Indicators for sustainable energy development: Brazil's case study

This article summarizes the results of the project on indicators for sustainable energy development (ISED) in Brazil. The project's aim was to present energy related economic, social and environmental data to policy makers in a coherent and consistent form, showing interlinkages, time‐series and cross‐sectoral analyses and assess energy policy. Two priority areas assessed by these indicators, regarding the country's energy supply and demand, helped in the identification of a number of energy policy options that focused on specific aspects of the country's energy sector. On the supply side, these options include the development and stimulation of renewable energy, such as small‐scale hydroelectric, wind, solar photovoltaic power and bagasse cogeneration; stimulation of programmes for ethanol use as automotive fuel and sugarcane bagasse cogeneration; and implementation of natural gas‐fired, combined heat and power (CHP) plants. On the demand side, policy options include: the full implementation of the law on efficiency standards for appliances; expansion of utility investment in end‐use energy efficiency; adoption of targets and protocols to reduce energy intensity in the industrial sector; improvement of passenger transport efficiency; and the creation of a fund to improve energy affordability for the poor.     

Environmental justice along product life cycles: importance,renewable energy examples and policy complexities

Environmental justice is critical to our efforts to preserve the human habitat from the degradation of pollution and climate change because of the need for cooperation and due to our ignorance of how the intertwined effects of our actions in one locality affect the quality of life in other localities across the world. While environmental justice questions are often focused on the location choices for specific activities that pollute, another important perspective is environmental justice over the life cycle of the production of products. Upon close examination renewable energies, critical alternatives to the fossil fuels which induce climate change, have environmental justice issues over their life cycles. Formal, statutory national law is not sufficient to address environmental justice problems along product life cycles in a world in which production is globalised and environmental effects pass beyond political borders. The responses to this challenge must draw on an interacting combination of information, custom, soft law, such as international standards and certification, and formal national laws. Through an interesting complex of intertwined effects, this system has already advanced our capacity to address environmental justice problems along product life cycles. The magnitude of the challenge and the complexity of the system demand ongoing effort and further innovation. Also, the system is not well configured to address our burgeoning consumption which continues to expand the burdens of future generations.     

Wind energy development in California,USA

Windfarms have been developed rapidly in California in the last few years. The impetus has been a legislated goal to generate 10% of California's electricity by windpower by the year 2000, and generous state and federal tax incentives. Windpower is promoted as environmentally benign, which it is in traditional uses. The California program, however, is not traditional: it calls for centralized development of a magnitude sufficient to offset significant amounts of fossil fuels now used to generate electricity.Centralized windfarm development, as exemplified by the Altamont Pass, Tehachapi Mountains, and San Gorgonio Pass developments, involves major road building projects in erosion-sensitive terrain, effective closure of public lands, and other detrimental effects. A windfarm consisting of 200 turbines with 17-m rotors located in steep terrain 16 km from an existing corridor might occupy 235 ha and physically disturb 86 ha. With average annual wind speeds of 22.5 km/h, the farm would generate about 10×10⁶ kWh/year at present levels of capacity. This annual production would offset 1% of one day's consumption of oil in California. To supply 10% of the state's electricity (at 1984 production rates) would require about 600,000 turbines of the type in common use today and would occupy more than 685,000 ha. It is likely that indirect effects would be felt in much larger areas and would include increased air and water pollution resulting from accelerated erosion, degradation of habitat of domestic and wild animals, damage to archaeological sites, and reduction of scenic quality of now-remote areas of the state.     

Investigation of sustainable energy alternatives for powering remote communities in northern Ontario

ABSTRACT

Remote communities in the North of Ontario survive in isolation as their proximity to the southern industrial sector of the province limits their accessibility to the major grid. The lack of grid connection has led to antiquated methods of power generation which pollute the environment and deplete the planet of its natural resources. Aside from the primary means of electricity generation being by diesel generators, generation infrastructure is deteriorating due to age and the stagnation of the power supply has led to communities facing load restrictions. These challenges may be resolved by introducing clean energy alternatives and providing a fuel blend option. The primary energy sources investigated in this research are solar, wind, and hydrogen. To assess the viability of these energy production methods in Northern communities, an exergy analysis is employed as it utilizes both the first and second law of thermodynamics to determine systems’ efficiency and performance in the surroundings. Local weather patterns were used to determine the viability of using wind turbines, solar panels and/or hydrogen fuel cells in a remote community. Through analysis of the resources available at the community, it was determined that the hydrogen fuel cell was best suited to provide clean energy to the community. Wind resulted in low efficiency in the range of 2–3% while solar efficiencies resulted in ranges of 18 – 19%, as the seasonal variations between the three years is not very great. Due to the higher operating efficiencies observed of the PV panels it would also be an attractive alternative to diesel generators however, the lack of consistent operation above 30% efficiency throughout the year, resulted in hydrogen fuel cells being a better alternative.     

