Different sources of rural household energy consumption and influencing factors in Dazu,China

Rural household energy consumption is an important component of national energy consumption. This paper explores the rural household energy consumption status and influencing factors on different sources of rural household energy consumption in western China. Using data from a survey of 240 households conducted in 2017, this study finds that rural households’ energy consumption structure in the study area is a combination of traditional biomass energy and commercial energy sources. Fuelwood is the most commonly used fuel in the study area, while modern energy sources only occupy a low proportion. Rural household energy consumption is influenced by various factors. Individual perceptions of climate change, social trust and networks, and households’ socio-economic and demographic factors (gender, age, education, income per capita, household size, household location, and number of household appliances) are identified as having significant effects on rural households’ consumption of biomass and commercial energies. The research results provide implications for policy makers to formulate related rural energy policies to improve the rural energy consumption structure and future energy policy design in China and other developing countries.

     

Renewable Energy

The Energy Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has in a series of projects gathered information and knowledge on renewable energy from various sources, both within and outside the academic world. In this article, we synthesize and summarize some of the main points on renewable energy from the various Energy Committee projects and the Committee’s Energy 2050 symposium, regarding energy from water and wind, bioenergy, and solar energy. We further summarize the Energy Committee’s scenario estimates of future renewable energy contributions to the global energy system, and other presentations given at the Energy 2050 symposium. In general, international coordination and investment in energy research and development is crucial to enable future reliance on renewable energy sources with minimal fossil fuel use.     

Household energy consumption in Switzerland

Households consume more energy embodied in goods and services than they consume with energy carriers. Thus, energy assessments need to address both direct consumption and indirect consumption via commodities. This paper first presents a conceptual framework for describing and analysing the direct and indirect energy use of households. The framework is based on material flux analysis and differentiates between four household activities feeding, housing, transporting and consuming. Secondly, Swiss data on household energy consumption are presented and discussed in the context of household size, technology and consumption behaviour. It is shown that these factors considerably shape per capita energy demand. The third part presents energy projections based on trend assumptions for demographic and technological developments for the next 30 years. When zero growth per capita in commodities consumption is assumed, overall energy demand will increase by about 5%, mainly due to strong increases in gasoline demand. When the growth rate of commodities consumption exceeds 0.3% per year, embodied energy demand will offset efficiency gains achieved by technological improvements in the economic and domestic sectors and will fuel overall energy growth.     

Surface fluxes and atmospheric stability obtained from a surface energy balance model with parameters estimated from satellite remote sensing

A linear programming model is proposed to find the energy strategy for reducing carbon dioxide emission in Taiwan. Scenarios that include energy switching and energy conservation under different emission levels are considered, and the corresponding economic impacts are evaluated. Emissions from thirty-nine sectors are reduced by two major mechanisms. Energy switching is assumed to be induced by energy price change, whereas energy conservation is assumed only in the four most energy-intensive sectors. The results show the economic impact on gross domestic product under different energy scenarios. Appropriate energy strategies for carbon dioxide emission reduction could be implemented based on the scenario analysis.     

Does regional energy consumption disparities assist to control environmental degradation in OBOR: an entropy approach

China launched the One Belt & One Road (OBOR) initiative to minimize the energy resource shortage. The China’s nearby countries are rich in energy resources especially Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asian countries which make them ideal locations to cooperate with China in terms of energy resources, as 42.8% of world energy consumption belongs to OBOR countries. The present study elaborates the spatial distribution pattern of energy consumption disparities and its impact on environment. To do this, an entropy approach is utilized to compute the energy consumption inequalities in OBOR and its regions. The spatial and Pareto analysis show that MENA, East, and Southeast Asian economies have the highest degree of energy consumption inequalities, while European and Central Asian economies show the lowest energy consumption inequalities in OBOR region. The long-run estimates indicate that energy consumption inequalities enhance the CO₂ emission in OBOR and its region except South and Southeast Asia. Financial development also has a significantly positive impact on CO₂ emission in all models for OBOR and its regions except East Asia. Based on findings, the spatial distribution analysis is applicable to maintain balance in regional energy consumption inequality within OBOR and its regions.

