Search results for "Total cost"
showing 10 items of 42 documents
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of a dish-Stirling Concentrating Solar Power Plant in the Mediterranean area
2021
Abstract Among the different renewable energy sources, solar energy shows the highest exploitation potential to satisfy a substantial portion of the worlds’ future energy demand, guaranteeing at the same time lower emissions than conventional energy providers. Much of this potential is usable thanks to Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, of which the dish-Stirling concentrator is the most efficient. Nevertheless, the production and installation phases of the dish-Stirling technology can have an environmental impact which motivated the assessment of the plant in the three dimensions of sustainability (environmental, economic and social). The present publication evaluated an existin…
TRAVELLING TOWARDS AND FROM MINOR ISLANDS THROUGH NON-CONVENTIONAL AIR TRANSPORT: DEMAND AND COST ANALYSIS
2010
This research addresses the role of innovative forms of passenger air transport in favouring mobility of tourists visiting minor islands. In particular, we studied the feasibility of scheduled transport services using helicopter and seaplane for connecting Sicily in the south of Italy, to the near and very attractive Eolie Islands rapidly. In order to estimate the potential service demand, we allowed for the number of tourists arriving in the Eolie Archipelago during the period 1999-2008. In detail, we considered only the market of visitors with a high willingness-to-pay for time savings (individuals choosing superior hotels) coming from origins at least 300 km away from the Eolie Islands. …
Changes in the total costs of the English and Welsh water and sewerage industry: The decomposed effect of price and quantity inputs on efficiency
2020
Abstract Understanding what drives changes in regulated water companies' costs is of great relevance to water regulators. This study decomposes and estimates the change in total costs for a sample of ten water and sewerage companies in England and Wales from 1993 to 2016. The results demonstrate that companies' total costs increased over time due to increases in input prices and input quantity. Any gains obtained from the efficient allocation of resources and technical progress were lost due to mergers and technical inefficiency. Finally, we link our results with the regulatory cycle to evaluate the impact of the regulatory regime on companies' costs and discuss some policy implications.
The cost of protection racket in Sicily
2008
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the current cost of protection rackets in Sicily. By means of a database constructed on judicial evidence, it has been possible to come up with an estimate of the average and total costs of the protection-money system, as well as finding out in which sectors of economic activity and in which provinces is most pervasive. The average monthly payment is approximately 600 euros per business, with stronger effects in those areas with a relatively more traditional economic structure. As a whole, in monetary terms, the protection racket in Sicily accounts for over 1.4% of gross regional product. Finally, the paper supports the hypothesis that in most cases,…
Environmental analysis of different construction techniques and maintenance activities for a typical local road
2017
Abstract In this paper, considering the sever impact of road infrastructures on both the surrounding environment as well as on the consumption of locally available natural resources, different road construction techniques have been studied and compared, in order to be able to rank the best solution in terms of environmental sustainability. For the aims of this study, a Life Cycle Analysis has been carried out on a road infrastructure with the most representative geometrical characteristics among those widely used in Italy, in suburban areas, with the help of an appropriate software, the PaLATE. The environmental effects due to both the use of recycled materials, such as the Reclaimed Asphal…
Nomograph for rapid technical and economic assessment of solar thermal systems for DHW production
2012
Abstract Different types of tools, software and empirical methods to size and assess the performance of solar thermal systems are available today. A quick and easy-to-use graphical tool is proposed here. It is based on a single diagram, called a nomograph, which embeds technical and economic information, allowing the optimisation of the size and performance of a solar thermal system starting from the main input parameters, such as the specific costs of the system and the auxiliary fuel. The optimal surfaces are calculated as a function of the fuel cost through several regressions made on data from the application of the F-Chart method for a set of system configurations. The authors have fou…
The total social costs of constructing and operating a high-speed rail line using a case study of the Riyadh-Dammam Corridor, Saudi Arabia
2019
Introducing a High-Speed Rail technology between the Saudi Arabian cities starts raising many challenging issues of different nature ranging from technical to operational, which require huge investments in infrastructure, operations and maintenance. Background information about the development of HSR worldwide to date is included. However, the main aim of this paper is to determine a methodology to estimate the full cost of travel and provide insights into the working model developed to include the calculations of the total social costs of building a new HSR line for the Riyadh-Dammam corridor in Saudi Arabia and understand in what circumstances it is a suitable technology to use. The Sprea…
A multi-objective approach to solid waste management
2010
The issue addressed in this paper consists in the localization and dimensioning of transfer stations, which constitute a necessary intermediate level in the logistic chain of the solid waste stream, from municipalities to the incinerator. Contextually, the determination of the number and type of vehicles involved is carried out in an integrated optimization approach. The model considers both initial investment and operative costs related to transportation and transfer stations. Two conflicting objectives are evaluated, the minimization of total cost and the minimization of environmental impact, measured by pollution. The design of the integrated waste management system is hence approached i…
Eco-efficiency assessment of municipal solid waste services: Influence of exogenous variables.
2020
Abstract Improving the eco-efficiency of municipalities in the provision of municipal solid waste (MSW) services is fundamental in the context of a circular economy. This study evaluates the eco-efficiency of a sample of Spanish municipalities, integrating the total cost as input, recyclable waste as desirable output, and unsorted waste as undesirable output. Following a pioneering approach, the weighted Russell directional distance model (a non-radial data envelopment analysis model) was employed, which allowed us to obtain a global inefficiency score and individual inefficiency scores for each variable integrated in the model. In the second stage of analysis, the potential factors affecti…
The Burden of Pediatric Asthma
2018
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, imposing a consistent burden on health system. In recent years, prevalence of asthma symptoms became globally increased in children and adolescents, particularly in Low-Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Host (genetics, atopy) and environmental factors (microbial exposure, exposure to passive smoking and air pollution), seemed to contribute to this trend. The increased prevalence observed in metropolitan areas with respect to rural ones and, overall, in industrialized countries, highlighted the role of air pollution in asthma inception. Asthma accounts for 1.1% of the overall global estimate of "Disability-adjusted life years" (DALYs)/100…