Search results

The integration of storm water flooding and thermal stress potential in Tainan (Taiwan) and Groningen (Netherlands)

Stormwater flooding and thermal stresses of citizens are two important phenomena for most of the dense urban area. Due to the climate change, these two phenomena will occur more frequently and cause serious problems. Therefore, the sectors for public health and disaster management should be able to assess the vulnerability to stormwater flooding and thermal stress. To achieve this goal, two cities in different climate regions and with different urban context have been selected as the pilot areas, i.eY., Tainan, Taiwan and Groningen, Netherlands. Stormwater flooding and thermal stress maps will be produced for both cities for further comparison. The flooding map indicates vulnerable low lying areas, where the thermal stress map indicates high Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) values (thermal comfort) in open areas without shading. The combined map indicates the problem areas of flooding and thermal stress and can be used by urban planners and other stakeholders to improve the living environment.

How do demographic transition and unbalanced population decline affect social support systems of elderly?

The structure and financing of collective long-term care and support in the Netherlands changed dramatically with the introduction of the Social Support Act (WMO) the 1st of January 2015. This act arranged that municipalities assist people to live in their homes for as long as possible by providing various forms of aid and support. This aid and support however, is in addition to the help that people arrange for themselves and / or receive in the form of volunteer aid (mantelzorg) by family, friends and neighbours. Furthermore under this Act people only become eligible for state financed sheltered accommodation in the exceptional case of severe physical or mental illness. The fact that under the new regime of the Social Support Act municipal support is made additional to volunteer aid, it is important to understand what role family, friends and neighbours potentially can play and in fact do play. This is especially important in regions were unbalanced population decline through out-migration of young people, effectively changes social structures and accelerates the ageing of the population. For this reason we designed a limited pilot-study to test the possibilities and the necessity of a broader study focussing on potential and every day practice concerning volunteer aid for elderly in regions characterized by unbalanced population decline. In this pilot study we will focus on a rural municipality in the north of the Netherlands: Oldambt.Within the framework of this pilot-study we focussed on living arrangements and social network of two groups of senior citizens; one group of men and women aged 65-79 and one group aged 80 years and over. Based on demographic data kindly made available by the municipal office of Oldambt, in this paper we will draw a picture of these citizens living in the municipality. Going deeper into the material and the municipality’s structure we will than focus on one of the municipality’s communities, Finsterwolde, with its village, hamlets and surrounding rural area. For the purpose of this pilot-study we constructed a sample of 30 men and women aged 80+-elderly and asked them to fill in a questionnaire. Based on the outcomes of these questionnaires we than had five in-depth interviews with some of them. Finally, on the basis of the gathered material, we will draw some general conclusions while presenting some new questions for further research into the living conditions and social support systems for elderly in a region with unbalanced population decline and accelerated ageing.

Toukomst of Groningen: linking public with policy

Sizing Batteries for Power Flow Management in Distribution Grids

Battery energy storage (BES) can provide many grid services, such as power flow management to reduce distribution grid overloading. It is desirable to minimise BES storage capacities to reduce investment costs. However, it is not always clear how battery sizing is affected by battery siting and power flow simultaneity (PFS). This paper describes a method to compare the battery capacity required to provide grid services for different battery siting configurations and variable PFSs. The method was implemented by modelling a standard test grid with artificial power flow patterns and different battery siting configurations. The storage capacity of each configuration was minimised to determine how these variables affect the minimum storage capacity required to maintain power flows below a given threshold. In this case, a battery located at the transformer required 10–20% more capacity than a battery located centrally on the grid, or several batteries distributed throughout the grid, depending on PFS. The differences in capacity requirements were largely attributed to the ability of a BES configuration to mitigate network losses. The method presented in this paper can be used to compare BES capacity requirements for different battery siting configurations, power flow patterns, grid services, and grid characteristics.

Groningen Stroomt Door

Nederland -en daarmee ook Groningen- is mede door uitvoering van het Klimaatakkoord en de Regionale Energie Strategie haar energieopwekking en -afname aan het verduurzamen en elektrificeren. Doordat gelijktijdigheid in de afname van elektriciteit toeneemt en er meer duurzame elektriciteit wordt toegeleverd neemt het risico op netcongestie toe. Netcongestie belemmert bedrijven in hun groei en verduurzaming, wat het vestigingsklimaat onder druk zet. Het doel van dit onderzoek is om te voorkomen dat netcongestie de ontwikkeling van bedrijventerreinen in de regio schaadt en om bedrijven de mogelijkheid te bieden om te blijven uitbreiden en verduurzamen.Binnen dit project is een methodiek ontwikkeld waarbij aan de ene kant door bedrijfsbezoeken wordt gekeken naar de potentie tot groei van individuele bedrijven. Dit gebeurt door bedrijfsactiviteiten, toekomstplannen en energiebesparingsmogelijkheden te analyseren en deze te koppelen aan energieprofielen van netbeheerders. Daarnaast worden op gebiedsniveau scenario’s uitgewerkt om vanuit een systeemintegratieperspectief te onderzoeken hoe verschillende energie-opwek-, opslag- en vraagsturingstechnologieën gecombineerd kunnen worden om capaciteit vrij te maken op het elektriciteitsnet.Een case-study op een bedrijventerrein in Groningen toont aan dat een geïntegreerde toepassing van windenergie, zonne-energie, batterijopslag en slimme aansturing ruimte kan creëren voor nieuwe bedrijven. De praktische uitvoering van dergelijke oplossingen stuit echter op uitdagingen, zoals de noodzaak van een groepsaansluitingsovereenkomst (TO) en beperkingen in regelgeving omtrent windenergie.Dit onderzoek biedt waardevolle inzichten voor beleidsmakers, netbeheerders en ondernemers over hoe bedrijventerreinen op duurzame wijze kunnen blijven groeien binnen de beperkingen van het huidige elektriciteitsnet.

Climate Adaptation in Architectural Education