     

Modeling the non-linear relationship between financial development and energy consumption: statistical experience from OECD countries

The linkage between financial development and energy consumption is widely investigated in the literature. However, the non-linear relationship between financial development and energy demand is still under debate. Therefore, this study aims to examine the non-linear relationship between financial development, economic growth, and energy consumption in OECD countries. The study uses the Driscoll–Kraay standard errors panel regression model for spanning from 1980 to 2016. The empirical findings indicate that an inverted U-shape relationship exists between financial development and energy consumption as well as between economic growth and energy consumption. Moreover, the feedback hypothesis is found between financial development and energy use. Additionally, income and energy use granger cause each other. The innovative findings contribute to extant literature, which is of special interest to the country’s policymakers regarding energy efficiency.

     

Potential of conservation agriculture modules for energy conservation and sustainability of rice-based production systems of Indo-Gangetic Plain region

Rice-based cropping systems are the most energy-intensive production systems in South Asia. Sustainability of the rice-based cropping systems is nowadays questioned with declining natural resource base, soil degradation, environmental pollution, and declining factor productivity. As a consequence, the search for energy and resource conservation agro-techniques is increasing for sustainable and cleaner production. Conservation agriculture (CA) practices have been recommended for resource conservation, soil health restoration and sustaining crop productivity. The present study aimed to assess the different CA modules in rice-based cropping systems for energy conservation, energy productivity, and to define energy-economic relations. A field experiment consisted of four different tillage-based crop establishment practices (puddled-transplanted rice followed by (fb) conventional-till maize/wheat (CTTPR-CT), non-puddled transplanted rice fb zero-till maize/wheat (NPTPR-ZT), zero-till transplanted rice fb zero-till maize/wheat (ZTTPR-ZT), zero-till direct-seeded rice fb zero-till maize/wheat (ZTDSR-ZT)), with two residue management treatments (residue removal, residue retention) in rice–wheat and rice–maize rotations were evaluated for energy budgeting and energy-economic relations. Conservation-tillage treatments (NPTPR-ZT, ZTTPR-ZT, and ZTDSR-ZT) reduced the energy requirements over conventional tillage treatments, with the greater reduction in ZTTPR-ZT and ZTDSR-ZT treatments. Savings of energy in conservation-tillage treatments were attributed to reduced energy use in land preparation (69–100%) and irrigation (23–27%), which consumed a large amount of fuel energy. Conservation-tillage treatments increased grain and straw/stover yields of crops, eventually increased the output energy (6–16%), net energy (14–26%), energy ratio (25–33%), and energy productivity (23–34%) as compared with CTTPR-CT. For these energy parameters, the treatment order was ZTDSR-ZT ≥ ZTTPR-ZT > NPTPR-ZT > CTTPR-CT (p < 0.05). Crop residue retention reduced net energy, energy ratio, and energy productivity when compared with residue removal. Our results of energy-economic relations favored the “conservative hypothesis,” which envisages that energy and monetary investments are not essentially the determinants of crop productivity. Thus, zero tillage-based crop establishments (ZTTPR-ZT, ZTDSR-ZT) in rice-based production systems could be the sustainable alternative to conventional tillage-based agriculture (CTTPR-CT) as they conserved non-renewable energy sources, reduced water requirement, and increased crop productivity.

     

The Energy for Growing and Maintaining Cities

Herein we develop a means to differentiate between the energy required to expand and the energy required to maintain the economies of cities. A nonlinear model is tested against historical data for two cities, Hong Kong and Singapore. A robust fit is obtained for Hong Kong, with energy for maintenance close to that for growth, while Singapore, with a weaker fit, is growth dominated. The findings suggest that decreases in either of the per unit maintenance or growth demands can simultaneously cause gross domestic product (GDP) and total energy use to increase. Furthermore, increasing maintenance demands can significantly limit growth in energy demand and GDP. Thus, the low maintenance demands for Hong Kong, and especially Singapore, imply that, all other things being equal, GDP and energy use of these cities will continue to grow, though Singapore’s higher energy use for growth means it will require more energy than Hong Kong.     

