Towards an efficient and low carbon economy post-2012: opportunities and barriers for foreign companies in the Russian energy market

Russia is one of the most energy- and carbon-intensive countries in the world. The high level of technical abrasion and a low level of investments into modernization of the Russian energy industry cause huge energy wastage and carbon emissions. This situation is regarded by countries relying on energy imports from Russia as an increasing threat to security of supply and as a major barrier to global climate change policy. This paper provides an overview of the current and future Russian energy efficiency and greenhouse gas mitigation policies. The focus is laid on the detailed investigation of the progress and future potential of the market-oriented mechanisms Joint Implementation (JI) and Green Investment Scheme (GIS), being considered as two possible channels for FDI in transnational energy efficiency and carbon mitigation projects. The analysis was conducted by reviewing the relevant scientific and non-scientific literature including a variety of theoretical and practice-oriented arguments. Based on this assessment, we conclude that JI and GIS are confronted with numerous barriers in the Russian energy market. We further scrutinize the ability of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), as one of the market intermediary models, to overcome some of these barriers in the process of effectively integrating JI and GIS in their long-term business strategies. Due to the compatibility of the main features of JI and GIS with the working procedures under the ESCO model we conclude that numerous synergy effects can be generated and that the majority of transaction barriers specific for the Russian energy market can be overcome. Such an integrative framework for international energy efficiency and carbon mitigation projects would contribute to the modernization of the Russian energy industry and enable a “win-win” situation for foreign companies seeking to invest in a sustainable manner.     

Energy service company and financial market development: experiences of the Global Environment Facility

Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) and the energy market for ESCO financing have been developing since 1976 when oil prices increased dramatically. ESCOs’ services cover projects in many energy areas, including energy extraction, power generation, energy conversion, transportation, power transmission, energy consumption, project financing, energy project audits, monitoring, and energy savings verification. In developing countries, there are many barriers in the energy market that are preventing ESCOs from developing. These barriers include lack of appropriate policy, financial mechanisms, and local capacities for ESCO development and management. Over the past 20 years, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) financed 39 ESCO projects in 25 countries and regions to remove these barriers. The results of these projects show that some countries, such as China, are very successful in ESCO development, but others are not. Different models of ESCOs in different financial markets in various countries are analyzed; and case studies are undertaken for China, India, Ukraine, and Brazil. This article concludes that, while developing financial markets for ESCOs, countries need to consider (1) initiating national government policy to stop energy subsidies and to reform energy pricing, (2) establishing a real, market based financial mechanism for ESCOs, (3) involving the private sector in project co-financing, (4) creating incentives to ESCOs in the market by investing part of government revenue from energy tax, and (5) incentivizing ESCOs by government corporate tax exemption.     

Promoting energy efficiency financing and ESCOs in developing countries: mechanisms and barriers

Developing countries have tremendous potential to increase energy efficiency but face several barriers before the potential can be realised. A lack of access to appropriate financing mechanisms is one of the important barriers. Energy service companies (ESCOs), a market oriented mechanism to improve energy efficiency, had successful experiences in developed countries such as the USA and Canada, and developing countries such as South Korea. ESCOs are in nascent stage in many developing countries and face several barriers that include market, finance and institutional barriers, poor energy pricing policies, high transaction costs etc. Market development through active involvement of governments as a customer, information provider, and policy maker is required to promote ESCOs. Development of specialised energy efficiency financing windows in appropriate financial institutions, development of skills for energy efficiency project appraisal and design of specialised financial products are other measures to accelerate the diffusion of energy efficiency.     

