrated solar/North Benghazi combined power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aldali, Y.; Morad, K.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The thermodynamic and economic evaluation of power plant have been studied. • Saving and boosting modes are considered as the same solar field area. • Two modes of operation have been used and simulated on Libyan climate conditions. • The benefit/cost ratios are 1.74 and 1.30 for fuel saving and power boosting mode. • Fuel saving mode is more economical than power boosting mode. - Abstract: The aim of this paper is to study the thermodynamic performance of a proposed integrated solar/North Benghazi combined power plant under Libyan climatic conditions. The parabolic trough collector field with direct steam generation was considered as solar system. Two modes of operations with the same solar field area are considered: fuel saving mode in which the generated solar steam was used to preheat the combustion air in the gas turbine unit and power boosting mode in which the generated solar steam was added into the steam turbine for boosting the electrical power generated from steam turbine unit. Moreover, the economic impact of solar energy is assessed in the form of benefit/cost ratio to justify the substitution potential of such clean energy. This study shows that, for fuel saving mode: the annual saving of natural gas consumption and CO_2 emission are approximately 3001.56 and 7972.25 tons, respectively, in comparison with the conventional North Benghazi combined cycle power plant. For power boosting mode: the annual solar share of electrical energy is approximately 93.33 GW h. The economic analysis of solar supported plant has indicated that the benefit/cost ratios are 1.74 and 1.30 for fuel saving and power boosting mode, therefore, then fuel saving mode is more economical than power boosting mode for the same solar field area, moreover, it reduces the greenhouse CO_2 emission in order to avoid a collapse of the word climate.

TradeWind Deliverable 5.1: Effects of increasing wind power penetration on the power flows in European grids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemström, Bettina; Uski-Joutsenvuo, Sanna; Holttinen, Hannele

2008-01-01

This report presents the main activities and results of Work Package 5 – Effects of increasing wind power penetration on the power flows in European grids in the TradeWind project. VTT is the leader of Work Package 5 and carries the overall responsibility of this report. The work is based on power...... flow simulations with a grid and market model developed in TradeWind Work Package 3, led by Sintef Energy Research. VTT, Sintef Energy Research and Risø have carried out the simulations of the different scenarios, analysed the results and written Chapter 4 about the impact of wind power on cross...

Coal seam has boom - powering North Queensland industrial growth

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-06-01

Reduced operating costs, lower greenhouse gas emissions and security of supply are being cited by North Queensland industry leaders as the reasons for investing more than A$550 million to expand operations and convert to coal seam gas as their preferred fuel source. The article, by Enertrade, reports that just a few months after commissioning its North Queensland Gas Pipeline to transport coal seam gas from Moranbah to Townsville, Enertrade has signed contracts that will see combined cycle gas-fired baseload electricity generated in Townsville and the Queensland Nickel Refinery, and Xstrata Copper Refinery switch from liquid fuels to gas. The development has been driven by state government policy that 13% of Queensland's electricity be sourced from gas-fired power generation from 1 January 2005. Further information is available from Enertrade on Tel +617 3331 9929. 2 photos.

Emerging European winter precipitation pattern linked to atmospheric circulation changes over the North Atlantic region in recent decades

Science.gov (United States)

Ummenhofer, Caroline C.; Seo, Hyodae; Kwon, Young-Oh; Parfitt, Rhys; Brands, Swen; Joyce, Terrence M.

2017-08-01

Dominant European winter precipitation patterns over the past century, along with their associated extratropical North Atlantic circulation changes, are evaluated using cluster analysis. Contrary to the four regimes traditionally identified based on daily wintertime atmospheric circulation patterns, five distinct seasonal precipitation regimes are detected here. Recurrent precipitation patterns in each regime are linked to changes in atmospheric blocking, storm track, and sea surface temperatures across the North Atlantic region. Multidecadal variability in the frequency of the precipitation patterns reveals more (fewer) winters with wet conditions in northern (southern) Europe in recent decades and an emerging distinct pattern of enhanced wintertime precipitation over the northern British Isles. This pattern has become unusually common since the 1980s and is associated with changes in moisture transport and more frequent atmospheric river events. The observed precipitation changes post-1950 coincide with changes in storm track activity over the central/eastern North Atlantic toward the northern British Isles.

Changes in prevalence of obesity and high waist circumference over four years across European regions: the European male ageing study (EMAS).

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Thang S; Correa, Elon; Lean, Michael E J; Lee, David M; O'Neill, Terrence W; Bartfai, György; Forti, Gianni; Giwercman, Aleksander; Kula, Krzysztof; Pendleton, Neil; Punab, Margus; Rutter, Martin K; Vanderschueren, Dirk; Huhtaniemi, Ilpo T; Wu, Frederick C W; Casanueva, Felipe F

2017-02-01

Diversity in lifestyles and socioeconomic status among European populations, and recent socio-political and economic changes in transitional countries, may affect changes in adiposity. We aimed to determine whether change in the prevalence of obesity varies between the socio-politically transitional North-East European (Łódź, Poland; Szeged, Hungary; Tartu, Estonia), and the non-transitional Mediterranean (Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Florence, Italy) and North-West European (Leuven, Belgium; Malmö, Sweden; Manchester, UK) cities. This prospective observational cohort survey was performed between 2003 and 2005 at baseline and followed up between 2008 and 2010 of 3369 community-dwelling men aged 40-79 years. Main outcome measures in the present paper included waist circumference, body mass index and mid-upper arm muscle area. Baseline prevalence of waist circumference ≥ 102 cm and body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m 2 , respectively, were 39.0, 29.5 % in North-East European cities, 32.4, 21.9 % in Mediterranean cities, and 30.0, 20.1 % in North-West European cities. After median 4.3 years, men living in cities from transitional countries had mean gains in waist circumference (1.1 cm) and body mass index (0.2 kg/m 2 ), which were greater than men in cities from non-transitional countries (P = 0.005). North-East European cities had greater gains in waist circumference (1.5 cm) than in Mediterranean cities (P developing waist circumference ≥ 102 cm, compared with men from Mediterranean cities, were 2.3 (1.5-3.5) in North-East European cities and 1.6 (1.1-2.4) in North-West European cities, and 1.6 (1.2-2.1) in men living in cities from transitional, compared with cities from non-transitional countries. These regional differences in increased prevalence of waist circumference ≥ 102 cm were more pronounced in men aged 60-79 years than in those aged 40-59 years. Overall there was an increase in the prevalence of obesity (body

Th european market of the electric power; Le marche europeen de l'electricite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

This document presents the CRE (commission of the Electric power Control) progress report concerning the first july 2000 to the 30 june 2001. Three main subjects are discussed, illustrated by economic data and graphs: the electric power european market, the french market control and the CRE. A special interest is given to the deregulation of the market and its consequences. (A.L.B.)

European Short-term Electricity Market Designs under High Penetration of Wind Power

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chaves Avila, J.P.

2014-01-01

The EU has ambitious policies for decarbonization of the electricity sector. Due to recent technological developments, wind power already represents a significant share of the generation mix in some European countries. As a result, short-term electricity markets and balancing arrangements must be

A nuclear-powered North Africa: Just a desert mirage or is there something on the horizon?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jewell, Jessica

2011-01-01

All of the North African countries have plans to develop nuclear power. If successful, nuclear energy could supply up to 9-15% of all electricity consumption in the region by 2030. How realistic are these plans and under what conditions can they be implemented? This paper seeks to answer this question by analyzing the motivations and capacities for deploying nuclear energy in the five North African countries by examining both regional and national factors. These factors are compared to similar characteristics of the countries with existing nuclear power programs using a series of quantitative indicators. While all five countries have strong motivations to develop nuclear power, which result from the high growth rates in demand for electricity and energy security concerns, their financial and institutional capacities to deploy nuclear energy vary and are generally lower than in those countries which already operate nuclear power plants. Most likely, North Africa will need to rely on external assistance to implement its nuclear energy plans. The article identifies three scenarios of nuclear power development from the interplay between internal and external factors, particularly the success of renewable energy projects and the ability to attract international investment in nuclear power. - Research Highlights: → Nuclear power is an option to diversify electricity and meet demand in N. Africa. → With current plans, nuclear power could generate up to 15% of electricity by 2030. → Capacities in N. Africa are insufficient to launch nuclear power programs. → Deployment of nuclear power in N. Africa depends on external assistance and investment.

European type NPP electric power and vent systems. For safety improvement and proposal of international center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugiyama, Kenichiro

2011-01-01

For prevention of reactor accidents of nuclear power plants, multiplicity and redundancy of emergency power would be most important. At station blackout accident, European type manually operated vent operation could minimize release amount of radioactive materials and keep safety of neighboring residents. After Fukushima Daiichi accident, nuclear power plants could not restart operation even after completion of periodical inspection. This article introduced European type emergency power and vent systems in Swiss, Sweden and Germany with state of nuclear power phaseout for reference at considering to upgrade safety and accident mitigation measures for better understanding of the public. In addition, it would be important to recover trust of nuclear technology to continue to disseminate latest information on new knowledge of accident site and decontamination technologies to domestic and overseas people. As its implementation, establishment of Fukushima international center was proposed. (T. Tanaka)

Study on European Nuclear Safety Practices during Planned Outages at Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-12-01

The present project was aimed at providing: a description of the current status of nuclear safety practices during planned outages at nuclear power plants followed in Europe; the criteria for the safety analysis of future reactors at the design stage; proposing a set of recommendations on good practices and criteria leading to the improvement of nuclear safety during those conditions. The work was organised in 3 phases: Collecting data on current practices; Analysis of questionnaire answers and drawing up of safety good practices references and recommendations; Collecting relevant ideas related to the future reactors at design stage (European Pressurised Water Reactor, European Passive Plant project, European Utilities Requirements and Utilities Requirement Document project). The key element of the performed work was the detailed questionnaire, based on bibliographical review, expert experience and outage practices available in the working team. Different safety areas and activities were covered: outage context; nuclear safety; outage strategy, organisation and control; operating feedback; use of Probabilistic Safety Assessment. The questionnaire was answered by 12 European nuclear power plants, representing 9 different European countries and three different types of reactors (Pressurised Water Reactor, Boiling Water Reactor and Water Water Energy Reactor). Conclusions were drawn under the following headers: Organisational survey and generalities Organisational effectiveness Quality of maintenance Quality of operation Engineering support, management of modification Specific aspects Each analysed subject includes the following topics: Questions background with a summary and the aim of the questions. Current status, that describes common practices, as derived from the answers to the questionnaire, and some examples of good specific practices. Identified good practices. (author)

Policy making, Comitology and the Balance of power in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steunenberg, Bernard; Steunenberg, B.; Koboldt, Christian; Schmidtchen, Dieter

1996-01-01

Using simple game theory, this paper analyzes the working properties of the different procedures laid down in the comitology decision, i.e., the European Council's decision on procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission. Furthermore, it addresses the question of

The European Constitution: sovereignty, legitimacy and constituent power

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Signe Larsen

2014-06-01

Full Text Available On the basis of Hannah Arendt’s and Carl Schmitt’s writings on the constituent power, this article sets out to develop an interpretative framework which would aid the understanding of the legitimation crisis of European integration initiated by the EU constitutional failure of 2004. The question raised in this essay is whether the successful establishment of democratic constitutional legitimacy is conditional upon the existence of a federal state. From the perspective of the constituent power, two opposing answers are given based on two rivalling notions of the ultimate meaning of constitutional politics: freedom and security. The article concludes that even though the EU as a case remains undecided, it seems likely that democracy and constitutional politics have parted ways in the EU both in the Arendtian and in the Schmittian sense. If that is the case, the constitutional crisis is a serious problem for the future of democracy in the EU.

A game theoretic model of the Northwestern European electricity market-market power and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lise, Wietze; Linderhof, Vincent; Kuik, Onno; Kemfert, Claudia; Ostling, Robert; Heinzow, Thomas

2006-01-01

This paper develops a static computational game theoretic model. Illustrative results for the liberalising European electricity market are given to demonstrate the type of economic and environmental results that can be generated with the model. The model is empirically calibrated to eight Northwestern European countries, namely Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Different market structures are compared, depending on the ability of firms to exercise market power, ranging from perfect competition without market power to strategic competition where large firms exercise market power. In addition, a market power reduction policy is studied where the near-monopolies in France and Belgium are demerged into smaller firms. To analyse environmental impacts, a fixed greenhouse gas emission reduction target is introduced under different market structures. The results indicate that the effects of liberalisation depend on the resulting market structure, but that a reduction in market power of large producers may be beneficial for both the consumer (i.e. lower prices) and the environment (i.e. lower greenhouse gas permit price and lower acidifying and smog emissions)

2004 winter meeting: nuclear power and the continuity of supply in the enlarged European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2004-01-01

This year's Winter Meeting organized by the Deutsches Atomforum e.V. focused on Nuclear Energy and Safety of Supply in the Enlarged European Union. Numerous participants from Germany and abroad discussed contributions from politics, industry, and science in Berlin, February 4 to 5, 2004. The general understanding was that a secure, economically viable and non-polluting supply of energy for Europe and the European Union was indispensable, and that the power industry faced major projects as a result of the foreseeable need to build new power plants, or replace decommissioned old plants, of 40,000 MW generating capacity in Germany and 200,000 MW in Europe. (orig.)

Interspecific variation in resistance of Asian, European, and North American birches (Betula spp.) to bronze birch borer (Coleoptera: Buprestidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, David G; Muilenburg, Vanessa L; Herms, Daniel A

2011-06-01

Bronze birch borer (Agrilus anxius Gory) is the key pest of birches (Betula spp.) in North America, several of which have been recommended for ornamental landscapes based on anecdotal reports of borer resistance that had not been confirmed experimentally. In a 20-yr common garden experiment initiated in 1979 in Ohio, North American birch species, including paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marshall), 'Whitespire' gray birch (Betula populifolia Marshall), and river birch (Betula nigra L.), were much more resistant to bronze birch borer than species indigenous to Europe and Asia, including European white birch (Betula pendula Roth), downy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.), monarch birch (Betula maximowicziana Regel), and Szechuan white birch (Betula szechuanica Jansson). Within 8 yr of planting, every European white, downy, and Szechuan birch had been colonized and killed, although 100% of monarch birch had been colonized and 88% of these plants were killed after nine years. Conversely, 97% of river birch, 76% of paper birch, and 73% Whitespire gray birch were alive 20 yr after planting, and river birch showed no evidence of colonization. This pattern is consistent with biogeographic theory of plant defense: North American birch species that share a coevolutionary history with bronze birch borer were much more resistant than naïve hosts endemic to Europe and Asia, possibly by virtue of evolution of targeted defenses. This information suggests that if bronze birch borer were introduced to Europe or Asia, it could threaten its hosts there on a continental scale. This study also exposed limitations of anecdotal observation as evidence of host plant resistance.

Population structure of Heterobasidion annosum from North America and Europe

Science.gov (United States)

W.J. Otrosina; T.E. Chase; F.W. Cobb; K. Korhonen

1993-01-01

Isolates of Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. representing North American S and P and European S, P, and F intersterility groups were subjected to isozyme analysis.European S, P, and F groups had more variability than the North American S and P groups in expected heterozygosity, number of alleles per locus, and percent polymorphic loci.In contrast with the North...

"The way the country has been carved up by researchers": ethics and power in north-south public health research.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Aisling; Brugha, Ruairi; Byrne, Elaine

2016-12-12

Despite the recognition of power as being central to health research collaborations between high income countries and low and middle income countries, there has been insufficient detailed analysis of power within these partnerships. The politics of research in the global south is often considered outside of the remit of research ethics. This article reports on an analysis of power in north-south public health research, using Zambia as a case study. Primary data were collected in 2011/2012, through 53 in-depth interviews with: Zambian researchers (n = 20), Zambian national stakeholders (n = 8) and northern researchers who had been involved in public health research collaborations involving Zambia and the global north (n = 25). Thematic analysis, utilising a situated ethics perspective, was undertaken using Nvivo 10. Most interviewees perceived roles and relationships to be inequitable with power remaining with the north. Concepts from Bourdieu's theory of Power and Practice highlight new aspects of research ethics: Northern and southern researchers perceive that different habituses exist, north and south - habituses of domination (northern) and subordination (Zambian) in relation to researcher relationships. Bourdieu's hysteresis effect provides a possible explanation for why power differentials continue to exist. In some cases, new opportunities have arisen for Zambian researchers; however, they may not immediately recognise and grasp them. Bourdieu's concept of Capitals offers an explanation of how diverse resources are used to explain these power imbalances, where northern researchers are often in possession of more economic, symbolic and social capital; while Zambian researchers possess more cultural capital. Inequities and power imbalances need to be recognised and addressed in research partnerships. A situated ethics approach is central in understanding this relationship in north-south public health research.

Th european market of the electric power; Le marche europeen de l'electricite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

This document presents the CRE (commission of the Electric power Control) progress report concerning the first july 2000 to the 30 june 2001. Three main subjects are discussed, illustrated by economic data and graphs: the electric power european market, the french market control and the CRE. A special interest is given to the deregulation of the market and its consequences. (A.L.B.)

Photovoltaic module with integrated power conversion and interconnection system - the European project PV-MIPS

OpenAIRE

Henze, N.; Engler, A.; Zacharias, P.

2006-01-01

Within the 6th framework program funded by the European Commission the project PV-MIPS (Photovoltaic Module with Integrated Power Conversion System) was launched in November 2004. Together with eleven European partners from Germany, Austria, Greece and the Netherlands a solar module with integrated in-verter shall be developed that can feed solar electricity directly into the grid. The challenging objective of the project is to reduce the total costs of a PV system. At the same time lifetime ...

The European Union in International Politics: Acting as a Global Civilian Power (GCP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bedrudin Brljavac

2011-01-01

Full Text Available During the Cold War the European Community lacking common military instruments was perceived as the example of a civilian power. However, in the early 1990s, under the framework of CFSP, the first concrete defence initiatives have been launched. By the end of the 1990s and after the agreement on the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP the first Rapid Reaction Forces were on the European military agenda. Such defence and military capabilities challenged the idea of the EU as a civil or civilian power. Thus, a main concern in the paper has been to assess the character and identity of the EU`s activities in the context of international relations. For this purpose, this study has explored the EU policy instruments such as the enlargement policy, external aid, environmental policy at the global level, multilateralism, and the EU armed forces. The study concludes that the enlargement policy accounts for an important EU strategy to shape the international environment through civilian means. Furthermore, the international aid policy of the EU states has primarily been based on the sense of duty to other countries as constructivists point out. The EU has also been vocal and has used environmental foreign policy as an instrument to demonstrate its global leadership role which is a clear indication of its commitment to global welfare. Thanks to its presence in the major multilateral interventions of the last decade, the EU has qualified itself as great supporter of multilateralism. Lastly, the EU military capabilities are not achieved by creating permanent European armed forces but are still based on the voluntary contributions of its member states. Therefore, the EU still can be portrayed as a global civilian power (GCP or civilian power Europe (CPE.

Wind power barometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The worldwide wind power increased by 12.4% in 2013 to reach 318.6 GW but the world market globally decreased by losing 10 GW: only 35.6 GW have been installed in 2013 which is even less than was installed in 2009. This activity contraction is mainly due to the collapse of the American market, American authorities having been late to decide to maintain federal incentives. The European wind power market also contracted in 2013 because of the lack of trust of the investors in the new energy policies of the European governments. In the rest of the world wind energy has kept on growing particularly in China and Canada. At the end of 2013 the cumulated wind power reached 117,73 GW in Europe. About 1.5 MW out of 10 MW of wind power installed in Europe in 2013 come from off-shore wind farms, United-Kingdom and Denmark being the most important players by totalling more than 70% of the off-shore wind power installed at the end of 2013. Various charts and tables give the figures of the wind power cumulated and installed in 2013 in different parts of the world: Europe, North America and Asia, the time evolution of the worldwide wind power since 1995, the wind power cumulated and installed in 2013 for the different countries of Europe and the ratio between the cumulated wind power and the country population. A table lists the main manufacturers of wind turbines and gives their turnover and number of employees at the end of 2013

Managing Critical Weather Conditions in a Large-Scale Wind Based European Power System - The TWENTIES Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Detlefsen, N.; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar; Eriksen, P.

2011-01-01

the cut-off wind speed (typically 25 m/s). Experience has shown that a large offshore wind farm in this way can be shut down from full power to zero power in less than 5 minutes. Thus, in the planned offshore development in the North Sea, several GW of wind power could be shut down within less than one...

Improving the explanatory power of bargaining models - New evidence from European Union studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Selck, TJ

Focusing on recent studies of European Union legislative decision-making, this research note evaluates the current literature that attempts to improve the explanatory power of bargaining models by integrating game-theoretic spatial models with micro-level data gained from expert interviews or from

Westinghouse Electric Company experiences in chemistry on-line monitoring in Eastern European nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balavage, J.

2001-01-01

Westinghouse Electric Company has provided a number of Chemistry On-Line Monitoring (OLM) Systems to Nuclear Power Plants in Eastern Europe. Eleven systems were provided to the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant in the south of the Czech Republic. Four systems were provided to the Russian NPP at Novovoronezh. In addition, a system design was developed for primary side chemistry monitoring for units 5 and 6 of another eastern European VVER. The status of the Temelin OLM systems is discussed including updates to the Temelin designs, and the other Eastern European installations and designs are also described briefly. Some of the problems encountered and lessons learned from these projects are also discussed. (R.P.)

Analysis of ionospheric disturbances associated with powerful cyclones in East Asia and North America

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wang; Yue, Jianping; Yang, Yang; Li, Zhen; Guo, Jinyun; Pan, Yi; Zhang, Kefei

2017-08-01

East Asia and North America are the regions most heavily affected by powerful cyclones. In this paper we investigate the morphological characteristics of ionospheric disturbances induced by cyclones in different continents. The global ionosphere map supplied by the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE), International Reference Ionosphere Model (IRI) 2012, and Wallops Island ionosonde station data are used to analyse the ionospheric variations during powerful typhoons/hurricanes in East Asia and North America, respectively. After eliminating the ionospheric anomalies due to the solar-terrestrial environment, the total electron content (TEC) time series over the point with maximum wind speed is detected by the sliding interquartile range method. The results indicate that significant ionospheric disturbances are observed during powerful tropical cyclones in East Asia and North America, respectively, and that all the ionospheric anomalies are positive. In addition, the extent and magnitude of travelling ionospheric disturbances are associated with the category of tropical cyclone, and the extent of TEC anomalies in longitude is more pronounced than that in latitude. Furthermore, the maximum ionospheric anomaly does not coincide with the eye of the storm, but appears in the region adjacent to the centre. This implies that ionospheric disturbances at the edges of cyclones are larger than those in the eye of the winds. The phenomenon may be associated with the gravity waves which are generated by strong convective cells that occur in the spiral arms of tropical cyclones. This comprehensive analysis suggests that the presence of powerful typhoons/hurricanes may be a possible source mechanism for ionospheric anomalies.

A multimodel assessment of future projections of North Atlantic and European extratropical cyclones in the CMIP5 climate models

OpenAIRE

Zappa, Giuseppe; Shaffrey, Len C.; Hodges, Kevin I.; Sansom, Phil G.; Stephenson, David B.

2013-01-01

The response of North Atlantic and European extratropical cyclones to climate change is investigated in the climate models participating in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). In contrast to previous multimodel studies, a feature-tracking algorithm is here applied to separately quantify the re- sponses in the number, the wind intensity, and the precipitation intensity of extratropical cyclones. Moreover, a statistical framework is employed to formally assess the unce...

Role of the North Sea power transmission in realising the 2020 renewable energy targets. Planning and permitting challenges: a deliverable from WP 4 regulatory framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kielland, Jens Jacob; Ruud, Audun

2012-07-01

This study explores and assesses challenges for the European permitting and planning system with regard to grid development in the North Sea. The following question is discussed: What planning and permitting challenges can influence the realization of an offshore grid in the North Sea? This is answered by referring to the political context of the North Sea and the development of an offshore grid therein. We present the main features of the proposed regulation by the European Commission (COM(2011)658) that will, if it is adapted, impact current grid permitting procedures. Further, key supranational planning tools for offshore grid development are accounted for and the proposed EU measures are discussed with reference to relevant studies on planning and permitting procedures of realizing electricity grids. Finally, the report provides the general findings and conclusions. (Author)

Mapping ecosystem services provided by benthic habitats in the European North Atlantic Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibon eGalparsoro

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Mapping and assessing the ecosystem services provided by benthic habitats are a highly valuable source of information for understanding their current and potential benefits to society. The main objective of this investigation is to assess and map the ecosystem services provided by benthic habitats of the European North Atlantic Ocean, in the context of Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES programme, the European Biodiversity Strategy and the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. In total, 62 habitats have been analysed in relation to 12 ecosystem services over 1.7 million km2. Results indicated that more than 90% of the mapped area provides biodiversity maintenance and food provision services; meanwhile grounds providing reproduction and nursery services are limited to half of the mapped area. Benthic habitats generally provide more services closer to shore than offshore and in shallower waters. This gradient is likely to be explained by difficult access (i.e. distance and depth and lack of scientific knowledge for most of the services provided by distant benthic habitats. This research has provided a first assessment of the benthic ecosystem services at Atlantic European scale, with the provision of ecosystem services maps and their general spatial distribution patterns. Related to the objectives of this research, the conclusions are: (i benthic habitats provide a diverse set of ecosystem services, being the food provision and biodiversity maintenance services the ones that are more extensively represented. In addition, other regulating and cultural services are provided in a more limited area; and (ii the ecosystem services assessment categories are significantly related to the distance to the coast and with depth (higher near the coast and in shallow waters.

Examining market power in the European natural gas market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Egging, R.G.; Gabriel, S.A.

2006-01-01

In this paper, we develop a mixed complementarity equilibrium model for the European natural gas market. This model has producers as Cournot players with conjectured supply functions relative to their rivals. As such, these producers can withhold production to increase downstream prices for greater profits. The other players are taken to be perfectly competitive and are combined with extensive pipeline, seasonal, and other data reflecting the current state of the market. Four market scenarios are run to analyze the extent of market power by these producers as well as the importance of pipeline and storage capacity. (author)

Examining market power in the European natural gas market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Egging, Rudolf G.; Gabriel, Steven A.

2006-01-01

In this paper, we develop a mixed complementarity equilibrium model for the European natural gas market. This model has producers as Cournot players with conjectured supply functions relative to their rivals. As such, these producers can withhold production to increase downstream prices for greater profits. The other players are taken to be perfectly competitive and are combined with extensive pipeline, seasonal, and other data reflecting the current state of the market. Four market scenarios are run to analyze the extent of market power by these producers as well as the importance of pipeline and storage capacity

Nuclear power plants in Europe 1996. Report on operation, construction and planning in 18 European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1996-01-01

Eighteen European countries operate and build, respectively, nuclear power plants in 1996. The 'Nuclear Power Plants in Europe 1996' atw report singles out the main events and lines of development. As per August 1996, 216 (1995: 215) nuclear generating units (which means power reactors for the purposes of this report) with an aggregate 177,916 (177,010) MWe installed gross capacity are in operation and 24 (26) units with 23,086 (24,786) MWe are under construction in seven countries. This adds up to a total of 240 (241) nuclear generating units with an aggregate 201,002 (201,796) MWe. In the nuclear power plants in Europe, some 1067 (1048) TWh of nuclear power was converted into electric power in 1995; 802 (792) TWh of this aggregate was converted in 142 (137) units in the European Union (EU). In the EU the share of nuclear power in the public supply of electricity was 36%. Lithuania, with 86 (77)% has the highest share of nuclear power in Europe, followed by France with 76 (75)% and Belgium with 56%. The lowest percentage, only 4 (5)%, is recorded in the Netherlands. As a consequence of electricity imports, nuclear power holds considerable shares in the public electricity supply also of countries in which no nuclear power are operated, such as Italy or Austria. (orig.) [de

DEVELOPMENTS FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION IN THE SERVICE OF URBAN DESIGN IN THE NORTH GREAT PLAIN REGION (HUNGARY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bence MONYÓK

2017-05-01

Full Text Available One of the most important elements of place marketing is the creation of an attractive urban landscape which require significant financial resources. For this reason local authorities of Central Europe use regional policy grants from European Union for this purpose. In the light of the above, the aim of this paper is to examine the role of European Union grants in the improvement of the built environment in North Great Plain Region (Hungary, one of the least developed regions of Hungary. In the course of the above, on the one hand, we intend to provide a general overview of the situation in Hajdú-Bihar County, also located in this region, and on the other hand, through the example of a specific settlement, we will also present the processes in detail.

The Cost-Optimal Distribution of Wind and Solar Generation Facilities in a Simplified Highly Renewable European Power System

Science.gov (United States)

Kies, Alexander; von Bremen, Lüder; Schyska, Bruno; Chattopadhyay, Kabitri; Lorenz, Elke; Heinemann, Detlev

2016-04-01

The transition of the European power system from fossil generation towards renewable sources is driven by different reasons like decarbonisation and sustainability. Renewable power sources like wind and solar have, due to their weather dependency, fluctuating feed-in profiles, which make their system integration a difficult task. To overcome this issue, several solutions have been investigated in the past like the optimal mix of wind and PV [1], the extension of the transmission grid or storages [2]. In this work, the optimal distribution of wind turbines and solar modules in Europe is investigated. For this purpose, feed-in data with an hourly temporal resolution and a spatial resolution of 7 km covering Europe for the renewable sources wind, photovoltaics and hydro was used. Together with historical load data and a transmission model , a simplified pan-European power power system was simulated. Under cost assumptions of [3] the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for this simplified system consisting of generation, consumption, transmission and backup units is calculated. With respect to the LCOE, the optimal distribution of generation facilities in Europe is derived. It is shown, that by optimal placement of renewable generation facilities the LCOE can be reduced by more than 10% compared to a meta study scenario [4] and a self-sufficient scenario (every country produces on average as much from renewable sources as it consumes). This is mainly caused by a shift of generation facilities towards highly suitable locations, reduced backup and increased transmission need. The results of the optimization will be shown and implications for the extension of renewable shares in the European power mix will be discussed. The work is part of the RESTORE 2050 project (Wuppertal Institute, Next Energy, University of Oldenburg), that is financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, Fkz. 03SFF0439A). [1] Kies, A. et al.: Kies, Alexander, et al

Functional Resilience against Climate-Driven Extinctions - Comparing the Functional Diversity of European and North American Tree Floras.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Liebergesell

Full Text Available Future global change scenarios predict a dramatic loss of biodiversity for many regions in the world, potentially reducing the resistance and resilience of ecosystem functions. Once before, during Plio-Pleistocene glaciations, harsher climatic conditions in Europe as compared to North America led to a more depauperate tree flora. Here we hypothesize that this climate driven species loss has also reduced functional diversity in Europe as compared to North America. We used variation in 26 traits for 154 North American and 66 European tree species and grid-based co-occurrences derived from distribution maps to compare functional diversity patterns of the two continents. First, we identified similar regions with respect to contemporary climate in the temperate zone of North America and Europe. Second, we compared the functional diversity of both continents and for the climatically similar sub-regions using the functional dispersion-index (FDis and the functional richness index (FRic. Third, we accounted in these comparisons for grid-scale differences in species richness, and, fourth, investigated the associated trait spaces using dimensionality reduction. For gymnosperms we find similar functional diversity on both continents, whereas for angiosperms functional diversity is significantly greater in Europe than in North America. These results are consistent across different scales, for climatically similar regions and considering species richness patterns. We decomposed these differences in trait space occupation into differences in functional diversity vs. differences in functional identity. We show that climate-driven species loss on a continental scale might be decoupled from or at least not linearly related to changes in functional diversity. This might be important when analyzing the effects of climate-driven biodiversity change on ecosystem functioning.

International development and the ecuation of power within the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magda Simona SCUTARU

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Within the European Union, we can talk about a high degree of power and this means that states have different capacities to reach prosperity, but they also have the capacity to help other states reach a similar degree of welfare. Development Assistance plays a very important role in the world, being offered to states which can not surpass economic, social or political difficulties. In order to reach a certain balance at the international level, between levels of development that states possess, a fundamental need occurs: states that are economically, socially and politically left behind must receive development assistance. The present work aims to analyse the degree to which the European Union contributes to international development. Both EU institutions and EU and OECD member states play fundamental roles on the world stage by granting funds to fragile and less developed states.Rethinking the third world might mean a restructuring of the political systems of states and of their economic systems, so that these countries become more developed and less dependent on other states. European institutions and assistance policies also need to change their way of regarding the matter of international development and of approaching the problem of poverty so that the needs of the third world states could be satisfied in an appropriate manner. Europe has the role of transformative power because it helps the third world states develop their economies and political systems so that they could satisfy the needs of their citizens. As a consequence, these economies are transforming. They are not autarchic systems, so when we are talking about transformation, we are talking about development.

Oily wastewater treatment at Khartoum North Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eltahir, M. M.; Taha, T. S.

2009-01-01

To a chief these goals a series of experimental procedure have been executed for the wastewater in sump tank at river side where all wastewater collected. This paper attempts to investigate the chemical and physical characteristics of Khartoum North Power Station waste water and to suggest methods for removing oil before being discharged to River Bule Nile. To achieve this goal numerous numbers of samples have been collected and examined to detect oil content, turbidity, suspended solids, total dissolved solids, pH, BOD, COD and conductivity, and average values of these parameters were 924.3 ppm, 554.2 NTU, 80 ppm, 559.5 ppm, 7.3 pH unit, 130 Pm, 443.14 ppm, 736.7 μs/cm respectively. The average values of these results were compared with [1] guide lines which are 15 ppm, 5 ppm, 60 ppm, <1000 ppm, 7.5 pH unit, 60 ppm, 100 ppm 500 μs/cm respectively. The outcome of the paper confirmed that waste water at Khartoum North Power Station (KNPS) is heavily polluted with oil and other pollutants. For this reason a second phase of experiments is carried out mainly to remove or reduce oil content to 6.7 ppm and other pollutants to levels which may comply with International Regulations and Local Authority acts. The treatment phase of experiment comprising different processing units arranged in a logical sequence starting with units for oil removal through a coagulation process, NaoH ending with air floatation and skimping to reduce oil content. Results obtained from second phase of experiments after waste water being treated are encouraging and a total reduction in contamination of not less than 80% has been achieved. (Author)

Swiss hydropower in competition - an analysis with reference to the future European power supply system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balmer, M.; Spreng, D.; Moest, D.