Panel Discussion on Energy Efficiency

The session on energy efficiency had no formal presentations and was organized as a panel discussion with four panelists. It was concluded that energy efficiency and saving measures on the short term is the most effective way to contribute to a sustainable energy system. Measures to improve and encourage energy efficiency should be implemented at all levels; municipal/local, national and super-national. Prices can be an effective instrument but need to be combined with systemic level measures. The transport sector was identified as the one with largest near future potential for increased energy efficiency. Agriculture and food is also an area with very large energy consumption and large potential for increased energy efficiency. The global population issue is yet another relevant, challenging and complex issue. It was noted that energy audits for end users in business and society increase awareness and insights into what they pay for, and they are likely to promote actions to save energy. Many measures are believed to suffer from Jevin’s paradox, i.e., that more efficient use of energy just leads to more energy consumption somewhere else. Many examples were given, however, where this does not happen. Another point put forward was that measures to make the energy system more efficient do not only mean constraints and regulations but also create great opportunities for market actors and societies.     

The global contribution of energy consumption by product exports from China

This paper presents a model to analyze the mechanism of the global contribution of energy usage by product exports. The theoretical analysis is based on the perspective that contribution estimates should be in relatively smaller sectors in which the production characteristics could be considered, such as the productivity distribution for each sector. Then, we constructed a method to measure the global contribution of energy usage. The simple method to estimate the global contribution is the percentage of goods export volume compared to the GDP as a multiple of total energy consumption, but this method underestimates the global contribution because it ignores the structure of energy consumption and product export in China. According to our measurement method and based on the theoretical analysis, we calculated the global contribution of energy consumption only by industrial manufactured product exports in a smaller sector per industry or manufacturing sector. The results indicated that approximately 42% of the total energy usage in the whole economy for China in 2013 was contributed to foreign regions. Along with the primary products and service export in China, the global contribution of energy consumption for China in 2013 by export was larger than 42% of the total energy usage.     

Evaluation of energy intensity of transport service sectors in Vietnam

This research analyses energy intensity of transport service sectors in Vietnam and its changing trend in the past years using IO tables and LMDI decomposition method. Energy consumption of 38 economic sectors in 2007, 2012 and 2018 is determined, of which transport service sectors were the second largest energy consumer (17.71 Mtoe), occupied 18.5% of total energy consumed in Vietnamese economy in 2018. In terms of energy intensity, a rising trend is seen in all transport service sectors, of which four most important transport services including bus and other road passenger transport, freight transport service by road and pipeline, waterway shipping freight and aviation passenger reached 0.62 kgoe/USD, 0.72 kgoe/USD, 0.60 kgoe/USD and 0.62 kgoe/USD in 2018, respectively. The ineffective structural change and ineffective energy intensity change are the reasons behind the upward trend in these sectors. Using Leontief inverse, the study also unveils how demanded on transport services by other economic sectors in terms of energy and how much energy embodied in all inputs of any economic sector. In order to keep the energy intensity stable and gradually decreasing, the recommendations are focused on effectiveness in structural changes and improvements in energy efficiency.

     

Renewable energy and energy-saving initiatives in Greece: policy and experience

Energy policy is a key issue for economic and environmental policies. Indeed, energy is an indispensable element for economic development while, on the other hand, it causes severe environmental problems. In this context, a pressure for using renewable energy resources and for energy saving has emerged and expanded in recent years. As a result, energy policy is being reoriented under the new conditions. This paper examines this reorientation and its results in Greece where the bioclimatic conditions are in favour of renewable energy resources and energy-saving projects.     

Does the level of renewable energy matter in the effect of economic growth on environmental pollution? New evidence from PSTR analysis

This study investigates the relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth in the context of renewable energy in OECD countries using the panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model for 1995–2018. The study finds the value of the threshold variable, calculated as the share of renewable energy use in total energy consumption, to be 7.825%. In this context, economic growth affects the environment negatively and increases environmental pollution when the share of renewable energy use in energy consumption is below the threshold. When this share is above the threshold, it reduces environmental pollution by affecting the environment positively. In addition, the findings reveal a non-linear inverted U-shaped relationship between the environment and economic growth in the context of renewable energy, and the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid. Therefore, the widespread use of renewable energy is a solution to reducing environmental pollution. Accordingly, it is very important for policymakers to both highlight and encourage renewable energy use. Furthermore, countries need to both invest in this area and focus on R&D to increase renewable energy production.

