Download or read book Evaluation of Energy Policy Instruments for the Adoption of Renewable Energy written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The wide use of renewable energy technologies for generating electricity can be seen as one way of meeting environmental and climate change challenges along with a progression to a low-carbon economy. A large number of policy instruments have been formed and employed to support the adoption of renewable energy technologies in the power generation sector. However, the success of these policies in achieving their goals relies on how effective they are in satisfying their targets and thus increasing renewable energy adoption. One measurement for effectiveness of policy instruments can be their contribution to the input of the process of renewable energy adoption and their effect on satisfying regional goal. The objective of this research is evaluate the effectiveness of energy policy instruments on increasing the adoption of renewable energy by developing a comprehensive evaluation model. Criteria used in this assessment depend on five perspectives that are perceived by decision makers as important for adoption process. The decision model linked the perspectives to policy targets and various energy policy instruments. These perspectives are: economic, social, political, environmental and technical. The research implemented the hierarchical decision model (HDM) to construct a generalized policy assessment framework. Data for wind energy adoption in the Pacific Northwest region were collected as a case study and application for the model. Experts' qualitative judgments were collected and quantified using the pair-wise comparison method and the final rankings and effectiveness of policy alternatives with respect to the mission were identified. Results of this research identified economic feasibility improvement of renewable energy projects as the most influential perspective and that renewable portfolio standards and tax credits are the two most effective criteria to accomplish that. The research also applied sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis to identify the effect of regional perspectives future priority changes on determining the most effective policy for this perspective. Results showed that renewable portfolio standards and tax credits were found to be the two most effective policies among the alternatives assessed. The research model and outcome can serve as policy check tool in policy making for renewable energy development in any region. Based on the overall research findings, policymakers can apply specific policy instruments to support adoption efforts for any given scenario and regional emphasis.
Download or read book European Energy Policy written by Francesc Morata and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'This book analyses a highly important topic. It is based on a comprehensive and empirically rich assessment of European energy policy, including both internal and external determinants. Its encompassing approach and the thoughtful combination of different analytical perspectives makes the book an important and fresh contribution to the field.' Christoph Knill, University of Konstanz, Germany 'Energy was one of the founding pillars of European integration, while environmental concerns have become an identity sign of today's European Union energy policy. However, notwithstanding the obvious links between both issues, little attention has been devoted to the complex relationship between the EU's environmental performance and the Europeanization of its energy policy. This book, carefully edited by Morata and Solorio, has come to fill this gap becoming a "must" to understand the interactions between these two fundamental drivers of EU policies.' José María Marín-Quemada, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, and Member of the Governing Council of the Spanish Central Bank, Spain This path-breaking book explores the new European energy policy, highlighting the significance of environmental policy concerns, instruments, and objectives vis-à-vis competing security and market dimensions in order to achieve an all-embracing EU energy policy perspective for the future. While the past years have witnessed unprecedented development of EU energy policy, the understanding of this process has lagged behind. Alongside the scarce literature on this emergent policy, there is also a gap regarding the attention paid to its different components. The study stems from the perception of a mismatch between the valuable debate that certain dimensions of energy policy namely, energy security and the market and competition framework have triggered and the neglect of its environmental and climate change dimensions. European Energy Policy will prove to be insightful for academics and postgraduate students interested in European integration, political science, international relations, public policy and environmental science. Energy stakeholders and governmental policymakers will also find plenty of invaluable information in this enriching resource.
Download or read book The Influence of State level Renewable Energy Policy Instruments on Electricity Generation in the United States written by Sunjoo Park and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Since the late 1990s, state governments in the U.S. have diversified policy instruments for encouraging the electric power industry to deploy renewable sources for electricity generation. While observing the increasing number of new renewable energy policies at the state level governments, this study raised two research questions: (1) how do state governments intervene in the renewable energy market? and (2) how do various policy approaches taken by state governments affect renewable energy development? To answer for these questions, this study attempts to identify the trends and variations in renewable energy policy designs among states in terms of the combination of aggregate level policy instruments used by state authorities. Additionally, this study aims to examine and compare the effectiveness of policy instruments in the deployment of renewable energy sources for electricity production. This study examined 18 state legislative, renewable energy related regulations, programs, or financial incentives existing between 2001 and 2010 in 48 states. Those 18 individual renewable energy policies were classified into three types of policy instruments: command-and-control, market-based, and information instruments. For the analysis, this study measured the amount and share of the electricity generation from nonhydro renewable sources as renewable energy policy effects. In order to isolate policy effects, this study also considered state specific characteristics such as natural endowment, economic and political environments, and the market conditions of electric power industries in different states. This study employed fixed-effects models to analyze cross-sectional time series data. The results showed that states' adoption of diverse command-and-control types of policy instruments have significantly influenced the increase of both the amount and share of renewable electricity, while informative policy tools helped increase the share of renewable sources used by electric power producers. However, diversification of marketbased policy instruments--especially financial incentives--did not significantly affect the increase of renewable electricity generation in states. Besides governmental intervention, state wealth and citizen interest in environmental issues played important roles in inducing more investment in renewable energy technologies. Also, natural gas price, wind speed, and states' export of electricity determined the proportion of renewable electricity in states.