一种高架复合路补充安装声屏障车流条件确定方法

某一地面高架复合公路,通车初期由于车流量很小,相对沿线大型保护目标高架部分暂未安装噪声屏障,但相对原有设计增加了提高护栏、采用较低噪声路面、绿化带等有利于减小噪声影响的措施,现欲确定必须补充安装隔声屏障的车流条件。该后评价计算目标的确定,完全可以通过盲的试算确定,但由此需要的工作量将是极为繁重和庞大的。为了提高效率,本文提出一种半理论半经验的方法予以简化。     

Developing biofuels industry in small economies: Policy experiences and lessons from the caribbean basin initiative

With increasing concerns about rising energy demand and cost, diminishing oil reserves, and climate change, Central American and Caribbean (CAC) nations have the opportunity to become producers of low-carbon sustainable biofuels for domestic consumption and foreign exchange earnings. While the region has a number of comparative advantages for developing a vibrant biofuels sector, including favorable climate and significant agricultural experience, the experience under the favorable Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) has exposed significant technical and non-technical barriers that must be overcome. Using information compiled through interviews with industry executives, government policy makers and civil society stakeholders, we provide a critical analysis of this experience focusing on non-technical barriers to investment. Survey results suggest that political uncertainty, poor regulatory frameworks, and lack of institutional commitment and business incentives are the main non-technical barriers. Having laid out the challenges, we propose potential policy positions to stimulate growth of the regional biofuels sector. Results point to the need to prioritize enhancing national legislation, developing risk prevention plans, creating supply and demand side incentives and increasing multilateral collaboration. While these findings are derived from the Caribbean Basin experience, they may also be applicable to small economies in other regions that are considering policies for biofuels industry development.     

内置渗透墙型生态塘处理农村生活污水的研究

通过在传统的生态塘中增设了一道活性渗透墙而改造成的内置渗透墙型生态塘。结果表明,内置渗透墙型生态塘对生活污水具有良好的处理效果,在水力负荷为0．05～0．1m^3／m^2·d之间时,即水力停留时间在10d～20d时,它对COD的去除率在60％以上,对TN的去除率在50％以上,对TP的去除率在75％以上。大大减轻了后序工艺的负担,减少了后序处理设施。从而缩小了整个生态塘系统的占地面积,节省了基建投资,是一种高效的适合农村生活污水处理的技术。     

The influence of operational flexibility on the exploitation of CO2 reduction potential in industrial energy production

Energy conservation is a key measure for reducing CO₂ emissions. However, realising the emission reduction potential of an energy conservation investment depends on many factors, such as energy prices. The EU emissions trading scheme has made the investment analysis more complicated and increased the economic value of operational flexibility under fluctuating carbon prices. The different operational options in industrial energy production complicate the estimation of CO₂ reduction potential in the investment phase. Increasing operational flexibility enables optimisation in the economic dimension, which may lead to less than optimum CO₂ reduction. In our case study, which analysed the effects of an energy conservation investment made in the pulp and paper industry, the deviation from the expected emission reduction was around 30% over the period from 2000 to 2007. However, it seems that with high carbon prices, increasing operational flexibility has no significant effect on the carbon emissions. In policy-making, the freedom of action that is made possible by increasing operational flexibility should be taken into account when evaluating the contribution of an individual energy efficiency investment towards meeting the national targets for energy efficiency improvement and CO₂ emission reduction.     

声屏障高度对高铁(客运专线)降噪效果的影响

为探究声屏障高度对高速铁路降噪效果的影响,建立了高速铁路声屏障降噪模型.以武广客运专线某试验段为模型参照对象,采用有限元软件ANSYS和声学软件SYSNOISE,对不同条件下不同高度的直立型声屏障的降噪效果进行了仿真模拟.结果表明:列车的运行速度越大,声屏障的降噪作用越不明显;在同一运行工况下,桥梁区段声屏障的降噪效果不如路基区段声屏障.通过MATLAB数值拟合,发现各观测点的声衰减值是与声屏障高度有关的对数函数;随着声屏障高度的增加,声屏障的插入损失不是成线性比例的增加,插入损失函数的增长速率越来越小.在同时考虑降噪需要和声屏障成本的情况下,高速铁路路基区段声屏障的合适高度为3.45~3.95m;桥梁区段声屏障的合适高度在3.15m以上,在高速运行工况下,桥梁区段声屏障的高度还需增加.     

The economics of green transition strategies for cities: Can low carbon,energy efficient development approaches be adapted to demand side urban water efficiency?

