Implications of Sustainability for the United States Light-Duty Transportation Sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gearhart, Chris

Climate change is a problem that must be solved. The primary cause of this problem is burning of fossil fuels to generate energy. A dramatic reduction in carbon emissions must happen soon, and a significant fraction of this reduction must come from the transportation sector. This paper reviews existing literature to assess the consensus of the scientific and engineering communities concerning the potential for the United States' light-duty transportation sector to meet a goal of 80 percent reduction in vehicle emissions and examine what it will take to meet this target. It is unlikely that reducing energy consumption in justmore » vehicles with gasoline-based internal combustion drivetrains will be sufficient to meet GHG emission-reduction targets. This paper explores what additional benefits are possible through the adoption of alternative energy sources, looking at three possible on-vehicle energy carriers: carbon-based fuels, hydrogen, and batteries. potential for the United States' light-duty transportation sector to meet a goal of 80 percent reduction in vehicle emissions and examine what it will take to meet this target. It is unlikely that reducing energy consumption in just vehicles with gasoline-based internal combustion drivetrains will be sufficient to meet GHG emission-reduction targets. This paper explores what additional benefits are possible through the adoption of alternative energy sources, looking at three possible on-vehicle energy carriers: carbon-based fuels, hydrogen, and batteries.« less

Residential energy use and conservation in Venezuela: Results and implications of a household survey in Caracas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Figueroa, M.J.; Ketoff, A.; Masera, O.

1992-10-01

This document presents the final report of a study of residential energy use in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. It contains the findings of a household energy-use survey held in Caracas in 1988 and examines options for introducing energy conservation measures in the Venezuelan residential sector. Oil exports form the backbone of the Venezuelan economy. Improving energy efficiency in Venezuela will help free domestic oil resources that can be sold to the rest of the world. Energy conservation will also contribute to a faster recovery of the economy by reducing the need for major investments in new energy facilities, allowingmore » the Venezuelan government to direct its financial investments towards other areas of development. Local environmental benefits will constitute an important additional by-product of implementing energy-efficiency policies in Venezuela. Caracas`s residential sector shows great potential for energy conservation. The sector is characterized by high saturation levels of major appliances, inefficiency of appliances available in the market, and by careless patterns of energy use. Household energy use per capita average 6.5 GJ/per year which is higher than most cities in developing countries; most of this energy is used for cooking. Electricity accounts for 41% of all energy use, while LPG and natural gas constitute the remainder. Specific options for inducing energy conservation and energy efficiency in Caracas`s residential sector include energy-pricing policies, fuel switching, particularly from electricity to gas, improving the energy performance of new appliances and customer information. To ensure the accomplishment of an energy-efficiency strategy, a concerted effort by energy users, manufacturers, utility companies, government agencies, and research institutions will be needed.« less

Water conservation implications for decarbonizing non-electric energy supply: A hybrid life-cycle analysis.

PubMed

Liu, Shiyuan; Wang, Can; Shi, Lei; Cai, Wenjia; Zhang, Lixiao

2018-08-01

Low-carbon transition in the non-electric energy sector, which includes transport and heating energy, is necessary for achieving the 2 °C target. Meanwhile, as non-electric energy accounts for over 60% of total water consumption in the energy supply sector, it is vital to understand future water trends in the context of decarbonization. However, few studies have focused on life-cycle water impacts for non-electric energy; besides, applying conventional LCA methodology to assess non-electric energy has limitations. In this paper, a Multi-Regional Hybrid Life-Cycle Assessment (MRHLCA) model is built to assess total CO 2 emissions and water consumption of 6 non-electric energy technologies - transport energy from biofuel and gasoline, heat supply from natural gas, biogas, coal, and residual biomass, within 7 major emitting economies. We find that a shift to natural gas and residual biomass heating can help economies reduce 14-65% CO 2 and save more than 21% water. However, developed and developing economies should take differentiated technical strategies. Then we apply scenarios from IMAGE model to demonstrate that if economies take cost-effective 2 °C pathways, the water conservation synergy for the whole energy supply sector, including electricity, can also be achieved. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tsallis holographic dark energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tavayef, M.; Sheykhi, A.; Bamba, Kazuharu; Moradpour, H.

2018-06-01

Employing the modified entropy-area relation suggested by Tsallis and Cirto [1], and the holographic hypothesis, a new holographic dark energy (HDE) model is proposed. Considering a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe in which there is no interaction between the cosmos sectors, the cosmic implications of the proposed HDE are investigated. Interestingly enough, we find that the identification of IR-cutoff with the Hubble radius, can lead to the late time accelerated Universe even in the absence of interaction between two dark sectors of the Universe. This is in contrast to the standard HDE model with Hubble cutoff, which does not imply the accelerated expansion, unless the interaction is taken into account.

Shared Socio-Economic Pathways of the Energy Sector – Quantifying the Narratives

DOE PAGES

Bauer, Nico; Calvin, Katherine; Emmerling, Johannes; ...

2016-08-23

Energy is crucial for supporting basic human needs, development and well-being. The future evolution of the scale and character of the energy system will be fundamentally shaped by socioeconomic conditions and drivers, available energy resources, technologies of energy supply and transformation, and end-use energy demand. However, because energy-related activities are significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other environmental and social externalities, energy system development will also be influenced by social acceptance and strategic policy choices. All of these uncertainties have important implications for many aspects of economic and environmental sustainability, and climate change in particular. In the Shared-Socioeconomicmore » Pathway (SSP) framework these uncertainties are structured into five narratives, arranged according to the challenges to climate change mitigation and adaptation. In this study we explore future energy sector developments across the five SSPs using Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), and we also provide summary output and analysis for selected scenarios of global emissions mitigation policies. The mitigation challenge strongly corresponds with global baseline energy sector growth over the 21st century, which varies between 40% and 230% depending on final energy consumer behavior, technological improvements, resource availability and policies. The future baseline CO 2-emission range is even larger, as the most energy-intensive SSP also incorporates a comparatively high share of carbon-intensive fossil fuels, and vice versa. Inter-regional disparities in the SSPs are consistent with the underlying socioeconomic assumptions; these differences are particularly strong in the SSPs with large adaptation challenges, which have little inter-regional convergence in long-term income and final energy demand levels. The scenarios presented do not include feedbacks of climate change on energy sector development. The energy sector SSPs with and without emissions mitigation policies are introduced and analyzed here in order to contribute to future research in climate sciences, mitigation analysis, and studies on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.« less

Performative building envelope design correlated to solar radiation and cooling energy consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacky, Thiodore; Santoni

2017-11-01

Climate change as an ongoing anthropogenic environmental challenge is predominantly caused by an amplification in the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs), notably carbon dioxide (CO2) in building sector. Global CO2 emissions are emitted from HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) occupation to provide thermal comfort in building. In fact, the amount of energy used for cooling or heating building is implication of building envelope design. Building envelope acts as interface layer of heat transfer between outdoor environment and the interior of a building. It appears as wall, window, roof and external shading device. This paper examines performance of various design strategy on building envelope to limit solar radiation and reduce cooling loads in tropical climate. The design strategies are considering orientation, window to wall ratio, material properties, and external shading device. This research applied simulation method using Autodesk Ecotect to investigate simultaneously between variations of wall and window ratio, shading device composition and the implication to the amount of solar radiation, cooling energy consumption. Comparative analysis on the data will determine logical variation between opening and shading device composition and cooling energy consumption. Optimizing the building envelope design is crucial strategy for reducing CO2 emissions and long-term energy reduction in building sector. Simulation technology as feedback loop will lead to better performative building envelope.

A view to the future of natural gas and electricity: An integrated modeling approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cole, Wesley J.; Medlock, Kenneth B.; Jani, Aditya

This paper demonstrates the value of integrating two highly spatially resolved models: the Rice World Gas Trade Model (RWGTM) of the natural gas sector and the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model of the U.S. electricity sector. The RWGTM passes electricity-sector natural gas prices to the ReEDS model, while the ReEDS model returns electricity-sector natural gas demand to the RWGTM. The two models successfully converge to a solution under reference scenario conditions. We present electricity-sector and natural gas sector evolution using the integrated models for this reference scenario. This paper demonstrates that the integrated models produced similar national-level results asmore » when running in a stand-alone form, but that regional and state-level results can vary considerably. As we highlight, these regional differences have potentially significant implications for electric sector planners especially in the wake of substantive policy changes for the sector (e.g., the Clean Power Plan).« less

A view to the future of natural gas and electricity: An integrated modeling approach

DOE PAGES

Cole, Wesley J.; Medlock, Kenneth B.; Jani, Aditya

2016-03-17

This paper demonstrates the value of integrating two highly spatially resolved models: the Rice World Gas Trade Model (RWGTM) of the natural gas sector and the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model of the U.S. electricity sector. The RWGTM passes electricity-sector natural gas prices to the ReEDS model, while the ReEDS model returns electricity-sector natural gas demand to the RWGTM. The two models successfully converge to a solution under reference scenario conditions. We present electricity-sector and natural gas sector evolution using the integrated models for this reference scenario. This paper demonstrates that the integrated models produced similar national-level results asmore » when running in a stand-alone form, but that regional and state-level results can vary considerably. As we highlight, these regional differences have potentially significant implications for electric sector planners especially in the wake of substantive policy changes for the sector (e.g., the Clean Power Plan).« less

A Complex Systems Approach to Energy Poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria as a Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chidebell Emordi, Chukwunonso

Energy poverty is pervasive in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria, located in sub-Saharan West Africa, is the world's seventh largest oil exporting country and is a resource-rich nation. It however experiences the same levels of energy poverty as most of its neighboring countries. Attributing this paradox only to corruption or the "Dutch Disease", where one sector booms at the expense of other sectors of the economy, is simplistic and enervates attempts at reform. In addition, data on energy consumption is aggregated at the national level via estimates, disaggregated data is virtually non-existent. Finally, the wave of decentralization of vertically integrated national utilities sweeping the developing world has caught on in sub-Saharan Africa. However, little is known of the economic and social implications of these transitions within the unique socio-technical system of the region's electricity sector, especially as it applies to energy poverty. This dissertation proposes a complex systems approach to measuring and mitigating energy poverty in Nigeria due to its multi-dimensional nature. This is done via a three-fold approach: the first section of the study delves into causation by examining the governance institutions that create and perpetuate energy poverty; the next section proposes a context-specific minimum energy poverty line based on field data collected on energy consumption; and the paper concludes with an indicator-based transition management framework encompassing institutional, economic, social, and environmental themes of sustainable transition within the electricity sector. This work contributes to intellectual discourse on systems-based mitigation strategies for energy poverty that are widely applicable within the sub-Saharan region, as well as adds to the knowledge-base of decision-support tools for addressing energy poverty in its complexity.

Review of economic and energy sector implications of adopting global climate change policies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Novak, M.H.

1997-12-31

This paper summarizes a number of studies examining potential economic impacts of global climate change policies. Implications for the United States as a whole, the U.S. energy sector, the U.S. economy, businesses and consumers, and world economies are considered. Impact assessments are performed of U.S. carbon emissions, carbon taxes, and carbon restrictions by comparing estimates from various organizations. The following conclusions were made from the economic studies: (1) the economic cost of carbon abatement is expensive; (2) the cost of unilateral action is very expensive with little quantifiable evidence that global emissions are reduced; (3) multilateral actions of developed countriesmore » are also very expensive, but there is quantifiable evidence of global emissions reductions; and (4) global actions have only been theoretically addressed. Paralleling these findings, the energy analyses show that the U.S. is technologically unprepared to give up fossil fuels. As a result: (1) carbon is not stabilized without a high tax, (2) stabilization of carbon is elusive, (3) technology is the only long-term answer, and (4) targeted programs may be appropriate to force technology development. 8 tabs.« less

India: Asia-Pacific energy series country report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gazdar, M.N.

As part of our continuing assessment of Asia-Pacific energy markets, the Resources Programs of the East-West Center series of country studies that discuss in detail the structure of the energy sector. To date, our reports to the US Department of Energy, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Energy Emergencies, have covered Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The country studies provide an overview of the economic and political situation in the various countries. We have highlighted petroleum and gas issues in the country studies and have attempted to showmore » the foreign trade implications of oil and gas trade. To the greatest extent possible, we have provided the latest available statistics. Staff members have traveled extensively in-and at times have lived in-the countries under review and have held discussions with senior policymakers in government and industry. Thus, these reports provide not only information but also the latest thinking on energy issues in the various countries. Over the next few years these country studies can be updated and will provide a continuous, long-term source of energy sector analysis for the Asia-Pacific region. This India Asia-Pacific Energy Series Country Report is the follow-on to a study by Victor Lobo, Energy in India: The Oil Sector, which was published by the East-West Center in December 1989. The study focused on the petroleum industry, particularly refining, infrastructure, marketing and distribution, specifications of products, demand structure and pricing. This current study, must be seen as a supplement to our 1989 study and, as such, does not cover the petroleum sector in depth.« less

Global financial crisis and weak-form efficiency of Islamic sectoral stock markets: An MF-DFA analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mensi, Walid; Tiwari, Aviral Kumar; Yoon, Seong-Min

2017-04-01

This paper estimates the weak-form efficiency of Islamic stock markets using 10 sectoral stock indices (basic materials, consumer services, consumer goods, energy, financials, health care, industrials, technology, telecommunication, and utilities). The results based on the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) approach show time-varying efficiency for the sectoral stock markets. Moreover, we find that they tend to show high efficiency in the long term but moderate efficiency in the short term, and that these markets become less efficient after the onset of the global financial crisis. These results have several significant implications in terms of asset allocation for investors dealing with Islamic markets.

Modeling the Oil Transition: A Summary of the Proceedings of the DOE/EPA Workshop on the Economic and Environmental Implications of Global Energy Transitions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Greene, David L

2007-02-01

The global energy system faces sweeping changes in the next few decades, with potentially critical implications for the global economy and the global environment. It is important that global institutions have the tools necessary to predict, analyze and plan for such massive change. This report summarizes the proceedings of an international workshop concerning methods of forecasting, analyzing, and planning for global energy transitions and their economic and environmental consequences. A specific case, it focused on the transition from conventional to unconventional oil and other energy sources likely to result from a peak in non-OPEC and/or global production of conventional oil.more » Leading energy models from around the world in government, academia and the private sector met, reviewed the state-of-the-art of global energy modeling and evaluated its ability to analyze and predict large-scale energy transitions.« less

Managing Water-Food-Energy Futures in the Canadian Prairies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wheater, H. S.; Hassanzadeh, E.; Nazemi, A.; Elshorbagy, A. A.

2016-12-01

The water-food-energy nexus is a convenient phrase to highlight competing societal uses for water and the need for cross-sectoral policy integration, but this can lead to oversimplification of the multiple dimensions of water (and energy) management. In practice, water managers must balance (and prioritize) demands for water for many uses, including environmental flows, and reservoir operation often involves managing conflicting demands, for example to maximize retention for supply, reduce storage to facilitate flood control, and constrain water levels and releases for habitat protection. Agriculture and water quality are also inextricably linked: irrigated agriculture requires appropriate water quality for product quality and certification, but agriculture can be a major source of nutrient pollution, with impacts on human and ecosystem health, drinking water treatment and amenity. And energy-water interactions include energy production (hydropower and cooling water for thermal power generation) and energy consumption (e.g. for pumping and water and wastewater treatment). These dependencies are illustrated for the Canadian prairies, and a risk-based approach to the management of climate change is presented. Trade-offs between economic benefits of hydropower and irrigation are illustrated for alternative climate futures, including implications for freshwater habitats. The results illustrate that inter-sector interactions vary as a function of climate and its variability, and that there is a need for policy to manage inter-sector allocations as a function of economic risk.

Life-style, quality of life, and energy use: Issues in energy sociology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Noreng, O.

1995-12-31

This article briefly aims at investigating the impact of life-styles on residential energy use. It also seeks to draw some conclusions on the eventual energy market consequences of changing life-styles, especially in economies in transition that are experiencing rapid political, economic, and political change. Special emphasis will be put on the energy use implications of the search for quality of life by households. In this context, residential-sector energy use is defined as households` overall use of energy. This includes home use, all private driving (including to and from work), and private direct and indirect use of energy in leisure activities.more » 11 refs.« less

Using Grey Relational Analysis to Evaluate Energy Consumption, CO2 Emissions and Growth Patterns in China’s Provincial Transportation Sectors

PubMed Central

Yuan, Changwei; Liu, Hongchao

2017-01-01

The transportation sector is a complex system. Collecting transportation activity and the associated emissions data is extremely expensive and time-consuming. Grey Relational Analysis provides a viable alternative to overcome data insufficiency and gives insights for decision makers into such a complex system. In this paper, we achieved three major goals: (i) we explored the inter-relationships among transportation development, energy consumption and CO2 emissions for 30 provincial units in China; (ii) we identified the transportation development mode for each individual province; and (iii) we revealed policy implications regarding the sustainable transportation development at the provincial level. We can classify the 30 provinces into eight development modes according to the calculated Grey Relational Grades. Results also indicated that energy consumption has the largest influence on CO2 emission changes. Lastly, sustainable transportation policies were discussed at the province level according to the level of economy, urbanization and transportation energy structure. PMID:29292779

A framework to analyze emissions implications of manufacturing shifts in the industrial sector through integrating bottom-up energy models and economic input-output environmental life cycle assessment models

EPA Science Inventory

Future year emissions depend highly on the evolution of the economy, technology and current and future regulatory drivers. A scenario framework was adopted to analyze various technology development pathways and societal change while considering existing regulations and future unc...

A framework to analyze emissions implications of manufacturing shifts in the industrial sector through integrating bottom-up energy models and economic input/output environmental life cycle assessment models

EPA Science Inventory

Future year emissions depend highly on economic, technological, societal and regulatory drivers. A scenario framework was adopted to analyze technology development pathways and changes in consumer preferences, and evaluate resulting emissions growth patterns while considering fut...

Three essays on energy efficiency and environmental policies in Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamtessa, Samuel Faye

This thesis is organized into five Chapters. In Chapter 1, we provide an introduction. In Chapter 2, we present a study on residential energy-efficiency retrofits in Canada. We describe the EnerGuide for Houses data and model household decisions to invest in energy-efficiency retrofits. Our results show that government financial incentives have important positive effects. The decision to invest in energy-efficiency retrofits is positively related to potential energy cost savings and negatively related to the costs of the retrofits. We find that household characteristics such as the age composition of household members are important factors. All else remaining constant, low income households are more likely to undertake energy-efficiency retrofits. In the third Chapter, we present our study on price-induced energy efficiency improvements in Canadian manufacturing. Our study employs a new approach to the estimation of price-induced energy efficiency improvements and the results have important empirical and policy implications. In the fourth chapter, we present our study on the implications of the “shale gas revolution” on Alberta greenhouse gas emission abatement strategy. Given that the strategy is centered on deployment of CCS technologies, we analyze the effects of the declines in natural gas price on CCS deployment in the electricity sector. We use the CIMS simulation model to simulate various policy scenarios under high and low natural gas price assumptions. Comparison of the results shows that CCS market penetration in the electricity sector is very minimal in the low natural gas price scenario even when a 50% cost subsidy is applied. Accordingly, there is little gain from subsidizing CCS given the “shale gas revolution.” We provide a few concluding remarks in Chapter 5.

Three Essays on Energy Efficiency and Environmental Policies in Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamtessa, Samuel

2011-09-01

This thesis is organized into five Chapters. In Chapter 1, we provide an introduction. In Chapter 2, we present a study on residential energy-efficiency retrofits in Canada. We describe the EnerGuide for Houses data and model household decisions to invest in energy-efficiency retrofits. Our results show that government financial incentives have important positive effects. The decision to invest in energy-efficiency retrofits is positively related to potential energy cost savings and negatively related to the costs of the retrofits. We find that household characteristics such as the age composition of household members are important factors. All else remaining constant, low income households are more likely to undertake energy-efficiency retrofits. In the third Chapter, we present our study on price-induced energy efficiency improvements in Canadian manufacturing. Our study employs a new approach to the estimation of price-induced energy efficiency improvements and the results have important empirical and policy implications. In the fourth chapter, we present our study on the implications of the "shale gas revolution" on Alberta greenhouse gas emission abatement strategy. Given that the strategy is centered on deployment of CCS technologies, we analyze the effects of the declines in natural gas price on CCS deployment in the electricity sector. We use the CIMS simulation model to simulate various policy scenarios under high and low natural gas price assumptions. Comparison of the results shows that CCS market penetration in the electricity sector is very minimal in the low natural gas price scenario even when a 50% cost subsidy is applied. Accordingly, there is little gain from subsidizing CCS given the "shale gas revolution." We provide a few concluding remarks in Chapter 5.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Calvin, Katherine V.; Wise, Marshall A.; Kyle, G. Page

Many papers have shown that bioenergy and land-use are potentially important elements in a strategy to limit anthropogenic climate change. But, significant expansion of bioenergy production can have a large terrestrial footprint. In this paper, we test the implications for land use, the global energy system, carbon cycle, and carbon prices of meeting a specific climate target, using a single fossil fuel and industrial sector policy instrument—the carbon tax, but with five alternative bioenergy and land-use policy architectures. We find that the policies we examined have differing effects on the different segments of the economy. Comprehensive land policies can reducemore » land-use change emissions, increasing allowable emissions in the energy system, but have implications for the cost of food. Bioenergy taxes and constraints, on the other hand, have little effect on food prices, but can result in increased carbon and energy prices.« less

Sakurai Prize: Beyond the Standard Model Higgs Boson

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haber, Howard

2017-01-01

The discovery of the Higgs boson strongly suggests that the first elementary spin 0 particle has been observed. Is the Higgs boson a solo act, or are there additional Higgs bosons to be discovered? Given that there are three generations of fundamental fermions, one might also expect the sector of fundamental scalars of nature to be non-minimal. However, there are already strong constraints on the possible structure of an extended Higgs sector. In this talk, I review the theoretical motivations that have been put forward for an extended Higgs sector and discuss its implications in light of the observation that the properties of the observed Higgs boson are close to those predicted by the Standard Model. supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy Grant Number DE-SC0010107.

Technology choice and development in Brazil: An assessment of Brazil's alternative fuel program and the agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and service sectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nolan, Lucy A.

Technology choice profoundly affects a country's development process because capital-intensive and labor-intensive technologies have different socioeconomic linkages within the economy. This research examines the impacts of technology choice through the use of a social accounting matrix (SAM) framework. SAM-based modeling determines the direct and indirect effects of technology choice on development, particularly poverty alleviation in Brazil. Brazil's alternative fuel program was analyzed as a special example of technology choice. Two ethanol production technologies and the gasoline sector were compared; to make the study more robust, labor and capital intensive technologies were evaluated in the production of agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and services. Growth in these economic sectors was examined to assess the effects on employment, factor and household income, energy intensity, and carbon dioxide costs. Poverty alleviation was a focus, so income to unskilled agriculture labor, unskilled non-agriculture labor, and income to rural and urban households in poverty was also analyzed. The major research finding is that overall, labor-intensive technologies generate more employment, factor and household income, environmental and energy benefits to Brazil's economy than capital-intensive technologies. In addition, labor-intensive technologies make a particular contribution to poverty alleviation. The results suggest that policies to encourage the adoption of these technologies, especially in the agriculture and renewable energy sectors, are important because of their intersectoral linkages within the economy. Many studies have shown that Brazil's fuel ethanol program has helped to realize multiple macroeconomic objectives. However, this is the first empirical study to quantify its household income effects. The ethanol industry generated the most household income of the energy sectors. The research confirms a key finding of the appropriate technology literature, namely that government policies are important to the implementation of labor-intensive technologies. Finally, this research makes two important contributions to the SAM methodology. It is one of the first SAM modeling exercises to quantify the costs of carbon dioxide emissions and the impact of alternative fuels on regional and human development. The addition of an environmental sector enables the planner to determine carbon dioxide effects resulting from growth in different socioeconomic sectors. This will have implications for greenhouse gas mitigation strategies.

Assessment of the potential future market in Sweden for hydrogen as an energy carrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carleson, G.

Future hydrogen markets for the period 1980-2025 are projected, the probable range of hydrogen production costs for various manufacturing methods is estimated, and expected market shares in competition with alternative energy carriers are evaluated. A general scenario for economic and industrial development in Sweden for the given period was evaluated, showing the average increase in gross national product to become 1.6% per year. Three different energy scenarios were then developed: alternatives were based on nuclear energy, renewable indigenous energy sources, and the present energy situation with free access to imported natural or synthetic fuels. An analysis was made within each scenario of the competitiveness of hydrogen on both the demand and the supply of the following sectors: chemical industry, steel industry, peak power production, residential and commercial heating, and transportation. Costs were calculated for the production, storage and transmission of hydrogen according to technically feasible methods and were compared to those of alternative energy carriers. Health, environmental and societal implications were also considered. The market penetration of hydrogen in each sector was estimated, and the required investment capital was shown to be less than 4% of the national gross investment sum.

Climate Indicators for Energy and Infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilbanks, T. J.

2014-12-01

Two of the key categories of climate indicators are energy and infrastructure. For energy supply and use, many indicators are available for energy supply and consumption; and some indicators are available to assess implications of climate change, such as changes over time in heating and cooling days. Indicators of adaptation and adaptive capacity are more elusive. For infrastructure, which includes more than a dozen different sectors, general indicators are not available, beyond counts of major disasters and such valuable contributions as the ASCE "report cards." In this case, research is needed, for example to develop credible metrics for assessing the resilience of built infrastructures to climate change and other stresses.

Dynamics of renewable energy consumption and economic activities across the agriculture, industry, and service sectors: evidence in the perspective of sustainable development.

PubMed

Paramati, Sudharshan Reddy; Apergis, Nicholas; Ummalla, Mallesh

2018-01-01

This study aims to examine the impact of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on the agriculture, industry, services, and overall economic activities (GDP) across a panel of G20 nations. The study makes use of annual data from 1980 to 2012 on 17 countries of the G20. To achieve the study objectives, we apply several robust panel econometric models which account for cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity in the analysis. The empirical findings confirm the significant long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables. The long-run elasticities indicate that both renewable and non-renewable energy consumptions have significant positive effect on the economic activities across the sectors and also on the overall economic output. These results also imply that the impact is more from renewable energy on economic activities than that of non-renewable energy. Given that, our results offer significant policy implications. We suggest that the policy makers should aim to initiate effective policies to turn domestic and foreign investments into renewable energy projects. This eventually ensures low carbon emissions and sustainable economic development across the G20 nations.

Global Warming Implications of the Use of By-Products and Recycled Materials in Western Australia’s Housing Sector

PubMed Central

Lawania, Krishna; Sarker, Prabir; Biswas, Wahidul

2015-01-01

Western Australia’s housing sector is growing rapidly and around half a million houses are expected to be built by 2030, which not only will result in increased energy and resources demand but will have socio-economic impacts. Majority of Western Australians live in detached houses made of energy intensive clay bricks, which have a high potential to generate construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Therefore, there is a need to look into the use of alternative materials and construction methods. Due to Western Australia’s temperate climate, concrete could not only offer a comfortable living space but an operational energy saving also can be achieved. This paper has assessed the global warming implications of cast in-situ concrete sandwich wall system as an alternative to clay brick walls (CBW) with partial replacement of cement in concrete with by-products such as fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), natural aggregate (NA) with recycled crushed aggregate (RCA), natural sand (NS) with manufactured sand (MS) and, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam core as a replacement to polystyrene core for construction of a typical 4 × 2 × 2 detached house in Perth. Life cycle management (LCM) approach has been used to determine global warming reduction benefits due to the use of available by-products and recycled materials in Western Australian houses.

Characterizing U.S. Heat Demand Market for Potential Application of Geothermal Direct Use

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCabe, Kevin; Gleason, Michael; Reber, Tim

In this paper, we assess the U.S. demand for low-temperature thermal energy at the county resolution for four major end-use sectors: residential buildings, commercial buildings, manufacturing facilities, and agricultural facilities. Existing, publicly available data on the U.S. thermal demand market are characterized by coarse spatial resolution, with assessments typically at the state-level or larger. For many uses, these data are sufficient; however, our research was motivated by an interest in assessing the potential demand for direct use (DU) of low-temperature (30 degrees to 150 degrees C) geothermal heat. The availability and quality of geothermal resources for DU applications are highlymore » spatially heterogeneous; therefore, to assess the potential market for these resources, it is necessary to understand the spatial variation in demand for low-temperature resources at a local resolution. This paper presents the datasets and methods we used to develop county-level estimates of the thermal demand for the residential, commercial, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors. Although this analysis was motivated by an interest in geothermal energy deployment, the results are likely to have broader applications throughout the energy industry. The county-resolution thermal demand data developed in this study for four major U.S. sectors may have far-reaching implications for building technologies, industrial processes, and various distributed renewable energy thermal resources (e.g. biomass, solar).« less

A framework to analyze emissions implications of ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Future year emissions depend highly on the evolution of the economy, technology and current and future regulatory drivers. A scenario framework was adopted to analyze various technology development pathways and societal change while considering existing regulations and future uncertainty in regulations and evaluate resulting emissions growth patterns. The framework integrates EPA’s energy systems model with an economic Input-Output (I/O) Life Cycle Assessment model. The EPAUS9r MARKAL database is assembled from a set of technologies to represent the U.S. energy system within MARKAL bottom-up technology rich energy modeling framework. The general state of the economy and consequent demands for goods and services from these sectors are taken exogenously in MARKAL. It is important to characterize exogenous inputs about the economy to appropriately represent the industrial sector outlook for each of the scenarios and case studies evaluated. An economic input-output (I/O) model of the US economy is constructed to link up with MARKAL. The I/O model enables user to change input requirements (e.g. energy intensity) for different sectors or the share of consumer income expended on a given good. This gives end-users a mechanism for modeling change in the two dimensions of technological progress and consumer preferences that define the future scenarios. The framework will then be extended to include environmental I/O framework to track life cycle emissions associated

Characterizing U.S. Heat Demand for Potential Application of Geothermal Direct Use: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCabe, Kevin; Gleason, Michael; Reber, Tim

In this paper, we assess the U.S. demand for low-temperature thermal energy at the county resolution for four major end-use sectors: residential buildings, commercial buildings, manufacturing facilities, and agricultural facilities. Existing, publicly available data on the U.S. thermal demand market are characterized by coarse spatial resolution, with assessments typically at the state-level or larger. For many uses, these data are sufficient; however, our research was motivated by an interest in assessing the potential demand for direct use (DU) of low-temperature (30 degrees to 150 degrees C) geothermal heat. The availability and quality of geothermal resources for DU applications are highlymore » spatially heterogeneous; therefore, to assess the potential market for these resources, it is necessary to understand the spatial variation in demand for low-temperature resources at a local resolution. This paper presents the datasets and methods we used to develop county-level estimates of the thermal demand for the residential, commercial, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors. Although this analysis was motivated by an interest in geothermal energy deployment, the results are likely to have broader applications throughout the energy industry. The county-resolution thermal demand data developed in this study for four major U.S. sectors may have far-reaching implications for building technologies, industrial processes, and various distributed renewable energy thermal resources (e.g. biomass, solar).« less

VET and the Diffusion and Implementation of Innovation in the Mining, Solar Energy and Computer Games Sectors. NCVER Monograph Series 06/2011

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalitz, Robert; Toner, Phillip; Turpin, Tim

2011-01-01

Innovation is thought to improve productivity at the firm level and economic prosperity at the national level. This would seem to have implications for the skills and skills development of employees. However, little is known about the relationship between skills development and innovation. This report is the culmination of case studies exploring…

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Options in ISEEM Global Energy Model: 2010-2050 Scenario Analysis for Least-Cost Carbon Reduction in Iron and Steel Sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karali, Nihan; Xu, Tengfang; Sathaye, Jayant

The goal of the modeling work carried out in this project was to quantify long-term scenarios for the future emission reduction potentials in the iron and steel sector. The main focus of the project is to examine the impacts of carbon reduction options in the U.S. iron and steel sector under a set of selected scenarios. In order to advance the understanding of carbon emission reduction potential on the national and global scales, and to evaluate the regional impacts of potential U.S. mitigation strategies (e.g., commodity and carbon trading), we also included and examined the carbon reduction scenarios in China’smore » and India’s iron and steel sectors in this project. For this purpose, a new bottom-up energy modeling framework, the Industrial Sector Energy Efficiency Modeling (ISEEM), (Karali et al. 2012) was used to provide detailed annual projections starting from 2010 through 2050. We used the ISEEM modeling framework to carry out detailed analysis, on a country-by-country basis, for the U.S., China’s, and India’s iron and steel sectors. The ISEEM model applicable to iron and steel section, called ISEEM-IS, is developed to estimate and evaluate carbon emissions scenarios under several alternative mitigation options - including policies (e.g., carbon caps), commodity trading, and carbon trading. The projections will help us to better understand emission reduction potentials with technological and economic implications. The database for input of ISEEM-IS model consists of data and information compiled from various resources such as World Steel Association (WSA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), China Steel Year Books, India Bureau of Mines (IBM), Energy Information Administration (EIA), and recent LBNL studies on bottom-up techno-economic analysis of energy efficiency measures in the iron and steel sector of the U.S., China, and India, including long-term steel production in China. In the ISEEM-IS model, production technology and manufacturing details are represented, in addition to the extensive data compiled from recent studies on bottom-up representation of efficiency measures for the sector. We also defined various mitigation scenarios including long-term production trends to project country-specific production, energy use, trading, carbon emissions, and costs of mitigation. Such analyses can provide useful information to assist policy-makers when considering and shaping future emissions mitigation strategies and policies. The technical objective is to analyze the costs of production and CO 2 emission reduction in the U.S, China, and India’s iron and steel sectors under different emission reduction scenarios, using the ISEEM-IS as a cost optimization model. The scenarios included in this project correspond to various CO 2 emission reduction targets for the iron and steel sector under different strategies such as simple CO 2 emission caps (e.g., specific reduction goals), emission reduction via commodity trading, and emission reduction via carbon trading.« less

Quantification of the urban water-energy nexus in México City, México, with an assessment of water-system related carbon emissions.

