The impact of job security,satisfaction and stress on performance assessment and optimization of generation companies

In this study, performances of Iranian thermal power plants have been assessed with respect to human factors such as job stress, satisfaction and security through data envelopment analysis (DEA). In the first step performance of power plants (DMUs) have been evaluated considering traditional production factors including installed capacity, internal consumption and fuel consumption as inputs and gross production as output (model 1). In the next step, model 1 is expanded to include three above mentioned human factors (model 2). Power plants have been ranked based on their relative efficiency scores in both models. Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients between relative efficiency scores and rankings of power plants in two models have been calculated. The results show that efficiency scores and rankings of power plants in two models are quite different indicating that mentioned human factors have direct impact on overall performance of generation companies and that if we were to use just traditional factors it would not reflect the optimum efficiency of the DMUs. Finally, job security has been found as the most effective human factor in Iranian power plants. This is the first study that presents an integrated approach for assessment of electric power plants considering job stress, security and satisfaction. And it is shown that these human factors play important role in overall performance of generation companies.     

Effects of Wind Energy Development on Nesting Ecology of Greater Prairie‐Chickens in Fragmented Grasslands

Wind energy is targeted to meet 20% of U.S. energy needs by 2030, but new sites for development of renewable energy may overlap with important habitats of declining populations of grassland birds. Greater Prairie‐Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) are an obligate grassland bird species predicted to respond negatively to energy development. We used a modified before–after control–impact design to test for impacts of a wind energy development on the reproductive ecology of prairie‐chickens in a 5‐year study. We located 59 and 185 nests before and after development, respectively, of a 201 MW wind energy facility in Greater Prairie‐Chicken nesting habitat and assessed nest site selection and nest survival relative to proximity to wind energy infrastructure and habitat conditions. Proximity to turbines did not negatively affect nest site selection (β = 0.03, 95% CI = ?1.2–1.3) or nest survival (β = ?0.3, 95% CI = ?0.6–0.1). Instead, nest site selection and survival were strongly related to vegetative cover and other local conditions determined by management for cattle production. Integration of our project results with previous reports of behavioral avoidance of oil and gas facilities by other species of prairie grouse suggests new avenues for research to mitigate impacts of energy development. Efectos del Desarrollo de la Energía Eólica sobre la Ecología de Anidación de Gallinas de la Gran Pradera en Pastizales Fragmentados     

Linking China’s emissions trading pilot schemes

All seven emissions trading pilots in China operate independently. One challenge facing most of them is the low inclusion thresholds for enterprises and the few total covered emissions, which negatively influences the effects of the emissions trading systems (ETSs). Some pilot sites, such as Guangdong, Hubei, Tianjin and Beijing, have indicated their willingness to link their schemes with others. ETS linking could expand scheme coverages and therefore help to reduce the overall costs of achieving the linked schemes’ emissions control targets. Linking could also help to address the issues of carbon leakage and reduce price fluctuations. The potential benefits and feasibility of linking different pilot systems are analyzed in this article. The seven pilot regions are at different stages of social and economic development, with significant differences in total emissions and emissions structures as well as carbon abatement potentials and costs. Through linking, more-developed regions such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, which are typically considered to face higher mitigation costs, will have the opportunity to achieve their emissions control targets by purchasing carbon units from less-developed regions, which will earn financial revenues from selling the units. To realize this win-win result, a series of policy and technical barriers at both the central government and pilot government levels needs to be overcome. Establishing a unified national emissions trading market would appear to be the ideal solution to these challenges, but it will take considerable time and will not be the short-term solution. In the absence of a unified national scheme, it is recommended that the central government encourage pilot schemes to link, that it develops corresponding national policies to support the linking efforts and that the pilot schemes that are intended to be linked coordinate on certain design elements. Based on the coordinating need, the major elements of an ETS can be divided into four categories: elements that need mutual recognition (cap setting and allowance allocation methods); elements that should be completely identical (compliance mechanisms, price containment measures, banking and borrowing rules, and offset mechanisms); technical elements that are preferably identical and easy to coordinate (MRV standards, technical registry standards); and elements that require no coordination (coverages and scopes).     

