Commuting lives: children's mobility and energy use

Globally, the issue of energy use and climate change is at the forefront of many national and international agendas, and also an issue central to children's lives and well-being. This paper examines how children are both affected by and contribute to the problems associated with unsustainable energy use as it relates to the growth of car dependent lives. The paper presents the findings of a study of travel as it relates to the everyday lives of children in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. The study found that children currently lead complex car dependent lives. This extensive car reliance presents a serious and largely unrecognised challenge to the sustainable planning and management of the urban environment. The move towards more sustainable transportation can bring benefits for both the environment and for children's lives.     

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.     

The fate of the poor in growing mineral and energy economies

There are frequent suggestions that countries specializing in mineral and energy extraction have a type of growth that is bad for the poor. Others claim that extraction-led growth is particularly good for the poor. Both claims are made without the support of substantial empirical evidence. This paper uses longitudinal data on income growth by quintile in 57 developed and developing countries to statistically assess how mineral and energy extraction has affected the relationship between growth and the poor. We can find no evidence that the data support either the claim that extraction-led growth is good for the poor or that extraction-led growth is bad for the poor. This finding does not rule out that extractive activity can have special positive or negative impacts on the poor in some countries or regions. Rather, it simply brings to light that such effects are not evident as a persistent statistical phenomenon in the national level data that are available, which may be why the debate tends to move along without resolution.     

Renewable energy: Biomass power and biofuels as alternative sustainable energy sources

This article describes biomass fuels as renewable and sustainable energy resources in Minnesota as well as across the United States. This country has long benefited from surplus supplies of diverse energy resources, while our dependency on foreign petroleum supplies and domestic coal reserves has only recently prompted Congress to recognize the importance of renewable and alternative fuels such as biomass energy. Our further utilization of biomass power and biofuels can be an important step in altering our dependency on both coal and petroleum while simultaneously reducing carbon dioxide emissions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Unpacking the spaces and politics of energy poverty: path-dependencies,deprivation and fuel switching in post-communist Hungary

This paper focuses on the embeddedness of energy poverty – understood as the inability to secure a socially and materially necessitated level of energy services in the home – in the socio-technical legacies inherited from past development trajectories, as well as broader economic and institutional landscapes. Using Hungary as an example, we explore the recent expansion of energy poverty across different demographic and income groups. While much of the mainstream literature focuses on cases where energy poverty affects distinct social groups and issues, our analyses examine the systemic implications of a form of deprivation that involves a much wider range of social and spatial strata. We develop a framework that highlights the different ways in which inadequate access to energy services has resulted in the emergence of new political reconfigurations among a variety of actors, while prompting the articulation of household strategies with far-reaching structural consequences.     

ISO 14000: The worldwide reaction of industry and governments

Awareness of the ISO 14000 standards is increasing around the world. There is a general acceptance of the need for such standards to promote environmental protection and international trade, but concerns exist regarding potential trade barriers. This article provides some insights into the varying attitudes toward ISO 14000 in countries from all parts of the globe.     

Mitigation of power sector environmental emissions through energy efficiency improvements: the case of Pakistan

This paper assesses the potential of selected efficient electrical appliances for avoiding power generation and for mitigation of selected air pollutants from the power sector in Pakistan from technical as well as national, utility and user perspectives. The study shows that about 14, 21 and 35% of the total CO₂, SO₂and NO_xemissions in the business as usual (BAU) case could be avoided by the adoption of selected efficient appliances during 1997–2015 from the national perspective, while the corresponding figures from the user perspective are 12, 17 and 29%, respectively. All selected efficient appliances would be cost effective to the users if electricity prices were set at the long-run marginal cost of supply.1998 Academic Press     

