ABSTRACT. The first satellite-derived inventory of glaciers and rock glaciers in Chile, created from Landsat TM/ETM+ images spanning between 2000 and 2003 using a semi-automated procedure, is presented in a single standardized format. Large glacierized areas in the Altiplano, Palena Province and the periphery of the Patagonian icefields are inventoried. The Chilean glacierized area is 23 708 ± 1185 km 2 , including ∼3200 km 2 of both debris-covered glaciers and rock glaciers. Glacier distribution varies as a result of climatic gradients with latitude and elevation, with 0.8% occurring in the Desert Andes (17°30′-32°S); 3.6% in the Central Andes (32-36°S), 6.2% in the Lakes District and Palena Province (36-46°S), and 89.3% in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego (46-56°S).Glacier outlines, across all glacierized regions and size classes, updated to 2015 using Landsat 8 images for 98 complexes indicate a decline in areal extent affecting mostly clean-ice glaciers (−92.3 ± 4.6 km 2 ), whereas debris-covered glaciers and rock glaciers in the Desert and Central Andes appear nearly unchanged in their extent. Glacier attributes estimated from this new inventory provide valuable insights into spatial patterns of glacier shrinkage for assessing future glacier changes in response to climate change.
Independence from the power grid can be pursued by achieving total self-sufficient electricity supply. Such an energy supply model might be particularly interesting for settlements located in rural areas where enough space is available for energy generation installations. This article evaluates how and at what cost electricity demand of residential users across Germany and the Czech Republic could be covered by hybrid renewable energy generation systems consisting of photovoltaics, micro-generation wind turbines and batteries. High-resolution reanalysis data are used to calculate necessary system sizes over a large area by simultaneously accounting for the temporal variability of renewable energy. For every potential location in the research area, the hybrid system requirements for clusters of 50 self-sufficient single-family houses are calculated. The results indicate no general trend regarding the size of the respective technologies, although larger areas where PV-wind power complementarity enables lowering the total system costs and required storage capacities were determined. Assuming that the cluster of households could be constituted and depending on the location, the total installation and operation costs for the proposed systems for a lifetime of 20 years range between EUR 1.8 Million and EUR 5 Million without considering costs of financing. Regions with the lowest costs were identified mainly in the south of Germany.
Abstract. This study presents a framework for regional smart energy
planning for the optimal location and sizing of small hybrid systems. By
using an optimization model – in combination with weather data – various
local energy systems are simulated using the Calliope and PyPSA energy
system simulation tools. The optimization and simulation models are fed with
GIS data from different volunteered geographic information projects,
including OpenStreetMap. These allow automatic allocation of specific demand
profiles to diverse OpenStreetMap building categories. Moreover, based on
the characteristics of the OpenStreetMap data, a set of possible distributed
energy resources, including renewables and fossil-fueled generators, is
defined for each building category. The optimization model can be applied
for a set of scenarios based on different assumptions on electricity prices
and technologies. Moreover, to assess the impact of the scenarios on the
current distribution infrastructure, a simulation model of the low- and
medium-voltage network is conducted. Finally, to facilitate their
dissemination, the results of the simulation are stored in a PostgreSQL
database, before they are delivered by a RESTful Laravel Server and
displayed in an angular web application.
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