Oil and power industries’ responses to EU emissions trading: laggards or low-carbon leaders?

ABSTRACT

How have petroleum and power companies and their European industry associations responded to the EU emissions trading system (ETS)? Responses can be political, directed externally towards the initiation and reforms of the EU ETS itself, or internally and market-based, directed at low-carbon solutions. Proactive response strategies shape companies’ leadership potential. Variation in responses is explained by two models that differ in assumptions about corporate behaviour as well as the wider multilevel regulatory context in which companies operate. Responses are found to have converged within the two industries, with reactive companies following the proactive ones. Secondly, responses between the two industries increasingly diverge, with the power industry becoming much more proactive than the petroleum industry. The main explanation is found in the differing relevance of the two models and the wider regulatory context, particularly differing exposure to international competition and weak international climate agreements.     

Microbial fuel cells: Advances in electrode modifications for improvement of system performance

There is an increasing trend to conduct the researches related to Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) in the recent years. Limited power output has been the major obstacle for the practical application and upscaling of MFCs. Attempts have been made on electrode modifications such as anode treatments, cathode modifications with catalysts and bio cathodes developments to produce varying degrees of improved output current depending upon the types of modifications. Power density and Coulombic efficiency have been considered as the important parameters to analyze the system performances. This paper overviews on the advances made in MFCs’ researches focusing on different types of electrodes modifications along with the involved methodology. Furthermore, the system performances of different modified MFCs are compared in terms of the power density and the Coulombic efficiency.     

A case study of an isolated wind powered electricity system meeting 100% of local demand

Using meteorological and electricity demand data for a 4-year period, electricity demand in Shetland was modeled to provide an estimate of the demand over a 30-year period from 1 January 1981. That modeled demand was then compared to estimated wind power output over the same period using the WAsP model. The wind farm output was estimated for a range of sizes of wind farm up to the consented 370 MW Viking Wind Farm in Shetland. Some wind power was available for 94% of the time and the 370 MW wind farm would meet 100% of demand for nearly 80% of the time. The statistics of single and accumulated deficits were calculated for a range of wind farms and estimates of the amount of additional generation capacity and additional power requirements were assessed. The study suggests that with storage, wind power in Shetland could meet all electricity demand in Shetland at around £130 to £150/MWh (excluding subsidy) and with a grid connection allowing the sale of excess power, those costs could be reduced.     

Green energy generation by pressure retarded osmosis: State of the art and technical advancement—review

Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) is a method for converting salinity gradients to power by allowing water to flow through a semi-permeable membrane against an applied hydraulic pressure. PRO already has a long history, starting from the middle of the last century, and has rapidly improved in recent years. In this paper, we present a historical development of PRO since its inception: the development of this renewable energy process has gone through several stages, depending on technological developments, worldwide energy demands, and environmental concerns. The technological progress of the process is also studied, as well as its cost viability and environmental impact. Finally, some ideas to further develop the PRO process and mitigate its detrimental effects are discussed.     

Offshore wind power potential of the Black Sea region in Turkey

Majority of the studies on offshore wind power potential assessment is limited to the examination of the wind speed only. This study examines the offshore wind power potential of the Black Sea coastal region in Turkey based on location selection criteria including territorial waters, military areas, civil aviation, shipping routes, pipelines and underground cables, social, and environmental concerns. Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP) is used to do the statistical analysis of wind speed and wind direction data for 20 locations in the Black Sea coastal region. WAsP results are then elaborated based on the location selection criteria for better assessment of offshore wind power utilization. The study reveals that there are limited numbers of locations for offshore wind power generation in the Black Sea region in spite of its long coastline. Moreover, there is a high need for a zoning change for Amasra shores in order to utilize high offshore wind power potential of Amasra. Our finding suggests that location selection criteria other than wind speed should definitely be considered for better assessment of the wind power potential of a region.     

Health benefits valuation of regulatory intervention for air pollution control in thermal power plants in Delhi,India

This study estimates minimum marginal health benefits (morbidity reduction only) of air pollution control and total health benefits arising from regulatory intervention regarding the adoption of the World Bank emission guidelines (WBEG) for thermal power plants (TPPs) in Delhi. The Industrial Source Complex-Short-Term Version–3 (ISCST3) model has been used to estimate the contribution to air pollution from TPPs. The household health production function (avertive behaviour) has been used to value health benefits of air pollution control. The study revealed that the ambient air pollution due to TPPs is reduced by between 62.17% to 83.45% by adopting the WBEG. Annual marginal benefit due to reduction in exposure to air pollution by 1 μg m^?3 is estimated to be US$0.353 per person. Total annual health benefits for adopting the WBEG for TPPs are estimated at US$235.19 million. This study provides a novel methodology to evaluate health benefits of regulatory intervention.     

我国火电厂脱硫脱硝行业2008年发展综述

介绍了2008年我国火电厂脱硫脱硝行业的发展概况,分析了行业存在的主要问题,并提出了对策及建议。     

电厂对珍禽保护区的环境影响评价实例探讨

以位于自然保护区边缘的火电厂建设项目环境影响评价为实例,阐述了火电厂生态环境评价中对自然保护区珍稀鸟类的保护方法,以供类似项目的生态环境影响评价借鉴。     

Cascade-based attack vulnerability on the US power grid

The vulnerability of real-life networks subject to intentional attacks has been one of the outstanding challenges in the study of the network safety. Applying the real data of the US power grid, we compare the effects of two different attacks for the network robustness against cascading failures, i.e., removal by either the descending or ascending orders of the loads. Adopting the initial load of a node j to be L_j=[k_j(Σ_mΓjk_m)]^α with k_j and Γ_j being the degree of the node j and the set of its neighboring nodes, respectively, where α is a tunable parameter and governs the strength of the initial load of a node, we investigate the response of the US power grid under two attacks during the cascading propagation. In the case of α<0.7, our investigation by the numerical simulations leads to a counterintuitive finding on the US power grid that the attack on the nodes with the lowest loads is more harmful than the attack on the ones with the highest loads. In addition, the almost same effect of two attacks in the case of α=0.7 may be useful in furthering studies on the control and defense of cascading failures in the US power grid.     

战时火力发电厂重要目标分类防护探讨

基于重要目标防护准则和模糊聚类算法,构建火力发电厂目标评价准则指标体系和模糊聚类模型,实现了火力发电厂重要目标的分类防护,进而选用具有针对性的防护措施,解决了重要目标在战时防护措施选择不完善、不合理的问题,有效地提升了战时火力发电厂的生存能力;通过模糊聚类模型实现分类防护,不仅有利于提高重要目标防护效率,而且使得防护资源少、力量弱,供需突出的问题得以改善,同时,在应对自然灾害等重大突发事件发生时,有助于保护发电厂的生产能力。通过案例给出战时某火力发电厂的具体防护措施,合理地解决了发电厂重要目标和关键部位的防护问题。