Cities are major contributors to global emissions, producers of waste and consumers of resources such as energy, water and food: implementing green development strategies is hence a core challenge of modern city-planning. The attention of research has been focusing on the development of energy efficient, low carbon strategies, yet city decision-makers need truly integrated approaches, as the one proposed by the water-energy-food Nexus. The purpose of our paper is to investigate whether it is possible to take one step in this direction by extending existing approaches to energy efficiency strategies to progressively include other priority resources, in particular water. To test this hypothesis we have taken a robust and well accepted methodology, the ELCC (Economics of Low Carbon development strategies for Cities) developed by SEI and CCCEP, and we have extended it to the case of demand side water efficiency strategies for cities. We have then applied the adapted ELCC framework to the case study of the domestic sector of the city of Bologna (Italy), identifying and prioritizing several efficiency measures. Measures were evaluated through their capital investment, annual values of savings, payback period and reduction in consumption, and then aggregated in different scenarios in order to highlight potential urban investments and to showcase a possible approach to the prioritization of demand side water efficiency measures. The results show that, with an upfront investment of € 17 million, a feasible subset of Bologna’s households could be equipped with five selected cost-effective measures, generating annual savings of € 10.2 million and reducing the total domestic water consumption of 34% by 2020 compared to the 2012 initial value. With additional € 28.5 million, households could be equipped with more costly appliances reaching an overall water reduction of 37% by 2020. Our findings confirm that it is possible to successfully extend current approaches to urban energy efficiency strategies to include demand side water efficiency, adding an important building block to the construction of an integrated Nexus-based approach to green development strategies at the city-level. We encourage further tests to confirm the robustness of the methodology.     

天然沸石覆盖层控制底泥氮磷释放的影响因素

通过实验室模拟,研究了天然沸石活性覆盖层控制底泥氮磷释放的影响因素,包括天然沸石粒径、温度、覆盖层厚度以及人工曝气等,结果表明:厌氧状态下富营养化水体的底泥会释放大量的氨氮和总磷,而天然沸石覆盖层可以有效地控制氨氮的释放,并且能降低总磷的释放速率;温度、沸石粒径、覆盖层厚度和曝气对天然沸石覆盖层控制底泥氨氮的短期释放基本没有影响,而沸石粒径和覆盖层厚度对覆盖层控制氨氮的长效性影响较大,且粒径越小或者厚度越厚,控制的时间越长;温度越高,覆盖层抑制底泥总磷释放的效果越差;沸石粒径越小或者覆盖层厚度越厚,控制底泥总磷释放的效果越好;对1cm厚粒径3～5mm沸石覆盖层表面进行曝气,有助于降低底泥总磷的释放速率;而对3cm厚粒径3～5mm的沸石覆盖层表面进行曝气,总磷的控制效果反而下降;对1cm厚粒径<2mm的沸石覆盖层表面进行曝气,初期对于底泥总磷释放的控制是不利的,而后期则可以降低底泥总磷的释放速率.     

Forest biorefineries - A business opportunity for the Finnish forest cluster

Bioenergy and biomass-based products offer the greatest new opportunities for diversifying business in the forest cluster. In particular, biorefineries, which can be integrated into the pulp and paper industry, seem to have immense future potential. This article aims to explore the biorefinery concept and related new products and business operations, as well as new business strategies and company models, which are part of the biorefinery value chain. These factors, which contribute to the establishment and success of forest biorefineries, were examined using internet survey responses and compared between Scandinavia, North America and South America. This article looks at the results of the survey - primarily from the Finnish perspective - to help identify competitive advantages upon which successful business operations in the Finnish forest cluster can be built.According to the survey, the outlooks for technical and raw material choices, as well as barriers to biorefinery diffusion, are very similar in all the studied areas. Biorefineries and related energy products are considered the way to sustainably guarantee the forest cluster’s success. An increase in the price of oil motivates the development of forest biorefineries and wood-based biofuels; however, it is obvious that there is a need to revaluate from a fresh perspective the utilisation of wood and the wood-refining chain in the forest cluster.The survey respondents consider wood-based biofuel and chemical production a serious business opportunity for the forest cluster. In Finland, there is a strong confidence in the production of biofuels. However, all the countries included in the study trust in their own national strengths and in their chance to be a leading actor in the forest biorefinery business worldwide. The forest biorefinery business seems to have market potential, and global competition can thus be expected.     