Indicators for sustainable energy development in Thailand

This article examines energy priorities for Thailand from the economic, social and environmental perspectives of sustainable development. The article uses a set of indicators devised by the International Atomic Energy Agency in partnership with other international agencies and research institutes in seven countries. Thailand's energy efficiency in the 1980s and 1990s are analysed using energy intensity indicators, and possible impacts on sustainable energy development are highlighted. The early 1990s in particular was an important period for Thailand, as the country was at the height of its economic growth, and a number of energy efficiency and conservation programmes were launched. Energy intensity indicators show continuing and faster growth in energy consumption relative to economic activity. The financial crisis in the late 1990s did halt growth in energy consumption, with positive consequences on environmental emissions, but only temporarily as Thailand's economy quickly started to recover in 2000. Notwithstanding the financial crisis, the other indicators show significant progress in economic and social dimensions.     

Indicators for sustainable energy development in Lithuania

This article summarizes some of the results from the application of the indicators for sustainable energy development (ISED) tool for analyzing Lithuania's energy sector, in terms of trends, setting energy policy goals and monitoring progress towards these goals. This experience illustrates the potential applicability of the ISED methodology for energy policy development in economies in transition, using Lithuania as an example. The article presents a summary of the results achieved and conclusions arrived at from the analysis of six priority areas in the context of the research project coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and provides recommendations for the development of sustainable energy policy using the ISED approach.     

Wind energy potential analysis for Thailand: Uncertainty from wind maps and sensitivity to turbine technology

Rapid development of wind energy has been witnessed in Thailand. However, different wind resource maps (over land) have brought great uncertainty to wind energy planning. Here, four important mesoscale wind maps were considered: DEDP (2001), World Bank (2001), Manomaiphiboon et al. (2010) of JGSEE, and DEDE (2010). The wind maps were first harmonized to a common grid at 100 m and then compared. The earlier wind maps (DEDP and World Bank) are shown to represent the lower and upper limits of predicted speed, respectively, while JGSEE and DEDE tend to be more moderate with predictions statistically closer to observations. A consolidated wind map was constructed based on their median and shown to have the best prediction performance. It was then used for the technical potential analysis, in which three large (2-MW) turbine models (two conventional and one designed for low wind speed) were considered. By GIS techniques, any land areas not feasible for large wind turbines were excluded, and the corresponding overall onshore technical potential ranges between 50 and 250 GW, depending on map and turbine model. Considering only economically feasible turbines (with capacity factors of 20%) and the median-based map, the final technical potential equals 17 GW when using the low-wind-speed model but is reduced to 5 GW with the conventional models, adequately meeting the national wind energy target of 3 GW by the year 2036. The results suggest a strong sensitivity of estimated technical potential to turbine technology and a suitability of low-wind-speed turbines for wind conditions in Thailand.     

Wind energy technology development and diffusion: a case study of Inner Mongolia, China

This article reviews the spread of small household wind generators and the development of wind farms in Inner Mongolia, China with emphasis on policy and institutional perspectives. It analyzes the patterns of wind technology dissemination within social, economic, and environmental contexts. It also discusses international investment and technology transfer relating to wind energy technology. The economics of windfarm development are examined and the role of alternative policy instruments analyzed. Major constraints to wind technology development are identified and relevant policy recommendations suggested.     

Social features of energy production and use in Brazil: Goals for a sustainable energy future

This paper focuses on the social features of ene rgy production and use in Brazil and discusses the role of the energy policy goals of accessibility, affordability and acceptability in defining a sustainable energy future for the country. The major findings are that social inequalities in Brazil regarding energy use continue to be substantial and important. This can be explained by the fact that, although recent decades have seen significant improvements in energy accessibility all over the country, much more needs to be done to provide affordable, and socially acceptable modern energy carriers to all socio‐economic groups in all regions.     

Evaluating the prospects for sustainable energy development in a sample of Chinese villages

This paper describes the methods used to evaluate the potential for achieving sustainable energy development in six Chinese villages included in the Sustainable Users' Concepts for China Engaging Scientific Scenarios (SUCCESS) Project by examining energy efficiency potential and local renewable energy prospects. The approaches needed to obtain and analyse information on possible energy efficiency measures and renewable energy resources are summarised. Results are presented in terms of cumulative net savings in primary energy consumption, as an indicator of energy resource depletion, and associated carbon dioxide emissions, as an indicator of global climate change. Options for sustainable energy development are ranked in order of likely implementation and practical actions which could be considered in each village are identified.     