     

Burning Water: A Comparative Analysis of the Energy Return on Water Invested

While various energy-producing technologies have been analyzed to assess the amount of energy returned per unit of energy invested, this type of comprehensive and comparative approach has rarely been applied to other potentially limiting inputs such as water, land, and time. We assess the connection between water and energy production and conduct a comparative analysis for estimating the energy return on water invested (EROWI) for several renewable and non-renewable energy technologies using various Life Cycle Analyses. Our results suggest that the most water-efficient, fossil-based technologies have an EROWI one to two orders of magnitude greater than the most water-efficient biomass technologies, implying that the development of biomass energy technologies in scale sufficient to be a significant source of energy may produce or exacerbate water shortages around the globe and be limited by the availability of fresh water.     

Current and future perspectives on energy use and environmental impact

Energy consumption throughout the world contributes to pollution, environmental deterioration, and greenhouse gas emissions. Increases in energy consumption are usually driven by population growth and economic development that tends to increase energy use per capita. Thus, the projected increase in population in the near future, and the economic development that is likely in many countries, have serious implications for the environment. Since the early 1980s the relationship between energy use and environmental impact has received attention, and a number of activities have focused on this topic. In this paper, four important areas related to current and future patterns of environmental impact are introduced and discussed in detail: environmental impact, energy consumption, energy efficiency and conservation, and fuel substitution. We conclude that further political, economic and institutional changes from the standpoint of environmental impact appear to be necessary for future energy policies. To this end, energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy resources can play important roles in controlling and reducing environmental impact.     

Subisokinetic Sampling Errors for Aircraft Turbine Engine Smoke Probes

The years 2012 and beyond seem likely to record major changes in energy use and power generation. The Japanese tsunami has resulted in large countries either scaling back or abolishing the future use of nuclear energy. The discovery of what seems like vast amounts of economically deliverable natural gas has many forecasting a rapid switch from coal- to gas-fired generating plants. On the other hand, environmentalists have strong objections to the production of natural gas and of petroleum by hydraulic fracturing from shale, or by extraction of heavy oil. They believe that global warming from the use of fossil fuels is now established beyond question. There has been rapid progress in the development of alternative energy supplies, particularly from on-shore and off-shore wind. Progress toward a viable future energy mix has been slowed by a U.S. energy policy that seems to many to be driven by politics. The author will review the history of power and energy to put all of the above in context and will look at possible future developments. He will propose what he believes to be an idealized energy policy that could result in an optimum system that would be arrived at democratically.

Implications The combustion energy sector is believed to be a dominant component of environmental pollution. A multitude of technologies support this sector and many have the potential to replace elements of this sector with low-polluting processes. This review covers a selection of energy production technologies that are important for the future. A historical perspective is provided to advance the general knowledge about these technologies as options for the world's increasing demand for energy. In addition, a decarbonization policy option for an energy fee is proposed as an alternative to carbon taxation or cap-and-trade approaches.     

Heat storage material: a hope in solar thermal

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Solar energy is a vast renewable energy source, but uncertainty in the demand and supply of energy due to various geographical regions raises a...     

Review on phase change materials for solar energy storage applications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The energy storage application plays a vital role in the utilization of the solar energy technologies. There are various types of the energy storage...     

A review on solar-powered cooling systems coupled with parabolic dish collector and linear Fresnel reflector

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Solar energy is the most sustainable and free source to manage the world energy demand. One aspect of solar-driven energy supply can be observed in...     

Impact of environmental investment and resource endowment on regional energy efficiency: evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - As a key economic resource, energy plays an important and strategic role in the national economy. Conserving energy and improving energy efficiency...