Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS)

About: Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Life-cycle assessment & Sustainability. The organization has 167 authors who have published 318 publications receiving 6738 citations.

A Viability Study of Renewables and Energy Storage Systems Using Multicriteria Decision Making and an Evolutionary Approach

Abstract: Renewable energy technologies use natural sources, such as wind and solar, to produce electricity. Nowadays, there is a global sustainable electric power generation pressure to alleviate environmental impacts caused by the usage of fossil fuels. Energy market is focused on improving those technologies by meeting customer needs, but it proves to be challenging. Renewable power production integrated with a Hybrid Micro-Grid System (HMGS), a power distribution system composed of one or more distributed sources, may provide a reliable and cost-effective solution. This paper proposes a grid-connected HMGS model able of planning energy production and operating in parallel autonomously or connected on a public grid. The optimization of such HMGS is done using a swarm evolutionary approach and the results are obtained using different battery technologies. A life cycle assessment model and a multi-criteria decision making approach are carried out to perform a viability study of the battery technologies. Wind and solar meteorological data from four regions in the Minas Gerais state, Brazil, were used as input for the model. Results show that lithium ion batteries are the most recommendable ones, ensuring not only the minimal cost and losses in the system but also minimizing the environmental impact.

Multi-Level Governance of Nuclear Waste Disposal

Abstract: The long-time interim storage and the search for a nuclear disposal site are entwined in a complex multi-level governance (MLG) system of different interests and values. In this chapter, we try to explain why the political multi-level system made up of the German Federal Government (Bund), the federal state governments (Bundeslander), regional governments, local authorities and municipalities is characterised by contradictions and is not yet well prepared to deal with this challenge. We argue that involving the general public, municipalities and the regions of potential sites at an early stage must be an integral part of the siting process in order to avoid NIMBY (not in my backyard) and conflicts in the affected or potentially affected regions.

The Capability Approach as a normative framework for technology assessment

Abstract: The digital revolution of the energy system promises a new sustainable energy future, but risks security and privacy. How to balance or at least compare these risks against other values like more sustainability is far from obvious and poses severe challenges for the orientation knowledge of technology assessment (TA). This paper explores the Capability Approach (CA) as a normative orientation for TA that allows addressing these challenges. We use two scenarios for the current digitalization in the energy sector as case studies.

Nuclear Waste Repositories and Ethical Challenges

Abstract: The analysis of the concrete management of radioactive waste and the ethical discussion on this topic show specifically that the reflection on side effects of human action in most cases is not as clear in its differentiations as it would be possible and necessary. Collective actors calculating the “costs” and “risks” of side effects in relation to future generations misunderstand that the testing of “claims”—isolated from contexts—does not lead to processes of societal deliberation. A discussion of central positions in German philosophical ethics in the field of radioactive waste management, which are connected with the research team of Chr. Streffer, C.F. Gethmann and colleagues, and with R. Spaemann, shows fundamental differences in their lines of argumentation. As contexts, especially expressed in technological numbers, also play an important role in the debate, the limited amount of waste in countries with phase-out decisions concerning nuclear power makes it easier for all stakeholders to develop modes of civil governance and societal deliberation. These modes of governance and deliberation are important for open assessments of ethical and nontechnical knowledge in the same way as knowledge from natural science and engineering, in cases where a decision for underground repositories for nuclear waste has been made.