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Intermunicipalities and the energy transition? À clever mix of innovation and institutional recycling at work in the production of renewable energies. Local authorities in France have recently been granted competence to pursue action in the domain of renewable energy. They move into an interdependent group of actors regarding the administrative power and financing opportunities. In this article, we discuss the strategies and projects implemented by a diverse set of local authority groupings in France and highlight the different ways in which they have appropriated the issues and challenges of renewable energy. These intermunicipal entities (Établissement public de coopération intercommunale, EPCI) have different sociocultural and geographic configurations, and our study shows that their local public action is driven by different motivations. Renewable energy is a vector for development that can be utilized in various ways, sometimes to legitimate public energy policy in the territory, and in other instances to bring in revenue. The politics of territorial energy strategy are often narrowly bounded by the scope of the intermunicipal structure. This restricted focus makes it difficult to develop strategies spanning several territories, and in the long term could lead neighbouring territories to compete to attract investment. Some of the intermunicipal entities seek to widen their fields of action thanks to the consultation with other types of actors. The challenge is then to relate with different energy stakeholders in an multiscalar framework to govern their energy transition. © 2023 Lavoisier, Paris. Tous droits réservés [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Multicriteria comparison of technical solutions for residential heat production. • Energy, exergy, economic, exergoeconomic and environmental indicators. • Sensitivity study on solar matching, LCOE and exergy destruction cost. • Extended qualitative discussion including more technical and operational criteria. • Some grid-driven solutions are competitive (efficient, de-carbonized French grid). The French energy market is highly reliant on nuclear power. Several factors pressure for a phase-out of this technology, but finding an environmentally and economically competitive substitute is not easy. Renewable sources are a candidate, and a full deployment in the residential sector could significantly reduce nuclear-based electricity production in France. In this paper, we assess multicriteria competitiveness of renewable energies for residential heat production in a French dwelling. A total of 9 solutions combining the following systems are compared: boilers (electric, biomass or gas-fired), heat pumps (air-source or ground-source) and solar panels (solar thermal or photovoltaic). Global performance is analyzed for each solution through energy, exergy, economic, exergoeconomic and environmental (5E) multi-criteria analysis considering energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, Levelized Cost Of Energy, exergy destruction cost and CO 2 mitigation. Sensitivity of selected indicators is analyzed with respect to the heat load, the investment cost and the fuel cost. The ground-source heat pump and the biomass boiler are found to be the most competitive solutions. It is also found that temporal mismatch between production and consumption is the major drawback of solar-driven solutions, especially for solar thermal collectors. One of the innovations of this study is comparing various residential heat production systems through various performance criteria. The other innovation is applying the study in the French context, which has a very high share of non-carbon electricity. Results from this study can be generalized to other OECD countries in future conditions, i.e. when their shares of non-carbon electricity become very high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The massive penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) that are variable and not "dispatchable", may weaken the power system supply-demand balance. Nuclear power plants (NPP) contribute in part to this daily and seasonal balance thanks to the "load-following" mode in France for example, but there are still limits to their use. These limits prevent a nuclear power modulation as efficient and quickly as the conventional thermal power plants. The need in terms of power ramps for nuclear in a constrained power system has been quantified in previous studies. Nuclear may compensate for the removal of thermal power plants, in order to fulfill energetic strategies of CO2 reduction. The possibility that nuclear reactors can achieve power ramps of significant values (>5%Pn/min) is put forward and could make possible to replace the services currently provided by thermal power plants. The objective of the study is then to use these power system requirements as the main input parameter for the modelling of a current simplified nuclear reactor capable of responding to frequency control within a specific hypothesis framework. In this paper, a French 1300 MW pressurized water reactor is modelled. Parametric studies are carried out in order to reveal technical and technological constraints when increasing electric power ramp. The study explores ways of design, which may influence reactor flexibility, such as the neutron parameter, Doppler coefficient, or the thermohydraulic parameter, delay in the primary loop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When it comes to the construction of an index, one of the main problems is determining the weights that each variable carries. In this article, through models based on the Structural Equation Modelling methodology, an index for the measurement of the evolution of renewable energies is developed, and applied for a group of countries in the European Union. The results show that, in Europe, there are two groups clearly differentiated in terms of their level of development in renewable energy. In the first group, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy stand out while the second group is led by the United Kingdom, and includes