2006-01-01

This article takes a look at a number of questions in relation to the future use of Swiss hydropower that are neither clear nor unchallenged. Questions concerning the replacement or refurbishment of hydropower schemes that will have to be renewed in the next few years are asked. Also, developments in the European power market are looked at. The future influence of wind power, trading with CO 2 certificates, increases in the price of gas etc. are examined. An analysis of the competitiveness of Swiss hydropower with reference to the European power supply system that was made by the Centre for Energy Policy and Economics CEPE at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH is described. The 'Perseus'-model developed by CEPE and the Industrial Technology Institute at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany is used to analyse possible developments over the period up to 2030. The results are presented in graphical form and commented on

Wind power goes offshore. European workshop, exhibition and technical tour within the frame of the EU funded project 'German-Polish cross border OPET'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-07-01

Along with hydroelectric, wind power is today's major and expanding producer of electricity from renewable sources. So far mainly coastal locations have been used around Europe, and potential for expansion lies especially in places which until now have been used little or not at all. The European Commission White Paper states: ''In particular, there is enormous potential for offshore wind farms [..] In order to achieve large-scale penetration of wind energy in the European Union these areas have also to be used.'' However, other location factors and technical challenges on the open sea demand very careful and thorough planning. As early as 1991, 11 450-kW wind turbine generators came into operation in the Vindeby offshore wind park in Denmark. The Tun diameter Knob park followed in 1995 with 10 500-kW units. By contrast, no wind park is expected to be operating off the coast of Germany until 2005. All around the North Sea and the Baltic Ring, plans are being laid to erect offshore wind power facilities - but in many places the legal and technical framework conditions are the subject of scrutiny on criteria of nature conservation and suitability for the location. The 'Wind Power goes Offshore' seminar presents current planning in Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Germany. There will be reports on experiences with running existing plants, and on procedures for setting up new projects. The seminar and concurrent exhibition were intended to stimulate wide exchanges of information and networking between practitioners at European level. The seminar was for manufacturers, planners and operators of wind power plants, environmental and nature conservation organisations, local authorities, and energy supply companies around the North Sea and the Baltic Ring. (orig.) [German] Windenergie leistet heute neben der Wasserkraft den groessten Beitrag zur Stromerzeugung aus erneuerbaren Energietraegern - Tendenz steigend. Nachdem bisher europaweit

Value generation of future CSP projects in North Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kost, Christoph; Engelken, Maximilian; Schlegl, Thomas

2012-01-01

This paper discusses the value generation potential for local and international industry in different development scenarios of the concentrating solar power (CSP) market in North Africa until 2030. It analyzes the economic impact resulting from the participation of North African and European companies during construction and operation of CSP plants. The assessment is based on a self-developed solar technologies market development model (STMD) that includes economic and technical requirements and constraints for the creation of a local CSP market. In-depth interviews with industry stakeholders provide specific input, validate the calculations and complement the quantitative model results and conclusions. Long-term potential for locally generated revenues from CSP plant construction are modeled and lead to a share of local revenues of up to 60%. Potential market size of solar power plants in North Africa could reach total revenues of 120 Billion euros and thus demand for components and services contribute to national gross domestic products significantly. Recommendations are given for regional industry cooperation and policy actions for the support of local and international CSP industry in North Africa in order to improve the investment environment and growth of renewable energies in the region. - Highlights: ►New economic model to evaluate value generation of CSP take-off in North Africa. ►CSP components are assessed regarding their potentials to be produced locally. ►Potential for locally generated revenues of CSP plants: 60% of total value. ►Socio-economic impacts of RE projects become more relevant to investment decisions.

European development of He-cooled divertors for fusion power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norajitra, P.; Giniyatulin, R.; Kuznetsov, V.; Mazul, I.; Ovchinnikov, I.; Ihli, T.; Janeschitz, G.; Krauss, W.; Kruessmann, R.; Karditsas, P.; Maisonnier, D.; Sardain, P.; Nardi, C.; Papastergiou, S.; Pizzuto, A.

2005-01-01

Helium-cooled divertor concepts are considered suitable for use in fusion power plants for safety reasons, as they enable the use of a coolant compatible with any blanket concept, since water would not be acceptable e.g. in connection with ceramic breeder blankets using large amounts of beryllium. Moreover, they allow for a high coolant exit temperature for increasing the efficiency of the power conversion system. Within the framework of the European power plant conceptual study (PPCS), different helium-cooled divertor concepts based on different heat transfer mechanisms are being investigated at ENEA Frascati, Italy, and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany. They are based on a modular design which helps reduce thermal stresses. The design goal is to withstand a high heat flux of about 10-15 MW/m 2 , a value which is considered relevant to future fusion power plants to be built after ITER. The development and optimisation of the divertor concepts require an iterative design approach with analyses, studies of materials and fabrication technologies, and the execution of experiments. These issues and the state of the art of divertor development shall be the subject of this report. (author)

East European nuclear power plant review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, Steve

1993-01-01

Western public opinion regards East European nuclear power plants as inefficient and dangerous. However the plants achieve consistently good operating performances. The load factors achieved by each type of plant by country in 1991 are tabulated. These are shown to be good, especially the Hungarian plant. Load factors seem to be dependent on the type of plant rather than where they were installed. WWER 213s worked better than the WWER 320s. This was because of long shutdowns to try and bring the safety standards up to acceptable levels. RBMK performances were depressed because of a 30% derating by safety authorities on 8 out of the 15 units operating. Overall the picture in Eastern Europe is encouraging with improvements in safety related indicators such as break-down frequency whilst the plants still achieve respectable load factors. The performance of the WWER 320s is particularly encouraging. Good load factors from this type of plant in Russia, the Ukraine and Bulgaria may allow older unsafe plant to be phased out. (UK)

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON THE DELEGATION OF POWERS TO NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN UNION LEVEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silviu Alexandru Lăzărescu Simion

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In the context of Romania's accession to the European Union, have created the conditions to issue a new category of delegation of powers at the national level, used in the management of EU funds. Thus, delegation under delegation agreements concluded between ministries function with role management authorities and legal entities subordinated, coordination or subordination or coordination outside a hierarchy is a concrete way to exercise the powers conferred by the provisions Romania Community and pursue assimilated by delegating temporary administrative office.

The relationship between skinfold thickness and body mass index in North European Caucasian and East Asian women with anorexia nervosa: implications for diagnosis and management.

Science.gov (United States)

Soh, Nerissa L; Touyz, Stephen; Dobbins, Timothy A; Clarke, Simon; Kohn, Michael R; Lee, Ee Lian; Leow, Vincent; Ung, Ken E K; Walter, Garry

2009-01-01

To investigate the relationship between skinfold thickness and body mass index (BMI) in North European Caucasian and East Asian young women with and without anorexia nervosa (AN) in two countries. Height, weight and skinfold thicknesses were assessed in 137 young women with and without AN, in Australia and Singapore. The relationship between BMI and the sum of triceps, biceps, subscapular and iliac crest skinfolds was analysed with clinical status, ethnicity, age and country of residence as covariates. For the same BMI, women with AN had significantly smaller sums of skinfolds than women without AN. East Asian women both with and without AN had significantly greater skinfold sums than their North European Caucasian counterparts after adjusting for BMI. Lower BMI goals may be appropriate when managing AN patients of East Asian ancestry and the weight for height diagnostic criterion should be reconsidered for this group.

1997: Nuclear power plants in Europe. Report on operation, construction and planning in 18 European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1997-01-01

Eighteen European countries operate and build, respectively, nuclear power plants in 1997. The '1997: Nuclear Power Plants in Europe' atw report singles out the main events and lines of development. As per August 1997, 216 (1996: 216) nuclear generating units (which means power reactors for the purposes of this report) with an aggregate 180, 184 (177, 916) MWe installed gross capacity are in operation and 22 (24) units with 20,054 (23,086) MWe are under construction in seven countries. This adds up to a total of 238 (240) nuclear generating units with an aggregate 200,238 (201,002) MWe. In the nuclear power plants in Europe, some 1138 (1067) TWh of nuclear power was converted into electric power in 1996: 806 (802) TWh of this aggregate was converted in 142 (142) units in the European Union (EU). In the EU the share of nuclear power in the public supply of electricity was 35,4 (36,0)%. Lithuania, with 83,4 (85,6)% has the highest share of nuclear power in Europe, followed by France with 77,4 (76,0)% and Belgium with 57,2 (55,5)%. The lowest percentage, only 4,8 (3,8)%, is recorded in the Netherlands. As a consequence of electricity imports, nuclear power holds considerable shares in the public electricity supply also of countries in which no nuclear power is operated, such as Italy or Austria. (orig.) [de

European Power Electronic conference in Aalborg, Denmark - 1000 participants discussing the future energy technologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blaabjerg, Frede; Munk-Nielsen, Stig

2007-01-01

The European Power Electronics and Adjustable Speed Drives conference with technical sponsorship of IEEE Industrial Electronic Society has been held in Aalborg, Denmark, during the first days of September 2007 with an overwhelming success and participation. It was hosted by Aalborg University's I...

Soft Power and Hard Measures: Large-Scale Assessment, Citizenship and the European Union

Science.gov (United States)

Rutkowski, David; Engel, Laura C.

2010-01-01

This article explores the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) with particular emphasis on the European Union's (EU's) involvement in the regional portion. Using the ICCS, the EU actively combines hard measures with soft power, allowing the EU to define and steer cross-national rankings of values of EU citizenship. The…

The North American power delivery system: Balancing market restructuring and environmental economics with infrastructure security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massoud Amin, S.; Gellings, Clark W.

2006-01-01

The North American electric power system was developed over the last 100 years without a conscious awareness and analysis of the system-wide implications of its current evolution under the forces of deregulation, system complexity, power-market impacts, terrorism, and human error. The possibility of power delivery beyond neighboring areas was a distant secondary consideration. Today, the North American power network may realistically be considered to be the largest machine in the world. With the advent of deregulation and competition in the electric power industry, new ways are being sought to improve the efficiency of that network without seriously diminishing its reliability and security. Controlling a heterogeneous, widely dispersed, yet globally interconnected system is a serious technological problem in any case. It is even more complex and difficult to control it for optimal efficiency and maximum benefit to the ultimate consumers while still allowing all its business components to compete fairly and freely. In this paper we present an overview of key issues and the context in which the electricity infrastructure is being operated under the above forces along with a strategic vision extending to a decade, or longer, that would enable more secure and robust systems operation, security monitoring, and efficient energy markets. (author)

European wind power integration study. Periodic report 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1992-12-31

This periodic report no. 1 describes the work done in the Danish part of the European Wind Power Integration Study in the period until 1.4.1991. The R and D project was initiated January 1, 1989 upon prior establishment of registration equipment at 7 wind farms and at the Tjaereborg turbine. ELSAM and the meteorological service centre in Karup (VTC-Karup) have supplied data for the task. Wind Predictability, Potential and Benefits, Wind Farm - Grid Interface, Distribution System Strength, Wind Farm Cost and Operation, and Co-generation Wind Turbines/Other renewables were measured and modelled. The statistical distribution of the wind speed variations (changes in wind speed from one period of time to another) has been established with great certainty in the report. The wind speed variations follow a Weibull distribution, irrespective of the time intervals with which the data are considered. Duration curves and power distributions for the 7 wind farms have been estimated. Registration equipment for one-minute measurements was chosen in order to clarify the short-term variations in the wind power production. The possibility of working out production forecasts, to be applied in the daily load dispatching, were to be assessed for the total amount of wind power production in Jutland and Funen. The report has examined whether it would be possible to have only one wind measurement and then let it be `guiding` for the total wind farm production. Some simulations are to be carried out in the attempt to set up guidelines for the connection between the strength of distribution systems and the requirements which must be made to the wind farms which are to be places in the system. (EG)

Play the European card

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majewski, O.

1999-01-01

Dr. Otto Majewski, Chief Executive Officer of the Bayernwerk AG utility, in his capacity as Chairman of the European Nuclear Council pointed out at ENC 98 in Nice that national energy policies constituted a major danger to the use of nuclear power. At the same time, he indicated ways and means by which to evade that danger. The decisions taken in Sweden and in the Federal Republic of Germany to opt out of the use of nuclear power show that national energy policies can seriously jeopardize the use of nuclear power. Bayernwerk CEO Dr. Majewski urged nuclear power plant operators to counteract these tendencies by playing the European card. Nuclear power anyway was a classical topic of European cooperation which, in the past, had resulted in higher safety standards and in the development of the EPR. It should also be attempted, by working on European institutions, to strengthen the use of nuclear power, even on a national level. He invoked economic arguments against nuclear opponents, especially the preservation of competitiveness by means of lower electricity prices, and arguments of climate protection. (orig.) [de

Comparative Analysis of the Specifications on the Power Quality of the European Union and the Russian Federation

Science.gov (United States)

Ded, A. V.; Maltsev, V. N.; Sikorski, S. P.

2018-04-01

Since July 2014 the interstate standard GOST 32144-2013 is the only document that defines standard requirements for the power quality in the territory of the Russian Federation. The new standard preamble specifies that this document considers the requirements of the European regional standard EN 50160-2010. However, GOST authors established the degree of standards conformity as nonequivalent. In connection with Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) all requirements for goods including electric energy should correspond the international standard requirements. The article analyzes the above standard requirements and assesses the requirements for the power quality standards used in the European Union and in the Russian Federation.

9{sup th} international workshop on large-scale integration of wind power into power systems as well as on transmission networks for offshore wind power plants. Proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Betancourt, Uta; Ackermann, Thomas (eds.)

2010-07-01

Within the 9th International Workshop on large-scale integration of wind power into power systems as well as on transmission networks for offshore wind power plants at 18th to 19th October, 2010 in Quebec (Canada), lectures and poster papers were presented to the following themes: (1) Keynote session and panel; (2) European grid integration studies; (3) Modeling; (4) Wind forecasting; (5) North American grid integration studies; (6) Voltage stability and control; (7) Grid codes and impact studies; (8) Canadian University research (WESNet); (9) Operation and dispatch; (9) Offshore wind power plants; (10) Frequency Control; (11) Methodologies to estimate wind power impacts on power systems, summaries from IEAWIND collaboration; (12) HVDC; (13) Grid codes and system impact studies; (14) Modeling and validation; (15) Regulations, markets and offshore wind energy; (16) Integration issues; (17) Wind turbine control system; (18) Energy management and IT solutions.

The European Union's Mediterranean Policy in the Context of the "Arab Spring"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria A. Latkina

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the policy of the European Union aimed at the export of its democratic values, acquis communautaire and governance models to the neighbour countries in the Southern Mediterranean. The process of Europeanization reflects a particular case of global megatrend -democratization which in its turn positioned as democracy promotion through soft power instruments. From the EU point of view the goal of the Barcelona process launched in 1995 was to construct Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and common identity in order to promote democratic transitions in Southern Mediterranean. While the EU Foreign Policy in the Mediterranean region was historically conditioned by the security interests of the European Union, it suffered from securitization/democratization dilemma. The article analyses the process of external Europeanization in the Southern Mediterranean as a regional dimension of global democratization process in the context of Union for the Mediterranean development before and after the Arab Spring and new approach in the framework of the ENP Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity with the Southern Mediterranean. The article proposes that the lack of political strategic vision in the EU toward the Arab democratic transition during 2011-2013 narrows its role as a transformative democratic power, hinders Europeanization/ democratization process in the macro-region of North Africa and Middle East and presents the EU with a new dilemma - to continue its traditional democratization policy or to shift towards a more pragmatic approach to cooperating with new Arab regimes.

First experience concerning the seismic behavior of an electric power system in eastern North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pierre, J.R.

1991-01-01

The November 25, 1988, Saguenay earthquake of magnitude M b L g = 6.5 occurred in the province of Quebec, Canada. It represents the first strong event in eastern North America for which the seismic behavior of a power system is documented. The paper describes the seismic performance of the main components of the power system with emphasis on damages to the substation's equipment and on the triggering of control and protection devices by the seismic waves. Performance of the network is analyzed taking in account the seismological and strong ground motion features. Attention is drawn to general observations related to soil conditions and topographical relief. These data, when extrapolated to the eastern North American context, indicate that caution must be exercised concerning the seismic resistance of lifelines in eastern Canada and United States

European innovation and technology development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, R.W.

1991-01-01

The promotion of technological innovation by European national governments and the EC in pursuit of both increased recovery and the anchoring of technology in supply, manufacturing and service sector companies has been a feature of the strategic involvement by European states in exploration and production research and development. This paper summaries past trends in this activity and reviews the targets for future industry innovation which will enable European (primarily the North Sea) production to be sustained for a further generation

Integration of renewable energies and nuclear power into North African Energy Systems: An analysis of energy import and export effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Supersberger, Nikolaus; Fuehrer, Laura

2011-01-01

The North African countries Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt have been and are currently experiencing rapid growth in energy demand. This development confronts their political leaders with the question of how to expand or diversify their countries' generation capacities. In this context, renewable energies and nuclear power constitute options that have rarely been exploited so far in the region. This article analyzes the drawbacks and benefits of both alternatives, with a special focus on import and export dynamics. When attempting to make the strategic decision between renewables and atomic power, North African regional specifics and circumstances have to be taken into account. Hence, in a first step, the article characterizes the energy systems of the North African countries and presents scenarios for their future development. In a second step, it scrutinizes the energy challenges these states face in terms of domestic concerns and foreign affairs. Finally, a case study of Algeria is used to demonstrate how renewable energies, but not nuclear power, are able to respond to North African energy challenges. - Research highlights: → Using nuclear power would require fuel imports over the entire operation time. → Hence, energy exporters (Algeria, Libya) would become dependent on fuel imports. → Renewable energies can make North African countries less fuel import dependent. → Nuclear technologies would have to be imported over the whole life cycle of plants. → Domestic production for renewables technologies could be established after a first phase of technology imports.

EUR, an European utility requirements documents for future LWR power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berbey, Pierre; Lienard, Michel; Redon, Ramon; Essmann, Juergen; Taylor, David T.

2004-01-01

A group of the major European utilities are developing a common requirement document which will be used for the LWR nuclear power plants to be built in Europe from the beginning of the next century. This document provides harmonised policies and technical requirements that will allow the implementation of a design developed in one country into another one. The objectives and contents of the document, the organisation set up for its production and the main requirements are summarised in the paper. (author)

European standards and approaches to EMC in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bardsley, D.J.; Dillingham, S.R.; McMinn, K. [AEA Technology, Dorset (United Kingdom)

1995-04-01

Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) arising from a wide range of sources can threaten nuclear power plant operation. The need for measures to mitigate its effects have long been recognised although there are difference in approaches worldwide. The US industry approaches the problem by comprehensive site surveys defining an envelope of emissions for the environmental whilst the UK nuclear industry defined many years ago generic levels which cover power station environments. Moves to standardisation within the European community have led to slight changes in UK approach, in particular how large systems can be tested. The tests undertaken on UK nuclear plant include tests for immunity to conducted as well as radiated interference. Similar tests are also performed elsewhere in Europe but are not, to the authors` knowledge, commonly undertaken in the USA. Currently work is proceeding on draft international standards under the auspices of the IEC.

The strategic role of power grids in the implementation of a European energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merlin, A.

2010-01-01

With the development of low carbon and renewable energies, the World is living a third energy revolution. In this new context, the European Union has adopted an ambitious energy policy with a triple objective: reducing the volume of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere in order to fight against a possible disastrous climatic change, increasing the security of its energy supplies by limiting its fossil fuels dependence and by reinforcing the solidarity between member states in particular during crisis situation, and completing the building up of domestic electricity and gas markets by a better integration of these markets at the European scale and in relation with neighboring areas (Mediterranean region, Russia). This article explains the key of success of such a policy: a prominent part of electricity in the European energy mix, with a strategic role given to power grids

The role of power exchanges for the creation of a single European electricity market: market design and market regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boisseleau, F.

2004-01-01

The electricity sector worldwide is undergoing a fundamental transformation of its institutional structure as a consequence of the complex interactions of political, economic and technological forces. The way the industry is organized is changing from vertically integrated monopolies to unbundled structures that favor market mechanisms. This process in Europe, known as the liberalization process, has had a wide impact on the European electricity industry. The focus of this dissertation is an analysis of the role of electricity power exchanges in the recently liberalized electricity markets of Europe. In the context of creating a competitive electricity market at a European level, the key questions considered are the functioning of these power exchanges with respect to electricity characteristics, market design and regulatory framework. In Europe, very little attention has been paid to the role of these new marketplaces and to the issue of market design in general. Hence the main purpose of this work was to analyze how these marketplaces facilitate the trading of electricity and the role they can play in the construction of a pan-European competitive electricity market. An analysis of power exchange requires taking into account the 'double-duality' of such institutions. One, power exchanges are both a market and an institution. As a market they facilitate the trading of electricity and determine an equilibrium price. As an institution power exchanges have their own objectives and constraints, and play a role in the market design of the overall electricity market. Two, the relationship between electricity power exchanges and liberalization is neither linear nor one way: liberalization encourages the birth of such marketplaces yet marketplaces are more than the results of such process, they are also a driving force of the liberalization process. This thesis is divided into three parts. The current situation in Europe and different existing theoretical approaches in

Nuclear power is really assisting Romania on its accession way to the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilegan, Iosif Constantin

2005-01-01

accurate information on the overall indices and new regional development trends. Public's perceptions is evolving into the right direction with respect to nuclear power. As a result of public debates, more and more people become aware, understand and place proper confidence in nuclear technology that is environmentally friendly while offering safe, reliable and cost effective industrial electricity. Once concluded the Agreement of Accession to the European Union on February 1st, 1995, Romania irreversibly committed itself onto the way of the European integration, assuming increased responsibilities regarding the compliance with the Copenhagen criteria. The conclusion of the analysis carried out by the European Commission '2000 Agenda', confirmed by the Western Europe Nuclear Regulators' Association - WENRA, were in favor of Romania and Slovenia, presently the only countries in the Central and South-eastern Europe that hold nuclear units (Cernavoda and Krsko, respectively) based on western technology design. It is obviously that each country is monitored and evaluated for the purpose of harmonizing all the units' nuclear safety standards imposed on European level. The following conclusions come out of the aforesaid: - The electric power developed in Romania based on the CANDU Western Technology successfully complies with the nuclear safety requirements and standards. Thus, considering this pre-requisite, the process of our country's accession to the European structure is not jeopardized; - moreover by using the own resources of natural uranium and heavy water for the industrial generation of electricity, Romania is contributing to its own safe supply and EU's safe supply as well, after the accession; - the development strategies and policies in the electric power in Romania are harmonized with the present ones provided for the EU development, what is confirmed by the current support granted by EURATOM for the completion of the Cernavoda NPP Unit 2. (author)

Japan's electric power industry: responding to the challenges of the 3Es

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, J.

1999-01-01

With the rapid push toward deregulation in the power markets of North America, the European Union, and emerging economies, the business environment of the global power market has been dramatically altered in recent years. Profit margins, strategic overseas investments, and shareholder equity have replaced stability and predictability as the new business paradigm in the international electric power industry. Although Japan's electric power industry has not undergone the same degree of market liberalization experienced by its counterparts in North America and the European Union, this does not mean that Japan has escaped the challenges of the 3Es (economic, energy, and environmental changes), which have transformed the international electric power industry in recent years. With companies and consumers in Japan paying the highest price for electricity in the industrialized world, the high price of electricity represents an important business competitiveness issue for firms in energy - and export-intensive industries. This is particularly true now that Japan is desperately trying to end the economic turmoil caused by over regulation and a weak banking system. What remains to be seen is if Japan will be able to deregulate its electric power industry and at the same time, comply with the Kyoto climate change pledge of reducing the country's greenhouse emissions by 6% (compared to 1990 levels) in the next 10 years and continue to meet its energy security objective of expanding the use of nuclear power in the national energy supply. The complex interplay of domestic and international pressures on the national power market need to be explored in order to fully understand the policy challenges facing Japan's electric power industry. (author)

The Future of Nuclear Power in the Light of European Energy Policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schweickardt, Hans E.

2014-01-01

1. Energy policy post-Fukushima: • Following the initial shock: differentiated development, no cohesive European policy; • EU: Nuclear Power (NP) remains important in the context of climate policy; • Bulk of European countries: Keep or even expand share of NP (UK, Eastern Europe); • Germany and Switzerland (CH): Exit from NP, in Germany based on previously fixed shutdown deadlines for every facility, in CH based on exclusion of new builds. 2. Switzerland's focus: • Current CH electricity supply: twin pillars of NP + hydro power; high sustainability. • Federal Council's new energy strategy and its consequences: Strain on economy and companies due to market distortion and high renovation costs; plus growing environmental stress, dependency on imports and social inequality due to artificially high electricity prices. 3. Future of nuclear power in Switzerland: Conceivable possibilities: • Short-term: Relatively rapid ban on nuclear power (but poss. with back-door research/no ban on thinking about the technology); • Medium-term: Ban on new facilities but old plants continue to operate; • Long-term: Re-entry/new start, poss. even sanctioned by politicians, on the following grounds: rather new facilities than old, good for the climate, costeffectiveness, energy security. 4. A new look for nuclear power? HTR technology of particular interest due to the following benefits: • Disposal (less waste, recycling); • Technical controllability, core meltdown impossible; • Manageable dimensions (particularly important in CH); • Financial feasibility. Whether NP will remain on the agenda, and which technology wins through also depends heavily on external factors: climate policy, cost-effectiveness/financial feasibility, readiness for market, change in value, trends in other energy sources. 5. Summary: Future of NP difficult to predict. If technology is mature and launched on the market within a reasonable time frame, the potential is there. Opportunities

Bottleneck management in the German and European electricity supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koenig, Carsten

2013-01-01

This publication describes how bottlenecks in the German and European electricity supply pose a danger to the realization of the European internal market in electricity, the transition to electricity production from renewable resources and to the safeguarding of grid availability and security of supply. Bottlenecks at cross-border interconnectors between member states of the European Union are hampering cross-border trade in electricity, posing an impediment to EU-wide competition among electricity production and electricity trading companies. Grid bottlenecks at cross-border interconnectors isolate national markets from one another, with the result that it is not always possible in the European Union to have the most competitive power plant produce electricity. This amounts to a loss of welfare compared with what it would be in the case of an electricity supply without bottlenecks. Furthermore, bottlenecks make it impossible for green electricity that would be eligible for promotion for reasons of climate and environmental protection to be transmitted unimpeded from the most suitable site to the consumer regions. Thus the transmission of electricity produced from wind power in Northern Germany to the industrial centres in Southern Germany is impeded by bottlenecks along the north-south lines of the national transmission network. Today some of the German electricity supply networks already have to be operated near the limits of their capacity, especially during high wind episodes. This poses a growing danger to network availability and security of supply. Since the installation, expansion and conversion of electricity supply networks in Germany and other member states of the European Union is no longer progressing at the required speed, growing importance attaches to the management of bottlenecks. The goal of bottleneck management is to resolve conflicts over network use such as can occur in overload situations with as little discrimination and as little

Prices vs. quantities. Incentives for renewable power generation. Numerical analysis for the European power market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagl, Stephan

2013-02-15

In recent years, many countries have implemented policies to incentivize renewable power generation. This paper outlines the effects of weather uncertainty on investment and operation decisions of electricity producers under a feed-in tariff and renewable quota obligation. Furthermore, this paper tries to quantify the sectoral welfare and investments risks under the different policies. For this purpose, a spatial stochastic equilibrium model is introduced for the European electricity market. The numerical analysis suggests that including the electricity market price in renewable policies (wholesale price + x) reduces the loss of sectoral welfare due to a renewable policy by 11-20 %. Moreover, investors face an only slightly higher risk than under fixed price compensations. However, electricity producers face a substantially larger investment risk when introducing a renewable quota obligation without the option of banking and borrowing of green certificates. Given the scenario results, an integration of the hourly market price in renewable support mechanisms is mandatory to keep the financial burden to electricity consumers at a minimum. Additionally, following the discussion of a European renewable quota after 2020, the analysis indicates the importance of an appropriate banking and borrowing mechanism in light of stochastic wind and solar generation.

On the way to becoming ''quite ordinary enterprises''. Strategic orientation of the power utilities in the European market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harig, H.D.

1996-01-01

Competition is an indispensable prerequisite of evolution. In the sector of electricity supply it is defined, inter alia, by the choice of source of primary energy. On the other hand, opening of the European market entails new challenges. In many European countries, electric energy is converted at less expense than in Germany. The builders of capital intensive power grid systems are trying to protect themselves against their competitive chances deteriorating also by their being required to make these grid systems available to competitors not having to bear these expenses. Nuclear power plants are among the most capital intensive generating units in the power industry. However, operating them is not only a matter of the power utilities; to them, nuclear power is one tpye of primary energy out of many others. Instead, the government must indicate the direction, through its energy policy, in which future technologies are to create international competitive advantages to domestic industries. In addition, the government must provide the funds necessary in the launching phase. (orig.) [de

Impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the trans-Atlantic migrations of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla)

Science.gov (United States)

Kettle, A. James; Bakker, Dorothee C. E.; Haines, Keith

2008-09-01

Glass eel catches and FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) landings of the European freshwater eel (Anguilla anguilla) show a decrease over the past 20 years. The long-term trends in the time series mask an interannual fluctuation, which becomes apparent on the application of a high-pass filter and autocorrelation analysis. Both the FAO landings and the glass eel catches show interannual fluctuations with a repeat period of 6-8 years, similar to the period of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Most glass eel catch monitoring stations are in phase. The glass eel catches show a significant negative correlation with the NAO lagged by 0-2 years, consistent with the hypothesis that the positive NAO phase has an adverse impact on the larval survival in and migration from the Sargasso Sea spawning location, one year prior to the arrival of the glass eels in Europe and North Africa. The FAO landings can be divided into two groups of different phase that have an approximate correspondence to the NAO dipole in winter rainfall in Europe and North Africa. One group (P) comprises Denmark, Ireland, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom, and the other group (N) comprises France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey. At least for the interannual fluctuations, the success of the glass eel fishery (and eel recruitment) may be coupled with the number of migrating silver eels from the N group of countries and uncoupled with the P group of countries.

AMM15: a new high-resolution NEMO configuration for operational simulation of the European north-west shelf

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Jennifer A.; O'Dea, Enda; Holt, Jason; Polton, Jeff; Hewitt, Helene T.; Furner, Rachel; Guihou, Karen; Brereton, Ashley; Arnold, Alex; Wakelin, Sarah; Castillo Sanchez, Juan Manuel; Mayorga Adame, C. Gabriela

2018-02-01

This paper describes the next-generation ocean forecast model for the European north-west shelf, which will become the basis of operational forecasts in 2018. This new system will provide a step change in resolution and therefore our ability to represent small-scale processes. The new model has a resolution of 1.5 km compared with a grid spacing of 7 km in the current operational system. AMM15 (Atlantic Margin Model, 1.5 km) is introduced as a new regional configuration of NEMO v3.6. Here we describe the technical details behind this configuration, with modifications appropriate for the new high-resolution domain. Results from a 30-year non-assimilative run using the AMM15 domain demonstrate the ability of this model to represent the mean state and variability of the region.Overall, there is an improvement in the representation of the mean state across the region, suggesting similar improvements may be seen in the future operational system. However, the reduction in seasonal bias is greater off-shelf than on-shelf. In the North Sea, biases are largely unchanged. Since there has been no change to the vertical resolution or parameterization schemes, performance improvements are not expected in regions where stratification is dominated by vertical processes rather than advection. This highlights the fact that increased horizontal resolution will not lead to domain-wide improvements. Further work is needed to target bias reduction across the north-west shelf region.

The power of knowledge in collaborative projects across North and South

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adriansen, Hanne Kirstine; Madsen, Lene Møller

This paper studies outcome of collaboration between universities in Africa and Scandinavia. The African higher education landscape is a product of the colonial powers and subsequent uneven development leading to an academic dependency as argued by a number of African researchers. Today, many...... in the paper, where we (i) explores how North-driven projects approach knowledge as universal and transferable and thereby ignore diversity and local historical context; (ii) analyses the cultural production of African academics and methodological hegemony in collaborative projects; (iii) concludes...

Emerging fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in wild European snakes

Science.gov (United States)

Franklinos, Lydia H. V.; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Bohuski, Elizabeth A.; Rodriguez-Ramos Fernandez, Julia; Wright, Owen; Fitzpatrick, Liam; Petrovan, Silviu; Durrant, Chris; Linton, Chris; Baláž, Vojtech; Cunningham, Andrew A; Lawson, Becki

2017-01-01

Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging disease of conservation concern in eastern North America. Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causative agent of SFD, has been isolated from over 30 species of wild snakes from six families in North America. Whilst O. ophiodiicola has been isolated from captive snakes outside North America, the pathogen has not been reported from wild snakes elsewhere. We screened 33 carcasses and 303 moulted skins from wild snakes collected from 2010–2016 in Great Britain and the Czech Republic for the presence of macroscopic skin lesions and O. ophiodiicola. The fungus was detected using real-time PCR in 26 (8.6%) specimens across the period of collection. Follow up culture and histopathologic analyses confirmed that both O. ophiodiicola and SFD occur in wild European snakes. Although skin lesions were mild in most cases, in some snakes they were severe and were considered likely to have contributed to mortality. Culture characterisations demonstrated that European isolates grew more slowly than those from the United States, and phylogenetic analyses indicated that isolates from European wild snakes reside in a clade distinct from the North American isolates examined. These genetic and phenotypic differences indicate that the European isolates represent novel strains of O. ophiodiicola. Further work is required to understand the individual and population level impact of this pathogen in Europe.

Climate change impacts on the power generation potential of a European mid-century wind farms scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tobin, Isabelle; Vautard, Robert; Noël, Thomas; Jerez, Sonia; Thais, Françoise; Van Meijgaard, Erik; Prein, Andreas; Déqué, Michel; Kotlarski, Sven; Maule, Cathrine Fox; Nikulin, Grigory; Teichmann, Claas

2016-01-01

Wind energy resource is subject to changes in climate. To investigate the impacts of climate change on future European wind power generation potential, we analyze a multi-model ensemble of the most recent EURO-CORDEX regional climate simulations at the 12 km grid resolution. We developed a mid-century wind power plant scenario to focus the impact assessment on relevant locations for future wind power industry. We found that, under two greenhouse gas concentration scenarios, changes in the annual energy yield of the future European wind farms fleet as a whole will remain within ±5% across the 21st century. At country to local scales, wind farm yields will undergo changes up to 15% in magnitude, according to the large majority of models, but smaller than 5% in magnitude for most regions and models. The southern fleets such as the Iberian and Italian fleets are likely to be the most affected. With regard to variability, changes are essentially small or poorly significant from subdaily to interannual time scales. (letter)

A European Approach to Lifelong Learning: Goals and Realities.