Download or read book Adoption of Renewable Energy Technologies Under Uncertainty written by Kiran Torani and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract Adoption of Renewable Energy Technologies under Uncertainty by Kiran Nari Torani Doctor of Philosophy in Agricultural and Resource Economics University of California, Berkeley Professor Gordon Rausser, Chair This dissertation presents both a theoretical and empirical examination of the optimal allocation of public R & D investments in combination with downstream policy instruments across emerging renewable technologies. The central issue remains how best to enable technological change, and accelerate innovation and widespread adoption of new energy technologies and move towards a more sustainable energy system. The first essay presents a stochastic dynamic real options model of the adoption of solar PV in the residential and commercial sector, evaluating the threshold and timing of the consumer's optimal investment decision given two sources of uncertainty. Analytic results regarding the threshold of adoption under alternative regimes of R & D funding and technological change, electricity prices, subsidies and carbon taxes are derived. And we simulate the model to obtain a cumulative likelihood and timing of substitution amongst energy resources and towards solar PV under plausible rates of technological change, electricity prices, subsidies and carbon taxes. The results indicate that there will be a displacement of incumbent technologies and a widespread shift towards solar PV in the residential and commercial sector in under 30 years, under plausible parameter assumptions - and that crucially, this can occur independent of consumer subsidies and carbon pricing policies (at $21/ton CO2, $65/ton CO2 and $150/ton CO2). In general, results across all scenarios consistently indicate that average historic consumer subsidies and carbon pricing policies up to $150/ton CO2 have a modest effect in accelerating adoption, and may not be an effective part of climate policy in this regard. Instead, we find that R & D support and further technological change is the crucial determinant and main driver of widespread adoption of solar PV - suggesting that subsidies and taxes don't make a substantial difference in a technology that's not viable, while research does. This further suggests that optimal policies may change over time, however current continued R & D support and technological advancement is the crucial determinant of widespread transition to solar and plausibly other backstop technologies - and that it should play a key role in policy measures intended to combat climate change. The results do not imply that carbon pricing shouldn't play a role in climate policy in general. Carbon pricing may be effective in reducing emissions and encouraging the transition towards other clean technologies - however it has a decidedly modest impact in accelerating adoption of solar PV at levels up to $150/ton CO2. The second essay examines the role of technology features in policy design, and provides a broader discussion and context to the results from the first essay. It examines the key role of the technology innovation cycle and changing optimal policies at every stage of the technology in the transition towards renewable energy technologies. And it examines the stages of the technology innovation process and the role of policy incentives at every stage - including the timing, sequencing, and role of investments in public R & D, in deployment polices, and in CO2 taxes. We examine the notion that that optimal policies will change over time, driven primarily by the characteristics of the technology, and its stage in the innovation cycle - and that this will crucially determine the impact, gains and tradeoffs between alternate policy measures such as R & D policies, deployment policies, and carbon pricing policies. We find that technology and policies must be deployed in a coordinated manner such that emission reduction benefits are achieved at an acceptable cost. And we find that targeted policy should consider every stage of the technology innovation cycle - from R & D to commercialization in overcoming barriers to the development and widespread adoption of nascent technologies. Based on our analysis and results we find that there is a pressing need for the reallocation of public resources from consumer subsidies towards public R & D budgets in emerging energy technologies such as solar PV, and plausibly other backstop technologies. We argue for an expanded role of aggressive R & D policies and increased public R & D funding - and contend that there is an imbalance in resources allocated towards adoption and commercialization subsidies relative to R & D investments for a technology such as solar PV. We contend that increased and aggressive R & D investments will be the key policy initiative in enabling the transition towards clean energy technologies such as solar PV in a sustainable manner. When deployment policies are justified, the appropriate timing and sequencing in the technology development stage is crucial. Investments in commercialization and deployment subsidies before sufficient R & D investments and breakthroughs have occurred will be ineffective and unsustainable, or alternatively will need to be very high to have any significant impact (Torani, Rausser, and Zilberman, 2014). Widespread adoption and commercialization of emerging and unproven technologies and systems will be unlikely to occur unless sufficient major technological discoveries and improvements have taken place - which will need to be driven by appropriate and sufficient R & D investments. The logical sequence of policies necessitates first making sufficient investments and allocating resources towards R & D and the necessary technological discoveries, which can then be followed by downstream investments to enhance adoption, experience