countries like Portugal, Finland, and Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world dominated by oil, each country has to design its own energy policy to cope with increasingly scarce stocks of this fossil fuel. Particularly, the United States, France and Germany engaged into significantly different paths coping with challenging constraints such as ensuring economic growth, security of energy supply, and respect of the environment. The impact of these energy policies on the development of renewable energies has been assessed by analyzing each national policy from the economic, political, and technological standpoints. The results of this study provides some explanations of tactical moves made by these energy hungry economies to cope with the increasing pressure put on the oil supply market and to prepare for a future where green energies are bound to play an increasingly important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intention behind the current analysis is to join the debate over the main factors to consider in the global fight against climate change. Thereby, the Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) approach is applied to assess the impacts of nuclear energy, fossil fuels, income, and trade on carbon emissions in France from 1980 to 2020. In addition, the relevance of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) presumption is tested. The main results stipulate that nuclear energy lessens CO2 emissions in France. However, fossil fuels and trade openness enhance these emissions. On the other hand, the current analysis confirms the presence of an inverted U-shaped curve relating economic growth to carbon emissions. Therefore, the EKC hypothesis is supported in our case. Indeed, by calculating the turning point, it is possible to extract the turning year corresponding to 2008. Furthermore, an asymmetric causality test is performed in order to identify the possible non-linear causal links between the potential drivers of carbon emissions. First, the causal linkage between CO2 emissions and GDP is bidirectional. Furthermore, a unidirectional causal link between CO2 emissions and non-renewable energies and a dual directional causal link between pollutant emissions and trade are identified. These empirical results are intended to guide the French government in the implementation of relevant energy and trade-related strategies in order to attain the ambitious targets of carbon emissions reduction. In fact, France should reduce imports of fossil fuels to curtail the positive effect of trade on carbon emissions. In addition, it is recommended to substitute fossil energies with renewable energies gradually by using adequate instruments and boosting research and innovation to mitigate the adverse influences of non-renewable energies on environmental quality. Finally, our findings confirm the positive role played by nuclear energy in the fight against climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sharp increase in and volatility of fossil fuel prices, due in particular to the Russian–Ukrainian conflict, is a powerful incentive for cities to accelerate their energy transition. Yet urban authorities have limited power over the construction of energy policies and the management of networks, and they remain dependent on remote and mainly carbon-intensive imported sources of energy. The recovery of waste heat from waste incineration or industrial emissions and its use in heating networks represents a solution for cities to control part of their energy supply, to develop their own capacities for action and to implement local transition strategies, in addition to the development of renewable energies. Based on the analysis of four case studies in France between 2019 and 2022, in the context preceding the current energy crisis, this article examines how cities are trying to develop waste heat recovery and the role this energy resource plays in the decarbonisation of urban energy systems. The analysis highlights that the emergence of these projects is more broadly part of the renegotiation dynamics of energy, ecological and economic relationships between cities and industries, and that their implementation results in the construction of new urban energy nexuses. The use of waste heat makes it possible to improve the energy efficiency of industrial and urban energy systems, sometimes significantly, but it must be seen as a transitional solution because it can temporarily increase cities' dependency on high-carbon and energy-inefficient industrial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid expansion of renewable energies has the potential to decarbonize the electricity supply. This is more challenging in difficult-to-electrify sectors. The use of hydrogen provides a massive potential for this issue. However, expanding hydrogen production increases electricity demand while providing additional flexibility to the electricity market. This paper mainly aims to analyze the economic effects of this sector coupling between the European electricity and national hydrogen markets. The developed energy market model jointly considers both markets to reach an overall welfare optimum. A novel modeling approach allows the interaction of these markets without the need for several iterative optimization runs. This allows for a detailed analysis of various market participants' changes in consumer and producer surpluses. The optimization is conducted in 13 connected Central European countries to account for various power plant fleets, generation mixes, and electricity prices. Results show an overall welfare increase of EUR 4 to 28 billion in 2030 and an EUR 5 to 158 billion increase in 2040. However, there is a surplus shift from consumers to producers. The consumer surplus is reduced by up to EUR 44 billion in 2030 and EUR 60 billion while producers benefit to achieve the overall welfare benefits. The reduction of consumer surplus changes if significant price peaks occur. Fuel cell applications can avoid these price peaks, resulting in a surplus shift from thermal power plants to consumers. Hence, consumer surplus can increase by up to EUR 146 billion in the respective 2040 scenarios. Pink hydrogen accounts for a sizable portion of total hydrogen production, up to 58 percent in 2030 and up to 30 percent in 2040. As a result, nuclear power plants that are nearly entirely allocated in France stand to benefit greatly from this sector coupling. Additional efforts could be made to address the link between hydrogen and natural gas prices. Furthermore, the potential for cross-border hydrogen trade and the implementation of national legal and regulatory frameworks could be assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