Science.gov (United States)

Thery, Michel; Roussel, Patrick; Zygmunt, Christian

2003-01-01

Comparison of company practices regarding continuing training of employees shows great diversity among the 15 European Union member states. In 11 countries, over 70 percent of companies are "training involved" (TICs). South European countries have a low percentage of TICs; the proportion of TICs in north European countries is over 80…

INFLUENCES OF THE PURCHASING POWER CHANGE ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE AGROALIMETARY MARKETS ON EUROPEAN UNION LEVEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Catalina Timiras

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to identify the manifested connection between the dynamics of the population purchasing power and the dynamic of agroalimentary markets in general as well as by product types on European Union level. Based on the last data supplied by Eurostat 2013, using the specific methods for studying the correlations, we have detected that increases and decreases of the purchasing power generated similar changes on agroalimentary markets level from the point of view of achieved sales in most of the poorer countries of the European Union, but not in those states which got beyond the average gross domestic product per capita of the European Union. This relationship has been noticed only on the agroalimentary markets as a whole (respectively on the amounts spent by the population for purchasing agroalimentary goods, beverages and tobacco, but not on the level of markets of various types of product (“meat and meat products”, “fruit and vegetables”, “dairy produce, eggs and edible oils and fats”, “beverages”, “sugar and chocolate and sugar confectionery”, “tobacco products”.

Opting out of the peaceful use of nuclear power in Germany. A promising special approach in the European context?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buedenbender, Martin

2009-01-01

Nuclear power is in the focus of politics and public attention in Germany not only because of the federal elections. Again and again, voices are heard which doubt the decision taken in 2000 to opt out of the use of nuclear power. The change in parliamentary majority in favor of the alliance of CDU/CSU and FDP as a result of the elections on September 27 is leading to another review of the opt-out decision, as the three parties in their platforms expressed themselves in favor of extending nuclear power plant life. This makes a stocktaking exercise of all salient arguments imperative at the present juncture. The perspective in that case should not be restricted to national aspects but include especially the influence of the European dimension of the subject. Present political positions in the 27 EU countries indicate a renaissance of nuclear power. Numerous countries, such as Italy, Sweden, Poland or the United Kingdom, revoked their historic opt-out decisions, are using nuclear power for the first time, or want to expand greatly the nuclear share in their electricity generation mix. All 3 European agencies with clear majorities advocate the extensive use of nuclear power as a long-term component of the mix of energy resources. Germany, with its decision to opt out of the use of nuclear power, is part of a minority. Being part of a European electricity market which will grow together more and more closely up to complete integration, Germany will always be supplied electricity from nuclear sources in the long run. This will be true irrespective of nuclear power plants being operated in the country. So, shutting down German nuclear power plants will not achieve the goals of nuclear opponents but merely give rise to additional challenges in power technology in an effort to ensure Germany's electricity supply. For this reason, the new German federal government should revoke the decision to opt out of the peaceful use of nuclear power. (orig.)

A European morpho-functional classification of humus forms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zanella, A.; Jabiol, B.; Ponge, J.F.; Waal, de R.W.; Delft, van S.P.J.

2011-01-01

In Europe an abundance of humus taxonomies exists starting with early approaches in the late 19th century. Frequently used in an international context, they do not cover all site conditions in the European area. Although having basic concepts and general lines, the European (and North American,

Suburban Housing Development and Off-Grid Electric Power Supply Assessment for North-Central Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibikunle Olalekan Ogundari

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Energy infrastructures in North-Central Nigeria are inadequate and grid electricity is unable to meet suburban housing electricity demand. The alternative power-supply options proposed by government for the region require appropriation analysis for selection. Four public housing estates in suburban Abuja are selected for electricity demand analysis under conventional and energy-efficient lighting scenarios; then techno-economic parameters of two off-grid electric power supply systems (PV and Diesel-powered generation to meet these electricity demands are evaluated. An energy techno-economic assessment methodology is used. The study determines the energy-efficient lighting system is appropriate with 40% energy savings relative to the Conventional Lighting Systems. The diesel generator alternative power-supply option has Life Cycle Costs almost 4 times those of the PV option. The study established the PV-energy-efficient lighting system as the most feasible off-grid electric power supply alternative for implementation.

Geographical structure and differential natural selection among North European populations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McEvoy, Brian P; Montgomery, Grant W; McRae, Allan F

2009-01-01

polymorphism, in 2099 individuals from populations of Northern European origin (Ireland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Australia, and HapMap European-American). The major trends (PC1 and PC2) demonstrate an ability to detect geographic substructure, even over a small area like...

Improving fishing effort descriptors: Modelling engine power and gear-size relations of five European trawl fleets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eigaard, Ole Ritzau; Rihan, Dominic; Graham, Norman

2011-01-01

Based on information from an international inventory of gears currently deployed by trawlers in five European countries, the relationship between vessel engine power and trawl size is quantified for different trawl types, trawling techniques and target species. Using multiplicative modelling it i...

Promoting investments in combined heat and power production in East-European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Oostvoom, F.; Van Harmelen, T.

1992-01-01

The study concerns the evaluation of the potential of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) locations, both in industry and district heating with a heat demand of at least 20 GJ/h or ca. 1 MWe capacity. In fact 58 Hungarian locations were analyzed on scope and profitability for investment in CHP, using financial accounting models and criteria such as Internal Rate of Return and Pay-back Period. Due to the already existing favourable infrastructure in East European countries the present expectations in Hungary about the CHP capacity to be developed in the future are very optimistic (1300 up till 2000 MWe in the year 2000). Clearly there exist an overoptimism concerning the possibilities of increasing the energy efficiency in former East-European countries by investment in cogeneration. A more financially and economic attractive way for efficiency improvements is promoting energy saving in these countries and thus avoiding investments in supply technologies. 6 refs

Concentrated Solar Power as part of the European energy supply. The realization of large-scale solar power plants. Options, constraints and recommendations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouwmans, I.; Carton, L.J.; Dijkema, G.P.J.; Stikkelman, R.M.; De Vries, L.J.

2006-01-01

Next to solar cells and solar collectors for decentralized power generation Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology is available and proven for large-scale application of solar energy. However, after 20 years of demonstration projects and semi-commercial installations, CSP is still not widely used. In this quick-scan an overview is given of strong and weak points of CSP, as well as its' options and constraints with regard to a sustainable energy supply, focusing on technical, economical and administrative constraints and chances in Europe and European Union member states [nl

Main Characteristics of Nuclear Power Plants in the European Union and Candidate Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lillington, J.N.; Turland, B.D.; Haste, T.J.; Seiler, J.M.; Tapia, J.; Carretero, A.; Perez, T.; Geutges, A.; Sehgal, B.R.; Mattila, L.; Holmstrom, H.; Karwat, H.; Maroti, L.; Husarcek, J.

2001-10-01

The main objective was to advise the EC on future challenges and opportunities in terms of enhanced co-operation in the area of nuclear safety and harmonization of safety requirements and practices in an enlarged European Union Part of this activity was to provide a summary of the plant characteristics of the operating civil nuclear power plants in the EU Member and Candidate Countries. The present report provides these data in three formats: A reference table which lists the main characteristics of nuclear power-producing reactors operating in the European Union (EU) and Candidate Countries, as at 31 December 1999. Also included, for the sake of completeness, are data for reactors in the former Soviet Union, such as Russia and the Ukraine. The format adopted follows that in the annual International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reference data report ''Nuclear Power Reactors of the World'', from which much of the information was taken; A summary table indicating totals by reactor type covering Western and Eastern Europe separately, again from IAEA sources, giving number of plant, total generating capacity and total years in operation. A list of the abbreviations for different reactor types is also provided; A set of detailed data sheets giving main plant characteristics for different reactor types ordered by country. These data sheets cover reactors in EU Member and Candidate Countries only. Details are provided on the origin of the data where these are available, so that further information may be obtained if desired and where permitted by commercial and/or proprietary considerations. (author)

Power plants 2010. Lectures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

The proceedings include the following lectures: Facing the challenges - new structures for electricity production. Renewable energies in Europe - chances and challenges. Nuclear outlook in the UK. Sustainable energy for Europe. Requirements of the market and the grid operator at the electricity production companies. Perspectives for the future energy production. Pumped storage plants - status and perspectives. Nuclear power/renewable energies -partners or opponents? New fossil fired power stations in Europe - status and perspectives. Nuclear energy: outlook for new build and lifetime extension in Europe. Biomass in the future European energy market - experiences for dong energy. Meeting the EU 20:20 renewable energy targets: the offshore challenges. DESERTEC: sustainable electricity for Europe, Middle East and North Africa. New power plants in Europe - a challenge for project and quality management. Consideration of safely in new build activities of power plants. Challenges to an integrated development in Maasvlakte, Netherlands. Power enhancement in EnBW power plants. Operational experiences of CCS pilot plants worldwide. Two years of operational experiences with Vattenfall's oxyfuel pilot plant. Pre-conditions for CCS. Storage technologies for a volatile generation. Overview: new generation of gas turbines.

The carbon budget of the North Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thomas, H.; Bozec, Y.; Baar, H.J.W. de; Elkalay, K.; Frankignoulle, M.; Schiettecatte, L.-S.; Kattner, G.; Borges, A.V.; Gattuso, J.-P.

2005-01-01

A carbon budget has been established for the North Sea, a shelf sea on the NW European continental shelf. The carbon exchange fluxes with the North Atlantic Ocean dominate the gross carbon budget. The net carbon budget – more relevant to the issue of the contribution of the coastal ocean to the

Pipelines to power South East Asia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scholes, W

1994-07-01

European, North American and Australian pipeline companies are busy building pipelines to transport natural gas to power stations throughout South East Asia. Many countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, have economies expanding at more than eight percent a year. Cambodia and Laos are awaiting energy development. Myanmar will not only benefit from the global economic expansion but from the flourishing economies of nearby Thailand and Malaysia which are now investing in neighbouring countries, while their national petroleum companies are starting to operate worldwide. It is the ever expanding rush of industrialisation, urbanisation and the move to raise living standards throughout the region that is accelerating the need for more power stations, both gas and coal-fired, throughout South East Asia. (author)

Pipelines to power South East Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scholes, W.

1994-01-01

European, North American and Australian pipeline companies are busy building pipelines to transport natural gas to power stations throughout South East Asia. Many countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, have economies expanding at more than eight percent a year. Cambodia and Laos are awaiting energy development. Myanmar will not only benefit from the global economic expansion but from the flourishing economies of nearby Thailand and Malaysia which are now investing in neighbouring countries, while their national petroleum companies are starting to operate worldwide. It is the ever expanding rush of industrialisation, urbanisation and the move to raise living standards throughout the region that is accelerating the need for more power stations, both gas and coal-fired, throughout South East Asia. (author)

Trading in the rain. Rainfall and European power sector emissions. Research note no. 9

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Analysts often say that temperature and rainfall have an impact on the price of CO 2 , as they influence the conditions of electric power supply and demand. Rainfall mainly affects the capacity of hydropower production, the third largest source of electricity in Europe and by far the leading source of renewable energy. The variability of hydroelectric volumes is indeed usually offset by other, higher-emitting sources of electricity, which has repercussions on the European allowances trading market. In 2005, rainfall was unusually low in several European countries: in the Iberian peninsula and in France, drought is believed to have brought about a rise of approximately 15 Mt CO 2 in power sector emissions. In contrast, hydrological conditions were particularly good in the Nordic countries, allowing them to reduce CO 2 emissions in the region as a whole through hydropower-based exports. The additional allowances demand would therefore have been 'only' about 9 Mt CO 2 . To make the interaction with the CO 2 market easier to understand, an indicator of rainfall in Europe must include this compensating phenomenon resulting from the heterogeneity of the climatic conditions and volumes produced in Europe

The European Commission: nuclear power has an important role to play; Commission Europeenne: le nucleaire a un role important a jouer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon

2008-11-15

The European Commission (E.C.) thinks that nuclear power has an important role to play: first to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions and secondly to reinforce energy self-reliance of the member states. The decision to introduce nuclear power in their energy mix belongs to every state but the E.C. has also highlighted that if adequate investment are quickly made 2 thirds of the electricity produced in the European Union in 2010 could by from low-carbon-emitting sources. Today with 148 reactors operating in 15 member countries nuclear power contributes to 1 third of the electricity produced. Another issue that is looming is the security of electricity supplying. A study has shown that the security level is worsening (particularly in winter) because of the greater part of wind energy in the energy mix as wind energy is not necessarily available when energy demand is peaking. The E.C. has proposed a new directive drawing a common standard frame for nuclear safety requirements concerning design, site selection, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Each member state will have the choice to implement stiffer regulations. The European Union must reduce its dependency on Russian gas by increasing its storing capacities, by easing gas exchanges between member states and by importing more liquefied natural gas. European member states will have to invert 1000*10{sup 9} euros in gas and electrical power infrastructures in the next 25 years. (A.C.)

The European Union and Iranian Nuclear Power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drevet, Jean-Francois

2015-01-01

On 14 July 2015, after 12 years of repeated crises around the nuclear issue and the ambitions of Iran in that regard, an agreement was finally signed between Tehran and the members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. Restriction on the enrichment of uranium and the production of plutonium, a strengthening of the inspection regime, the lifting of sanctions against Iran from 2016 onwards, maintaining the arms embargo - these are, broadly speaking, the outlines of this agreement. It will become clear over time how it is to be applied. Above and beyond these aspects, it is probably in the negotiation process that led to the agreement that the greatest lessons are to be learned, at least for the European Union. After reminding us of the context and the role played by economic and financial sanctions, Jean-Francois Drevet goes more precisely into the analysis of the new role the Union has assumed in this diplomatic territory, showing the extent to which 'soft power', as seen in this negotiation, could apply to other conflicts, beginning with those in the Middle East. (author)

Kilometric Scale Modeling of the North West European Shelf Seas: Exploring the Spatial and Temporal Variability of Internal Tides

Science.gov (United States)

Guihou, K.; Polton, J.; Harle, J.; Wakelin, S.; O'Dea, E.; Holt, J.

2018-01-01

The North West European Shelf break acts as a barrier to the transport and exchange between the open ocean and the shelf seas. The strong spatial variability of these exchange processes is hard to fully explore using observations, and simulations generally are too coarse to simulate the fine-scale processes over the whole region. In this context, under the FASTNEt program, a new NEMO configuration of the North West European Shelf and Atlantic Margin at 1/60° (˜1.8 km) has been developed, with the objective to better understand and quantify the seasonal and interannual variability of shelf break processes. The capability of this configuration to reproduce the seasonal cycle in SST, the barotropic tide, and fine-resolution temperature profiles is assessed against a basin-scale (1/12°, ˜9 km) configuration and a standard regional configuration (7 km resolution). The seasonal cycle is well reproduced in all configurations though the fine-resolution allows the simulation of smaller scale processes. Time series of temperature at various locations on the shelf show the presence of internal waves with a strong spatiotemporal variability. Spectral analysis of the internal waves reveals peaks at the diurnal, semidiurnal, inertial, and quarter-diurnal bands, which are only realistically reproduced in the new configuration. Tidally induced pycnocline variability is diagnosed in the model and shown to vary with the spring neap cycle with mean displacement amplitudes in excess of 2 m for 30% of the stratified domain. With sufficiently fine resolution, internal tides are shown to be generated at numerous bathymetric features resulting in a complex pycnocline displacement superposition pattern.

Perspectives of new fossil-fuelled power plants with CO2 capture in the liberalised European electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kober, Tom

2014-01-01

Against the background of an increasing importance of climate change mitigation and the liberalization of the European energy supply this study assesses the perspectives of power plants with Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS power plants represent one option to reduce CO 2 emissions of fossil energy based electricity production significantly. In this study the deployment of CCS power plants is investigated for the European electricity market until 2050 taking different energy and climate policy framework conditions into consideration. By applying an integrated model-based approach, structural changes of the whole energy system are incorporated, including their implications on costs and emissions. The study addresses uncertainties concerning future CCS power plant invest costs and efficiencies explicitly, and analyses the effects of changes of these parameters with respect to the perspectives of CCS power plants in Europe. Thereby, interdependencies on horizontal level related to competition of different technologies within the electricity sector are examined, but also vertical interdependencies resulting from effects between the upstream and energy demand sectors. In order to reflect the heterogeneity among the national energy systems in Europe, country specific particularities on technical aspects and energy policy are taken into account, such as potentials and costs of CO 2 storage, and national regulations on the use of nuclear power and renewable energy. The results of the analysis reveal a strong influence of the stringency of the EU greenhouse gas reduction target and the policy on the use of nuclear energy on the perspectives of CCS power plants in the European electricity market. Comparing the influence of different policy frameworks analysed in this study with the influences of the variation of the technical and economic CCS power plant parameters shows, that uncertainties concerning energy policy measures can have a stronger influence on the

Trends on nuclear power generation and industry in European and American nations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokai, Kunihiro

2001-01-01

In European and American nations, competitive principle was also recently introduced to electric industry allowed its local exclusion as a public business before today by liberalization of electric power market due to regulative relaxation, and then the existing electric power companies are now under serious competition with the other companies, of course with IPP which is its new comer. And, as nuclear power generation has already established there its position for an important source essential for electric power supply, by liberalization of electric power economy has also been severely required to the nuclear power generation. Then, the electric power companies intend to carry out cost-down by various means such as contraction of periodical inspection, and so on. Especially, in U.S.A., not only rationalization effort at a pace of every company but also various cost-down procedures ranging to reorganization of business such as purchase of other company power station, establishment of operation company integrally carrying out operation management of some companies, and so on, As a result, the nuclear power generation has come to obtain an evaluation to be an electric source sufficiently capable of competing with the other sources even at competitive market. On the other hand, its new construction continues at difficult condition. By adding to traditional objection against nuclear energy, in general, by recently entering of environmental protection party to the regime in some nations of western Europe, political environment around nuclear energy becomes unstable. And, liberalization of electric power also forms an investment environment advantageous for natural gas burning thermal power plants capable of carrying out short term capital recovery, in general. Therefore, the electric companies tend strongly to correspond to rather life elongation of the present plant than new plan construction. (G.K.)

Challenges facing the European power transmission tariffs: The case of inter-TSO compensation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoilov, Dimo; Dimitrov, Yulian; Francois, Bruno

2011-01-01

This article draws attention to problems important for all EU power consumers-the unfairness in individual payments for power transmission and in the cross-border subsidy element in the mechanism of Inter-Transmission System Operators (TSO) Compensation (ITC). A brief review of power transmission tariffs brings out the structure of the problems. A short retrospection explains their growth. The essence of the ITC mechanism is explained and existing shortcomings are illustrated. The deficiencies of existing regulations for transmission pricing are analyzed. In the light of this analysis, the ITC problem is reconsidered and defined more precisely. The basic prerequisites to an ITC reformulation process are presented. The main principles of a new simple, transparent and equitable approach are suggested, in accordance with the contemporary legal positions and functions of the TSOs. - Highlights: → Investigations in the mechanism known as Inter-TSO Compensation (ITC). → Deficiencies in European regulations for cross-border power transmission payments. → Main principles of a new approach avoiding the existing cross-subsidies. → Appeal for reconsideration and a more precise definition of the ITC problem. → Public welfare enhancement by fairness in payment for power transmission.

Invariance of Parent Ratings of the ADHD Symptoms in Australian and Malaysian, and North European Australian and Malay Malaysia Children: A Mean and Covariance Structures Analysis Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez, Rapson

2009-01-01

Objective: This study used the mean and covariance structures analysis approach to examine the equality or invariance of ratings of the 18 ADHD symptoms. Method: 783 Australian and 928 Malaysian parents provided ratings for an ADHD rating scale. Invariance was tested across these groups (Comparison 1), and North European Australian (n = 623) and…

The Faroe Islands: Independence dreams, globalist separatism and the Europeanization of postcolonial home rule

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adler-Nissen, Rebecca

2014-01-01

This article examines the intersection of postimperial sovereignty and European integration in the context of a disintegrating Nordic empire. More specifically, it explores the relationships between the Faroe Islands – a group of self-governing islands in the North Atlantic – Denmark and the rest......, globalization and postcolonial dependency. The article shows that the Faroese–Danish relationship is being internationalized and Europeanized as the EU and UN become reference points in negotiations of political visions for an independent Faroese state and the controversial issue of pilot whaling....... Notwithstanding dramatic transformations, the Faroese–Danish relationship has maintained its postcolonial character, where Denmark is awkwardly constituted as a maternalistic colonial power defending an adolescent colonized from the rest of the world. The real novelty is not the increased Faroese autonomy from...

The European power plant infrastructure-Presentation of the Chalmers energy infrastructure database with applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kjaerstad, Jan; Johnsson, Filip

2007-01-01

This paper presents a newly established database of the European power plant infrastructure (power plants, fuel infrastructure, fuel resources and CO 2 storage options) for the EU25 member states (MS) and applies the database in a general discussion of the European power plant and natural gas infrastructure as well as in a simple simulation analysis of British and German power generation up to the year 2050 with respect to phase-out of existing generation capacity, fuel mix and fuel dependency. The results are discussed with respect to age structure of the current production plants, CO 2 emissions, natural gas dependency and CO 2 capture and storage (CCS) under stringent CO 2 emission constraints. The analysis of the information from the power plant database, which includes planned projects, shows large variations in power plant infrastructure between the MS and a clear shift to natural gas-fuelled power plants during the last decade. The data indicates that this shift may continue in the short-term up to 2010 since the majority of planned plants are natural gas fired. The gas plants are, however, geographically concentrated to southern and northwest Europe. The data also shows large activities in the upstream gas sector to accommodate the ongoing shift to gas with pipelines, liquefaction plants and regasification terminals being built and gas fields being prepared for production. At the same time, utilities are integrating upwards in the fuel chain in order to secure supply while oil and gas companies are moving downwards the fuel chain to secure access to markets. However, it is not yet possible to state whether the ongoing shift to natural gas will continue in the medium term, i.e. after 2010, since this will depend on a number of factors as specified below. Recently there have also been announcements for construction of a number of new coal plants. The results of the simulations for the German and British power sector show that combination of a relatively low

European concerted action on offshore wind energy deployment: inventory and analysis of power transmission barriers in eight member states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woyte, Achim; Gardner, Paul; Snodin, Helen

2007-01-01

The European Concerted Action for Offshore Wind Energy Deployment (COD) was carried out by eight sea-bordering European Union member states, with the objective to remove not explicitly technical barriers to offshore wind energy. Within the COD, an inventory of relevant aspects affecting the grid integration of offshore wind energy on a large scale in the eight countries has been made. Collected data items for this inventory are national plans and prospects for offshore wind energy, information about the transmission system, possibilities for grid connection, aspects of the grid codes, balancing, connection and energy pricing. The comprehensive COD reports were published and presented in October 2005 during the Copenhagen Offshore wind conference. This paper provides a short description of the situation for each country. Thereafter, country-specific information is grouped based on geography and membership in a synchronous zone. Additionally, a view is developed on the desirable facilities for the trans-European exchange of power from large wind farms. Finally, we elaborate overall conclusions in order to arrive at generalized observations, recommendations for policy makers and issues that will emerge in the near future. As a general conclusion, many things need to be done on a technical level in order to integrate large amounts of offshore wind power into our power systems. However, none of these measures is technically unknown. Therefore, the feasibility of integrating large amounts of offshore wind power is mainly a question of finance and hence based on political decisions. (Author)

The European Commission in the power relations of the European Union after the 2004–07 enlargement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekaterina Ostrovskaya

2014-05-01

Full Text Available pplying a comparative perspective, this article argues that the current crisis of European Union integration cannot be resolved by member states either transferring additional competences to the EU level or strengthening the intergovernmental dimension of integration. The systemic character of the ongoing process is weakening the institutional structure, which affects both the institutions and their power relations. The European Commission (EC, once a highly independent supranational actor on the eve of the integration process in the 1950s, now faces growing competition from intergovernmental elements in the institutional balance. The theoretical approach of historical neo-institutionalism offers new, useful insights into this research area. The articles uses this theory to analyze the EC’s evolution since the time of its creation in the form of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community, focusing on the links between the gradual changes in its internal structure and its institutional position. Although the phenomenon of “path dependence” was initially present in the EC’s internal systems, the later development of its competences in the institutional balance provoked member states to limit the commission’s activities in the second half of the 1960s. First attempts were made mainly by appointing weak presidents, but the later reform of the EC’s internal structure, undertaken by Neil Kinnock in the beginning of the 21st centry, directed its further structural development as a more technocratic institution. Consequently, the EC was not able to pursue its aims effectively in preparing for its enlargement to include Central and Eastern Europe. The increased heterogeneity of the member states after the 2004–07 enlargement also weakened the EC’s position in the institutional balance, diminishing its traditional function as the “engine of integration.”

Spatial patterns of North Atlantic Oscillation influence on mass balance variability of European glaciers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Marzeion

2012-06-01

Full Text Available We present and validate a set of minimal models of glacier mass balance variability. The most skillful model is then applied to reconstruct 7735 individual time series of mass balance variability for all glaciers in the European Alps and Scandinavia. Subsequently, we investigate the influence of atmospheric variability associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO on the glaciers' mass balances.

We find a spatial coherence in the glaciers' sensitivity to NAO forcing which is caused by regionally similar mechanisms relating the NAO forcing to the mass balance: in southwestern Scandinavia, winter precipitation causes a correlation of mass balances with the NAO. In northern Scandinavia, temperature anomalies outside the core winter season cause an anti-correlation between NAO and mass balances. In the western Alps, both temperature and winter precipitation anomalies lead to a weak anti-correlation of mass balances with the NAO, while in the eastern Alps, the influences of winter precipitation and temperature anomalies tend to cancel each other, and only on the southern side a slight anti-correlation of mass balances with the NAO prevails.

Gender-based power and couples' HIV risk in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, north India.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Alpna; Bloom, Shelah S; Suchindran, Chirayath; Curtis, Siân; Angeles, Gustavo

2014-12-01

Gender inequality is a long-recognized driver of the HIV epidemic. However, few studies have investigated the association between gender-based power and HIV risk in India, which has the world's third largest HIV epidemic. Population-based data collected in 2003 from 3,385 couples residing in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, North India, were used to examine associations between gender-based power (wife's autonomy and husband's inequitable gender attitudes) and indicators of couples' HIV risk (whether the husband had had premarital sex with someone other than his eventual spouse, extramarital sex in the past year or STI symptoms in the past year). Structural equation modeling was used to create composite variables for the gender-based power measures and test their associations with HIV risk measures. Twenty-four percent of husbands had had premarital sex, 7% had had extramarital sex in the past year and 6% had had STI symptoms in the past year. Structural equation models indicated that wives who reported higher levels of autonomy were less likely than other wives to have husbands who had had extramarital sex in the past year (direct association) or STI symptoms in the past year (indirect association). Moreover, husbands who endorsed more inequitable gender attitudes were more likely than others to report having had premarital sex with someone other than their spouse, which in turn was associated with having had extramarital sex and STI symptoms in the past year. If the associations identified in this study reflect a causal relationship between gender-based power and HIV risk behavior, then HIV prevention programs that successfully address inequitable gender roles may reduce HIV risks in North India.

Cob biomass supply for combined heat and power and biofuel in the north central USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmer, Marty R.; Dose, Heather L.

2014-01-01

Corn (Zea mays L.) cobs are being evaluated as a potential bioenergy feedstock for combined heat and power generation (CHP) and conversion into a biofuel. The objective of this study was to determine corn cob availability in north central United States (Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota) using existing corn grain ethanol plants as a proxy for possible future co-located cellulosic ethanol plants. Cob production estimates averaged 6.04 Tg and 8.87 Tg using a 40 km radius area and 80 km radius area, respectively, from existing corn grain ethanol plants. The use of CHP from cobs reduces overall GHG emissions by 60%–65% from existing dry mill ethanol plants. An integrated biorefinery further reduces corn grain ethanol GHG emissions with estimated ranges from 13.9 g CO 2  equiv MJ −1 to 17.4 g CO 2  equiv MJ −1 . Significant radius area overlap (53% overlap for 40 km radius and 86% overlap for 80 km radius) exists for cob availability between current corn grain ethanol plants in this region suggesting possible cob supply constraints for a mature biofuel industry. A multi-feedstock approach will likely be required to meet multiple end user renewable energy requirements for the north central United States. Economic and feedstock logistics models need to account for possible supply constraints under a mature biofuel industry. - Highlights: • Corn cob biomass was estimated for the north central United States region. • Cobs were evaluated for combined heat and power generation and bioethanol. • Co-located ethanol plants showed a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. • Biomass supply constraints may occur under a mature cellulosic ethanol scenario

European sail tower SPS [Solar Power Satellite] concept

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seboldt, W.; Leipold, M.; Hanowski, N. [Institute of Space Sensor Technology and Planetary Exploration, Cologne (Germany). German Aerospace Center; Klimke, M. [HOPE Worldwide Deutschland, Berlin (Germany)

2001-06-01

Based on a DLR-study in 1998/99 on behalf of ESA/ESTEC called ''System Concepts, Architectures and Technologies for Space Exploration and Utilization (SE and U)'' a new design for an Earth-orbiting Solar Power Satellite (SPS) has been developed. The design is called ''European Sail Tower SPS'' and consists mainly of deplorable sail-like structures derived from the ongoing DLR/ESA solar sail technology development activity. Such an SPS satellite features an extremely light-weight and large tower-like orbital system and could supply Europe with significant amounts of electrical power generated by photovoltaic cells and subsequently transmitted to earth via microwaves. In order to build up the sail tower, 60 units - each consisting of a pair of square-shaped sails - are moved from LEO to GEO with electric propulsion and successively assembled in GEO robotically on a central strut. Each single sail has dimensions of 150 m x 150 m and is automatically deployed, using four diagonal lightweight carbon fiber (CFRP) booms which are initially rolled up on a central hub. The electric thrusters for the transport to GEO could also be used for orbit and attitude control of the assembled tower which has a total length of about 15 km and would be mainly gravity gradient stabilized. Employing thin film solar cell technology, each sail is used as a solar array and produces an electric power in orbit of about 3.7 MW{sub e}. A microwave antenna with a diameter of 1 km transmits the power to a 10 km rectenna on the ground. The total mass of this 450 MW SPS is about 2100 tons. First estimates indicate that the costs for one kWh delivered in this way could compete with present day energy costs, if launch costs would decrease by two orders of magnitude. Furthermore, mass production and large numbers of installed SPS systems must be assumed in order to lower significantly the production costs and to reduce the influence of the expensive technology

Heading south or north: novel insights on European silver eel Anguilla anguilla migration in the North Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huisman, Jeroen; Verhelst, Pieterjan; Verhelst, Pieterjan; Deneudt, K.; Goethals, Peter; Moens, Tom; Nagelkerke, Leopold A.J.; Nolting, Carsten; Reubens, Jan; Schollema, Peter Paul; Winter, Hendrik V.; Mouton, Ans

2016-01-01

The European eel Anguilla anguilla L. is a critically endangered fish species that migrates from coastal and freshwater habitats to the Sargasso Sea to spawn. However, the exact migration routes and destination of European eel are still unknown. We are the first to observe southward migrating

Nova Scotia Power : in-stream tidal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meade, K.

2007-01-01

The Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Power and others have funded a feasibility study of North American sites for commercial instream tidal power. In July 2007, Nova Scotia Power received partial funding for a demonstration project. This presentation provided information on a demonstration plant for tidal power run by Nova Scotia Power. It discussed the benefits of the Open Hydro technology for this plant. In this simple design, the generator is on the circumference of the turbine. The design does not involve any power transmission systems or any pitching of blades. In addition, the technology is environmentally sound as it is completely shrouded, has low rotational speed, and a large open centre allows fish to pass through, and it does not require lubricants. The last benefit that was presented was the scale up of 250 kW machine deployed in a European test facility. The presentation also discussed the advantages of developing tidal power at this time. It was concluded that tidal energy has significant potential. Although it is intermittent, it is predictable and bulk power system can be scheduled to accommodate it. figs

Changing response of the North Atlantic/European winter climate to the 11 year solar cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Hedi; Chen, Haishan; Gray, Lesley; Zhou, Liming; Li, Xing; Wang, Ruili; Zhu, Siguang

2018-03-01

Recent studies have presented conflicting results regarding the 11 year solar cycle (SC) influences on winter climate over the North Atlantic/European region. Analyses of only the most recent decades suggest a synchronized North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-like response pattern to the SC. Analyses of long-term climate data sets dating back to the late 19th century, however, suggest a mean sea level pressure (mslp) response that lags the SC by 2-4 years in the southern node of the NAO (i.e. Azores region). To understand the conflicting nature and cause of these time dependencies in the SC surface response, the present study employs a lead/lag multi-linear regression technique with a sliding window of 44 years over the period 1751-2016. Results confirm previous analyses, in which the average response for the whole time period features a statistically significant 2-4 year lagged mslp response centered over the Azores region. Overall, the lagged nature of Azores mslp response is generally consistent in time. Stronger and statistically significant SC signals tend to appear in the periods when the SC forcing amplitudes are relatively larger. Individual month analysis indicates the consistent lagged response in December-January-February average arises primarily from early winter months (i.e. December and January), which has been associated with ocean feedback processes that involve reinforcement by anomalies from the previous winter. Additional analysis suggests that the synchronous NAO-like response in recent decades arises primarily from late winter (February), possibly reflecting a result of strong internal noise.

Time-zero efficiency of European power derivatives markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peña, Juan Ignacio; Rodriguez, Rosa

2016-01-01

We study time-zero efficiency of electricity derivatives markets. By time-zero efficiency is meant a sequence of prices of derivatives contracts having the same underlying asset but different times to maturity which implies that prices comply with a set of efficiency conditions that prevent profitable time-zero arbitrage opportunities. We investigate whether statistical tests, based on the law of one price, and trading rules, based on price differentials and no-arbitrage violations, are useful for assessing time-zero efficiency. We apply tests and trading rules to daily data of three European power markets: Germany, France and Spain. In the case of the German market, after considering liquidity availability and transaction costs, results are not inconsistent with time-zero efficiency. However, in the case of the French and Spanish markets, limitations in liquidity and representativeness are challenges that prevent definite conclusions. Liquidity in French and Spanish markets should improve by using pricing and marketing incentives. These incentives should attract more participants into the electricity derivatives exchanges and should encourage them to settle OTC trades in clearinghouses. Publication of statistics on prices, volumes and open interest per type of participant should be promoted. - Highlights: •We test time-zero efficiency of derivatives power markets in Germany, France and Spain. •Prices in Germany, considering liquidity and transaction costs, are time-zero efficient. •In France and Spain, limitations in liquidity and representativeness prevent conclusions. •Liquidity in France and Spain should improve by using pricing and marketing incentives. •Incentives attract participants to exchanges and encourage them to settle OTC trades in clearinghouses.