PubMed

Valek, Adrián Moredia; Sušnik, Janez; Grafakos, Stelios

2017-07-15

Global urbanisation will put considerable stress on both water and energy resources. While there is much research at the national and regional levels on the energy implications of water supply (the urban water-energy 'nexus'), there is relatively little at the city scale. This literature is further diminished when attempting to account for the climate impact of urban water systems. A study of the urban water-energy-climate nexus is presented for México City. It is shown that 50% of México City water comes from a local aquifer with a further 30% deriving from energy-intensive surface sources which are pumped over considerable topography. The water supply system consumes 90% of the water system energy demand, and is responsible for the majority (90%) of the CO 2 e emissions. In the wastewater sector, 80-90% is discharged with no or little treatment, with correspondingly low energy demand. The small fraction that is treated accounts for the majority of energy use in the wastewater sector. This study shows the uncertainty in energy demand and CO 2 e emissions when reliant on secondary data which considerably over/under-estimate energy use compared with primary data. This has implications when assessing energy and carbon budgets. Three water savings options are assessed for their impact on energy and CO 2 e emissions reductions. Considerable reductions in water supply volumes and concomitant energy consumption and CO 2 e emissions are possible. However the extent of implementation, and the effectiveness of any implemented solutions depend on financing, institutional backing and public support. An additional measure to reduce the climate impact is to switch from traditional to renewable fuels. This work adds city-level quantification of the urban water-energy-climate nexus, allowing policy makers to discern which water-system elements are responsible for the greatest energy use and climate impact, and are better equipped to make targeted operational decisions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A National Energy-Water System Assessment Framework (NEWS): Synopsis of Stage 1 Research Strategy and Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorosmarty, C. J.; Miara, A.; Macknick, J.; Newmark, R. L.; Cohen, S.; Sun, Y.; Tidwell, V. C.; Corsi, F.; Melillo, J. M.; Fekete, B. M.; Proussevitch, A. A.; Glidden, S.; Suh, S.

2017-12-01

The focus of this talk is on climate adaptation and the reliability of power supply infrastructure when viewed through the lens of strategic water issues. Power supply is critically dependent upon water resources, particularly to cool thermoelectric plants, making the sector particularly sensitive to any shifts in the geography or seasonality of water supply. We report on results from an NSF-Funded Water Sustainability and Climate effort aimed at uncovering key energy and economic system vulnerabilities. We have developed the National Energy-Water System assessment framework (NEWS) to systematically evaluate: a) the performance of the nation's electricity sector under multiple climate scenarios; b) the feasibility of alternative pathways to improve climate adaptation; and, c) the impacts of energy technology and investment tradeoffs on the economic productivity, water availability and aquatic ecosystem condition. Our project combines core engineering and geophysical models (ReEDS [Regional Energy Deployment System], TP2M [Thermoelectric Power and Thermal Pollution], and WBM [Water Balance]) through unique digital "handshake" protocols that operate across different institutions and modeling platforms. Combined system outputs are fed into a regional-to-national scale economic input/output model to evaluate economic consequences of climate constraints, technology choices, and environmental regulation. The impact assessments in NEWS are carried out through a series of climate/energy policy scenario studies to 2050. We find that despite significant climate-water impacts on individual plants, the current US power supply infrastructure shows potential for adaptation to future climates by capitalizing on the size of regional power systems, grid configuration and improvements in thermal efficiencies. However, the magnitude and implications of climate-water impacts vary depending on the configuration of the future power sector. To evaluate future power supply performance, we model alternative electricity sector pathways in combination with varying climate-water conditions. Further, water-linked disruptions in electricity supply yield substantial impacts on regional economies yet system-level shocks can be attenuated through different technology mixes and infrastructure.

Capital investment requirements for greenhouse gas emissions mitigation in power generation on near term to century time scales and global to regional spatial scales

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chaturvedi, Vaibhav; Clarke, Leon E.; Edmonds, James A.

Electrification plays a crucial role in cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions mitigation strategies. Such strategies in turn carry implications for financial capital markets. This paper explores the implication of climate mitigation policy for capital investment demands by the electric power sector on decade to century time scales. We go further to explore the implications of technology performance and the stringency of climate policy for capital investment demands by the power sector. Finally, we discuss the regional distribution of investment demands. We find that stabilizing GHG emissions will require additional investment in the electricity generation sector over and above investments that wouldmore » be need in the absence of climate policy, in the range of 16 to 29 Trillion US$ (60-110%) depending on the stringency of climate policy during the period 2015 to 2095 under default technology assumptions. This increase reflects the higher capital intensity of power systems that control emissions. Limits on the penetration of nuclear and carbon capture and storage technology could increase costs substantially. Energy efficiency improvements can reduce the investment requirement by 8 to21 Trillion US$ (default technology assumptions), depending on climate policy scenario with higher savings being obtained under the most stringent climate policy. The heaviest investments in power generation were observed in the China, India, SE Asia and Africa regions with the latter three regions dominating in the second half of the 21st century.« less

Identifying the multiscale impacts of crude oil price shocks on the stock market in China at the sector level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shupei; An, Haizhong; Gao, Xiangyun; Huang, Xuan

2015-09-01

The aim of this research is to investigate the multiscale dynamic linkages between crude oil price and the stock market in China at the sector level. First, the Haar à trous wavelet transform is implemented to extract multiscale information from the original time series. Furthermore, we incorporate the vector autoregression model to estimate the dynamic relationship pairing the Brent oil price and each sector stock index at each scale. There is a strong evidence showing that there are bidirectional Granger causality relationships between most of the sector stock indices and the crude oil price in the short, medium and long terms, except for those in the health, utility and consumption sectors. In fact, the impacts of the crude oil price shocks vary for different sectors over different time horizons. More precisely, the energy, information, material and telecommunication sector stock indices respond to crude oil price shocks negatively in the short run and positively in the medium and long runs, terms whereas the finance sector responds positively over all three time horizons. Moreover, the Brent oil price shocks have a stronger influence on the stock indices of sectors other than the health, optional and utility sectors in the medium and long terms than in the short term. The results obtained suggest implication of this paper as that the investment and policymaking decisions made during different time horizons should be based on the information gathered from each corresponding time scale.

Cosmology in Mirror Twin Higgs and neutrino masses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chacko, Zackaria; Craig, Nathaniel; Fox, Patrick J.; Harnik, Roni

2017-07-01

We explore a simple solution to the cosmological challenges of the original Mirror Twin Higgs (MTH) model that leads to interesting implications for experiment. We consider theories in which both the standard model and mirror neutrinos acquire masses through the familiar seesaw mechanism, but with a low right-handed neutrino mass scale of order a few GeV. In these νMTH models, the right-handed neutrinos leave the thermal bath while still relativistic. As the universe expands, these particles eventually become nonrelativistic, and come to dominate the energy density of the universe before decaying. Decays to standard model states are preferred, with the result that the visible sector is left at a higher temperature than the twin sector. Consequently the contribution of the twin sector to the radiation density in the early universe is suppressed, allowing the current bounds on this scenario to be satisfied. However, the energy density in twin radiation remains large enough to be discovered in future cosmic microwave background experiments. In addition, the twin neutrinos are significantly heavier than their standard model counterparts, resulting in a sizable contribution to the overall mass density in neutrinos that can be detected in upcoming experiments designed to probe the large scale structure of the universe.

Policy implications of trends in Turkey's meat sector with respect to 2023 vision.

PubMed

Yavuz, Fahri; Bilgic, Abdulbaki; Terin, Mustafa; Guler, Irfan O

2013-12-01

Turkey has become one of the leading emerging economies in the world being second after China as the highest economically growing country with 8.9% economic growth rate in 2010. Forecasting impacts of this development in coming 10 years might have very important policy implications for the meat sector in the framework of 2013 vision of Turkey. In this study, annual time series data which contain several key variables of meat sector in last 26 years (1987-2012) are used to forecast the variables of the coming twelve years (2013-2024) to drive policy implications by considering the impacts of high economic growths, crises and major policy changes. Forecasted future values of the variables for 2023 in the sector are assessed and compared with recent national and international values to drive policy implications. The results show that the economic growth results in the increase in per capita income and thus increased demand for meat seemed to foster the meat sector. Therefore, these macroeconomic indicators need to be better in addition to improvements at micro level for establishing competitive meat sector and thus reaching aimed consumption level of meat. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pollution Emissions, Environmental Policy, and Marginal Abatement Costs.

PubMed

He, Ling-Yun; Ou, Jia-Jia

2017-12-05

Pollution emissions impose serious social negative externalities, especially in terms of public health. To reduce pollution emissions cost-effectively, the marginal abatement costs (MACs) of pollution emissions must be determined. Since the industrial sectors are the essential pillars of China's economic growth, as well as leading energy consumers and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emitters, estimating MACs of SO₂ emissions at the industrial level can provide valuable information for all abatement efforts. This paper tries to address the critical and essential issue in pollution abatement: How do we determine the MACs of pollution emissions in China? This paper first quantifies the SO₂ emission contribution of different industrial sectors in the Chinese economy by an Input-Output method and then estimates MACs of SO₂ for industrial sectors at the national level, provincial level, and sectoral level by the shadow price theory. Our results show that six sectors (e.g., the Mining and Washing of Coal sector) should be covered in the Chinese pollution emission trading system. We have also found that the lowest SO₂ shadow price is 2000 Yuan/ton at the national level, and that shadow prices should be set differently at the provincial level. Our empirical study has several important policy implications, e.g., the estimated MACs may be used as a pricing benchmark through emission allowance allocation. In this paper, the MACs of industrial sectors are calculated from the national, provincial and sectoral levels; therefore, we provide an efficient framework to track the complex relationship between sectors and provinces.

Public sector energy management: A strategy for catalyzing energy efficiency in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Anish Kumar

To date the public sector role in facilitating the transition to a sustainable energy future has been envisaged mainly from a regulatory perspective. In such a role, the public sector provides the push factors---enforcing regulations and providing incentives---to correct market imperfections that impede energy transitions. An alternative and complementary role of the public sector that is now gaining increasing attention is that of catalyzing energy transitions through public sector energy management initiatives. This dissertation offers a conceptual framework to rationalize such a role for the public sector by combining recent theories of sustainable energy transition and public management. In particular, the framework identifies innovative public management strategies (such as performance contracting and procurement) for effectively implementing sustainable energy projects in government facilities. The dissertation evaluates a model of sustainable public sector energy management for promoting energy efficiency in Malaysia. The public sector in Malaysia can be a major player in leading and catalyzing energy efficiency efforts as it is not only the largest and one of the most influential energy consumers, but it also plays a central role in setting national development strategy. The dissertation makes several recommendations on how a public sector energy management strategy can be implemented in Malaysia. The US Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) is used as a practical model. The analysis, however, shows that in applying the FEMP model to the Malaysian context, there are a number of limitations that will have to be taken into consideration to enable a public sector energy management strategy to be effectively implemented. Overall the analysis of this dissertation contributes to a rethinking of the public sector role in sustainable energy development that can strengthen the sector's credibility both in terms of governance and institutional performance. In addition, it links theory with practice by offering a strategy that can effectively address critical issues arising from the energy-development-policy nexus of the sustainable energy development debate.

Impact of energy taxation on economy, environmental and public health quality.

PubMed

Wang, Baoqing; Liu, Bowei; Niu, Honghong; Liu, Jianfeng; Yao, Shu

2018-01-15

This paper argues computable general equilibrium model and assess impact of energy taxation on economy, environmental and public health quality in Tianjin. In order to investigate different energy taxation based on medical cost and labor loss, the computable general equilibrium model integrating with input-output table and social accounting matrix (SAM) was constructed. The medical expense caused by air pollution of Tianjin in 2007 is 396 million yuan and death for 18104 people, which accounted for the total GDP and population 0.754‰ and 1.6‰, respectively. The results show that the enery taxes levy can improve the GDP, but it is only slightly. The energy taxes have adverse impact on energy sector because that the energy cost is increased. The scale of production is reduced, and the capital and labor resources are transferred to low energy consumption low emissions sector. The energy tax levy can reduce air pollutants concentration and improve air environmental quality. The PM 10 , SO 2 and NO 2 concentration in the energy taxes 5%-30% was reduced by 0.24%-0.24%, 0.09-0.52% and 0.29%-0.52% respectively. The medical expense has little impact on GDP, but labor loss has a certain effect on GDP. For higher energy taxes rate, the health effects on GDP can reach 0.06%-0.16%. This simultaneous economic and environmental improvement and health effect would thus have positive implications regarding energy taxes of the country. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterizing the emission implications of future natural gas production and use in the U.S. and Rocky Mountain region: A scenario-based energy system modeling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLeod, Jeffrey

The recent increase in U.S. natural gas production made possible through advancements in extraction techniques including hydraulic fracturing has transformed the U.S. energy supply landscape while raising questions regarding the balance of environmental impacts associated with natural gas production and use. Impact areas at issue include emissions of methane and criteria pollutants from natural gas production, alongside changes in emissions from increased use of natural gas in place of coal for electricity generation. In the Rocky Mountain region, these impact areas have been subject to additional scrutiny due to the high level of regional oil and gas production activity and concerns over its links to air quality. Here, the MARKAL (MArket ALlocation) least-cost energy system optimization model in conjunction with the EPA-MARKAL nine-region database has been used to characterize future regional and national emissions of CO 2, CH4, VOC, and NOx attributed to natural gas production and use in several sectors of the economy. The analysis is informed by comparing and contrasting a base case, business-as-usual scenario with scenarios featuring variations in future natural gas supply characteristics, constraints affecting the electricity generation mix, carbon emission reduction strategies and increased demand for natural gas in the transportation sector. Emission trends and their associated sensitivities are identified and contrasted between the Rocky Mountain region and the U.S. as a whole. The modeling results of this study illustrate the resilience of the short term greenhouse gas emission benefits associated with fuel switching from coal to gas in the electric sector, but also call attention to the long term implications of increasing natural gas production and use for emissions of methane and VOCs, especially in the Rocky Mountain region. This analysis can help to inform the broader discussion of the potential environmental impacts of future natural gas production and use by illustrating links between relevant economic and environmental variables.

Network Analysis of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Emissions in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Shaomin; Wu, Guang

2016-09-01

Specification of PM2.5 spatial and temporal characteristics is important for understanding PM2.5 adverse effects and policymaking. We applied network analysis to studying the dataset MIX, which contains PM2.5 emissions recorded from 2168 monitoring stations in China in 2008 and 2010. The results showed that for PM2.5 emissions from industrial sector 8 clusters were found in 2008 but they merged together into a huge cluster in 2010, suggesting that industrial sector underwent an integrating process. For PM2.5 emissions from electricity generation sector, strong locality of clusters was revealed, implying that each region had its own electricity generation system. For PM2.5 emissions from residential sector, the same pattern of 10 clusters was uncovered in both years, implicating the household energy consumption unchanged from 2008 to 2010. For PM2.5 emissions from transportation sector, the same pattern of 5 clusters with many connections in-between was unraveled, indicating the high-speed development of transportation nationalwidely. Except for the known elements, mercury (Hg) surfaced as an element for particle nucleation. To our knowledge, this is the first network study in this field.

Water-energy nexus in the Sava River Basin: energy security in a transboundary perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, Eunice; Howells, Mark

2016-04-01

Resource management policies are frequently designed and planned to target specific needs of particular sectors, without taking into account the interests of other sectors who share the same resources. In a climate of resource depletion, population growth, increase in energy demand and climate change awareness, it is of great importance to promote the assessment of intersectoral linkages and, by doing so, understand their effects and implications. This need is further augmented when common use of resources might not be solely relevant at national level, but also when the distribution of resources spans over different nations. This paper focuses on the study of the energy systems of five south eastern European countries, which share the Sava River Basin (SRB), using a water-food(agriculture)-energy nexus approach. In the case of the electricity generation sector, the use of water is essential for the integrity of the energy systems, as the electricity production in the riparian countries relies on two major technology types dependent on water resources: hydro and thermal power plants. For example, in 2012, an average of 37% of the electricity production in the SRB countries was generated by hydropower and 61% in thermal power plants. Focusing on the SRB, in terms of existing installed capacities, the basin accommodates close to a tenth of all hydropower capacity while providing water for cooling to 42% of the net capacity of thermal power currently in operation in the basin. This energy-oriented nexus study explores the dependency on the basin's water resources of the energy systems in the region for the period between 2015 and 2030. To do so, a multi-country electricity model was developed to provide a quantification ground to the analysis, using the open-source software modelling tool OSeMOSYS. Three main areas are subject to analysis: first, the impact of energy efficiency and renewable energy strategies in the electricity generation mix; secondly, the potential impacts of climate change under a moderate climate change projection scenario; and finally, deriving from the latter point, the cumulative impact of an increase in water demand in the agriculture sector, for irrigation. Additionally, electricity trade dynamics are compared across the different scenarios under scrutiny, as an effort to investigate the response of the regional energy systems in simulated trade conditions.

The Commercial Energy Consumer: About Whom Are We Speaking?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Payne, Christopher

2006-05-12

Who are commercial sector customers, and how do they make decisions about energy consumption and energy efficiency investment? The energy policy field has not done a thorough job of describing energy consumption in the commercial sector. First, the discussion of the commercial sector itself is dominated by discussion of large businesses/buildings. Second, discussion of this portion of the commercial sectors consumption behavior is driven primarily by theory, with very little field data collected on the way commercial sector decision-makers describe their own options, choices, and reasons for taking action. These limitations artificially constrain energy policy options. This paper reviews themore » extant literature on commercial sector energy consumption behavior and identifies gaps in our knowledge. In particular, it argues that the primary energy policy model of commercial sector energy consumption is a top-down model that uses macro-level investment data to make conclusions about commercial behavior. Missing from the discussion is a model of consumption behavior that builds up to a theoretical framework informed by the micro-level data provided by commercial decision-makers themselves. Such a bottom-up model could enhance the effectiveness of commercial sector energy policy. In particular, translation of some behavioral models from the residential sector to the commercial sector may offer new opportunities for policies to change commercial energy consumption behavior. Utility bill consumption feedback is considered as one example of a policy option that may be applicable to both the residential and small commercial sector.« less

Probing neutrino physics with a self-consistent treatment of the weak decoupling, nucleosynthesis, and photon decoupling epochs

DOE PAGES

Grohs, E.; Fuller, George M.; Kishimoto, Chad T.; ...

2015-05-11

In this study, we show that a self-consistent and coupled treatment of the weak decoupling, big bang nucleosynthesis, and photon decoupling epochs can be used to provide new insights and constraints on neutrino sector physics from high-precision measurements of light element abundances and Cosmic Microwave Background observables. Implications of beyond-standard-model physics in cosmology, especially within the neutrino sector, are assessed by comparing predictions against five observables: the baryon energy density, helium abundance, deuterium abundance, effective number of neutrinos, and sum of the light neutrino mass eigenstates. We give examples for constraints on dark radiation, neutrino rest mass, lepton numbers, andmore » scenarios for light and heavy sterile neutrinos.« less

The breaking of flavor democracy in the quark sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritzsch, Harald; Xing, Zhi-Zhong; Zhang, Di

2017-09-01

The democracy of quark flavors is a well-motivated flavor symmetry, but it must be properly broken in order to explain the observed quark mass spectrum and flavor mixing pattern. We reconstruct the texture of flavor democracy breaking and evaluate its strength in a novel way, by assuming a parallelism between the Q=+2/3 and Q=-1/3 quark sectors and using a nontrivial parametrization of the flavor mixing matrix. Some phenomenological implications of such democratic quark mass matrices, including their variations in the hierarchy basis and their evolution from the electroweak scale to a super-high energy scale, are also discussed. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11375207) and National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB834300)

SEADS 3.0 Sectoral Energy/Employment Analysis and Data System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roop, Joseph M.; Anderson, David A.; Schultz, Robert W.

2007-12-17

SEADS 3.0, the Sectoral Energy/Employment Analysis and Data System, is a revision and upgrading of SEADS--PC, a software package designed for the analysis of policy that could be described by modifying final demands of consumer, businesses, or governments (Roop, et al., 1995). If a question can be formulated so that implications can be translated into changes in final demands for goods and services, then SEADS 3.0 provides a quick and easy tool to assess preliminary impacts. And SEADS 3.0 should be considered just that: a quick and easy way to get preliminary results. Often a thorough answer, even to suchmore » a simple question as, “What would be the effect on U. S. energy use and employment if the Federal Government doubled R&D expenditures?” requires a more sophisticated analytical framework than the input-output structure embedded in SEADS 3.0. This tool uses a static, input-output model to assess the impacts of changes in final demands on first industry output, then employment and energy use. The employment and energy impacts are derived by multiplying the industry outputs (derived from the changed final demands) by industry-specific energy and employment coefficients. The tool also allows for the specification of regional or state employment impacts, though this option is not available for energy impacts.« less

Hybrid Analysis of Blue Water Consumption and Water Scarcity Implications at the Global, National, and Basin Levels in an Increasingly Globalized World.

PubMed

Wang, Ranran; Zimmerman, Julie

2016-05-17

As the fifth global water footprint assessment, this study enhanced previous estimates of national blue water consumption (including fresh surface and groundwater) and main economic activities with (1) improved spatial and sectoral resolution and (2) quantified the impacts of virtual water trade on water use and water stress at both the national and basin level. In 2007, 1194 Gm(3) of blue water was consumed globally for human purposes. The consuming (producing) of primary and manufactured goods and services from the sectors of "Primary Crops and Livestock", "Primary Energy and Minerals", "Processed Food and Beverages", "Non-food Manufactured Products", "Electricity", "Commercial and Public Services", and "Households" accounted for 33% (91%), ∼ 0% (1%), 37% (<1%), 13% (1%), 1% (2%), 15% (3%), and 2% (2%) of the world's total blue water consumption, respectively. The considerable differences in sectoral water consumption accounted for by the two perspectives (consumption- vs production-based) highlight the significance of the water consumed indirectly, upstream in the supply chain (i.e., > 70% of total blue water consumption) while offering additional insights into the water implications of critical interconnected economic activities, such as the water-energy nexus. With 145 Gm(3) (12%) of the blue water consumption embedded in the goods and services traded internationally, 89 countries analyzed were net blue water importers at the national level. On the basin level, the impacts of virtual water trade on water stress were statistically significant for basins across the world and within 104 countries; virtual water trade mitigated water stress for the basins within 85 of the 104 countries, including all of those where there are moderate and greater water stress countrywide (except Italy).

Global energy consumption for direct water use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.; Hejazi, M. I.; Kim, S. H.; Kyle, P.; Davies, E. G.; Miralles, D. G.; Teuling, R.; He, Y.; Niyogi, D.

2015-12-01

Despite significant efforts to quantify the mutual inter-dependence of the water and energy sectors, global energy for water (EFW) remains poorly understood, resulting in biases in energy accounting that directly affect water and energy management and policy. We firstly evaluate the global energy consumption for direct water use from 1973 to 2012 with sectoral, regional and process-level details. Over the 40-year period, we detected multiple shifts in EFW by county and region. For example, we find that India, the Middle East and China have surpassed the United States as the three largest consumers of EFW since 2003, mostly because of rapid growth in groundwater-based irrigation, desalination, and industrial and municipal water use, respectively. Globally, EFW accounts for 1-3% of total primary energy consumption in 2010, of which 52% is surface water, 36% is groundwater, and 12% is non-fresh water. The sectoral allocation of EFW includes municipal (45%), industrial (29%), and agricultural use (26%), and process-level contributions are from source/conveyance (41%), water purification (19%), water distribution (13%) and wastewater treatment (22%). Our evaluation suggests that the EFW may increase in importance in the future due to growth in population and income, and depletion of surface and shallow aquifer water resources in water-scarce regions. We are incorporating this element into an integrated assessment model (IAM) and linking it back to energy balance within that IAM. By doing this, we will then explore the impacts of EFW on the global energy market (e.g., changes in the share of groundwater use and desalination), and the uncertainty of future EFW under different shared social pathway (SSP) and representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios, and consequences on the emission of greenhouse gases as well. We expect these EFW induced impacts will be considerable, and will then have significant implications for adaptive management and policy making.

Towards greener environment: Energy efficient pathways for the transportation sector in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indati, M. S.; Ghate, A. T.; Leong, Y. P.

2013-06-01

Transportation sector is the second most energy consuming sector after industrial sector, accounting for 40% of total energy consumption in Malaysia. The transportation sector is one of the most energy intensive sectors in the country and relies primarily on petroleum products, which in total account for nearly 98% of the total consumption in the sector. Since it is heavily reliant on petroleum based fuels, the sector contributes significantly to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The need to reduce the greenhouse gas emission is paramount as Malaysia at Conference of the Parties (COP15) pledged to reduce its carbon intensity by 40% by 2020 from 2005 level subject to availability of technology and finance. Transport sector will be among the first sectors that need to be addressed to achieve this goal, as two-thirds of the emissions come from fuel combustion in transport sector. This paper will analyse the factors influencing the transport sector's growth and energy consumption trends and discuss the key issues and challenges for greener environment and sustainable transportation in Malaysia. The paper will also discuss the policy and strategic options aimed towards energy efficient pathways in Malaysia.

An integrated Biophysical CGE model to provide Sustainable Development Goal insights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, Marko; Cicowiez, Martin; Howells, Mark; Zepeda, Eduardo

2016-04-01

Future projected changes in the energy system will inevitably result in changes to the level of appropriation of environmental resources, particularly land and water, and this will have wider implications for environmental sustainability, and may affect other sectors of the economy. An integrated climate, land, energy and water (CLEW) system will provide useful insights, particularly with regard to the environmental sustainability. However, it will require adequate integration with other tools to detect economic impacts and broaden the scope for policy analysis. A computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is a well suited tool to channel impacts, as detected in a CLEW analysis, onto all sectors of the economy, and evaluate trade-offs and synergies, including those of possible policy responses. This paper will show an application of such integration in a single-country CGE model with the following key characteristics. Climate is partly exogenous (as proxied by temperature and rainfall) and partly endogenous (as proxied by emissions generated by different sectors) and has an impact on endogenous variables such as land productivity and labor productivity. Land is a factor of production used in agricultural and forestry activities which can be of various types if land use alternatives (e.g., deforestation) are to be considered. Energy is an input to the production process of all economic sectors and a consumption good for households. Because it is possible to allow for substitution among different energy sources (e.g. renewable vs non-renewable) in the generation of electricity, the production process of energy products can consider the use of natural resources such as oil and water. Water, data permitting, can be considered as an input into the production process of agricultural sectors, which is particularly relevant in case of irrigation. It can also be considered as a determinant of total factor productivity in hydro-power generation. The integration of a CLEW system and a CGE model can be critical to inform analyses on different climate impacts and ways to "secure" pathways of sustainable natural resource use and energy generation. Cost and benefits for establishing sustainable pathways through different investments and their macroeconomic feasibility and impacts on economic growth and employment are also captured. This information is critical to inform strategies to achieve sustainable development goals.

Symmetry Breaking, Unification, and Theories Beyond the Standard Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nomura, Yasunori

2009-07-31

A model was constructed in which the supersymmetric fine-tuning problem is solved without extending the Higgs sector at the weak scale. We have demonstrated that the model can avoid all the phenomenological constraints, while avoiding excessive fine-tuning. We have also studied implications of the model on dark matter physics and collider physics. I have proposed in an extremely simple construction for models of gauge mediation. We found that the {mu} problem can be simply and elegantly solved in a class of models where the Higgs fields couple directly to the supersymmetry breaking sector. We proposed a new way of addressingmore » the flavor problem of supersymmetric theories. We have proposed a new framework of constructing theories of grand unification. We constructed a simple and elegant model of dark matter which explains excess flux of electrons/positrons. We constructed a model of dark energy in which evolving quintessence-type dark energy is naturally obtained. We studied if we can find evidence of the multiverse.« less

Source sector and region contributions to concentration and direct radiative forcing of black carbon in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ke; Liao, Hong; Mao, Yuhao; Ridley, David A.

2016-01-01

We quantify the contributions from five domestic emission sectors (residential, industry, transportation, energy, and biomass burning) and emissions outside of China (non-China) to concentration and direct radiative forcing (DRF) of black carbon (BC) in China for year 2010 using a nested-grid version of the global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) coupled with a radiative transfer model. The Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (HTAP) anthropogenic emissions of BC for year 2010 are used in this study. Simulated surface-layer BC concentrations in China have strong seasonal variations, which exceed 9 μg m-3 in winter and are about 1-5 μg m-3 in summer in the North China Plain and the Sichuan Basin. Residential sector is simulated to have the largest contribution to surface BC concentrations, by 5-7 μg m-3 in winter and by 1-3 μg m-3 in summer, reflecting the large emissions from winter heating and the enhanced wet deposition during summer monsoon. The contribution from industry sector is the second largest and shows relatively small seasonal variations; the emissions from industry sector contribute 1-3 μg m-3 to BC concentrations in the North China Plain and the Sichuan Basin. The contribution from transportation sector is the third largest, followed by that from biomass burning and energy sectors. The non-China emissions mainly influence the surface-layer concentrations of BC in western China; about 70% of surface-layer BC concentration in the Tibet Plateau is attributed to transboundary transport. Averaged over all of China, the all-sky DRF of BC at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) is simulated to be 1.22 W m-2. Sensitivity simulations show that the TOA BC direct radiative forcings from the five domestic emission sectors of residential, industry, energy, transportation, biomass burning, and non-China emissions are 0.44, 0.27, 0.01, 0.12, 0.04, and 0.30 W m-2, respectively. The domestic and non-China emissions contribute 75% and 25% to BC DRF in China, respectively. These results have important implications for taking measures to reduce BC emissions to mitigate near-term climate warming and to improve air quality in China.

Energy transition in transport sector from energy substitution perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Wangmin; Yang, Xiaoguang; Han, Song; Sun, Xiaoyang

2017-10-01

Power and heating generation sector and transport sector contribute a highest GHG emissions and even air pollutions. This paper seeks to investigate life cycle costs and emissions in both the power sector and transport sector, and evaluate the cost-emission efficient (costs for one unit GHG emissions) of the substitution between new energy vehicles and conventional gasoline based vehicles under two electricity mix scenarios. In power sector, wind power and PV power will be cost comparative in 2030 forecasted with learning curve method. With high subsidies, new energy cars could be comparative now, but it still has high costs to lower GHG emissions. When the government subsidy policy is reversible, the emission reduction cost for new energy vehicle consumer will be 900/ton. According to the sensitive analysis, the paper suggests that the government implement policies that allocate the cost to the whole life cycle of energy production and consumption related to transport sector energy transition and policies that are in favor of new energy vehicle consumers but not the new energy car producers.

