International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 2015
This paper investigates the role of integration of distributed storage with high penetration of v... more This paper investigates the role of integration of distributed storage with high penetration of variable renewable sources in power systems. The paper analyzes the impact of such integrations on the security, emission reduction, and the economic operation of electric power systems. The paper also identifies strategies for a larger penetration of variable generation resources without compromising the power system security. Mixed integer linear programing (MILP) is applied for the optimization of the day-ahead hourly security-constrained unit commitment. The assimilation of EVs (both as a provider and a utilizer of energy), renewable energy sources, and smart grid is regarded as a novel, low-cost, and low-emission solution to the existing challenges of electric power systems including the means of storing large quantities of energy considering variable renewable energy sources and large carbon footprints of conventional thermal units. Numerical studies are conducted in this paper to showcase the potential impacts of EV fleets as battery storage for peak load shaving, minimizing power grid operation costs and hourly wind curtailments, and optimizing the environmental impacts based on hourly commitment and dispatch of thermal generating units.
A multinational partnership called Pathways to Cleaner Production in the Americas linked faculty ... more A multinational partnership called Pathways to Cleaner Production in the Americas linked faculty from seven Latin American universities and two U.S. universities to facilitate the transition to sustainability in the Americas by strengthening higher education institutions' capacity for educating young professionals in cleaner production and sustainable development, and assisting micro, small, and medium enterprises in understanding and implementing cleaner production and sustainable development strategies in their respective organizations. The ultimate outcome was to develop a workforce armed with new knowledge, skills and attitudes toward sustainability through cleaner production. To achieve the twin goals of the project, an experiential learning approach was developed to provide students with opportunities for applying knowledge of cleaner production and developing workplace competencies by working directly with micro, small, and medium enterprises to identify opportunities for cleaner production, under the supervision of faculty and cleaner production consultants. This paper examines the competencies developed from experiential learning in practicum courses and internships using CareerOneStop, an Industry Competency Model, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Online surveys were developed and administered to university students to understand whether they had mastered various competencies and comparisons were made across the seven partner institutions.
Corporate sustainability programs and strategies must balance opportunities and risks associated ... more Corporate sustainability programs and strategies must balance opportunities and risks associated with sustainability in order to create long-term shareholder values. One of the major barriers to the adaptation of sustainability is the cost increase when sustainability is pursued over a business-as-usual approach. Sustainability, however, is moving beyond risk management to cost reduction and revenue generation. To minimize the risks and the liability, and in the absence of national regulations, many companies have developed voluntary sustainability initiatives and programs, some of which could and have achieved higher returns through higher worker productivity, healthier employees, and reduction in energy, material, and water usage. This chapter provides an overview of the critical and evolving field of sustainability financing and describes why it is crucial to develop clear policies that can attract investor support for sustainability projects. Also discussed are some of the hot-button issues in the finance of corporate sustainability and the financial instruments and potential avenues available for external financing of sustainability projects. Theories and practical applications that financial professionals can leverage to simultaneously earn a profit and positively impact the environment and society are presented and discussed.
Human activities, industrial activities, production processes, transportation, disposal systems, ... more Human activities, industrial activities, production processes, transportation, disposal systems, and every product or service that humans consume has an impact on ecological systems. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the intensive use of coal-based energy has impacted climates and contributed to global warming and rises in the sea levels. The extensive use of water resources through industrial activities and consumption patterns has compromised the water resources. The concept of an ecological footprint is rooted in measuring how the human appropriation of the earth’s resources relates to the carrying capacity of the earth. Prediction, forecasting, and projection, each with its own methods and outcomes, are common elements of ecological assessment approaches. Footprinting is another approach to estimating human impact on the climate, water resources, and ecosystem changes. The term footprint has been effectively used to design assessment frameworks and develop management strategies for addressing ecological impacts for which individuals, organizations, and nations are responsible. For example, the full carbon footprint encompasses a wide range of emission sources from the direct use of fuels to indirect impacts that can be attributed to an organization’s disposition and practice.
This chapter provides an overview of the theories and concepts of sustainability and sustainable ... more This chapter provides an overview of the theories and concepts of sustainability and sustainable development and their anticipated links to global environmental, economic, and social crises. The theory of climate change and its likely impact on natural resources and their capacity for supporting sustainable economic development are discussed, and a comprehensive analysis of the concepts of sustainability (definition and types) and the sustainable development paradigm is provided. Due to its relevance to the topic of environmental sustainability, an overview of the Natural Capital, Natural Steps, and Factor X rules and definitions are also provided. Scenario-based analysis that has been used successfully in the development of strategic planning exercises and sustainability-related policies, rules, and regulations is discussed. The core thrust of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, emerging strategies, and developing praxis presented in this chapter and throughout the book support the concept of practical sustainability defined here as an integrated approach to long-term environmental sustainability.
