Paper: Power capacity: A key element in sustainability assessment
Diaz-Maurin, F. (2016). Power capacity: A key element in sustainability assessment. Ecological Indicators, 66(C): 467–480. Highlights The paper clarifies the concept of power capacity for sustainability assessment. It proposes explicit accounting methods for the different types of power capacity. Power capacity refers to converters transforming energy flows at a given time rate. Power capacity is […]
Paper: The unresolved controversy over nuclear power
Diaz-Maurin, F. and Kovacic, Z. (2015). The unresolved controversy over nuclear power: A new approach from complexity theory. Global Environmental Change, 31(C): 207–216. Highlights We explore the controversy over nuclear power from a complexity theory perspective. We look at how narratives have emerged and evolved throughout its history. The analysis reveals a systemic inconsistency between […]
Commentary: Going beyond the nuclear controversy
Diaz-Maurin, F. (2014). Going beyond the nuclear controversy. Environmental Science & Technology, 48(1): 25–26. The controversy over nuclear power has been one of the fiercest scientific debates since the 1970s with a continuous evolution of the narratives used on the two sides. The controversy can be attributed to the impossibility of generating a shared perception […]
Paper: A “Grammar” for assessing the performance of power-supply systems
Diaz-Maurin, F. and Giampietro, M. (2013). A “Grammar” for assessing the performance of power-supply systems: Comparing nuclear energy to fossil energy. Energy, 49(1): 162-177. Highlights A new approach to assess the performance of power-supply systems is provided. A biophysical analysis of the production process is based on the concept of grammar. A grammar is capable […]
Commentary: Fukushima: Consequences of Systemic Problems
Diaz-Maurin, F. (2011). Fukushima: Consequences of Systemic Problems in Nuclear Plant Design. Economic & Political Weekly (Mumbai), 46(13): 10–12. 26 March, 2011. The existing systemic uncertainty affecting nuclear power plant design the world over raises the question of whether society is willing to continue with a never-ending learning process, with potentially high adverse consequences – […]