Global radioxenon emission inventory based on nuclear power reactor reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalinowski, Martin B; Tuma, Matthias P

2009-01-01

Atmospheric radioactivity is monitored for the verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, with xenon isotopes 131mXe, 133Xe, 133mXe and 135Xe serving as important indicators of nuclear explosions. The treaty-relevant interpretation of atmospheric concentrations of radioxenon is enhanced by quantifying radioxenon emissions released from civilian facilities. This paper presents the first global radioxenon emission inventory for nuclear power plants, based on North American and European emission reports for the years 1995-2005. Estimations were made for all power plant sites for which emission data were unavailable. According to this inventory, a total of 1.3PBq of radioxenon isotopes are released by nuclear power plants as continuous or pulsed emissions in a generic year.

Nuclear power use backed by EURATOM law. European Court of Justice ruling points the way ahead in cross-border litigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider, Horst

2010-01-01

The Europeanization of nuclear safety has become highly evident with the adoption of the EURATOM Safety Directive of June 25, 2009. It will remain in the focus of public attention because its transposition into national law is to be completed by July 22, 2011. The subject of nuclear safety is treated also by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The Court's rulings may even set the courses of events. It is not only EURATOM rules and regulations and secondary European law in the format of directives which are up for review, but also more extensive principles of European law. The main sources of dispute are the different nuclear energy policies and non-uniform safety regulations of member states. Cross-border events again and again trigger such disputes. One such constellation constitutes the background to the latest ECJ ruling of October 27, 2009 about nuclear safety and radiation protection. Action before an Austrian court was brought against a nuclear power plant situated in the Czech Republic and licensed by Czech authorities. Cessation of emissions of hazardous ionizing radiation by that plant and, thus, ultimately shutdown of that plant were demanded. The special feature of the case is the fact that the action was filed with an Austrian (civil) court and heard there. As the ECJ had commented in 2006 on a procedural question before legal proceedings were started, the issue at stake now was the right to bring action out of Austria against the nuclear power plant licensed in the Czech Republic. In Austrian law, there is no such right of cessation with respect to plants licensed in Austria, but only a right to claim damages. Against this background some thoughts are expressed about, and forecasts attempted of, European nuclear and radiation protection law. In this assessment, the difficult, multifaceted issues of European law rank second to the explanations of practical consequences for the development of nuclear power in EU member states. (orig.)

Exploring the potential impact of implementing carbon capture technologies in fossil fuel power plants on regional European water stress index levels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schakel, W.B.; Pfister, Stephan; Ramirez, C.A.

Equipping power plants with carbon capture technology can affect cooling demand and water use. This study has explored the potential impact of large scale deployment of power plants with carbon capture technologies on future regional water stress in Europe. A database including 458 of European

THESEUS - the first utility-scale 50 MWe. THErmal Solar EUropean power Station for the island of Crete, Greece

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cobi, A. [PreussenElektra AG, Hannover (Germany); Tzatzanis, A.

1997-12-31

When the European Commission`s Directorate for Energy (DG XVII) opened the second application window for THERMIE proposals under the Fourth Framework Programme on September 15, 1995, Europe`s solar thermal power community discovered a remarkable modification to the previous call for proposals. For the first time since solar thermal electricity was introduced for THERMIE demonstration projects, it now became eligible for EU financial support. Right now, the European Commission committed funding for the design and engineering phase of the THESEUS project implementation. (orig.)

A cryptic mitochondrial DNA link between North European and West African dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Adeola, Adeniyi C; Ommeh, Sheila C; Song, Jiao-Jiao; Olaogun, S Charles; Sanke, Oscar J; Yin, Ting-Ting; Wang, Guo-Dong; Wu, Shi-Fang; Zhou, Zhong-Yin; Lichoti, Jacqueline K; Agwanda, Bernard R; Dawuda, Philip M; Murphy, Robert W; Peng, Min-Sheng; Zhang, Ya-Ping

2017-03-20

Domestic dogs have an ancient origin and a long history in Africa. Nevertheless, the timing and sources of their introduction into Africa remain enigmatic. Herein, we analyse variation in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequences from 345 Nigerian and 37 Kenyan village dogs plus 1530 published sequences of dogs from other parts of Africa, Europe and West Asia. All Kenyan dogs can be assigned to one of three haplogroups (matrilines; clades): A, B, and C, while Nigerian dogs can be assigned to one of four haplogroups A, B, C, and D. None of the African dogs exhibits a matrilineal contribution from the African wolf (Canis lupus lupaster). The genetic signal of a recent demographic expansion is detected in Nigerian dogs from West Africa. The analyses of mitochondrial genomes reveal a maternal genetic link between modern West African and North European dogs indicated by sub-haplogroup D1 (but not the entire haplogroup D) coalescing around 12,000 years ago. Incorporating molecular anthropological evidence, we propose that sub-haplogroup D1 in West African dogs could be traced back to the late-glacial dispersals, potentially associated with human hunter-gatherer migration from southwestern Europe. Copyright © 2016 Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Genetics Society of China. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increasing power and taking a lead - What are practitioners really doing? Empirical evidence from European communications managers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moreno, Á.; Verhoeven, P.; Tench, R.; Zerfass, A.

2014-01-01

The aims of the paper and presented research are to monitor trends in communication management and to evaluate specific topics that include decision-making style, leadership style, role enactment and the power of communication departments in Europe. This paper is based on data from the European

Neutron activation analysis of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century European blue glass trade beads from the eastern Great Lakes area of North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hancock, R.G.V.; Chafe, A.; Kenyon, I.

1994-01-01

Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century European blue glass trade beads from aboriginal sites in the eastern Great Lakes area of North America have been analysed non-destructively using low neutron dose instrumental neutron activation analysis, so that the beads could be returned to their keepers. Dark blue (cobalt-coloured) beads are readily separable from turquoise (copper-coloured) beads. Differences in the chemistries of the turquoise blue beads appear to be useful in separating glass beads from the two centuries. Low calcium, sixteenth-century turquoise beads tend to disintegrate by a leaching of the alkali metals. (Author)

Solar power potential of North-east India - A case study for Silchar

Science.gov (United States)

Maisanam, Anil; Biswas, Agnimitra; Sharma, Kaushal Kumar

2018-04-01

High energy demand has necessitated search for all possible sources of energy. Conventional energy source is having negative impact on our environment, therefore our attention is focused on renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, which are considered to be clean and sustainable energy sources. India has set an ambitious target of producing 175 GW of energy using solar energy. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the solar potential to observe the feasibility of such project. North-east India is an underdeveloped region of India and due to its geographical location and difficult terrain, many regions are still not electrified. Such regions can be electrified by installing renewable energy based power plants, which can also generate number of jobs hence improving the quality of life and economic condition of the region. The objective of this paper is to estimate the solar power potential of Silchar (Assam, India) and perform a feasibility study for installation of solar-based power plant in the region. In this paper, solar radiation on tilted surface is estimated by using an anisotropic sky model. This radiation data has been used to estimate the PV power output. Finally, feasibility of the PV plant has been verified by mapping with a practical load demand.

High-resolution modeling of the western North American power system demonstrates low-cost and low-carbon futures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, James; Johnston, Josiah; Mileva, Ana; Fripp, Matthias; Hoffman, Ian; Petros-Good, Autumn; Blanco, Christian; Kammen, Daniel M.

2012-01-01

Decarbonizing electricity production is central to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Exploiting intermittent renewable energy resources demands power system planning models with high temporal and spatial resolution. We use a mixed-integer linear programming model – SWITCH – to analyze least-cost generation, storage, and transmission capacity expansion for western North America under various policy and cost scenarios. Current renewable portfolio standards are shown to be insufficient to meet emission reduction targets by 2030 without new policy. With stronger carbon policy consistent with a 450 ppm climate stabilization scenario, power sector emissions can be reduced to 54% of 1990 levels by 2030 using different portfolios of existing generation technologies. Under a range of resource cost scenarios, most coal power plants would be replaced by solar, wind, gas, and/or nuclear generation, with intermittent renewable sources providing at least 17% and as much as 29% of total power by 2030. The carbon price to induce these deep carbon emission reductions is high, but, assuming carbon price revenues are reinvested in the power sector, the cost of power is found to increase by at most 20% relative to business-as-usual projections. - Highlights: ► Intermittent generation necessitates high-resolution electric power system models. ► We apply the SWITCH planning model to the western North American grid. ► We explore carbon policy and resource cost scenarios through 2030. ► As the carbon price rises, coal generation is replaced with solar, wind, gas and/or nuclear generation ► A 450 ppm climate stabilization target can be met at a 20% or lower cost increase.

Financing Trans-European Energy Infrastructures - Past, Present and Perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirschhausen, Christian von

2011-01-01

The transformation of the European energy system towards a low carbon industry requires substantial investment and financing. According to the Energy Infrastructure Package (EIP), around one trillion euros must be invested in the European energy system until 2020. Out of the euro 200 billion required investment for transmission networks, only half of the capital will be provided by markets. This leaves a financial gap of ca. euro 100 bn. and poses a question on the EU role in financing European energy infrastructures. This policy paper by Christian Von Hirschhausen focuses on the future financing of trans-European energy infrastructures. After providing an overview of the long-term infrastructure needs and of the various instruments that currently exist to finance these infrastructures, the author discusses various aspects related with the planning and financing of cross border energy infrastructures with the help of a case study: the North Sea Grid Project. On the basis of the North Sea example, he highlights the importance of adopting a regulatory approach balancing European and Member States' interests as well as of streamlining and expanding the EU financial support to sustainable energy infrastructures

Solid radwaste characterization at surry and North Anna Power Stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lippard, D.W.

1987-01-01

This paper describes a characterization of the solid radwaste generated at Virginia Power's North Anna and Surry power stations. The primary focus of this characterization was dry active waste (DAW). The characterization, covering the 21-month period from January 1985 through September 1986, was based on information in the station's health physics procurement records, radwaste shipping records, and from interviews with station personnel. The procurement records were the principal source of information for DAW. They were reviewed to determine the quantities of various materials, purchased during the study period, that were expected to become DAW. This provides an upper limit on the quantity in the waste for several major DAW components and a basis for the total amount of other components in the waste. The approach to characterizing DAW discussed in this paper could be implemented and regularly updated by utilizing a computerized procurement records system. If a use code (i.e., contaminated or noncontaminated) is associated with each stock requisition, a characterization could be performed by a computer run. This approach would help track minimization effort effectiveness and would refine the characterization of DAW considerably

Phytoplankton Distribution in Relation to Environmental Drivers on the North West European Shelf Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

Siemering, Beatrix; Bresnan, Eileen; Painter, Stuart C; Daniels, Chris J; Inall, Mark; Davidson, Keith

2016-01-01

The edge of the North West European Shelf (NWES) is characterised by a steep continental slope and a northward flowing slope current. These topographic/hydrographic features separate oceanic water and shelf water masses hence potentially separate phytoplankton communities. The slope current may facilitate the advective transport of phytoplankton, with mixing at the shelf edge supporting nutrient supply and therefore phytoplankton production. On the west Scottish shelf in particular, little is known about the phytoplankton communities in and around the shelf break and adjacent waters. Hence, to improve our understanding of environmental drivers of phytoplankton communities, biological and environmental data were collected on seven cross-shelf transects across the Malin and Hebridean Shelves during autumn 2014. Density profiles indicated that shelf break and oceanic stations had a 100 m deep mixed surface layer while stations on the shelf were generally well mixed. Analysis of similarity and multidimensional scaling of phytoplankton counts revealed that phytoplankton communities on the shelf were significantly different to those found at the shelf break and at oceanic stations. Shelf stations were dominated by dinoflagellates, with diatoms contributing a maximum of 37% of cells. Shelf break and oceanic stations were also dinoflagellate dominated but displayed a lower species diversity. Significant difference between shelf and shelf break stations suggested that the continental slope limited cross shelf phytoplankton exchange. Northern and southern phytoplankton communities on the shelf were approximately 15% dissimilar while there was no latitudinal gradient for stations along the slope current, suggesting this current provided south to north connectivity. Fitting environmental data to phytoplankton ordination showed a significant relationship between phytoplankton community dissimilarities and nutrient concentrations and light availability on the shelf compared to

Dyslipidemia and reference values for fasting plasma lipid concentrations in Danish/North-European White children and adolescents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Tenna Ruest Haarmark; Lausten-Thomsen, Ulrik; Esmann Fonvig, Cilius

2017-01-01

Background: Dyslipidemia is reported in 27-43% of children and adolescents with overweight/obesity and tracks into adulthood, increasing the risk of cardiovascular morbidity. Cut-off values for fasting plasma lipid concentrations are typically set at fixed levels throughout childhood. The objective...... of this cross-sectional study was to generate fasting plasma lipid references for a Danish/North-European White population-based cohort of children and adolescents, and investigate the prevalence of dyslipidemia in this cohort as well as in a cohort with overweight/obesity. Methods: A population-based cohort...... of 2141 (1275 girls) children and adolescents aged 6-19 (median 11.5) years was recruited from 11 municipalities in Denmark. Additionally, a cohort of children and adolescents of 1421 (774 girls) with overweight/obesity aged 6-19years (median 11.8) was recruited for the study. Height, weight, and fasting...

Perspective of nuclear power policy change and trend of nuclear industry activities from energy policy of European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murakami, Tomoko; Matsuo, Yuji; Nagatomi, Yu

2009-01-01

European countries of nuclear power phase-out have changed to commit to the future of nuclear energy due to the intended low-carbon power, the energy security concerns and the need of replacement reactors as current reactors approach the end of operating lives, as Italian government has passed legislation to build new nuclear power plants. This article described the perspective of nuclear power policy changes in UK, Italy an Sweden and the business trend and the SWOT analysis of related electric utilities (EDF, Enel and Vattenfall) and nuclear industries (Areva NP, Sheffield Forgemasters, ENSA and Studsvik). Policy implications obtained from this analysis were commented for Japanese nuclear industry activities. (T. Tanaka)

Safe ageing management of nuclear power plants: An European synthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grandemange, J.M.

2002-01-01

Ageing of nuclear power plants means evolution of material or equipment properties on one side, and evolution of personnel skill and procedure adequacy on the other side, both of which, after a certain time, may not be compatible with the required safety provisions, or with an economic operation of the plant. Repair or replacement of components, as well as change in service conditions for a better compatibility with component reduced capabilities can be used to mitigate ageing effects. The paper summarises the results of a study conducted in this field with the support of the European Commission. It presents: the synthesis of the work done under international auspices, and in the European context; the comparison of ageing management approaches used in several European countries with international recommendations; the summary of the various potential phenomena and their governing parameters, the methods of in-service ageing identification and possible mitigation methods; illustrative ageing management practices, taking material ageing aspects as examples. Concerning the first topic, the European report identifies 56 OECD and IAEA reports on ageing management issues, 35 being summarised in an appendix to the report. It also identifies numerous European and international studies covering topics of interest to ageing and Plant Life management. ageing management approaches have been considered from the regulatory point of view and from the utilities management point of view. Contributors to the study have identified a general consensus in Europe, with no limited time operating authorisation, the safety being a utility responsibility under continuous surveillance by the regulatory authority. Practical ageing management methods include: periodic safety reviews (PSR), a ten years periodicity being a common practice, completed by continuous ageing management taking into account safety and industrial anticipation needs; the implementation of life-time management programmes

Implementation of aggregation in the North American power industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldman, R.; Williams, G.

1998-01-01

One key to the impact of deregulation being transmitted to residential customers is the successful formation of aggregation groups and their expansion to include different classes of customers with convergent usage interests. This activity currently is being sponsored not only by for-profit brokerage entities, but also by associations of not-for-profit corporations such as hospitals and universities and by countries. The issues presented fall into several categories. (1) Technical rate taking--feasibility of making appropriate arrangements for alternative supply to consumers on a basis which appropriately reflects customer characteristics and also confers benefit on them all; (2) Legal--Compatibility of proposed arrangements with FERC wholesale regulation under Order No. 888 and emerging state regulation under the different restructuring regimes which their state utility commissions are implementing; (3) Marketing/Sociopolitical--Utilization of modern marketing techniques to effect the political consensus which is a precursor of alternative aggregation arrangements; (4) Financing--identification of capital costs; techniques for financing such costs, including monetization of the savings to be realized. The presentation will extrapolate the potential future significance of aggregation as a force in both restructuring and the development of merchant power projects. It will also assess the extent to which institutional, legal, technical or financial factors may modify the ultimate significance of aggression in the North American Power Industry

The European fossil-fuelled power station database used in the SEI CASM model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, P.

1996-01-01

The database contains details of power stations in Europe that burn fossil-fuels. All countries are covered from Ireland to the European region of Russia as far as the Urals. The following data are given for each station: Location (country and EMEP square), capacity (net MW e and boiler size), year of commissioning, and fuels burnt. A listing of the database is included in the report. The database is primarily used for estimation of emissions and abatement costs of sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the SEI acid rain model CASM. 24 refs, tabs

The European fossil-fuelled power station database used in the SEI CASM model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bailey, P. [comp.] [Stockholm Environment Inst. at York (United Kingdom)

1996-06-01

The database contains details of power stations in Europe that burn fossil-fuels. All countries are covered from Ireland to the European region of Russia as far as the Urals. The following data are given for each station: Location (country and EMEP square), capacity (net MW{sub e} and boiler size), year of commissioning, and fuels burnt. A listing of the database is included in the report. The database is primarily used for estimation of emissions and abatement costs of sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the SEI acid rain model CASM. 24 refs, tabs

Fair chance required for nuclear power. Plea of the European Nuclear Industry; Faire Chance fuer die Kernenergie gefordert. Appell der europaeischen Nuklerindustrie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

2005-03-07

The first Euroatom European nuclear conference was held in Brussels on November 25/26, 2004 was attended by more than 250 renowned experts, including more than 20 managers of the board from a dozen European countries. They all agreed that the construction of new nuclear power plants will depend on the public opinion, i.e. it will be a political and communication problem rather than a technical problem. A swing of public opinion is difficult as rational arguments do not apply when emotions are high. The economic efficiency of nuclear power was proved again by the new reactor constructed in Finland. (orig.)

U.S. and European ALMA Partners Sign Agreement Green Light for World's Most Powerful Radio Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

2003-02-01

Dr. Rita Colwell, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), and Dr. Catherine Cesarsky, director general of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), today signed a historic agreement jointly to construct and operate ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, the world's largest and most powerful radio telescope operating at millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths. "With this agreement, we usher in a new age of research in astronomy," said Dr. Colwell. "By working together in this truly global partnership, the international astronomy community will be able to ensure the research capabilities needed to meet the long-term demands of our scientific enterprise, and we will be able to study and understand our Universe in ways that have previously been beyond our vision." ALMA Array Artist's Conception of ALMA Array in Compact Configuration (Click on Image for Larger Version) Other Images Available: Artist's conception of the antennas for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array Moonrise over ALMA test equipment near Cerro Chajnantor, Chile VertexRSI antenna at the VLA test site Dr. Cesarsky also commented, "This agreement signifies the start of a great project of contemporary astronomy and astrophysics. Representing Europe, and in collaboration with many laboratories and institutes on this continent, we together look forward toward wonderful research projects. With ALMA, we may learn how the earliest galaxies in the Universe really looked like, to mention but one of the many eagerly awaited opportunities with this marvelous facility." When complete in 2011, ALMA will be an array of 64, 12-meter radio antennas that will work together as one telescope to study millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength light from space. These wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cross the critical boundary between infrared and microwave radiation, hold the key to understanding such processes as planet and star formation, the formation of early galaxies and galaxy

The impact of European balancing rules on wind power economics and on short-term bidding strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaves-Ávila, J.P.; Hakvoort, R.A.; Ramos, A.

2014-01-01

Wind power represents a significant percentage of the European generation mix and this will increase to fulfill the renewable energy targets. Different balancing rules are applied to wind power among the countries; for instance, to what extent wind power producers (WPPs) are responsible for the energy imbalances and how those imbalances are penalized. This paper discusses those different rules and evaluates their effects on WPP bidding strategies. To do so, a quantitative analysis is presented for an offshore wind farm, considering the differences in the balancing rules and prices of Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The quantitative approach consists of a stochastic optimization model that maximizes the profits of a WPP by trading in different markets (day-ahead and intraday) and computes the final energy delivered. The model considers uncertainties of most important parameters such as wind energy forecasts and prices at different time frames. The results show that the imbalance pricing design and the allocation of balance responsibility significantly affect WPP’ revenues. Additionally, WPPs deviate differently from the expected energy depending on the balancing rules, which can impact the system. Furthermore, these balancing rules should be considered with other market regulations, such as the design of support schemes. - Highlights: • European countries apply different imbalance pricing rules. • The allocation of balance responsibility to wind power varies between the countries. • A stochastic optimization model is used to compare the effect of balancing rules. • Balancing rules have an important impact on wind generators bidding strategies. • Balancing rules have also an effect on the system imbalances

Progress on the European Safety and Environmental Assessment of Fusion Power (SEAFP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, I.

1994-01-01

The Safety and Environmental Assessment of Fusion Power (SEAFP) project was set up by the European Community Fusion Programme in response to recommendations made by a high level Fusion Programme Evaluation Board. The Evaluation Board stated that fusion potentially possesses ''inherent environmental and safety advantages over all current alternatives for base load electricity generation'', but that a ''convincing demonstration'' of these potential advantages is necessary. SEAFP is undertaken by three main participants: the NET Team, The Euratom/UKAEA Association, and European industry. Other EC fusion laboratories also participate. The work embraces the outline design of fusion power stations, the safety and environmental assessment of those designs, and interactions between design and assessment to improve the design. The project began in April 1992 and will report in December 1994. In the first year of the project, five candidate blanket concepts were developed in parallel. Other aspects of design were developed as far as possible independently of the blanket designs. Assessments were made of the technical merits of the candidate designs, and scoping calculations were used to provide preliminary assessments of their accident and waste management characteristics. Accident identification studies were used to select the bounding sequences to be analysed later in detail. Targets for safety and environmental performance were developed. This phase of the study culminated, in August 1993, in the selection of two plant models, one based on a water/martensitic steel/lithium-lead blanket, the other based on a helium/vanadium alloy/lithium oxide blanket, to be developed and assessed in more detail. Other design variants will be assessed through sensitivity studies. ((orig.))

The development of GRTgaz - A vital part of the European energy mix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garnier, J.Ph.

2011-01-01

The energy future has become one of the major stakes of the next presidential election in France. After the Fukushima disaster, the debates on our own energy future mainly cover the closing down, or not, in full or in part, of nuclear power stations. Natural gas is, most of the time, absent from the debate. Yet it has many advantages and should be viewed as a solution that favours renewable energy development, while being essential to achieving a more diversified and more environment-friendly energy mix. In addition, our country is at the crossroads of different European as networks. Given this situation, GRTGaz is doing its utmost to develop an attractive and dynamic wholesale market. With the prospect of increased European market integration and in spite of an uncertain economic environment, investments must be made to develop infrastructure. In 2011, with the financial backing of the European Union, GRTGaz has launched two major gas transport grid reinforcement projects in the South and North of France. These will allow us to strengthen our position as one the major gas hubs in Europe. This is good news for our industry and for employment too. (author)

A synthetic map of the north-west European Shelf sedimentary environment for applications in marine science

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Robert J.; Speirs, Douglas C.; Sabatino, Alessandro; Heath, Michael R.

2018-01-01

Seabed sediment mapping is important for a wide range of marine policy, planning and scientific issues, and there has been considerable national and international investment around the world in the collation and synthesis of sediment datasets. However, in Europe at least, much of this effort has been directed towards seabed classification and mapping of discrete habitats. Scientific users often have to resort to reverse engineering these classifications to recover continuous variables, such as mud content and median grain size, that are required for many ecological and biophysical studies. Here we present a new set of 0.125° by 0.125° resolution synthetic maps of continuous properties of the north-west European sedimentary environment, extending from the Bay of Biscay to the northern limits of the North Sea and the Faroe Islands. The maps are a blend of gridded survey data, statistically modelled values based on distributions of bed shear stress due to tidal currents and waves, and bathymetric properties. Recent work has shown that statistical models can predict sediment composition in British waters and the North Sea with high accuracy, and here we extend this to the entire shelf and to the mapping of other key seabed parameters. The maps include percentage compositions of mud, sand and gravel; porosity and permeability; median grain size of the whole sediment and of the sand and the gravel fractions; carbon and nitrogen content of sediments; percentage of seabed area covered by rock; mean and maximum depth-averaged tidal velocity and wave orbital velocity at the seabed; and mean monthly natural disturbance rates. A number of applications for these maps exist, including species distribution modelling and the more accurate representation of sea-floor biogeochemistry in ecosystem models. The data products are available from https://doi.org/10.15129/1e27b806-1eae-494d-83b5-a5f4792c46fc.

A synthetic map of the north-west European Shelf sedimentary environment for applications in marine science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. J. Wilson

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Seabed sediment mapping is important for a wide range of marine policy, planning and scientific issues, and there has been considerable national and international investment around the world in the collation and synthesis of sediment datasets. However, in Europe at least, much of this effort has been directed towards seabed classification and mapping of discrete habitats. Scientific users often have to resort to reverse engineering these classifications to recover continuous variables, such as mud content and median grain size, that are required for many ecological and biophysical studies. Here we present a new set of 0.125° by 0.125° resolution synthetic maps of continuous properties of the north-west European sedimentary environment, extending from the Bay of Biscay to the northern limits of the North Sea and the Faroe Islands. The maps are a blend of gridded survey data, statistically modelled values based on distributions of bed shear stress due to tidal currents and waves, and bathymetric properties. Recent work has shown that statistical models can predict sediment composition in British waters and the North Sea with high accuracy, and here we extend this to the entire shelf and to the mapping of other key seabed parameters. The maps include percentage compositions of mud, sand and gravel; porosity and permeability; median grain size of the whole sediment and of the sand and the gravel fractions; carbon and nitrogen content of sediments; percentage of seabed area covered by rock; mean and maximum depth-averaged tidal velocity and wave orbital velocity at the seabed; and mean monthly natural disturbance rates. A number of applications for these maps exist, including species distribution modelling and the more accurate representation of sea-floor biogeochemistry in ecosystem models. The data products are available from https://doi.org/10.15129/1e27b806-1eae-494d-83b5-a5f4792c46fc.

The Russian-European Union Competition in Ukraine

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

of Germany’s brief triumph during the Great War. The 1918 treaty of Brest -Litovsk created for the first time an independent Ukraine, designed to be a...6North Atlantic Treaty Organization, “Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation signed in Paris ...institution now known as the European Union originated as the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951. Interest in expanding economic cooperation

Introducing a European Partnership. First issue of 'European Nuclear Features'. A joint publication of atw, Nuclear Espana, Revue Generale Nucleare (2004)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

'European Nuclear Features' is a joint publication of the three specialized technical journals, Nuclear Espana (Spain), Revue Generale Nucleaire (France), and atw - International Journal for Nuclear Power (Germany), planned for six issues annually. ENF is to further greatly the international European exchange of information and news about energy and nuclear power. News items, comments, and scientific and technical contributions will cover important aspects of the field. The first issue of ENF contains contributions about these topics, among others: - European Nuclear Society and Foratom: Strengthening the Nuclear Network. - Report: EPR - the European Pressurized Water Reactor. - Finland: Starting Construction of the Fifth Nuclear Power Plant. - Czech Republic: Nuclear Power Report for 2003/2004. - The Decommissioning Project of the Bohunice-1 and -2 Units. - FRM-II: TUM Research Neutron Source Generates Its First Neutrons. (orig.)

Public information - North West region of Russian Federation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saiapina, A.

2000-01-01

Center of Public Information (CPI) in North West region of Russian Federation is a part of the State Regional Educational Center of Ministry of the Russian Federation on atomic energy. The premises of the Centre (about 500 sq. rn.) include the exposition hall, video hall, the hall for press conferences, rooms for meetings, conferences. CPI provides the visitor with the wide range of information dealing with the nuclear power. It was opened in the structure of State Regional Educational Centre in 1997. Regional Centre of Public Information of MINATOM of Russia in Saint Petersburg was created according to the agreement with the European Union Commission in the framework of the TACIS program with the participation of French companies EDF, COGEMA, STEPFER. The objectives of the CPI are discussed (authors)

Energy, North Africa and Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boussena, S.

1995-01-01

The energy situation in the North African countries not only offers a multitude of opportunities for regional cooperation, but also for consolidating ties with the European Union. What are the medium-term chances of putting these possibilities to use ? This article reviews the energy issues in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, all in the middle of a complete economic, political, and cultural mutations. It identifies the intra-regional cooperative projects and certain potential obstacles, and analyzes the energy relations between North Africa and Europe from the strategic viewpoint of both regions. (author). 7 tabs

The European electricity market. What are the effects of market power on prices and the environment? Keywords: Electricity market; liberalisation; market power; game theory; environmental impacts; Northwestern Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lise, W.

2005-07-01

This paper presents a static computational game theoretic COMPETES model. This model is used to study the economic and environmental effects of the liberalisation of the European electricity market. The COMPETES model takes strategic interaction into account. The model is calibrated to four European countries: Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. To analyse the impact of emission trading, a fixed permit price per tonne CO2 emissions is introduced. The effects are studied under different market structures depending on the ability of firms to exercise market power. The results indicate that the effects of liberalisation depend on the resulting market structure, while a reduction in market power of large producers may be beneficial for the consumer (i.e. lower prices), this is not necessarily true for the environment (i.e. lower reduction in CO2 emissions)

The future profile of power generation in North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eynon, R.T.

2004-01-01

This presentation addressed North American power generation issues with particular reference to energy markets, electricity projections, coal supply and natural gas supply. Energy demand is expected to grow due to an increase in population and economic activity. Growth will be tempered by improvements in energy efficiency of equipment and buildings. Production of domestic energy is projected to grow, but not enough to meet energy demands in the United States, thereby increasing levels of imports, primarily natural gas from Canada. One of the key factors in energy markets is the price of natural gas which rose to record levels in 2001 due to strong demand in the winter and tight supplies stemming from low drilling rates in the late 1990s. In the long term, technology improvements will offset price increases. Improvements in gas finding and development technology will continue. Electricity use is projected to grow at slightly slower than historical rates due to improvements in equipment efficiency and investments in demand-side management programs. The growth in electricity sales is led by the commercial sector followed by the industrial sector. The paper emphasized the need for new generating capacity to replace aging generating plants. Coal-fired steam plants have the largest share of power generation in the United States, representing about one-half of total generation, followed by nuclear, natural gas and renewable energy sources. The use of petroleum for generation is small and is expected to decline in the future with the advent of new efficient generating technologies. The use of natural gas for power generation is expected grow significantly due to new technologies for efficient combustion turbines and combined-cycle generators fueled by natural gas. These technologies have low capital costs compared to other technologies and have short lead times for construction. tabs., figs

The 1997 Protocol and the European Union (European Union and '2nd generation' responsibility conventions)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Handrlica, Jakub; Novotna, Marianna

2014-01-01

The issue of accession of the Eastern European Member States to the 1997 Protocol is discussed with focus on the European Union's authority and enforcement powers. Following up the article published in the preceding issue of this journal, the present contribution analyses the relations of the '2nd generation' responsibility conventions to the law of the European Union. (orig.)

Opportunities for biomass-derived 'bio-oil' in European heat and power markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brammer, J.G.; Lauer, M.; Bridgwater, A.V.

2006-01-01

Bio-oil (biomass fast pyrolysis) systems for heat, power or CHP production are nearing demonstration status. Their commercial attractiveness will depend on many factors, and will vary with the application, the scale, and importantly the location and its associated economic and logistical factors. The objective of this work, carried out as part of an EC-ALTENER project, was to evaluate the opportunities for bio-oil in the heat and power markets of Europe. Bio-oil applications were compared with conventional (fossil) alternatives for the same heat and power duty. The evaluation was carried out by a quantitative assessment of the economic competitiveness of standard applications in 14 European countries. Location-specific data were collected, and combined with technology-specific data obtained from earlier work. A competitiveness factor (c F ) was derived which represents the total annual cost of a conventional alternative relative to a bio-oil application. The results showed a wide variation across Europe. A total of six countries had at least one bio-oil application which was economically competitive. Heat-only applications were found to be the most economically competitive, followed by CHP applications, with electricity-only applications only very rarely competitive. For a given technology, the larger the scale, the better the competitiveness

Opportunities for biomass-derived 'bio-oil' in European heat and power markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brammer, J.G.; Bridgwater, A.V.

2006-01-01

Bio-oil (biomass fast pyrolysis) systems for heat, power or CHP production are nearing demonstration status. Their commercial attractiveness will depend on many factors, and will vary with the application, the scale, and importantly the location and its associated economic and logistical factors. The objective of this work, carried out as part of an EC-ALTENER project, was to evaluate the opportunities for bio-oil in the heat and power markets of Europe. Bio-oil applications were compared with conventional (fossil) alternatives for the same heat and power duty. The evaluation was carried out by a quantitative assessment of the economic competitiveness of standard applications in 14 European countries. Location-specific data were collected, and combined with technology-specific data obtained from earlier work. A competitiveness factor (c F ) was derived which represents the total annual cost of a conventional alternative relative to a bio-oil application. The results showed a wide variation across Europe. A total of six countries had at least one bio-oil application which was economically competitive. Heat-only applications were found to be the most economically competitive, followed by CHP applications, with electricity-only applications only very rarely competitive. For a given technology, the larger the scale, the better the competitiveness. (author)

[Jörg Hackmann (Hrsg.). Vereinskultur und Zivilgesellschaft in Nordosteuropa : regionale Spezifik und europäische Zusammenhänge = Associational culture and civil society in North Eastern Europe : regional features and the European context] / Rüdi

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Ritter, Rüdiger

2014-01-01

Arvustus: Vereinskultur und Zivilgesellschaft in Nordosteuropa : regionale Spezifik und europäische Zusammenhänge = Associational culture and civil society in North Eastern Europe : regional features and the European context. Wien: Böhlau Verlag 2012

European research and development strategy for clean power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linkohr, R.

2006-01-01

We need more rather than less money for research, energy research in particular, research being an important contributor to progress, in order to achieve peak performance, comply with the quest for knowledge about the structure of the world, or to be able to further improve our quality of life at far less expense of materials and energy. This latter concept is in line with European identity. If we succeed in demonstrating to the world that people can live a better life if they manage their affairs sustainably, we Europeans will have won a new trademark: a sustainable Europe which can be left to future generations. For this purpose Europeans, more than before, must perceive Europe as a space of knowledge. Science policy must be geared to Europe, not just to a national territory. Also, Europe should devote more attention to fundamental research. Some outstanding projects are needed, particularly in energy research, with the participation of industry in order to reduce materials consumption and avoid emissions. Education, too, must be given much attention. In the absence of enthusiastic young scientists, engineers, and skilled workers who know their neighboring countries and their technologies and languages from an early age, European energy policy is bound to remain fragmented. (orig.)

North Sea mackerel egg survey: dutch participation may and June 2011

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Damme, van C.J.G.

