This book includes a collection of research articles presented at the “6th International Workshop on Hydro Scheduling in Competitive Electricity Markets”. The workshop was a unique and intimate forum for researchers and practitioners to present state-of-the-art research and development concerning novel methodological findings, best practices and real-life applications of hydro scheduling. It also provided a platform for discussing the developments that are taking place in the industry, sharing different experiences and discussing future trends related to this area. This proceedings book is a collection of the most relevant, high-quality articles from the workshop. Discussing the state-of-the-art in the field of hydro scheduling, it is a valuable resource for a wide audience of researchers and practitioners in the field now and in the interesting and challenging times ahead.

This book consists of a collection of articles describing the emergingand integrated area of Energy,Natural Resourcesand EnvironmentalEconomics.A majority of the authors are researchers doing applied work in economics, nance, and management science and are based in the Nordic countries. These countries have a long tradition of managing natural resources. Many of the applications are therefore founded on such examples. The book contents are based on a workshop that took place during May 15–16, 2008 in Bergen, Norway. The aim of the workshop was to create a meeting place for researchers who are active in the area of Energy, Natural Resource, and En- ronmentalEconomics,andat the same time celebrate ProfessorKurtJorns ̈ ten’s60th birthday. Thebookis dividedintofourparts. The rst part considerspetroleumandnatural gas applications, taking up topics ranging from the management of incomes and reserves to market modeling and value chain optimization. The second and most extensive part studies applications from electricity markets, including analyses of market prices, risk management, various optimization problems, electricity market design, and regulation. The third part describes different applications in logistics and management of natural resources. Finally, the fourth part covers more general problems and methods arising within the area.

As the climate and environment continue to fluctuate, researchers are urgently looking for new ways to preserve our limited resources and prevent further environmental degradation. The answer can be found through computer science, a field that is evolving at precisely the time it is needed most. Soft Computing Applications for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency brings together the latest technological research in computational intelligence and fuzzy logic as a way to care for our environment. This reference work highlights current advances and future trends in environmental sustainability using the principles of soft computing, making it an essential resource for students, researchers, engineers, and practitioners in the fields of project engineering and energy science.