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The rapid increase of electric vehicles (EVs) penetration represents an important challenge for the distribution system operator (DSO). The main issues arise not only from an optimal grid expansion planning point of view but also for managing the system in the near future. The paper focuses on a short-term period EV penetration scenario and proposes a mechanism of EV charging sessions rescheduling in order to mitigate grid congestions. The collaboration between three actors, namely the DSO, the fleet manager and the end user, allows the DSO to identify rescheduling programs in order to face overload events, that represent the most important issue for the grid caused by the widespread penetration of EVs. The IEEE 33-bus test system is used to check the potential of the proposed mechanism. Load flow simulations show that more than 50% of congestions are avoided by means of this approach. The promising results constitute a base case for a future work in which the optimal rescheduling program would be investigated.

Climate change and environmental degradation present significant threats globally. The various sources report on different climate records. The European Green Deal aims to counteract these challenges by achieving zero emissions by 2050, with a significant focus on citizen involvement. Citizen science initiatives play a critical role in engaging the public in climate action through data collection and monitoring of environmental impacts. Technological tools, such as dashboards, facilitate this involvement by visualizing complex climate data, raising awareness, and bridging the knowledge-action gap. This paper discusses a dashboard (developed within the Horizon 2020 project I-CHANGE) designed to engage citizens in environmental data collection and analysis. The Dashboard, co-designed with scientists and stakeholders, supports citizens in viewing, understanding, and interpreting data collected with low-cost sensors and through crowdsourcing activities. The paper gives an overview of the Dashboard's design, implementation, data integration, and its role in fostering public engagement and environmental consciousness.

Classification of time series is a fundamental problem in energy distribution, especially to extract information about events that occurred during the observation period. In this paper, we propose a solution to the problem of identifying energy thefts by introducing a classification method based on convolutional neural networks. The input structure to the model is based on real data that have been certified by external authorities and regards thefts operated by the final user with physical intervention. The training of the neural network is done by means of yearly time series of monthly data, which pertain to different physical quantities relevant to the user profile. The proposed method has been experimentally tested and verified against acceptable test results in different conditions, even giving an indication on where in the sequence the theft has occurred.

This paper presents a methodology to address reactive power compensation using Evolutionary Particle Swarm Optimization (EPSO) technique programmed in the MATLAB environment. The main objective is to find the best operation point minimizing power losses with reactive power compensation, subjected to all operational constraints, namely full AC power flow equations, active and reactive power generation constraints. The methodology has been tested with the IEEE 14 bus test system demonstrating the ability and effectiveness of the proposed approach to handle the reactive power compensation problem.

Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.), is a plant belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family and one of the most interesting oil seed crops to develop and study in the Mediterranean basin. The main trait that enhances castor cultivation is its oil content, which is really high, around 40-55% depending on the genotype and area of cultivation. Today’s panorama and policies are pushing towards the exploitation of this crop because it is expected to be a valid alternative to fossil fuels for the production of biofuels, such as biodiesel, and for the valorization and use of abandoned and degraded land. Field experiment was conducted for analyzing the oil yield and oil content of four dwarf hybrids of castor, compared to a local genotype, selected by the University of Catania, Italy. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of different sowing dates on the oil content and oil yield of castor seeds. The analysis was conducted on primary and secondary raceme. The oil content was higher in the dwarf hybrids for the primary racemes, whereas for the secondary raceme the most productive one, in terms of oil content was GT. By analyzing also the oil yield (resulted from the multiplication of the oil content by the oil yield), the most productive genotype for the oil yield on average was G4, whereas SW3 was the sowing date with the highest value. Nevertheless, the combination genotype x sowing date had higher result for G3 SW3. Among the parameters studied, the genotype G2 shown a low level of tolerance to the low temperatures. Proceedings of the 31st European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 5-8 June 2023, Bologna, Italy, pp. 296-299

The paper describes formation and spreading of dense shelf waters in the Adriatic Sea (North Adriatic Dense Water, NAdDW) during the winter of 2012 as a consequence of an intense and long cold air outbreak of northeasterly Bora winds. As a result, during February 2012 northern Adriatic Sea water temperature dropped to about 6 degrees C and density exceeded 1030 kg/m(3), most likely the maximum value since 1929. NAdDW dynamics has been investigated by means of a 3-D ocean-wave coupled model running on a high resolution and eddy-permitting grid. The numerical experiments have relied on the Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment-Transport (COAWST) system forced one-way with atmospheric forcings provided by the model COSMO-17. A suite of observational data has been used to characterize the Bora event and evaluate numerical model performance. At sub-basin scales, the newly formed waters flowing southerly have produced a water renewal of the northern Adriatic, as more than 50% of water volumes have left the basin. Dense waters volume transports, evaluated through different Adriatic cross-sections, have been modulated by tides (damped for the densest water masses) and reached about 1 Sv. The contribution of wave-induced forcings has been quantified and examined, indicating that these represent a major driving mechanism during NAdDW production and spreading phases. This work provides evidence that NAdDW is spread accordingly with two different mechanisms: at early stages of its formation, the wind-driven ocean circulation pushes newly formed waters to leave the northern basin with relatively high speeds (about 0.30 m/s). Later on, remaining NAdDW leaks slowly out (0.09 m/s as average) from the production site. Residence times of dense waters in the north, middle, and south Adriatic Sea are also documented. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consistent climate data and reliable sizing methods are fundamental for designing Technical Building Systems. This paper addresses both these aspects with reference to the Italian context analyzing 108 different locations. Regarding the climate data, a quality analysis through the application of rules and filters was performed on the locations. The results showed good data quality, with most sites having high percentages of usable material, although highlighting recursive criticalities in the detection of humidity and wind speed parameters. Regarding the sizing methods, a sensitivity analysis was carried on for the European standard EN ISO 15927-2 to evaluate its performances in selecting the Cooling Design Days in the 108 locations. The analysis highlighted great differences in terms of chosen Design Days when using different climatic parameters, showing at the same time a negligible influence of the wind speed on the selection process. Furthermore, a sizing process for a test building applied to the 108 locations was carried on by using the Cooling Design Days. The results highlighted that the Design Days obtained through the EN ISO method often give counterintuitive sizing outputs, even obtaining higher required powers for lower risk levels, the opposite of how it should be. This implies that a designer should be very careful in evaluating which parameters to use in the Design Day selection and if the output sizing powers obtained through them are reliable for its particular sizing process.

AbstractEmbedding sustainability in day‐to‐day operations necessitates employees' proactiveness beyond compliance with standardised management practices. Exchanging information on safety and environmental issues is acknowledged as a component of workers' proactive behaviours for sustainability embeddedness, which is hardly promoted by codified procedures. Accordingly, identifying leverages to stimulate information exchange is a primary objective for academics and practitioners. The study investigates drivers of information exchange on safety and environmental near misses by examining five situation‐related antecedents: rewards/reinforcements, organisational boundaries, social proactiveness, stakeholder salience and connectedness. The study relies on a mixed method approach, by combining social network analysis and a questionnaire survey conducted among four large Italian companies. The findings partially support the hypothesis of the study, highlighting rewards/reinforcements and connectedness as relevant antecedents of information exchange, while organisational boundaries only partially relate with information exchange. Surprisingly, stakeholder salience and social proactiveness do not emerge as significant drivers of information exchange. The study contributes to the debate on extra‐role pro‐sustainability behaviours and provides implications for managerial practice.