2012-01-01

Every three years an international North Sea survey is carried out by two European institutes, Institute for Marine Research (IMR) from Norway and Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES) from the Netherlands, to monitor the spatial and seasonal distribution of North Sea

Access pricing on gas networks and capacity release markets: Lessons from North American and European experiences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David, L.; Percebois, J.

2004-01-01

An evaluation of different access fee systems in North America and Europe in relation to normative prices is discussed. Among available alternatives the entry-exit pricing system as it is currently applied in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy and France, was judged to be the best solution to increased competition. Canadian and American experiences highlight the influence of the market power of shippers with regard to the efficacy of capping the market. Whether or not to cap the price on a capacity release market is a choice between the protection of shippers against market abuses and the promotion of secondary market liquidity, a choice that is linked to the level of congestion of a pipeline system. If there is much congestion, a price cap may be necessary; if there is little congestion, the need for market value given by an uncapped price may be more important than the market power of shippers. 15 refs., 2 tabs

The radiological exposure of the population of the European Community from radioactivity in North European marine waters Project 'Marina'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

Project Marina was set up by the Commission of the European Communities in 1985 to look at the radiological impact of radionuclides, both natural and anthropogenic, in northern European marine waters. This paper is a summary of project Marina's work and its conclusions

European nuclear education network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blomgren, J.; Moons, F.; Safieh, J.

2005-01-01

In most countries within the European Union that rely to a significant extent on nuclear power, neither undergraduate nor PhD education is producing a sufficient number of engineers and doctors to fill the needs of the industry. As a result of an EU-supported project, a new education organisation, European Nuclear Education Network (ENEN), has recently been established, with the aim to establish a European master's degree of nuclear engineering. Recently, a new EU project, Nuclear European Platform of Training and University Organisations (NEPTUNO), has been launched, aiming at the practical implementation of ENEN and harmonisation of training activities. (author)

The European electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The creation of a single European market also will have its effects on the power and electricity sector. Expectations tied to this abandonment of borders on the electricity market are different: some hope for a reduction of energy costs, others fear safeguarded supplies to be at risk. It cannot be fully judged at present what the situation will be on a strongly integrated, European power and electricity market, and the brochure in hand is intended to present a first survey of the situation from the perspective of the power industry and energy policy, concentrating on main aspects. The survey is compiled in the form of reprints of journal articles written on this topic by a number of well-known German experts in the field. (orig./HP) [de

Wind Powering America: The Next Steps in North Carolina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Banks, Jennifer L. [North Carolina Solar Center; Scanlin, Dennis [Appalachian State University; Quinlan, Paul [North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association

2013-06-18

The goal of this project is to apply the WPA’s proactive outreach strategy to the problem of educating the public about the likely transmission infrastructure developments concomitant to the significant development of wind energy resources in North Carolina. Given the lead time to develop significant new transmission infrastructure (5-10 years), it is critical to begin this outreach work today, so that wind resources can be developed to adequately meet the 20% by 2030 goal in the mid- to long-term (10-20 years). The project team planned to develop a transmission infrastructure outreach campaign for North Carolina by: (1) convening a utility interest group (UIG) of the North Carolina Wind Working Group (NC WWG) consisting of electric utilities in the state and the Southeast; and (2) expanding outreach to local and state government officials in North Carolina.

Food Policy of White Power in the European North of Russia in the 1918–1920 Years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasilii A. Sablin

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the main directions of the food policy of the white governments in Arkhangelsk – the Supreme Management and the Provisional government of the Northern area, which replaced it in 1918–1920. The food situation in the region after overthrow of the Bolshevist power in August, 1918 is designated. The emphasis is placed on the analysis of the efforts of the authorities on maintenance of food supply of the population of the northern village. The role of the former allies of Russia in questions of cooperation with the regional white power in questions of supply of the population with food, forms and methods of distribution of the food is shown. The problem of change of a food course of the white power after evacuation of interventionists from Arkhangelsk is studied. The procuring policy of the authorities in providing white army is analysed for the first time. Factors of impact of food policy on the peasant economy of the region are noted, social and economic consequences of this policy in region economy after the end of Civil war are designated.

European Nuclear Features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barre, B.; Gonzalez, E.; Diaz Diaz, J.L.; Jimenez, J.L.; Velarde, G.; Navarro, J.M.; Hittner, D.; Dominguez, M.T.; Bollini, G.; Martin, A.; Suarez, J.; Traini, E.; Lang-Lenton, J.

2004-01-01

''European Nuclear Features - ENF'' is a joint publication of the three specialized technical journals, Nuclear Espana (Spain), Revue General Nucleaire (France), and atw - International Journal of Nuclear Power (Germany). The ENF support the international Europeen exchange of information and news about energy and nuclear power. News items, comments, and scientific and technical contributions will cover important aspects of the field. The second issue of ENF contains contributions about theses topics, among others: Institutional and Political Changes in the EU. - CIEMAT Department of Nuclear Fission: A General Overview. - Inertial Fusion Energy at DENIM. - High Temperature Reactors. European Research Programme. - On Site Assistance to Khmelnitsky NPP 1 and 2 (Ukraine). - Dismantling and Decommissioning of Vandellos I. (orig.)

Assessment of contaminant concentrations in sediments, fish and mussels sampled from the North Atlantic and European regional seas within the ICON project.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Craig D; Webster, Lynda; Martínez-Gómez, Concepción; Burgeot, Thierry; Gubbins, Matthew J; Thain, John E; Vethaak, A Dick; McIntosh, Alistair D; Hylland, Ketil

2017-03-01

Understanding the status of contaminants in the marine environment is a requirement of European Union Directives and the Regional Seas Conventions, so that measures to reduce pollution can be identified and their efficacy assessed. The international ICON workshop (Hylland et al., in this issue) was developed in order to test an integrated approach to assessing both contaminant concentrations and their effects. This paper describes and assesses the concentrations of trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls in sediments, mussels, and fish collected from estuarine, coastal and offshore waters from Iceland to the Mediterranean Sea. For organic contaminants, concentrations progressively increased from Iceland, to the offshore North Sea, to the coastal seas, and were highest in estuaries. Metals had a more complex distribution, reflecting local anthropogenic inputs, natural sources and hydrological conditions. Use of internationally recognised assessment criteria indicated that at no site were concentrations of all contaminants at background and that concentrations of some contaminants were of significant concern in all areas, except the central North Sea. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Variability of the North Atlantic summer storm track: mechanisms and impacts on European climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, Buwen; Sutton, Rowan T; Woollings, Tim; Hodges, Kevin

2013-01-01

The summertime variability of the extratropical storm track over the Atlantic sector and its links to European climate have been analysed for the period 1948–2011 using observations and reanalyses. The main results are as follows. (1) The dominant mode of the summer storm track density variability is characterized by a meridional shift of the storm track between two distinct paths and is related to a bimodal distribution in the climatology for this region. It is also closely related to the Summer North Atlantic Oscillation (SNAO). (2) A southward shift is associated with a downstream extension of the storm track and a decrease in blocking frequency over the UK and northwestern Europe. (3) The southward shift is associated with enhanced precipitation over the UK and northwestern Europe and decreased precipitation over southern Europe (contrary to the behaviour in winter). (4) There are strong ocean–atmosphere interactions related to the dominant mode of storm track variability. The atmosphere forces the ocean through anomalous surface fluxes and Ekman currents, but there is also some evidence consistent with an ocean influence on the atmosphere, and that coupled ocean–atmosphere feedbacks might play a role. The ocean influence on the atmosphere may be particularly important on decadal timescales, related to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). (letter)

Molecular evidence on the evolutionary and biogeographical patterns of European cyprinids.

Science.gov (United States)

Zardoya, R; Doadrio, I

1999-08-01

The phylogenetic relationships of 106 European cyprinid taxa were determined based on the complete nucleotide sequence (1140 bp) of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The molecular phylogeny was used (1) to revise the current systematics of European cyprinids, (2) to establish the phylogenetic utility of traditional morphological characters that are widely used in Cyprinidae systematics, and (3) to discuss alternative hypotheses on the biogeography of the family in Europe. The age of the major lineages within European cyprinids was tentatively estimated with a molecular clock and showed full agreement with the fossil record of the group. Moreover, the results provided unambiguous evidence for a close phylogenetic affinity of some Caucasian and Greek endemic cyprinid taxa (e.g., B. capito and B. brachycephalus and Leuciscus keadicus, Barbus graecus, and B. albanicus, respectively) to Iberian and North African, but not Central European, cyprinids. The existence of such unexpected phylogenetic relationships refutes the classical hypothesis on the biogeography of European cyprinids, which assumes a dispersal of the cyprinid fauna from central Europe to southern Europe and northern Africa during the Miocene (and, hence, predicts a close phylogenetic relationship of all Caucasian, Greek, Iberian, and North African cyprinids to central European taxa). Instead, the existence of a Mediterranean realm independent of the central European route seems plausible based on the molecular evidence. It is likely that the new biogeographical scenario proposed here might apply to other primary freshwater European animals with low dispersal abilities, including fish, amphibians, and invertebrates.

Spatial and seasonal patterns of European short-snouted seahorse ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

North-East Atlantic), determining the spatial and seasonal abundance, population structure and physical appearance of European short-snouted seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus. Animals were surveyed off Gran Canaria Island in two ...

Development of an inexact optimization model for coupled coal and power management in North China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Y.; Huang, G.H.; Cai, Y.P.; Cheng, G.H.; Niu, Y.T.; An, K.

2009-01-01

In this study, an inexact coupled coal and power management (ICCPM) model was developed for planning coupled coal and power management systems through integrating chance-constrained programming (CCP), interval linear programming (ILP) and mixed integer linear programming (MILP) techniques. The ICCPM model can effectively handle uncertainties presented in terms of probability density functions and intervals. It can also facilitate dynamic analysis of capacity expansions, facility installation and coal inventory planning within a multi-period and multi-option context. Complexities in coupled coal and power management systems can be systematically reflected in this model, thus applicability of the modeling process would be highly enhanced. The developed ICCPM model was applied to a case of long-term coupled coal and power management systems planning in north China. Interval solutions associated with different risk levels of constraint violations have been obtained, which can be used for generating decision alternatives and helping identify desired policies. The generated results can also provide desired solutions for coal and power generation, capacity initiation and expansion, and coal blending with a minimized system cost, a maximized system reliability and a maximized coal transportation security. Tradeoffs between system costs and constraint-violation risks can also be tackled.

LEGAL PERSONALITY AND POWERS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

OpenAIRE

Augustin FUEREA

2010-01-01

Based on legal personality, EU won through Treaty of Lisbon, in accordance with the system of division of competences between the Union and the Member States as provided for in the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the Member States. When the Treaties confer on the Union a competence shared with the Member States in a specific area, the Member States shall exercise their compet...

Perspectives at the East European engineering companies in the field of power industry in the power-plant construction globalization conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganchev, R.

2001-01-01

A large group of companies, institutes, boiler and power engineering work ect. from East European countries, currently in process of reorganization or already transformed into new-established private companies and corporations possess significant intellectual property in the field of thermal power technologies and equipment and broad experience in the design and the erection of thermal power plants. In many cases this know-how is not only competitive to that of the large companies of the West and of the Far East, but frequently it also proves to have a number of advantages. However, in the years of transition in these countries and simultaneous globalization, the owners of this potentials meet with difficulties and restrictions to realize it fully. Large investment projects - for new or replacement capacities or comprehensive rehabilitation or refurbishment of TPPs - are accessible only for the financially powerful EPC-contractors and key equipment suppliers, for which large bank credits are accessible. The near future perspective, for the scientists and experts that have accumulated this capital, is in the opportunity to employ the extensive experience and know-how of this firms in the forthcoming large-scale rehabilitation projects in these countries, and primarily, in the solution of specific problems, that have not been solved so far, provided that the projects are awarded not on the basis of the financial power of the contractors but on the basis of the efficiency of the proposed original solutions

Feasibility study on modernization of North Bangkok Thermal Power Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

With an objective to save energies and reduce global warming gas emission, a feasibility study was performed on the oil burning thermal power plant in the city of North Bangkok in Thailand to reconstruct the plant into a natural gas burning combined cycle power plant. In the project, the old facilities with an output of 237.8 MW using three steam turbines in total will be reconstructed into a plant comprising of two steam turbines for 256,2 MW and two gas turbines for 460.4 MW, or a facility of 716.6 MW in total. The plant construction will have the gas turbines, steam turbines, generators, and a waste heat recovered steam generator fixed on one axis, two of which will be installed. The gas turbines will use natural gas as fuel, and the steam turbines will be operated by steam from the waste heat recovered steam generator. As a result of the discussions, the reduction of the energy consumption for a period of 40 years will correspond to crude oil of 20,560 kt, while the reduction of the global warming gas emission will be 107,200 t-CO2. In addition, the energy saving cost will be 9-ton crude oil equivalent/one million yen, and the cost for reduction of the global warming gas emission will be 47 t-CO2/one million yen. (NEDO)

The effect of fish impingement at Sizewell 'A' Power Station, Suffolk, on North Sea fish stocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turnpenny, A.W.H.; Utting, N.J.; Millner, R.S.; Riley, J.D.

1988-04-01

Samples collected from the cooling water intake screens of Sizewell 'A' power station over a 12 month period contained 73 species of fish. Of these, only 20 species were present on more than 50% of sampling dates and only 7 commercially exploited species were caught in quantities of more than a few hundred over the year; namely sprat, herring, cod, whiting, sole, dab and plaice. These species formed the basis of analysis of the impact of the Power Station on commercial species. Commercial species found in the Sizewell area are part of major North Sea stocks. The impact of the losses due to the Power Station is spread over these stocks, hence the effect is minimal. The mortality rate caused by the Power Station is one thousandth to one hundred-thousandth, depending on species, of that caused by commercial fishing and the effect is less than that of a small, inefficient commercial trawler. (author)

Design of a wind turbine pitch angle controller for power system stabilisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jauch, Clemens; Soerensen, Poul [Risoe National Laboratory, Wind Energy Department, P.O. Box 49, DK-4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Islam, Syed M. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845 (Australia); Bak Jensen, Birgitte [Institute of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Pontoppidanstraede 101, DK-9220 Aalborg East (Denmark)

2007-11-15

The design of a PID pitch angle controller for a fixed speed active-stall wind turbine, using the root locus method is described in this paper. The purpose of this controller is to enable an active-stall wind turbine to perform power system stabilisation. For the purpose of controller design, the transfer function of the wind turbine is derived from the wind turbine's step response. The performance of this controller is tested by simulation, where the wind turbine model with its pitch angle controller is connected to a power system model. The power system model employed here is a realistic model of the North European power system. A short circuit fault on a busbar close to the wind turbine generator is simulated, and the dynamic responses of the system with and without the power system stabilisation of the wind turbines are presented. Simulations show that in most operating points the pitch controller can effectively contribute to power system stabilisation. (author)

The diversity of European energy policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

If many European Union countries have engaged in a mutation of their energy system, the direction chosen may be different from one country to the other with different specific goals, starting from different initial energy mixes and involving different financial and industrial means. The German 'Energiewende' (the 'energy turn'), the Spanish 'Sostenibilidad Energetica' or the British 'Climate Change Bill' are unique initiatives which, without coordination, can lead to detrimental consequences on the European power system. These policies represent as many experiences to meditate on in order to identify the advantages and drawbacks of these different approaches as well as their respective impact on the European power system and on markets operation

Education and Leisure in North European Urban Spaces, with Emphasis on Less Privileged Areas, Particularly in the United Kingdom. A Seminar (London, England, United Kingdom, April 13, 1989). Educational Buildings and Equipment 11.

Science.gov (United States)

International Union of Architects, Paris (France).

This collection was gathered from a seminar entitled "Education and Leisure in North European Urban Spaces," which was the result of cooperation between the Sports, Leisure, and Tourism Work Group of the International Union of Architects and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Papers were given…

Tropospheric mid-latitude geopotential wave characteristics associated with strong wind events in the North Atlantic/European region

Science.gov (United States)

Wild, Simon; Simmonds, Ian; Leckebusch, Gregor C.

2015-04-01

The variability of strong synoptic scale wind events in the mid-latitudes have long been linked to baroclinic wave activity in the mid troposphere. Previous studies have also shown that greater amplitudes of planetary waves in the mid troposphere are likely to increase the occurrence of regional extremes in temperature and precipitation. In this study we examine whether characteristics of planetary and synoptic mid-latitude waves show systematic anomalies in the North Atlantic/ European region which can be related to the occurrence of a strong surface wind event. We will mainly focus on two questions: 1) Do amplitudes for waves with different wave lengths show a systematic anomaly when a strong wind event occurs? 2) Can phases of the individual wave components be detected that favour strong wind events? In order to decompose the mid-tropospheric flow into longitudinal waves we employ the fast Fourier transform to the meridional mean of the geopotential height in 500hPa between 35° and 60°N for i) the entire latitude belt and ii) for a North Atlantic/European sector (36°W to 36°E). Our definition of strong wind events is based on the Storm Severity Index (SSI) alongside a wind tracking algorithm identifying areas of exceedances of the local 98th percentile of the 10m wind speed. First results using ERA-Interim Reanalysis from 1979 - 2014 for the extended winter season (ONDJFM) for the 50 most intense strong wind systems with respect to the SSI reveal a greater amplitude for all investigated wave numbers. Especially waves with wave lengths below 2000km show an increase of about 25% of the daily standard deviation on average. The distribution of wave phases for the different wave numbers with respect to the location of a strong wind event shows a less homogenous picture. There is however a high proportion of events that can be associated with phases around 3π/4 and 5π/4 of waves with lengths of around 6000km, equivalent to wave number 5 on a planetary scale

Adequate intraday market design to enable the integration of wind energy into the European power systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weber, Christoph [University Duisburg-Essen, Chair for Energy Economics and Management Sciences, Universitaetsstrasse 12, 45 117 Essen (Germany)

2010-07-15

This contribution analyses the European electricity markets with respect to their aptitude to absorb large amounts of wind energy. Thereby in a first step the market designs of the major European power markets in France, Germany, Scandinavia, Spain and UK are reviewed, with a particular focus on liquidity in the spot and intraday markets. Then some key features of the short-term adjustments required by wind energy are discussed and the necessity of sufficient liquidity in intraday markets is highlighted. For the example of the German market subsequently the discrepancy between the physical short-term adjustment needs and the traded volumes on the intraday market is analyzed. This leads to an evaluation of proposals for improving the liquidity on the short-term market, including the use of continuous spot trading like in UK or the use of intraday auctions like in Spain. (author)

The European market of renewable energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2011-09-01

This market study on renewable energies presents: 1 - the different renewable energy industries for power generation: the field of renewable energies (hydropower, wind power, solar energy, geothermal energy and biomass power plants) and their common points, their characteristics, advantages and constraints; 2 - the political and regulatory context with its ambitious goals: main steps of worldwide negotiations, Europe and the management of CO 2 emissions, stiffening of the environmental regulation, the energy/climate package and the efforts to be borne by the different member states; 3 - Economy of the sector and the necessary public support: investment and production costs by industry, wholesale prices and competitiveness of the different power generation means, government's incentives for projects profitability; 4 - dynamics of the European market of renewable energies: energy-mix and evolution of the renewable energies contribution in the world and in the European Union, key-figures by country and by industry (installed capacity, production, turnover, employment); 5 - medium-term development perspectives: 2020 prospect scenarios, evolution of the energy mix, perspectives of development for each industry; 6 - the strengths in presence in the domain of facilities: main manufacturers, market shares, innovations, vertical integration, external growth; 7 - the strengths in presence in the domain of power facilities operation: main European operators, position and ranking, installed capacities, projects portfolio; 8 - medium-term perspectives of reconfiguration: best-positioned operators in a developing market, future of European manufacturers with respect to Asian ones, inevitable concentration in the operation sector. (J.S.)

Soap-stone in architecture of North European cities. A nomination as a candidate for a Global Heritage Stones Resource

Science.gov (United States)

Bulakh, Andrey

2016-04-01

Soap stone represents soft Proterozoic rock type from the deposit Nunnalahti situated on the western shore of the big Lake Pielinen in Eastern Finland. It consists of talc (40 - 50 %), magnesite MgCO3 (40 - 50 %), chlorite (5 - 8 %), dolomite, calcite, etc. The colour of the stone is very spectacular and varies from yellow and brownish-yellow to grey, greenish grey. The soft stone is a highly workable material for a sculptor's chisel. It was one of the most popular ornamental rocks used architecture of the Modern style in St Petersburg, Helsinki, Turku, Tampere and other North European cities lately in the XIX-th centuries. Examples are given and discussed. References: Bulakh, A.G., Abakumova, N.B., and Romanovsky, J.V. St Petersburg: a History in Stone. 2010. Print House of St Petersburg State University. 173 p. (In English).

Integration of European Bond Markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Charlotte

2014-01-01

I investigate the time variation in the integration of EU government bond markets. The integration is measured by the explanatory power of European factor portfolios for the individual bond markets for each year. The integration of the government bond markets is stronger for EMU than non-EMU memb......I investigate the time variation in the integration of EU government bond markets. The integration is measured by the explanatory power of European factor portfolios for the individual bond markets for each year. The integration of the government bond markets is stronger for EMU than non...

Full power in the European tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lallia, P.P.; Hugon, M.

1987-01-01

A new research campaign begins at Jet (Abingdon, UK). At this occasion, authors review and compare the performances of the three big Tokamaks that are currently in competition: Jet, JT60 and TFTR, insisting upon the European one. Conditions of ignition are reviewed together and energy losses are specified. Magnetic configurations used in tokamaks are shown, together with the technological responses brought these last years

SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT QUALITIES AND HUMAN CAPITAL EXPANDED REPRODUCTION IN THE REPUBLIC OF KARELIA AND THE RUSSIA EUROPEAN NORTH ARCTIC REGIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kekkonen A. L.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of studies of the spatial development qualities and the human capital expanded reproduction of the Republic of Karelia and the Arctic regions of Russia’s European North. The aim of the article is the identification of characteristics, opportunities and threats of human capital reproduction in terms of region spatial development. The application of the research results is to provide recommendations for improving reproduction of the human capital and development of the education and vocational guidance systems, human capital management in the region. The study of spatial development and reproduction of the human capital used methods of logical, statistical and comparative analysis and SWOT- analysis principles. The results of the study allowed revealing the peculiarities of spatial development and human capital expanded reproduction of the Republic of Karelia in comparison with the Russian Arctic regions of the European North (Arkhangelsk Oblast, Murmansk Oblast, Komi Republic and Nenets Autonomous District. The Republic of Karelia has a special geographical position, and based on many socio-economic indicators is considered to be a «depressive» region. The expanded reproduction of human capital will bring the Republic of Karelia to the next level of development, taking into consideration external and internal factors as well as opportunities and threats. The results obtained in the study will expand the existing system of knowledge about reproduction of the human capital in the framework of spatial development, and the review of the expanded reproduction of human capital on the regional level will allow the government authorities to develop objective measures of quality formation of the region's human resources. It is proved that the introduction of the vocational guidance system in the region could lead to minimization of the threats associated with depopulation and the gap between education system and the

Market power in the European electricity market - The impacts of dry weather and additional transmission capacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lise, Wietze; Hobbs, Benjamin F.; Hers, Sebastiaan

2008-01-01

This paper uses a static computational game theoretic model of a fully opened European electricity market and can take strategic interaction among electricity-producing firms into account. The model is run for a number of scenarios: first, in the baseline under perfect competition, the prices differ due to the presence of various generation technologies and a limited ability to exchange electricity among countries. In addition, when large firms exercise market power, the model runs indicate that prices are the highest in countries where the number of firms is low. Second, dry weather would increase the prices in the hydro-rich Nordic countries followed by the Alpine countries. The price response would be about 20% higher with market power. Third, more transmission capacity would lower the prices in countries with high prices and it also reduces the impact of market power. Hence, more transmission capacity can improve market competitiveness. (author)

Market power in the European electricity market-The impacts of dry weather and additional transmission capacity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lise, Wietze [IBS Research and Consultancy, Agahamami Cadessi 1/6, Aga Han, Cihangir, 34433 Beyoglu, Istanbul (Turkey); Energy Markets and International Environmental Policy Group, ECN Policy Studies, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, Amsterdam (Netherlands)], E-mail: wietze.lise@ibsresearch.com; Hobbs, Benjamin F. [Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Hers, Sebastiaan [Energy Markets and International Environmental Policy Group, ECN Policy Studies, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2008-04-15

This paper uses a static computational game theoretic model of a fully opened European electricity market and can take strategic interaction among electricity-producing firms into account. The model is run for a number of scenarios: first, in the baseline under perfect competition, the prices differ due to the presence of various generation technologies and a limited ability to exchange electricity among countries. In addition, when large firms exercise market power, the model runs indicate that prices are the highest in countries where the number of firms is low. Second, dry weather would increase the prices in the hydro-rich Nordic countries followed by the Alpine countries. The price response would be about 20% higher with market power. Third, more transmission capacity would lower the prices in countries with high prices and it also reduces the impact of market power. Hence, more transmission capacity can improve market competitiveness.

Market power in the European electricity market - The impacts of dry weather and additional transmission capacity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lise, Wietze [IBS Research and Consultancy, Agahamami Cadessi 1/6, Aga Han, Cihangir, 34433 Beyoglu, Istanbul (Turkey); Energy Markets and International Environmental Policy Group, ECN Policy Studies, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Hobbs, Benjamin F. [Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Hers, Sebastiaan [Energy Markets and International Environmental Policy Group, ECN Policy Studies, Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2008-04-15

This paper uses a static computational game theoretic model of a fully opened European electricity market and can take strategic interaction among electricity-producing firms into account. The model is run for a number of scenarios: first, in the baseline under perfect competition, the prices differ due to the presence of various generation technologies and a limited ability to exchange electricity among countries. In addition, when large firms exercise market power, the model runs indicate that prices are the highest in countries where the number of firms is low. Second, dry weather would increase the prices in the hydro-rich Nordic countries followed by the Alpine countries. The price response would be about 20% higher with market power. Third, more transmission capacity would lower the prices in countries with high prices and it also reduces the impact of market power. Hence, more transmission capacity can improve market competitiveness. (author)

Major power system failures (Europe, USA) and deregulation of electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merlin, A.

2004-01-01

The year 2003 was marked by several electric power blackouts which affected major power systems in the world, and gave rise to many opinions about possible links with developments brought by the opening of the electricity markets. At first the paper presents the outages experienced by North America or August 14 and by Switzerland and Italy on September 28, 2003. Feedback on previous electric power blackouts makes possible to find out already known lessons, then to bring out how the latest blackouts may reveal similarities or differences towards developments brought by the opening of the electricity markets occurred ire the last ten years. Finally, seen from the transmission system operator of a european country within the context of continued institutional developments, the paper points out significant items which must be considered to prevent possible further blackouts. (author)

Financing concentrating solar power in the Middle East and North Africa-Subsidy or investment?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trieb, Franz; Mueller-Steinhagen, Hans; Kern, Juergen

2011-01-01

The paper presents a strategy for the market introduction of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that will not require considerable subsidization and will not constitute a significant burden for electricity consumers in the region. In the first section, the paper explains the need of MENA countries for sustainable supply of electricity and calculates the cost of electricity for a model case country. In the second part, the cost development of concentrating solar power plants is calculated on the basis of expectations for the expansion of CSP on a global level. After that, the challenges for the market introduction of CSP in MENA are explained. Finally, we present a strategy for the market introduction of CSP in MENA, removing the main barriers for financing and starting market introduction in the peak load and the medium load segment of power supply. The paper explains why long-term power purchase agreements (PPA) for CSP should be calculated on the basis of avoided costs, starting in the peak load segment. Such PPA are not yet available, the paper aims to convince policy makers to introduce them. - Research Highlights: → Concentrating Solar Power in the Mediterranean Region (MED-CSP 2005) (www.dlr.de/tt/med-csp). → Trans-Mediterranean Interconnection for Concentrating Solar Power (TRANS-CSP 2006) (www.dlr.de/tt/trans-csp). → Concentrating Solar Power for Seawater Desalination (AQUA-CSP 2007) (www.dlr.de/tt/aqua-csp). → Risk of Energy Availability: Common Corridors for Europe Supply Security (REACCESS 2009) (http://reaccess.epu.ntua.gr/). → Combined Solar Power and Desalination in the Mediterranean (MED-CSD 2010) (www.med-csd-ec.eu).

The european passive plant (EPP) design: compliance with the european utilities requirements (EUR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noviello, L.; Oyarzabal, M.

1996-01-01

Back 1986, most of the European firms have participated to the American program called the Advanced Light Water Reactors (ALWR) including the development of the Utilities Requirements as well as four projects as for instance AP600. Later, in the year 1990, seven European firms have begun to develop the European Utilities Requirements. This development is justified by the fact that the lessons learned by the nuclear power plants designs programs of the years 1980 can be incorporated and the European specific conditions can be taken into consideration. Thus, in 1994, eight European firms - Westinghouse and their industrial partners - have decided to launch a multiphase program in order to check the AP600 compliance with the European Utilities Requirements (EUR) and to develop the required alterations. Today, the phase I of the EPP (European Passive Plant) program has been completed. In this phase, the main important objectives have been reached. (O.M.)

UNDER WHOSE UMBRELLA? THE EUROPEAN SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teodor Lucian Moga

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The tragic events which occurred during the ‘90s in the Balkans have reiterated the need for the European Union (EU to assume a much more assertive role in managing security concerns in Europe, including the development of European defence capabilities. In 1998, at Saint Malo, Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac launched the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP. This project has been generated due to the EU’s need to adopt a strategic framework within which to develop a global defence and security component, as well as due to a growing necessity for the EU to contribute effectively to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO and United Nations (UN efforts of conducting defence, international crisis management and peacekeeping operations at an international level in conflict-prone areas. In recent years, ESDP has undergone a spectacular evolution, being now among the major issues discussed in Brussels. However, the creation of the ESDP has been greeted with caution by some NATO members being perceived primarily as a threat to the integrity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The purpose of this paper is to examine the difficulties the ESDP has encountered since its inception and also to what extent it has affected the EU-NATO and the EU-US nexus.

Early hominins in north-west Europe: A punctuated long chronology?

Science.gov (United States)

Hosfield, Rob; Cole, James

2018-06-01

In light of changing views regarding the identity and evolutionary positions of Europe's Lower Palaeolithic hominins, a re-consideration of the hominin occupation of north-west Europe from c. 1 million years ago (mya) to c. 400 thousand years ago (kya) is timely. A change in the scale and character of the overall European Palaeolithic record around c. 800-600 kya has been well documented and argued over since the mid-1990s. Hominin expansion into the European north-west, potentially from southern Europe, Africa or south-western Asia, has been linked to the introduction of a new lithic technology in the form of the biface. We evaluate three potential drivers for this northern range expansion: changing palaeo-climatic conditions, the emergence of an essentially modern human life history, and greater hominin behavioural plasticity. Our evaluation suggests no major changes in these three factors during the c. 800-600 kya period other than enhanced behavioural plasticity suggested by the appearance of the biface. We offer here a model of hominin occupation for north-west Europe termed the 'punctuated long chronology' and suggest that the major changes in the European Lower Palaeolithic record that occur at a species-wide level may post-date, rather than precede, the Anglian Glaciation (marine isotope stage (MIS) 12).

Scheme for generation of fully-coherent, TW power level hard X-ray pulses from baseline undulators at the European X-ray FEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geloni, Gianluca; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni

2010-07-01

The most promising way to increase the output power of an X-ray FEL (XFEL) is by tapering the magnetic field of the undulator. Also, significant increase in power is achievable by starting the FEL process from a monochromatic seed rather than from noise. This report proposes to make use of a cascade self-seeding scheme with wake monochromators in a tunable-gap baseline undulator at the European XFEL to create a source capable of delivering coherent radiation of unprecedented characteristics at hard X-ray wavelengths. Compared with SASE X-ray FEL parameters, the radiation from the new source has three truly unique aspects: complete longitudinal and transverse coherence, and a peak brightness three orders of magnitude higher than what is presently available at LCLS. Additionally, the new source will generate hard X-ray beam at extraordinary peak (TW) and average (kW) power level. The proposed source can thus revolutionize fields like single biomolecule imaging, inelastic scattering and nuclear resonant scattering. The self-seeding scheme with the wake monochromator is extremely compact, and takes almost no cost and time to be implemented. The upgrade proposed in this paper could take place during the commissioning stage of the European XFEL, opening a vast new range of applications from the very beginning of operations.We present feasibility study and examplifications for the SASE2 line of the European XFEL. (orig.)

Open access to the natural gas transport system. Experiences in North America and developing trends in Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bundgaard-Joergensen, U; Hopper, R J

1988-09-01

The treatise describes potential market forces which could evoke changes in the structure of the European gas industry or in its types of contract. It shows that a price differentiation at the borehole may lead to an increase in natural gas deliveries for the European markets. A study of the development of the North American gas industry over the last few decades supports this expectation. The treatise ends with the statement that an application of the North American experiences to the European gas industry is unlikely, but it does not rule out the possibility of market forces or the EEC Commission creating a basis for similar structural reforms in the European gas industry.

Reintroducing regulation? Consequences of the European directives for electricity trade (1228/2003) and gas trade (1775/2005) for the European internal power market; Verordnete Regulierung? Die Bedeutung der Stromhandelsverordnung / Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1228/2003 - und der Gashandelsverordnung - Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1775/2005 - fuer den europaeischen Energiebinnenmarkt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaiser, J.

2007-07-01

On 23 June 2003, the European Parliament and Council issued the directive on grid access for transfrontier electricity trading (EltHVO). It is part of a bundle of directives comprising also directives on electricity and natural gas trading (EltRL and GasRL). This marks the third and final state of unbundling of the European internal power market. In December 2003, the European Commission also announced the issuing of a directive on access to natural gas pipelines (GasHVO) which was issued on 28 September 2005 and came into force on 1 July 2006. While the European Parliament views the legislation as a key project for standardizing the European internal market, others see a danger of centralisation and standardisation of concrete regulation decisions. The publication investigates the consequences of the EltHVO and GAsHVO for the internal power market, especially with a view to the possible danger of centralisation. (orig.)

Design of a wind turbine pitch angle controller for power system stabilisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jauch, Clemens; Islam, S.M.; Sørensen, Poul Ejnar

2007-01-01

The design of a PID pitch angle controller for a fixed speed active-stall wind turbine, using the root locus method is described in this paper. The purpose of this controller is to enable an active-stall wind turbine to perform power system stabilisation. For the purpose of controller design......, the transfer function of the wind turbine is derived from the wind turbine's step response. The performance of this controller is tested by simulation, where the wind turbine model with its pitch angle controller is connected to a power system model. The power system model employed here is a realistic model...... of the North European power system. A short circuit fault on a busbar close to the wind turbine generator is simulated, and the dynamic responses of the system with and without the power system stabilisation of the wind turbines are presented. Simulations show that in most operating points the pitch controller...

