Non-cooperative and cooperative climate policies with anticipated breakthrough technology

Global warming can be curbed by pricing carbon emissions and thus substituting fossil fuel with renewable energy consumption. Breakthrough technologies (e.g., fusion energy) can reduce the cost of such policies. However, the chance of such a technology coming to market depends on investment. We model breakthroughs as an irreversible tipping point in a multi-country world, with different degrees of international cooperation. We show that international spill-over effects of R&D in carbon-free technologies lead to double free-riding, strategic over-pollution and underinvestment in green R&D, thus making climate change mitigation more difficult. We also show how the demand structure determines whether carbon pricing and R&D policies are substitutes or complements.     

德国可再生能源利用现状与减少CO2排放量的探讨

联邦德国为了降低矿物燃料的消耗并减少ＣＯ２的排放量,在发展和利用再生能源方面作出了巨大的努力。本文阐述了德国可再生能源的利用现状,分析了利用可再生能源的技术,经济方面的问题,讨论了减少ＣＯ２排放理的有效方法。     

Local opposition against high-voltage grids: public responses to agency-caused science–policy trolls

High-voltage (hV) transmission grids are projects of societal importance that potentially have controversial social and environmental impacts. Former research shows that public opposition is sparked by the perception of negative local impacts and unjust concessionary processes. In this paper, we complement these perspectives by assessing the institutional practices of the regulatory agencies in dealing with scientific uncertainties. The regulatory agencies’ ‘ways of doing things’ are often designed to serve policy and management needs. A critical point is that the demarcation between scientifically based facts, values and assessments is often blurred in the decision-making process. This paper draws on two Norwegian case studies to investigate how the regulatory agencies dealt with (1) electromagnetic fields and health risks and (2) overhead lines versus sea cables. We argue that ambiguities and uncertainties that arise in the hV transmission line processes create ‘trolls’, and we explore how the local inhabitants and affected stakeholders in the two cases responded to these and how it triggered further opposition. By investigating how and why trolls appear and are handled, we conclude by discussing how public opposition related to hV transmission grids may be reduced – and how some ‘trolls’ may crack.     

Simple relationships between the ionization energies of one-, two- and three-electron ions of consecutive elements

The ionization energy of one-electron ions can be calculated from a well-known equation that is based on quantum mechanics and on the Bohr model, but no theoretically justified equation is available for the calculation of the ionization energies of multi-electron ions. I report here simple empirical relationships between the ionization energies of one-, two- and three-electron ions of elements whose atomic numbers are Z, Z + 1 and Z + 2. On the basis of these relationships, an equation was constructed for the calculation of the ionization energies of two- and three-electron ions (IE(2el)(Z) and IE(3el)(Z), respectively) as a function of Z only: [equation: see text] where N = the number of electrons, i.e. 2 or 3. For N = 3, this equation is only valid when Z > N, being inaccurate for the neutral Li atom. Graphs of the difference between calculated and experimental values of the ionization energies as a function of Z reveal inaccurate experimental results that are impossible to detect by inspection of the ionization energy itself. On the basis of the present results, more accurate values can be predicted for these ionization energies. A striking example is the inaccuracy of the traditional handbook value of IE(3el)(Fe).     

(Why) did Desertec fail? An interim analysis of a large-scale renewable energy infrastructure project from a Social Studies of Technology perspective

ABSTRACT

In 2009 the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) was founded by several, predominant German enterprises. The objective of DII was to organise the conditions for the realisation of the Desertec idea, which aimed to both (a) supply Europe, in a large-scale manner, with electricity produced in solar power plants in North Africa and the Arabic peninsula and (b) contribute to the self-supply of the Middle East North Africa region (MENA). Protagonists of the desert energy idea saw this megatechnic project as a starting point for a new trans-Mediterranean EU-MENA union, critics in contrast as a neo-colonial project. Disputes over the adequate interpretation and implementation of the Desertec idea broke out from the beginning. In 2014/2015, the media talked of the failure of DII and of the Desertec concept. The majority of the members left DII at the end of 2014. On the other hand, in some MENA countries renewables are playing a crucial role in securing the future of the energy sector. This paper analyses the development of DII and the Desertec idea by using concepts from Social Studies in Technology, and especially by the multi-level perspective approach in Transition Studies. It shows how the interplay of different factors, such as technological developments, entrepreneurial performances and political processes, lead to internal conflicts and the non-realisation – up to now – of related large-scale energy projects. As an important aspect of the paper, different understandings of the future of our energy supply and of North–South relations are presented in detail.     

The composition,heating value and renewable share of the energy content of mixed municipal solid waste in Finland

For the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from waste incineration it is essential to know the share of the renewable energy content of the combusted waste. The composition and heating value information is generally available, but the renewable energy share or heating values of different fractions of waste have rarely been determined.In this study, data from Finnish studies concerning the composition and energy content of mixed MSW were collected, new experimental data on the compositions, heating values and renewable share of energy were presented and the results were compared to the estimations concluded from earlier international studies. In the town of Lappeenranta in south-eastern Finland, the share of renewable energy ranged between 25% and 34% in the energy content tests implemented for two sample trucks. The heating values of the waste and fractions of plastic waste were high in the samples compared to the earlier studies in Finland. These high values were caused by good source separation and led to a low share of renewable energy content in the waste. The results showed that in mixed municipal solid waste the renewable share of the energy content can be significantly lower than the general assumptions (50–60%) when the source separation of organic waste, paper and cardboard is carried out successfully. The number of samples was however small for making extensive conclusions on the results concerning the heating values and renewable share of energy and additional research is needed for this purpose.     

Renewable Energy Legislation in China: Political and Institutional Strategy for Effective Implementation

Abstract

Over the past decade, the Chinese government has developed several plans regulations and policy measures related to the development of renewable energy technologies and has implemented a series of pilot projects. Chinese policymakers have spent several years studying how renewable energy policy models that have been used internationally could be implemented in China. Programs are currently underway to implement pilot renewable portfolio standards, or mandatory market shares (MMS) for renewable energy, in several provinces. This paper examines the primary institutions that are involved in promoting renewable policies in China, the structure of the policies that currently are being drafted, and the status of the complementary, national-level renewable energy law being drafted to provide a legal basis for ongoing local and national-level policies. It then examines the legal requirements for promoting renewable energy legislation under the Chinese law-making system. Finally, it provides recommendations for strategies to ensure the smooth implementation of a multi-faceted national renewable energy policy and legal framework.     

Biomass as the Renewable Energy Sources in Malaysia: An Overview

Past and current economic growths of Malaysia have been primarily energized by fossil fuels. Malaysia has very substantial potential for biomass energy utilization given its equatorial climate that is ideal for dense tropical forest growth and agricultural vegetation. There are five major sectors contributing wastes to biomass energy in Malaysia: forestry (wood products), rubber cultivation, cocoa cultivation, sugar cane cultivation and oil palm cultivation. Biomass in Malaysia contributes about 14% of the approximately 340 million barrel of oil equivalent (boe) of energy used every year. This paper provides an overview on the types of biomass being used, the research works on biomass conversion into energy and the present biomass energy projects in Malaysia.     

Turkish Sugar Production Potential and Use of Waste of Sugar Beet as Energy Source

Abstract

Biomass energy is the most renewable energy resource in the world. Biomass energy is derived from plant and animal material, such as wood from forests, residues from agricultural and forestry processes, and industrial, human or animal wastes. The production of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel has the potential to replace significant quantities of fossil fuels in many transport applications, electricity, generate heat and steam, etc. In this study, Turkish sugar sector and sugar capacity, residue quantitiy and its possibility of utilization is examined.