Consumption patterns could play a central role in promoting sustain-ability. Sustainable consumpt... more Consumption patterns could play a central role in promoting sustain-ability. Sustainable consumption is an umbrella that brings together a number of key issues, such as meeting society’s needs, enhancing quality of life, improving product efficiency, minimizing waste, and taking a life cycle perspective, while taking into account the equity dimensions. Discussions on sustainable consumption are focused on the important role of businesses, particularly corporate strategies in developing sustainable consumption and production patterns. The terms, logistics, and factors impacting sustainable consumption are presented and the need for development of frameworks and policies that can enhance consumers’ knowledge and behavior are discussed in this chapter. The emphasis has been placed on the role of government, education, and corporate strategies to promote sustainable consumption in support of sustainable development.
The transition to sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is hindered by low dema... more The transition to sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is hindered by low demand for environmentally-benign industrial development strategies, and a limited supply of professionals to enact such strategies. The “Pathways to Cleaner Production in the Americas” project was a multinational effort aimed at facilitating the transition to sustainability in the region by addressing both of these concerns. The project incorporated multidisciplinary education in business, engineering, and the environment that enhanced sustainability awareness, technical competence and innovative skills of industry professionals, while exposing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to cleaner production (CP) opportunities. In an alliance of nine universities in eight countries, project partners trained 648 university students to assess CP opportunities, while directly benefiting 136 MSMEs. The project developed a unique industry-academic partnership model for experiential learning. Faculty members collaborated with CP industry experts in their respective countries to prepare their students to conduct energy, process and material audits, and develop recommendations for improving financial and environmental performance. The project's CP experts supervised student interns and provided follow-up assistance to the MSMEs to implement the prioritized recommendations. The universities also hosted workshops for industry participants to learn best practices developed through the project and strategies to implement those in their enterprises. In this paper, we share the most valuable lessons from this model, which can be more widely adopted to facilitate industry-academic engagement in the transition to sustainability in LAC and other parts of the world.
The inhalation risk for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) classified as Group B2, probable human c... more The inhalation risk for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) classified as Group B2, probable human carcinogens, was evaluated using empirical equations driven for estimating particle deposition in human lung and ambient PAH data. The parametric study on the effect of various factors such as aerosol density, particle size distribution, PAH concentration, and tidal volume showed that higher particle density leads to higher particle deposition in the lung. The PAH deposition in the total lung is significant for semivolatile PAHs such as fluoranthene (FLT), pyrene (PYR), benso (a, h)anthracene (BAA) and chrysene (CHR) due to their predominance in the larger size particles. The largest carcinogenic risk was estimated for benso(a)pyrene (BAP). The estimated potential cancer cases reduced for all PAHs when the fraction deposited in the lung was incorporated into the risk calculations, that is, the potential cancer cases for BAP reduced to 0.19 from 1.22 per million. Although these results suggest the importance of inclusion of the deposition factor in the risk calculations, further developments might logically explore the ramifications of incorporating the lung clearance mechanisms into the fraction deposition calculations.
This paper evaluates the coordination between electric vehicle (EV) fleets, as distributed storag... more This paper evaluates the coordination between electric vehicle (EV) fleets, as distributed storage devices, and variable renewable sources for mitigating energy imbalances and offering significant potentials for energy sustainability in an electricity infrastructure. The paper investigates the impact of such integrations for enhancing the environmental sustainability, social sustainability, and economic operation of electric power systems. The goal is to keep the energy sector on track for addressing the 2 degree Celsius (2DC) target per Copenhagen climate agreement 1. The paper identifies strategies for large-scale integration of variable generation resources without compromising the electricity infrastructure security. The power system uncertainties pertaining to hourly load and wind energy forecast errors, and random outages of generation and transmission components are taken into consideration in Monte Carlo scenarios. The stochastic optimization of dayahead hourly scheduling of electricity is formulated as a mixed integer linear programing problem. The merits of the proposed optimization model are demonstrated by applying four numerical case studies. The conclusion is that the applications of renewable energy resources and the intelligent assimilation of EV fleets (both as a provider and a consumer of energy) offer major potentials for alleviating power system peak demands, minimizing power grid operation costs and hourly wind energy curtailments, and limiting the environmental impacts of fossil fuelbased thermal generating units in the stochastic operation of an electricity infrastructure.
