Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Climate change impacts on water run-off, retention and water supply.
Capacity load problems induced by demographic change, reduction of water
consumption, etc.
In this situation, new system alternatives going beyond common technological
and planning solutions gain increasing relevance. A trend has been becoming
perceivable that in this process, strategic considerations play an important role
while taking long-term and life cycle oriented considerations into account.
There are many recent examples for a nexus between water/waste water systems
and energy generation based on water (e.g. Makropoulos
2013
). Water is utilized
for example as kinetic or heat energy, or in the form of containing biomass.
Considerations based on LCC also include cost reductions associated with lower
energy consumption as well as additional bene
ts besides operational costs of the
alternative. An example is the decision of the Water Board of Lake Constance to
utilize the existing slope in water supply pipes to generate electricity by means of
turbines. The initially higher investment costs for such pipes will be compensated
by the expected energy gains within the life cycle of the facility.
The transformation of existing infrastructure concerning new demands can lead
to interventions in existing systems in different intensities ranging from the adap-
tation of individual components to a complete redirection of the system. Just as
much as with new development, the discussion concerning central and decentral-
ized systems is important as well. A transformation of a system
'
is direction can only
be managed in the long run, step-by-step. In doing so, LCC considerations can
demonstrate their potencies. Therefore, it needs to be considered that transformation
costs are not only determined by the development of new infrastructure, but also by
changes in the cost structure within the stock of infrastructure. In this context, sunk
costs are of eminent relevance. These costs are those
financial resources bound in
existing (functioning) structure that need to be replaced prematurely due to changed
requirements. LCC analyses have to consider these aspects adequately. Due to the
heterogeneity of the stock with respect to its condition, building age and remaining
service life, small-scale considerations are necessary. This may be realized by
combining LCC analyses with spatial analyses of relevant indicators of settlements
and infrastructures using geographic information systems (e.g. Schiller
2010
).
4.5 Political Economy Considerations: LCC for Strategic
Planning
In Europe, life cycle considerations play a role on the strategic level particularly
when the de
nition of fundamental strategies is concerned. This applies to the
planning of the maintenance of existing systems as well as to problems of new
development. The life cycle approach assists in making future-proven long-term
planning decisions, and raises the transparency of the process.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search