The Energy-Water Nexus: Managing the Links between Energy and Water for a Sustainable Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussey, Karen; Petit, Carine

2010-05-01

Water and energy are both indispensable inputs to modern economies but currently both resources are under threat owing to the impacts of an ever-increasing population and associated demand, unsustainable practices in agriculture and manufacturing, and the implications of a changing climate. However, it is where water and energy rely on each other that pose the most complex challenges for policy-makers. Water is needed for mining coal, drilling oil, refining gasoline, and generating and distributing electricity; and, conversely, vast amounts of energy are needed to pump, transport, treat and distribute water, particularly in the production of potable water through the use of desalination plants and waste water treatment plants. Despite the links, and the urgency in both sectors for security of supply, in existing policy frameworks energy and water policies are developed largely in isolation from one another. Worse still, some policies designed to encourage alternative energy supplies give little thought to the resultant consequences on water resources, and, similarly, policies designed to secure water supplies pay little attention to the resultant consequences on energy use. The development of new technologies presents both opportunities and challenges for managing the energy-water nexus but a better understanding of the links between energy and water is essential in any attempt to formulate policies for more resilient and adaptable societies. The energy-water nexus must be adequately integrated into policy and decision-making or governments run the risk of contradicting their efforts, and therefore failing in their objectives, in both sectors. A series of COST Exploratory Workshops, drawing on on-going research in the energy-water nexus from a number of international teams, identified the implications of the energy-water nexus on the development of (i) energy policies (ii) water resource management policies and (iii) climate adaptation and mitigation policies. A preliminary list of recommendations on how best to account for and integrate these impacts into policy and decision-making processes at various institutional levels was prepared and future research needs in the energy-water nexus were suggested as main outcomes. This presentation draws on the contributions to the COST water-energy-links exploratory workshops and the development of 12 case studies undertaken by researchers from Europe, the United States, Australia and China, which will be published in a Special Feature of Ecology and Society, mid-2010.

31 CFR 500.584 - Energy sector projects in North Korea.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Energy sector projects in North Korea... Licenses, Authorizations and Statements of Licensing Policy § 500.584 Energy sector projects in North Korea... energy sector projects in North Korea in connection with that country's transition to light-water reactor...

Pollution Emissions, Environmental Policy, and Marginal Abatement Costs

PubMed Central

He, Ling-Yun; Ou, Jia-Jia

2017-01-01

Pollution emissions impose serious social negative externalities, especially in terms of public health. To reduce pollution emissions cost-effectively, the marginal abatement costs (MACs) of pollution emissions must be determined. Since the industrial sectors are the essential pillars of China’s economic growth, as well as leading energy consumers and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitters, estimating MACs of SO2 emissions at the industrial level can provide valuable information for all abatement efforts. This paper tries to address the critical and essential issue in pollution abatement: How do we determine the MACs of pollution emissions in China? This paper first quantifies the SO2 emission contribution of different industrial sectors in the Chinese economy by an Input-Output method and then estimates MACs of SO2 for industrial sectors at the national level, provincial level, and sectoral level by the shadow price theory. Our results show that six sectors (e.g., the Mining and Washing of Coal sector) should be covered in the Chinese pollution emission trading system. We have also found that the lowest SO2 shadow price is 2000 Yuan/ton at the national level, and that shadow prices should be set differently at the provincial level. Our empirical study has several important policy implications, e.g., the estimated MACs may be used as a pricing benchmark through emission allowance allocation. In this paper, the MACs of industrial sectors are calculated from the national, provincial and sectoral levels; therefore, we provide an efficient framework to track the complex relationship between sectors and provinces. PMID:29206170

Household energy use in Asian cities: Responding to development success

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tyler, Stephen R.

In the past 10-15 years, gains in household income and urban development in many countries in Asia have led to significant shifts in household use of fuels away from traditional, biomass-based household fuels to modern, fossil fuels. These results suggest that, while the global atmospheric emissions implications need further analysis, the local air quality effects of urban household fuel use changes have been positive. These changes also demonstrate improvements in living conditions, particularly for poor women and children most affected by indoor air quality. However, for electricity use, where there is evidence of dramatic increases in household consumption, the longer term implications for atmospheric emissions are more troubling. Rapid demand growth in the urban household sector is contributing to huge increases in thermal electric generating capacity needs in Asia. Improving technologies of electricity use in the household sector appears to be easily achievable and could be stimulated through market and policy mechanisms which have been used elsewhere. These measures offer the prospect of real environmental and economic gains without sacrificing lifestyle advantages of electrical appliance use in households.

Greenhouse gas emissions reduction in different economic sectors: Mitigation measures, health co-benefits, knowledge gaps, and policy implications.

PubMed

Gao, Jinghong; Hou, Hongli; Zhai, Yunkai; Woodward, Alistair; Vardoulakis, Sotiris; Kovats, Sari; Wilkinson, Paul; Li, Liping; Song, Xiaoqin; Xu, Lei; Meng, Bohan; Liu, Xiaobo; Wang, Jun; Zhao, Jie; Liu, Qiyong

2018-09-01

To date, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mitigation strategies and the accompanying health co-benefits in different economic sectors have not been fully investigated. The purpose of this paper is to review comprehensively the evidence on GHG mitigation measures and the related health co-benefits, identify knowledge gaps, and provide recommendations to promote further development and implementation of climate change response policies. Evidence on GHG emissions, abatement measures and related health co-benefits has been observed at regional, national and global levels, involving both low- and high-income societies. GHG mitigation actions have mainly been taken in five sectors: energy generation, transport, food and agriculture, household and industry, consistent with the main sources of GHG emissions. GHGs and air pollutants to a large extent stem from the same sources and are inseparable in terms of their atmospheric evolution and effects on ecosystem; thus, GHG reductions are usually, although not always, estimated to have cost effective co-benefits for public health. Some integrated mitigation strategies involving multiple sectors, which tend to create greater health benefits. The pros and cons of different mitigation measures, issues with existing knowledge, priorities for research, and potential policy implications were also discussed. Findings from this study can play a role not only in motivating large GHG emitters to make decisive changes in GHG emissions, but also in facilitating cooperation at international, national and regional levels, to promote GHG mitigation policies that protect public health from climate change and air pollution simultaneously. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of energy consumption and energy efficiency potential in the Brazilian industrial sector according to the Integrated Energy Planning Model (IEPM)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tolmasquim, M.T.; Szklo, A.S.; Cohen, C.

This paper presents the development of energy consumption in the Brazilian industrial sector and energy efficiency potential based on the analysis undertaken through a model developed in the Energy Planning Program at COPPE/UFRJ, known as the Integrated Energy Planning Model (IEPM). The study starts by presenting the IEPM, which is a technical and economic parameter-based model designed to forecast energy supplies and consumption for all economic sectors in Brazil, within three scenarios. Outlines of all three scenarios are presented, as they were constructed according to certain specific assumptions. The industrial sector was broken down into eleven sub-sectors: food and beverages,more » ceramics, cement, iron and steel, mining and pelletizing, ferroalloys, non-ferrous metals and others (metallurgy), chemicals, pulp and paper, textiles and other industries (MME, 1998). All these sub-sectors will also be presented as well as the results of the scenario forecasts. Results deriving from these forecasts come from very specific studies that analyze all process steps in each sub-sector in order to propose energy replacements, efficiency improvements of structural production alterations that result in major potential energy consumption reductions. Last but not least, this paper gives the development forecasts deriving from the three scenarios over ten years, with their contributions to energy efficiency in the Brazilian industrial sector, showing that the authors can reduce energy consumption in the Brazilian industrial sector by: substituting less efficient processes by more efficient ones, through the conversion of final energy into usable energy, basically, in the cement and aluminum industries; replacing equipment and energy sources; modifying product mix of several industries (pulp and paper), assigning top priority to producing goods with higher added value that are less energy intensive, and, finally, reducing the share held by some energy intensive sectors in the industrial output.« less

Dark matter and dark energy interactions: theoretical challenges, cosmological implications and observational signatures.

PubMed

Wang, B; Abdalla, E; Atrio-Barandela, F; Pavón, D

2016-09-01

Models where dark matter and dark energy interact with each other have been proposed to solve the coincidence problem. We review the motivations underlying the need to introduce such interaction, its influence on the background dynamics and how it modifies the evolution of linear perturbations. We test models using the most recent observational data and we find that the interaction is compatible with the current astronomical and cosmological data. Finally, we describe the forthcoming data sets from current and future facilities that are being constructed or designed that will allow a clearer understanding of the physics of the dark sector.

Urban energy consumption and related carbon emission estimation: a study at the sector scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Weiwei; Chen, Chen; Su, Meirong; Chen, Bin; Cai, Yanpeng; Xing, Tao

2013-12-01

With rapid economic development and energy consumption growth, China has become the largest energy consumer in the world. Impelled by extensive international concern, there is an urgent need to analyze the characteristics of energy consumption and related carbon emission, with the objective of saving energy, reducing carbon emission, and lessening environmental impact. Focusing on urban ecosystems, the biggest energy consumer, a method for estimating energy consumption and related carbon emission was established at the urban sector scale in this paper. Based on data for 1996-2010, the proposed method was applied to Beijing in a case study to analyze the consumption of different energy resources (i.e., coal, oil, gas, and electricity) and related carbon emission in different sectors (i.e., agriculture, industry, construction, transportation, household, and service sectors). The results showed that coal and oil contributed most to energy consumption and carbon emission among different energy resources during the study period, while the industrial sector consumed the most energy and emitted the most carbon among different sectors. Suggestions were put forward for energy conservation and emission reduction in Beijing. The analysis of energy consumption and related carbon emission at the sector scale is helpful for practical energy saving and emission reduction in urban ecosystems.

Lorentz violation and gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, Quentin G.

2007-08-01

This work explores the theoretical and experimental aspects of Lorentz violation in gravity. A set of modified Einstein field equations is derived from the general Lorentz-violating Standard-Model Extension (SME). Some general theoretical implications of these results are discussed. The experimental consequences for weak-field gravitating systems are explored in the Earth- laboratory setting, the solar system, and beyond. The role of spontaneous Lorentz-symmetry breaking is discussed in the context of the pure-gravity sector of the SME. To establish the low-energy effective Einstein field equations, it is necessary to take into account the dynamics of 20 coefficients for Lorentz violation. As an example, the results are compared with bumblebee models, which are general theories of vector fields with spontaneous Lorentz violation. The field equations are evaluated in the post- newtonian limit using a perfect fluid description of matter. The post-newtonian metric of the SME is derived and compared with some standard test models of gravity. The possible signals for Lorentz violation due to gravity-sector coefficients are studied. Several new effects are identified that have experimental implications for current and future tests. Among the unconventional effects are a new type of spin precession for a gyroscope in orbit and a modification to the local gravitational acceleration on the Earth's surface. These and other tests are expected to yield interesting sensitivities to dimensionless gravity- sector coefficients.

Potential Evaluation of Energy Supply System in Grid Power System, Commercial, and Residential Sectors by Minimizing Energy Cost

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oda, Takuya; Akisawa, Atushi; Kashiwagi, Takao

If the economic activity in the commercial and residential sector continues to grow, improvement in energy conversion efficiencies of energy supply systems is necessary for CO2 mitigation. In recent years, the electricity driven hot water heat pump (EDHP) and the solar photo voltaic (PV) are commercialized. The fuel cell (FC) of co-generation system (CGS) for the commercial and residential sector will be commercialized in the future. The aim is to indicate the ideal energy supply system of the users sector, which both manages the economical cost and CO2 mitigation, considering the grid power system. In the paper, cooperative Japanese energy supply systems are modeled by linear-programming. It includes the grid power system and energy systems of five commercial sectors and a residential sector. The demands of sectors are given by the objective term for 2005 to 2025. 24 hours load for each 3 annual seasons are considered. The energy systems are simulated to be minimize the total cost of energy supply, and to be mitigate the CO2 discharge. As result, the ideal energy system at 2025 is shown. The CGS capacity grows to 30% (62GW) of total power system, and the EDHP capacity is 26GW, in commercial and residential sectors.

Effects of long-term climate change on global building energy expenditures

DOE PAGES

Clarke, Leon; Eom, Jiyong; Marten, Elke Hodson; ...

2018-01-06

Our paper explores potential future implications of climate change on building energy expenditures around the globe. Increasing expenditures result from increased electricity use for cooling, and are offset to varying degrees, depending on the region, by decreased energy consumption for heating. WE conducted an analysis using a model of the global buildings sector within the GCAM integrated assessment model. The integrated assessment framework is valuable because it represents socioeconomic and energy system changes that will be important for understanding building energy expenditures in the future. Results indicate that changes in net expenditures are not uniform across the globe. Net expendituresmore » decrease in some regions, such as Canada and Russia, where heating demands currently dominate, and increase the most in areas with less demand for space heating and greater demand for space cooling. We explain these results in terms of the basic drivers that link building energy expenditures to regional climate.« less

Effects of long-term climate change on global building energy expenditures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clarke, Leon; Eom, Jiyong; Marten, Elke Hodson

Our paper explores potential future implications of climate change on building energy expenditures around the globe. Increasing expenditures result from increased electricity use for cooling, and are offset to varying degrees, depending on the region, by decreased energy consumption for heating. WE conducted an analysis using a model of the global buildings sector within the GCAM integrated assessment model. The integrated assessment framework is valuable because it represents socioeconomic and energy system changes that will be important for understanding building energy expenditures in the future. Results indicate that changes in net expenditures are not uniform across the globe. Net expendituresmore » decrease in some regions, such as Canada and Russia, where heating demands currently dominate, and increase the most in areas with less demand for space heating and greater demand for space cooling. We explain these results in terms of the basic drivers that link building energy expenditures to regional climate.« less

China's transportation energy consumption and CO2 emissions from a global perspective

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yin, Xiang; Chen, Wenying; Eom, Jiyong

2015-07-01

ABSTRACT Rapidly growing energy demand from China's transportation sector in the last two decades have raised concerns over national energy security, local air pollution, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and there is broad consensus that China's transportation sector will continue to grow in the coming decades. This paper explores the future development of China's transportation sector in terms of service demands, final energy consumption, and CO2 emissions, and their interactions with global climate policy. This study develops a detailed China transportation energy model that is nested in an integrated assessment model—Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM)—to evaluate the long-term energy consumptionmore » and CO2 emissions of China's transportation sector from a global perspective. The analysis suggests that, without major policy intervention, future transportation energy consumption and CO2 emissions will continue to rapidly increase and the transportation sector will remain heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Although carbon price policies may significantly reduce the sector's energy consumption and CO2 emissions, the associated changes in service demands and modal split will be modest, particularly in the passenger transport sector. The analysis also suggests that it is more difficult to decarbonize the transportation sector than other sectors of the economy, primarily owing to its heavy reliance on petroleum products.« less

Sector trends and driving forces of global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions: focus in industry and buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Price, Lynn; Worrell, Ernst; Khrushch, Marta

Disaggregation of sectoral energy use and greenhouse gas emissions trends reveals striking differences between sectors and regions of the world. Understanding key driving forces in the energy end-use sectors provides insights for development of projections of future greenhouse gas emissions. This report examines global and regional historical trends in energy use and carbon emissions in the industrial, buildings, transport, and agriculture sectors, with a more detailed focus on industry and buildings. Activity and economic drivers as well as trends in energy and carbon intensity are evaluated. The authors show that macro-economic indicators, such as GDP, are insufficient for comprehending trendsmore » and driving forces at the sectoral level. These indicators need to be supplemented with sector-specific information for a more complete understanding of future energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.« less

Hydro-economic modeling of integrated solutions for the water-energy-land nexus in Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parkinson, S.; Kahil, M.; Wada, Y.; Krey, V.; Byers, E.; Johnson, N. A.; Burek, P.; Satoh, Y.; Willaarts, B.; Langan, S.; Riahi, K.

2017-12-01

This study focused on the development of the Extended Continental-scale Hydro-economic Optimization model (ECHO) and its application to the analysis of long-term water, energy and land use pathways for Africa. The framework is important because it integrates multi-decadal decisions surrounding investments into new water infrastructure, electric power generation and irrigation technologies. The improved linkages in ECHO reveal synergies between water allocation strategies across sectors and the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from electricity supply. The African case study features a reduced-form transboundary river network and associated environmental flow constraints covering surface and groundwater withdrawals. Interactions between local water constraints and the continental-scale economy are captured in the model through the combination of regional electricity markets. Spatially-explicit analysis of land availability is used to restrict future reservoir expansion. The analysis demonstrates the massive investments required to ensure rapidly expanding water, energy and food demands in Africa aligned with human development objectives are met in a sustainable way. Modeled constraints on environmental flows in line with presumptive ecological guidelines trigger diffusion of energy-intensive water supply technologies in water-stressed regions, with implications for the cost and speed of the electricity sector decarbonization required to achieve climate targets.

Commercial Building Energy Asset Rating Program -- Market Research

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCabe, Molly J.; Wang, Na

2012-04-19

Under contract to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, HaydenTanner, LLC conducted an in-depth analysis of the potential market value of a commercial building energy asset rating program for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The market research objectives were to: (1) Evaluate market interest and need for a program and tool to offer asset rating and rapidly identify potential energy efficiency measures for the commercial building sector. (2) Identify key input variables and asset rating outputs that would facilitate increased investment in energy efficiency. (3) Assess best practices and lessons learned from existing nationalmore » and international energy rating programs. (4) Identify core messaging to motivate owners, investors, financiers, and others in the real estate sector to adopt a voluntary asset rating program and, as a consequence, deploy high-performance strategies and technologies across new and existing buildings. (5) Identify leverage factors and incentives that facilitate increased investment in these buildings. To meet these objectives, work consisted of a review of the relevant literature, examination of existing and emergent asset and operational rating systems, interviews with industry stakeholders, and an evaluation of the value implication of an asset label on asset valuation. This report documents the analysis methodology and findings, conclusion, and recommendations. Its intent is to support and inform the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on the market need and potential value impacts of an asset labeling and diagnostic tool to encourage high-performance new buildings and building efficiency retrofit projects.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fidler, Michal; Capece, John; Hanlon, Edward

Objective of the presentation is to document land use and water use implications of biomass production to demonstrate the overall resources implications associated with bioethanol production for Florida’s transportation sector needs. Rationale for using biofuels (BF) is explained, so are advantages & challenges of BF production and use. Land use changes (LUC) in Florida are presented and consequences outlined. It is documented that Florida’s agricultural land is a very limited resource, with only 0.43 ac/person comparing to the global average of 1.71 ac/person. The direct relation of increased biofuels production causing increased water use is explained. Favorable climate, water resources,more » advanced research, traditional leading agricultural role, minor oil reserves, no refineries and increasing energy demands are the main reasons why Florida considers pursuing BF production in large scale. Eight various bioethanol crops produced in Florida were considered in this study (Miscanthus, Switchgrass, Sweet Sorghum, Corn, Elephantgrass, Sugarcane, Energycane, Eucalyptus). Biomass yield and bioethanol yield of these crops are documented. Bioethanol needs of Florida are estimated and related land requirements for the needed bioethanol production calculated. Projections for various bioethanol blends (E15 to E85) are then presented. Finally, water demand for biofuels production is quantified. It is concluded that land use requirement for production of all ethanol in E85 fuel blend in Florida is roughly the same as the total available ag land in Florida for the best yielding biofuels crops (energycane, eucalyptus). Water demand for production of all ethanol needed for E100 would increase current overall water consumption in Florida between 65% and 100% for the most common biofuels crops. Vehicular energy is only 33% of Floridians energy consumption, so even all Florida’s agricultural land was given up for biofuels, it would still produce only 33% of Florida’s total energy needs. Still, bioethanol (primarily cellulosic) produced in Florida has a potential to meet a significant portion of the State’s transportation needs. Assuming no change in food production and consumption habits in Florida, the likely result of biofuels sector expansion would be the conversion of natural lands or low-intensity agricultural lands into high-intensity biomass production and the associated increased water consumption and water quality implications.« less

Preserving Envelope Efficiency in Performance Based Code Compliance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thornton, Brian A.; Sullivan, Greg P.; Rosenberg, Michael I.

2015-06-20

The City of Seattle 2012 Energy Code (Seattle 2014), one of the most progressive in the country, is under revision for its 2015 edition. Additionally, city personnel participate in the development of the next generation of the Washington State Energy Code and the International Energy Code. Seattle has pledged carbon neutrality by 2050 including buildings, transportation and other sectors. The United States Department of Energy (DOE), through Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) provided technical assistance to Seattle in order to understand the implications of one potential direction for its code development, limiting trade-offs of long-lived building envelope components less stringentmore » than the prescriptive code envelope requirements by using better-than-code but shorter-lived lighting and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) components through the total building performance modeled energy compliance path. Weaker building envelopes can permanently limit building energy performance even as lighting and HVAC components are upgraded over time, because retrofitting the envelope is less likely and more expensive. Weaker building envelopes may also increase the required size, cost and complexity of HVAC systems and may adversely affect occupant comfort. This report presents the results of this technical assistance. The use of modeled energy code compliance to trade-off envelope components with shorter-lived building components is not unique to Seattle and the lessons and possible solutions described in this report have implications for other jurisdictions and energy codes.« less

Primary and Secondary Labor Markets: Implications for Vocational Rehabilitation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hagner, David

2000-01-01

Reviews theoretical and empirical work in labor economics and the sociology of work relating to the segmentation of the labor market into a primary and a secondary sector and examines the implications for vocational rehabilitation. Transition into primary sector employment is explored as an important aspect of career development for individuals…

The Implications of "Good-Faith" Negotiation Provisions for "Meet and Confer" Laws.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baldwin, Grover H.

A review of good faith requirements under meet and confer laws for public sector negotiations raises implications for school district management decisions regarding negotiations. First, it appears that state courts are being influenced by National Labor Relations Board and federal court rulings that pertain to the private sector, causing private…

Energy and resource consumption

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The present and projected energy requirements for the United States are discussed. The energy consumption and demand sectors are divided into the categories: residential and commercial, transportation, and industrial and electrical generation (utilities). All sectors except electrical generation use varying amounts of fossile fuel resources for non-energy purposes. The highest percentage of non-energy use by sector is industrial with 71.3 percent. The household and commercial sector uses 28.4 percent, and transportation about 0.3 percent. Graphs are developed to project fossil fuel demands for non-energy purposes and the perdentage of the total fossil fuel used for non-energy needs.

Energy conservation and the transportation sector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The present status of the energy implications of the transportation systems in the United States was illustrated, with primary emphasis on the technologies and methods for achieving a substantial reduction in the associated energy price (approximately 25% of the nation's energy is consumed directly in the operation of these systems). These technologies may be classified as follows: (1) improvement of system efficiency (system operations or technological), (2) substitution for scarce energy resources (electrification, alternate fuels, use of man power, recycling), (3) curtailment of end use (managed population growth rate, education of citizenry, alternatives to personal transportation, improved urban planning, reduced travel incentives). Examples and illustrations were given. Thirty-four actions were chosen on the basis of a preliminary filtering process with the objective of: (1) demonstrating a methodological approach to arrive at logical and consistent conservation action packages, (2) recommending a viable and supportable specific set of actions.

Privatization, industry integration and international politics: The case of energy and the role of business leadership in South America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mireur, Yannick

2000-10-01

This thesis analyzes how matters traditionally decided by states because deemed strategic such as cross-border physical energy integration, are now the product of corporate strategy. As a direct result of state divestiture implemented in the scope of a changing model of political economy, corporate bodies have taken on an increasingly important role in the achievement of regional integration. The privatization and ownership transfer of a strategic industry, namely energy, has indeed positioned the private sector at the forefront of regional economic affairs. The study also points out the political impact of private sector-driven projects of infrastructure, particularly between two countries that have been separated by strong antagonism in the recent past, the launching of regional energy integration by private companies has provided the substance that was lacking to governments, even though these were willing to operate a rapprochement. The parameters of foreign policy decisions have been modified and rapprochement has been accelerated as a result of initiatives from the private sector. The thesis thus explores the links between the adoption of a neo-liberal political economy that includes the privatization of the energy sector, regional energy integration, and foreign relations. It analyzes how the transformation of transnational economic ties usually derived from decisions of state can now be the product of private business deals. It emphasizes the role of corporate executives in carrying out projects and shaping a new economic reality that governments have proved to be unable or unwilling to create in the past. Its focus is the Chile-Argentina energy integration process and rapprochement in the nineties. The spread of neo-liberalism in the Southern Cone has taken place in a time of waning alternative discourse on development strategy in the international public arena and of acute sense of development imperative in the so-called emerging economies. The thesis argues that in such context political regime differences matter less than the convergence of models of political economy between two countries whose energy needs and energy resources complement each other. The methodology is qualitative. The thesis is based on first-hand information gathered through research work in Chile and Argentina and dozens of interviews of energy executives, political leaders, diplomats, economists and journalists. In conclusion, the thesis suggests that the Chile-Argentina case can have policy implications as it could help to explain and/or promote corporate-based cooperation with political spillovers in other regions of the world.

Agriculture and Energy: Implications for Food Security, Water, and Land Use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokgoz, S.; Zhang, W.; Msangi, S.; Bhandary, P.

2011-12-01

Sustainable production of agricultural commodities and growth of international trade in these goods are challenged as never before by supply-side constraints (such as climate change, water and land scarcity, and environmental degradation) and by demand-side dynamics (volatility in food and energy markets, the strengthening food-energy linkage, population growth, and income growth). On the one hand, the rapidly expanding demand can potentially create new market opportunities for agriculture. On the other hand, there are many threats to a sufficient response by the supply side to meet this growing and changing demand. Agricultural production systems in many countries are neither resource-efficient, nor producing according to their full potential. The stock of natural resources such as land, water, nutrients, energy, and genetic diversity is shrinking relative to demand, and their use must become increasingly efficient in order to reduce environmental impacts and preserve the planet's productive capacity. World energy prices have increased rapidly in recent years. At the same time, agriculture has become more energy-intensive. Higher energy costs have pushed up the cost of producing, transporting and processing agricultural commodities, driving up commodity prices. Higher energy costs have also affected water use and availability through increased costs of water extraction, conveyance and desalinization, higher demand for hydroelectric power, and increased cost of subsidizing water services. In the meantime, the development of biofuels has diverted increasing amounts of agricultural land and water resources to the production of biomass-based renewable energy. This more "intensified" linkage between agriculture and energy comes at a time when there are other pressures on the world's limited resources. The related high food prices, especially those in the developing countries, have led to setbacks in the poverty alleviation effort among the global community with more population under hunger and poverty. In light of these threats and opportunities facing the global food system, the proposed study takes a long-term perspective and addresses the main medium and long- term drivers of agricultural markets using the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade developed by the Environment and Production Technology Division of IFPRI to project future production, consumption, and trade of key agricultural commodities. The main objective of the study is to analyze the link between energy and agricultural markets, focusing on the "new" role of agriculture as a supplier of energy for transportation through biofuels, and the subsequent impact on land use and demand for water from the agricultural sector. In this context, this study incorporates various scenarios of future energy demand and energy price impacts on global agricultural markets (food prices and food security), water use implications (irrigation water consumption by agricultural sector), and land use implications (changes in national and global crop area). The scenarios are designed to understand the impact of energy prices on biofuel production, cost of production for agricultural crops, conversion of rainfed area to irrigated area, and necessary levels of crop productivity growth to counter these effects.

ECASTAR: Energy Conservation; an Assessment of Systems, Technologies and Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

A methodology for a systems approach display and assessment of the potential for energy conservation actions and the impacts of those actions was presented. The U.S. economy is divided into four sectors: energy industry, industry, residential/commercial and transportation. Each sector is assessed with respect to energy conservation actions and impacts. The four sectors are combined and three strategies for energy conservation actions for the combined sectors are assessed. The three strategies (national energy conservation, electrification and diversification) represent energy conservation actions for the near term (now to 1985), the mid term (1985 to 2000) and the far term (2000 and beyond). The assessment procedure includes input/output analysis to bridge the flows between the sectors, and net economics and net energetics as performance criteria for the conservation actions. Targets of opportunity for large net energy net energy savings and the application of technology to achieve these savings are discussed.

Rural-to-urban migration and its implications for poverty alleviation.

PubMed

Skeldon, R

1997-03-01

This article examines rural-urban migration, its role in poverty alleviation in Thailand, and policy implications. The empirical research literature suggests that the poorest tend be left behind by wealthier migrants moving to urban areas. The youngest tend to migrate. The impact of remittances tends to appear more positive in international migration, but the impact of remittances among rural internal migrant families can also be substantial and be responsible for wealth differences within rural communities. Return migrants contribute to communities by bringing back new ideas and new attitudes toward family size. Migration can also produce negative impacts for sending communities, but the total analysis appears to favor positive impacts. The urban sector becomes another resource base for rural populations that can sustain rural populations during rapid change processes. The migrant population tends to be wealthier and better educated than rural populations, but poorer and less educated than urban populations. Informal sectors in urban areas may offer migrants flexible working hours, no taxes or deductions, less bureaucratic structures, and only 9% less income than the formal sector. Social networks reinforce migrant work in the informal sector and segmentation of the labor force. Social networks may be formalized into associations and help in securing migrant's housing and living. Migrants are integrated in a variety of ways into city life. Migrant communities are a source of energy, organizational skills, and talent. The incidence of poverty appears to be the greatest among women. Women migrants and women left behind by migrants must adjust to new conditions. Migration policies tend to focus on regulating the volume of migration. The author concludes that migration alleviates poverty and that policies should address city management, migrant adjustment processes, and training programs for nonmigrants.

Constraints on B and Higgs physics in minimal low energy supersymmetric models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carena, Marcela; /Fermilab; Menon, A.

2006-03-01

We study the implications of minimal flavor violating low energy supersymmetry scenarios for the search of new physics in the B and Higgs sectors at the Tevatron collider and the LHC. We show that the already stringent Tevatron bound on the decay rate B{sub s} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} sets strong constraints on the possibility of generating large corrections to the mass difference {Delta} M{sub s} of the B{sub s} eigenstates. We also show that the B{sub s} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} bound together with the constraint on the branching ratio of the rare decay b {yields} s{gamma} has strongmore » implications for the search of light, non-standard Higgs bosons at hadron colliders. In doing this, we demonstrate that the former expressions derived for the analysis of the double penguin contributions in the Kaon sector need to be corrected by additional terms for a realistic analysis of these effects. We also study a specific non-minimal flavor violating scenario, where there are flavor changing gluino-squark-quark interactions, governed by the CKM matrix elements, and show that the B and Higgs physics constraints are similar to the ones in the minimal flavor violating case. Finally we show that, in scenarios like electroweak baryogenesis which have light stops and charginos, there may be enhanced effects on the B and K mixing parameters, without any significant effect on the rate of B{sub s} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}.« less

Risky Business and the American Climate Prospectus: Economic Risks of Climate Change in the United States"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gordon, K.; Houser, T.; Kopp, R. E., III; Hsiang, S. M.; Larsen, K.; Jina, A.; Delgado, M.; Muir-Wood, R.; Rasmussen, D.; Rising, J.; Mastrandrea, M.; Wilson, P. S.

2014-12-01

The United States faces a range of economic risks from global climate change - from increased flooding and storm damage, to climate-driven changes in crop yields and labor productivity, to heat-related strains on energy and public health systems. The Risky Business Project commissioned a groundbreaking new analysis of these and other climate risks by region of the country and sector of the economy. The American Climate Prospectus (ACP) links state-of-the-art climate models with econometric research of human responses to climate variability and cutting edge private sector risk assessment tools, the ACP offers decision-makers a data driven assessment of the specific risks they face. We describe the challenge, methods, findings, and policy implications of the national risk analysis, with particular focus on methodological innovations and novel insights.

Responsible leader behavior in health sectors.

PubMed

Longest, Beaufort

2017-02-06

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to expand attention to responsible leader behavior in the world's health sectors by explaining how this concept applies to health sectors, considering why health sector leaders should behave responsibly, reviewing how they can do so, and asserting potential impact through an applied example. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a viewpoint, reflecting conceptualizations rooted in leadership literature which are then specifically applied to health sectors. A definition of responsible leader behavior is affirmed and applied specifically in health sectors. Conceptualizations and viewpoints about practice of responsible leader behavior in health sectors and potential consequences are then discussed and asserted. Findings Leadership failures and debacles found in health, but more so in other sectors, have led leadership researchers to offer insights, many of them empirical, into the challenges of leadership especially by more clearly delineating responsible leader behavior. Practical implications Much of what has been learned in the research about responsible leader behavior offers pathways for health sector leaders to more fully practice responsible leadership. Social implications This paper asserts and provides a supporting example that greater levels of responsible leader behavior in health sectors hold potentially important societal benefits. Originality/value This paper is the first to apply emerging conceptualizations and early empirical findings about responsible leader behavior specifically to leaders in health sectors.

Climate Change Impacts on the Built Environment in the United States and Implications for Sustainability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.

2012-01-01

As an integral part of the National Climate Assessment (NCA), technical assessment reports for 13 regions in the U.S. that describe the scientific rationale to support climate change impacts within the purview of these regions, and provide adaptation or mitigation measures in response to these impacts. These technical assessments focus on climate change impacts on sectors that are important environmental, biophysical, and social and economic aspects of sustainability within the U.S.: Climate change science, Ecosystems and biodiversity, Water resources, Human health, Energy supply and use, Water/energy/land use, Transportation, Urban/infrastructure/vulnerability, Agriculture, Impacts of climate change on tribal/indigenous and native lands and resources, Forestry, Land use/land cover change, Rural communities development, and Impacts on biogeochemical cycles, with implications for ecosystems and biodiversity. There is a critical and timely need for the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate change by the policy and decision making communities, to insure resiliency and sustainability of the built environment in the future.