European Perspectives on Privacy in the Sharing Economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ranzini, Giulia; Etter, Michael; Vermeulen, Ivar

Report from the EU H2020 Research Project Ps2Share: Participation, Privacy, and Power in the Sharing Economy. This report ‘European Perspectives on Privacy in the Sharing Economy’ forms one element of a European Union Horizon 2020 Research Project on the sharing economy: Ps2Share ‘Participation......, Privacy, and Power in the Sharing Economy’. The study is undertaken within the scope of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, funded under grant agreement No. 732117 and with the objective (ICT-35) of “Enabling responsible ICT-related research and innovation”. This project...... recommendations to Europe’s institutions. We focus on topics of participation, privacy, and power in the sharing economy....

A Global Civilian Power? The Future Role of the European Union in International Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bedrudin Brljavac

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Questions about the future of the European Union as an international actor continue to puzzle students of international relations and particularly students of EU foreign policy. What kind of predictions can we make about the future role of the EU in international politics? While the question is often framed in terms of military versus normative and/or global civilian power Europe, there are indications that ambitions in both directions may very well coincide. However, despite the EU’s development towards deepened defense integration since the 1990s, such developments are by far outweighed by developments pointing in the direction of the EU consolidating its role as a global civilian power. In this article, we analyze the union’s civilian policies and contrast the findings of our analysis with developments in the field of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP. Based on our analysis of EU enlargement policy, external aid, global environmental policy and the union’s commitment to multilateralism, our conclusion is that the EU’s international role in the next decades will continue to be best described in terms of a global civilian power.

European Workshop on Renewable Rural Energy Applications in North-East Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-12-31

This workshop is a part of the E.C. Thermie B project `Dissemination of Promising Renewable Rural Energy Applications in North-Eastern Europe`. The presentations held in the workshop are collected in this publication. The subjects are: TEKES (Technology Development Centre) Boost Technology; Renewable Energy in Latvia; Rural Renewable energy (Prospects) in Estonia; Renewable energy from Rural Electrification; Techno-Economic Analysis published as a summary; Practical Experiences of Small-Scale Heat Generation from Fuelwood in Finland; Solar systems for Domestic Hot Water and Space Heating; Biomass for Energy: Small-Scale Technologies; Photovoltaic Applications for Rural Areas in the North-East Europe

European Workshop on Renewable Rural Energy Applications in North-East Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-12-31

This workshop is a part of the E.C. Thermie B project `Dissemination of Promising Renewable Rural Energy Applications in North-Eastern Europe`. The presentations held in the workshop are collected in this publication. The subjects are: TEKES (Technology Development Centre) Boost Technology; Renewable Energy in Latvia; Rural Renewable energy (Prospects) in Estonia; Renewable energy from Rural Electrification; Techno-Economic Analysis published as a summary; Practical Experiences of Small-Scale Heat Generation from Fuelwood in Finland; Solar systems for Domestic Hot Water and Space Heating; Biomass for Energy: Small-Scale Technologies; Photovoltaic Applications for Rural Areas in the North-East Europe

Electric power prices, price control and competition on the European domestic electric power market. Stromtarife, Preisaufsicht und Wettbewerb im Europaeischen Binnenmarkt fuer Strom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weigt, N

1993-01-01

If one speaks of electric power prices and price control in the year 1992, this subject has a different dimension than it did two or three years ago, when the new federal rate scale for electric power (ETO Elt) was drawn up and put into practice. Since the beginning of this year, a draft for guidelines which was drawn up by the EC Commission exists which, going on the assumption that the European domestic electric power market will set an example, does away with territorial protection and in the name of third party access (TPA) allows for electric power-line transit, thus introducing at least partial competition to the electric power market. We no longer think in terms of closed systems with clear-cut responsibilities in regard to power supply, which form the basis for the laws on electric power prices, the cartel laws, the practices of the electric power control board and the cartel authorities. Thus, using the new federal rate scale for electric power and its principles as formulated in Article 1 as a point of departure, developments will go in the direction of a competitive system in accordance with the ideas of the EC Commission and German free-enterprise theoreticians, as laid down for example by the deregulation commission. Thus developments will lead us away from the status quo in the direction of possible reforms, if not to say revolutionary structural changes and the consequnces which they will bring for price and cartel laws. (orig.)

Environmental challenges and opportunities of the evolving North American electricity market : Estimating future air pollution from new electric power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, P.; Patterson, Z.; Vaughan, S.

2002-06-01

A significant source of air pollutants and greenhouse gases in North America is a direct result of the generation of electricity from the combustion of fossil fuels. An attempt at estimating the future emissions of four key pollutants from the electricity generation sector in North America was made by the authors in this paper. They based their estimates on projections of future electricity generation capacity changes. They looked at new power plant projects in North America, as well as the expected changes in emissions as a result of these projects compared to the historical data originating from power plant emissions in the recent past. Both the local context and the national level were examined. Nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and carbon dioxide, all arising from the combustion of fossil fuels, were considered in this paper. Ground level ozone, or smog results from nitrogen oxides. Acidic deposition, also called acid rain, is caused in part by both nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, as is fine particles in the atmosphere linked to lung damage and premature death. Fish consumption advisories were issued due to the levels of toxic mercury deposited in lakes and streams. Global climate change is caused in part to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Air quality and climate change will both be impacted by the future evolution of the electricity generation sector in an integrated North American energy market. The authors attempted to provide a baseline of air emissions from that sector in North America for a common reference year, enabling the tracking of changes in emissions patterns in the future. A reference case inventory for the four pollutants was estimated, followed by the development of two boundary cases estimating future emissions in 2007. refs., 22 tabs

Rents in the European power sector due to carbon trading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keppler, Jan Horst; Cruciani, Michel

2010-01-01

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) has imposed a price on the allowances for CO 2 emissions of electricity companies. Integrating this allowance price into the price of electricity earns a rent for companies who have received these allowances for free. During Phase I, 2005-2007, rents corresponding to the aggregate value of allocated allowances amounted to roughly EUR 13 billion per year. However, due to the specific price-setting mechanism in electricity markets true rents were considerably higher. This is due to the fact that companies also that have not received any allowances gain additional infra-marginal rents to the extent that their variable costs are below the new market price after inclusion of the allowance price. Producers with low carbon emissions and low marginal costs thus also benefit substantially from carbon pricing. This paper develops a methodology to determine the specific interaction of the imposition of such a CO 2 constraint and the price-setting mechanism in the electricity sector under the assumption of marginal cost pricing in a liberalized European electricity market. The article thus provides an empirical estimate of the true total rents of power producers during Phase I of the EU-ETS (2005-2007). The EU ETS generated in Phase I additional rents in excess of EUR 19 billion per year for electricity producers. These transfers are distributed very unevenly between different electricity producers. In a second step, the paper assesses the impact of switching from free allocation to an auctioning of allowances in 2013. We show that such a switch to auctioning will continue to create additional infra-marginal rents for certain producers and will leave the electricity sector as a whole better off than before the introduction of the EU ETS. (author)

Aging management of containment structures in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naus, D.J.; Oland, C.B.; Ellingwood, B.R.; Graves, H.L. III; Norris, W.E.

1996-01-01

Research is being conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory under US nuclear regulatory commission (USNRC) sponsorship to address aging management of nuclear power plant containment and other safety-related structures. Documentation is being prepared to provide the USNRC with potential structural safety issues and acceptance criteria for use in continued service evaluations of nuclear power plants. Accomplishments include development of a structural materials information center containing data and information on the time variation of 144 material properties under the influence of pertinent environmental stressors or aging factors, evaluation of models for potential concrete containment degradation factors, development of a procedure to identify critical structures and degradation factors important to aging management, evaluations of non-destructive evaluation techniques, assessments of European and North American repair practices for concrete, review of parameters affecting corrosion of metals embedded in concrete, and development of methodologies for making current condition assessments and service life predictions of new or existing reinforced concrete structures in nuclear power plants. (orig.)

Aging management of containment structures in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naus, D.J.; Oland, C.B.; Ellingwood, B.R.

1994-01-01

Research is being conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory under U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission sponsorship to address aging management of nuclear power plant containment and other safety-related structures. Documentation is being prepared to provide the US-NRC with potential structural safety issues and acceptance criteria for use in continued service evaluations of nuclear power plants. Accomplishments include development of a Structural Materials Information Center containing data and information on the time variation of 144 material properties under the influence of pertinent environmental stressors or aging factors, evaluation of models for potential concrete containment degradation factors, development of a procedure to identify critical structures and degradation factors important to aging management, evaluations of nondestructive evaluation techniques, assessments of European and North American repair practices for concrete, review of parameters affecting corrosion of metals embedded in concrete, and development of methodologies for making current condition assessments and service life predictions of new or existing reinforced concrete structures in nuclear power plants. (author). 29 refs., 2 figs

Aging management of containment structures in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naus, D.J.; Oland, C.B.; Ellingwood, B.R.; Graves, H.L. III; Norris, W.E.

1994-01-01

Research is being conducted by ORNL under US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) sponsorship to address aging management of nuclear power plant containment and other safety-related structures. Documentation is being prepared to provide the USNRC with potential structural safety issues and acceptance criteria for use in continued service evaluations of nuclear power plants. Accomplishments include development of a Structural Materials Information Center containing data and information on the time variation of 144 material properties under the influence of pertinent environmental stressors or aging factors, evaluation of models for potential concrete containment degradation factors, development of a procedure to identify critical structures and degradation factors important to aging management, evaluations of nondestructive evaluation techniques. assessments of European and North American repair practices for concrete, review of parameters affecting corrosion of metals embedded in concrete, and development of methodologies for making current condition assessments and service life predictions of new or existing reinforced concrete structures in nuclear power plants

Environmental concerns regarding electric power transmission in North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeCicco, J.M.; Bernow, S.S.; Beyea, J.

1992-01-01

The electric utilities of North America have become ever more interconnected via transmission facilities, largely to insure reliability. Current policy discussions regarding transmission include calls for improved access, increased capacity, and deregulation to facilitate trade in electric power. From an environmental perspective, two issues have been notably absent in much of the debate: (1) a recognition of the full range of environmental impacts related to electricity transmission; and (2) the potential for end-use efficiency to address the reliability and economy requirements that motivate attention to transmission. This paper broaches these issues, starting with an elaboration of the environmental impacts, which range from global and regional effects to local concerns, including the potential health risks associated with electric and magnetic fields. We emphasize that transmission planning should occur as part of an integrated planning process, in which the environmental and social costs of various options are fully considered. We discuss the potential for end-use efficiency to lessen environmental impacts of both transmission and generation. We conclude that there is a need to ensure that environmental externalities and demand-side alternatives are adequately considered when transmission network expansions are proposed. (Author)

Capacity development in food composition database management and nutritional research and education in Central and Eastern European, Middle Eastern and North African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurinović, M; Witthöft, C M; Tepšić, J; Ranić, M; Hulshof, P J M; Hollman, P C; Porubska, J; Gohar, A; Debeljak-Martačić, J; Petrović-Oggiano, G; Novaković, R; Glibetić, M; Oshaug, A

2010-11-01

Capacity development (CD) in food and nutrition is much more than formal training and includes human resource development, and organisational, institutional and legal framework development with the aim of enhancing nutrition-relevant knowledge and skills to support infrastructural development. The goal of the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR) Network of Excellence has been to develop and integrate food composition data throughout Europe. EuroFIR joined forces in CD with the United Nations (UN) University and UN System Standing Committee on Nutrition, the Network for Capacity Development in Nutrition in Central and Eastern Europe, the Central and Eastern European Countries Food Data Systems network and with the Middle East and North African Capacity Building Initiative. The aim of this paper is to discuss an inventory of the status of food composition databases (FCDBs) and the training needs of compilers in non-EuroFIR countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and to present the CD achieved through EuroFIR and other network collaborations. Two online questionnaires were created addressing the FCDB status and specific training needs in countries of the targeted regions. Data were collected during 2006-2008 and then analysed. Subsequently, CD activities were organised. Contacts were established in 19 CEE and 7 MENA countries, of which several had national food composition tables, but no electronic versions. Education, training, workshops, networking and the sharing of experiences were uniformly requested. Subsequently, CD activities in EuroFIR were organised focussing on food composition courses, exchange visits, workshops and individual training for PhD students, junior scientists and other staff categories, as well as conferences linked to food composition research and food information. To facilitate CD activities, EuroFIR has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Czech Republic, Hungary

Genişlemelerle Birlikte Avrupa Birliği Bakanlar Konseyi’nde Oylama Gücü Dağılımı(Voting Power Distribution With The Enlargements In The Council of The European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hatice Burcu ESKİCİ

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, enlargement is one of the most important issue for European Union. The situation that makes this issue important is the influence of membership of the candidate states on the voting power distribution. With the enlargements, European Union decision-making processes were regulated several times. The last regulation to the European Union voting system was brought by the Treaty of Lisbon. In this study, voting power distribution in Council of the European Union is evaluated for candidate states and member states considering the acts adopted by the Treaty of Lisbon and determined as candidate states determined as Turkey, Croatia, Iceland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. In the analysis, member states are grouped the according to the enlargement of the EU and the effect of the states that take part in these groups on the decision and changes of voting power are calculated using Banzhaf power index for power measurement.

Dyslipidemia and reference values for fasting plasma lipid concentrations in Danish/North-European White children and adolescents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Tenna Ruest Haarmark; Lausten-Thomsen, Ulrik; Fonvig, Cilius Esmann

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidemia is reported in 27 - 43% of children and adolescents with overweight/obesity and tracks into adulthood, increasing the risk of cardiovascular morbidity. Cut-off values for fasting plasma lipid concentrations are typically set at fixed levels throughout childhood. The objec......BACKGROUND: Dyslipidemia is reported in 27 - 43% of children and adolescents with overweight/obesity and tracks into adulthood, increasing the risk of cardiovascular morbidity. Cut-off values for fasting plasma lipid concentrations are typically set at fixed levels throughout childhood....... The objective of this cross-sectional study was to generate fasting plasma lipid references for a Danish/North-European White population-based cohort of children and adolescents, and investigate the prevalence of dyslipidemia in this cohort as well as in a cohort with overweight/obesity. METHODS: A population......, and fasting plasma lipid concentrations were measured on all participants. Smoothed reference curves and percentiles were generated using the Generalized Additive Models for Location Scale and Shape package in the statistical software R. RESULTS: In the population-based cohort, plasma concentrations of total...

Radiotherapy for invasive breast cancer in North America and Europe: Results of a survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceilley, Elizabeth; Jagsi, Reshma; Goldberg, Saveli; Grignon, Laurent; Kachnic, Lisa; Powell, Simon; Taghian, Alphonse

2005-01-01

Purpose: To document and explain the current radiotherapeutic management of invasive breast cancer in North America and Europe. We also identified a number of areas of agreement, as well as controversy, toward which additional clinical research should be directed. Methods and materials: An original survey questionnaire was developed to assess radiation oncologists' self-reported management of breast cancer. The questionnaire was administered to physician members of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. We present the results of the comparative analysis of 702 responses from North America and 435 responses from Europe. Results: Several areas of national and international controversy were identified, including the selection of appropriate candidates for postmastectomy radiation therapy (RT) and the appropriate management of the regional lymph nodes after mastectomy, as well as after lumpectomy. Only 40.7% and 36.1% of respondents would use postmastectomy RT in patients with 1-3 positive lymph nodes in North America and Europe, respectively. Sentinel lymph node biopsy was offered more frequently by North American than European respondents (p < 0.0001) and more frequently by academic than nonacademic respondents in North America (p < 0.05). The average radiation fraction size was larger in Europe than in North America (p < 0.01). European respondents offered RT to the internal mammary chain more often than did the North American respondents (p < 0.001). North American respondents were more likely to offer RT to the supraclavicular fossa (p < 0.001) and axilla (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Marked differences were found in physician opinions regarding the management of breast cancer, with statistically significant international differences in patterns of care. This survey highlighted areas of controversy, providing support for international randomized trials to optimize the RT management of

GLOBAL COMPETITION BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luca DIACONESCU

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The human-geographic regionalization is a landmark in the demarcation of territories that include populations of the same demographic, cultural or economic background. A defining boundary for human characteristics across the planet can be made simple, between the North and the South. The north, though advanced economically, militarily, technologically, united, well-urbanized and landscaped, dominates the world for just 500 years before the South was in power. After a long period of stagnation, the South escapes the colonialist chains until the 1950s, after which begins a vast process of revival in which emerging new powers are emerging as well as a series of economic unions that can rival with the old powers in the North. Analyzing the number of inhabitants in the two regions, it is noted that demographic size is a priority in the slope of the power balance, so when one of the regions exceeded 50% of the total population of the Globe, it attracted wealth by exporting populations and culture that colonized the other half. After 1950, the South holds for the first time 400 years, over 50% of the total population, and in 2017 it reaches 62%, reaching 71% in 2050 and 81% of the world's population by 2100. understands that the economic difficulties in the North, financial crises, the limitation of global influence or the issue of immigrants is only at the beginning, and the transformation of the North into the southern vassal is just a matter of time.

Pu isotopes in the western North Pacific Ocean before the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, M.; Zheng, J.; Aono, T.

2011-12-01

Anthropogenic radionuclides such as Pu-239 (half-life: 24100 yr), Pu-240 (half-life: 6560 yr) and Pu-241 (half-life: 14.325 yr) mainly have been released into the environment as the result of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. In the North Pacific Ocean, two distinct sources of Pu isotopes can be identified; i.e., the global stratospheric fallout and close-in tropospheric fallout from nuclear weapons testing at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands. The atom ratio of Pu-240/Pu-239 is a powerful fingerprint to identify the sources of Pu in the ocean. The Pu-240/Pu-239 atom ratios in seawater and marine sediment samples collected in the western North Pacific before the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station will provide useful background data for understanding the process controlling Pu transport and for distinguishing future Pu sources. The atom ratios of Pu-240/Pu-239 in water columns from the Yamato and Tsushima Basins in the Japan Sea were significantly higher than the mean global fallout ratio of 0.18; however, there were no temporal variation of atom ratios during the period from 1984 to 1993 in the Japan Sea. The total Pu-239+240 inventories in the whole water columns were approximately doubled during the period from 1984 to 1993 in the two basins. The atom ratio of Pu-240/Pu-239 in surface water from Sagami Bay, western North Pacific Ocean, was 0.224 and showed no notable variation from the surface to the bottom with the mean atom ratio being 0.234. The atom ratios for the Pacific coast, near the Rokkasho nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, were approximately the same as the 0.224 ratio obtained from Sagami Bay, western North Pacific margin. The atom ratios in the surficial sediments from Sagami Bay ranged from 0.229 to 0.247. The mean atom ratio in the sediment columns in the East China Sea ranged from 0.248 for the Changjiang estuary to 0.268 for the shelf edge. The observed atom ratios were significantly higher than the mean

Solar electricity imports from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trieb, Franz; Schillings, Christoph; Pregger, Thomas; O'Sullivan, Marlene

2012-01-01

The huge solar resources in the MENA countries (Middle East and North Africa), significant improvements in concentrating solar power (CSP) technology and in power transmission technologies, and the urgent need to remove carbon emissions from the European (EU) energy system lead to an increased interest in an EU-MENA electricity grid interconnection. As contribution to the current discussions about DESERTEC, MedGrid and other initiatives this article describes the approach and results of an analysis of possible solar electricity import corridors from MENA to Europe including Turkey. The study is based on solar energy potentials of the MENA countries identified by remote sensing, reviewed performance and cost data of generation and transmission technologies, and geographic data and information systems (GIS) for the spatial analysis. CSP plants combined with high temperature heat storage and high voltage direct current (HVDC) overhead lines and sea cables represent the key technologies for implementing this promising option for renewable energy import/export. The total technical solar power generation potential from remote sensing analysis in the seven MENA countries considered was calculated to about 538,000 TWh/yr. This huge potential implies that less than 0.2% of the land suitable for CSP plants would be enough to supply 15% of the electricity demand expected in Europe in the year 2050. A GIS analysis of potential future HVDC corridors led to the description and characterization of 33 possible import routes to main European centers of demand. - Highlights: ► Concentrating Solar Power in the Mediterranean Region (MED-CSP 2005) (www.dlr.de/tt/med-csp). ► Trans-Mediterranean Interconnection for Concentrating Solar Power (TRANS-CSP 2006) (www.dlr.de/tt/trans-csp). ► Concentrating Solar Power for Seawater Desalination (AQUA-CSP 2007) (www.dlr.de/tt/aqua-csp). ► Risk of Energy Availability: Common Corridors for Europe Supply Security (REACCESS 2009) (http

Making them fit to help themselves? Safety engineering partnerships with East European nuclear power plant operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobottka, H.

1997-01-01

The low technological standard of nuclear power plants in East Europe is a matter of concern. NPP operators are in a bad financial situation as they often are compelled to sell their electricity below cost price, or payment increasingly is delayed, or not coming in at all. Special EU programmes and partnership agreements with West European electricity companies have been instigated in order to lead out of the crisis. Will they remain no more than a pebble dropped into the sea? (orig.) [de

Skin lesions in European hibernating bats associated with Geomyces destructans, the etiologic agent of white-nose syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Wibbelt, Gudrun; Puechmaille, Sébastien J; Ohlendorf, Bernd; Mühldorfer, Kristin; Bosch, Thijs; Görföl, Tamás; Passior, Karsten; Kurth, Andreas; Lacremans, Daniel; Forget, Frédéric

2013-01-01

White-nose syndrome (WNS) has claimed the lives of millions of hibernating insectivorous bats in North America. Its etiologic agent, the psychrophilic fungus Geomyces destructans, causes skin lesions that are the hallmark of the disease. The fungal infection is characterized by a white powdery growth on muzzle, ears and wing membranes. While WNS may threaten some species of North American bats with regional extinction, infection in hibernating bats in Europe seems not to be associated with significant mortality. We performed histopathological investigations on biopsy samples of 11 hibernating European bats, originating from 4 different countries, colonized by G. destructans. One additional bat was euthanized to allow thorough examination of multiple strips of its wing membranes. Molecular analyses of touch imprints, swabs and skin samples confirmed that fungal structures were G. destructans. Additionally, archived field notes on hibernacula monitoring data in the Harz Mountains, Germany, over an 11-year period (2000-2011) revealed multiple capture-recapture events of 8 banded bats repeatedly displaying characteristic fungal colonization. Skin lesions of G. destructans-affected hibernating European bats are intriguingly similar to the epidermal lesions described in North American bats. Nevertheless, deep invasion of fungal hyphae into the dermal connective tissue with resulting ulceration like in North American bats was not observed in the biopsy samples of European bats; all lesions found were restricted to the layers of the epidermis and its adnexae. Two bats had mild epidermal cupping erosions as described for North American bats. The possible mechanisms for any difference in outcomes of G. destructans infection in European and North American bats still need to be elucidated.

Skin lesions in European hibernating bats associated with Geomyces destructans, the etiologic agent of white-nose syndrome.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gudrun Wibbelt

Full Text Available White-nose syndrome (WNS has claimed the lives of millions of hibernating insectivorous bats in North America. Its etiologic agent, the psychrophilic fungus Geomyces destructans, causes skin lesions that are the hallmark of the disease. The fungal infection is characterized by a white powdery growth on muzzle, ears and wing membranes. While WNS may threaten some species of North American bats with regional extinction, infection in hibernating bats in Europe seems not to be associated with significant mortality. We performed histopathological investigations on biopsy samples of 11 hibernating European bats, originating from 4 different countries, colonized by G. destructans. One additional bat was euthanized to allow thorough examination of multiple strips of its wing membranes. Molecular analyses of touch imprints, swabs and skin samples confirmed that fungal structures were G. destructans. Additionally, archived field notes on hibernacula monitoring data in the Harz Mountains, Germany, over an 11-year period (2000-2011 revealed multiple capture-recapture events of 8 banded bats repeatedly displaying characteristic fungal colonization. Skin lesions of G. destructans-affected hibernating European bats are intriguingly similar to the epidermal lesions described in North American bats. Nevertheless, deep invasion of fungal hyphae into the dermal connective tissue with resulting ulceration like in North American bats was not observed in the biopsy samples of European bats; all lesions found were restricted to the layers of the epidermis and its adnexae. Two bats had mild epidermal cupping erosions as described for North American bats. The possible mechanisms for any difference in outcomes of G. destructans infection in European and North American bats still need to be elucidated.

Comparative Analysis of Public Attitudes toward Nuclear Power Energy across 27 European Countries by Applying the Multilevel Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaesun Wang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Despite its potential risks, nuclear power energy offers some economic benefits including cheap electricity. This benefit clarifies part of the reason why people support nuclear energy. Our research examined whether there was a difference in the acceptance of nuclear energy across 27 European countries in 2009, before the Fukushima accident. In particular, we analyzed how each factor at the individual and contextual level influences the acceptance. To answer this question, we set up the acceptance of nuclear energy as a dependent variable, and 5 perception variables at the individual level and 11 structural ones at the contextual level as independent variables. We executed multilevel modeling by using a Eurobarometer survey, which covered 27 European countries. The analysis results showed that at the individual level, the perceived benefit explained the largest variance of the acceptance, followed by perceived risk and trust. At the contextual level, the share of the energy supply by nuclear power, environmentalism and ideology influenced the acceptance of nuclear energy. This study shows that individuals’ acceptance of nuclear energy is based on individual beliefs and perceptions, but it is also influenced by the institutional and socio-cultural context which each country faces.

Analysis of potentials and costs of CO{sub 2} storage in the Utsira aquifer in the North Sea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fidje, Audun; Espegren, Kari; Wangen, Magnus; Seljom, Pernille; Ramirez, Andrea; Hoefnagels, Ric; Wu, Zhenxue; Broek, Machteld van den; Strachan, Neil; Blesl, Markus; Kober, Tom; Grohnheit, Poul Erik; Luethje, Mikael

2010-10-22

The FENCO ERA-NET project has studied the national and regional cost-effectiveness of CCS in five countries of North West Europe. The focus was on the feasibility of storing CO{sub 2} into the Utsira formation as part of national or regional CO{sub 2} mitigation strategies. The project have used the Pan European TIMES (PET) model and national MARKAL/TIMES models for the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Norway. To be able to carry out comparable analyses, data which is not country specific (e.g., developments on cost and performance of fossil fuel based power plants) has been harmonized. Analyses were carried out on both national level and regional (North European) level and the model results were compared to study the advantages of a common European CO{sub 2} infrastructure in contrast with national infrastructures. The future role of the Norwegian Utsira formation as a storage location for CO{sub 2} from North European countries depends on the actual properties of the formation, mitigation strategies, future energy costs, development of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies, public acceptance and political barriers. A main limitation for the use of the Utsira formation is the maximum annual injection rate for CO{sub 2}. This appears as a stronger limiting factor than the total storage capacity. The maximum simulated injection rate that was found in the literature is 150 Mt CO{sub 2} per year. Under stringent mitigation targets the requirement of annual CO{sub 2} capture can exceed 150 Mt per year in the North European countries. To obtain a better understanding of the limitation of the Utsira formation as a possible storage location for North European CO{sub 2}, further research on the injection rate capacity will be required. The European CO{sub 2} mitigation strategies are vital for the implementation of CCS technologies towards 2050 and the importance of CO{sub 2} storage in the Utsira formation. All the national energy system

The effectiveness of new austrian tunnelling method (NATM for hydro power plant construction: lau gunung power plant, north sumatera, indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ade Khoir Rizki

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Hydro Electric Power Plant is a power generating system using gravity fall of water as the main force to move the turbine and generate electricity. The construction purpose of Lau Gunung hydropower (2×7. 5 MW that is located in Dairi, North Sumatra, is to Supply power to 14,000 house of the surrounding region. The river run-off system, where the water is immediately contained and then flowed through a tunnel considering the discharge flowing river, where it is constant and does not occur in the fluctuating water level. The Lau Gunung river has the minimum flow that can exceed from 15 to 25 m3/s with a high tunnel dimensions of 4 metres long, 3,9 metres wide and a length of 1,6 kilometres. In terms of the analysis of the time effectiveness of the NATM can be saved because of the continuous work of 24 hours, without any obstacles in which the sub methods used include the drilling & blasting. The tunnel then use the form of steel reinforcement rib and Safety shotcrete lining. The general review may show that using NATM result a tremendous savings, also the use of horse shape conduce small displacement which is effective for the construction.

Multi-dimensional migration challenges in North Africa

OpenAIRE

Johannes van der Klaauw

2007-01-01

Facing tighter European border controls, increasing numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from sub-Saharan countries find themselves stranded in North Africa. In the absence of functioning state asylum structures and with a growing caseload of asylum seekers, UNHCR is working to strengthen regional protection capacity, particularly in Morocco.

Warming shelf seas drive the subtropicalization of European pelagic fish communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Montero-Serra, Ignasi; Edwards, Martin; Genner, Martin J

2015-01-01

Pelagic fishes are among the most ecologically and economically important fish species in European seas. In principle, these pelagic fishes have potential to demonstrate rapid abundance and distribution shifts in response to climatic variability due to their high adult motility, planktonic larval stages, and low dependence on benthic habitat for food or shelter during their life histories. Here, we provide evidence of substantial climate-driven changes to the structure of pelagic fish communities in European shelf seas. We investigated the patterns of species-level change using catch records from 57,870 fisheries-independent survey trawls from across European continental shelf region between 1965 and 2012. We analysed changes in the distribution and rate of occurrence of the six most common species, and observed a strong subtropicalization of the North Sea and Baltic Sea assemblages. These areas have shifted away from cold-water assemblages typically characterized by Atlantic herring and European sprat from the 1960s to 1980s, to warmer-water assemblages including Atlantic mackerel, Atlantic horse mackerel, European pilchard and European anchovy from the 1990s onwards. We next investigated if warming sea temperatures have forced these changes using temporally comprehensive data from the North Sea region. Our models indicated the primary driver of change in these species has been sea surface temperatures in all cases. Together, these analyses highlight how individual species responses have combined to result in a dramatic subtropicalization of the pelagic fish assemblage of the European continental shelf. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Class-related health inequalities are not larger in the East : A comparison of four European regions using the new European socioeconomic classification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T.A. Eikemo (Terje); A.E. Kunst (Anton); K. Judge; J.P. Mackenbach (Johan)

2008-01-01

textabstractBackground: The article investigates whether people in Eastern Europe have larger health inequalities than their counterparts in three West European regions (North, Central and the South). Methods: Data were obtained for 63 754 individuals in 23 countries from the first (2002) and

The Luneburg Sustainable University Project in International Comparison: An Assessment against North American Peers

Science.gov (United States)

Beringer, Almut

2007-01-01

Purpose: To assess the Luneburg Sustainable University Project (the Project) in a non-European international context; to relate the project scholarly approach to selected scholarly and practice-oriented North American sustainability in higher education (SHE) methods; to analyze project innovations against North American initiatives.…

The CO2 emissions of the European power sector: economic drivers and the climate-energy policies' contribution. Working Paper No. 2014 - 17

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berghmans, Nicolas; Cheze, Benoit; Alberola, Emilie; Chevallier, Julien

2014-10-01

In the frame of the ongoing debate on the 2030 energy and climate policies in the European Union, this article provides the first assessment of the effectiveness of European energy and climate policies on the CO 2 emissions reductions. This ex-post analysis deals with the CO 2 emissions of the electricity sector covered by the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) during its phases I and II (2005-2012). We analyze the contribution of different variables (including climate and energy policies, energy prices, economic activity and technical features of plants) in the evolution of CO 2 emissions from electricity production plants in Europe. The empirical results allow drawing a number of conclusions regarding the causes of the downward trend in the carbon emissions generated by power production covered by the EU ETS between 2005 and 2012. First, we show that the increased use of renewable energy in electricity production has played a dominant role in the fall in CO 2 emissions in the power sector. Second, the analysis confirms that the economic downturn has played a significant role, although not a dominant one. Third, price substitution effects between coal and gas also seem to have affected carbon emissions. Last but not least, we identify that the price of carbon has also pushed down power CO 2 emissions. (authors)

A measurement to analyze the relative change in the Absolute Parity of Power Purchase: An application to the European Union

OpenAIRE

Santiago Rodriguez Feijoo; Alejandro Rodriguez Caro; Carlos Gonzalez Correa

2003-01-01

In the present paper an index to measure the changes in the Absolute Purchasing Power Parity. in the short term of a group of territories that conform an unique market, using the information of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices and the Exchange Rates. This measurement is utilized to study the change in relative prices of the countries of the European Union for the period 1991-2002, and the fulfillment of the theory of the Relative Purchasing Power Parity, taking as a reference the Absol...

Harmonization of nuclear and radiation safety regulations for nuclear power plants with reference levels of Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bojchuk, V.S.; Mikolajchuk, O.A.; Gromov, G.V.; Dibach, O.M.; Godovanyuk, G.M.; Nosovs'kij, A.V.

2014-01-01

Self-evaluation of the Ukrainian regulations on nuclear and radiation safety that apply to nuclear power plants for compliance with the reference levels of the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA) is presented. Proposals on improvement of the regulations upon self-evaluation are provided

European Union response to Fukushima. European stress tests and peer review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamet, Philippe [Autorite de Surete Nucleaire (ASN), Paris (France)

2012-07-01

Following the severe accidents which started in the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP on 11 March 2011, the European Council requested that a comprehensive safety and risk assessment, in light of preliminary lessons learned, be performed on all EU nuclear plants. Therefore, stress tests and peer review assessing natural initiating events, the loss of safety systems and severe accident management have been performed in the 15 European Union countries with nuclear power plants as well as Switzerland and Ukraine. The final peer review report of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) highlights four main areas for improvement to be explored across Europe: 1. Development by the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA), with the contribution of the best available EU expertise, of a European guidance on assessment of natural hazards and margins; 2. Importance of Periodic Safety Review to be underlined by ENSREG; 3. Expeditious implementation of the recognised measures to protect containment integrity; 4. Prevention of accidents resulting from natural hazards and limitation of their consequences. The peer review of the European stress tests was completed in April 2012. In their conclusive statement issued 26 April 2012, the national European regulators and the European Commission as European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) required that follow-up would occur by way of an ENSREG action plan. Country specific action plans will be developed and peer review workshop will be organised to share lessons learned on the implementation of post-Fukushima safety improvements.