France's response to the climate crisis includes an ambitious policy to make hydrogen a major component of the energy mix. One of the challenges that must be overcome to achieve this goal is to find a practicable and socially acceptable way of storing hydrogen. The present study investigated potential resistance to hydrogen use in France by examining social representations of hydrogen and its underground storage in salt caverns. To this end, we investigate how distance from the object (knowledge, experience, involvement) affects dimensions that contribute to people's perceptions of, and therefore the social acceptability of, hydrogen as a renewable energy. Results provide valuable insights into French people's perceptions of hydrogen and its underground storage in salt caverns. They also highlight the individual processes, and their intertwining within the social context, that help to shape public opposition to projects aimed at accomplishing the widely accepted need to switch to renewable energies. • French people are in favour of hydrogen but have reservations about its underground storage. • Knowledge has a positive impact on perceptions of underground hydrogen storage. • Experience has a positive impact on perceptions of underground hydrogen storage. • Positive attitudes do not predict positive behavioural intentions toward hydrogen storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying decarbonization strategies at the district level is increasingly necessary to align the development of urban projects with European climate neutrality objectives. It is well known that district heating and cooling networks are an attractive energy system solution because they permit the integration of renewable energies and local excess of hot or cold sources. The detailed design and optimization of network infrastructures are essential to achieve the full potential of this energy system. The authors conducted an attributional life cycle assessment to compare the environmental profile of five distribution network infrastructures (i.e., pipes, heat carrier fluid, trenches, heat exchangers, valves, and water pumps) based on a study case in Marseille, France. The work aims to put into perspective the environmental profile of subsystems comprising a district heating infrastructure, and compare pipe typologies that can be used to guide decision-making in eco-design processing. Rigid and flexible piping systems were compared separately. The results show that the main impact source is the pipe subsystem, followed by the trench works for most impact categories. The authors underlined the importance of pipe typology choice, which can reduce emissions by up to 80% and 77% for rigid and flexible systems, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental impacts of four French scenarios of electricity production systems are compared. They propose a variable part of nuclear which is essentially replaced by wind and solar energy. The paper proposes a comparison of these scenarios based on a Life Cycle Assessments. The systems with a large part of intermittent wind and solar sources need a higher installed power. In addition, for the same installed power, renewable energies require more building materials than nuclear ones. Therefore, the environmental impacts of infrastructures increase with the part of renewable energy. During the use phase, the environmental impacts of fossil fuels, especially coal, are significant. Consequently, the best systems must use the least fossil fuels and need the lower installed power. Finally, if we exclude the risk of nuclear disaster and if we consider that nuclear wastes are well managed, the electricity production systems that achieve the lowest environmental impacts, with the same availability for the electricity to end users, are those that have a large part of nuclear power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of cities are interested in deep geothermal energy in order to increase the share of renewable energies in their district heating networks. To reduce the risks related to deep geothermal energy operations, reliable digital models are needed: they make it possible to predict the depth of aquifers away from borehole locations, and their thermal and hydrological evolution by supporting detailed water and heat flow simulations. This paper presents a 3D geomodel developed for this purpose in the southern Paris Basin of France in the Orléans area. The 3D geomodel integrates various data such as reprocessed and interpreted seismic lines, well data, and a pre-existing larger-scale and lower-resolution 3D geological model. The resulting 3D geomodel gives a new and reliable representation of the main aquifers underlying the study area. Within the framework of the project, hydrological and thermal simulations were then performed based on this 3D geomodel. Other environmental investigations (e.g. CO2 storage) and teaching/communication activities could also benefit from the dataset. Measurement(s) geological features Technology Type(s) 3D geomodelling integration Sample Characteristic - Location Southern Paris Basin (France) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind power represents a promising source of renewable energies. Precise forecasting of wind power generation is crucial to mitigate the challenges of balancing supply and demand in the smart grid. Nevertheless, the major difficulty in wind power is its high fluctuation and intermittent nature, making it challenging to forecast. This study aims to develop efficient data-driven models to accurately forecast wind power generation. Crucially, the