Cosmological implications of quantum mechanics parametrization of dark energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szydłowski, Marek; Stachowski, Aleksander; Urbanowski, Krzysztof

2017-08-01

We consider the cosmology with the running dark energy. The parametrization of dark energy is derived from the quantum process of transition from the false vacuum state to the true vacuum state. This model is the generalized interacting CDM model. We consider the energy density of dark energy parametrization, which is given by the Breit-Wigner energy distribution function. The idea of the process of the quantum mechanical decay of unstable states was formulated by Krauss and Dent. We used this idea in our considerations. In this model is an energy transfer in the dark sector. In this evolutional scenario the universe starts from the false vacuum state and goes to the true vacuum state of the present day universe. The intermediate regime during the passage from false to true vacuum states takes place. In this way the cosmological constant problem can be tried to solve. We estimate the cosmological parameters for this model. This model is in a good agreement with the astronomical data and is practically indistinguishable from CDM model.

Public/Private Sector Interactions: The Implications for Networking. A Discussion Report Prepared by the Network Advisory Committee.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Network Planning Paper, 1983

1983-01-01

At a 2-day meeting in October 1982, the Library of Congress Network Advisory Committee (NAC) members discussed the complex issues involved in public and private sector interactions and their relationship to networking activities. The report, "Public Sector/Private Sector Interaction in Providing Information Services," prepared by the…

Assessing global resource utilization efficiency in the industrial sector.

PubMed

Rosen, Marc A

2013-09-01

Designing efficient energy systems, which also meet economic, environmental and other objectives and constraints, is a significant challenge. In a world with finite natural resources and large energy demands, it is important to understand not just actual efficiencies, but also limits to efficiency, as the latter identify margins for efficiency improvement. Energy analysis alone is inadequate, e.g., it yields energy efficiencies that do not provide limits to efficiency. To obtain meaningful and useful efficiencies for energy systems, and to clarify losses, exergy analysis is a beneficial and useful tool. Here, the global industrial sector and industries within it are assessed by using energy and exergy methods. The objective is to improve the understanding of the efficiency of global resource use in the industrial sector and, with this information, to facilitate the development, prioritization and ultimate implementation of rational improvement options. Global energy and exergy flow diagrams for the industrial sector are developed and overall efficiencies for the global industrial sector evaluated as 51% based on energy and 30% based on exergy. Consequently, exergy analysis indicates a less efficient picture of energy use in the global industrial sector than does energy analysis. A larger margin for improvement exists from an exergy perspective, compared to the overly optimistic margin indicated by energy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

U.S. power generation, water stress, and climate change: using science to understand "water-smart" electricity-sector decision making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, J. H.; Frumhoff, P. C.; Averyt, K.; Newmark, R. L.

2012-12-01

In 2011, nearly 90 percent of U.S. electricity came from thermoelectric (steam-producing) power plants that use water for cooling. These water demands can tax rivers and aquifers, threaten fish and wildlife, and spark conflicts between power plants and other water users. Climate change, driven by in large part by emissions from fossil fuel-based electricity generation, is adding to the strain. Higher temperatures raise electricity demand and lower cooling-system efficiency, while drought and changes in precipitation patterns may make freshwater supplies less reliable. Here we report new findings on the impacts, present and projected, of power-plant water use on local water stress across the United States, and its implications for understanding what constitutes "water-smart" energy decision making. This work was carried out under the auspices of the Energy and Water in a Warming World initiative (EW3), a research and outreach collaboration designed to inform and motivate U.S. public awareness and science-based public policy at the energy-water nexus. The research has involved cataloguing the water use characteristics of virtually every U.S. power generator in the nation to develop a robust assessment of the water resource implications of cooling the nation's power plants. By analyzing local water supply and demand conditions across the nation, we identified water basins where current power plant water use appears to contribute strongly to local water supply stress, and where water-intensive electricity choices could substantially exacerbate water stress. We also identified other potential approaches to considering stress, particularly related to water temperature. The research has also involved analyzing the water implications of different electricity pathways in the United States over the next 40 years. We used a high-resolution electricity model to generate a range of electricity mixes, particularly in the context of a carbon budget, and assessed the water implications of the mixes at water-relevant scales. We then examined how the different scenarios fared under changing water conditions, particular in the face of droughts and increases in water temperature. Our findings help enhance understanding within the general public, electricity-sector decision makers, and elected officials, and provide science-based information to inform decisions about new power plants, plant retirements, and cooling technology choices. We discuss the results of outreach to date around these findings, and opportunities to inform and motivate a more sustainable energy, water, and climate future.

Converting Energy Subsidies to Investments: Scaling-Up Deep Energy Retrofit in Residential Sector of Ukraine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denysenko, Artur

After collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited vast and inefficient infrastructure. Combination of historical lack of transparency, decades without reforms, chronical underinvestment and harmful cross-subsidization resulted in accumulation of energy problems, which possess significant threat to economic prosperity and national security. High energy intensity leads to excessive use of energy and heavy reliance on energy import to meet domestic demand. Energy import, in turn, results in high account balance deficit and heavy burden on the state finances. A residential sector, which accounts for one third of energy consumption and is the highest consumer of natural gas, is particularly challenging to reform. This thesis explores energy consumption of the residential sector of Ukraine. Using energy decomposition method, recent changes in energy use is analyzed. Energy intensity of space heating in the residential sector of Ukraine is compared with selected EU member states with similar climates. Energy efficiency potential is evaluated for whole residential sector in general and for multistory apartment buildings connected to the district heating in particular. Specifically, investments in thermal modernization of multistory residential buildings will result in almost 45TWh, or 3.81 Mtoe, of annual savings. Required investments for deep energy retrofit of multistory buildings is estimated as much as $19 billion in 2015 prices. Experience of energy subsidy reforms as well as lessons from energy retrofit policy from selected countries is analyzed. Policy recommendations to turn energy subsidies into investments in deep energy retrofit of residential sector of Ukraine are suggested. Regional dimension of existing energy subsidies and capital subsidies required for energy retrofit is presented.

Pakistan: Asia-Pacific energy series, country report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gazdar, M.N.

1992-03-01

As part of our continuing assessment of Asia-Pacific energy markets, the Energy Program has embarked on a series of country studies that discuss in detail the structure of the energy sector in each major country in the region. The country studies also provide the reader with an overview of the economic and political situation in the various countries. We have particularly highlighted petroleum and gas issues in the country studies and have attempted to show the foreign trade implications of oil and gas trade. Finally, to the greatest extent possible, we have provided the latest available statistics -- often frommore » unpublished and disparate sources that are unavailable to most readers. Staff members have traveled extensively in -- and at times have lived in -- the countries under review and have held discussions with senior policymakers in government and industry. Thus, these reports provide not only information but also the latest thinking on energy issues in the various countries. This report summarizes the energy and economic situation in Pakistan.« less

78 FR 34112 - Review and Revision of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-06

... consider sector dependencies on energy and communications systems, and identify pre-event and mitigation... development efforts; Review of the risk management approach; Sector dependencies on energy and communications... framework going forward. Sector Dependencies on Energy and Communications Systems PPD-21 acknowledges the...

Commentary: Forces That Drive the Vape Shop Industry and Implications for the Health Professions.

PubMed

Sussman, Steve; Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes; Garcia, Robert; Barker, Dianne C; Samet, Jonathan M; Leventhal, Adam; Unger, Jennifer B

2016-09-01

At least three factors may be driving the evolution of the vape shop industry, a rapidly growing market sector that specializes in the sales of electronic cigarettes: (1) the tobacco industry, (2) the public health sector and its diverse stakeholders, and (3) consumer demand. These influences and the responses of the vape shop sector have resulted in a rapidly changing landscape. This commentary briefly discusses these three factors and the implications for the health professions, as they address the vape shop industry and its consequences for public health. © The Author(s) 2015.

Commentary: Forces That Drive the Vape Shop Industry and Implications for the Health Professions

PubMed Central

Sussman, Steve; Baezconde-Garbanati, Lourdes; Garcia, Robert; Barker, Dianne C.; Samet, Jonathan M.; Leventhal, Adam; Unger, Jennifer B.

2016-01-01

At least three factors may be driving the evolution of the vape shop industry, a rapidly growing market sector that specializes in the sales of electronic cigarettes: (1) the tobacco industry, (2) the public health sector and its diverse stakeholders, and (3) consumer demand. These influences and the responses of the vape shop sector have resulted in a rapidly changing landscape. This commentary briefly discusses these three factors and the implications for the health professions, as they address the vape shop industry and its consequences for public health. PMID:25967071

Co-Optima Targets Maximum Transportation Sector Efficiency, Energy

Science.gov Websites

Independence and Industry Growth | News | NREL Co-Optima Targets Maximum Transportation Sector Efficiency, Energy Independence and Industry Growth Co-Optima Targets Maximum Transportation Sector Efficiency, Energy Independence and Industry Growth February 6, 2017 Report cover on Co-Optima Year in Review

Analysis of Alaska transportation sectors to assess energy use and impacts of price shocks and climate change legislation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-04-01

We analyzed the use of energy by Alaskas transportation sectors to assess the impact of sudden fuel prices changes. : We conducted three types of analysis: 1) Development of broad energy use statistics for each transportation sector, : including t...

Bandwidth Study on Energy Use and Potential Energy Saving Opportunities in U.S. Pulp and Paper Manufacturing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sabine Brueske, Caroline Kramer, Aaron Fisher

2015-06-01

Energy bandwidth studies of U.S. manufacturing sectors can serve as foundational references in framing the range (or bandwidth) of potential energy savings opportunities. This bandwidth study examines energy consumption and potential energy savings opportunities in U.S. pulp and paper manufacturing. The study relies on multiple sources to estimate the energy used in six individual process areas, representing 52% of sector-wide energy consumption. Energy savings opportunities for individual processes are based on technologies currently in use or under development; the potential savings are then extrapolated to estimate sector-wide energy savings opportunity

Bandwidth Study on Energy Use and Potential Energy Savings Opportunities in U.S. Petroleum Refining

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sabine Brueske, Caroline Kramer, Aaron Fisher

2015-06-01

Energy bandwidth studies of U.S. manufacturing sectors can serve as foundational references in framing the range (or bandwidth) of potential energy savings opportunities. This bandwidth study examines energy consumption and potential energy savings opportunities in U.S. petroleum refining. The study relies on multiple sources to estimate the energy used in nine individual process areas, representing 68% of sector-wide energy consumption. Energy savings opportunities for individual processes are based on technologies currently in use or under development; these potential savings are then extrapolated to estimate sector-wide energy savings opportunity.

Integrated Energy-Water Planning in the Western and Texas Interconnections

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tidwell, Vincent; Gasper, John; Goldstein, Robert

2013-07-29

While long-term regional electricity transmission planning has traditionally focused on cost, infrastructure utilization, and reliability, issues concerning the availability of water represent an emerging issue. Thermoelectric expansion must be considered in the context of competing demands from other water use sectors balanced with fresh and non-fresh water supplies subject to climate variability. An integrated Energy-Water Decision Support System (DSS) is being developed that will enable planners in the Western and Texas Interconnections to analyze the potential implications of water availability and cost for long-range transmission planning. The project brings together electric transmission planners (Western Electricity Coordinating Council and Electric Reliabilitymore » Council of Texas) with western water planners (Western Governors’ Association and the Western States Water Council). This paper lays out the basic framework for this integrated Energy-Water DSS.« less

One-loop renormalization of a gravity-scalar system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, I. Y.

2017-05-01

Extending the renormalizability proposal of the physical sector of 4D Einstein gravity, we have recently proposed renormalizability of the 3D physical sector of gravity-matter systems. The main goal of the present work is to conduct systematic one-loop renormalization of a gravity-matter system by applying our foliation-based quantization scheme. In this work we explicitly carry out renormalization of a gravity-scalar system with a Higgs-type potential. With the fluctuation part of the scalar field gauged away, the system becomes renormalizable through a metric field redefinition. We use dimensional regularization throughout. One of the salient aspects of our analysis is how the graviton propagator acquires the "mass" term. One-loop calculations lead to renormalization of the cosmological and Newton constants. We discuss other implications of our results as well: time-varying vacuum energy density and masses of the elementary particles as well as the potential relevance of Neumann boundary condition for black hole information.

Clean energy storage technology in the making: An innovation systems perspective on flywheel energy storage.

PubMed

Wicki, Samuel; Hansen, Erik G

2017-09-20

The emergence and diffusion of green and sustainable technologies is full of obstacles and has therefore become an important area of research. We are interested in further understanding the dynamics between entrepreneurial experimentation, market formation, and institutional contexts, together playing a decisive role for successful diffusion of such technologies. Accordingly, we study these processes by adopting a technological innovation system perspective focusing on actors, networks, and institutions as well as the functions provided by them. Using a qualitative case study research design, we focus on the high-speed flywheel energy storage technology. As flywheels are based on a rotating mass allowing short-term storage of energy in kinetic form, they represent an environmentally-friendly alternative to electrochemical batteries and therefore can play an important role in sustainable energy transitions. Our contribution is threefold: First , regarding the flywheel energy storage technology, our findings reveal two subsystems and related markets in which development took different courses. In the automotive sector, flywheels are developing well as a braking energy recovery technology under the influence of two motors of innovation. In the electricity sector, they are stagnating at the stage of demonstration projects because of two important system weaknesses that counteract demand for storage. Second , we contribute to the theory of technological innovation systems by better understanding the internal dynamics between different functions of an innovation system as well as between the innovation system and its (external) contextual structures. Our third contribution is methodological. According to our best knowledge, we are the first to use system dynamics to (qualitatively) analyze and visualize dynamics between the diverse functions of innovation systems with the aim of enabling a better understanding of complex and iterative system processes. The paper also derives important implications for energy scholars, flywheel practitioners, and policymakers.

Modal shifts in short-haul passenger travel and the consequent energy impacts. [Intercity travel under 500 miles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1980-03-01

A study was performed to evaluate the impacts of strategies to effect modal shifts in short-haul passenger travel (defined herein as intercity travel under 500 miles) from energy-intensive modes to those modes that are less energy-intensive. A series of individual strategies, ranging from incentives to the less energy-intensive modes (bus, rail) to penalties to the more energy-intensive modes (auto, air) was examined to determine energy saved and policy implications relative to strategy implementation. The most effective of the individual strategies were then combined in all permutations, and the analysis was repeated. As part of the analytical process, effects of factorsmore » other than energy (user cost and time, emissions, government subsidy, and travel fatailities) were examined in a benefit/cost analysis. Finally, energy savings, benefit/cost impacts, implementation considerations, and policy implications were evaluated to arrive at conclusions as to the effectiveness of the more-influential strategies and to the overall effectiveness of induced modal shifts. The principal conclusion of the study is that the maximum 1980 energy saving that might be realized by modal shifts, discounting the concurrent effects of demand suppression and improvement of mode efficiency, is approximately 83 x 10/sup 12/ Btu (46,500 bbl gasoline per day), 3.8% of the total projected 1980 energy consumption in the short-haul transportation sector and 0.23% of the total US petroleum use. It was also concluded that strategies to achieve these small savings by modal shifts would result in significant economic, social, and business disruptions.« less

From Extraction to Renewal: A Global Campaign for Healthy Energy.

PubMed

Wang, Jennifer S; Euripidou, Rico; Armstrong, Fiona; Jensen, Génon K; Karliner, Josh; Guinto, Renzo R; Zhao, Ang; Narayanan, Divya; Orris, Peter

2016-02-01

A global movement is emerging in the health sector to engage in discourse and advocacy on the health impacts and health costs of energy choices--specifically the health harms of extractive, climate-disrupting energy sources such as coal and gas. Individuals and organizations in the health sector have begun to address climate and energy issues at multiple levels of engagement, including with others in the health sector, with pollution-affected communities, with policy makers, and with the media. We present recent examples of health sector advocacy and leadership on the health impacts of energy choices and opportunities for broadening and deepening the movement. © The Author(s) 2016.

Drivers of U.S. Household Energy Consumption, 1980-2009

EIA Publications

2015-01-01

In 2012, the residential sector accounted for 21% of total primary energy consumption and about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States (computed from EIA 2013). Because of the impacts of residential sector energy use on the environment and the economy, this study was undertaken to help provide a better understanding of the factors affecting energy consumption in this sector. The analysis is based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) residential energy consumption surveys (RECS) 1980-2009.

Impact of Clean Energy R&D on the U.S. Power Sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Donohoo-Vallett, Paul; Mai, Trieu; Mowers, Matthew

The U.S. government, along with other governments, private corporations and organizations, invests significantly in research, development, demonstration and deployment (RDD&D) activities in clean energy technologies, in part to achieve the goal of a clean, secure, and reliable energy system. While specific outcomes and breakthroughs resulting from RDD&D investment are unpredictable, it can be instructive to explore the potential impacts of clean energy RDD&D activities in the power sector and to place those impacts in the context of current and anticipated market trends. This analysis builds on and leverages analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) titled “Energy CO 2more » Emissions Impacts of Clean Energy Technology Innovation and Policy” (DOE 2017). Similar to DOE (2017), we explore how additional improvements in cost and performance of clean energy technologies could impact the future U.S. energy system; however, unlike the economy-wide modeling used in DOE (2017) our analysis is focused solely on the electricity sector and applies a different and more highly spatially-resolved electric sector model. More specifically, we apply a scenario analysis approach to explore how assumed further advancements in clean electricity technologies would impact power sector generation mix, electricity system costs, and power sector carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions.« less

Solving employment problems in the European Union: The role of energy efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wiltshire, V.

1998-07-01

This paper is based on a project funded under the European Commission's SAVE (Specific Actions for Vigorous Energy Efficiency) program. The project is looking at the employment implications of energy efficiency programs, using a large number of case studies throughout the nine European Union (EU) countries participating in the project. Various modeling techniques are being used to investigate policy scenarios. The EU is particularly interested in looking at employment potential of energy efficiency at the present time. Traditionally, jobs in the environmental sector have only been seen as occurring in end-of-pipe type industries, such as pollution control; but a largemore » potential for employment opportunities has now been recognized in the energy efficiency sector. Included in the study will be a detailed discussion of the quality, as well as the quantity, of jobs created, i.e. what skill levels will be required and the types of people who would wish to undertake the work. The qualitative aspect of jobs will be looked at for their suitability for solving EU and country specific problems, such as long term unemployment of unskilled workers. This paper will present some initial results from the study and discuss the issues raised by it and by other recent work in this area. Such issues include not only the types and numbers of jobs directly created through the programs, but also indirect effects on the local, national and international economies. The negative effects, such as the reduced energy usage effect on the supply industry will also be examined.« less

Long-lived light mediator to dark matter and primordial small scale spectrum

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Yue

2015-05-01

We calculate the early universe evolution of perturbations in the dark matter energy density in the context of simple dark sector models containing a GeV scale light mediator. We consider the case that the mediator is long-lived, with lifetime up to a second, and before decaying it temporarily dominates the energy density of the universe. We show that for primordial perturbations that enter the horizon around this period, the interplay between linear growth during matter domination and collisional damping can generically lead to a sharp peak in the spectrum of dark matter density perturbation. Finally, as a result, the populationmore » of the smallest DM halos gets enhanced. Possible implications of this scenario are discussed.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

de la Rue du Can, Stephane; Hasanbeigi, Ali; Sathaye, Jayant

This report on the California Energy Balance version 2 (CALEB v2) database documents the latest update and improvements to CALEB version 1 (CALEB v1) and provides a complete picture of how energy is supplied and consumed in the State of California. The CALEB research team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) performed the research and analysis described in this report. CALEB manages highly disaggregated data on energy supply, transformation, and end-use consumption for about 40 different energy commodities, from 1990 to 2008. This report describes in detail California's energy use from supply through end-use consumption as well as the datamore » sources used. The report also analyzes trends in energy demand for the "Manufacturing" and "Building" sectors. Decomposition analysis of energy consumption combined with measures of the activity driving that consumption quantifies the effects of factors that shape energy consumption trends. The study finds that a decrease in energy intensity has had a very significant impact on reducing energy demand over the past 20 years. The largest impact can be observed in the industry sector where energy demand would have had increased by 358 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) if subsectoral energy intensities had remained at 1997 levels. Instead, energy demand actually decreased by 70 TBtu. In the "Building" sector, combined results from the "Service" and "Residential" subsectors suggest that energy demand would have increased by 264 TBtu (121 TBtu in the "Services" sector and 143 TBtu in the "Residential" sector) during the same period, 1997 to 2008. However, energy demand increased at a lesser rate, by only 162 TBtu (92 TBtu in the "Services" sector and 70 TBtu in the "Residential" sector). These energy intensity reductions can be indicative of energyefficiency improvements during the past 10 years. The research presented in this report provides a basis for developing an energy-efficiency performance index to measure progress over time in the State of California.« less

Glass and Fiber Glass Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Computers, Electronics, and Appliances Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Textiles Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Aluminum Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Fabricated Metals Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006) (in Spanish)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-19

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Cement Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-01

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Chemicals Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Food and Beverage Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

All Manufacturing Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Forest Products Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Foundries Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Plastics and Rubber Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Transportation Equipment Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Iron and Steel Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Machinery Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Petroleum Refining Footprint, October 2012 (MECS 2006)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2012-10-17

Manufacturing energy and carbon footprints map energy consumption and losses, as well as greenhouse gas emissions from fuel consumption, for fifteen individual U.S. manufacturing sectors (representing 94% of all manufacturing energy use) and for the entire manufacturing sector. By providing energy consumption and emissions figures broken down by end use, the footprints allow for comparisons of energy use and emissions sources both within and across sectors. The footprints portray a large amount of information for each sector, including: * Comparison of the energy generated offsite and transferred to facilities versus that generated onsite * Nature and amount of energy consumedmore » by end use within facilities * Magnitude of the energy lost both outside and inside facility boundaries * Magnitude of the greenhouse gas emissions released as a result of manufacturing energy use. Energy losses indicate opportunities to improve efficiency by implementing energy management best practices, upgrading energy systems, and developing new technologies. Footprints are available below for each sector. Data is presented in two levels of detail. The first page provides a high- level snapshot of the offsite and onsite energy flow, and the second page shows the detail for onsite generation and end use of energy. The principle energy use data source is the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), for consumption in the year 2006, when the survey was last completed.« less

Access in U.S. Higher Education: What Does the For-Profit Sector Contribute? PROPHE Working Paper Series. WP No. 14

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kinser, Kevin

2009-01-01

The private sector's role in higher education access has received limited attention, though the expansion of the sector globally has immediate implications for the ability of the system to serve more students. In the U.S. case, the private sector includes both nonprofit and for-profit forms, with the for-profit institutions comparable in critical…

Air quality, health, and climate implications of China’s synthetic natural gas development

PubMed Central

Qin, Yue; Wagner, Fabian; Scovronick, Noah; Yang, Junnan; Zhu, Tong; Mauzerall, Denise L.

2017-01-01

Facing severe air pollution and growing dependence on natural gas imports, the Chinese government plans to increase coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG) production. Although displacement of coal with SNG benefits air quality, it increases CO2 emissions. Due to variations in air pollutant and CO2 emission factors and energy efficiencies across sectors, coal replacement with SNG results in varying degrees of air quality benefits and climate penalties. We estimate air quality, human health, and climate impacts of SNG substitution strategies in 2020. Using all production of SNG in the residential sector results in an annual decrease of ∼32,000 (20,000 to 41,000) outdoor-air-pollution-associated premature deaths, with ranges determined by the low and high estimates of the health risks. If changes in indoor/household air pollution were also included, the decrease would be far larger. SNG deployment in the residential sector results in nearly 10 and 60 times greater reduction in premature mortality than if it is deployed in the industrial or power sectors, respectively. Due to inefficiencies in current household coal use, utilization of SNG in the residential sector results in only 20 to 30% of the carbon penalty compared with using it in the industrial or power sectors. Even if carbon capture and storage is used in SNG production with today’s technology, SNG emits 22 to 40% more CO2 than the same amount of conventional gas. Among the SNG deployment strategies we evaluate, allocating currently planned SNG to households provides the largest air quality and health benefits with the smallest carbon penalties. PMID:28438993

Air quality, health, and climate implications of China's synthetic natural gas development.

PubMed

Qin, Yue; Wagner, Fabian; Scovronick, Noah; Peng, Wei; Yang, Junnan; Zhu, Tong; Smith, Kirk R; Mauzerall, Denise L

2017-05-09

Facing severe air pollution and growing dependence on natural gas imports, the Chinese government plans to increase coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG) production. Although displacement of coal with SNG benefits air quality, it increases CO 2 emissions. Due to variations in air pollutant and CO 2 emission factors and energy efficiencies across sectors, coal replacement with SNG results in varying degrees of air quality benefits and climate penalties. We estimate air quality, human health, and climate impacts of SNG substitution strategies in 2020. Using all production of SNG in the residential sector results in an annual decrease of ∼32,000 (20,000 to 41,000) outdoor-air-pollution-associated premature deaths, with ranges determined by the low and high estimates of the health risks. If changes in indoor/household air pollution were also included, the decrease would be far larger. SNG deployment in the residential sector results in nearly 10 and 60 times greater reduction in premature mortality than if it is deployed in the industrial or power sectors, respectively. Due to inefficiencies in current household coal use, utilization of SNG in the residential sector results in only 20 to 30% of the carbon penalty compared with using it in the industrial or power sectors. Even if carbon capture and storage is used in SNG production with today's technology, SNG emits 22 to 40% more CO 2 than the same amount of conventional gas. Among the SNG deployment strategies we evaluate, allocating currently planned SNG to households provides the largest air quality and health benefits with the smallest carbon penalties.

Air quality, health, and climate implications of China's synthetic natural gas development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Yue; Wagner, Fabian; Scovronick, Noah; Peng, Wei; Yang, Junnan; Zhu, Tong; Smith, Kirk R.; Mauzerall, Denise L.

2017-05-01

Facing severe air pollution and growing dependence on natural gas imports, the Chinese government plans to increase coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG) production. Although displacement of coal with SNG benefits air quality, it increases CO2 emissions. Due to variations in air pollutant and CO2 emission factors and energy efficiencies across sectors, coal replacement with SNG results in varying degrees of air quality benefits and climate penalties. We estimate air quality, human health, and climate impacts of SNG substitution strategies in 2020. Using all production of SNG in the residential sector results in an annual decrease of ˜32,000 (20,000 to 41,000) outdoor-air-pollution-associated premature deaths, with ranges determined by the low and high estimates of the health risks. If changes in indoor/household air pollution were also included, the decrease would be far larger. SNG deployment in the residential sector results in nearly 10 and 60 times greater reduction in premature mortality than if it is deployed in the industrial or power sectors, respectively. Due to inefficiencies in current household coal use, utilization of SNG in the residential sector results in only 20 to 30% of the carbon penalty compared with using it in the industrial or power sectors. Even if carbon capture and storage is used in SNG production with today’s technology, SNG emits 22 to 40% more CO2 than the same amount of conventional gas. Among the SNG deployment strategies we evaluate, allocating currently planned SNG to households provides the largest air quality and health benefits with the smallest carbon penalties.

Bandwidth Study on Energy Use and Potential Energy Saving Opportunities in U.S. Chemical Manufacturing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sabine Brueske, Caroline Kramer, Aaron Fisher

Energy bandwidth studies of U.S. manufacturing sectors can serve as foundational references in framing the range (or bandwidth) of potential energy savings opportunities. This bandwidth study examines energy consumption and potential energy savings opportunities in U.S. chemical manufacturing. The study relies on multiple sources to estimate the energy used in the production of 74 individual chemicals, representing 57% of sector-wide energy consumption. Energy savings opportunities for individual chemicals and for 15 subsectors of chemicals manufacturing are based on technologies currently in use or under development; these potential savings are then extrapolated to estimate sector-wide energy savings opportunity.

Substantial Air Quality and Climate Co-benefits Achievable Now with Industrial Efficiency Improvements in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mauzerall, D. L.; Peng, W.; Wagner, F.; Yang, J.

2016-12-01

China is the world's top carbon emitter and suffers from severe air pollution. It has recently made commitments to improve air quality and peak its carbon emissions by 2030. Here we examine near-term air quality and implications for CO2 emissions of various sector-based policies in China that are widely discussed and technically plausible for immediate implementation. For each sector, we consider the effect of a 20% increase in the installation rate of available air pollution control devices, along with the following sector-specific policies. Power sector (POW): 80% replacement of small coal power plants with larger more efficient ones; Industry sector (IND): 20% improvement in energy efficiency; Transport sector (TRA): replacement of high emitters with average vehicle fleet emissions; and Residential sector (RES): replacement of 20% of coal-based stoves with those using liquefied petroleum gas. We conduct an integrated assessment using the air pollution model WRF-Chem and epidemiological concentration-response relationships to evaluate a 2015 base case and various counterfactual scenarios. We find that the IND scenario would reduce both the total national air-pollution-related deaths and carbon emissions the most of the four sectorial scenarios examined. Benefits of addressing the industrial sector remain large even when efficiency improvements are smaller than 20%. Moreover, we find that simultaneously implementing all the measures in all four sectors (combined, COMB) leads to slightly larger air quality and health benefits than obtained by summing the benefits achieved from the four sectorial scenarios individually. This is because nonlinearity in atmospheric chemistry leads to a larger reduction in fine particulate concentrations when emissions from all sectors are reduced simultaneously. The resulting lower concentrations imply a lower position on the concave human premature mortality relative risk curve with fewer associated deaths. While much effort has focused on reducing emissions from the power and transportation sectors, our analysis highlights the importance of efficiency improvements in the industrial sector as a mechanism to simultaneously improve air quality and public health while reducing CO2 emissions.

SCENARIOS FOR MEETING CALIFORNIA'S 2050 CLIMATE GOALS California's Carbon Challenge Phase II Volume I: Non-Electricity Sectors and Overall Scenario Results

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wei, Max; Greenblatt, Jeffrey; Donovan, Sally

2014-06-01

This study provides an updated analysis of long-term energy system scenarios for California consistent with the State meeting its 2050 climate goal, including detailed analysis and assessment of electricity system build-out, operation, and costs across the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) region. Four key elements are found to be critical for the State to achieve its 2050 goal of 80 percent greenhouse (GHG) reductions from the 1990 level: aggressive energy efficiency; clean electricity; widespread electrification of passenger vehicles, building heating, and industry heating; and large-scale production of low-carbon footprint biofuels to largely replace petroleum-based liquid fuels. The approach taken heremore » is that technically achievable energy efficiency measures are assumed to be achieved by 2050 and aggregated with the other key elements mentioned above to estimate resultant emissions in 2050. The energy and non-energy sectors are each assumed to have the objective of meeting an 80 percent reduction from their respective 1990 GHG levels for the purposes of analysis. A different partitioning of energy and non-energy sector GHG greenhouse reductions is allowed if emission reductions in one sector are more economic or technically achievable than in the other. Similarly, within the energy or non-energy sectors, greater or less than 80 percent reduction from 1990 is allowed for sub-sectors within the energy or non-energy sectors as long as the overall target is achieved. Overall emissions for the key economy-wide scenarios are considered in this report. All scenarios are compliant or nearly compliant with the 2050 goal. This finding suggests that multiple technical pathways exist to achieve the target with aggressive policy support and continued technology development of largely existing technologies.« less

Improving the Usability of Integrated Assessment for Adaptation Practice: Insights from the U.S. Southeast Energy Sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

de Bremond, Ariane; Preston, Benjamin; Rice, Jennie S.