Indicators for sustainable energy development in Mexico

This article presents a summary of a study on the application to the Mexican energy sector of a core set of indicators for sustainable energy development (ISED), developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The study focused on the elaboration of socio‐economic and environmental indicators related to energy production and use, and was aimed at assessing Mexico's existing energy policies and identifying strategies and possible policies that could bring about improvements in major priority areas: energy intensity, atmospheric emissions, energy import dependency and use of renewables. While positive trends have been observed in relation to energy intensity and atmospheric emissions, Mexico is becoming more dependent on imports of gasoline, natural gas and other high‐value secondary energy sources, while exporting significant amounts of primary fuels, such as crude oil. Also, no significant increase has been observed in the use of renewable sources of energy. Social, economic and environmental policies need to be formulated for the energy sector and related investments (public and private) reinforced so that all economic sectors have access to energy from cleaner and more diverse sources.     

Wind energy potential assessment and techno-economic performance of wind turbines in coastal sites of Buenos Aires province,Argentina

An assessment of wind energy potential was carried out in five sites (four onshore and one offshore) in South-West (SW) of Buenos Aires province (Argentina). We use high-resolution wind data (2 and 5 min) for the period 2009–2012. The power law was used to estimate the wind speed at 30, 40, and 60 m height from the anemometer position. Turbulence intensity and wind direction were analyzed. Statistical analyses were conducted using two-parameter Weibull distribution. A techno-economic analysis based on a set of commercial wind turbines was performed in those sites. The results derived from this work indicate that the SW of Buenos Aires province represents a promising area for the wind energy extraction, which would encourage the construction of wind farms for electricity generation.     

Local voices on renewable energy projects: the performative role of the regulatory process for major offshore infrastructure in England and Wales

There is currently a considerable emphasis on delivering major renewable energy infrastructure projects. Such projects will have impacts on local communities; some impacts may be perceived as positive but others will be viewed more negatively. Any just regulatory process for considering and permitting such infrastructure will need to heed the concerns that local communities voice. But what counts as a local voice? In this paper it is argued that the regulatory process plays a performative role, constructing what counts as a local voice. Furthermore, this has consequences for how regulatory deliberations proceed and the outcomes of regulatory processes. The empirical basis for this argument is a study of major offshore renewable energy infrastructure in England and Wales and the way that it is regulated through a specific regime – the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) regime established by the Planning Act 2008. Through a detailed study of eight projects that have passed through the regime, the analysis unfolds the way that the voices of local residents, local businesses, local NGOs and local authorities are constructed in the key boundary object of the Examining Authority’s report; it then draws out the implications for the mitigation measures that are negotiated. The research suggests that what counts as a local voice is constrained by how the performative role of the NSIPs regulatory regime differentiates between interests and suggests that new ways of giving voice to local people are required.     

Conditions for a 100% renewable energy supply system in Japan and South Korea

In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear accident, alternative energy paths have been discussed for Japan, but except for a few studies the assumption is usually made that Japan is too densely populated to be suited for a near-100% sustainable, indigenous energy provision. The studies emphasizing renewable energy have proposed the use of photovoltaic power as the main source of electricity supply, in combination with diurnal battery storage and supplemented by other renewable sources such as wind, hydro, and geothermal power. Here, an alternative approach is explored, with wind and derived hydrogen production as the main energy source, but still using solar energy, biofuels, and hydropower in a resilient combination allowing full satisfaction of demands in all sectors of the economy, i.e., for dedicated electricity, transportation energy as well as heat for processes and comfort. Furthermore, the possible advantage of establishing a regional energy system with energy interchange and coordinated management of the mix of renewable energy resources across a wider region is discussed. As the closest neighbor, the energy system of South Korea is considered, first regarding the possibility of a similar full renewable energy reliance, and then for possible synergetic effects of connecting the Korean and the Japanese energy systems, in order to be able to better cope with the intermittency of renewable energy source flows.     

Experimental investigations on regeneration energy and energy management strategy in series hydraulic/electric synergy system

This research work draws an insight into the experimental investigations on a series hydraulic/electric synergy system—a green transportation system. An experimental test rig of the system with all necessary sensors and instrumentation has been developed to study the energy saving through hydraulic regenerative braking. The effect of various system parameters, such as braking time, maximum accumulator pressure, pre-charge pressure of hydro-pneumatic accumulator, volumetric displacement of the hydraulic master pump, and hydraulic regeneration pump on the quantum of regeneration energy, was analyzed. In addition, an AMESim model of the real-time experimental test rig has been developed and validated with experimental results. A set of five different experimental designs (parameter variations) of the system is defined with the available standard component sizes. The best design is selected of the available experimental designs based on the maximum hydraulic regeneration energy and regeneration efficiency. It was observed that the selected design has an energy efficiency of 13.3% and a regeneration efficiency of 43.8%. An accumulator-centric control strategy for energy management is developed and implemented on the experimental test rig configured with the selected design. The effectiveness of the control strategy is tested through experiments and simulation on the developed test rig.     