International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 2015
This paper investigates the role of integration of distributed storage with high penetration of v... more This paper investigates the role of integration of distributed storage with high penetration of variable renewable sources in power systems. The paper analyzes the impact of such integrations on the security, emission reduction, and the economic operation of electric power systems. The paper also identifies strategies for a larger penetration of variable generation resources without compromising the power system security. Mixed integer linear programing (MILP) is applied for the optimization of the day-ahead hourly security-constrained unit commitment. The assimilation of EVs (both as a provider and a utilizer of energy), renewable energy sources, and smart grid is regarded as a novel, low-cost, and low-emission solution to the existing challenges of electric power systems including the means of storing large quantities of energy considering variable renewable energy sources and large carbon footprints of conventional thermal units. Numerical studies are conducted in this paper to showcase the potential impacts of EV fleets as battery storage for peak load shaving, minimizing power grid operation costs and hourly wind curtailments, and optimizing the environmental impacts based on hourly commitment and dispatch of thermal generating units.
A multinational partnership called Pathways to Cleaner Production in the Americas linked faculty ... more A multinational partnership called Pathways to Cleaner Production in the Americas linked faculty from seven Latin American universities and two U.S. universities to facilitate the transition to sustainability in the Americas by strengthening higher education institutions' capacity for educating young professionals in cleaner production and sustainable development, and assisting micro, small, and medium enterprises in understanding and implementing cleaner production and sustainable development strategies in their respective organizations. The ultimate outcome was to develop a workforce armed with new knowledge, skills and attitudes toward sustainability through cleaner production. To achieve the twin goals of the project, an experiential learning approach was developed to provide students with opportunities for applying knowledge of cleaner production and developing workplace competencies by working directly with micro, small, and medium enterprises to identify opportunities for cleaner production, under the supervision of faculty and cleaner production consultants. This paper examines the competencies developed from experiential learning in practicum courses and internships using CareerOneStop, an Industry Competency Model, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Online surveys were developed and administered to university students to understand whether they had mastered various competencies and comparisons were made across the seven partner institutions.
Corporate sustainability programs and strategies must balance opportunities and risks associated ... more Corporate sustainability programs and strategies must balance opportunities and risks associated with sustainability in order to create long-term shareholder values. One of the major barriers to the adaptation of sustainability is the cost increase when sustainability is pursued over a business-as-usual approach. Sustainability, however, is moving beyond risk management to cost reduction and revenue generation. To minimize the risks and the liability, and in the absence of national regulations, many companies have developed voluntary sustainability initiatives and programs, some of which could and have achieved higher returns through higher worker productivity, healthier employees, and reduction in energy, material, and water usage. This chapter provides an overview of the critical and evolving field of sustainability financing and describes why it is crucial to develop clear policies that can attract investor support for sustainability projects. Also discussed are some of the hot-button issues in the finance of corporate sustainability and the financial instruments and potential avenues available for external financing of sustainability projects. Theories and practical applications that financial professionals can leverage to simultaneously earn a profit and positively impact the environment and society are presented and discussed.
Human activities, industrial activities, production processes, transportation, disposal systems, ... more Human activities, industrial activities, production processes, transportation, disposal systems, and every product or service that humans consume has an impact on ecological systems. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the intensive use of coal-based energy has impacted climates and contributed to global warming and rises in the sea levels. The extensive use of water resources through industrial activities and consumption patterns has compromised the water resources. The concept of an ecological footprint is rooted in measuring how the human appropriation of the earth’s resources relates to the carrying capacity of the earth. Prediction, forecasting, and projection, each with its own methods and outcomes, are common elements of ecological assessment approaches. Footprinting is another approach to estimating human impact on the climate, water resources, and ecosystem changes. The term footprint has been effectively used to design assessment frameworks and develop management strategies for addressing ecological impacts for which individuals, organizations, and nations are responsible. For example, the full carbon footprint encompasses a wide range of emission sources from the direct use of fuels to indirect impacts that can be attributed to an organization’s disposition and practice.
This chapter provides an overview of the theories and concepts of sustainability and sustainable ... more This chapter provides an overview of the theories and concepts of sustainability and sustainable development and their anticipated links to global environmental, economic, and social crises. The theory of climate change and its likely impact on natural resources and their capacity for supporting sustainable economic development are discussed, and a comprehensive analysis of the concepts of sustainability (definition and types) and the sustainable development paradigm is provided. Due to its relevance to the topic of environmental sustainability, an overview of the Natural Capital, Natural Steps, and Factor X rules and definitions are also provided. Scenario-based analysis that has been used successfully in the development of strategic planning exercises and sustainability-related policies, rules, and regulations is discussed. The core thrust of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, emerging strategies, and developing praxis presented in this chapter and throughout the book support the concept of practical sustainability defined here as an integrated approach to long-term environmental sustainability.