典型超低排放燃煤电厂可凝结颗粒物特征和成因

燃煤电厂排放的可凝结颗粒物（condensable particle matter,CPM）由于其潜在的大气环境影响引起广泛关注,而目前对于燃煤电厂CPM的特征和成因尚不清楚.本研究通过稀释间接法收集了超低排放改造后的典型燃煤电厂石灰石-石膏湿法脱硫（wet flue gas desulfurization,WFGD）入口/出口和湿式静电除尘（wet electrostatic precipitator,WESP）出口位置的CPM,并对其进行重量分析和水溶性离子分析,同时测量了可能的CPM气态前体物浓度.结果表明,烟气中CPM的主要气态前体物为HCl、HNO₃、SO₃和NH₃等.烟气温度降低后,这些气态前体物通过冷凝或化学反应形成CPM.所形成CPM主要化学组分包括SO₄^2-、Cl^-、NO₃^-和NH₄⁺等水溶性离子.WFGD和WESP可以降低CPM气态前体物的浓度,进而减少CPM排放,经过WFGD和WESP后CPM浓度的平均下降比例分别为27%和45%.此外,稀释降温后烟气中的SO₃非均相冷凝在已有的颗粒物表面上,导致颗粒物中的SO₄^2-增加,同时Cl^-和NO₃^-减少,致使最终排口处CPM的水溶性离子组分主要为SO₄^2-.     

基于高分辨率在线测量的轻型汽油车含氧挥发性有机物排放模型构建

机动车排放的含氧挥发性有机物(OVOCs)具有较高的大气反应活性,但在线测量识别其高分辨率排放特征的研究仍处于起步阶段,缺乏计算和预测OVOCs排放特征的模型工具.本研究利用质子转移反应飞行时间质谱仪(PTR-TOF-MS)与离子/分子反应质谱仪(IMR-MS),在简易瞬态测试工况下对轻型汽油车排放甲醛、丙酮和乙醇等8种OVOCs组分进行了在线测量.结果表明,OVOCs组分受工况变化影响显著,国Ⅰ～国Ⅴ车辆排放过程中OVOCs排放峰值相对于怠速阶段的增幅分别为183％、105％、56％、92％和244％,同时随着排放标准从国Ⅰ升级到国Ⅴ,含量较高且作为特征组分的甲醛、丙酮和甲醇排放量的降幅分别为90.9％、93.3％和93.7％,但乙醇排放相对稳定.国Ⅰ～国V排放标准下轻型汽油车8种OVOCs总量排放因子分别为12.5、10.2、5.4、4.2和1.6 mg-km-1,总体减排幅度87％.本研究发现OVOCs排放率与比功率(VSP),排放因子与修正碳燃烧效率(MCE)密切相关,将不同排放标准车辆的VSP与排放率和MCE与基于里程的排放因子(EFs)进行拟合,分别建立了一阶线性函数关系.提出了修正碳燃烧损失率(MCL)这一概念,并得到简化的MCL与排放因子的正比例函数关系,从而阐明了OVOCs排放因子的决定性因素.基于VSP和MCL建立的OVOCs排放模型可以计算和预测轻型汽油车在不同热运行状态下的排放率和排放因子,从而为准确评估OVOCs排放贡献和建立排放源清单提供有效工具.     