and LBD. In general, we find that the appropriate emphasis and sequencing of R & D and learning investments is a pertinent issue, and optimal timing and allocation between the two depends in part on the characteristics of the technology itself. In addition, while almost all economic studies find a case for imposing immediate restraints on GHG emissions, e.g. with initially low carbon taxes, we find that reasonable and plausible levels of CO2 taxes may not be effective in encouraging technology adoption and reducing emissions while clean technologies are not commercially viable as yet. To be effective in encouraging technology adoption at an early stage of technological innovation, we contend that a large CO2 tax may be needed, far larger than suggested at reasonable levels - with significant implications on distributional effects and political feasibility. We emphasize that technology and policies must be deployed in a coordinated manner such that the emission reduction benefits are achieved at an acceptable cost (Williams et al., 2012). Our results suggest that the first and most important stage does not lie in imposing CO2 taxes, but rather in investing in R & D and technological advancements. Once clean technologies are sufficiently ready, reasonably priced carbon taxes will bite to a larger extent and be more effective at plausible levels. We find that one plausible strategy would be either to introduce high CO2 taxes or to subsidize R & D first, followed by deployment and LBD policies, and then to impose reasonable carbon taxes - in which case scientific advances and technological changes would make CO2 emissions abatement less costly, and CO2 pricing would be effective at reasonable levels. The third essay provides a precursor and basis for the other two chapters. The paper outlines an analytical framework to determine the optimal combination of renewable energy public R & D investment in combination with downstream policy instruments across the emerging technologies as an ex-ante portfolio analysis of public and private R & D under risk and uncertainty. Our framework is based on the estimation of probability distributions for potential future cost reductions resulting from R & D investments from the public and private sectors. To date, the government lacks coordinated support of renewable energy technologies across upstream R & D investments and downstream policy instruments. Without an objective, ex-ante guide for renewable energy investment, governments are likely to promote technologies based on the effectiveness of political economic efforts. The government's policies should however depend on the technology's probability distribution of cost breakthroughs for each technology and on the environmental impact. In this paper we outline an analytical framework to develop a portfolio analysis of R & D investments in renewable energy technologies, with the subsequent analysis designed to allocate R & D investments across renewable energy technologies in a manner that minimizes the risk for a specified level of expected returns, taking into account both the expected reductions in cost and the variance of the expectations of cost reductions, and thus providing an objective benchmark for efficient allocation of resources across renewable energy technologies. Special emphasis is placed on the estimation of probability distributions based on elicitation from experts in each field of technology in terms of the mean and standard deviation - on which we base the characterization of the underlying probability distributions on cost and productivity measures, and which forms the basis for executing a portfolio analysis of renewable energy technologies.
Download or read book Powering the Green Economy written by Miguel Mendonça and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 2009 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Download or read book Understanding Risks and Uncertainties in Energy and Climate Policy written by Haris Doukas and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-12-10 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book analyzes and seeks to consolidate the use of robust quantitative tools and qualitative methods for the design and assessment of energy and climate policies. In particular, it examines energy and climate policy performance and associated risks, as well as public acceptance and portfolio analysis in climate policy, and presents methods for evaluating the costs and benefits of flexible policy implementation as well as new framings for business and market actors. In turn, it discusses the development of alternative policy pathways and the identification of optimal switching points, drawing on concrete examples to do so. Lastly, it discusses climate change mitigation policies’ implications for the agricultural, food, building, transportation, service and manufacturing sectors.
Download or read book Renewable Energy written by Mansour Al Qubeissi and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2020-09-09 with total page 542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The demand for secure, affordable and clean energy is a priority call to humanity. Challenges associated with conventional energy resources, such as depletion of fossil fuels, high costs and associated greenhouse gas emissions, have stimulated interests in renewable energy resources. For instance, there have been clear gaps and rushed thoughts about replacing fossil-fuel driven engines with electric vehicles without long-term plans for energy security and recycling approaches. This book aims to provide a clear vision to scientists, industrialists and policy makers on renewable energy resources, predicted challenges and emerging applications. It can be used to help produce new technologies for sustainable, connected and harvested energy. A clear response to economic growth and clean environment demands is also illustrated.