Consumption patterns could play a central role in promoting sustain-ability. Sustainable consumpt... more Consumption patterns could play a central role in promoting sustain-ability. Sustainable consumption is an umbrella that brings together a number of key issues, such as meeting society’s needs, enhancing quality of life, improving product efficiency, minimizing waste, and taking a life cycle perspective, while taking into account the equity dimensions. Discussions on sustainable consumption are focused on the important role of businesses, particularly corporate strategies in developing sustainable consumption and production patterns. The terms, logistics, and factors impacting sustainable consumption are presented and the need for development of frameworks and policies that can enhance consumers’ knowledge and behavior are discussed in this chapter. The emphasis has been placed on the role of government, education, and corporate strategies to promote sustainable consumption in support of sustainable development.
The transition to sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is hindered by low dema... more The transition to sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is hindered by low demand for environmentally-benign industrial development strategies, and a limited supply of professionals to enact such strategies. The “Pathways to Cleaner Production in the Americas” project was a multinational effort aimed at facilitating the transition to sustainability in the region by addressing both of these concerns. The project incorporated multidisciplinary education in business, engineering, and the environment that enhanced sustainability awareness, technical competence and innovative skills of industry professionals, while exposing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to cleaner production (CP) opportunities. In an alliance of nine universities in eight countries, project partners trained 648 university students to assess CP opportunities, while directly benefiting 136 MSMEs. The project developed a unique industry-academic partnership model for experiential learning. Faculty members collaborated with CP industry experts in their respective countries to prepare their students to conduct energy, process and material audits, and develop recommendations for improving financial and environmental performance. The project's CP experts supervised student interns and provided follow-up assistance to the MSMEs to implement the prioritized recommendations. The universities also hosted workshops for industry participants to learn best practices developed through the project and strategies to implement those in their enterprises. In this paper, we share the most valuable lessons from this model, which can be more widely adopted to facilitate industry-academic engagement in the transition to sustainability in LAC and other parts of the world.
The inhalation risk for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) classified as Group B2, probable human c... more The inhalation risk for polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) classified as Group B2, probable human carcinogens, was evaluated using empirical equations driven for estimating particle deposition in human lung and ambient PAH data. The parametric study on the effect of various factors such as aerosol density, particle size distribution, PAH concentration, and tidal volume showed that higher particle density leads to higher particle deposition in the lung. The PAH deposition in the total lung is significant for semivolatile PAHs such as fluoranthene (FLT), pyrene (PYR), benso (a, h)anthracene (BAA) and chrysene (CHR) due to their predominance in the larger size particles. The largest carcinogenic risk was estimated for benso(a)pyrene (BAP). The estimated potential cancer cases reduced for all PAHs when the fraction deposited in the lung was incorporated into the risk calculations, that is, the potential cancer cases for BAP reduced to 0.19 from 1.22 per million. Although these results suggest the importance of inclusion of the deposition factor in the risk calculations, further developments might logically explore the ramifications of incorporating the lung clearance mechanisms into the fraction deposition calculations.
This paper evaluates the coordination between electric vehicle (EV) fleets, as distributed storag... more This paper evaluates the coordination between electric vehicle (EV) fleets, as distributed storage devices, and variable renewable sources for mitigating energy imbalances and offering significant potentials for energy sustainability in an electricity infrastructure. The paper investigates the impact of such integrations for enhancing the environmental sustainability, social sustainability, and economic operation of electric power systems. The goal is to keep the energy sector on track for addressing the 2 degree Celsius (2DC) target per Copenhagen climate agreement 1. The paper identifies strategies for large-scale integration of variable generation resources without compromising the electricity infrastructure security. The power system uncertainties pertaining to hourly load and wind energy forecast errors, and random outages of generation and transmission components are taken into consideration in Monte Carlo scenarios. The stochastic optimization of dayahead hourly scheduling of electricity is formulated as a mixed integer linear programing problem. The merits of the proposed optimization model are demonstrated by applying four numerical case studies. The conclusion is that the applications of renewable energy resources and the intelligent assimilation of EV fleets (both as a provider and a consumer of energy) offer major potentials for alleviating power system peak demands, minimizing power grid operation costs and hourly wind energy curtailments, and limiting the environmental impacts of fossil fuelbased thermal generating units in the stochastic operation of an electricity infrastructure.
Uploads
Papers by Nasrin Khalili