Southwest climate gap: poverty and environmental justice in the US Southwest

This article examines the “climate gap” in the Southwest US (Arizona and New Mexico), referring to the “disproportionate and unequal implications of climate change and climate change mitigation” for “people of color and the poor” [Shonkoff, S.B., et al., 2011. The climate gap: environmental health and equity implications of climate change mitigation policies in California. Climatic Change, 109 (Suppl. 1), S485–S503]. The climate and poverty relationship is examined using multi-scaled analysis across three indicators of climate vulnerability, focusing on connections to health, food, and energy during the period 2010–2012. We provide an overview of climate-related social vulnerability in the Southwest based on available federal, state, and county-level census data. We then summarise the results from a stakeholder workshop and in-depth interviews about climate vulnerabilities with social service providers in southern Arizona. We identify a significant Southwest climate gap based on census data and interview findings about climate vulnerability especially relating to high levels of poverty, health disparities, and increasing costs for energy, water, and food. We find that grassroots and community organisations have mobilised to respond to climate and social vulnerability, yet resources for mitigation and adaptation are insufficient given the high level of need. Confronting a changing climate that is projected to be hotter, drier, and with the potential to reach new thresholds, we suggest that more research needs to be done to understand the social and spatial characteristics of climate risk and how low-income populations embody and experience climate risk, and adapt to a changing climate.     

Development of sustainable energy systems in Swedish municipalities: A matter of path dependency and power relations

Case studies of two Swedish municipalities indicate that the general energy area was divided into three independent policy areas: one dealing with supply, one with conservation and one with environmental questions related to the Agenda 21 vision of an ecologically sustainable energy system. However, the dominant energy policy area in the municipalities was supply policy. This article discusses why supply policy is dominant and the consequences of this for energy system development. Analysis of this pattern reveals that powerful actors, such as local energy companies, were able to mobilize support for supply policies, not least because they owned the energy plants and distribution networks. These actors were also represented in many different decision arenas; in contrast, actors representing the other energy policy areas often lacked power and resources, and were represented in only a few decision arenas.     

Development of sustainable energy systems in Swedish municipalities: A matter of path dependency and power relations

Abstract

Case studies of two Swedish municipalities indicate that the general energy area was divided into three independent policy areas: one dealing with supply, one with conservation and one with environmental questions related to the Agenda 21 vision of an ecologically sustainable energy system. However, the dominant energy policy area in the municipalities was supply policy. This article discusses why supply policy is dominant and the consequences of this for energy system development. Analysis of this pattern reveals that powerful actors, such as local energy companies, were able to mobilize support for supply policies, not least because they owned the energy plants and distribution networks. These actors were also represented in many different decision arenas; in contrast, actors representing the other energy policy areas often lacked power and resources, and were represented in only a few decision arenas.     

Fuel poverty and vulnerability in the EU low-carbon transition: the case of renewable electricity

The European Union (EU) and member states alike are following a tradition of addressing fuel poverty and vulnerability at the point of purchase by final consumers by seeking to influence the impact of income, energy price and the built environment on the ability of household consumers to access the energy that they need. By focusing on the conditions of energy transmission in the most rapidly growing renewable electricity sector in the UK – offshore wind – this paper aims to question whether the regulatory socio-technological framing of renewable electricity transmission is reproducing conditions for fuel poverty and vulnerability in the UK. By drawing a comparison with renewable electricity transmission in Bulgaria, this paper argues that the problem might be symptomatic of the EU as a whole. While not arguing against the proliferation of renewable electricity and its importance in meeting the 2020 targets, this paper calls for expanding the scope of fuel poverty alleviation policy throughout the whole renewable electricity supply chain, building on Helm's argument that energy companies at the middle of the supply chain are better suited to deliver fuel policy.     

Monitoring and targeting the sanitation poor: A multidimensional approach

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) are at the core of sustainable development. As we embark on a new round of global goals, namely the Sustainable Development Goals, a top priority is to address a coherent framework for monitoring these services. In the coming years, the sector will witness the development of a variety of multidimensional monitoring measures, albeit from different perspectives. This paper reviews the relevant literature and discusses the adequacy and applicability of one approach that is increasingly adopted for multidimensional poverty measurement at the household level, the Alkire‐Foster methodology. Drawing on this method, we identify and combine a set of direct household‐related water and sanitation deprivations that batter a person at the same time. This new multidimensional measure is useful for gaining a better understanding of the context in which WaSH services are delivered. It captures both the incidence and intensity of WaSH poverty, and provides a new tool to support monitoring and reporting. For illustrative purposes, one small town in Mozambique is selected as the initial case study.     