main contributions of this work are listed in the following major elements. Firstly, we investigate the performance of enhanced machine learning models to forecast univariate wind power time-series data. Specifically, we employed Bayesian optimization (BO) to optimally tune hyperparameters of the Gaussian process regression (GPR), Support Vector Regression (SVR) with different kernels, and ensemble learning (ES) models (i.e., Boosted trees and Bagged trees) and investigated their forecasting performance. Secondly, dynamic information has been incorporated in their construction to further enhance the forecasting performance of the investigated models. Specifically, we introduce lagged measurements to enable capturing time evolution into the design of the considered models. Furthermore, more input variables (e.g., wind speed and wind direction) are used to further improve wind prediction performance. Actual measurements from three wind turbines in France, Turkey, and Kaggle are used to verify the efficiency of the considered models. The results reveal the benefit of considering lagged data and input variables to better forecast wind power. The results also showed that the optimized GPR and ensemble models outperformed the other machine learning models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical study examines the causal links among renewable energy consumption (REC) and non‐renewable energy consumption (NREC) and economic growth in Germany, the UK and France between 1980 and 2019. To this purpose, we use two different approaches: Toda and Yamamoto (Journal of Econometrics, 66, 1995, 225) time causality test and Lemmens et al. (International Journal of Forecasting, 24, 2008, 414) frequency causality test. For UK and France, the results show no significant causality between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and REC, which supports the neutrality hypothesis. Regarding NREC, similar findings are obtained. However, for Germany, the time approach indicates bi‐directional causality between REC and GDP, while the frequency approach shows uni‐directional causality from REC to GDP in the long‐run. Therefore, there is a consensus on the growth hypothesis in Germany. Furthermore, the frequency analysis displays also one way causal nexus running from Germany's GDP to NREC in long horizons. The policymakers in UK and France should take into account that renewables and energy conservation policies are neutral in respect to economic growth. As for Germany, measures of reducing NREC would not significantly damage GDP, and renewable energies promotion plan would be beneficial for economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As variable renewable energies are developing, their impacts on the electric system are growing. To anticipate these impacts, prospective studies may use wind power production simulations in the form of 1 h or 30 min time series that are often based on reanalysis wind-speed data. The purpose of this study is to assess how several wind-speed datasets are performing when used to simulate wind-power production at the local scale, when no observation is available to use bias correction methods. The study evaluates two global reanalysis (MERRA-2 from NASA and ERA5 from ECMWF), two high-resolution models (COSMO-REA6 reanalysis from DWD, AROME NWP model from Météo-France) and the New European Wind Atlas mesoscale data. The study is conducted over continental France. In a first part, wind-speed measurements (between 55 and 100 m above ground) at eight locations are directly compared to modelled wind speeds. In a second part, 30 min wind-power productions are simulated for every wind farm in France and compared to two open datasets of observed production published by the distribution and transmission system operators, either at the local scale in terms of annual bias, or aggregated at the regional scale, in terms of bias, correlations and diurnal cycles. ERA5 is very skilled, despite its low resolution compared to the regional models, but it underestimates wind speeds, especially in mountainous areas. AROME and COSMO-REA6 have better skills in complex areas and have generally low biases. MERRA-2 and NEWA have large biases and overestimate wind speeds especially at night. Several problems affecting diurnal cycles are detected in ERA5 and COSMO-REA6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forecasts and scenarios calculated by energy system models are ubiquitous in energy debates. They are used by a wide range of public and private actors to make investment decisions, identify problems, and support or criticise specific forms of political intervention. The article presents an analytical framework for studying such entanglements between predictive practices and policy-making. Drawing on work in STS and the anthropology of politics, energy policy is conceptualised as a field of contention, populated by competing predictive policy assemblages. This concept is applied to a historical study on German and French energy policy-making, focusing on two periods. In the post-WWII decades, energy forecasts contributed to the structuring of 'energy policy' as an autonomous policy domain concerned with choosing between different energy supply options. This dominant paradigm was challenged in the 1970s and 1980s, when new modelling techniques forged by civil society groups brought energy demand and renewable energies to the fore politically and helped structure new political alliances. The article concludes by arguing that new ways of 'assembling' energy systems in models and forecasts can contribute to policy change, if they successfully 'perform' energy policy along three dimensions: by instituting alternative future-visions; by enabling new forms of political intervention; and by contributing to the formation of new 'predictive policy assemblages'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract To the best of our knowledge, there is no econometric study on the causal relationship between renewable or fossil energies and terrorism, nor on terrorism in France. This paper tries to fill this gap and considers other variables as economic growth and trade