Download or read book Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation written by Ottmar Edenhofer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-11-21 with total page 1088 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SRREN) assesses the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy sources - bioenergy, solar, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy - as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies, and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. SRREN brings a broad spectrum of technology-specific experts together with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. Prepared following strict IPCC procedures, it presents an impartial assessment of the current state of knowledge: it is policy relevant but not policy prescriptive. SRREN is an invaluable assessment of the potential role of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector, and academic researchers.
Download or read book The Power of Change written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-09-30 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Electricity, supplied reliably and affordably, is foundational to the U.S. economy and is utterly indispensable to modern society. However, emissions resulting from many forms of electricity generation create environmental risks that could have significant negative economic, security, and human health consequences. Large-scale installation of cleaner power generation has been generally hampered because greener technologies are more expensive than the technologies that currently produce most of our power. Rather than trade affordability and reliability for low emissions, is there a way to balance all three? The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies considers how to speed up innovations that would dramatically improve the performance and lower the cost of currently available technologies while also developing new advanced cleaner energy technologies. According to this report, there is an opportunity for the United States to continue to lead in the pursuit of increasingly clean, more efficient electricity through innovation in advanced technologies. The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies makes the case that America's advantagesâ€"world-class universities and national laboratories, a vibrant private sector, and innovative states, cities, and regions that are free to experiment with a variety of public policy approachesâ€"position the United States to create and lead a new clean energy revolution. This study focuses on five paths to accelerate the market adoption of increasing clean energy and efficiency technologies: (1) expanding the portfolio of cleaner energy technology options; (2) leveraging the advantages of energy efficiency; (3) facilitating the development of increasing clean technologies, including renewables, nuclear, and cleaner fossil; (4) improving the existing technologies, systems, and infrastructure; and (5) leveling the playing field for cleaner energy technologies. The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies is a call for leadership to transform the United States energy sector in order to both mitigate the risks of greenhouse gas and other pollutants and to spur future economic growth. This study's focus on science, technology, and economic policy makes it a valuable resource to guide support that produces innovation to meet energy challenges now and for the future.
Download or read book Empowering the Great Energy Transition written by Scott Valentine and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-12-17 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time when climate-change deniers hold the reins of power in the United States and international greenhouse gas negotiations continue at a slow crawl, what options are available to cities, companies, and consumers around the world who seek a cleaner future? Scott Victor Valentine, Marilyn A. Brown, and Benjamin K. Sovacool explore developments and strategies that will help fast-track the transition to renewable energy. They provide an expert analysis of the achievable steps that citizens, organizational leaders, and policy makers can take to put their commitments to sustainability into practice. Empowering the Great Energy Transition examines trends that suggest a transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources is inevitable—there are too many forces for change at work to stop a shift to clean energy. Yet under the status quo, change will be too slow to avert the worst consequences of climate change. Humanity is on a path to incur avoidable social, environmental, and economic costs. Valentine, Brown, and Sovacool argue that new policies and business models are needed to surmount the hurdles separating the current consumption model from a sustainable energy future. Empowering the Great Energy Transition shows that with well-placed efforts, we can set humanity on a course that supports entrepreneurs and communities in mitigating the environmental harm caused by technologies whose time has come and gone.
Download or read book The Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transition written by Manfred Hafner and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-06-09 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world is currently undergoing an historic energy transition, driven by increasingly stringent decarbonisation policies and rapid advances in low-carbon technologies. The large-scale shift to low-carbon energy is disrupting the global energy system, impacting whole economies, and changing the political dynamics within and between countries. This open access book, written by leading energy scholars, examines the economic and geopolitical implications of the global energy transition, from both regional and thematic perspectives. The first part of the book addresses the geopolitical implications in the world’s main energy-producing and energy-consuming regions, while the second presents in-depth case studies on selected issues, ranging from the geopolitics of renewable energy, to the mineral foundations of the global energy transformation, to governance issues in connection with the changing global energy order. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers in energy, climate change and international relations, as well as to professionals working in the energy industry.
Download or read book The Positive Sum Strategy written by Nathan Rosenberg and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1986-01-01 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides a state-of-the-art review of the relationship between technology and economic growth. Many of the 42 chapters discuss the political and corporate decisions for what one author calls a "Competitiveness Policy." As contributor John A. Young states, "Technology is our strongest advantage in world competition. Yet we do not capitalize on our preeminent position, and other countries are rapidly closing the gap." This lively volume provides many fresh insights including "two unusually balanced and illuminating discussions of Japan," Science noted.