2014-10-01

Energy systems comprise a key sector of the U.S. economy, and one that has been identified as potentially vulnerable to the effects of climate variability and change. However, understanding of adaptation processes in energy companies and private entities more broadly is limited. It is unclear, for example, the extent to which energy companies are well-served by existing knowledge and tools emerging from the impacts, adaptation and vulnerability (IAV) and integrated assessment modeling (IAM) communities and/or what experiments, analyses, and model results have practical utility for informing adaptation in the energy sector. As part of a regional IAM development project, wemore » investigated available evidence of adaptation processes in the energy sector, with a particular emphasis on the U.S. Southeast and Gulf Coast region. A mixed methods approach of literature review and semi-structured interviews with key informants from energy utilities was used to compare existing knowledge from the IAV community with that of regional stakeholders. That comparison revealed that much of the IAV literature on the energy sector is climate-centric and therefore disconnected from the more integrated decision-making processes and institutional perspectives of energy utilities. Increasing the relevance of research and assessment for the energy sector will necessitate a greater investment in integrated assessment and modeling efforts that respond to practical decision-making needs as well as greater collaboration between energy utilities and researchers in the design, execution, and communication of those efforts.« less

Market leadership by example: Government sector energy efficiency in developing countries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Wie McGrory, Laura; Harris, Jeffrey; Breceda, Miguel

2002-05-20

Government facilities and services are often the largest energy users and major purchasers of energy-using equipment within a country. In developing as well as industrial countries, government ''leadership by example'' can be a powerful force to shift the market toward energy efficiency, complementing other elements of a national energy efficiency strategy. Benefits from more efficient energy management in government facilities and operations include lower government energy bills, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, less demand on electric utility systems, and in many cases reduced dependence on imported oil. Even more significantly, the government sector's buying power and example to others can generatemore » broader demand for energy-efficient products and services, creating entry markets for domestic suppliers and stimulating competition in providing high-efficiency products and services. Despite these benefits, with the exception of a few countries government sector actions have often lagged behind other energy efficiency policies. This is especially true in developing countries and transition economies - even though energy used by public agencies in these countries may represent at least as large a share of total energy use as the public sector in industrial economies. This paper summarizes work in progress to inventory current programs and policies for government sector energy efficiency in developing countries, and describes successful case studies from Mexico's implementation of energy management in the public sector. We show how these policies in Mexico, begun at the federal level, have more recently been extended to state and local agencies, and consider the applicability of this model to other developing countries.« less

Liberian macroeconomy and simulation of sectoral energy demand: 1981-2000

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hill, L.J.

1984-06-01

The primary purpose of this report is to document the results of a research effort on end-use, sector energy demand in Liberia, West Africa over the 1981-2000 time horizon. The research was undertaken as one component of a much broader integrated energy assessment of Liberia. Other components of the assessment, however, focused on current energy supply and consumption together with future energy supply options for Liberia. This particular report is devoted exclusively to a discussion of Liberian energy demand. The methodology utilized to simulate Liberian sectoral energy demand over the period 1981-2000 involved the recursive interaction of a macroeconomic modelmore » and individual, econometrically-estimated sectoral demand equations. That is, given the projections for gross output in the Liberian economy from the macroeconomic model, sectoral energy demand was simulated. The individual energy demand equations were estimated on the basis of economic variables that are theorized to influence energy consumption in the respective sectors (e.g., price, output). The primary conclusion drawn from the analysis is that, besides being sensitive to changes in international economic activity, the demand for energy in Liberia over the 1981 to 2000 horizon is highly sensitive to internal production of its two primary exports: iron ore and rubber. More specifically, as characterized in the four scenarios, future growth in Liberian energy demand is contingent on the output of three companies: the Liberian American Swedish Mining Company, the Bong Mining Company, and the Firestone Rubber Company. Therefore, expansion of Liberia's energy supply capacity in the future should proceed cautiously. 16 references, 6 figures, 15 tables.« less

Carbon mitigation with biomass: An engineering, economic and policy assessment of opportunities and implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rhodes, James S., III

2007-12-01

Industrial bio-energy systems provide diverse opportunities for abating anthropogenic greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions and for advancing other important policy objectives. The confluence of potential contributions to important social, economic, and environmental policy objectives with very real challenges to deployment creates rich opportunities for study. In particular, the analyses developed in this thesis aim to increase understanding of how industrial bio-energy may be applied to abate GHG emissions in prospective energy markets, the relative merits of alternate bio-energy systems, the extent to which public support for developing such systems is justified, and the public policy instruments that may be capable of providing such support. This objective is advanced through analysis of specific industrial bio-energy technologies, in the form of bottom-up engineering-economic analyses, to determine their economic performance relative to other mitigation options. These bottom-up analyses are used to inform parameter definitions in two higher-level stochastic models that explicitly account for uncertainty in key model parameters, including capital costs, operating and maintenance costs, and fuel costs. One of these models is used to develop supply curves for electricity generation and carbon mitigation from biomass-coal cofire in the U.S. The other is used to characterize the performance of multiple bio-energy systems in the context of a competitive market for low-carbon energy products. The results indicate that industrial bio-energy systems are capable of making a variety of potentially important contributions under scenarios that value anthropogenic GHG emissions. In the near term, cofire of available biomass in existing coal fired power plants has the potential to provide substantial emissions reductions at reasonable costs. Carbon prices between 30 and 70 per ton carbon could induce reductions in U.S. carbon emissions by 100 to 225 megatons carbon ("MtC"), equivalent to roughly 3% of U.S. GHG emissions. In the medium or longer term, integration of carbon capture and storage technologies with advanced bio-energy conversion technologies ("biomass-CCS"), in both liquid fuels production and electric sector applications, will likely be feasible. These systems are capable of generating useful energy products with negative net atmospheric carbon emissions at carbon prices between 100 and 200 per tC. Negative emissions from biomass-CCS could be applied to offset emissions sources that are difficult or expensive to abate directly. Such indirect mitigation may prove cost competitive and provide important flexibility in achieving stabilization of atmospheric GHG concentrations at desirable levels. With increasing deployments, alternate bio-energy systems will eventually compete for limited biomass resources and inputs to agricultural production--particularly land. In this context, resource allocation decisions will likely turn on the relative economic performance of alternate bio-energy systems in their respective energy markets. The relatively large uncertainty in forecasts of energy futures confounds reliable prediction of economically efficient uses for available biomass resources. High oil prices or large valuation of energy security benefits will likely enable bio-fuels production to dominate electric-sector options. In contrast, low oil prices and low valuation of energy security benefits will likely enable electric-sector applications to dominate. In the latter scenario, indirect mitigation of transportation-sector emissions via emissions offsets from electric-sector biomass-CCS could prove more efficient than direct fuel substitution with biofuels, both economically and in terms of the transportation-sector mitigation of available biomass resources [tC tbiomass-1]. The policy environment surrounding industrial bio-energy development is systematically examined. Specifically, the policy objectives that may be advanced with bio-energy and the challenges constraining deployment are examined to understand the extent to which public policy support is justified to accelerate development. Policy frameworks and specific policy instruments that have been proposed or enacted to support industrial bio-energy are evaluated to understand their current and potential future roles in shaping bio-energy development. This analysis indicates that deployment of industrial bio-energy systems to advance specified policy objectives has been compromised by inefficient and inconsistent public policies. Amending existing policies could substantially accelerate bio-energy deployment. More generally, public policies that set even prices across the economy for advancing targeted policy objectives should be developed. Industrial bio-energy systems can be expected to compete favorably in the context of such policies, including those valuing deep reductions in anthropogenic GHG emissions.

Environmental Aspects of Use of Recycled Carbon Fiber Composites in Automotive Applications.

PubMed

Meng, Fanran; McKechnie, Jon; Turner, Thomas; Wong, Kok H; Pickering, Stephen J

2017-11-07

The high cost and energy intensity of virgin carbon fiber manufacture provides an opportunity to recover substantial value from carbon fiber reinforced plastic wastes. In this study, we assess the life cycle environmental implications of recovering carbon fiber and producing composite materials as substitutes for conventional and proposed lightweight materials in automotive applications (e.g., steel, aluminum, virgin carbon fiber). Key parameters for the recycled carbon fiber materials, including fiber volume fraction and fiber alignment, are investigated to identify beneficial uses of recycled carbon fiber in the automotive sector. Recycled carbon fiber components can achieve the lowest life cycle environmental impacts of all materials considered, although the actual impact is highly dependent on the design criteria (λ value) of the specific component. Low production impacts associated with recycled carbon fiber components are observed relative to lightweight competitor materials (e.g., aluminum, virgin carbon fiber reinforced plastic). In addition, recycled carbon fiber components have low in-use energy use due to mass reductions and associated reduction in mass-induced fuel consumption. The results demonstrate environmental feasibility of the CFRP recycling materials, supporting the emerging commercialization of CF recycling technologies and identifying significant potential market opportunities in the automotive sector.

Quantification of Water Energy Nexus for Sustainable Development at Local Level: Case Study of Tamil Nadu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grover, S.; Tayal, S.

2014-12-01

Interdependency between water and energy is generally transacted in trade-off mode; where either of the resource gets affected because of the other. Generally this trade-off is commonly known as water-energy nexus. Many studies have been undertaken in various parts of the world using various approaches to tease out the intricate nexus. This research has adopted a different approach to quantify the inter-dependency. The adopted approach made an attempt to tease out the nexus from demand side for both the resources. For water demand assessment PODIUM Sim model was used and for other parameters available secondary data was used. Using this approach percentage share of water for energy and energy for water was estimated. For an informed decision making and sustainable development, assessment was carried out at state level as most of the policies are made specifically for the state. The research was done for the southernmost state of India, Tamil Nadu which is a rapidly growing industrial hub. Tamil Nadu is energy and water intensive state and the analysis shows that the share of water demand from energy sector compared to water demand from other major sectors is miniscule. While, the energy demand in water sector for various processes in different sectors compared to energy demand as total has a comparable share of range 15-25%. This analysis indicated the relative risk sectors face in competition for the resource. It point outs that water sector faces fierce competition with other sectors for energy. Moreover, the results of the study has assessed that state has negative water balance, which may make access to water more energy intensive with time. But, a projection into future scenario with an assumption based on the ongoing policy program of improving irrigation efficiency was made. It provided a solution of a potential positive equilibrium which conserves both water and energy. This scenario gave promising results which indicated less of water demand from agricultural sector which is the most water intensive sector in the state, less requirement of energy for irrigation and improvement in overall water balance of the state.With the changing climate and growing population, resources at crisis can be managed sustainably if this nexus is decoded to understand the interdependency.

Model-data frameworks for determining greenhouse gas implications of bioenergy landscapes in the US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudiburg, T. W.; Kent, J.; DeLucia, E. H.; Law, B. E.

2017-12-01

A sustainable, carbon-negative, bio-based portion of the energy sector may require considerable changes in land use. Perennial grasses have been proposed because of their potential to yield substantial biomass on marginal lands without displacing food and reduce GHG emissions by storing soil carbon. Woody biomass from harvest residues and forest health thinning operations have also been proposed, however the GHG mitigation potential is less clear. Through integration of observations, ecosystem, and economic models we have assessed the potential for a US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to displace gasoline and reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector, through the use of cellulosic biofuels (e.g. perennial grasses). We found that 2022 US transportation sector GHG emissions are decreased by 7.0 ± 2.5%; an estimate that is 50% less than those unconstrained by economic feasibility. Also, through integration of observations, ecosystem modeling, and life cycle assessment, we investigated potential carbon mitigation by replacing an Oregon coal plant with wood (bio-coal) from harvest residues and thinning operations in forests vulnerable to drought and fire. We found that carbon emissions varied from no change to moderate increases compared to the current emissions from the coal plant depending on transportation distance, energy inputs for conversion to bio-coal, and avoided emissions from fire and drought. Our work indicates that integrated assessment using ecosystem and economic models that are constrained by observations is required to evaluate potential GHG and carbon mitigation scenarios from varied feedstock sources.

The impact of state energy programs and other contextual factors on U.S. buildings energy consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ofori-Boadu, Andrea N. Y. A.

High energy consumption in the United States has been influenced by populations, climates, income and other contextual factors. In the past decades, U.S. energy policies have pursued energy efficiency as a national strategy for reducing U.S. environmental degradation and dependence on foreign oils. The quest for improved energy efficiency has led to the development of energy efficient technologies and programs. The implementation of energy programs in the complex U.S. socio-technical environment is believed to promote the diffusion of energy efficiency technologies. However, opponents doubt the fact that these programs have the capacity to significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption. In order to contribute to the ongoing discussion, this quantitative study investigated the relationships existing among electricity consumption/ intensity, energy programs and contextual factors in the U.S. buildings sector. Specifically, this study sought to identify the significant predictors of electricity consumption and intensity, as well as estimate the overall impact of selected energy programs on electricity consumption and intensity. Using state-level secondary data for 51 U.S. states from 2006 to 2009, seven random effects panel data regression models confirmed the existence of significant relationships among some energy programs, contextual factors, and electricity consumption/intensity. The most significant predictors of improved electricity efficiency included the price of electricity, public benefits funds program, building energy codes program, financial and informational incentives program and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Consistently, the Southern region of the U.S. was associated with high electricity consumption and intensity; while the U.S. commercial sector was the greater benefactor from energy programs. On the average, energy programs were responsible for approximately 7% of the variation observed in electricity consumption and intensity, over and above the variation associated with the contextual factors. This study also had implications in program implementation theory, and revealed that resource availability, stringency and adherence had significant impacts on program outcomes. Using seven classification tables, this study categorized and matched the predictors of electricity consumption and intensity with the specific energy sectors in which they demonstrated significance. Project developers, energy advocates, policy makers, program administrators, building occupants and other stakeholders could use study findings in conjunction with other empirical findings, to make informed decisions regarding the adoption, continuation or discontinuation of energy programs, while taking contextual factors into consideration. The adoption and efficient implementation of the most significant programs could reduce U.S. electricity consumption, and in the long term, probably reduce U.S. energy waste, environmental degradation, energy imports, energy prices, and demands for expanding energy generation and distribution infrastructure.

Feasibility of a 90° electric sector energy analyzer for low energy ion beam characterization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mahinay, C. L. S., E-mail: cmahinay@nip.upd.edu.ph; Ramos, H. J.; Wada, M.

2015-02-15

A simple formula to calculate refocusing by locating the output slit at a specific distance away from the exit of 90° ion deflecting electric sector is given. Numerical analysis is also performed to calculate the ion beam trajectories for different values of the initial angular deviation of the beam. To validate the theory, a compact (90 mm × 5.5 mm × 32 mm) 90° sector ESA is fabricated which can fit through the inner diameter of a conflat 70 vacuum flange. Experimental results show that the dependence of resolution upon the distance between the sector exit and the Faraday cupmore » agrees with the theory. The fabricated 90° sector electrostatic energy analyzer was then used to measure the space resolved ion energy distribution functions of an ion beam with the energy as low as 600 eV.« less

Joint Peru/United States report on Peru/United States cooperative energy assessment. Volume 3. Annexes 2-7

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1979-08-01

This report presents the results of a brief study of industral, mining, and agricultural sector energy demands in Peru. The study establishes current energy demands and sectoral activities, and projects future energy needs through the year 2000. With respect to energy demands, the subsectors covered are: mining and non-ferrous metals, iron and steel, cement, oil refining, petrochemicals, fertilizers, and agriculture (major crops). Total energy demands for these subsectors are developed for 1976, 1985, and 2000, assuming full-capacity operation for the majority of the plants. Potential options developed for reducing energy use in these sectors are: increased coal use, improved energymore » efficiency in the manufacturing sector, use of agricultural wastes as fuel, possible displacement of oil by hydroelectricity, use of geothermal energy, increased use of water materials for the cement and construction industries, and possible promotion of cogeneration systems (electricity/steam). (MCW)« less

Pay Premiums for Economic Sector and Race: A Decomposition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daymont, Thomas N.

Using data from the older men's file of the National Longitudinal Surveys, two issues related to the labor market implications of dual economy theory were examined: variations in rates of pay among economic sectors (competitive, monopoly, and public) and variation in relative opportunities for blacks across sectors. The primary analytical problem…

Exacerbating the Cosmological Constant Problem with Interacting Dark Energy Models.

PubMed

Marsh, M C David

2017-01-06

Future cosmological surveys will probe the expansion history of the Universe and constrain phenomenological models of dark energy. Such models do not address the fine-tuning problem of the vacuum energy, i.e., the cosmological constant problem (CCP), but can make it spectacularly worse. We show that this is the case for "interacting dark energy" models in which the masses of the dark matter states depend on the dark energy sector. If realized in nature, these models have far-reaching implications for proposed solutions to the CCP that require the number of vacua to exceed the fine-tuning of the vacuum energy density. We show that current estimates of the number of flux vacua in string theory, N_{vac}∼O(10^{272 000}), are far too small to realize certain simple models of interacting dark energy and solve the cosmological constant problem anthropically. These models admit distinctive observational signatures that can be targeted by future gamma-ray observatories, hence making it possible to observationally rule out the anthropic solution to the cosmological constant problem in theories with a finite number of vacua.

Three Essays on Macroeconomics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doda, Lider Baran

This dissertation consists of three independent essays in macroeconomics. The first essay studies the transition to a low carbon economy using an extension of the neoclassical growth model featuring endogenous energy efficiency, exhaustible energy and explicit climate-economy interaction. I derive the properties of the laissez faire equilibrium and compare them to the optimal allocations of a social planner who internalizes the climate change externality. Three main results emerge. First, the exhaustibility of energy generates strong market based incentives to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO 2 emissions without any government intervention. Second, the market and optimal allocations are substantially different suggesting a role for the government. Third, high and persistent taxes are required to implement the optimal allocations as a competitive equilibrium with taxes. The second essay focuses on coal fired power plants (CFPP) - one of the largest sources of CO2 emissions globally - and their generation efficiency using a macroeconomic model with an embedded CFPP sector. A key feature of the model is the endogenous choice of production technologies which differ in their energy efficiency. After establishing four empirical facts about the CFPP sector, I analyze the long run quantitative effects of energy taxes. Using the calibrated model, I find that sector-specific coal taxes have large effects on generation efficiency by inducing the use of more efficient technologies. Moreover, such taxes achieve large CO2 emissions reductions with relatively small effects on consumption and output. The final essay studies the procyclicality of fiscal policy in developing countries, which is a well-documented empirical observation seemingly at odds with Neoclassical and Keynesian policy prescriptions. I examine this issue by solving the optimal fiscal policy problem of a small open economy government when the interest rates on external debt are endogenous. Given an incomplete asset market, endogeneity is achieved by removing the government's ability to commit to repaying its external obligations. When calibrated to Argentina, the model generates procyclical government spending and countercyclical labor income tax rates. Simultaneously, the model's implications for key business cycle moments align well with the data.

State energy data report 1996: Consumption estimates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

The State Energy Data Report (SEDR) provides annual time series estimates of State-level energy consumption by major economic sectors. The estimates are developed in the Combined State Energy Data System (CSEDS), which is maintained and operated by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The goal in maintaining CSEDS is to create historical time series of energy consumption by State that are defined as consistently as possible over time and across sectors. CSEDS exists for two principal reasons: (1) to provide State energy consumption estimates to Members of Congress, Federal and State agencies, and the general public and (2) to provide themore » historical series necessary for EIA`s energy models. To the degree possible, energy consumption has been assigned to five sectors: residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, and electric utility sectors. Fuels covered are coal, natural gas, petroleum, nuclear electric power, hydroelectric power, biomass, and other, defined as electric power generated from geothermal, wind, photovoltaic, and solar thermal energy. 322 tabs.« less

Estimated United States Residential Energy Use in 2005

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, C A; Johnson, D M; Simon, A J

2011-12-12

A flow chart depicting energy flow in the residential sector of the United States economy in 2005 has been constructed from publicly available data and estimates of national energy use patterns. Approximately 11,000 trillion British Thermal Units (trBTUs) of electricity and fuels were used throughout the United States residential sector in lighting, electronics, air conditioning, space heating, water heating, washing appliances, cooking appliances, refrigerators, and other appliances. The residential sector is powered mainly by electricity and natural gas. Other fuels used include petroleum products (fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene), biomass (wood), and on-premises solar, wind, and geothermal energy.more » The flow patterns represent a comprehensive systems view of energy used within the residential sector.« less

Bridging Climate Change Resilience and Mitigation in the Electricity Sector Through Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Emerging Climate Change and Development Topics for Energy Sector Transformation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cox, Sarah L; Hotchkiss, Elizabeth L; Bilello, Daniel E

Reliable, safe, and secure electricity is essential for economic and social development and a necessary input for many sectors of the economy. However, electricity generation and associated processes make up a significant portion of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contributing to climate change. Furthermore, electricity systems are vulnerable to climate change impacts - both short-term events and changes over the longer term. This vulnerability presents both near-term and chronic challenges in providing reliable, affordable, equitable, and sustainable energy services. Within this context, developing countries face a number of challenges in the energy sector, including the need to reliably meet growingmore » electricity demand, lessen dependence on imported fuels, expand energy access, and improve stressed infrastructure for fuel supply and electricity transmission. Energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) technical solutions described in this paper can bridge action across climate change mitigation and resilience through reducing GHG emissions and supporting electric power sector adaptation to increasing climate risk. Integrated planning approaches, also highlighted in this paper, play an integral role in bringing together mitigation and resilience action under broader frameworks. Through supporting EE and RE deployment and integrated planning approaches, unique to specific national and local circumstances, countries can design and implement policies, strategies, and sectoral plans that unite development priorities, climate change mitigation, and resilience.« less

CP violation in heavy MSSM Higgs scenarios

DOE PAGES

Carena, M.; Ellis, J.; Lee, J. S.; ...

2016-02-18

We introduce and explore new heavy Higgs scenarios in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with explicit CP violation, which have important phenomenological implications that may be testable at the LHC. For soft supersymmetry-breaking scales M S above a few TeV and a charged Higgs boson mass M H+ above a few hundred GeV, new physics effects including those from explicit CP violation decouple from the light Higgs boson sector. However, such effects can significantly alter the phenomenology of the heavy Higgs bosons while still being consistent with constraints from low-energy observables, for instance electric dipole moments. To consider scenariosmore » with a charged Higgs boson much heavier than the Standard Model (SM) particles but much lighter than the supersymmetric particles, we revisit previous calculations of the MSSM Higgs sector. We compute the Higgs boson masses in the presence of CP violating phases, implementing improved matching and renormalization-group (RG) effects, as well as two-loop RG effects from the effective two-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) scale M H± to the scale M S. Here, we illustrate the possibility of non-decoupling CP-violating effects in the heavy Higgs sector using new benchmark scenarios named.« less

CP violation in heavy MSSM Higgs scenarios

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carena, M.; Ellis, J.; Lee, J. S.

We introduce and explore new heavy Higgs scenarios in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with explicit CP violation, which have important phenomenological implications that may be testable at the LHC. For soft supersymmetry-breaking scales M S above a few TeV and a charged Higgs boson mass M H+ above a few hundred GeV, new physics effects including those from explicit CP violation decouple from the light Higgs boson sector. However, such effects can significantly alter the phenomenology of the heavy Higgs bosons while still being consistent with constraints from low-energy observables, for instance electric dipole moments. To consider scenariosmore » with a charged Higgs boson much heavier than the Standard Model (SM) particles but much lighter than the supersymmetric particles, we revisit previous calculations of the MSSM Higgs sector. We compute the Higgs boson masses in the presence of CP violating phases, implementing improved matching and renormalization-group (RG) effects, as well as two-loop RG effects from the effective two-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) scale M H± to the scale M S. Here, we illustrate the possibility of non-decoupling CP-violating effects in the heavy Higgs sector using new benchmark scenarios named.« less

Globalization and structural change in the U.S. forest sector: an evolving context for sustainable forest management

Treesearch

Peter Ince; Albert Schuler; Henry Spelter; William Luppold

2007-01-01

This report examines economic implications for sustainable forest management of globalization and related structural changes in the forest sector of the United States. Globalization has accelerated structural change in the U.S. forest sector, favored survival of larger and more capital-intensive enterprises, and altered historical patterns of resource use.

Training in the Motor Vehicle Repair and Sales Sector in Denmark. Report for the FORCE Programme. First Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knoblauch, Jan; And Others

Training in Denmark's motor vehicle repair and sales sector was examined in a study that included the following approaches: review of the sector's structure/characteristics, institutional/social context, changing conditions and their implications for skill requirements and training, and available initial and continuing vocational education and…

Energy finance data warehouse: Tracking revenues through the power sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Claire, Zeng; Hendrickson, Stephen; Lee, Sangkeun

Reliable data is needed to understand financial relationships in the power sector. However, relevant data acquisition and visualization can be a challenge due to the fragmented nature of the power sector. The Energy Policy and Systems Analysis office of the U.S. Department of Energy led a team of data scientists at Oak Ridge National Lab to collect revenue information from a variety of sources.

Energy finance data warehouse: Tracking revenues through the power sector

DOE PAGES

Claire, Zeng; Hendrickson, Stephen; Lee, Sangkeun; ...

2017-03-24

Reliable data is needed to understand financial relationships in the power sector. However, relevant data acquisition and visualization can be a challenge due to the fragmented nature of the power sector. The Energy Policy and Systems Analysis office of the U.S. Department of Energy led a team of data scientists at Oak Ridge National Lab to collect revenue information from a variety of sources.

Achieving CO 2 reductions in Colombia: Effects of carbon taxes and abatement targets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Calderón, Silvia; Alvarez, Andres Camilo; Loboguerrero, Ana Maria

In this paper we investigate CO 2 emission scenarios for Colombia and the effects of implementing carbon taxes and abatement targets on the energy system. By comparing baseline and policy scenario results from two integrated assessment partial equilibrium models TIAM-ECN and GCAM and two general equilibrium models Phoenix and MEG4C, we provide an indication of future developments and dynamics in the Colombian energy system. Currently, the carbon intensity of the energy system in Colombia is low compared to other countries in Latin America. However, this trend may change given the projected rapid growth of the economy and the potential increasemore » in the use of carbon-based technologies. Climate policy in Colombia is under development and has yet to consider economic instruments such as taxes and abatement targets. This paper shows how taxes or abatement targets can achieve significant CO 2 reductions in Colombia. Though abatement may be achieved through different pathways, taxes and targets promote the entry of cleaner energy sources into the market and reduce final energy demand through energy efficiency improvements and other demand-side responses. The electric power sector plays an important role in achieving CO 2 emission reductions in Colombia, through the increase of hydropower, the introduction of wind technologies, and the deployment of biomass, coal and natural gas with CO 2 capture and storage (CCS). Uncertainty over the prevailing mitigation pathway reinforces the importance of climate policy to guide sectors toward low-carbon technologies. This paper also assesses the economy-wide implications of mitigation policies such as potential losses in GDP and consumption. As a result, an assessment of the legal, institutional, social and environmental barriers to economy-wide mitigation policies is critical yet beyond the scope of this paper.« less

Achieving CO 2 reductions in Colombia: Effects of carbon taxes and abatement targets

DOE PAGES

Calderón, Silvia; Alvarez, Andres Camilo; Loboguerrero, Ana Maria; ...

2015-06-03

In this paper we investigate CO 2 emission scenarios for Colombia and the effects of implementing carbon taxes and abatement targets on the energy system. By comparing baseline and policy scenario results from two integrated assessment partial equilibrium models TIAM-ECN and GCAM and two general equilibrium models Phoenix and MEG4C, we provide an indication of future developments and dynamics in the Colombian energy system. Currently, the carbon intensity of the energy system in Colombia is low compared to other countries in Latin America. However, this trend may change given the projected rapid growth of the economy and the potential increasemore » in the use of carbon-based technologies. Climate policy in Colombia is under development and has yet to consider economic instruments such as taxes and abatement targets. This paper shows how taxes or abatement targets can achieve significant CO 2 reductions in Colombia. Though abatement may be achieved through different pathways, taxes and targets promote the entry of cleaner energy sources into the market and reduce final energy demand through energy efficiency improvements and other demand-side responses. The electric power sector plays an important role in achieving CO 2 emission reductions in Colombia, through the increase of hydropower, the introduction of wind technologies, and the deployment of biomass, coal and natural gas with CO 2 capture and storage (CCS). Uncertainty over the prevailing mitigation pathway reinforces the importance of climate policy to guide sectors toward low-carbon technologies. This paper also assesses the economy-wide implications of mitigation policies such as potential losses in GDP and consumption. As a result, an assessment of the legal, institutional, social and environmental barriers to economy-wide mitigation policies is critical yet beyond the scope of this paper.« less

Air Quality, Human Health and Climate Implications of China's Synthetic Natural Gas Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Y.; Mauzerall, D. L.; Wagner, F.; Smith, K. R.; Peng, W.; Yang, J.; Zhu, T.

2016-12-01

Facing severe air pollution and growing dependence on natural gas imports, the Chinese government is planning an enormous increase in synthetic natural gas (SNG) production. Although displacement of coal with SNG benefits air quality, it increases carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and thus worsens climate change. Primarily due to variation in air pollutant and CO2 emission factors as well as energy efficiencies across sectors and regions, the replacement of coal with SNG results in varying degrees of air quality and adverse climate impacts. Here we conduct an integrated assessment to estimate the air quality, human health, and adverse climate impacts of various sectoral and regional SNG substitution strategies for coal in China in 2020. We find that using all planned production of SNG in the residential sector results in an annual decrease of approximately 43,000 (22,000 to 63,000) outdoor-air-pollution-associated Chinese premature mortalities, with ranges determined by the low and high estimates of relative risks. If changes in indoor/household air pollution were also included the decrease would be larger. By comparison, this is a 10 and 60 times greater reduction in premature mortalities than obtained when the SNG displaces coal in the industrial or power sectors, respectively. Deploying SNG as a coal replacement in the industrial or power sectors also has a 4-5 times higher carbon penalty than utilization in the residential sector due to inefficiencies in current household coal use. If carbon capture and storage (CCS) is used in SNG production, substituting SNG for coal can provide both air quality and climate co-benefits in all scenarios. However, even with CCS, SNG emits 22-40% (depending on end-use) more CO2 than the same amount of conventional gas. For existing SNG projects, we find displacing coal with SNG in the residential sector provides the largest air quality and health benefits with the smallest carbon penalties of deployment in any sector.

Lifecycle Industry GreenHouse gas, Technology and Energy through the Use Phase (LIGHTEnUP) – Analysis Tool User’s Guide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morrow, William R.; Shehabi, Arman; Smith, Sarah

The LIGHTEnUP Analysis Tool (Lifecycle Industry GreenHouse gas, Technology and Energy through the Use Phase) has been developed for The United States Department of Energy’s (U.S. DOE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) to forecast both the manufacturing sector and product life-cycle energy consumption implications of manufactured products across the U.S. economy. The tool architecture incorporates publicly available historic and projection datasets of U.S. economy-wide energy use including manufacturing, buildings operations, electricity generation and transportation. The tool requires minimal inputs to define alternate scenarios to business-as-usual projection data. The tool is not an optimization or equilibrium model and therefore does not selectmore » technologies or deployment scenarios endogenously. Instead, inputs are developed exogenous to the tool by the user to reflect detailed engineering calculations, future targets and goals, or creative insights. The tool projects the scenario’s energy, CO 2 emissions, and energy expenditure (i.e., economic spending to purchase energy) implications and provides documentation to communicate results. The tool provides a transparent and uniform system of comparing manufacturing and use-phase impacts of technologies. The tool allows the user to create multiple scenarios that can reflect a range of possible future outcomes. However, reasonable scenarios require careful attention to assumptions and details about the future. This tool is part of an emerging set of AMO’s life cycle analysis (LCA) tool such as the Material Flows the Industry (MFI) tool, and the Additive Manufacturing LCA tool.« less

An Integrated Device View on Photo-Electrochemical Solar-Hydrogen Generation.

PubMed

Modestino, Miguel A; Haussener, Sophia

2015-01-01

Devices that directly capture and store solar energy have the potential to significantly increase the share of energy from intermittent renewable sources. Photo-electrochemical solar-hydrogen generators could become an important contributor, as these devices can convert solar energy into fuels that can be used throughout all sectors of energy. Rather than focusing on scientific achievement on the component level, this article reviews aspects of overall component integration in photo-electrochemical water-splitting devices that ultimately can lead to deployable devices. Throughout the article, three generalized categories of devices are considered with different levels of integration and spanning the range of complete integration by one-material photo-electrochemical approaches to complete decoupling by photovoltaics and electrolyzer devices. By using this generalized framework, we describe the physical aspects, device requirements, and practical implications involved with developing practical photo-electrochemical water-splitting devices. Aspects reviewed include macroscopic coupled multiphysics device models, physical device demonstrations, and economic and life cycle assessments, providing the grounds to draw conclusions on the overall technological outlook.

Model documentation report: Residential sector demand module of the national energy modeling system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

This report documents the objectives, analytical approach, and development of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) Residential Sector Demand Module. The report catalogues and describes the model assumptions, computational methodology, parameter estimation techniques, and FORTRAN source code. This reference document provides a detailed description for energy analysts, other users, and the public. The NEMS Residential Sector Demand Module is currently used for mid-term forecasting purposes and energy policy analysis over the forecast horizon of 1993 through 2020. The model generates forecasts of energy demand for the residential sector by service, fuel, and Census Division. Policy impacts resulting from new technologies,more » market incentives, and regulatory changes can be estimated using the module. 26 refs., 6 figs., 5 tabs.« less

Productivity Bargaining--Pattern for the Future?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Ralph R.

1977-01-01

How to measure productivity increases in service occupations is a problem that still awaits a solution. Efforts being made in the federal sector to gauge productivity growth are discussed, along with implications in private-sector bargaining. (Editor/LBH)

Implications of the global financial crisis for the response to diseases of poverty within overall health sector development: the case of tuberculosis.