风力发电场环境影响评价分析

为了可持续利用风能资源,预防因风电场建设规划与项目实施后对环境造成的不良影响,促进经济、社会和环境的协调发展,在分析不同类型风力发电场及特点的基础上,叙述了风力发电场环境影响评价主要评价依据、评价因子、评价内容及要点。以徐闻前山一期风电场项目为例,从对鸟类、生态环境、电磁辐射环境、声环境、景观等方面的影响进行了环境影响评价,并提出有效的减轻环境影响的对策措施,将其对环境的影响降至可接受的程度,为风电场建设项目环境影响评价提供参考。     

风电场声环境影响探析——以望江屯风电场二期工程为例

风力发电具有公认的环保优势,但由此产生的风力发电工程对局部生态环境及噪声等影响日益受到人们的关注,主要体现在风轮机的视觉污染、噪音、鸟类安全及电磁干扰等方面。探索风电场污染途径,消除或减缓风电场给环境带来的不良影响,对风电行业可持续发展将具有十分重要意义。目前,鉴于有关风电场运营期声环境影响文献较少,本文基于望江屯风电场二期（49．5MW）工程建设,探析风力发电工程声环境影响,为风电场建设控制噪声污染提供理论依据。     

加大云南省环评市场培育力度以促进环评行业良性发展的建议

“十二五”期间云南省经济发展战略对环评行业提出了更高的要求,但云南省环评从业人员较少、环评机构内部体系建设不完善、环评市场运行机制体制不健全等现状严重地制约了环评行业的良性发展。为了更好地发挥环评对经济良性发展的“杀手锏”、“控制阀”、“调节器”作用,必须采取系统的解决方案,加大市场培育力度,理顺环评市场中各利益方关系,建立健全环评市场监督机制,有效提高环评质量,确保环评有效性和公正性,提升环评应对特定时期社会发展迫切需求的及时性和相应力度。     

Modeling the current-voltage characteristics of thin-film silicon solar cells based on photo-induced electron transfer processes

Power conversion efficiency of p-i-n type microcrystalline silicon (c-Si:H) solar cells has been analyzed in terms of sequential processes of photo-induced electron transfer. The effect of the excitonic state on the charged carrier generation has been studied compared to a conventional scheme in which only charged carriers are taken into account for the operation of the solar cells. A numerical model has been developed to calculate current-voltage characteristics of solar cells on the basis of two types of charged carrier generation processes (exciton process and charged carrier process). The light trapping effect due to a textured back surface reflector (BSR) was embedded in the numerical model by using the effective medium theory in combination with the matrix method in the field of the electromagnetic theory of light. As an application of this modeling, it was found that the reported data of the power conversion efficiency were not explained by the conventional charged carrier process model and that the combined model of the charged carrier process with the exciton process well explains the performance of the p-i-n type c-Si:H solar cells. In this way, the typical power conversion efficiencies were estimated to be 10.5% for the device (i-layer thickness: 1.8 m) with the BSR (period: 600 nm; height: 250 nm) and 8.6% for the device with the flat reflector under the condition that the fractions of the exciton process and charged carrier process were 60% and 40%, respectively.     

Modeling the current-voltage characteristics of thin-film silicon solar cells based on photo-induced electron transfer processes

Power conversion efficiency of p-i-n type macrocrystalline silicon (µc-Si:H) solar cells has been analyzed in terms of sequential processes of photo-induced electron transfer. The effect of the excitonic state on the charged carrier generation has been studied compared to a conventional scheme in which only charged carriers are taken into account for the operation of the solar cells. A numerical model has been developed to calculate current-voltage characteristics of solar cells on the basis of two types of charged carrier generation processes (exciton process and charged carrier process). The light trapping effect due to a textured back surface reflector (BSR) was embedded in the numerical model by using the effective medium theory in combination with the matrix method in the field of the electromagnetic theory of light. As an application of this modeling, it was found that the reported data of the power conversion efficiency were not explained by the conventional charged carrier process model and that the combined model of the charged carrier process with the exciton process well explains the performance of the p-i-n type μc-Si:H solar cells. In this way, the typical power conversion efficiencies were estimated to be 10.5% for the device (i-layer thickness: 1.8 μm) with the BSR (period: 600 nm; height: 250 nm) and 8.6% for the device with the flat reflector under the condition that the fractions of the exciton process and charged carrier process were 60% and 40%, respectively.