openness. The autoregressive distributed lag approach and Granger causality are used for annual data on France covering the period 1980–2015. The Wald test confirms the existence of long-run relationships between the considered variables. Granger causality reveals long-run bidirectional causalities between all the variables. Interestingly, in the short-run, there are unidirectional causalities running from renewable energy to terrorism, and from terrorism to trade openness, and there is bidirectional causality between terrorism and economic growth. Long-run parameter estimates show that more renewable energy consumption and more trade increase both terrorism and economic growth. However, economic growth reduces terrorism in the long-run and appears as a powerful tool to combat terrorism in France. In addition, France is recommended to continue encouraging the use of renewable energies, and at the same time, to make more diplomatic efforts to resolve political and military conflicts in the world, and particularly in the Middle East. Highlights • There is long-run bidirectional causality between renewable energy and terrorism. • There is long-run bidirectional causality between fossil energy and terrorism. • There is short-run unidirectional causality running from renewable energy to terrorism. • In the long run, renewables increase terrorism and economic growth. • In the long run, economic growth reduces terrorism and increases renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Renewable development can be leveraged through a variety of energy carriers. The aim of this paper is to assess the potential of producing low-carbon hydrogen from electricity surplus considering the French case for the timeframe of 2035. The analysis is conducted on a regional basis, in order to investigate the potential locations for electrolyser placements. To do so, it builds on an assessment of the land and ocean eligibility to identify a precise geographic distribution of the renewable energies (photovoltaics, and onshore and offshore wind) across France. The surplus energy is assessed regionally using a dispatch model showing that little energy is actually available to produce hydrogen when only considering the renewable curtailments. Using the nuclear available energy allows to enhance the hydrogen production potential while respecting the low carbon footprint criteria. Highlights • Hydrogen is a promising enabler for a multi-sectorial decarbonisation. • Hydrogen production potential using the electricity surplus in France is studied in this paper. • Renewable curtailment is not sufficient in 2035 for an economic electrolysis operation. • Electrolysis from available nuclear energy is economically feasible and increases the utilization of nuclear power plant. • The electricity interconnections can strongly affect the surplus amounts allowing to bring flexibility to the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue d'Économie Régionale & urbaine is the property of Librairie Armand Colin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Futuribles is the property of Futuribles SARL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The production of dehydrated alfalfa for animal feed requires substantial energy-consuming processes, which raises questions about the environmental sustainability of this sector; less energy-intensive processes and a transition to renewable energy are needed. In this study, we quantified the environmental footprint of dehydrated alfalfa production in France and its evolution over time using data collected over two periods (2006–2009 and 2016 to 2019). This study was based on twelve production units spread throughout the main alfalfa production areas in France, which represent more than 50% of the national production of dehydrated alfalfa. A life cycle assessment was performed for the three steps of this production: production in the field, transportation from the field to the factory and the dehydration process. The results showed that the adaptation and renewal of the production tools between the two time periods allowed a reduction in the consumption of nonrenewable energy per ton of dehydrated alfalfa: lignite and coal decreased from an average of 352.3 kg t−1 dehydrated alfalfa in 2006–2007 to an average of 100.6 kg t−1 dehydrated alfalfa in 2018–2019. At the same time, the introduction of biomass as an energy source represented 127.4 kg biomass t−1 dehydrated alfalfa in 2018–2019. The decrease in the moisture content of fodder due to climate change and a longer time in the field before plant transport also significantly decreased the energy needed for dehydration at the factory level. Consequently, the French production sector reduced its impact on the "climate change" impact category from 1.150 kg CO 2 -eq. kg−1 dry matter of dehydrated alfalfa (first period) to 0.494 kg CO 2 -eq. kg−1 dry matter of dehydrated alfalfa (second period). Among the eight environmental impact categories studied, only the "land competition" criterion increased from 0.840 to 1.222 m2.y between the two periods due to the substitution of fossil energies with renewable energies from wood and energy crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of renewable energy paid off-market disrupts the demand-price relationship in wholesale electricity markets. Drawing on 2015 hourly data from France's electricity transmission network operator (RTE) and the French dayahead spot market, this paper attempts to quantify the disturbance observed and the transfers of revenues among consumers, producers and providers. This study calculates, through a modeling of the day-ahead market, the impact on conventional electricity producers in France in terms of the loss of economic value owing to the introduction of renewable energies. In the same time consumers benefit from lower electricity prices but have to pay for feed-in tariffs. Renewable electricity producers and electricity providers are also the winners. An estimation of the cross-subsidies induced by the injection of renewable electricity is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings are the largest contributors to households' energy