PubMed

Maher, Dermot

2010-01-01

The global financial crisis poses a threat to global health, and may exacerbate diseases of poverty, e.g. HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Exploring the implications of the global financial crisis for the health sector response to tuberculosis is useful to illustrate the practical problems and propose possible solutions. The response to tuberculosis is considered in the context of health sector development. Problems and solutions are considered in five key areas: financing, prioritization, government regulation, integration and decentralization. Securing health gains in global tuberculosis control depends on protecting expenditure by governments of countries badly affected by tuberculosis and by donors, taking measures to increase efficiencies, prioritizing health expenditures and strengthening government regulation. Lessons learned will be valuable for stakeholders involved in the health sector response to tuberculosis and other diseases of poverty.

The problems and prospects of the public-private partnership in the Russian fuel and energy sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikitenko, SM; Goosen, EV

2017-02-01

This article highlights some opportunities for shifting the paradigm for the development of natural resources in the Russian fuel and energy sector using public-private partnership instruments. It shows three main directions for developing public-private partnerships in the area of subsoil use and emphasizes the role of innovations in implementing the most promising projects in the fuel and energy sector of Russia.

Modeling future U.S. forest sector market and trade impacts of expansion in wood energy consumption

Treesearch

Peter J. Ince; Andrew D. Kramp; Kenneth E. Skog; Do-il Yoo; V. Alaric Sample

2011-01-01

This paper describes an approach to modeling U.S. forest sector market and trade impacts of expansion in domestic wood energy consumption under hypothetical future U.S. wood biomass energy policy scenarios. The U.S. Forest Products Module (USFPM) was created to enhance the modeling of the U.S. forest sector within the Global Forest Products Model (GFPM), providing a...

Employment-generating projects for the energy and minerals sectors of Honduras. Proyectos generadores de empleos para los sectores energetico y minero de Honduras (in EN;SP)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frank, J.A.

A mission to Honduras invited by the Government of Honduras and sponsored by the Organization of American States addressed the generation of employment in various areas of interest to the country. The mission was made up of experts from numerous countries and international agencies. In the energy sector, the mission recommended consolidating the sector under a coordinating body; carrying out projects to promote reforestation, tree farms, and rational forest utilization; encouraging industrial energy conservation; developing alternative energy sources; and promoting rural electrification and expansion of the electrical grid. In the mining sector, the mission supported promotion and technical assistance formore » small gold-leaching and placer operations, the national mineral inventory, detailed exploration of promising sites, and the development of a mining school. 13 refs., 7 tabs.« less

Reconciling Means and Ends in Equity and Access through Further and Higher Education Sector Partnerships: An Australian Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broughton, Sharon

2005-01-01

This paper examines the educational implications of pursuing equity and access for adult learners across further and higher education sectors. It contextualizes some advantages and disadvantages in cross-sectoral arrangements by reference to a specific access and equity partnership program in Australia and analyses the impact on the equity aims of…

U.S. Global Climate Change Impacts Report, Overview of Sectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wuebbles, D.

2009-12-01

The assessment of the Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States includes analyses of the potential climate change impacts by sector, including water resources, energy supply and use, transportation, agriculture, ecosystems, human health and society. The resulting findings for the climate change impacts on these sectors are discussed in this presentation, with the effects on water resources discussed separately. Major findings include: Widespread climate-related impacts are occurring now and are expected to increase. Climate changes are already affecting water, energy, transportation, agriculture, ecosystems, and health. These impacts are different from region to region and will grow under projected climate change. Crop and livestock production will be increasingly challenged. Agriculture is considered one of the sectors most adaptable to changes in climate. However, increased heat, pests, water stress, diseases, and weather extremes will pose adaptation challenges for crop and livestock production. Coastal areas are at increasing risk from sea-level rise and storm surge. Sea-level rise and storm surge place many U.S. coastal areas at increasing risk. Energy and transportation infrastructure and other property in coastal areas are very likely to be adversely affected. Threats to human health will increase. Health impacts of climate change are related to heat stress, waterborne diseases, poor air quality, extreme weather events, and diseases transmitted by insects and rodents. Robust public health infrastructure can reduce the potential for negative impacts. Climate change will interact with many social and environmental stresses. Climate change will combine with pollution, population growth, overuse of resources, urbanization, and other social, economic, and environmental stresses to create larger impacts than from any of these factors alone. Thresholds will be crossed, leading to large changes in climate and ecosystems. There are a variety of thresholds in the climate system and ecosystems. These thresholds determine, for example, the presence of sea ice and permafrost, and the survival of species, from fish to insect pests, with implications for society. With further climate change, the crossing of additional thresholds is expected. These and many other findings will be discussed in the presentation.

Adopting a Water-Food-Energy nexus approach to explore the synergies and trade-offs of food-water policies in Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Willaarts, Barbara; Lechon, Yolanda; de la Rúa, Cristina; Garrido, Alberto

2016-04-01

Spain is a semi-arid country and faces a strong competition over scarce water resources by the different sectors. Agriculture is the largest water consumer and because of this it is often at the core of much of the disputes over water. Several policy measures have been implemented in the course of the last decades to ameliorate water scarcity problems. The irrigation modernization plan is probably one of the most ambitious plans implemented so far (with a total investment of nearly 3,800 mill € involving the modernization of over 1 million irrigated ha), and was developed with the double aim of increasing the efficiency of agricultural water use and strength the resilience and competitiveness of the Spanish irrigation sector. In this research we examine the implications of the irrigation modernization plan by adopting a nexus approach. In particular we assess the trends in water, land and energy footprints associated to agriculture during the period 2000-2011 to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan. Likewise, we used a life cycle analysis approach to assess the implications in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Our results show that the land footprint of irrigated agriculture has increased 2% (from 3.4 mill ha in 2000 to 3,6 mill ha in 2011). Meanwhile, the water footprint of irrigated agriculture has decreased by 8% (from 17,078 hm3 in 2000 to 15,573 hm3 in 2011). Beyond the net water savings, there has been a major shift in the composition of the water footprint. In the year 2000, 77% of the blue agricultural water footprint was linked to surface water, while in the year 2011 over 55% of the water consumed by agriculture is groundwater. The modernization of irrigation technologies alongside with the shift from a predominantly surface water footprint to groundwater has boosted the energy footprint of irrigation by 56% (2442 GWh in 2000 to 3803 GWh in 2011). This rise in the energy bill has meant an increase of 9% in the GHG emissions. Yet, this GHG increase is limited and follows the changes in the Spanish energy mix, which have experienced an increase in the share of renewable energies during the period of analysis. Overall, while the irrigation modernization plan has achieved some of its main goals, it has also had an important energy cost. Deeper and more detailed analysis are required to determine the extent to which investments done to improve water use efficiency outweigh the energy trade-offs.

Lean energy analysis of CNC lathe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liana, N. A.; Amsyar, N.; Hilmy, I.; Yusof, MD

2018-01-01

The industrial sector in Malaysia is one of the main sectors that have high percentage of energy demand compared to other sector and this problem may lead to the future power shortage and increasing the production cost of a company. Suitable initiatives should be implemented by the industrial sectors to solve the issues such as by improving the machining system. In the past, the majority of the energy consumption in industry focus on lighting, HVAC and office section usage. Future trend, manufacturing process is also considered to be included in the energy analysis. A study on Lean Energy Analysis in a machining process is presented. Improving the energy efficiency in a lathe machine by enhancing the cutting parameters of turning process is discussed. Energy consumption of a lathe machine was analyzed in order to identify the effect of cutting parameters towards energy consumption. It was found that the combination of parameters for third run (spindle speed: 1065 rpm, depth of cut: 1.5 mm, feed rate: 0.3 mm/rev) was the most preferred and ideal to be used during the turning machining process as it consumed less energy usage.

Retrospective and Prospective Decomposition Analysis of Chinese Manufacturing Energy Use, 1995-2020

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hasanbeigi, Ali; Price, Lynn; Fino-Chen, Cecilia

In 2010, China was responsible for nearly 20 percent of global energy use and 25 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. Unlike most countries, China’s energy consumption pattern is unique because the industrial sector dominates the country’s total energy consumption, accounting for about 70 percent of energy use and 72 percent of CO 2 emissions in 2010. For this reason, the development path of China’s industrial sector will greatly affect future energy demand and dynamics of not only China, but the entire world. A number of analyses of historical trends have been conducted, but careful projections of themore » key factors affecting China’s industry sector energy use over the next decade are scarce. This study analyzes industrial energy use and the economic structure of the Chinese manufacturing sector in detail. First, the study analyzes the energy use of and output from 18 industry sub-sectors. Then, retrospective (1995-2010) and prospective (2010-2020) decomposition analyses are conducted for these industrial sectors in order to show how different factors (production growth, structural change, and energy intensity change) influenced industrial energy use trends in China over the last 15 years and how they will do so over the next 10 years. The results of this study will allow policy makers to quantitatively compare the level of structural change in the past and in the years to come and adjust their policies if needed to move towards the target of less energy-intensive industries. The scenario analysis shows the structural change achieved through different paths and helps to understand the consequences of supporting or limiting the growth of certain manufacturing subsectors from the point of view of energy use and structural change. The results point out the industries that have the largest influence in such structural change« less

The Natural Gas Dilemma in New England's Electricity Sector: Experts' Perspectives on Long Term Climate Issues and Policy Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffith, Steven

This thesis is an interpretive analysis of experts' perspectives on the climate implications of New England's reliance on natural gas for electricity generation. Specifically, this research, conducted through interviews and literature review, examines experts' opinions on the desired role of natural gas within the regional electricity sector, alternative energy resources, and state and regional policy opportunities toward the achievement of New England's ambitious long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals. Experts expressed concern about the climate dilemma posed by a dependence on natural gas. However, interviews revealed that short-term reliability and cost considerations are paramount for many experts, and therefore a reliance on natural gas is the existing reality. To incentivize renewable generation technologies for the purposes of long-term climate stabilization, experts advocated for the expanded implementation of renewable portfolio standard, net metering, and feed-in tariff policies. More broadly, interviewees expressed the need for an array of complementary state and regional policies.

Climate-Change Impacts on Major Societal and Environmental Sectors: a National View

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melillo, J. M.

2009-05-01

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program's Unified Synthesis Product reports on extant and possible future impacts of climate change for seven sectors at the national level - water resources, energy supply and use, transportation, agriculture, ecosystems, human health and society. The sectoral analyses provide an integrated national picture of the climate-change consequences, now and in the future, for society and the environment, albeit a picture with regional texture. Major report findings for each sector will be presented. In addition to the specific sectoral findings, several overarching messages emerge from this component of the synthesis activity. First, it is important to think about interactions between and among sectors with regard to climate impacts. For example, the projected changes in the timing and amount of precipitation, and hence water supply, will very likely have significant implications for other sectors considered in the report. Changes in water supply have the potential to affect hydropower generation, river transportation, crop timing and management, in-stream ecosystem services including fish habitat, and human health issues related to links between heavy rains ad water-borne diseases. Second, the report concludes that climate-change impacts on the sectors must be considered in the context of a range of environmental and social factors including pollution, population growth, over use of resources, and urbanization. The multi-factor analysis provides insight into our understanding of where, when and how climate change combines with other environmental and social changes to affect the sectors. It also provides some understanding of how these interactions can either amplify or dampen climate-change impacts. This message has profound implications for the design of research programs and information systems at the national, regional and local levels. Furthermore, it demands that a true partnership be forged between the natural and social sciences to more adequately conduct assessments and seek solutions that address the complex challenges that multiple stresses pose. Third, the report notes that the United States is connected to a world that is unevenly vulnerable to climate change and thus will be affected by impacts globally. One example is agriculture. The degree to which climate change affects food production across the globe will affect the demand for our agricultural products and so the profitability of this sector. Fourth, the report highlights the importance of considering the unintended consequences of adaptation measures designed to avert or minimize negative impacts of climate change on various sectors. For example, the "hardening" of coastlines with sea walls and other structures to protect transportation infrastructure against storm surge and sea-level rise eliminates the ability of coastal ecosystems to adapt to these aspects of climate change by inward migration. While this "tradeoff" may be essential, it must be understood that with the loss of coastal ecosystems such as marshlands, comes the loss of the services they provide to society such as their function as nurseries for juvenile fish stocks that are essential for the sustainability of coastal fisheries. The general message about unintended consequences is that system-level analyses must be part of developing intelligent adaptation strategies to meet the challenges of climate change.

Workload of the VTS Sector Operator And Implications for Task Design

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-12-01

This study identifies the factors determining the VTS sector operator's workload and recommends : the most appropriate use of automation to manage that workload. Investigations were conducted at : VTS New York (Governors Island) and at VTS Puget Soun...

State Energy Data System

EIA Publications

2017-01-01

The State Energy Data System (SEDS) is the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) source for comprehensive state energy statistics. Included are estimates of energy production, consumption, prices, and expenditures broken down by energy source and sector. Production and consumption estimates begin with the year 1960 while price and expenditure estimates begin with 1970. The multidimensional completeness of SEDS allows users to make comparisons across states, energy sources, sectors, and over time.

ISO 50001 for US Commercial Buildings - Current Status and Opportunities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Jingjing; Sheaffer, Paul

''ISO 50001: 2011 Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use'' is a voluntary International Standard which provides organizations a proven framework to manage energy and continuously improve their energy performance. Implementing ISO 50001 in the commercial building sector has its unique opportunities and challenges in comparison with the industrial sector. The energy footprint of a portfolio of commercial buildings can be just as significant as a large industrial facility in comparison. There are many energy-saving opportunities in commercial buildings that can be addressed without capital investments, and the perceived risks for making energy improvements can be lower thanmore » in the industrial sector. In addition, the energy-consuming systems in commercial buildings are limited in types and have many similarities across buildings, which makes it much easier to standardize many ISO 50001 required processes, 5 procedures and documents to simplify implementation. There are also some sector-unique challenges, such as less familiar with ISO systems and the certification process. Another challenge arises from the complexity in some buildings’ ownership, tenancy, and O&M responsibilities. This whitepaper discusses these opportunities and issues in detail. The paper also recommends the characteristics of organizations in the commercial building sector that can benefit the most from adopting the ISO 50001 standard – namely the “suitable market”. Eight segments (education, food sales, retail, inpatient health care, hospitality, office buildings, laboratories and data centers) within the commercial building sector are highlighted.« less

Potency of energy saving and emission reduction from lighting system in residential sector of Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambarita, H.

2018-03-01

The Government of Indonesia (GoI) has a strong commitment to the target of decreasing energy intensity and reducing Greenhouse gas emissions. One of the significant solutions to reach the target is increasing energy efficiency in the lighting system in the residential sector. The objective of this paper is twofold, to estimate the potency of energy saving and emission reduction from lighting in the residential sector. Literature related to the lighting system in Indonesia has been reviewed to provide sufficient data for the estimation of the energy saving and emission reduction. The results show that the in the year 2016, a total of 95.33 TWh of nationally produced electricity is used in the residential sector. This is equal to 44% of total produced electricity. The number of costumers is 64.78 million houses. The average number of lamps and average wattage of lamps used in Indonesia are 8.35 points and 13.8 W, respectively. The number of lighting and percentage of electricity used for lighting in the residential sector in Indonesia are 20.03 TWh (21.02 %) and 497 million lamps, respectively. The projection shows that in the year 2026 the total energy for lighting and number of lamps in the residential sector are 25.05 TWh and 619 million, respectively. By promoting the present technology of high efficient lamps (LED), the potency of energy saving and emission reduction in 2026 are 2.6 TWh and 2.1 million tons CO2eq, respectively.

Estimated United States Transportation Energy Use 2005

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, C A; Simon, A J; Belles, R D

A flow chart depicting energy flow in the transportation sector of the United States economy in 2005 has been constructed from publicly available data and estimates of national energy use patterns. Approximately 31,000 trillion British Thermal Units (trBTUs) of energy were used throughout the United States in transportation activities. Vehicles used in these activities include automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, airplanes, rail, and ships. The transportation sector is powered primarily by petroleum-derived fuels (gasoline, diesel and jet fuel). Biomass-derived fuels, electricity and natural gas-derived fuels are also used. The flow patterns represent a comprehensive systems view of energy used within themore » transportation sector.« less

Spin-1 Kitaev model in one dimension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sen, Diptiman; Shankar, R.; Dhar, Deepak; Ramola, Kabir

2010-11-01

We study a one-dimensional version of the Kitaev model on a ring of size N , in which there is a spin S>1/2 on each site and the Hamiltonian is J∑nSnxSn+1y . The cases where S is integer and half-odd integer are qualitatively different. We show that there is a Z2 -valued conserved quantity Wn for each bond (n,n+1) of the system. For integer S , the Hilbert space can be decomposed into 2N sectors, of unequal sizes. The number of states in most of the sectors grows as dN , where d depends on the sector. The largest sector contains the ground state, and for this sector, for S=1 , d=(5+1)/2 . We carry out exact diagonalization for small systems. The extrapolation of our results to large N indicates that the energy gap remains finite in this limit. In the ground-state sector, the system can be mapped to a spin-1/2 model. We develop variational wave functions to study the lowest energy states in the ground state and other sectors. The first excited state of the system is the lowest energy state of a different sector and we estimate its excitation energy. We consider a more general Hamiltonian, adding a term λ∑nWn , and show that this has gapless excitations in the range λ1c≤λ≤λ2c . We use the variational wave functions to study how the ground-state energy and the defect density vary near the two critical points λ1c and λ2c .

Issues in International Energy Consumption Analysis: Canadian Energy Demand

EIA Publications

2015-01-01

The residential sector is one of the main end-use sectors in Canada accounting for 16.7% of total end-use site energy consumption in 2009 (computed from NRCan 2012. pp, 4-5). In this year, the residential sector accounted for 54.5% of buildings total site energy consumption. Between 1990 and 2009, Canadian household energy consumption grew by less than 11%. Nonetheless, households contributed to 14.6% of total energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in Canada in 2009 (computed from NRCan 2012). This is the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s second study to help provide a better understanding of the factors impacting residential energy consumption and intensity in North America (mainly the United States and Canada) by using similar methodology for analyses in both countries.

Sensitivity of natural gas deployment in the US power sector to future carbon policy expectations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mignone, Bryan K.; Showalter, Sharon; Wood, Frances

One option for reducing carbon emissions in the power sector is replacement of coal-fired generation with less carbon-intensive natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) generation. In the United States, where there is abundant, low-cost natural gas supply, increased NGCC deployment could be a cost-effective emissions abatement opportunity at relatively modest carbon prices. However, under scenarios in which carbon prices rise and deeper emissions reductions are achieved, other technologies may be more cost-effective than NGCC in the future. In this analysis, using a US energy system model with foresight (a version of the National Energy Modeling System or 'NEMS' model), we findmore » that varying expectations about carbon prices after 2030 does not materially affect NGCC deployment prior to 2030, all else equal. An important implication of this result is that, under the set of natural gas and carbon price trajectories explored here, myopic behavior or other imperfect expectations about potential future carbon policy do not change the natural gas deployment path or lead to stranded natural gas generation infrastructure. We explain these results in terms of the underlying economic competition between available generation technologies and discuss the broader relevance to US climate change mitigation policy.« less

Sensitivity of natural gas deployment in the US power sector to future carbon policy expectations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mignone, Bryan K.; Showalter, Sharon; Wood, Frances

One option for reducing carbon emissions in the power sector is replacement of coal-fired generation with less carbon-intensive natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) generation. In the United States, where there is abundant, low-cost natural gas supply, increased NGCC deployment could be a cost-effective emissions abatement opportunity at relatively modest carbon prices. However, under scenarios in which carbon prices rise and deeper emissions reductions are achieved, other technologies may be more cost-effective than NGCC in the future. In this analysis, using a US energy system model with foresight (a version of the National Energy Modeling System or “NEMS” model), we findmore » that varying expectations about carbon prices after 2030 does not materially affect NGCC deployment prior to 2030, all else equal. An important implication of this result is that, under the set of natural gas and carbon price trajectories explored here, myopic behavior or other imperfect expectations about potential future carbon policy do not change the natural gas deployment path or lead to stranded natural gas generation infrastructure. Lastly, we explain these results in terms of the underlying economic competition between available generation technologies and discuss the broader relevance to US climate change mitigation policy.« less

Development of Nested Socioeconomic Storylines for Climate Change IAV Applications (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preston, B. L.; Absar, M.

2013-12-01

Socioeconomic scenarios are important for understanding future societal consequences of climate and weather. The global shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) represent a new opportunity for coordinated development and application of such scenarios to improve the representation of alternative societal development pathways within climate change consequence analysis. However, capitalizing on this opportunity necessitates bridging the scale disparity between the global SSPs and the regional/local context for which many impact, adaptation and vulnerability (IAV) studies are conducted. To this end, we adopted the Factor, Actor, and Sector methodology to develop a set of qualitative national and sub-national socioeconomic storylines for the United States and U.S. Southeast using the global SSPs as boundary conditions. In particular, our study sought to develop storylines to explore alternative socioeconomic futures for the U.S. Southeast and their implications for adaptive capacity of the region's energy, water, and agricultural sectors. These storylines subsequently serve as the foundation for a range of downstream IAV applications. These include qualitative vulnerability analysis to explore interactions between energy, water, and agriculture in a changing climate; as well as quantitative impact assessment where regional storylines are used to establish modeling parameters within a biophysical crop model. Such methods and applications illustrate potentially useful opportunities for routinizing the use of SSP-based storylines in IAV studies.

Emissions implications of future natural gas production and use in the U.S. and in the Rocky Mountain region.

PubMed

McLeod, Jeffrey D; Brinkman, Gregory L; Milford, Jana B

2014-11-18

Enhanced prospects for natural gas production raise questions about the balance of impacts on air quality, as increased emissions from production activities are considered alongside the reductions expected when natural gas is burned in place of other fossil fuels. This study explores how trends in natural gas production over the coming decades might affect emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) for the United States and its Rocky Mountain region. The MARKAL (MARKet ALlocation) energy system optimization model is used with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's nine-region database to compare scenarios for natural gas supply and demand, constraints on the electricity generation mix, and GHG emissions fees. Through 2050, total energy system GHG emissions show little response to natural gas supply assumptions, due to offsetting changes across sectors. Policy-driven constraints or emissions fees are needed to achieve net reductions. In most scenarios, wind is a less expensive source of new electricity supplies in the Rocky Mountain region than natural gas. U.S. NOx emissions decline in all the scenarios considered. Increased VOC emissions from natural gas production offset part of the anticipated reductions from the transportation sector, especially in the Rocky Mountain region.

Sensitivity of natural gas deployment in the US power sector to future carbon policy expectations

DOE PAGES

Mignone, Bryan K.; Showalter, Sharon; Wood, Frances; ...

2017-11-01

One option for reducing carbon emissions in the power sector is replacement of coal-fired generation with less carbon-intensive natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) generation. In the United States, where there is abundant, low-cost natural gas supply, increased NGCC deployment could be a cost-effective emissions abatement opportunity at relatively modest carbon prices. However, under scenarios in which carbon prices rise and deeper emissions reductions are achieved, other technologies may be more cost-effective than NGCC in the future. In this analysis, using a US energy system model with foresight (a version of the National Energy Modeling System or 'NEMS' model), we findmore » that varying expectations about carbon prices after 2030 does not materially affect NGCC deployment prior to 2030, all else equal. An important implication of this result is that, under the set of natural gas and carbon price trajectories explored here, myopic behavior or other imperfect expectations about potential future carbon policy do not change the natural gas deployment path or lead to stranded natural gas generation infrastructure. We explain these results in terms of the underlying economic competition between available generation technologies and discuss the broader relevance to US climate change mitigation policy.« less

Sensitivity of natural gas deployment in the US power sector to future carbon policy expectations

DOE PAGES

Mignone, Bryan K.; Showalter, Sharon; Wood, Frances; ...

2017-09-07

One option for reducing carbon emissions in the power sector is replacement of coal-fired generation with less carbon-intensive natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) generation. In the United States, where there is abundant, low-cost natural gas supply, increased NGCC deployment could be a cost-effective emissions abatement opportunity at relatively modest carbon prices. However, under scenarios in which carbon prices rise and deeper emissions reductions are achieved, other technologies may be more cost-effective than NGCC in the future. In this analysis, using a US energy system model with foresight (a version of the National Energy Modeling System or “NEMS” model), we findmore » that varying expectations about carbon prices after 2030 does not materially affect NGCC deployment prior to 2030, all else equal. An important implication of this result is that, under the set of natural gas and carbon price trajectories explored here, myopic behavior or other imperfect expectations about potential future carbon policy do not change the natural gas deployment path or lead to stranded natural gas generation infrastructure. Lastly, we explain these results in terms of the underlying economic competition between available generation technologies and discuss the broader relevance to US climate change mitigation policy.« less

Performance analysis of CO(2) emissions and energy efficiency of metal industries in China.

PubMed

Shao, Chaofeng; Guan, Yang; Wan, Zheng; Chu, Chunli; Ju, Meiting

2014-02-15

Nonferrous metal industries play an important role in China's national economy and are some of the country's largest energy consumers. To better understand the nature of CO(2) emissions from these industries and to further move towards low-carbon development in this industry sector, this study investigates the CO(2) emissions of 12 nonferrous metal industries from 2003 to 2010 based on their life-cycle assessments. It then classifies these industries into four "emission-efficiency" types through cluster analysis. The results show that (1) the industrial economy and energy consumption of China's nonferrous metal industries have grown rapidly, although their recent energy consumption rate shows a declining trend. (2) The copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, and magnesium industries, classified as high-emission industries, are the main contributors of CO(2) emissions. The results have implications for policy decisions that aim to enhance energy efficiency, particularly for promoting the transformation of low-efficiency industries to high-efficiency ones. The study also highlights the important role of policy development in technological innovations, optimization, and upgrades, the reduction of coal proportion in energy consumption, and the advancement of new energy sources. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Projected Temperature Impacts from Climate Change on the U.S. Electric Power Sector Using the Integrated Planning Model

EPA Science Inventory

The energy sector is considered to be one of the most vulnerable to climate change. This study is a first-order analysis of the potential climate change impacts on the U.S. electric power sector, measuring the energy, environmental, and economic impacts of power system changes du...

Time series GHG emission estimates for residential, commercial, agriculture and fisheries sectors in India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohan, Riya Rachel

2018-04-01

Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are the major cause of global warming and climate change. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main GHG emitted through human activities, at the household level, by burning fuels for cooking and lighting. As per the 2006 methodology of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the energy sector is divided into various sectors like electricity generation, transport, fugitive, 'other' sectors, etc. The 'other' sectors under energy include residential, commercial, agriculture and fisheries. Time series GHG emission estimates were prepared for the residential, commercial, agriculture and fisheries sectors in India, for the time period 2005 to 2014, to understand the historical emission changes in 'other' sector. Sectoral activity data, with respect to fuel consumption, were collected from various ministry reports like Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas Statistics, Energy Statistics, etc. The default emission factor(s) from IPCC 2006 were used to calculate the emissions for each activity and sector-wise CO2, CH4, N2O and CO2e emissions were compiled. It was observed that the residential sector generates the highest GHG emissions, followed by the agriculture/fisheries and commercial sector. In the residential sector, LPG, kerosene, and fuelwood are the major contributors of emissions, whereas diesel is the main contributor to the commercial, agriculture and fisheries sectors. CO2e emissions have been observed to rise at a cumulative annual growth rate of 0.6%, 9.11%, 7.94% and 5.26% for the residential, commercial, agriculture and fisheries sectors, respectively. In addition to the above, a comparative study of the sectoral inventories from the national inventories, published by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, for 2007 and 2010 was also performed.

Transportation pooled fund project: energy sector developments.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

The purpose of this research is to provide a mechanism for partner states to share information and experiences concerning responses to energy sector developments, and identify : areas for needed research.

Integrated framework to capture the interdependencies between transportation and energy sectors due to policy decisions.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

Currently, transportation and energy sectors are developed, managed, and operated independently of : one another. Due to the non-renewable nature of fossil fuels, energy security has evolved into a : strategic goal for the United States. The transpor...

Thirst for Power: Energy, Water and Human Survival

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webber, M.

2016-12-01

Energy, food and water are precious resources, and they are interconnected. The energy sector uses a lot of water, the food sector uses a lot of energy and water, the water sector uses a lot of energy, and as a nation we are contemplating a biofuels policy that uses food for energy. The thermoelectric power sector alone is the largest user of water in the U.S., withdrawing 200 billion gallons daily for powerplant cooling. Conversely, the water sector is responsible for over twelve percent of national energy consumption for moving, pumping, treating, and heating water. The food system uses over ten percent of national energy consumption. This interdependence means that droughts can cause energy shortages, and power outages can bring the water system to a halt, while energy and water challenges pose constraints to our food system. It also means that water efficiency is a pathway to energy efficiency and vice versa. This talk will give a big-picture overview of global food, energy and water trends to describe how they interact, what conflicts are looming, and how they can work together. This talk will include the vulnerabilities and cross-cutting solutions such as efficient markets and smart technologies that embed more information about resource management. It will include discussion of how population growth, economic growth, climate change, and short-sighted policies are likely to make things worse. Yet, more integrated planning with long-term sustainability in mind along with cultural shifts, advanced technologies, and better design can avert such a daunting future. Combining anecdotes and personal stories with insights into the latest science of energy and water, this talk will identify a hopeful path toward wise, long-range water-energy decisions and a more reliable and abundant future for humanity.

Workshop Report: International Workshop to Explore Synergies between Nuclear and Renewable Energy Sources as a Key Component in Developing Pathways to Decarbonization of the Energy Sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M.; Boardman, Richard; Ruth, Mark

2016-08-01

An international workshop was organized in June 2016 to explore synergies between nuclear and renewable energy sources. Synergies crossing electricity, transportation, and industrial sectors were the focus of the workshop, recognizing that deep decarbonization will require efforts that go far beyond the electricity sector alone. This report summarizes the key points made within each presentation and highlights outcomes that were arrived at in the discussions.

Leveraging the water-energy-food nexus for a sustainability transition: Institutional and policy design choices in a fragmented world (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aggarwal, R.

2013-12-01

Given the critical - but often subtle - feedbacks between water, energy, and food security, a nexus approach that integrates management and governance across sectors and scales is increasingly being advocated in research and policy circles. As a first step, such an approach calls for an integrated multi-disciplinary assessment of the externalities across sectors and tradeoffs involved in enhancing security in one sector on the other sectors. Recent research efforts have focused on understanding these tradeoffs, say, through estimating the energy costs of expanding irrigation for greater food security; or estimating the embodied land and water costs in increased energy production. While such efforts have increased awareness about the inter-connectedness of such issues, the fundamental question of how such an understanding influences decision-making and how it can lead to coordinated action towards a transition to more sustainable pathways still remains largely unanswered. The long legacy of sectoral organization of political and bureaucratic structures has led to a fragmentary policy and institutional landscape, on which cross-sectoral public action and coordination poses several challenges. Moreover, poorly defined property rights, imperfect or absent markets, and uncertainty about resource dynamics imply that economic signals about relative scarcity in one sector are not necessarily clear to decision makers in the other sectors. In this study, we examine these issues related to water-energy food nexus in the context of semi-arid groundwater irrigated regions of western and southern India. Using a social-ecological systems framework, we begin by characterizing some of the key inter-dependencies among food, water, and energy at the farm household, village and state level. We then examine the factors that influence decision-making at these levels, and the extent to which these decisions internalize the externalities. Specifically, we examine the role of energy pricing and rationing policy on groundwater withdrawals and type of crops grown. Finally, we examine several emerging examples of innovative policies and institutions that have leveraged the synergies among sectors. Although these examples do not necessarily provide optimal solutions, these provide some clues as to how decision- making within individual sectors can be influenced through institutional and policy design to transition towards more sustainable pathways in a second best world. We conclude by exploring what lessons these cases might hold for navigating these tradeoffs in other contexts.

Dark spectroscopy at lepton colliders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hochberg, Yonit; Kuflik, Eric; Murayama, Hitoshi

2018-03-01

Rich and complex dark sectors are abundant in particle physics theories. Here, we propose performing spectroscopy of the mass structure of dark sectors via mono-photon searches at lepton colliders. The energy of the mono-photon tracks the invariant mass of the invisible system it recoils against, which enables studying the resonance structure of the dark sector. We demonstrate this idea with several well-motivated models of dark sectors. Such spectroscopy measurements could potentially be performed at Belle II, BES-III and future low-energy lepton colliders.