European Union response to Fukushima. European stress tests and peer review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamet, Philippe

2012-01-01

Following the severe accidents which started in the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP on 11 March 2011, the European Council requested that a comprehensive safety and risk assessment, in light of preliminary lessons learned, be performed on all EU nuclear plants. Therefore, stress tests and peer review assessing natural initiating events, the loss of safety systems and severe accident management have been performed in the 15 European Union countries with nuclear power plants as well as Switzerland and Ukraine. The final peer review report of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) highlights four main areas for improvement to be explored across Europe: 1. Development by the Western European Nuclear Regulators' Association (WENRA), with the contribution of the best available EU expertise, of a European guidance on assessment of natural hazards and margins; 2. Importance of Periodic Safety Review to be underlined by ENSREG; 3. Expeditious implementation of the recognised measures to protect containment integrity; 4. Prevention of accidents resulting from natural hazards and limitation of their consequences. The peer review of the European stress tests was completed in April 2012. In their conclusive statement issued 26 April 2012, the national European regulators and the European Commission as European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) required that follow-up would occur by way of an ENSREG action plan. Country specific action plans will be developed and peer review workshop will be organised to share lessons learned on the implementation of post-Fukushima safety improvements.

The liberalization of the European energy market from the perspective of the Austrian regional power company

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sander, H.

1999-01-01

This dissertation addresses the liberalization of the European energy sector from an Austrian perspective, emphasizing its effect on a regional power company (KELAG). The energy market's changing conditions are creating new opportunities for consumers that allow them to optimize their ability to fulfill their power requirements. Decentralized solutions are now just as viable for large industrial customers as the ability to have all energy supplied through the utility network. In addition, partnerships with independent power producers (IPP's) or cooperation between the large customers in energy production can be considered. From a regional perspective, the central management concept of KELAG is the answer to an altered market situation, since this concept created tremendous potential for streamlining the management of energy production and operation of the network. The liberalization of the energy market for large industrial customers in Carinthia's electricity sector was preceded by a series of important decisions. The Verbundgesellschaft combine their generating facilities. In the future the power plants of Draukraft in Carinthia will be supervised and controlled remotely from KELAG's central control unit in Klagenfurt, as a result of which the central control unit becomes the primary energy control for Carinthia. (author)

Inventorying and pinpoint mapping of woody plants in the European and North American sectors of arboretum of the PetrSU Botanic Garden

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eglacheva Arina

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Modern information technologies allow us to combine different types of data into a unified system and to determine a transformation of species under the new conditions of introduction (Prokhorov et al., 2013, Annenkovа, 2014. In Karelia, arboretum of the PetrSU Botanic Garden has an exceptional importance due to the species diversity and organization of planting. Regardless of the various long-term studies conducted in the arboretum, no dot distribution map of plants is available today. The article represents mapping results of more than 500 woody plants on the territory of the arboretum’s European and North American sectors. Each object has complete information about its dendrometric characteristics, phytosanitary status, and presence of epiphytic organisms found on it (fungi, lichens, mosses.

Microbial biogeography of the North Sea during summer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brandsma, J.; Martínez Martínez, J.; Slagter, H.A.; Evans, C.; Brussaard, C.P.D.

2013-01-01

Micro-organisms are vital for the functioning of all food webs and are the major drivers of the global biogeochemical cycles. The microbial community compositions and physicochemical conditions of the different water masses in the North Sea, a biologically productive sea on the northwestern European

The European natural gas market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagland, Jan

2001-01-01

An increasing amount of natural gas is flowing into continental Europe, one of the largest gas markets in the world. There are three main sources of gas: Africa, Russia and Norway. Norway is an important supplier of gas, but may be vulnerable to competition. The demand for gas is increasing on a global basis and the largest increase is expected in Asia, followed by America and Europe. It is expected that Norwegian gas deliveries will be a principle source of natural gas for North Europe in the next years and that they will take an increasing part of the British market as the gas deliveries from the British shelf is going down. The European gas market is likely to become liberalized according to the EU's competition- and gas directives. This will not necessarily be a problem, and Norway may be able to increase the export of gas to Great Britain considerably from the year 2010, perhaps up to 40 billion standard m3 per year. Russia is expected to take an increased share of the European gas market, especially in East- and Central Europe, Germany and North Italy. But large investments in existing fields, new developments and new strategic pipelines are necessary

Class-related health inequalities are not larger in the East: a comparison of four European regions using the new European socioeconomic classification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eikemo, T. A.; Kunst, A. E.; Judge, K.; Mackenbach, J. P.

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: The article investigates whether people in Eastern Europe have larger health inequalities than their counterparts in three West European regions (North, Central and the South). METHODS: Data were obtained for 63,754 individuals in 23 countries from the first (2002) and second (2004)

International market integration for natural gas? A cointegration analysis of prices in Europe, North America and Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siliverstovs, Boriss; L'Hegaret, Guillaume; Neumann, Anne; Hirschlausen, Christian von

2005-01-01

This paper investigates the degree of integration of natural gas markets in Europe, North America and Japan in the time period between the early 1990s and 2004. The relationship between international gas market prices and their relation to the oil price are explored through principal components analysis and Johansen likelihood-based cointegration procedure. Both of them show a high level of natural gas market integration within Europe, between the European and Japanese markets as well as within the North American market. At the same time the obtained results suggest that the European (respectively, Japanese) and the North American markets were not integrated. (Author)

Evolution of the Italian regulations and comparison with the other European regulations on the siting of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nocera, F.; De Lise, P.

1983-01-01

The technical and legal criteria as well as procedures relating to the siting of nuclear power plants are given careful attention in most countries due to safety problems and increasing public interest. This paper presents a short survey of the relevant situation in some European countries and describes the developments affecting the legal regime in Italy in recent years. (NEA) [fr

Multi-dimensional migration challenges in North Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johannes van der Klaauw

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Facing tighter European border controls, increasing numbers of refugees and asylum seekers from sub-Saharan countries find themselves stranded in North Africa. In the absence of functioning state asylum structures and with a growing caseload of asylum seekers, UNHCR is working to strengthen regional protection capacity, particularly in Morocco.

Seasonal predictability of the North Atlantic Oscillation

Science.gov (United States)

Vellinga, Michael; Scaife, Adam

2015-04-01

Until recently, long-range forecast systems showed only modest levels of skill in predicting surface winter climate around the Atlantic Basin and associated fluctuations in the North Atlantic Oscillation at seasonal lead times. Here we use a new forecast system to assess seasonal predictability of winter North Atlantic climate. We demonstrate that key aspects of European and North American winter climate and the surface North Atlantic Oscillation are highly predictable months ahead. We demonstrate high levels of prediction skill in retrospective forecasts of the surface North Atlantic Oscillation, winter storminess, near-surface temperature, and wind speed, all of which have high value for planning and adaptation to extreme winter conditions. Analysis of forecast ensembles suggests that while useful levels of seasonal forecast skill have now been achieved, key sources of predictability are still only partially represented and there is further untapped predictability. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License together with an author copyright. This license does not conflict with the regulations of the Crown Copyright.

North-South Rivalry and Offshore Balancing in Sub-Saharan Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kluth, Michael Friederich; Pilegaard, Jess

Sub-Saharan Africa constitutes a distinct security region and hosts a high proportion of fragile and failed states presiding over territories with abundant resources – but no indigenous great powers! Following offensive neorealist logic, the absence of local great powers explains the continued...... benign neglect of the US. External influence from European powers is nonetheless significant, albeit several BRIC countries are challenging the position of the former colonial masters. In response France and the United Kingdom (UK) have turned to European foreign and security policy integration to pool...... resources and promote burden sharing with other EU partners, in order to maintain power in the region. This European mobilization has kept rivals at bay but has also instigated balancing behaviour as revisionist suitors boost their conventional power projection capabilities....

Nuclear power and growth in the European Communities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maigaard, J.

1981-01-01

In the form of a textbook the author reviews the European Communities energy policy since 1973. It is the authors conclusion that EEC has failed in creating an energy policy based on international cooperation. (BP)

North American oil demand outlook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, M.B.

1995-01-01

An understanding of the relationship of economic growth and potential petroleum product demand is needed to forecast the potential for North American oil demand growth as well as knowledge of world supply and price. The bullish expectations for economic growth in the US and Canada auger well for North American refiners and marketeers. The growth in world economic output forecast, however, means a larger oil demand and an increase in OPEC's pricing power. Such price increases could depress North American oil demand growth. (author)

Twenty Years of the European Information Systems Academy at ECIS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stein, Mari-Klara; Galliers, Robert D.; Whitley, Edgar A.

2016-01-01

by further developing the profile of European IS research that was reported on in EJIS following the first 10 years of the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS). On the basis of an analysis of all papers published in ECIS proceedings during the 10-year period 2003–2012, the paper highlights three...... key characteristics of the developing European IS research profile: (1) continuation of the traditional European IS research profile as developed in the first decade; (2) convergence with aspects of the North American tradition and (3) development of a distinct approach to design science. We place...... these observed characteristics within broader historical and contextual features such as the changing European academic landscape, with increasing pressures to ‘publish or perish’ in order to be internationally competitive. Our contribution lies in providing a contemporaneous account of the dominant contextual...

North Korea -- Still an Intelligence Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephan Blancke

2014-06-01

Full Text Available A few years after Kim Jong Un came into office, North Korea is still attracting controversy in the headlines, and political sanctions are still in operation. Despite the harsh measures in place to isolate Pyongyang from sources of money and luxury, the rulers are able to get what they want using front companies or the help of other states. The reasons for this are deeply rooted in the North Korean political structure. A network of high ranking officials, their children, and political minions are grappling for power and wealth. Beside the powerful Kim clan there exist other families in North Korea whose loyalty must be secured with bribes. If the loyalty of the influential families is eroded, the power base of Kim Jong Un is likely to soon diminish. As a result, the North Korean government is searching for sources of money. Illicit drugs may be one solution the ruling regime find attractive to this problem, but there appears to be a twist: struggling ordinary citizens are showing signs that they too are taking part in this illegal enterprise. This is manifested by their willingness to become involved in crime in the same way as the corrupt regime.

Roles of Solar Power from Space for Europe - Space Exploration and Combinations with Terrestrial Solar Plant Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Summerer, L.; Pipoli, T.; Galvez, A.; Ongaro, F.; Vasile, M.

The paper presents the prospective roles of SPS concepts for Europe, shows the outcome of recent studies undertaken by ESA's Advanced Concepts Team (ACT) together with European industry and research centres and gives insight into planned activities. The main focus is on the assessment of the principal validity and economic viability of solar power from space concepts in the light of advances in alternative sustainable, clean and potentially abundant solar-based terrestrial concepts. The paper takes into account expected changes in the European energy system (e.g. gradual introduction of hydrogen as energy vector). Special emphasis is given to the possibilities of integrating space and terrestrial solar plants. The relative geographic proximity of areas in North Africa with high average solar irradiation to the European energy consumer market puts Europe in a special position regarding the integration of space and terrestrial solar power concepts. The paper presents a method to optimise such an integration, taking into account different possible orbital constellations, terrestrial locations, plant number and sizes as well as consumer profiles and extends the scope from the European-only to a multi continental approach including the fast growing Chinese electricity market. The work intends to contribute to the discussion on long-term options for the European commitment to worldwide CO2 emission reduction. Cleaner electricity generation and environmentally neutral transport fuels (e.g. solar generated hydrogen) might be two major tools in reaching this goal.

Decommissioning and demolition in the European Union. Current status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blohm-Hieber, Ute

2009-01-01

The European Commission pursues the environmental and energy policy goals of limiting global warming to a maximum of 2 C and, therefore, reducing CO 2 emissions by at least 20%. Nuclear power, with its present 30% contribution to the Community's electricity supply and the low CO 2 emissions of the entire fuel cycle, makes an important contribution to an energy mix matching the 3 factors of competitiveness, security of supply, and sustainability. The decision to use nuclear power plants in their respective countries for electricity production is left to each member state. As of mid-2008, 146 nuclear power plants were in operation in the European Union, while 74 had been shut down permanently. Two nuclear power plants had been demolished completely, showing that the European Community is just at the beginning of the learning curve in this field. The importance of nuclear power plant decommissioning and demolition will increase in the future as replacement capacity in nuclear power generation will become necessary. The European Commission's activities in decommissioning and demolition date from the 1990s: The provisions about environmental impact assessment and the recommendations to apply Article 37 (potential impacts on water, soil and air) of the Euratom Treaty demand a description of decommissioning and demolition of nuclear power plants. In a ruling of 2002, the European Court of Justice assigns to the Community the required competences in the fields of nuclear safety and, consequently, also decommissioning and demolition. The financial provisions necessary for these activities are covered in the Electricity Directive within the framework of the rules for a common single market in 2003. After a first status report, the Commission published recommendations about financing decommissioning and demolition in 2006. (orig.)

An approach for the estimation of the aggregated photovoltaic power generated in several European countries from meteorological data

Science.gov (United States)

Saint-Drenan, Yves-Marie; Wald, Lucien; Ranchin, Thierry; Dubus, Laurent; Troccoli, Alberto

2018-05-01

Classical approaches to the calculation of the photovoltaic (PV) power generated in a region from meteorological data require the knowledge of the detailed characteristics of the plants, which are most often not publicly available. An approach is proposed with the objective to obtain the best possible assessment of power generated in any region without having to collect detailed information on PV plants. The proposed approach is based on a model of PV plant coupled with a statistical distribution of the prominent characteristics of the configuration of the plant and is tested over Europe. The generated PV power is first calculated for each of the plant configurations frequently found in a given region and then aggregated taking into account the probability of occurrence of each configuration. A statistical distribution has been constructed from detailed information obtained for several thousands of PV plants representing approximately 2 % of the total number of PV plants in Germany and was then adapted to other European countries by taking into account changes in the optimal PV tilt angle as a function of the latitude and meteorological conditions. The model has been run with bias-adjusted ERA-interim data as meteorological inputs. The results have been compared to estimates of the total PV power generated in two countries: France and Germany, as provided by the corresponding transmission system operators. Relative RMSE of 4.2 and 3.8 % and relative biases of -2.4 and 0.1 % were found with three-hourly data for France and Germany. A validation against estimates of the country-wide PV-power generation provided by the ENTSO-E for 16 European countries has also been conducted. This evaluation is made difficult by the uncertainty on the installed capacity corresponding to the ENTSO-E data but it nevertheless allows demonstrating that the model output and TSO data are highly correlated in most countries. Given the simplicity of the proposed approach these results are

Copula-based modeling of stochastic wind power in Europe and implications for the Swiss power grid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagspiel, Simeon; Papaemannouil, Antonis; Schmid, Matthias; Andersson, Göran

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We model stochastic wind power using copula theory. ► Stochastic wind power is integrated in a European system adequacy evaluation. ► The Swiss power grid is put at risk by further integrating wind power in Europe. ► System elements located at or close to Swiss borders are affected the most. ► A criticality indicator allows prioritizing expansion plans on a probabilistic basis. -- Abstract: Large scale integration of wind energy poses new challenges to the European power system due to its stochastic nature and often remote location. In this paper a multivariate uncertainty analysis problem is formulated for the integration of stochastic wind energy in the European grid. By applying copula theory a synthetic set of data is generated from scarce wind speed reanalysis data in order to achieve the increased sample size for the subsequent Monte Carlo simulation. In the presented case study, European wind power samples are generated from the modeled stochastic process. Under the precondition of a modeled perfect market environment, wind power impacts dispatch decisions and therefore leads to alterations in power balances. Stochastic power balances are implemented in a detailed model of the European electricity network, based on the generated samples. Finally, a Monte Carlo method is used to determine power flows and contingencies in the system. An indicator is elaborated in order to analyze risk of overloading and to prioritize necessary grid reinforcements. Implications for the Swiss power grid are investigated in detail, revealing that the current system is significantly put at risk in certain areas by the further integration of wind power in Europe. It is the first time that the results of a probabilistic model for wind energy are further deployed within a power system analysis of the interconnected European grid. The method presented in this paper allows to account for stochastic wind energy in a load flow analysis and to evaluate

European constitution and EURATOM treaty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heller, W.

2003-01-01

The European Council held in Laeken in December 2001 had decided to call a convention preparing the next conference of the heads of state and government which, among other topics, was to deliberate the question of a fully formulated European constitution. Under the presidency of Giscard d'Estaing, all delegates to the European Convention on July 10, 2003 signed the draft treaty for a European constitution. This final document is the basis of the conference of the heads of state and government to begin in October 2003. On this occasion, the draft of a separate chapter on energy could well come up again for examination. This chapter had been introduced only at the end of the deliberations of the convention and adds to the competences of the EU institutions. Also the Euratom Treaty was a topic of the convention preparing the constitution. As the presidency felt that no specific issues had been raised in the Laeken declaration, it is proposed to adapt the Euratom Treaty to the new provisions of the constitution by adding a protocol. This would mean that the European Atomic Energy Community, for the time being, would retain its independent legal status. The contents would have to be examined at some later date. Consequently, the real discussion of the Euratom Treaty is yet to come. Also, the speedy completion of the single market for electricity would make it desirable for the Community to adopt a uniform, positive stance in the use of nuclear power at the best possible safety standards so as to ensure a level playing field. Current events entailing power failures in the United States and the United Kingdom have alerted the public to the problem of the continuity of power supply. This could well be the beginning of a new, unbiased, balanced energy discussion in a bigger Europe. (orig.)

The European Research on Severe Accidents in Generation-II and -III Nuclear Power Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Pierre Van Dorsselaere

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Forty-three organisations from 22 countries network their capacities of research in SARNET (Severe Accident Research NETwork of excellence to resolve the most important remaining uncertainties and safety issues on severe accidents in existing and future water-cooled nuclear power plants (NPP. After a first project in the 6th Framework Programme (FP6 of the European Commission, the SARNET2 project, coordinated by IRSN, started in April 2009 for 4 years in the FP7 frame. After 2,5 years, some main outcomes of joint research (modelling and experiments by the network members on the highest priority issues are presented: in-vessel degraded core coolability, molten-corium-concrete-interaction, containment phenomena (water spray, hydrogen combustion…, source term issues (mainly iodine behaviour. The ASTEC integral computer code, jointly developed by IRSN and GRS to predict the NPP SA behaviour, capitalizes in terms of models the knowledge produced in the network: a few validation results are presented. For dissemination of knowledge, an educational 1-week course was organized for young researchers or students in January 2011, and a two-day course is planned mid-2012 for senior staff. Mobility of young researchers or students between the European partners is being promoted. The ERMSAR conference is becoming the major worldwide conference on SA research.

RENEWABLE ENERGY STRATEGIES: WHERE EUROPEAN UNION HEADED?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

RADULESCU IRINA GABRIELA

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The states from European Union must take advantage from renewable energy sources in order to revive the economy. Climate change creates new jobs and could reduce energy imports which would stimulate the economy of those states. The European Union should support research in the field, apply more efficient policies in energy, and create economies of scale to get an integrated European energy market in which the main actors can reduce the cost of production of renewable energy. In addition, it is possible to use the comparative advantages of the Member States and not only, like Greece, through solar energy, Southern Mediterranean, through distribution networks interconnections with EU, Russia and Ukraine, through biomass and the North Sea, through wind energy. This paper refers to the evolution and trends of the renewable energy sources and presents some scenarios of it.

The impact of North Atlantic wind and cyclone trends on European precipitation and significant wave height in the Atlantic.

Science.gov (United States)

Trigo, Ricardo M; Valente, Maria A; Trigo, Isabel F; Miranda, Pedro M A; Ramos, Alexandre M; Paredes, Daniel; García-Herrera, Ricardo

2008-12-01

An analysis of the frequency of cyclones and surface wind velocity for the Euro-Atlantic sector is performed by means of an objective methodology. Monthly and seasonal trends of cyclones and wind speed magnitude are computed and trends between 1960 and 2000 evaluated. Results reveal a significant frequency decrease (increase) in the western Mediterranean (Greenland and Scandinavia), particularly in December, February, and March. Seasonal and monthly analysis of wind magnitude trends shows similar spatial patterns. We show that these changes in the frequency of low-pressure centers and the associated wind patterns are partially responsible for trends in the significant height of waves. Throughout the extended winter months (October-March), regions with positive (negative) wind magnitude trends, of up to 5 cm/s/year, often correspond to regions of positive (negative) significant wave height trends. The cyclone and wind speed trends computed for January-March are well matched by the corresponding trends in significant wave height, with February being the month with the highest trends (negative south of lat 50 degrees N up to -3 cm/year, and positive up to 5 cm/year just north of Scotland). Trends in European precipitation are assessed using the Climatic Research Unit data set. The results of the assessment emphasize the link with the corresponding tendencies of cyclone frequencies. Finally, it is shown that these changes are associated, to a large extent, with the preferred phases of major large-scale atmospheric circulation modes, particularly with the North Atlantic Oscillation, the eastern Atlantic pattern, and the Scandinavian pattern.

Upper temperature tolerance of North Atlantic and North Pacific geographical isolates of Chondrus species (Rhodophyta)

Science.gov (United States)

Lüning, K.; Guiry, M. D.; Masuda, M.

1987-09-01

The upper survival temperature for most isolates of Chondrus crispus from localities ranging from northern Norway and Iceland to Spain, and for an isolate from Nova Scotia, was 28 °C after 2 weeks of exposure to temperatures of 20 31 °C at intervals of 1 °C. An upper survival limit of 29 °C was exhibited by a few European isolates from the English Channel, the North Sea, and one Irish isolate from the upper intertidal. The warm-temperate Japanese species C. nipponicus and C. giganteus forma flabellatus survived 30 °C, whereas 29 °C was the upper survival limit for the coldtemperature C. pinnulatus forma pinnulatus from northern Japan. A possible origin of C. crispus in the north Pacific is discussed.

The need to qualify Non Destructive Tests (NDT) has been recognized for many years in the European countries engaged in nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walczak, M.; Wojas, M.

2008-01-01

The European Network for Inspection Qualification, ENIQ, which groups the major part of the nuclear power plant operators in the European Union and in the Applicant Countries, has developed the European methodology for Qualification of Non Destructive Tests. As qualification of NDT is nowadays a standard method in the nuclear industry and in other industries. CEN (European Committee for Standardization) Technical Committee 138 '' Non Destructive Testing '' has established a Working Group, which is responsible for developing a Standard document detailing the CEN Methodology for the qualification of Non Destructive Tests applicable to all industries carrying out Non-Destructive Tests. This Standard document sets out basic principles and provides recommendations and general guidelines for carrying out qualification of NDT. It describes a methodology for qualification of Non-Destructive Tests, applicable to all NDT methods and considers qualification of equipment, procedure and personnel training. This paper presents a short background of the European Methodology for Qualification of Non-Destructive Tests and the Standard document CEN/TR 14748 '' Non-destructive testing - Methodology for qualification of non-destructive tests ''. (author)

Catalogue of European earthquakes and an atlas of European seismic maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Gils, J.M.

1988-01-01

The Catalogue of European earthquakes and an atlas of European seismic maps has been prepared in the framework of the activities of the CEC Working Group on the safety of ligh-water reactors. Seismic hazards are considered to be an important element of possible external accidents to be taken into account in the design, construction, and operation of nuclear power plants. The report relies on the data base available, the historical as well as the present-day data. After a short historical review, actually-used intensity scales are discussed. The scale applied in European countries and the one proposed in the United States of America are compared. The different seismic maps of interest are explained and a mathematical procedure presented which allows, under certain conditions, to draw seismic maps by computer facilities

Average level of satisfaction in 10 European countries: explanation of differences

OpenAIRE

Veenhoven, Ruut

1996-01-01

textabstractABSTRACT Surveys in 10 European nations assessed satisfaction with life-as-a-whole and satisfaction with three life-domains (finances, housing, social contacts). Average satisfaction differs markedly across countries. Both satisfaction with life-as-a-whole and satisfaction with life-domains are highest in North-Western Europe, medium in Southern Europe and lowest in the East-European nations. Cultural measurement bias is unlikely to be involved. The country differences in average ...

Development of Smoking Behavior in Adolescence: the Case of North Dakota

OpenAIRE

Ivanov, Oleksandr

2015-01-01

This thesis describes a modeling project, performed by Oleksandr Ivanov, a student enrolled in European Master Program in System Dynamics, in cooperation with assistant professor Arielle Selya (University of North Dakota) and under the supervision of associate professor I. David Wheat (University of Bergen). The fieldwork was conducted in Grand Fork, North Dakota, the USA in April-June 2015. The main problem is devoted to the prevalence in smoking cigarettes a...

Complementary safety assessments of the French nuclear power plants (European 'stress tests'). Report by the French nuclear safety authority - December 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-12-01

After having recalled the organisation of nuclear safety and radiation protection regulation in France, presented the French nuclear safety regulations (acts, decrees, orders, ASN decisions, rules and guides), described the nuclear safety approach in France (the 'defense in depth' concept), and ASN's sanctions powers, this report presents the French approach to complementary safety assessments (CSAs) with their different types of specifications (those consistent with European specification, those broader than the European specifications, and those which take into account some situations resulting from a malevolent act), and with the different categories of facilities concerned by these CSAs. It presents the organisation of the targeted inspections and outlines the transparency of this action and public information. Then, after an overview of the French nuclear power plant fleet, it discusses how earthquakes, flooding, and other extreme natural phenomena related to flooding are taken into account in the design of facilities and in terms of evaluation of safety margins. It describes the consequences of some critical situations (loss of electrical power supplies and cooling systems) and how they could be dealt with. It also addresses the different aspects of a severe accident management (organisation, measures, and actions to be performed) and the conditions related to the use of outside contractors

Differences in ground contact time explain the less efficient running economy in north african runners.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos-Concejero, J; Granados, C; Irazusta, J; Bidaurrazaga-Letona, I; Zabala-Lili, J; Tam, N; Gil, S M

2013-09-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between biomechanical variables and running economy in North African and European runners. Eight North African and 13 European male runners of the same athletic level ran 4-minute stages on a treadmill at varying set velocities. During the test, biomechanical variables such as ground contact time, swing time, stride length, stride frequency, stride angle and the different sub-phases of ground contact were recorded using an optical measurement system. Additionally, oxygen uptake was measured to calculate running economy. The European runners were more economical than the North African runners at 19.5 km · h(-1), presented lower ground contact time at 18 km · h(-1) and 19.5 km · h(-1) and experienced later propulsion sub-phase at 10.5 km · h(-1),12 km · h(-1), 15 km · h(-1), 16.5 km · h(-1) and 19.5 km · h(-1) than the European runners (P Running economy at 19.5 km · h(-1) was negatively correlated with swing time (r = -0.53) and stride angle (r = -0.52), whereas it was positively correlated with ground contact time (r = 0.53). Within the constraints of extrapolating these findings, the less efficient running economy in North African runners may imply that their outstanding performance at international athletic events appears not to be linked to running efficiency. Further, the differences in metabolic demand seem to be associated with differing biomechanical characteristics during ground contact, including longer contact times.

Swedish Opinion on Nuclear Power 1986 - 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holmberg, Soeren

2012-11-01

This report contains the Swedish opinion on Nuclear Power and European Attitudes on Nuclear Power. It also includes European Attitudes Towards the Future of Three Energy Sources; Nuclear Energy, Wind Power and Solar Power - with a focus on the Swedish opinion. Results from measurements done by the SOM Inst. are presented.

[Vereinskultur und Zivilgesellschaft in Nordosteuropa : regionale Spezifik und europäische Zusammenhänge = Associational culture and civil society in North Eastern Europe : regional features and the European context. Hrsg. von Jörg Hackmann] / Sir

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Tamul, Sirje, 1951-

2013-01-01

Arvustus: Vereinskultur und Zivilgesellschaft in Nordosteuropa : regionale Spezifik und europäische Zusammenhänge = Associational culture and civil society in North Eastern Europe : regional features and the European context (Quellen und Studien zur baltischen Geschichte, 20; Veröffentlichungen der Aue-Stiftung, 26). Hrsg. von Jörg Hackmann. Böhlau Verlag. Köln u.a. 2012

Fishing impact and environmental status in European seas: A diagnosis from stock assessments and ecosystem indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gascuel, Didier; Coll, Marta; Fox, Clive

2016-01-01

Stock-based and ecosystem-based indicators are used to provide a new diagnosis of the fishing impact and environmental status of European seas. In the seven European marine ecosystems covering the Baltic and the North-east Atlantic, (i) trends in landings since 1950 were examined; (ii) syntheses...

The European Union's Africa Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Gorm Rye

2013-01-01

For a number of years, there has been an international debate on whether and to what extent small member states can influence the common external policies of the European Union. Recent research on the role of small EU states concludes that these states are neither per se political dwarfs nor power...... including North–South and specifically Africa policies. Five separate analyses are carried out addressing the question of Nordicization and Europeanization. Based on the empirical analyses, it is not possible to confirm the hypothesis that a Nordicization of the European Union's Africa policy has taken...... place. Rather, it appears adequate to talk about convergence of policies between the Nordics and the EU and therefore, the Africa policies of both actors are basically the result of Europeanization....

Proceedings of the European Nuclear Conference - ENC 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

The European Nuclear Conference-ENC is the largest international conference of its kind on the European event calendar. This European Nuclear Society-ENS event has a multidisciplinary approach, looking at nuclear science and technology in energy production, non-power industrial and life science applications. ENC 2012 will be a unique networking event for scientists, nuclear industry representatives and policy makers, who can consider and discuss ideas and innovations that will drive the technological developments of the future. The European Nuclear Conference is known for the high standard of papers presented. Key themes of ENC 2012 will include state-of-the-art research and development in areas such as: Reactor technologies, The fuel cycle, Plant operations, New Build, End of Use management, Life science applications, Non-power industrial applications, Education, training and knowledge management, Nuclear in the civil society. (authors)

SCENARIOS REGARDING THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

PAUL-IULIAN NEDELCU

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This work has as purpose to argumentatively identify the future evolution of the European construction, identifying a potential scenario which would settle the current contradiction within the European Union, namely the existence of a true “economic federation” and of only a “political quasi-confederation” , being notorious the fact that in Europe, federalism is mainly known as a specific solution of power assignment between the institutions of a central power and those of the member states (for federal states or as a potential model of transnational integration (for the European Union and even for regionalism within certain states (Spain, Italy, France. It shall be tried the decryption of the philosophical and legal base of federalism as a doctrine able to provide a solution of state’s organisation in the conditions of the European integration.

Middle East and North Africa Region Assessment of the Local Manufacturing Potential for Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gazzo, A.; Gousseland, P.; Verdier, J. [Ernst and Young et Associes, Neuilly-Sur-Seine (France); Kost, C.; Morin, G.; Engelken, M.; Schrof, J.; Nitz, P.; Selt, J.; Platzer, W. [Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg (Germany); Ragwitz, M.; Boie, I.; Hauptstock, D.; Eichhammer, W. [Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Karlsruhe (Germany)

2011-01-15

The MENA CSP (Middle East and North Africa - Concentrated Solar Power) plan is an ambitious scheme with an appeal to anyone concerned about climate change and convinced by the need for clean, renewable power. But what does it really mean for the average citizen of say Morocco or Tunisia? The World Bank sees potential for significant job and wealth creation in solar energy producing countries. If the CSP market grows rapidly over the next few years, equipment manufacturing will be essential to supply this new sector. This study proposes roadmaps and an action plan to help develop the potential of locally manufactured CSP components in the existing industry and for new market entrants.

Radiation physics of high power spallation targets. State of the art simulation methods and experiments, the 'European Spallation Source' (ESS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filges, D.; Cloth, P.; Neef, R.D.; Schaal, H.

1998-01-01

Particle transport and nuclear interactions of planned high power spallation targets with GeV proton beams can be simulated using widely developed Monte Carlo transport methods. This includes available high energy radiation transport codes and systems for low energy, earlier developed for reactor physics and fusion technology. Monte Carlo simulation codes and applied methods are discussed. The capabilities of the world-wide existing state-of-the-art computer code systems are demonstrated. Results of computational studies for the 'European Spallation Source' (ESS) mercury high power target station are given. The needs for spallation related data and planned experiments are shown. (author)

Bourdieu, International Relations and European Security

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berling, Trine Villumsen

2012-01-01

Despite promising attempts to apply the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu to International Relations (IR), the field could still profit from unexplored potential in his thinking for understanding pivotal theoretical and empirical puzzles. This article takes the failure to fully grasp the paradigmatic...... case of European security after the Cold War as an example of how IR would benefit from reformulating not only its empirical research questions but also several of its central conceptual building blocks with the aid of Bourdieusian sociology. The separation between theory and practice...... and the overemphasis on military power and state actors blind IR from seeing the power struggles that reshaped European security. Instead, a Bourdieusian reformulation adds new types of agency, focuses on the social production of forms of power, and stresses the processual rather than the substantive character...

Influence of large-scale deployment of concentrated solar power on North African countries: Socio-economic aspects (Conference Paper)

OpenAIRE

Komendantova, N.; Patt, A.

2010-01-01

To prevent catastrophic results of climate change, the stabilization of atmospheric concentrations of CO2 below 450 or even 350 parts per million is necessary. The large-scale electricity generation from renewable energy sources is one of possible options to satisfy the world's growing energy demand and to reduce green house gas emissions from electricity generation. Several studies show technical viability of large-scale deployment of concentrated solar power in North African countries and i...

Meanwhile, North Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hautecouverture, Benjamin

2014-08-01

The progress regarding weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes in North Korea and the instability on the Korean Peninsula have taken a back seat in the international community's analysis and perhaps its concerns for more than a year. The last event to provoke a wave of protest and tangible renewed interest occurred on 12 February 2013 when Pyongyang carried out its third nuclear test with an estimated yield of 6 to 8 kilo-tonnes. The United Nations Security Council condemned the test on 7 March (Resolution 2094). With the exception of several recent Security Council declarations, it is clear that activity on the part of the international community has been sparse. The same can be said with regard to the European Union and the United States. This state of affairs is not surprising. The analysis takes note of it by ceasing, there or thereabouts, to produce new material. Firstly, the North Korean crisis is a long-term one and the diplomatic process that is meant to lead to its resolution has been interrupted; the Six-Party Talks have been at a standstill since the end of 2008. A agreement between the United States and North Korea, concluded on 29 February 2012 under which the North Korean regime accepted the principle of a moratorium on long-range missile tests, nuclear tests, and all activity at the Yongbyon nuclear complex lastly barely a few days. Many actors involved in the management of this crisis are suffering from a weariness whose acknowledgement is politically incorrect: with regard to Pyongyang's launch of missiles and rockets last spring, the U.S. admiral Samuel Locklear told the Associated Press in July 'you become somewhat numb, you start to say, well, it's not so much of a big deal'. Moreover, since 2013, the focus of international security with regard to WMD and beyond has also largely shifted from North-East Asia to the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Pell-mell, the worsening and broadening of the war in Syria, the terrorist surge in Iraq, the

Wind fluctuations over the North Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vincent, Claire Louise; Pinson, Pierre; Giebel, Gregor

2011-01-01

Climatological patterns in wind speed fluctuations with periods of 1 min to 10 h are analysed using data from a meteorological mast in the Danish North Sea. Fluctuations on these time scales are of particular relevance to the effective management of the power supply from large wind farms. The Hil......Climatological patterns in wind speed fluctuations with periods of 1 min to 10 h are analysed using data from a meteorological mast in the Danish North Sea. Fluctuations on these time scales are of particular relevance to the effective management of the power supply from large wind farms...