footprints. If both the energy for household mobility and the embodied energy are added to the energy for heating/cooling, domestic hot water, lighting, buildings are by far the main problem of energy consumption in France. This paper presents a review of the evolution of the main drivers of CO 2 emissions by buildings in France. Eventually, the paradox of the effect of density is discussed. Lower density of cities increases the energy spent per inhabitant, in particular for transport, but may also increase the production of low-carbon renewable energies, shifting the global energy balance and influencing the prospective studies of future, energy efficient, smart cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public policies such as feed-in tariffs have been widely introduced to stimulate the development of renewable energies, and sustain a decarbonisation of the electricity sector. Proponents argue that these governance instruments safeguard public goods such as the climate – yet they are accused of creating political markets, and political prices, here understood as market distortion. This paper studies the ‘politics’ of pricing by following the adoption of the first feed-in tariff in France. Pricing as a way of achieving non-economic ends, such as climate mitigation, brings the values of several public goods into play, all the while prompting a translation of these values into a single price. Following the struggles over the pricing of wind power in the early 2000s, the study illustrates that rather than a pollution of the market sphere by that of politics, a politics of pricing can be observed in four distinct struggles: namely the framing of the public interest; valuation as the articulation of the future; the possible agencies of governance; and role of valuation methods and calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The fast evolution of transmission systems, induced by the massive integration of high voltage direct current links, special protection schemes and renewable energies, has a strong influence on the system's behaviour and the steady state it reaches after one or several events. The power flow tools that are currently used to calculate steady states after some events are not adapted any more to such changes. A case study advocating for the use of simplified time-domain simulations for steady state calculation instead of fully static tools is presented here. This case study is simulated using DynaFlow, a new simulation tool that does a simplified time-domain simulation whose final state is given as a result. It focuses on the France–Spain border, and it is shown that the dynamic parameters of the special protection schemes have a strong impact on the steady state that cannot be easily captured by classical power flow tools. A sensitivity analysis is also done to illustrate this. • The advantage of using a simplified time-domain approach is presented on a real case. • Simulations focus on the French grid system, around the France–Spain border. • Taking into account temporality of controls allows to catch their mutual influence. • Modifying the HVDC links response time has an impact on the final position of PSTs taps. • Larger margins of power export are observed when introducing controls temporality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several major available renewable energies, such as wind power which can be considered one of the most potential energy resources. Thus, wind power is a vital green source of electric power generation. The prediction of wind power is a critical issue to decrease the uncertainty of the energy systems. It is an essential process to balance energy demand and supply. The main objective of the current paper is to present an efficient prediction tool to estimate wind power using time-series datasets. We develop an enhanced variant of the ANFIS (adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system) using the advances of metaheuristic (MH) optimization algorithms. We propose a new variant of the marine predator algorithm (MPA), called MPAmu, using additional mutation operators to augment the MPA to prevent its premature convergence on local optima. The developed MPAmu is used to optimize the ANFIS parameters and to boost its configuration process. We use well-known datasets collected from wind turbines located in France to evaluate the proposed MPAmu-ANFIS model using several evaluation metrics. Additionally, we compare the developed MPAmu-ANFIS to the traditional ANFIS and several modified ANFIS models using different MH algorithms. More so, we compare the developed model to other time-series prediction models, such as support vector machine (SVM), feedforward neural network, and long short term memory (LSTM). The findings of the current paper reveal that the application of MPAmu contributes significantly to boosting the prediction accuracy of the traditional ANFIS. • Develop a new time-series forecasting approach for wind power production. • Boost the performance of the ANFIS using the advances of swarm intelligence methods. • Propose an efficient variant of the MPA using the mutation operators. • Evaluate the MPAmu-ANFIS using real-world wind datasets with extensive comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With the development of technologies and the fast increase of our population we will need to adjust the conventional electrical source to meet the continuous increasing demand. Since the energy cost as well as the environmental awareness is growing fast, technologies using renewable energies appear as an interesting alternative. The aim of this research is to present a solar-driven 30kW LiBr/H2O single-effect absorption cooling system which has been designed and installed at Institut Universitaire Technologique of Saint Pierre. The first part of this article deals with the simulation of the solar thermal plant. A pilot plant has been setup as part of RAFSOL which is a research program managed by the national research agency (ANR). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Politique et Sociétés is the property of Politique et Societes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Futuribles is the property of Futuribles SARL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A large share of wind and solar in the electricity mix increases the part of fatal and intermittent productions which must be compensated by a back up system able to continuously equate supply and demand. The goal of the study is the dimension of this back up system. The analysis relies on information from wind and solar productions observed today in France and transposed to two scenarios considered for 2050: one with 100% renewables, the other with 50% renewables and 50% nuclear. For both cases, we compute the volume of electricity, which should be transferred annually by the back up system from times of productions surplus to those of deficits. In this operation, the back up must deliver a power and possess a capacity of storage, which are also evaluated. Knowing these required performances for the back up system, a review is made of its foreseeable constituents: exchanges with neighboring countries, adjustment of consumption, storages (gravitational, electrochemical and chemical) and, last but not least, adjustment of the supply with controlled, carbon-free, production sources (mostly hydroelectric and nuclear plants). At the end, this gives an insight on the realism of the scenarios, the efforts they require, and the uncertainties in their achievement. Even if our results could be modulated by other hypotheses, their main lesson would remain and cannot be disregarded in the conduct of the energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in marine renewable energies has grown in recent years, especially in northern European shelf seas where several technological devices have been developed. In this context, numerous investigations focused on accurate predictions of tidal currents and their respective kinetic energy. An empirical estimation of the current velocity is explored in this study, where three different methods are presented. The first method is a linear approximation of the tidal vector velocity as a function of the tidal coefficient (ratio of the tidal range over its maximal value). The second and the third methods are a piece-wise linear and an exponential relationships between tidal vector velocity and the tidal coefficient, respectively. These three methods are compared to reference values obtained using a numerical simulation of tidal hydrodynamics. These methods are applied at two prominent tidal stream energy sites along the coast of France, the Fromveur Strait (western Brittany) and the Alderney Race (between the island of Alderney, Channel islands, and the Cap de la Hague, France). Results show that the piece-wise linear and the exponential models are more accurate than the linear approximation, where the mean error decreased by 12.7% and 14.9% respectively at the worst case scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few general analyses of the interest of onshore wave energy converters (onshore WEC) in terms of resources, efficiency and cost. The case of The Channel on the Atlantic coast of France is chosen here to illustrate the issues related to onshore WEC development. The paper presents a list of potential sites with their characteristics and a more in-depth analysis of a few sites. For four onshore WEC families, the production is given with a method of calculating the efficiency and economic analysis is carried out to estimate the energy cost at two selected sites. Annual wave power levels are maximum in Bayonne with 24 kW/m, and the lengths of useful dikes vary from 60 m in Molène up to 4000 m in Cherbourg. Wave reflection on the dike is an advantage in terms of energy production. The oscillating flaps constitute the systems with the highest efficiency, and the float systems have the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCoE), followed closely by the oscillating flaps. Oscillating water columns and overtopping systems have nearly five times these LCoEs. With mass production, costs of oscillating floats and flaps will approach those of other renewable energies such as solar and wind power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lecturer-researchers, because of the duality of their profession, can introduce students directly to their research. Stimulating student interest through practical research topics enables students to see the relevance of the teaching/learning process and thereby enhance their motivation. As a major societal issue, research on renewable energies is held in great esteem, particularly among young students with a strong interest in environmental issues. The work presented here relates to the realization of a practical class on the testing of a flexible piezoelectric generator studied as part of the 'N-"air"-J' regional research project. The particular characteristic of piezoelectric materials is that they produce electricity when compressed, which means that they can be used in energy recovery devices. The electrical model associated with this type of generator, consisting of an ideal current source in parallel with a linear capacitor and a load resistor, is sufficiently simple to understand following a course on electricity for first-year university students. High school students in their first year of a science and laboratory technology baccalaureate in France have already taken this practical class as part of a dissemination campaign on scientific culture.