Barriers to industrial energy efficiency investments in Greece

This paper sets out to investigate the main determinants of industrial decision-making process with respect to energy efficiency investments. Based on a survey among Greek industries, in the empirical analysis probit models are employed. The results support that an energy saving campaign should regard industries as subgroups with different needs and different managerial aspects. The importance of qualified employees is also established from this survey. An energy conservation framework would be more effective if the diffusion of information with regard to industrial energy saving investments is based on investment in human capital.     

An empirical analysis of energy efficiency measures applicable to cities,regions, and local governments,based on the case of South Korea’s local energy saving program

As highlighted in the outcome of the Paris Agreement at the 21st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change there has been a recent push for the stronger mitigation actions of cities, regions, and local governments. Energy efficiency is a tool that can be leveraged by not only industry or national governments but also cities, regions, and local governments for mitigation purposes. However, studies on energy efficiency as a mitigation tool thus far have focused on the national or transnational scale, and on certain sectors of industry. The purpose of this paper is to find the most cost-efficient energy efficiency measures (EEMs) at the city, region, and local government level. To that end, this paper examines the yearly energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction intensity, as well as energy savings and GHG reduction efficiency, in the case of EEMs conducted by South Korean local governments. Yearly energy savings intensity and GHG reduction intensity are estimated to be in the range of 0.094～0.375 tonne of oil equivalent (TOE)/M-KRW (million Korean won) and 0.287～1.180 tCO2e/M-KRW. Results show that inverter installation at water and sewage treatment plants and improvement of pump efficiency are the most cost-efficient EEMs. Moreover, energy savings efficiency and GHG reduction efficiency are within the range of 18.29～45.31 %, at an average of 30.5 % GHG reduction potential. If this reduction potential is applied to the buildings and facilities regulated and run by cities/local governments, there is a worldwide reduction potential of 1.023 billion tCO₂ compared to 2020 business as usual levels.     

A global assessment of adaptation investment from the perspectives of equity and efficiency

Equity and efficiency should be considered when allocating resources for climate change adaptation. More than a decade after the Least Developed Countries Fund approved adaptation funds for 18 countries in 2003, it is possible to take the stock of investment data and to test empirically whether equity and efficiency have been factored into adaptation investment decision-making. To evaluate equity, one must determine if resources were distributed to areas of greatest need. Vulnerability assessments provide information on the global distribution of the need for adaptation. To evaluate efficiency, one must compare cost and benefit of an investment. Although it is difficult to assess ex-ante the cost and benefit of investment strategies, it is possible to measure efficient use of expenditures with readiness assessment, as a metric of capacity to deploy adaptation resources. We used vulnerability and readiness measures of the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) Country Index as proxies of equity and efficiency. This article quantitatively interrogates—through the lens of public fund allocation—the roles of vulnerability and readiness in shaping adaptation investment decisions. Our findings suggest that countries facing increasing impacts from climate change have received more adaptation investments from international sources than countries with less vulnerability. Further, international investments also preferentially flow to countries that are more ready to deploy adaptation resources. Since the most vulnerable countries are likely to be less ready for investment, our findings support the efforts to improve the investment potential of the most vulnerable countries by investing first to enhance their readiness, in order to unlock adaptation solutions.     

Millennium development goals and clean development: synergies in the Pacific

This paper addresses synergies between the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and considers how the CDM can facilitate the MDGs in Pacific Island Countries (PICs). To date, only 6 CDM projects have been registered in PICs, highlighting the ‘lose-lose’ business case that applies to this type of project development. This paper identifies constraints on and opportunities for CDM project development in PICs, and proposes a range of specific policy reform measures that could alter existing negative investment profiles. Key findings are that small-scale agricultural projects providing renewable energy from existing sources of biomass (currently seen as waste) are ideal candidates for CDM investment in PICs, and that the single most important reform to facilitate CDM activity and contribute to achieving the MDGs would be the implementation of a regional approach to CDM administration, in which a regional body became the designated CDM Authority for all states in the region. This would offset investment risk, improve governance transparency, and facilitate a targeted approach to sustainable development activities in the Pacific region.     

