Energy recovery in water supply systems (WSS) is environmentally friendly, since it is a renewable energy based on exploiting the excess pressure existing in water pipes for obtaining electricity. This paper presents the methodology development for the identification of the hydropower potential in WSS and the possible installations by means of a Matlab rutine. The results showed the interactions among the design flow and maximum head have provided the possible scenarios with electric potential and the selection of possible turbines. The methodology proposed allows determining the suitability of electricity production in the urban water cycle by MHPs, in order to avoid the need for the installation of dissipation devices for this energy.
Small-scale hydropower plants (SHP), and in particular the micro-hydropower plants (MHP) and pico-hydropower plants (PHP), are considering as an alternative energy resource based on the hydroelectric potential available in urban water cycle because of the excess of pressure existing in some urban water supply systems (WSS). Nowadays, pressure-reducing valves are necessary to reduce water pressure in WSS, so the use of a pump as turbine (PAT) can be considered as a proper way for reaching both an enough water head reduction and a hydropower generation possibility (self-consumption or energy recovery). MHPs are based on existing hydraulic resources where the PAT location is necessary, especially in those points with an excess of energy, which derives in an extra cost in terms of conservation and maintenance of the infrastructure or lead to the necessary installation of dissipation devices. The locations of these points are strongly influenced by the geographical and hydrological conditions, so a Geographic Information System (GIS) is a very useful tool for implementation of SHP and MHP or PHP projects. This paper describes the assessment and comparison of the methodology followed in the SHP and MHP locations: necessary data, GIS development, hydrologic model and hydropower potential.
Cross‐border cooperations have been usually approached by developing trade agreements between international regions to upgrade their socioeconomic conditions and promote international tourism flows in territories. However, little attention has been paid to the role that tourist companies play in underprivileged territories highly dependent on tourism. Through the theory of social exchange, theoretical implications can be drawn from those territories and compared with developed regions to understand what role tourism flow plays in the reciprocal attitude between tourist companies and visitors. Political implications force tourist authorities to involve companies in promoting their regional tourism resources through participatory tourism programmes. For this, the opinion of companies is strongly related to the tourism generated by the Parque Natural Tajo Internacional on both sides of the border between Spain and Portugal, who have participated in the research to develop tourism on both sides of the border. To collect the data, 126 interviews were carried out with companies among the 53 Spanish and Portuguese companies that participated in the research between January and June 2022. For data tabulation, version 3.26 of SmartPLS was used. The study concludes that social exchange policies that bring companies and residents closer together favour socioeconomic development in territories that have natural resources and are economically disadvantaged.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.