The mechanisms underlying bat and bird activity peaks (attraction) or losses (avoidance) near wind turbines remain unknown. Yet, understanding them would be a major lever to limit the resulting habitat loss and fatalities. Given that bat activity is strongly related to airflows, we hypothesized that airflow disturbances generated leeward (downwind) of operating wind turbines-via the so-called wake effect-make this area less favorable for bats, due to increased flight costs, decreased maneuverability and possibly lower prey abundance. To test this hypothesis, we quantified Pipistrellus pipistrellus activity acoustically at 361 site-nights in western France in June on a longitudinal distance gradient from the wind turbine and on a circular azimuth gradient of wind incidence angle, calculated from the prevailing wind direction of the night. We show that P. pipistrellus avoid the wake area, as less activity was detected leeward of turbines than windward (upwind) at relatively moderate and high wind speeds. Furthermore, we found that P. pipistrellus response to wind turbine (attraction and avoidance) depended on the angle from the wake area. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that changes in airflows around operating wind turbines can strongly impact the way bats use habitats up to at least 1500 m from the turbines, and thus should prompt the consideration of prevailing winds in wind energy planning. Based on the evidence we present here, we strongly recommend avoiding configurations involving the installation of a turbine between the origin of prevailing winds and important habitats for bats, such as hedgerows, water or woodlands., Competing Interests: This work is part of the first author’s PhD research, which was co-supervised by all the co-authors from the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) and Auddicé biodiversité. Auddicé biodiversité is an environmental consultancy that conducts wind farm impact assessment studies. At the time of submission two of the authors - Camille Leroux and Nicolas Valet - were working at Auddicé biodiversité. In addition, Kévin Barré was funded by ADEME, a public agency promoting renewable energies. Members of the wind energy sector financed part of the bat recorders and provided some technical data and expertise on wind turbine operation and features, as stated above. Thus, the authors declare a potential conflict of interest. However, sampling design, acoustic data collection, analysis and writing were conducted only by the authors, and members of the wind energy sector did not view the draft before submission. Furthermore, sampling design and sampling sites were determined independently from Auddicé biodiversité activities and identification of bat echolocation calls and bat activity measures were provided by TADARIDA software, a MNHN web portal. The authors certify that the collaboration did not interfere with the stated hypothesis, the way it was tested or the interpretations and conclusions. Authors take full responsibility for the integrity of the study., (Copyright: © 2024 Leroux et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

In France and Germany, significant networks of local initiatives have developed around energy issues. This article brings practitioners' viewpoints into discussion. It presents the way in which two of these networks – the CLER-network for the energy transition (France) and the 100% – Regions network (Germany) – each identifies itself, describes its action and build-up process in relation to government action, and conceives of justice issues in the field of climate energy policy. The analysis shows that these two networks share a lot, including political ends (localisation of energy production, empowerment of rural territories), but practice quite differently as intermediaries for local initiatives. This suggests overcoming the transition management vs grassroots divide present in the literature and paying more attention to hybrids. It also brings emphasis on a type of intermediary's work, which has not been covered by the academic literature, namely that of tinkering with multiple supports and embedding action in local-national-supranational networking in order to maintain continuity. In discussing justice dimensions, we emphasize that motives or ends of action are only reflectively related to ideas of justice: justice issues seem bound up with a politics of assembling, either as a marker of federative action (all fighting for justice) or as a potentially divisive issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel hybrid meta -heuristic technique is proposed and validated. • Interesting accuracy and convergence quality while using larger search range. • Online validation by means of an adequate experimental setup for the PV string. • Parameters of bifacial PV module has been well estimated and validated. • Intensive verification of the extraction procedure to emulate real I-V shaded curves. Well estimating the electrical model parameters of the photovoltaic (PV) module/string serves to develop an accurate simulator and a fault diagnosis tool. Several based evolutionary techniques were proposed to identify the unknown circuit equivalent PV generator (PVG) parameters. Whereas most of them have not been examined to various real operating conditions of solar irradiance and PV cells temperature. That requires larger search range than the adopted one in the literature. Enlarging the search range imposes more computational time and high exploration and exploitation features. Hence, a novel hybrid differential evolution and artificial bee colony intelligence (nDEBCO) approach is proposed. In terms of convergence quality, CPU execution time, number of function evaluations (NFE), and error standard deviation (StD). The newly developed approach permits to accurately identify the PV module/string unknown parameters with suitable implementation complexity. Mono-facial CLS 220P PV string has been utilized employing an adequate experimental setup with online implementation. 1080 I-V curves have been measured and estimated, where the overall RMSE ± StD is below 0.02 ± 1e−16. The nDEBCO outperforms the present-day published works, for common case studies in the literature with two based root mean square error (RMSE) objective functions namely Lambert W function (LWF) and classic. It yields 7.73006268e− 4 of RMSE, 7.8785e− 18 of StD, and 2150 NFE under ODM with LWF for RTC France PV cell. Bifacial PV module has been evaluated and the electrical parameters have been extracted within less than 1.36 s of CPU run time and not>8.0299631e− 3 ± 6.9096e− 16 of RMSE ± StD for front and rear faces. Additionally, the parameter identification procedure has been well validated to simulate the real partial shading scenarios of the studied PV string with a RMSE less than 0.045 and 0.397% of power maximum point absolute error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]