Download or read book Sustainable Energy in Kazakhstan written by Yelena Kalyuzhnova and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-06 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources including coal, oil, natural gas and uranium and has significant renewable potential from wind, solar, hydro and biomass. In spite of this, the country is currently dependent upon fossil fuels with coal-fired plants accounting for 75% of total power generation leading to concerns over greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on human health and the environment. This book analyses the implications of the global shift to cleaner energy for a country whose economy has centred on hydrocarbon exports. The challenge is urgent for Kazakhstan, whose recent economic growth has driven increased demand for energy services, making the construction of additional generating capacity increasingly necessary for enabling sustained growth. In this context, renewable energy resources are becoming an increasingly attractive option to help bridge the demand-supply gap. Chapters written by experts in the field provide a comprehensive review of the current energy situation in Kazakhstan including fossil energy and renewable resources and analyses policy drivers for the energy sector. Emphasising that clean energy covers a variety of renewables, as well as cleaner use of hydrocarbons, this book argues that future technological change will affect the relative attractiveness of the various choices. Recognising technical, geographical and domestic and international political constraints on policymakers’ options, this book will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience in the fields of resource management and clean energy, development economics and Central Asian Studies.
Download or read book Future of solar photovoltaic written by International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA and published by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). This book was released on 2019-11-01 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study presents options to fully unlock the world’s vast solar PV potential over the period until 2050. It builds on IRENA’s global roadmap to scale up renewables and meet climate goals.
Download or read book Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2020 written by International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA and published by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). This book was released on 2019-06-01 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sixth edition of the series highlights employment trends in renewables worldwide, noting increasing diversification of the supply chain.
Download or read book Principles of Project Finance written by E. R. Yescombe and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2013-11-13 with total page 575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Second Edition of this best-selling introduction for practitioners uses new material and updates to describe the changing environment for project finance. Integrating recent developments in credit markets with revised insights into making project finance deals, the second edition offers a balanced view of project financing by combining legal, contractual, scheduling, and other subjects. Its emphasis on concepts and techniques makes it critical for those who want to succeed in financing large projects. With extensive cross-references and a comprehensive glossary, the Second Edition presents anew a guide to the principles and practical issues that can commonly cause difficulties in commercial and financial negotiations. Provides a basic introduction to project finance and its relationship with other financing techniques Describes and explains: sources of project finance; typical commercial contracts (e.g., for construction of the project and sale of its product or services) and their effects on project-finance structures; project-finance risk assessment from the points of view of lenders, investors, and other project parties; how lenders and investors evaluate the risks and returns on a project; the rôle of the public sector in public-private partnerships and other privately-financed infrastructure projects; how all these issues are dealt with in the financing agreements
Download or read book Efficiency Renewables and the Effect of Energy Policy Interactions on Residential Electricity Consumption in the United States written by Robert A. Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper examines whether the combination of different energy policies yields interaction effects that influence the impact had by any single policy on its outcome of interest. In particular, this study examines whether a particular renewable energy policy--the renewable portfolio standard (RPS)--influences the reductions in electricity consumption that are achieved in residential buildings by an energy efficiency resource standard (EERS). The units of analysis are the 48 contiguous U.S. states, and electricity consumption outcomes are considered for the nine year period 2001 to 2009. Fixed effects panel regression analysis shows that, under certain conditions, interaction effects between RPS and EERS instruments do influence electricity consumption outcomes. The finding is not robust, however, and the interaction effects disappear when certain other policy factors are introduced into the econometric model. This suggests that it may be appropriate to consider policy interactions when making decisions about state-level energy policies, but policy interactions should not be of paramount or overriding concern. In contrast, the significant and robust association between residential electricity consumption and the RPS and other renewable energy policy instruments highlights the importance of considering a broad range of energy policy goals when developing individual policy tools. Similarly, the association between electricity consumption and the EERS instrument reaffirms the importance of carefully considering the specifics of each individual policy on its own merit. Because of the relatively short period of time that EERS policies have been in effect, and also because of other data limitations that appear to obscure the observed relationship between electricity consumption and certain of the explanatory variables, replication of this study's methodology may be warranted after more data--regarding both EERS performance and other determinants of electricity consumption--becomes available. Additional data may enable the effect or non-effect of energy policy interactions to be more conclusively demonstrated.