Analysis of energy use in a sample of Chinese villages

This paper summarises the methodology and results of work involved in the investigation of energy demand in six Chinese villages included in the SUCCESS Project. The procedures used to collect data associated with local energy demand are explained and the approach to data analysis is explained. Results are provided in terms for delivered energy consumption, as an indicator of energy demand; primary energy consumption, as an indicator of energy resource depletion; and carbon dioxide emissions, as an indicator of global climate change. Similarities and differences between results for this sample of villages are considered. The important causes of differences in results are investigated.     

The adoption of green energy technologies: The role of policies in Austria,Germany, and Switzerland

We contribute to the existing research about policy-induced technology adoption in several ways. First, we suggest a new survey design to measure the energy-related policy environment. Second, we simultaneously estimate the policy effects for the adoption propensity and the adoption intensity simultaneously and, third, we compare the policy effects in the three countries, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Based on a representative sample of firms for all three countries we find that policies essentially promote the adoption of technologies and they are practically ineffective for the intensity, which poses a great challenge to future policy designs. Voluntary agreements or demand-related factors are among the most important drivers for the adoption propensity of green energy technologies. Given the current institutional framework in the surveyed countries, subsidies are more effective in Austria, taxes are more effective in Germany, and demand-related factors are relatively more effective in Switzerland.     

Toward a CO2 zero emissions energy system in the Middle East region

Climate change and energy security are global challenges requiring concerted attention and action by all of the world’s countries. Under these conditions, energy supplier and exporter countries in the Middle East region are experiencing further challenges, such as increasing domestic energy demand while energy exports have to concurrently be kept at high levels. Middle East countries process the largest proven oil and gas reserves in the world and contribute a large fraction of the world’s CO₂ emissions from the use of these as fuels both domestically and internationally. This paper addresses different policies that could dramatically change the future course of the Middle East region toward a zero CO₂ emission energy system. To this aim, an integrated energy supply–demand model has been developed to analyze required commitments including renewable energy and energy efficiency targets and the potential of nuclear power, all of which should need to be considered in order to reduce CO₂ emissions by 2100. The results indicate that nearly 43% of the global energy of the Middle East region can be supplied from non-fossil fuel resources in 2100.     

Causes of energy poverty in a cold and resource-rich country: evidence from Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is an upper-middle-income country and one of the coldest countries in the world with rich energy resources and energy prices considerably lower than in developed countries. This paper presents the first comprehensive overview of household fuel use in Kazakhstan and assesses the causes and extent of energy poverty using the Households Living Conditions Survey dataset of 12,000 households. The results show that there is an overwhelming reliance on coal in Kazakhstan: 40% of all surveyed households use coal for heating, cooking and other needs. In general, liquefied petroleum gas is mainly used for cooking, coal and firewood for heating, while electricity is rarely used for heating. Energy poverty was less prevalent in oil and gas rich regions, due to low gas prices and higher income levels in those regions, while households located in the North Kazakhstan, Central and East Kazakhstan mainly suffer from lack of cleaner fuel options, income poverty, longer and colder winters and consequently energy affordability. Despite low energy prices in Kazakhstan, the results demonstrate that 28% of surveyed households spend more than 10% of their income on energy. Gas and district heating infrastructure coverage and income inequality across its regions contributed the most to energy poverty in Kazakhstan. Energy prices are regulated and indirectly subsidised. Removing energy subsidies alone may worsen energy affordability of households. Offering direct subsidies to cover part of the energy expenditures may not fully solve the problem, but subsidies, interventions for efficient technologies and fuels, dwelling energy-efficiency improvements are necessary.     

How renewable energy and service growth influence environmental quality: Evidence from a sustainable development perspective

The present study inspects the relationships between the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, real GDP, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, as well as the service growth for top ten countries (TTC) in service activities. The empirical modeling used in the study involves the procedures of cointegration and tests of Granger causality to inspect the dynamic interaction between the variables during the period from 1980 to 2018. The results of the present study suggest that the variables are cross-sectionally dependent. In addition, the variables appear to be cointegrated based on several tests. The long-run outcomes revealed an inversed U-shaped form between emissions-GDP proving the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve assumption. The fully modified ordinary least squares and dynamic OLS estimates show that the non-renewable energy and economic growth contribute to the increase of CO₂ emissions, while service value-added leads to decrease emissions. Furthermore, the renewable energy coefficient comes through as negative but insignificant for the selected panel. The TTC in service should stimulate the usage of renewable energy in various service events for following the path of sustainable development. Devising the investment plans associated with the use of renewable energies is quite essential for the advancement of the service sector leading to mitigating emissions portion.