Oil shocks in New Keynesian models: Positive and normative implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Jian

Chapter 1 investigates optimal monetary policy response towards oil shocks in a New Keynesian model. We find that optimal policy, in general, becomes contractionary in response to an adverse oil shock. However, the optimal policy rule and the inflation-output trade-off depend on the specific structure of the model. The benchmark economy consists of a flexible-price energy sector and a sticky-price manufacturing sector where energy is used as an intermediate input. We show that optimal policy is to stabilize the sticky (core) price level. We then show that after incorporating a less oil-dependent sticky-price service sector, the model exhibits a trade-off in stabilizing prices and output gaps in the different sticky-price sectors. It predicts that central bank should not try to stabilize the core price level, and the economy will experience higher inflation and rising output gaps, even if central banks respond optimally. Chapter 2 addresses the observed volatility and persistence of real exchange rates and the terms of trade. It contributes to the literature with a quantitative study on the U.S. and Canada. A two-country New Keynesian model consisting of traded, non-traded, and oil production sectors is proposed to examine the time series properties of the real exchange rate, the terms of trade and the real oil price. We find that after incorporating several realistic features (namely oil price shocks, sector specific labor, non-traded goods, asymmetric pricing decisions of exporters and asymmetric consumer preferences over tradables), the benchmark model broadly matches the volatilities of the relative prices and some business cycle correlations. The model matches the data more closely after adding real demand shocks, suggesting their importance in explaining the relative price movements between the US and Canada. Chapter 3 explores several sources and transmission channels of international relative price movements. In particular, we elaborate on the role of imperfect labor mobility, pricing decisions of exporting firms, oil price shocks and asymmetric consumer preferences over tradables. Our results suggest that: Incorporating both producer currency pricing and local currency pricing assumptions produces more reasonable relative price movements. A model with imperfect labor mobility generates larger relative price volatility. Oil price shocks only contribute to terms of trade variability when oil is modeled as part of the traded basket. And asymmetric consumer preferences contribute to the volatility of the real exchange rate.

Effects of spatially distributed sectoral water management on the redistribution of water resources in an integrated water model: SECTORAL WATER MANAGEMENT IN IA-ESM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Voisin, Nathalie; Hejazi, Mohamad I.; Leung, L. Ruby

To advance understanding of the interactions between human activities and the water cycle, an integrated terrestrial water cycle component has been developed for Earth system models. This includes a land surface model fully coupled to a river routing model and a generic water management model to simulate natural and regulated flows. A global integrated assessment model and its regionalized version for the U.S. are used to simulate water demand consistent with the energy technology and socio-economics scenarios. Human influence on the hydrologic cycle includes regulation and storage from reservoirs, consumptive use and withdrawal from multiple sectors ( irrigation and non-irrigation)more » and overall redistribution of water resources in space and time. As groundwater provides an important source of water supply for irrigation and other uses, the integrated modeling framework has been extended with a simplified representation of groundwater as an additional supply source, and return flow generated from differences between withdrawals and consumptive uses from both groundwater and surface water systems. The groundwater supply and return flow modules are evaluated by analyzing the simulated regulated flow, reservoir storage and supply deficit for irrigation and non-irrigation sectors over major hydrologic regions of the conterminous U.S. The modeling framework is then used to provide insights on the reliability of water resources by isolating the reliability due to return flow and/or groundwater sources of water. Our results show that high sectoral ratio of withdrawals over consumptive demand adds significant stress on the water resources management that can be alleviated by reservoir storage capacity. The return flow representation therefore exhibits a clear east-west contrast in its hydrologic signature, as well as in its ability to help meet water demand. Groundwater use has a limited hydrologic signature but the most pronounced signature is in terms of decreasing water supply deficit. The combined return flow and groundwater use signature conserves the east-west constrast with overall uncertainties due to the groundwater-return flow representation, varying ratios combined with different hydroclimate conditions, storage infrastructures, sectoral water uses and dependence on groundwater. The redistribution of surface and groundwater by human activities, and the uncertainties in their representation have important implications to the water and energy balances in the Earth system and land-atmosphere interactions.« less

Electricity savings potentials in the residential sector of Bahrain

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Akbari, H.; Morsy, M.G.; Al-Baharna, N.S.

1996-08-01

Electricity is the major fuel (over 99%) used in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors in Bahrain. In 1992, the total annual electricity consumption in Bahrain was 3.45 terawatt-hours (TWh), of which 1.95 TWh (56%) was used in the residential sector, 0.89 TWh (26%) in the commercial sector, and 0.59 TWh (17%) in the industrial sector. Agricultural energy consumption was 0.02 TWh (less than 1%) of the total energy use. In Bahrain, most residences are air conditioned with window units. The air-conditioning electricity use is at least 50% of total annual residential use. The contribution of residential AC to themore » peak power consumption is even more significant, approaching 80% of residential peak power demand. Air-conditioning electricity use in the commercial sector is also significant, about 45% of the annual use and over 60% of peak power demand. This paper presents a cost/benefit analysis of energy-efficient technologies in the residential sector. Technologies studied include: energy-efficient air conditioners, insulating houses, improved infiltration, increasing thermostat settings, efficient refrigerators and freezers, efficient water heaters, efficient clothes washers, and compact fluorescent lights. We conservatively estimate a 32% savings in residential electricity use at an average cost of about 4 fils per kWh. (The subsidized cost of residential electricity is about 12 fils per kWh. 1000 fils = 1 Bahrain Dinar = US$ 2.67). We also discuss major policy options needed for implementation of energy-efficiency technologies.« less

U.S. electric power sector transitions required to achieve 80% reductions in economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions: Results based on a state-level model of the U.S. energy system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iyer, Gokul C.; Clarke, Leon E.; Edmonds, James A.

The United States has articulated a deep decarbonization strategy for achieving a reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 80% below 2005 levels by 2050. Achieving such deep emissions reductions will entail a major transformation of the energy system and of the electric power sector in particular. , This study uses a detailed state-level model of the U.S. energy system embedded within a global integrated assessment model (GCAM-USA) to demonstrate pathways for the evolution of the U.S. electric power sector that achieve 80% economy-wide reductions in GHG emissions by 2050. The pathways presented in this report are based onmore » feedback received during a workshop of experts organized by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis. Our analysis demonstrates that achieving deep decarbonization by 2050 will require substantial decarbonization of the electric power sector resulting in an increase in the deployment of zero-carbon and low-carbon technologies such as renewables and carbon capture utilization and storage. The present results also show that the degree to which the electric power sector will need to decarbonize and low-carbon technologies will need to deploy depends on the nature of technological advances in the energy sector, the ability of end-use sectors to electrify and level of electricity demand.« less

Social Network Analysis of the Irish Biotech Industry: Implications for Digital Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Egeraat, Chris; Curran, Declan

This paper presents an analysis of the socio-spatial structures of innovation, collaboration and knowledge flow among SMEs in the Irish biotech sector. The study applies social network analysis to determine the structure of networks of company directors and inventors in the biotech sector. In addition, the article discusses the implications of the findings for the role and contours of a biotech digital ecosystem. To distil these lessons, the research team organised a seminar which was attended by representatives of biotech actors and experts.

Suppressed supersymmetry breaking terms in the Higgs sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terao, Haruhiko; Kobayashi, Tatsuo

2004-07-01

We study the little hierarchy between mass parameters in the Higgs sector and other SUSY breaking masses. This type of spectrum can relieve the fine-tuning problem in the MSSM Higgs sector. Our scenario can be realized by superconformal dynamics. The spectrum in our scenario has significant implications in other phenomenological aspects like the relic abundance of the lightest neutralino and relaxation of the unbounded-from-below constraints.

Federal energy conservation programs. Perspectives from the public and private sectors. Volume 2: Public hearing, July 14 and 15, 1981, Washington, D.C.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1982-05-01

The federal governments' energy conservation programs were examined. Testimony regarding issues discussed at the hearing include: energy policy, benefits of energy conservation, state and local governments and private sector activities, successes and failures of federal programs, barriers to conservation and a continuing federal role.

The global contribution of energy consumption by product exports from China.

PubMed

Tang, Erzi; Peng, Chong

2017-06-01

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.

State energy data report: Statistical tables and technical documentation 1960 through 1979

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1981-09-01

All the data of the State Energy Data System (SEDS) is given. The data is used to estimate annual energy consumption by principal energy sources (coal, natural gas, petroleum, electricity), by major end-use sectors (residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, and electric utilities), and by state (50 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States). Data is organized alphabetically by energy source (fuel), by end-use sector or energy activity, by type of data and by state. Twenty data values are associated with each fuel-sector-type state grouping representing positionally the years 1960 through 1979. Data values in the file are expressed either as physical units, British thermal units, physical to Btu conversion factors or share factors.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schatz, Glenn

Higher education uses less energy per square foot than most commercial building sectors. However, higher education campuses house energy-intensive laboratories and data centers that may spend more than this average; laboratories, in particular, are disproportionately represented in the higher education sector. The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP), a public/private, cost-shared program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, its national laboratories, and private-sector technical experts. These teams explored energy-saving measures across building systems–including some considered too costly or technologically challenging–and used advanced energy modeling to achieve peak whole-building performance.more » Modeling results were then included in new construction or retrofit designs to achieve significant energy reductions.« less

Constraints on interacting dark energy models from Planck 2015 and redshift-space distortion data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Costa, André A.; Abdalla, E.; Xu, Xiao-Dong

2017-01-01

We investigate phenomenological interactions between dark matter and dark energy and constrain these models by employing the most recent cosmological data including the cosmic microwave background radiation anisotropies from Planck 2015, Type Ia supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, the Hubble constant and redshift-space distortions. We find that the interaction in the dark sector parameterized as an energy transfer from dark matter to dark energy is strongly suppressed by the whole updated cosmological data. On the other hand, an interaction between dark sectors with the energy flow from dark energy to dark matter is proved in better agreement with the available cosmologicalmore » observations. This coupling between dark sectors is needed to alleviate the coincidence problem.« less

Stakeholders' perception of the possible implications of "green jobs" for health and safety at work in Italy.

PubMed

Valenti, Antonio; Buresti, Giuliana; Rondinone, Bruna Maria; Persechino, Benedetta; Boccuni, Fabio; Fortuna, Grazia; Iavicoli, Sergio

2015-01-01

Despite all the emphasis laid today on the green economy, occupational health and safety (OHS) issues have still been talked only limitedly, as already noted in previous studies and literature reviews. The Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene of the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL) has conducted a survey among some Italian stakeholders, social partners, institutions and "green" businesses to gather their perceptions of the potential effects of green jobs on OHS, particularly in the renewable energy sector. The survey involved a sample of 61 stakeholders in the following categories: institutions (11), trade unions (11), employers' organizations (13), businesses (11), research (15). Participation in this survey of national stakeholders who have a central role in the development and management of policies on renewable energy and OHS, allowed to analyze in depth the fundamental aspects for a fair transition towards green economy. Also, the good agreement among respondents brought to light quite clearly the main critical points as regards the OHS implications of green work in Italy, and pointed to the principal policies to be adopted to safeguard workers' health and safety.

Stakeholders’ perception of the possible implications of “green jobs” for health and safety at work in Italy

PubMed Central

VALENTI, Antonio; BURESTI, Giuliana; RONDINONE, Bruna Maria; PERSECHINO, Benedetta; BOCCUNI, Fabio; FORTUNA, Grazia; IAVICOLI, Sergio

2015-01-01

Despite all the emphasis laid today on the green economy, occupational health and safety (OHS) issues have still been talked only limitedly, as already noted in previous studies and literature reviews. The Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene of the Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL) has conducted a survey among some Italian stakeholders, social partners, institutions and “green” businesses to gather their perceptions of the potential effects of green jobs on OHS, particularly in the renewable energy sector. The survey involved a sample of 61 stakeholders in the following categories: institutions (11), trade unions (11), employers’ organizations (13), businesses (11), research (15). Participation in this survey of national stakeholders who have a central role in the development and management of policies on renewable energy and OHS, allowed to analyze in depth the fundamental aspects for a fair transition towards green economy. Also, the good agreement among respondents brought to light quite clearly the main critical points as regards the OHS implications of green work in Italy, and pointed to the principal policies to be adopted to safeguard workers’ health and safety. PMID:25810446

Financial crisis, virtual carbon in global value chains, and the importance of linkage effects. The Spain-china case.

PubMed

López, Luis-Antonio; Arce, Guadalupe; Zafrilla, Jorge

2014-01-01

Trade has a disproportionate environmental impact, while the international fragmentation of production promotes different patterns of intermediate inputs and final goods. Therefore, we split up the balance of domestic embodied emissions in trade (BDEET) to assess it. We find that Spain has a significant emissions deficit with China between 2005 and 2011. The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 reduced Spanish imports of pollution-intensive inputs from China and slightly improved the BDEET. China primarily exports indirect virtual carbon, representing 86% of the total, especially from Production of electricity, gas, and water sector. These linkages effects in China indicate that post-Kyoto agreements must focus not only on traded goods but also on the environmental efficiency of all domestic production chains. The methodology proposed allows us to identify the agents responsible for this trade in both Spain and China, namely the sectors importing intermediate inputs (Construction and Transport equipment) and industries and consumers importing final goods (Textiles, Other manufactures, Computers, and Machinery). The relevant sectors uncertainties found when we compare the results for BDEET and emissions embodied in bilateral trade (BEET) lead us to recommend the former methodology to evaluate the implications of environmental and energy policy for different industries and agents.

New geochemical data from the Nigerian sector of the Chad basin: implications on hydrocarbon prospectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obaje, N. G.; Wehner, H.; Hamza, H.; Scheeder, G.

2004-04-01

Organic geochemical studies have been carried out to assess the qualities of source rocks penetrated by four wells (Kemar-1, Murshe-1, Tuma-1 and Ziye-1) in the Nigerian sector of the Chad basin. The Chad basin is a large intracratonic basin in Central West Africa. Commercial hydrocarbon accumulations have been discovered in some sectors of the basin outside the Nigerian border in a structurally related contiguous basin. Fair to poor quality source rocks are inherent in the sequences penetrated by the studied wells. About 80% of all samples have their total organic carbon (TOC) contents more than 0.5 wt.%, the minimum limit for hydrocarbon generation. Juxtaposition of the hydrogen indices against the TOC and Tmax indicates that the source rocks are entirely gas-prone. However, biomarker chromatograms and extract vs. TOC plots indicate the presence of oil shows in Ziye-1 well at a depth of 1210 m. Although generated hydrocarbons (wherever they have accumulated) would be overwhelmingly gaseous, gas is the energy of the future. The gas resources of this part of Nigeria's inland basins can be economically exploited through policies that will increase the tempo of gas-utilization projects and the construction of a national grid of gas pipelines with nodal points of input and output.

How might renewable energy technologies fit in the food-water-energy nexus?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newmark, R. L.; Macknick, J.; Heath, G.; Ong, S.; Denholm, P.; Margolis, R.; Roberts, B.

2011-12-01

Feeding the growing population in the U.S. will require additional land for crop and livestock production. Similarly, a growing population will require additional sources of energy. Renewable energy is likely to play an increased role in meeting the new demands of electricity consumers. Renewable energy technologies can differ from conventional technologies in their operation and their siting locations. Many renewable energy technologies have a lower energy density than conventional technologies and can also have large land use requirements. Much of the prime area suitable for renewable energy development in the U.S. has historically been used for agricultural production, and there is some concern that renewable energy installations could displace land currently producing food crops. In addition to requiring vast expanses of land, both agriculture and renewable energy can require water. The agriculture and energy sectors are responsible for the majority of water withdrawals in the U.S. Increases in both agricultural and energy demand can lead to increases in water demands, depending on crop management and energy technologies employed. Water is utilized in the energy industry primarily for power plant cooling, but it is also required for steam cycle processes and cleaning. Recent characterizations of water use by different energy and cooling system technologies demonstrate the choice of fuel and cooling system technologies can greatly impact the withdrawals and the consumptive use of water in the energy industry. While some renewable and conventional technology configurations can utilize more water per unit of land than irrigation-grown crops, other renewable technology configurations utilize no water during operations and could lead to reduced stress on water resources. Additionally, co-locating agriculture and renewable energy production is also possible with many renewable technologies, avoiding many concerns about reductions in domestic food production. Various metrics exist for defining land use impacts of energy technologies, with little consensus on how much total land is impacted or is necessary. Here we characterize the land use requirements of energy technologies by comparing various metrics from different studies, providing ranges of the potential land impact from alternative energy scenarios. Land use requirements for energy needs under these scenarios are compared with projected land use requirements for agriculture to support a growing population. The water implications of various energy and food scenarios are analyzed to provide insights into potential regional impacts or conflicts between sectors.

Building Energy Codes: Policy Overview and Good Practices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cox, Sadie

2016-02-19

Globally, 32% of total final energy consumption is attributed to the building sector. To reduce energy consumption, energy codes set minimum energy efficiency standards for the building sector. With effective implementation, building energy codes can support energy cost savings and complementary benefits associated with electricity reliability, air quality improvement, greenhouse gas emission reduction, increased comfort, and economic and social development. This policy brief seeks to support building code policymakers and implementers in designing effective building code programs.

Energy Requirements by the Water Sector in the Southwestern US: Past, Present, and Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Averyt, K.; Yates, D. N.; Meldrum, J.

2014-12-01

Climate, energy, and water are fundamentally linked such that shifts in one sector have cascading impacts on the others. Consideration of the integrated system is necessary to fully understand the individual risk profile of each sector. In defining vulnerabilities and potential adaptations, the policy and regulatory environment must be considered alongside the biological and physical systems. Take, for example, the Southwestern U.S., a naturally arid system, where water availability is declining as a consequence of climate change and population growth. Adaptations by the water sector to convey, store, and develop new water sources (e.g. desalination, groundwater pumping, water-reuse) are strategies designed to enhance sustainability of the sector. But, the energy requirements embedded in these management techniques pose challenges to electric utilities. West wide, approximately 20% of total electricity generation goes toward supplying and heating water. If future investments made by the water sector to deal with changing supply and demand regimes continue to follow current trends, the dependence of water on energy availability will grow, meaning that the water supply will be increasingly reliant on the electricity system. Here, we use the example of long-term aridity and the recent drought in the Western US to illustrate the tradeoffs and challenges inherent at the nexus between energy and water. We present long-term trends in the energy intensity of water supplies in the Southwestern US, with a specific focus on groundwater systems. Projected energy requirements for proposed and future conveyance systems are discussed. The potential impacts of reduced flows on the Colorado River on the energy demands for groundwater pumping in the Lower Colorado River Basin are highlighted.

Specification of Energy Assessment Methodologies to Satisfy ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanneganti, Harish

Energy management has become more crucial for industrial sector as a way to lower their cost of production and in reducing their carbon footprint. Environmental regulations also force the industrial sector to increase the efficiency of their energy usage. Hence industrial sector started relying on energy management consultancies for improvements in energy efficiency. With the development of ISO 50001 standard, the entire energy management took a new dimension involving top level management and getting their commitment on energy efficiency. One of the key requirements of ISO 50001 is to demonstrate continual improvement in their (industry) energy efficiency. The major aim of this work is to develop an energy assessment methodology and reporting format to tailor the needs of ISO 50001. The developed methodology integrates the energy reduction aspect of an energy assessment with the requirements of sections 4.4.3 (Energy Review) to 4.4.6 (Objectives, Targets and Action Plans) in ISO 50001 and thus helping the facilities in easy implementation of ISO 50001.

Essays on the Determinants of Energy Related CO2 Emissions =

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moutinho, Victor Manuel Ferreira

Overall, amongst the most mentioned factors for Greenhouse Gases (GHG) growth are the economic growth and the energy demand growth. To assess the determinants GHG emissions, this thesis proposed and developed a new analysis which links the emissions intensity to its main driving factors. In the first essay, we used the 'complete decomposition' technique to examine CO2 emissions intensity and its components, considering 36 economic sectors and the 1996-2009 periods in Portugal. The industry (in particular 5 industrial sectors) is contributing largely to the effects of variation of CO2 emissions intensity. We concluded, among others, the emissions intensity reacts more significantly to shocks in the weight of fossil fuels in total energy consumption compared to shocks in other variables. In the second essay, we conducted an analysis for 16 industrial sectors (Group A) and for the group of the 5 most polluting manufacturing sectors (Group B) based on the convergence examination for emissions intensity and its main drivers, as well as on an econometric analysis. We concluded that there is sigma convergence for all the effects with exception to the fossil fuel intensity, while gamma convergence was verified for all the effects, with exception of CO2 emissions by fossil fuel and fossil fuel intensity in Group B. From the econometric approach we concluded that the considered variables have a significant importance in explaining CO2 emissions and CO2 emissions intensity. In the third essay, the Tourism Industry in Portugal over 1996-2009 period was examined, specifically two groups of subsectors that affect the impacts on CO2 emissions intensity. The generalized variance decomposition and the impulse response functions pointed to sectors that affect tourism more directly, i. e. a bidirectional causality between the intensity of emissions and energy intensity. The effect of intensity of emissions is positive on energy intensity, and the effect of energy intensity on emissions intensity is negative. The percentage of fossil fuels used reacts positively to the economic structure and to carbon intensity, i. e., the more the economic importance of the sector, the more it uses fossil fuels, and when it raises its carbon intensity, in the future the use of fossil fuel may rise. On the other hand, positive shocks on energy intensity tend to reduce the percentage of fossil fuels used. In fourth essay, we conducted an analysis to identify the effects that contribute to the intensity of GHG emissions (EI) in agriculture as well as their development. With that aim, we used the 'complete decomposition' technique in the 1995-2008 periods, for a set of European countries. It is shown that the use of Nitrogen per cultivated area is an important factor of emissions and in those countries where labour productivity increases (the inverse of average labour productivity in agriculture decreases), emissions intensity tends to decrease. These results imply that the way to reduce emissions in agriculture would be to provide better training of agricultural workers to increase their productivity, which would lead to a less need for energy and use of Nitrogen. The purpose of the last essay is to examine the long and short-run causality of the share of renewable sources on the environmental relation CO2 per KWh electricity generation- real GDP for 20 European countries over the 2001-2010 periods. It is important to analyze how the percentage of renewable energy used for electricity production affects the relationship between economic growth and emissions from this sector. The study of these relationships is important from the point of view of environmental and energy policy as it gives us information on the costs in terms of economic growth, on the application of restrictive levels of emissions and also on the effects of the policies concerning the use of renewable energy in the electricity sector (see for instance European Commission Directive 2001/77/EC, [4]). For that purpose, in this study we use Cointegration Analysis on the set of cross-country panel data between CO2 emissions from electricity generation (CO2 kWh), economic growth (GDP) and the share of renewable energy for 20 European countries. We estimated the long-run equilibrium to validate the EKC with a new approach specification. Additionally, we have implemented the Innovative Accounting Approach (IAA) that includes Forecast Error Variance Decomposition and Impulse Response Functions (IRFs), applied to those variables. This can allow us, for example, to know (i) how CO2 kWh responds to an impulse in GDP and (ii) how CO2 kWh responds to an impulse in the share of renewable sources. The contributions of this thesis to the energy-related CO2 emissions at sectorial level are threefold: First, it provides a new econometric decomposition approach for analysing and developing CO2 emissions in collaboration with science societies that can serve as a starting point for future research approaches. Second, it presents a hybrid energy-economy mathematic and econometric model which relates CO2 emissions in Portugal based on economic theory. Third, it contributes to explain the change of CO2 emissions in important economic sectors in Europe, in particular in Portugal, taking normative considerations into account more openly and explicitly, with political implications at energy-environment level within the European commitment. None

Assessment of the trade-offs and synergies between low-carbon power sector transition and land and water resources of the United Kingdom using the "ForeseerTM" approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konadu, D. D.; Sobral Mourao, Z.

2016-12-01

Transitioning to a low-carbon power system has been identified as one of the main strategies for achieving GHG emissions reduction targets stipulated in the UK Climate Change Act (2008). However, projected mix of technologies aimed at achieving the targeted level of decarbonisation have implications for sustainable level natural resource exploitation at different spatial and temporal scales. Critical among these are the impact on land use (food production) and water resources, which are usually not adequately analysed and accounted for in developing these long-term energy system transition strategies and scenarios. Given the importance of the UK power sector to meeting economy-wide emissions targets, the overall environmental consequence of the prescribed scenarios could significantly affect meeting long-term legislated GHG emission reduction targets. It is therefore imperative that synergies and trade-offs between the power systems and these resources are comprehensively analysed. The current study employs an integrated energy and resource use accounting methodology, called ForeseerTM, to assess the land and water requirement for the deployment of the power sector technologies of the UK Committee on Climate Change (CCC) Carbon Budget scenarios. This is analysed under different scenarios of energy crop yield and electricity infrastructure location. The outputs are then compared with sustainable limits of resource exploitation to establish the environmental tractability of the scenarios. The results show that even if stringent environmental and land use restrictions are applied, all the projected bioenergy and ground-mounted solar PV can be deployed within the UK with no significant impacts on land use and food production. However, inland water resources would be significantly affected if high Carbon Capture and Storage deployment, and without new nuclear capacity. Overall, the output highlights that contrary to the notion of the inevitability of CCS deployment in delivering emissions reduction targets, a future without CCS poses the least overall environmental impacts.

High-resolution integration of water, energy, and climate models to assess electricity grid vulnerabilities to climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, M.; Macknick, J.; Tidwell, V. C.; Zagona, E. A.; Magee, T. M.; Bennett, K.; Middleton, R. S.

2017-12-01

The U.S. electricity sector depends on large amounts of water for hydropower generation and cooling thermoelectric power plants. Variability in water quantity and temperature due to climate change could reduce the performance and reliability of individual power plants and of the electric grid as a system. While studies have modeled water usage in power systems planning, few have linked grid operations with physical water constraints or with climate-induced changes in water resources to capture the role of the energy-water nexus in power systems flexibility and adequacy. In addition, many hydrologic and hydropower models have a limited representation of power sector water demands and grid interaction opportunities of demand response and ancillary services. A multi-model framework was developed to integrate and harmonize electricity, water, and climate models, allowing for high-resolution simulation of the spatial, temporal, and physical dynamics of these interacting systems. The San Juan River basin in the Southwestern U.S., which contains thermoelectric power plants, hydropower facilities, and multiple non-energy water demands, was chosen as a case study. Downscaled data from three global climate models and predicted regional water demand changes were implemented in the simulations. The Variable Infiltration Capacity hydrologic model was used to project inflows, ambient air temperature, and humidity in the San Juan River Basin. Resulting river operations, water deliveries, water shortage sharing agreements, new water demands, and hydroelectricity generation at the basin-scale were estimated with RiverWare. The impacts of water availability and temperature on electric grid dispatch, curtailment, cooling water usage, and electricity generation cost were modeled in PLEXOS. Lack of water availability resulting from climate, new water demands, and shortage sharing agreements will require thermoelectric generators to drastically decrease power production, as much as 50% during intensifying drought scenarios, which can have broader electricity sector system implications. Results relevant to stakeholder and power provider interests highlight the vulnerabilities in grid operations driven by water shortage agreements and changes in the climate.

Design of virus-based nanomaterials for medicine, biotechnology, and energy

PubMed Central

Wen, Amy M.; Steinmetz, Nicole F.

2016-01-01

Virus-based nanomaterials are versatile materials that naturally self-assemble and have relevance for a broad range of applications including medicine, biotechnology, and energy. This review provides an overview of recent developments in “chemical virology.” Viruses, as materials, provide unique nanoscale scaffolds that have relevance in chemical biology and nanotechnology, with diverse areas of applications. Some fundamental advantages of viruses, compared to synthetically programmed materials, include the highly precise spatial arrangement of their subunits into a diverse array of shapes and sizes and many available avenues for easy and reproducible modification. Here, we will first survey the broad distribution of viruses and various methods for producing virus-based nanoparticles, as well as engineering principles used to impart new functionalities. We will then examine the broad range of applications and implications of virus-based materials, focusing on the medical, biotechnology, and energy sectors. We anticipate that this field will continue to evolve and grow, with exciting new possibilities stemming from advancements in the rational design of virus-based nanomaterials. PMID:27152673

An index-based approach for the sustainability assessment of irrigation practice based on the water-energy-food nexus framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Vito, Rossella; Portoghese, Ivan; Pagano, Alessandro; Fratino, Umberto; Vurro, Michele

2017-12-01

Increasing pressure affects water resources, especially in the agricultural sector, with cascading impacts on energy consumption. This is particularly relevant in the Mediterranean area, showing significant water scarcity problems, further exacerbated by the crucial economic role of agricultural production. Assessing the sustainability of water resource use is thus essential to preserving ecosystems and maintaining high levels of agricultural productivity. This paper proposes an integrated methodology based on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus to evaluate the multi-dimensional implications of irrigation practices. Three different indices are introduced, based on an analysis of the most influential factors. The methodology is then implemented in a catchment located in Puglia (Italy) and a comparative analysis of the three indices is presented. The results mainly highlight that economic land productivity is a key driver of irrigated agriculture, and that groundwater is highly affordable compared to surface water, thus being often dangerously perceived as freely available.

Status of national CO{sub 2}-mitigation projects and initiatives in the Philippine energy sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tupas, C.T.

1996-12-31

The Philippines has a huge energy requirement for the next 30 years in order to achieve its economic growth target. Based on an expected annual GDP growth rate of 6.9 percent, the Philippines total energy requirement is estimated to increase at an average of 6.6 percent annually from 1996 to 2025. Gross energy demand shall increase from 219.0 million barrels of fuel oil equivalent (MMBFOE) in 1996 to 552.4 MMBFOE in 2010 and 1,392.6 MMBFOE by 2025. These energy demand levels shall be driven primarily by the substantial increase in fuel requirements for power generation whose share of total energymore » requirement is 28.3 percent in 1996, 48.0 percent in 2010 and 55.0 percent in 2025. With the expected increase in energy demand, there will necessarily be adverse impacts on the environment. Energy projects and their supporting systems - from fuel extraction and storage to distribution - can and will be major contributors not only to local but also to regional and global environmental pollution and degradation. International experiences and trends in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory have shown that the energy sector has always been the dominant source of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) - the principal contributor to global climate change. The energy sector`s CO{sub 2} emissions come primarily from fossil fuels combustion. Since energy use is the dominant source of CO{sub 2} emissions, efforts should therefore be concentrated on designing a mitigation strategy in this sector.« less

Sector-specific issues and reporting methodologies supporting the General Guidelines for the voluntary reporting of greenhouse gases under Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Volume 2: Part 4, Transportation sector; Part 5, Forestry sector; Part 6, Agricultural sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

This volume, the second of two such volumes, contains sector-specific guidance in support of the General Guidelines for the voluntary reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration. This voluntary reporting program was authorized by Congress in Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The General Guidelines, bound separately from this volume, provide the overall rationale for the program, discuss in general how to analyze emissions and emission reduction/carbon sequestration projects, and address programmatic issues such as minimum reporting requirements, time parameters, international projects, confidentiality, and certification. Together, the General Guidelines and the guidance in these supporting documentsmore » will provide concepts and approaches needed to prepare the reporting forms. This second volume of sector-specific guidance covers the transportation sector, the forestry sector, and the agricultural sector.« less

Energy Security of Army Installations & Islanding Methodologies

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-16

islanding of energy generation and distribution networks including electricity, natural gas , steam , liquid fuel, water, and others for the diverse...in geopolitics and war/peace/terrorism Breakthrough in reformation process of synthetic fuel production Hydrogen focused energy sector Oil and gas ...of synthetic AMf Q production Hydrogen focused energy sector D Of and gas remain available and cost-effective Natural Gas prices cut In

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Langner, Rois; Hendron, Bob; Pless, Shanti

Small buildings have been left behind in the energy efficiency marketplace because financial and technical resources have flowed to larger commercial buildings. DOE's Building Technologies Office works with the commercial building industry to accelerate the uptake of energy efficiency technologies and techniques in existing and new commercial buildings (DOE 2013). BTO recognizes the SBSP sector'spotential for significant energy savings and the need for investments in resources that are tailored to this sector's unique needs. The industry research and recommendations described in this report identify potential approaches and strategic priorities that BTO could explore over the next 3-5 years that willmore » support the implementation of high-potential energy efficiency opportunities for thisimportant sector. DOE is uniquely positioned to provide national leadership, objective information, and innovative tools, technologies, and services to support cost-effective energy savings in the fragmented and complex SBSP sector. Properly deployed, the DOE effort could enhance and complement current energy efficiency approaches. Small portfolios are loosely and qualitatively defined asportfolios of buildings that include only a small number of small buildings. This distinction is important because the report targets portfolio owners and managers who generally do not have staff and other resources to track energy use and pursue energy efficiency solutions.« less

The Study of Factors that Influence the Entrepreneurship in the Growing Energy Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinias, Ioannis G.