Rural electrification in sub-Saharan Africa with innovative energy policy and new financing models

This paper discusses how the 630 million sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) people can be electrified with new government policy, new renewables, and innovative business models. These initiatives are translating the ambitious goals of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) on energy and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties 2015 Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise in this century well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 °C. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness to electrify the 630 million people within the Paris Agreement. Economic status and willingness to pay for electricity services by the poor are briefly analyzed for four new business models. Cost-effectiveness analyses on technologies are undertaken. The results show that a private investment-based financial model is the most effective and environmentally friendly in rural electrification for the poorest households in SSA. The new policy, new renewable energy technologies, and financing models are shaping contemporary climate strategies that facilitate investment in clean energy, spur community economy, enhance national energy security, and improve global environment.     

基于流程需求的施工企业安全管理信息化分析

大型施工企业下属二级企业和工程项目部多且地域分布广,施工投入大量的人员、设备物资并涉及多种施工工艺,企业本部掌握工程项目施工安全现状并实施有效监管,以及工程项目各级管理部门和人员规范落实安全工作流程,在信息采集和传递手段效率低下的条件下无法有效实现。"互联网+"在我国多行业已得到了广泛应用,在过程标准化管理、企业内部信息汇总分析、企业各业务部门信息共享方面能极大地提高效率。按照管理信息化的思维,分析施工安全管理业务流程对信息化的功能需求,构建了施工企业安全管理信息化模型,据此模型基层管理人员可标准化实施流程业务、自动真实生成工作记录资料,管理部门可及时动态掌握和监督基层安全管理工作开展现状,从而提高企业安全管理工作的高效性。     

新型介质阻挡放电反应器同时处理废气和废液研究

为了充分发挥介质阻挡放电处理污染物的能力.本研究依据介质阻挡放电降解废气和废液的原理,设计了一种介质阻挡放电同时处理废液和废气的反应器,并对模拟废气甲苯和染料废水进行处理.实验过程中对甲苯和染料废水分别单独处理和两者同时处理的效果进行了比较.结果表明,甲苯在单独处理和同染料废水同时处理时都可达到较高的降解效果,两者同时处理时甲苯的降解效率可达88.6%.并且在甲苯降解效率基本保持不变的情况下,本反应器可以实现对染料废水的同步降解,其中处理50 mg·L-1活性艳蓝60min时,降解率可达95.4%,每小时处理量为35.8 mg.通过同时处理甲苯和染料废水提高了反应器的能量利用效率.     

大型城市紧凑度与能源效率的关系研究

采用超效率DEA和熵值法测算了2003—2014年29个大型城市的能源效率与紧凑度,进而通过象限图法对城市紧凑度与能源效率的关系进行分析。分析表明,我国大型城市能源效率普遍偏低但在缓慢提升;城市紧凑度与能源效率以低级协调为主。从区域看,二者关系的地区差异明显,东部以高级协调为主,中西部低级协调关系显著。城市规模越大,紧凑度和能源效率水平越高,且城市突出关系类型由低级协调变为高级协调。剔除紧凑度外其他可能影响能源效率的因素后的象限图再次印证提高紧凑度有利于改善城市能源效率的结论。为通过提升城市紧凑度来提高能源效率,需加大公共服务和基础设施投入,加强工业用地的集约使用,完善城市功能体系,实现经济、人文和生态的多功能复合利用。     

声屏障系统设计探讨

对声屏障设计,尤其是封闭式声屏障的设计作了分析与探讨,系统地分析了声屏障设计过程中需要考虑的问题,以及跨专业的综合应用,将封闭式声屏障的系统化设计进行了总结。该总结分析对道路声屏障设计,尤其是对城市内封闭式声屏障的设计具有较大的参考与借鉴意义。