North-South differentiation and a region of high diversity in European wolves (Canis lupus.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Astrid V Stronen

Full Text Available European wolves (Canis lupus show population genetic structure in the absence of geographic barriers, and across relatively short distances for this highly mobile species. Additional information on the location of and divergence between population clusters is required, particularly because wolves are currently recolonizing parts of Europe. We evaluated genetic structure in 177 wolves from 11 countries using over 67K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP loci. The results supported previous findings of an isolated Italian population with lower genetic diversity than that observed across other areas of Europe. Wolves from the remaining countries were primarily structured in a north-south axis, with Croatia, Bulgaria, and Greece (Dinaric-Balkan differentiated from northcentral wolves that included individuals from Finland, Latvia, Belarus, Poland and Russia. Carpathian Mountain wolves in central Europe had genotypes intermediate between those identified in northcentral Europe and the Dinaric-Balkan cluster. Overall, individual genotypes from northcentral Europe suggested high levels of admixture. We observed high diversity within Belarus, with wolves from western and northern Belarus representing the two most differentiated groups within northcentral Europe. Our results support the presence of at least three major clusters (Italy, Carpathians, Dinaric-Balkan in southern and central Europe. Individuals from Croatia also appeared differentiated from wolves in Greece and Bulgaria. Expansion from glacial refugia, adaptation to local environments, and human-related factors such as landscape fragmentation and frequent killing of wolves in some areas may have contributed to the observed patterns. Our findings can help inform conservation management of these apex predators and the ecosystems of which they are part.

The effects of variable renewable electricity on energy efficiency and full load hours of fossil-fired power plants in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Groot, Mats; Crijns-Graus, Wina; Harmsen, Robert

2017-01-01

This study focused on the effects of variable renewable electricity (VRE) on full load hours and energy efficiency of fossil-fired power generation in the European Union from 1990-2014. Member states were aggregated into three groups based on the level of VRE penetration. Average full load hours are

Economics issues - nuclear power generation in North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, R.; Taylor, J.; Santucci, J.

1996-01-01

The structure of the US utility industry is in transition. Political, social, and economic factors are contributing to a rapid shift from a monopoly structure (captive markets, cost-plus prices, negotiated rate of return on capital) to a highly competitive one (choices for customers, prices determined by the market place, earnings based on market price less cost). The rate of change has been accelerating. For example, what just two years ago would have been thought of as highly unlikely -- competition for the individual electric customer -- is now part of the plan in California and other states. In our view, technology is at the root of many of these structural changes with more to come. Yet another round of technological change is afoot, involving even more efficient gas turbines, new methods of utilizing transmission lines, distributed generation, and new opportunities for electricity use and service. It can be argued that the restructuring of the marketplace reflects, in some measure, anticipation for these advances. For the foreseeable future, nuclear energy will continue to play a significant role in the generating grid of North America. However, new nuclear generation will be held to standards of competition that are dictated by market forces, and by advances in competing technologies for base load generation. It is important to understand these forces, and devise a response which ensures that nuclear energy will continue to provide a viable, competitive, and environmentally superior option for generating electricity in the 21st century. The EPRI Nuclear Power program is focused on achieving these goals. (author)

The pilot European Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative of the European Alzheimer's Disease Consortium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frisoni, G.B.; Henneman, W.J.; Weiner, M.W.

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: In North America, the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) has established a platform to track the brain changes of Alzheimer's disease. A pilot study has been carried out in Europe to test the feasibility of the adoption of the ADNI platform (pilot E-ADNI). METHODS: Seven...... academic sites of the European Alzheimer's Disease Consortium (EADC) enrolled 19 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 22 with AD, and 18 older healthy persons by using the ADNI clinical and neuropsychological battery. ADNI compliant magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, cerebrospinal fluid...

Ancient human genomes suggest three ancestral populations for present-day Europeans

Science.gov (United States)

Lazaridis, Iosif; Patterson, Nick; Mittnik, Alissa; Renaud, Gabriel; Mallick, Swapan; Kirsanow, Karola; Sudmant, Peter H.; Schraiber, Joshua G.; Castellano, Sergi; Lipson, Mark; Berger, Bonnie; Economou, Christos; Bollongino, Ruth; Fu, Qiaomei; Bos, Kirsten I.; Nordenfelt, Susanne; Li, Heng; de Filippo, Cesare; Prüfer, Kay; Sawyer, Susanna; Posth, Cosimo; Haak, Wolfgang; Hallgren, Fredrik; Fornander, Elin; Rohland, Nadin; Delsate, Dominique; Francken, Michael; Guinet, Jean-Michel; Wahl, Joachim; Ayodo, George; Babiker, Hamza A.; Bailliet, Graciela; Balanovska, Elena; Balanovsky, Oleg; Barrantes, Ramiro; Bedoya, Gabriel; Ben-Ami, Haim; Bene, Judit; Berrada, Fouad; Bravi, Claudio M.; Brisighelli, Francesca; Busby, George B. J.; Cali, Francesco; Churnosov, Mikhail; Cole, David E. C.; Corach, Daniel; Damba, Larissa; van Driem, George; Dryomov, Stanislav; Dugoujon, Jean-Michel; Fedorova, Sardana A.; Romero, Irene Gallego; Gubina, Marina; Hammer, Michael; Henn, Brenna M.; Hervig, Tor; Hodoglugil, Ugur; Jha, Aashish R.; Karachanak-Yankova, Sena; Khusainova, Rita; Khusnutdinova, Elza; Kittles, Rick; Kivisild, Toomas; Klitz, William; Kučinskas, Vaidutis; Kushniarevich, Alena; Laredj, Leila; Litvinov, Sergey; Loukidis, Theologos; Mahley, Robert W.; Melegh, Béla; Metspalu, Ene; Molina, Julio; Mountain, Joanna; Näkkäläjärvi, Klemetti; Nesheva, Desislava; Nyambo, Thomas; Osipova, Ludmila; Parik, Jüri; Platonov, Fedor; Posukh, Olga; Romano, Valentino; Rothhammer, Francisco; Rudan, Igor; Ruizbakiev, Ruslan; Sahakyan, Hovhannes; Sajantila, Antti; Salas, Antonio; Starikovskaya, Elena B.; Tarekegn, Ayele; Toncheva, Draga; Turdikulova, Shahlo; Uktveryte, Ingrida; Utevska, Olga; Vasquez, René; Villena, Mercedes; Voevoda, Mikhail; Winkler, Cheryl; Yepiskoposyan, Levon; Zalloua, Pierre; Zemunik, Tatijana; Cooper, Alan; Capelli, Cristian; Thomas, Mark G.; Ruiz-Linares, Andres; Tishkoff, Sarah A.; Singh, Lalji; Thangaraj, Kumarasamy; Villems, Richard; Comas, David; Sukernik, Rem; Metspalu, Mait; Meyer, Matthias; Eichler, Evan E.; Burger, Joachim; Slatkin, Montgomery; Pääbo, Svante; Kelso, Janet; Reich, David; Krause, Johannes

2014-01-01

We sequenced the genomes of a ~7,000 year old farmer from Germany and eight ~8,000 year old hunter-gatherers from Luxembourg and Sweden. We analyzed these and other ancient genomes1–4 with 2,345 contemporary humans to show that most present Europeans derive from at least three highly differentiated populations: West European Hunter-Gatherers (WHG), who contributed ancestry to all Europeans but not to Near Easterners; Ancient North Eurasians (ANE) related to Upper Paleolithic Siberians3, who contributed to both Europeans and Near Easterners; and Early European Farmers (EEF), who were mainly of Near Eastern origin but also harbored WHG-related ancestry. We model these populations’ deep relationships and show that EEF had ~44% ancestry from a “Basal Eurasian” population that split prior to the diversification of other non-African lineages. PMID:25230663

European Strategy for Accelerator-Based Neutrino Physics

CERN Document Server

Bertolucci, Sergio; Cervera, Anselmo; Donini, Andrea; Dracos, Marcos; Duchesneau, Dominique; Dufour, Fanny; Edgecock, Rob; Efthymiopoulos, Ilias; Gschwendtner, Edda; Kudenko, Yury; Long, Ken; Maalampi, Jukka; Mezzetto, Mauro; Pascoli, Silvia; Palladino, Vittorio; Rondio, Ewa; Rubbia, Andre; Rubbia, Carlo; Stahl, Achim; Stanco, Luca; Thomas, Jenny; Wark, David; Wildner, Elena; Zito, Marco

2012-01-01

Massive neutrinos reveal physics beyond the Standard Model, which could have deep consequences for our understanding of the Universe. Their study should therefore receive the highest level of priority in the European Strategy. The discovery and study of leptonic CP violation and precision studies of the transitions between neutrino flavours require high intensity, high precision, long baseline accelerator neutrino experiments. The community of European neutrino physicists involved in oscillation experiments is strong enough to support a major neutrino long baseline project in Europe, and has an ambitious, competitive and coherent vision to propose. Following the 2006 European Strategy for Particle Physics (ESPP) recommendations, two complementary design studies have been carried out: LAGUNA/LBNO, focused on deep underground detector sites, and EUROnu, focused on high intensity neutrino facilities. LAGUNA LBNO recommends, as first step, a conventional neutrino beam CN2PY from a CERN SPS North Area Neutrino Fac...

Ecology and impacts of nonnative salmonids with special reference to brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchill) in North Europe

OpenAIRE

Korsu, K. (Kai)

2008-01-01

Abstract My main objectives in this thesis were to explore general patterns and mechanisms driving salmonid invasions globally and, more specifically, to examine the invasion dynamics and impacts of the North American brook trout in North European stream systems. Non-native salmonids have often spread extensively and caused many harmful impacts on their native counterparts. Among the three globally introduced salmonids, the European brown trout appeared as the 'worst' alien species (st...

Vulnerability to terrorist attacks in European electricity decarbonisation scenarios: Comparing renewable electricity imports to gas imports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lilliestam, Johan

2014-01-01

The decarbonised future European electricity system must remain secure: reliable electricity supply is a prerequisite for the functioning of modern society. Scenarios like Desertec, which partially rely on solar power imports from the Middle East and North Africa, may be attractive for decarbonisation, but raise concerns about terrorists interrupting supply by attacking the long, unprotected transmission lines in the Sahara. In this paper, I develop new methods and assess the European vulnerability to terrorist attacks in the Desertec scenario. I compare this to the vulnerability of today's system and a decarbonisation scenario in which Europe relies on gas imports for electricity generation. I show that the vulnerability of both gas and electricity imports is low, but electricity imports are more vulnerable than gas imports, due to their technical characteristics. Gas outages (and, potentially, resulting blackouts) are the very unlikely consequence even of very high-number attacks against the gas import system, whereas short blackouts are the potential consequence of a few attacks against the import electricity lines. As the impacts of all except extreme attacks are limited, terrorists cannot attack energy infrastructure and cause spectacular, fear-creating outages. Both gas and electricity import infrastructure are thus unattractive and unlikely terrorist targets. - Highlights: • A comparison of terrorism risks of importing solar power and gas for power generation. • Both scenarios show low vulnerability to terrorist attacks. • Within low vulnerabilities, gas imports are less vulnerable than electricity imports. • Causing spectacular, large and long outages is very difficult for attacker. • The attractiveness of gas and power import infrastructure as terrorist target is low

Social class, political powere, and the state and their implications in medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro, V

1977-01-01

This three-part article presents an analysis of the distribution of power and of the nature of the state in Western industrialized societies, and details their implications in medicine. Part I presents a critique of contemporary theories of the Western system of power; discusses the countervailing pluralist and power elite theories, as well as those of bureaucratic and professional control; and concludes with an examination of the Marxist theories of economic determinism, structural determinism, and corporate statism. Part II presents a Marxist theory of the role, nature, and characteristics of state intervention. Part III focuses on the mode of that intervention and the reasons for its growth, with an added analysis of the attributes of state intervention in the health sector and of the dialectical relationship between its growth and the current fiscal crisis of the state. In all three parts, the focus is on Western European countries and on North America, with many examples and categories drawn from the area of medicine.

ENIQ: European Network for Inspection Qualification: Status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Champigny, F.; Sandberg, U.; Crutzen, S.; Lemaitre, P.

1998-01-01

The European Network for Inspection Qualification (ENIQ) groups the major part of the nuclear power plant operators in the European Union (and Switzerland). The main objective of ENIQ is to co-ordinate and manage at European level expertise and resources for the qualification of NDE inspection systems, primarily for nuclear components. In this paper the main activities, organisation and actual status of ENIQ are discussed. (author)

Social movements, public spheres and the European politics of the environment: green power Europe?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Heijden, H.A.

2010-01-01

This book examines how the European environmental movement, as part of an emerging European civil society, has impinged on the problem definitions and solution strategies in the European politics of the environment. Examining core case studies in European environmental policy - biodiversity politics

Feasibility assessment of a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles in the North Central region of Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilieva Liliya Mihaylova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the topical issue related to the prospects of widespread deployment of electric vehicles and their associated infrastructure in Bulgaria. The main problems hindering the development of electric vehicle transport are summarized and the current status of charging infrastructure in the country is discussed. An approach is proposed for analysis and evaluation of the financial feasibility of investment in a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles in North Central region of Bulgaria.

Pathways for the North European electricity supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Odenberger, M.; Unger, T.; Johnsson, F.

2009-01-01

This paper investigates the development of the electricity-supply systems in Northern Europe (Germany, UK, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway) until the year 2050. The focus is on the response to an assumed common stringent CO 2 -reduction target and on the role of carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS). Special emphasis is put on turn-over in capital stock, timing of investments and the infrastructural implications of large-scale introduction of CCS. The analysis is carried out through scenario analysis with the aid of a techno-economic model, in which a case including CCS is compared to a case excluding this option. The phase out of the present capital stock (power plants) is included from the Chalmers energy infrastructure databases, which gives information on present and planned power plants down to block level for plants exceeding 10 MW net electric power. Assuming technical lifetimes for these plants yield residual capacities in each year, here referred to as the phase-out pattern. CCS technologies are assumed to become commercially available in 2020. The age structure of the power plants indicate that full turn-over in capital stock will take several decades with the present generation capacities accounting for around 50% of generated electricity in 2020. The results show that CO 2 emission reductions of 20% and 60% by the years 2020 and 2050, respectively, relative to 1990, can be met at a marginal cost of abatement of about 25-40 Euro /ton CO 2 over the period studied if CCS is included as an option from 2020. At the same time the marginal cost of generating electricity lies in the range 45-60 Euro /MWh. Excluding CCS raises the marginal cost of abatement with about 10 Euro /ton CO 2 , whereas the marginal cost of electricity generation increases with roughly 5-10 Euro /MWh. The CO 2 target by the year 2020 is met by implementation of renewable electricity and fuel shifting from coal to gas. After 2020 CCS technologies constitute an attractive way

From South to North: flowering phenological responses at different geographical latitudes in 12 European countries

Science.gov (United States)

Szabó, Barbara; Lehoczky, Annamária; Filzmoser, Peter; Templ, Matthias; Szentkirályi, Ferenc; Pongrácz, Rita; Ortner, Thomas; Mert, Can; Czúcz, Bálint

2014-05-01

Phenological sensitivity of plants strongly depends on regional climate variability, moreover it is also influenced by large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. Plants in different environmental conditions (determined by geographical latitude and longitude, altitude, continentality) may show diverse responses to climate change. The first results of an international cooperation aiming at the analysis of plant phenological data along a latitudinal gradient over 12 European countries (Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland) are presented. The spatio-temporal changes in the flowering onset dates of common lilac (Syringa vulgaris L.) during the period of 1970-2000 were analysed. To characterise the environmental conditions driving the phenological responses, climatic variables (atmospheric pressure, air temperature, precipitation) obtained from a gridded observational dataset (E-OBS 9.0) and time series of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index were used. Preliminary results for this particular species found a gradual advance of mean flowering onsets along latitudes from 40° N to 65° N, at the rate of -0.12 to -0.32 day/year. Significant zonal differences were found in these rates, which can be explained by the sensitivity of flowering to climatic conditions while moving from Mediterranen to boreal regions of Europe. Thus our results were coherent with most observations in the literature, that higher latitudes can exhibit more pronounced responses, particularly in case of spring phenological events.

Sustained by First Nations: European newcomers' use of Indigenous plant foods in temperate North America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nancy J. Turner

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Indigenous Peoples of North America have collectively used approximately 1800 different native species of plants, algae, lichens and fungi as food. When European explorers, traders and settlers arrived on the continent, these native foods, often identified and offered by Indigenous hosts, gave them sustenance and in some cases saved them from starvation. Over the years, some of these species – particularly various types of berries, such as blueberries and cranberries (Vaccinium spp., wild raspberries and blackberries (Rubus spp., and wild strawberries (Fragaria spp., and various types of nuts (Corylus spp., Carya spp., Juglans spp., Pinus spp., along with wild-rice (Zizania spp. and maple syrup (from Acer saccharum – became more widely adopted and remain in use to the present day. Some of these and some other species were used in plant breeding programs, as germplasm for hybridization programs, or to strengthen a crop's resistance to disease. At the same time, many nutritious Indigenous foods fell out of use among Indigenous Peoples themselves, and along with their lessened use came a loss of associated knowledge and cultural identity. Today, for a variety of reasons, from improving people's health and regaining their cultural heritage, to enhancing dietary diversity and enjoyment of diverse foods, some of the species that have dwindled in their use have been “rediscovered” by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples, and indications are that their benefits to humanity will continue into the future.

A European nuclear sector to face future energy challenges?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Legee, F.; Thais, F.

2010-01-01

Very early Europe chose the way of nuclear energy to produce electricity but progressively different countries followed different policies and now the nuclear landscape of the European Union is various: some countries are full-fledged, some stopped their program a long ago and others are in a phase-out period. The stakes of the climatic change and a framed strategy of the European Union have led to a renewal of the nuclear option. Great-Britain has already launched a program of new power plants. Poland, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Hungary want to develop nuclear energy to be less dependant on Russian oil and gas exports. In other countries like Germany, Austria, Sweden we can notice a positive change in favour of nuclear power of their public opinion. A recent OECD study shows that nuclear power stays largely competitive in Europe despite rising construction costs. The harmonization of the nuclear safety regulations throughout Europe appears clearly as an objective of the European Union. As for the management of radioactive wastes the European Union favors the disposal in deep geological layers, but as for the options: direct storage or reprocessing, a common European policy is out of reach at the moment. (A.C.)

Demand powers ahead [Gas in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Potter, N.

1994-01-01

Natural gas demand in Europe has been growing steadily for many years and is likely to go on increasing in the domestic sector, the industrial sector and in power generation. In this review a number of features of the market supply situation are reported. Potential new markets for Norwegian gas in eastern and central Europe are being evaluated. Other exporting countries are also keen to obtain a greater share in the expanding European market. Among them are Russia, Algeria and Nigeria, but political uncertainties in each of these countries are a cause for concern. Algeria has new pipelines to supply Italy, Spain and Portugal. The Russian company, Gazprom, has launched the construction of a pipeline to link new gas fields in northern Siberia with western Europe and has set up contracts with German companies which are facilitating the sale of Russian gas in Europe. Supply potential also exists in some of the other countries of the former Soviet Union, such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. A group of leading European gas utilities are exploring the feasibility of imports from Iran either via a pipeline link or as liquefied natural gas. The United Kingdom hopes to export North Sea gas into Europe through the proposed Interconnector pipeline from Bacton to Zeebrugge, in th long-term, though, the pipeline may be used for imports into the UK. A controversial proposal to introduce third-party access to European pipelines could alter the whole structure of the market. (UK)

1. European conference on local democracies and nuclear power plants. Conference proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

The Group of European Municipalities with Nuclear Facilities (GMF) was constituted in 1999. Its basic objectives are to keep and strengthen the relations between municipalities with the aim of consolidating a European network of municipalities with common problems; and to participate in European forums on the future of nuclear energy, contributing and helping in decision making processes. The GMF wants to become a support element to the local authorities of nuclear areas in order to foster their participation in the decision making processes, working continuously in collaboration with other agents of the nuclear sector, especially with the authorities of the European Commission, assuming that its major contribution is the knowledge of the everyday territorial reality, as a fundamental element that should be born in mind in all defined policies, whether on european or national level. It is stated that the debate on the future of nuclear energy represents a new era for the municipalities with nuclear facilities across Europe and that international cooperation will open the way for a better use of nuclear energy in Europe

Oracle9i database gains traction among leading European customers

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

The Oracle Corporation software group, today announced that more than 600 customers worldwide have purchased Oracle9i Real Application Clusters. Some of the European customers include Austrian Railways, BACS, Bavarian Police Force, CERN, e-Spatial, Navision a/s and the North Rhine-Westphalia Police Force.

Steam generator materials and secondary side water chemistry in nuclear power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudelli, M.D.

1979-04-01

The main purpose of this work is to summarize the European and North American experiences regarding the materials used for the construction of the steam generators and their relative corrosion resistance considering the water chemestry control method. Reasons underlying decision for the adoption of Incoloy 800 as the material for the secondary steam generator system for Atucha I Nuclear Power Plant (Atucha Reactor) and Embalse de Rio III Nuclear Power Plant (Cordoba Reactor) are pointed out. Backup information taken into consideration for the decision of utilizing the All Volatil Treatment for the water chemistry control of the Cordoba Reactor is detailed. Also all the reasonswhich justify to continue with the congruent fosfatic method for the Atucha Reactor are analyzed. Some investigation objectives which would eventually permit the revision of the decisions taken on these subjects are proposed. (E.A.C.) [es

The Future of the European Security and Defence Policy

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Alt, Josef

2006-01-01

...) at the European Union's (EU's) Helsinki summit in December 1999. They created the ESDP to allow the European Union to play a more comprehensive role in civilian and military international crisis management backed by credible military power...

Russia's and the European union's gas interdependence. What balance between the market and geopolitics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finon, D.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to review the interdependence relation-ship between Russia and the European Union in the area of gas, by distinguishing the Russian seller's power risk from the issue of short term security, which are often mistaken one for the other The goal is to measure the economic risk associated with the seller's dominant position in the European market to appreciate the relevance of responses that can be made by European countries or the European Union. Firstly, the basically different nature of Russia and of the European Union is described, as well as the role played by its energy resources in the assertion of Russia's political power Secondly there is an analysis of the Russian seller's elements of dependence on the European market, before reviewing, thirdly, the risk of exercising Gazprom's market power in Europe. In closing is a review of the relevance of possible actions by the European Union and member countries to reduce that risk by facilitating the densification of the Pan-european Network, the establishment of entry points and market integration. (author)

The European Union's Role in the Development of Global Environmental Law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basse, Ellen Margrethe

2017-01-01

This article is focused on the role that the European Union (EU) is playing as a global actor when it is using its 'internal' regulatory power as well as its parallel market power 'externally' to strengthen and to fill out gaps in the global environmental law.......This article is focused on the role that the European Union (EU) is playing as a global actor when it is using its 'internal' regulatory power as well as its parallel market power 'externally' to strengthen and to fill out gaps in the global environmental law....

Power and Changing Modes of Governance in the Euro Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Carstensen, Martin B.; Schmidt, Vivien

2017-01-01

Which European Union actors are most powerful in the governance of the euro crisis? The euro crisis has reignited the classic debate between intergovernmentalists, who tend to stress the coercive power of dominant member states in the European Council, and supranationalists, who maintain that thr......Which European Union actors are most powerful in the governance of the euro crisis? The euro crisis has reignited the classic debate between intergovernmentalists, who tend to stress the coercive power of dominant member states in the European Council, and supranationalists, who maintain...... that through the use of institutional power, the Commission, and the European Central Bank turned out the “winners” of the crisis. This article argues that euro crisis governance is best understood not just in terms of one form of power but instead as evolving through different constellations of coercive...

Modeling dust emission response to North Atlantic millennial-scale climate variations from the perspective of East European MIS 3 loess deposits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Sima

2013-07-01

Full Text Available European loess sequences of the Marine Isotope Stage 3 (~60–25 kyr BP show periods of strong dust accumulation alternating with episodes of reduced sedimentation, favoring soil development. In the western part of the loess belt centered around 50° N, these variations appear to have been related to the North Atlantic rapid climate changes: the Dansgaard–Oeschger (DO and Heinrich (H events. It has been recently suggested that the North Atlantic climate signal can be detected further east, in loess deposits from Stayky (50°05.65' N, 30°53.92' E, Ukraine. Here we use climate and dust emission modeling to investigate this data interpretation. We focus on the areas north and northeast of the Carpathians, where loess deposits can be found, and the corresponding main dust sources must have been located as well. The simulations were performed with the LMDZ atmospheric general circulation model and the ORCHIDEE land surface model. They represent a reference "Greenland stadial" state and two perturbations, seen as sensitivity tests with respect to changes in the North Atlantic surface conditions between 30° and 63° N: a "Greenland interstadial" and an "H event". The main source for the loess deposits in the studied area is identified as a dust deflation band, with two very active spots located west-northwest from our reference site. Emissions only occur between February and June. Differences from one deflation spot to another, and from one climate state to another, are explained by analyzing the relevant meteorological and surface variables. Over most of the source region, the annual emission fluxes in the "interstadial" experiment are 30 to 50% lower than the "stadial" values; they would only be about 20% lower if the inhibition of dust uplift by the vegetation were not taken into account. Assuming that lower emissions result in reduced dust deposition leads us to the conclusion that the loess–paleosol stratigraphic succession in the Stayky

Measurement of a Peak in the Cosmic Microwave Background Power Spectrum from the North American test flight of BOOMERANG

CERN Document Server

Mauskopf, P D; De Bernardis, P; Bock, J J; Borrill, J; Boscaleri, A; Crill, B P; De Gasperis, G; De Troia, G; Farese, P; Ferreira, P G; Ganga, K; Giacometti, M; Hanany, S; Hristov, V V; Iacoangeli, A; Jaffe, A H; Lange, A E; Lee, A T; Masi, S; Melchiorri, A; Melchiorri, F; Miglio, L; Montroy, T; Netterfield, C B; Pascale, E; Piacentini, F; Richards, P L; Romeo, G; Ruhl, J E; Scannapieco, E S; Scaramuzzi, F; Stompor, R; Vittorio, N

2000-01-01

We describe a measurement of the angular power spectrum of anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) from 0.3 degrees to ~10 degrees from the North American test flight of the BOOMERANG experiment. BOOMERANG is a balloon-borne telescope with a bolometric receiver designed to map CMB anisotropies on a Long Duration Balloon flight. During a 6-hour test flight of a prototype system in 1997, we mapped > 200 square degrees at high galactic latitudes in two bands centered at 90 and 150 GHz with a resolution of 26 and 16.6 arcmin FWHM respectively. Analysis of the maps gives a power spectrum with a peak at angular scales of ~1 degree with an amplitude ~70 uK.

Job satisfaction among chairs of surgery from Europe and North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Tschuor, Christoph; Raptis, Dimitri Aristotle; Morf, Manuela Christina; Staffelbach, Bruno; Manser, Tanja; Clavien, Pierre-Alain

2014-11-01

Strong evidence exists associating job satisfaction and risk of burnout with productivity, efficiency, and creativity in many organizations. However no data are available assessing chairs of surgery. This study assessed job satisfaction and risk for burnout of surgical chairs from Europe and North America and identified contributing factors. A survey among 650 chairs in surgery from 23 European and 2 North American countries was conducted in 2012. Satisfaction at work was analyzed using the validated Global Job Satisfaction (GJS) instrument and the abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory. Additional items targeting personal and environmental factors were included. The rate of chairs reached successfully was 86%, the overall response rate was 29% (188/650), with 1% female. Median age was 58 years. 11% of chairs were dissatisfied with work. Younger age and being fewer years in practice as a chair was associated with higher job satisfaction (P = .054 and P = .003). Surgical specialty with the greatest median GJS score was hepatopancreatobiliary, whereas vascular surgery scored lowest. Chairs desire to devote 20% more of their time on research. Clerical support as well as the ability to be innovative was suggested by 51% and 45%, respectively, to improve job satisfaction. Compared with Europeans, North American chairs were overall more satisfied and would recommend their job to their children. North American chairs seem to be more satisfied at work and at less risk for burnout than European chairs. The overall job satisfaction was greater among chairs compared with previously published reports of young, board-certified surgeons or residents (89% vs 87% and 66%, respectively). The superior satisfaction in chairs is strongest related to career achievements, innovation, and lifestyle. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Demographics of the European apicultural industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Chauzat, Marie-Pierre; Cauquil, Laura; Roy, Lise; Franco, Stéphanie; Hendrikx, Pascal; Ribière-Chabert, Magali

2013-01-01

Over the last few years, many European and North American countries have reported a high rate of disorders (mortality, dwindling and disappearance) affecting honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera). Although beekeeping has become an increasingly professional activity in recent years, the beekeeping industry remains poorly documented in Europe. The European Union Reference Laboratory for Honeybee Health sent a detailed questionnaire to each Member State, in addition to Kosovo and Norway, to determine the demographics and state of their beekeeping industries. Based on data supplied by the National Reference Laboratory for honeybee diseases in each European country, a European database was created to describe the beekeeping industry including the number and types of beekeepers, operation size, industry production, and health (notifiable diseases, mortalities). The total number of beekeepers in Europe was estimated at 620,000. European honey production was evaluated at around 220,000 tons in 2010. The price of honey varied from 1.5 to 40 €/kg depending on the country and on the distribution network. The estimated colony winter mortality varied from 7 to 28% depending on the country and the origin of the data (institutional survey or beekeeping associations). This survey documents the high heterogeneity of the apicultural industry within the European Union. The high proportion of non-professional beekeepers and the small mean number of colonies per beekeeper were the only common characteristics at European level. The tremendous variation in European apicultural industries has implication for any comprehensive epidemiological or economic analysis of the industry. This variability needs to be taken into account for such analysis as well as for future policy development. The industry would be served if beekeeping registration was uniformly implemented across member states. Better information on the package bee and queen production would help in understanding the ability of

Finding Political Opportunities: Civil Society, Industrial Power, and the Governance of Nanotechnology in the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Lamprou

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The European Union encourages and institutionalizes participation by environmental, consumer, and labor organizations in the governance of nanotechnology. Interviews with leaders of the civil society organizations (CSOs show that they identified multiple problems with nanotechnology policy but had only limited success in gaining the changes that they sought. CSO leaders explain their lack of success as due to the overwhelming power of industry and the support of the European Commission for new industrial development, including nanotechnology. We analyze the perspectives of CSO leaders about their difficulties to develop the theory of the political opportunity structure in the situation of a highly scientized policy field with strong industrial monitoring. We suggest the need to extend the theory to pay more attention to the strategies that reformers can use to maneuver in and to open a relatively closed political opportunity structure. We argue that formal stakeholder engagement is not very effective and suggest instead the importance of the following: building coalitions with government actors, threatening or mobilizing grassroots mobilization, making the issue salient to the public, and pursuing the full range of institutional repertoires.

Statistical Modelling of Fishing Activities in the North Atlantic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fernández, C.; Ley, E.; Steel, M.F.J.

1997-01-01

This paper deals with the issue of modeling daily catches of fishing boats in the Grand Bank fishing grounds. We have data on catches per species for a number of vessels collected by the European Union in the context of the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization. Many variables can be thought to

European Defence Community: origins of integration in the defence sphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Іван Васильович Яковюк

2017-12-01

Full Text Available There is a tendency among non-historians to force «practioners» of the discipline to justify why the study of a particular episode of the past is so important and to articulate the lessons to be learned from the experience. The fate of international constitutions and treaties is particularly prone to demands of this kind. After all, «constitutional borrowing» has long been a common feature of international law and politics. This article will address one such Treaty from the past. But it does not aspire to preserving its historical integrity; rather to awaken interest in it in the first place.          The European Defence Community (EDC was an ambitious initiative in the first years of the 1950s. Leading European countries had different foreign policy agendas towards it. The EDC. could have been a crucial milestone on the long path towards European integration. European Defense Community (EDC, an abortive attempt by western European powers, with United States support, to counterbalance the overwhelming conventional military ascendancy of the Soviet Union in Europe by the formation of a supranational European army and, in the process, to subsume West German forces into a European force, avoiding the tendentious problem of West German rearmament. One can trace the U.S. influence from the very first stages of the EDC. negotiations. Even in the agreement of the EDC., the footprints of U.S. policies can be observed, bringing the NATO Alliance to the forefront. The EDC. is also interrelated with the Marshall Plan, which leads us to think that the EDC. was not solely a European dream as has been widely argued, but rather an instrument of U.S. foreign policy, which could be resorted to as and when needed.          Influenced by the Korean War, the French politician René Pleven evolved a plan that later was put forward by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman at a meeting of the Council of Europe in 1951. Though the weaker

Toward the Target Model 2.0. Policy Recommendations for a Sustainable EU Power Market Design. Executive summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roques, Fabien; Perekhodtsev, Dmitri; Verhaeghe, Charles

2015-06-01

One of the 10 key priorities of the new European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker consists of 'reform(ing) and reorganis(ing) Europe's energy policy into a new European Energy Union'. The Energy Union work programme released on 25 February 2015 suggests that a new electricity market design is needed in order to tackle Europe's chosen policy objectives of de-carbonisation whilst maintaining security of supply. The current regulatory and market framework does not provide a sound basis for the investments needed to maintain security of supply and de-carbonise the power sector at an affordable cost. As policy priorities in favour of de-carbonisation and maintaining security of supply have taken centre stage on the policy agenda in the past decade, the design of liberalised electricity markets has failed to evolve and be reconciled with these new priorities. In addition, the issues of competitiveness and affordability of electricity in Europe remain central in the discussions about the market framework. The objective of this study is to assess the deficiencies and gaps in the current European Target Model and the wider regulatory framework for power generation and to propose a number of policy recommendations for improvement. Recognising the need for 'fresh thinking' on the issue, this study looks outside Europe to learn the lessons from experiences with a range of alternative market designs that exist around the globe. The study provides a comprehensive assessment of the issues with current European electricity markets. The study investigates the lessons from market reforms in North America and in Latin America in the past decade to identify 'out of the box' thinking to fill the gaps in the current European Target model. This report presents some of the research findings and concludes with a set of alternative potential directions for reform of European power markets models in the long term, as well as a number of

Reduction of electricity use in Swedish industry and its impact on national power supply and European CO2 emissions