Improving the dynamic response of frequency and power in a wind integrated power system by optimal design of compensated superconducting magnetic energy storage

The frequency deviation and power fluctuation need to be controlled in a wind-integrated power system (WIPS) for keeping the balance between system power generation and demand, which support the quality and stability of overall power system. The present paper addresses this problem while concerning the integration of intermittent wind power and load disturbance into the WIPS. With this intent, it proposes the compensated superconducting magnetic energy storage (CSMES) system with proportional integral derivative (PID) controller for improving the frequency and power deviation profile. A novel swarm intelligence-based artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is used for optimal design of PID-CSMES system. Robustness of the proposed ABC-based PID-CSMES control strategy is tested in WIPS under various disturbance patterns of load and wind power. To demonstrate the improved dynamic response, their simulation results are compared with particle swarm optimization-based PID-CSMES, PID with SMES, and only PID controller technique. The performance indices and transient response characteristics of frequency and power deviation are used to evaluate and compare the accuracy and efficiency of each controller. Stability of various system configurations is analyzed using eigenvalue location. Comparing the results of different controller in WIPS indicates a substantial improvement in the dynamic response of system frequency and power deviations by utilizing the proposed control strategy.     

气田水恶臭治理技术优选及效果评价

通过对气田水溢出恶臭气体现状分析,评估气田水含硫气体不同恶臭治理技术的效果及适用性,提出碱洗法恶臭治理技术推广应用的措施及建议。碱洗法在高含硫气田水池有广阔的应用前景,其中臭气的密闭与收集、碱洗-活性炭一体化技术的发展完善,将使其在气田水的恶臭污染防治上均获得广泛应用。     

Integration of CO2 capture unit using single- and blended-amines into supercritical coal-fired power plants: Implications for emission and energy management

This work provides the essential information and approaches for integration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture units into power plants, particularly the supercritical type, so that energy utilization and CO₂ emissions can be well managed in the subject power plants. An in-house model, developed at the University of Regina, Canada, was successfully used for simulating a 500 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant with a post-combustion CO₂ capture unit. The simulations enabled sensitivity and parametric study of the net efficiency of the power plant, the coal consumption rate, and the amounts of CO₂ captured and avoided. The parameters of interest include CO₂ capture efficiency, type of coal, flue gas delivery scheme, type of amine used in the capture unit, and steam pressure supplied to the capture unit for solvent regeneration. The results show that the advancement of MEA-based CO₂ capture units through uses of blended monoethanolamine–methyldiethanolamine (MEA–MDEA) and split flow configuration can potentially make the integration of power plant and CO₂ capture unit less energy intensive. Despite the increase in energy penalty, it may be worth capturing CO₂ at a higher efficiency to achieve greater CO₂ emissions avoided. The flue gas delivery scheme and the steam pressure drawn from the power plant to the CO₂ capture unit should be considered for process integration.     

Wave energy vs. other energy sources: A reassessment of the economics

The large scatter in the predictions of wave energy costs, which is caused in part by the simplifications assumed by existing models, is a hindrance for the development of this promising renewable. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to reassess the cost of wave energy taking into account a number of elements that are usually overlooked, or not considered simultaneously. This analysis has been performed in relation to the European context. The direct and indirect costs of a wave farm are examined, and a value for each is presented. The levelized cost (€/MWh) of wave energy is then calculated for different scenarios in order to compare the profitability of wave energy with that of other energy sources. After that, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to identify the main parameters affecting the total cost, considering in particular the effect on the levelized cost of considering: (i) the cost reductions arising from economies of scale and technological effects; (ii) an O&M cost variable throughout the useful life of the farm; and (iii) the externalities. In sum, this work sets the basis for a thorough economic comparison of wave energy with other sources of energy.