2009-08-01

In this paper, we are trying to study the field of private enterprise in the sector of Energy in Greece. The changes in the institutional and financial substructures, in the last decade, have supported the materialization of an important number of investment plans. The investor's interest in the energy sector has been expressed up to now in the utilisation of Renewable Sources of Energy (RSE), the substitution of "traditional" fuels with clean fuels (natural gas, liquid gas), the implementation of electricity's co-production, as well as in the saving of energy. The goal of that study is to answer specific questions concerning the entrepreneurship in the Greek Energy sector. Who the investors are in the Greek energy market and which their traits are? We are trying to analyse the procedures which must be followed for the preparation of an investment plan. Moreover we investigate the financial factors, such as the economic growth and the employment that can affect the entrepreneurship. The sources of finance and the role of Small and Medium Enterpises in the energy sector are also very important elements in our research. Finally we are trying to analyse the international perspective of entrepreneurship and the mechanism of how the global circumstances in the field of energy can affect the inland product of energy.

Power politics: National energy strategies of the nuclear newly independent states of Armenia, Lithuania and Ukraine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabonis-Chafee, Theresa Marie

The successor states of Armenia, Lithuania and Ukraine arrived at independence facing extraordinary challenges in their energy sectors. Each state was a net importer, heavily dependent on cheap energy supplies, mostly from Russia. Each state also inherited a nuclear power complex over which it had not previously exercised full control. In the time period 1991--1996, each state attempted to impose coherence on the energy sector, selecting a new course for the pieces it had inherited from a much larger, highly integrated energy structure. Each state attempted to craft national energy policies in the midst of severe supply shocks and price shocks. Each state developed institutions to govern its nuclear power sector. The states' challenges were made even greater by the fact that they had few political or economic structures necessary for energy management, and sought to create those structures at the same time. This dissertation is a systematic, non-quantitative examination of how each state's energy policies developed during the 1991--1996 time period. The theoretical premise of the analysis (drawn from Statist realism) is that systemic variables---regional climate and energy vulnerability---provide the best explanations for the resulting energy policy decisions. The dependent variable is defined as creation and reform of energy institutions. The independent variables include domestic climate, regional climate, energy vulnerability and transnational assistance. All three states adopted rhetoric and legislation declaring energy a strategic sector. The evidence suggests that two of the states, Armenia and Lithuania, which faced tense regional climates and high levels of energy vulnerability, succeeded in actually treating energy strategically, approaching energy as a matter of national security or "high politics." The third state, Ukraine, failed to do so. The evidence presented suggests that the systemic variables (regional climate and energy vulnerability) provided a more favorable environment for Ukraine, one in which the state attempted reform of the sector, but not as a concerted national security issue.

The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Children and Young People: Reviewing Research Conducted and Distilling Implications for the Education Sector in Asia. Discussion Paper No. I

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wijngaarden, Jan; Shaeffer, Sheldon

2005-01-01

This discussion paper evaluates the impact of HIV/AIDS on the education sector in the Asia Pacific region. It looks at the impact of the epidemic on children (aged 0-18) focusing on how the presence of HIV/AIDS in the household affects the education sector. Examples are summarized from research papers from inter-governmental agencies including…

Energy use and conservation trends, 1972--1986

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Klan, M.S.; Belzer, D.B.; Marsh, S.J.

1989-02-01

US trends in energy use and conservation since 1972 are analyzed in this report. That year represents the last year prior to significant energy price shocks. In 1986, an estimated 31.8 quads has been saved in the US compared with what consumption would have been if the energy use per dollar of GNP had continued on the same trend after 1972 as in the period 1960--1972. Actual US energy consumption in 1986 was 74.3 quads. It is clear that energy conservation is persistent and conservation investments continue to pay off even after initial energy price shocks have subsided. Separate analysesmore » have been conducted for the major end-use sectors (residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation). Savings have been estimated in each sector, and the factors contributing to sectoral savings identified. 19 refs., 23 figs., 26 tabs.« less

The Implications of Deep Mitigation Pathways

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvin, K. V.

2016-12-01

The 21st Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC agreement called for limiting climate change to "well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C." A climate target of 1.5°C places a stringent constraint on allowable emissions over the twenty-first century. Roegli et al. (2015) set that constraint at 200-415 GtCO2 between 2011 and 2100 for a likely chance of staying below 1.5°C in 2100. Limiting emissions to these levels requires that global emissions peak and decline over the coming decades, with net negative global emissions by mid-century. This level of decarbonization requires dramatic shifts in the energy and agricultural sectors, and comes at significant economic costs. This talk explores the effect of mitigating climate change to 1.5°C on the economy, energy system, and terrestrial system. We quantify the required deployment of various low carbon technologies, as well as the amount of existing capital that is abandoned in an effort to limit emissions. We show the shifts required in the terrestrial system, including its contribution to carbon sequestration through afforestation and bioenergy. Additionally, we show the implications of deep mitigation pathways on energy, food, and carbon prices. We contrast these results with a reference, no climate policy, world and a 2°C.

Defending Critical Infrastructure as Cyber Key Terrain

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-01

and food sector (meat, poultry, egg products); • Health and Human Services -- public health and healthcare sector and the food sector (other than...meat, poultry, egg products); • Environmental Protection Agency -- drinking water and water treatment systems sector; • Department of Energy

Review of optimization techniques of polygeneration systems for building applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Y, Rong A.; Y, Su; R, Lahdelma

2016-08-01

Polygeneration means simultaneous production of two or more energy products in a single integrated process. Polygeneration is an energy-efficient technology and plays an important role in transition into future low-carbon energy systems. It can find wide applications in utilities, different types of industrial sectors and building sectors. This paper mainly focus on polygeneration applications in building sectors. The scales of polygeneration systems in building sectors range from the micro-level for a single home building to the large- level for residential districts. Also the development of polygeneration microgrid is related to building applications. The paper aims at giving a comprehensive review for optimization techniques for designing, synthesizing and operating different types of polygeneration systems for building applications.

A Multi-Sector Assessment of the Effects of Climate Change at the Energy-Water-Land Nexus in the US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFarland, J.; Sarofim, M. C.; Martinich, J.

2017-12-01

Rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns due to climate change are projected to alter many sectors of the US economy. A growing body of research has examined these effects in the energy, water, and agricultural sectors. Rising summer temperatures increase the demand for electricity. Changing precipitation patterns effect the availability of water for hydropower generation, thermo-electric cooling, irrigation, and municipal and industrial consumption. A combination of changes to temperature and precipitation alter crop yields and cost-effective farming practices. Although a significant body of research exists on analyzing impacts to individual sectors, fewer studies examine the effects using a common set of assumptions (e.g., climatic and socio-economic) within a coupled modeling framework. The present analysis uses a multi-sector, multi-model framework with common input assumptions to assess the projected effects of climate change on energy, water, and land-use in the United States. The analysis assesses the climate impacts for across 5 global circulation models for representative concentration pathways (RCP) of 8.5 and 4.5 W/m2. The energy sector models - Pacific Northwest National Lab's Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) - show the effects of rising temperature on energy and electricity demand. Electricity supply in ReEDS is also affected by the availability of water for hydropower and thermo-electric cooling. Water availability is calculated from the GCM's precipitation using the US Basins model. The effects on agriculture are estimated using both a process-based crop model (EPIC) and an agricultural economic model (FASOM-GHG), which adjusts water supply curves based on information from US Basins. The sectoral models show higher economic costs of climate change under RCP 8.5 than RCP 4.5 averaged across the country and across GCM's.

Libya After Qaddafi: Lessons and Implications for the Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors . All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer...8 The Need for Far-Reaching Security Sector Reform...World Bank , International Monetary Fund, IHS, Inter- national Foundation for Electoral Systems, Dartmouth College, the National Endowment for

Implications for Higher Education of the Public Sector Reform Agenda.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coaldrake, Peter

1995-01-01

It is argued that issues of accountability, competition, the technology, and internationalization of education suggest it is in the best interest of Australian higher education to adopt strategic management techniques being promoted for the public sector. This includes new emphases on staffing policies and practices, resource allocation and…

Towards international strategic partnership management between the ICT and health care sectors: seven pillars of effectiveness.

PubMed

Caro, Denis H J

2002-01-01

This study identifies seven key characteristics of effective strategic partnership management issues between the Information and Communication (ICT) and health care sectors. It underscores the implications for international health community, based on experiences in Canada, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

The Applicability of Market-Based Solutions to Public Sector Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, Carolyn

This paper examines the ways in which private- and public-sector location affects organizational structure and functions, and the implications for school reform. It identifies the differences that are often overlooked when policymakers utilize market-based organizational reform models to address public school problems. Two fundamental questions…

Implications of the growth of dental education in India.

PubMed

Mahal, Ajay S; Shah, Naseem

2006-08-01

By influencing the supply of trained human resources, the dental education sector can play a significant role in influencing policy goals of ensuring good quality and equitable access to oral health services in developing countries. Our research goal was to assess quantitatively the size of the Indian dental education sector, its growth over time, and the implications of this growth for equity and quality in oral health care. Information on the location of teaching institutions, the year of establishment, type of ownership, and seat capacity was obtained from government sources, the Dental Council of India, and websites of individual institutions to estimate the growth in the undergraduate dental education sector, including the role of the private sector from 1950 to 2005. Data on location of training capacity and institutions were used to assess the geographical distribution of undergraduate dental education capacity in India. Registration data on dentists, the size of available faculty relative to regulatory requirements, and penalties imposed on offending faculty and education institutions were used to assess the impact of the growing Indian dental education sector on graduate quality and equitable access. Dental colleges and enrollment capacity have grown rapidly over the five decades since 1950, mainly due to a growing private sector. There is regional inequality in the location of dental education schools in India with a bias toward economically better-off regions. The growth in the dental education sector has translated into increased overall access, although accompanied by rising inequality in access and possibly lower quality of dental education.

Impacts of climate mitigation strategies in the energy sector on global land use and carbon balance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engström, Kerstin; Lindeskog, Mats; Olin, Stefan; Hassler, John; Smith, Benjamin

2017-09-01

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit damage to the global economy climate-change-induced and secure the livelihoods of future generations requires ambitious mitigation strategies. The introduction of a global carbon tax on fossil fuels is tested here as a mitigation strategy to reduce atmospheric CO2 concentrations and radiative forcing. Taxation of fossil fuels potentially leads to changed composition of energy sources, including a larger relative contribution from bioenergy. Further, the introduction of a mitigation strategy reduces climate-change-induced damage to the global economy, and thus can indirectly affect consumption patterns and investments in agricultural technologies and yield enhancement. Here we assess the implications of changes in bioenergy demand as well as the indirectly caused changes in consumption and crop yields for global and national cropland area and terrestrial biosphere carbon balance. We apply a novel integrated assessment modelling framework, combining three previously published models (a climate-economy model, a socio-economic land use model and an ecosystem model). We develop reference and mitigation scenarios based on the narratives and key elements of the shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs). Taking emissions from the land use sector into account, we find that the introduction of a global carbon tax on the fossil fuel sector is an effective mitigation strategy only for scenarios with low population development and strong sustainability criteria (SSP1 Taking the green road). For scenarios with high population growth, low technological development and bioenergy production the high demand for cropland causes the terrestrial biosphere to switch from being a carbon sink to a source by the end of the 21st century.

Nuclear energy: Between global electricity demand, worldwide decarbonisation imperativeness, and planetary environmental implications.

PubMed

Prăvălie, Remus; Bandoc, Georgeta

2018-03-01

For decades, nuclear energy has been considered an important option for ensuring global energy security, and it has recently started being promoted as a solution for climate change mitigation. However, nuclear power remains highly controversial due to its associated risks - nuclear accidents and problematic radioactive waste management. This review aims to assess the viability of global nuclear energy economically (energy-wise), climatically and environmentally. To this end, the nuclear sector's energy- and climate-related advantages were explored alongside the downsides that mainly relate to radioactive pollution. Economically, it was found that nuclear energy is still an important power source in many countries around the world. Climatically, nuclear power is a low-carbon technology and can therefore be a viable option for the decarbonization of the world's major economies over the following decades, if coupled with other large-scale strategies such as renewable energies. These benefits are however outweighed by the radioactive danger associated to nuclear power plants, either in the context of the nuclear accidents that have already occurred or in that of the large amounts of long-lived nuclear waste that have been growing for decades and that represent a significant environmental and societal threat. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Well-to-Wheels Water Consumption: Tracking the Virtual Flow of Water into Transportation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lampert, D. J.; Elgowainy, A.; Hao, C.

2015-12-01

Water and energy resources are fundamental to life on Earth and essential for the production of consumer goods and services in the economy. Energy and water resources are heavily interdependent—energy production consumes water, while water treatment and distribution consume energy. One example of this so-called energy-water nexus is the consumption of water associated with the production of transportation fuels. The Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model is an analytical tool that can be used to compare the environmental impacts of different transportation fuels on a consistent basis. In this presentation, the expansion of GREET to perform life cycle water accounting or the "virtual flow" of water into transportation and other energy sectors and the associated implications will be discussed. The results indicate that increased usage of alternative fuels may increase freshwater resource consumption. The increased water consumption must be weighed against the benefits of decreased greenhouse gas and fossil energy consumption. Our analysis highlights the importance of regionality, co-product allocation, and consistent system boundaries when comparing the water intensity of alternative transportation fuel production pathways such as ethanol, biodiesel, compressed natural gas, hydrogen, and electricity with conventional petroleum-based fuels such as diesel and gasoline.

76 FR 57723 - Electricity Sector Cybersecurity Risk Management Process Guideline

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-16

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Electricity Sector Cybersecurity Risk Management Process Guideline AGENCY... public comment on DOE's intent to publish the Electricity Sector Cybersecurity Risk Management Process... electricity sector organizations and adds to the body of resources that help refine the definition and...

Design of virus-based nanomaterials for medicine, biotechnology, and energy.

PubMed

Wen, Amy M; Steinmetz, Nicole F

2016-07-25

This review provides an overview of recent developments in "chemical virology." Viruses, as materials, provide unique nanoscale scaffolds that have relevance in chemical biology and nanotechnology, with diverse areas of applications. Some fundamental advantages of viruses, compared to synthetically programmed materials, include the highly precise spatial arrangement of their subunits into a diverse array of shapes and sizes and many available avenues for easy and reproducible modification. Here, we will first survey the broad distribution of viruses and various methods for producing virus-based nanoparticles, as well as engineering principles used to impart new functionalities. We will then examine the broad range of applications and implications of virus-based materials, focusing on the medical, biotechnology, and energy sectors. We anticipate that this field will continue to evolve and grow, with exciting new possibilities stemming from advancements in the rational design of virus-based nanomaterials.

Signatures of photon-scalar interaction in astrophysical situations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganguly, Avijit K.; Jaiswal, Manoj K.

2018-01-01

Dimension-5 photon ( γ) scalar ( ϕ) interaction term usually appear in the Lagrangians of bosonic sector of unified theories of electromagnetism and gravity. This interaction makes the medium dichoric and induces optical activity. Considering a toy model of an ultra-cold magnetized compact star (white dwarf (WD) or neutron star (NS)), we have modeled the propagation of very low energy photons with such interaction, in the environment of these stars. Assuming synchro-curvature process as the dominant mechanism of emission in such environments, we have tried to understand the polarimetric implications of photon-scalar coupling on the produced spectrum of the same. Further more assuming the `emission-energy vs emission-altitude' relation, that is believed to hold in such ( i.e., cold magnetized WD or NS) environments, we have tried to point out the possible modifications to the radiation spectrum when the same is incorporated along with dimension-5 photon-scalar mixing operator.

Generation and Use of Thermal Energy in the U.S. Industrial Sector and Opportunities to Reduce its Carbon Emissions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McMillan, Colin A.; Boardman, Richard; McKellar, Michael

The industrial sector was the third-largest source of direct U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2014 behind electricity generation and transportation and accounted for roughly 20% of total emissions (EPA 2016). The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that total U.S. energy consumption will grow to about 108 exajoules (1 EJ = 10 18 J) or 102 quads (1 quad = 10 15 British thermal units) in 2025, with nearly all of the growth coming from the industrial sector (DOE 2015b). Energy consumption in the industrial sector is forecast to increase to 39.5 EJ (37.4 quads)—a 22% increase, exceeding 36% ofmore » total energy consumption in the United States. Therefore, it is imperative that industrial GHG emissions be considered in any strategy intent on achieving deep decarbonization of the energy sector as a whole. It is important to note that unlike the transportation sector and electrical grid, energy use by industry often involves direct conversion of primary energy sources to thermal and electrical energy at the point of consumption. About 52% of U.S. industrial direct GHG emissions are the result of fuel combustion (EPA 2016) to produce hot gases and steam for process heating, process reactions, and process evaporation, concentration, and drying. The heterogeneity and variations in scale of U.S. industry and the complexity of modern industrial firms’ global supply chains are among the sector’s unique challenges to minimizing its GHG emissions. A combination of varied strategies—such as energy efficiency, material efficiency, and switching to low-carbon fuels—can help reduce absolute industrial GHG emissions. This report provides a complement to process-efficiency improvement to consider how clean energy delivery and use by industry could reduce GHG emissions. Specifically, it considers the possibility of replacing fossil-fuel combustion in industry with nuclear (specifically small modular reactors [SMRs]), solar thermal (referred to herein as solar industrial process heat [SIPH]), and geothermal energy sources. The possibility of applying electrical heating and greater use of hydrogen is also considered, although these opportunities are not discussed in as much detail.« less

Input-output modeling for urban energy consumption in Beijing: dynamics and comparison.

PubMed

Zhang, Lixiao; Hu, Qiuhong; Zhang, Fan

2014-01-01

Input-output analysis has been proven to be a powerful instrument for estimating embodied (direct plus indirect) energy usage through economic sectors. Using 9 economic input-output tables of years 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2007, this paper analyzes energy flows for the entire city of Beijing and its 30 economic sectors, respectively. Results show that the embodied energy consumption of Beijing increased from 38.85 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce) to 206.2 Mtce over the past twenty years of rapid urbanization; the share of indirect energy consumption in total energy consumption increased from 48% to 76%, suggesting the transition of Beijing from a production-based and manufacturing-dominated economy to a consumption-based and service-dominated economy. Real estate development has shown to be a major driving factor of the growth in indirect energy consumption. The boom and bust of construction activities have been strongly correlated with the increase and decrease of system-side indirect energy consumption. Traditional heavy industries remain the most energy-intensive sectors in the economy. However, the transportation and service sectors have contributed most to the rapid increase in overall energy consumption. The analyses in this paper demonstrate that a system-wide approach such as that based on input-output model can be a useful tool for robust energy policy making.

Input-Output Modeling for Urban Energy Consumption in Beijing: Dynamics and Comparison

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lixiao; Hu, Qiuhong; Zhang, Fan

2014-01-01

Input-output analysis has been proven to be a powerful instrument for estimating embodied (direct plus indirect) energy usage through economic sectors. Using 9 economic input-output tables of years 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2007, this paper analyzes energy flows for the entire city of Beijing and its 30 economic sectors, respectively. Results show that the embodied energy consumption of Beijing increased from 38.85 million tonnes of coal equivalent (Mtce) to 206.2 Mtce over the past twenty years of rapid urbanization; the share of indirect energy consumption in total energy consumption increased from 48% to 76%, suggesting the transition of Beijing from a production-based and manufacturing-dominated economy to a consumption-based and service-dominated economy. Real estate development has shown to be a major driving factor of the growth in indirect energy consumption. The boom and bust of construction activities have been strongly correlated with the increase and decrease of system-side indirect energy consumption. Traditional heavy industries remain the most energy-intensive sectors in the economy. However, the transportation and service sectors have contributed most to the rapid increase in overall energy consumption. The analyses in this paper demonstrate that a system-wide approach such as that based on input-output model can be a useful tool for robust energy policy making. PMID:24595199

Performance of private sector health care: implications for universal health coverage.

PubMed

Morgan, Rosemary; Ensor, Tim; Waters, Hugh

2016-08-06

Although the private sector is an important health-care provider in many low-income and middle-income countries, its role in progress towards universal health coverage varies. Studies of the performance of the private sector have focused on three main dimensions: quality, equity of access, and efficiency. The characteristics of patients, the structures of both the public and private sectors, and the regulation of the sector influence the types of health services delivered, and outcomes. Combined with characteristics of private providers-including their size, objectives, and technical competence-the interaction of these factors affects how the sector performs in different contexts. Changing the performance of the private sector will require interventions that target the sector as a whole, rather than individual providers alone. In particular, the performance of the private sector seems to be intrinsically linked to the structure and performance of the public sector, which suggests that deriving population benefit from the private health-care sector requires a regulatory response focused on the health-care sector as a whole. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multidimensional supersymmetric quantum mechanics: spurious states for the tensor sector two Hamiltonian.

PubMed

Chou, Chia-Chun; Kouri, Donald J

2013-04-25

We show that there exist spurious states for the sector two tensor Hamiltonian in multidimensional supersymmetric quantum mechanics. For one-dimensional supersymmetric quantum mechanics on an infinite domain, the sector one and two Hamiltonians have identical spectra with the exception of the ground state of the sector one. For tensorial multidimensional supersymmetric quantum mechanics, there exist normalizable spurious states for the sector two Hamiltonian with energy equal to the ground state energy of the sector one. These spurious states are annihilated by the adjoint charge operator, and hence, they do not correspond to physical states for the original Hamiltonian. The Hermitian property of the sector two Hamiltonian implies the orthogonality between spurious and physical states. In addition, we develop a method for construction of a specific form of the spurious states for any quantum system and also generate several spurious states for a two-dimensional anharmonic oscillator system and for the hydrogen atom.

High energy collisions on tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometers†

PubMed Central

Cotter, Robert J.

2013-01-01

Long before the introduction of matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALDI), electrospray ionization (ESI), Orbitraps and any of the other tools that are now used ubiquitously for proteomics and metabolomics, the highest performance mass spectrometers were sector instruments, providing high resolution mass measurements by combining an electrostatic energy analyzer (E) with a high field magnet (B). In its heyday, the four sector mass spectrometer (or EBEB) was the crown jewel, providing the highest performance tandem mass spectrometry using single, high energy collisions to induce fragmentation. During a time in which quadrupole and tandem triple quadrupole instruments were also enjoying increased usage and popularity, there were nonetheless some clear advantages for sectors over their low collision energy counterparts. Time-of-flight mass spectrometers are high voltage, high vacuum instruments that have much in common with sectors and have inspired the development of tandem instruments exploiting single high energy collisions. In this retrospective we recount our own journey to produce high performance time-of-flights and tandems, describing the basic theory, problems and the advantages for such instruments. An experiment testing impulse collision theory (ICT) underscores the similarities with sector mass spectrometers where this concept was first developed. Applications provide examples of more extensive fragmentation, side chain cleavages and charge-remote fragmentation, also characteristic of high energy sector mass spectrometers. Moreover, the so-called curved-field reflectron has enabled the design of instruments that are simpler, collect and focus all of the ions, and may provide the future technology for the clinic, for tissue imaging and the characterization of microorganisms. PMID:23519928

World bank's role in the electric power sector: Policies for effective institutional, regulatory, and financial reform. World Bank policy paper. Funcion del banco mundial en el sector de la electricidad: politicas para efectuar una reforma institucional, regulatoria y financiera eficaz

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1993-01-01

The paper outlines the World Bank's new policies for the energy sector. It recommends several new policies to improve the performance of the electric power sector in developing countries. Bank loans for electric power will go first to countries clearly committed to improving the performance of their power sectors. The Bank will also discourage subsidies on energy prices and will encourage private investment in utilities. And it will provide financing to help the least developed countries import power where local generation is not practical.

MULTIFUNCTION ENERGY PLATFORM (MFP) PILOT

EPA Science Inventory

• Multi-sector Baseline Survey:  A five-sector survey (agriculture, energy, water, health, and general - demogr...

• Chinese Engagement in Africa: Drivers, Reactions, and Implications for U.S. Policy

  DTIC Science & Technology

  2014-01-01

  downstream oil sectors in countries such as Sudan, Angola, and Nigeria . Africa also presents a huge untapped market for Chinese goods. Africa’s collective... Nigeria , and it’s oil, oil, nothing but oil. But the Chinese come and they are interested in every sector of our economy.”30 The dearth of Western...mining, engineering, and construction sectors .49 The Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) in Nigeria , a joint venture between Lekki Worldwide Investment Limited

• Transforming State-of-the-Art into Best Practice: A Guide for High-Performance Energy Efficient Buildings in India

  DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

  Singh, Reshma; Ravache, Baptiste; Sartor, Dale

  India launched the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in 2007, and a revised version in 2017 as ambitious first steps towards promoting energy efficiency in the building sector. Pioneering early adopters—building owners, A&E firms, and energy consultants—have taken the lead to design customized solutions for their energy-efficient buildings. This Guide offers a synthesizing framework, critical lessons, and guidance to meet and exceed ECBC. Its whole-building lifecycle assurance framework provides a user-friendly methodology to achieve high performance in terms of energy, environmental, and societal impact. Class A offices are selected as a target typology, being a high-growth sector, with significant opportunitiesmore » for energy savings. The practices may be extrapolated to other commercial building sectors, as well as extended to other regions with similar cultural, climatic, construction, and developmental contexts« less

• Calculation of the final energy demand for the Federal Republic of Germany with the simulation model MEDEE-2

  NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

  Loeffler, U.; Weible, H.

  1981-08-01

  The final energy demand for the Federal Republic of Germany was calculated. The model MEDEE-2 describes, in relationship to a given distribution of the production of single industrial sectors, of energy specific values and of population development, the final energy consumption of the domestic, service industry and transportation sectors for a given region. The input data, consisting of constants and variables, and the proceeding, by which the projections for the input data of single sectors are performed, are discussed. The results of the calculations are presented and are compared. The sensitivity of single results in relation to the variation of input values is analyzed.

• Long-term environmental and health implications of morphological change and sediment transport with respect to contaminants

  NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

  Sneddon, Christopher; Copplestone, David; Tyler, Andrew; Hunter, Peter; Smith, Nick

  2014-05-01

  The EPSRC-funded Adaptation and Resilience of Coastal Energy Supply (ARCoES) project encompasses four research strands, involving 14 institutions and six PhD studentships. ARCoES aims to determine the threats posed to future energy generation and the distribution network by flooding and erosion, changing patterns of coastal sedimentation, water temperature and the distribution of plants and animals in the coastal zone. Whilst this research has direct benefits for the operation of coastal power stations, ARCoES aims to have a wider stakeholder engagement through assessing how the resilience of coastal communities may be altered by five hundred years of coastal evolution. Coastal evolution will have substantial implications for the energy sector of the North West of England as former waste storage sites are eroded and remobilised within the intertidal environment. The current intertidal environmental stores of radioactivity will also experience reworking as ocean chemistry changes and saltmarsh chronologies are reworked in response to rising sea levels. There is a duel requirement to understand mass sediment movement along the North West coast of England as understanding the sediment transport dynamics is key to modelling long term coastal change and understanding how the environmental store of radioactivity will be reworked. The University of Stirling is researching the long-term environmental and health implications of remobilisation and transport of contaminated sediments around the UK coastline. Using a synergy of hyperspectral and topographic information the mobilisation of sediment bound contaminants within the coastal environment will be investigated. Potential hazards posed by contaminants are determined by a set of environmental impact test criteria which evaluate the bio-accessibility and ionising dose of contaminants. These test criteria will be used to comment on the likely environmental impact of modelled sediment transport and anticipated changes in ocean chemistry.

• Overview of energy-conservation research opportunities

  DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

  Hopp, W.J.; Hauser, S.G.; Hane, G.J.

  1981-12-01

  This document is a study of research opportunities that are important to developing advanced technologies for efficient energy use. The study's purpose is to describe a wide array of attractive technical areas from which specific research and development programs could be implemented. Research areas are presented for potential application in each of the major end-use sectors. The study develops and applies a systematic approach to identifying and screening applied energy conservation research opportunities. To broadly cover the energy end-use sectors, this study develops useful information relating to the areas where federally-funded applied research will most likely play an important rolemore » in promoting energy conservation. This study is not designed to produce a detailed agenda of specific recommended research activities. The general information presented allows uniform comparisons of disparate research areas and as such provides the basis for formulating a cost-effective, comprehensive federal-applied energy conservation research strategy. Chapter 2 discusses the various methodologies that have been used in the past to identify research opportunities and details the approach used here. In Chapters 3, 4, and 5 the methodology is applied to the buildings, transportation, and industrial end-use sectors and the opportunities for applied research in these sectors are discussed.Chapter 6 synthesizes the results of the previous three chapters to give a comprehensive picture of applied energy conservation research opportunities across all end-use sectors and presents the conclusions to the report.« less

• Access to Federal Information: Trends and Implications.

  ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

  Wise, Suzanne; Jamison, Carolyn

  1983-01-01

  Discussion of growing trend toward contracting out government printing to private sector highlights Government Printing Office duties, commercial publications, competition from National Technical Information Service, Ronald Reagan's moratorium on publication, use of microfiche, and implications of changes in government printing and distribution…

• Consumption of Energy in New York State: 1972 (with Estimates for 1973).

  ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

  Hausgaard, Olaf

  This report contains tabular data on energy consumption for the calendar year 1972 and a forecast of natural gas requirements for the period 1973 to 1976. Broad sector categories used in the tables are electric utilities, residential commercial, industrial, and transportation. Tables show energy consumption by primary source and major sector for…

• 78 FR 3489 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; Order Granting Approval of Proposed Rule...

  Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

  2013-01-16

  ... on a component by component basis, rather than by sector. Energy components can now be held in long... previously approved, all sectors other than energy could go long and short. Components are set to their..., ``Futures Exchanges''). Previously, the Index and the DCFI were designed such that the energy components...

• Impacts of Increased Diesel Penetration in the Transportation Sector, The

  EIA Publications

  1998-01-01

  Requested by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy. Analyzes the impacts on petroleum prices, demand, and refinery operations of a projected increase in demand for diesel fuel stemming from greater penetration of diesel-fueled engines in the light-duty vehicle fleet of the U.S. transportation sector.

• State Carbon Dioxide Emissions Data

  EIA Publications

  2017-01-01

  These estimates of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) are based on the State Energy Data System. The state data include a summary table with total energy-related CO2 by state beginning in 1990, tables with emissions by all fuels and sectors in 2015, and additional tables for each fuel and sector with history going back to 1980

• Russia’s R&D for Low Energy Buildings: Insights for Cooperation with Russia

  DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

  Schaaf, Rebecca E.; Evans, Meredydd

  Russian buildings, Russian buildings sector energy consumption. Russian government has made R&D investment a priority again. The government and private sector both invest in a range of building energy technologies. In particular, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, district heating, building envelope, and lighting have active technology research projects and programs in Russia.

• Fuel cell programs in the United States for stationary power applications

  DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

  Singer, M.

  1996-04-01

  The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Fossil Energy, is participating with the private sector in sponsoring the development of molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technologies for application in the utility, commercial and industrial sectors. Phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) development was sponsored by the Office of Fossil Energy in previous years and is now being commercialized by the private sector. Private sector participants with the Department of Energy include the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Gas Research institute (GRI), electric and gas utilities, universities, manufacturing companies and their suppliers. through continued governmentmore » and private sector support, fuel cell systems are emerging power generation technologies which are expected to have significant worldwide impacts. An industry with annual sales of over a billion dollars is envisioned early in the 21st century. PAFC power plants have begun to enter the marketplace and MCFC and SOFC power plants are expected to be ready to enter the marketplace in the late 1990s. In support of the efficient and effective use of our natural resources, the fuel cell program seeks to increase energy efficiency and economic effectiveness of power generation. This is to be accomplished through effectiveness of power generation. This is accomplished through the development and commercialization of cost-effective, efficient and environmentally desirable fuel cell systems which will operate on fossil fuels in multiple and end use sectors.« less

Energy Consumption Trends in Energy Scarce and Rich Countries: Comparative Study for Pakistan and Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gazder, Uneb

2017-11-01

Energy crisis is raising serious concerns throughout the world. There has been constant rise in energy consumption corresponding to the increase in global population. This sector affects the other pillars of national economy including industries and transportation. Because of these reasons, the traditional fossil-based energy sources are depleting rapidly, resulting in high and unstable energy prices. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, although different from each other in terms of their economic stability and political systems, still rely heavily on the traditional fossil fuels. This paper presents the comparison of these two countries in terms of their energy consumption and factors affecting it. These factors include, but not limited to, economic development, and growth in population and other sectors such as; industries, transportation, etc. The comparison is also made with the regional and global energy consumption trends and these countries. Moreover, regression models were built to predict energy consumption till 2040 and compare the growth in this sector and share in global energy demand. Energy consumption in oil-rich countries (Saudi Arabia) has been driven through its economic development, while for energy insecure country (Pakistan) it is mainly because of population growth. It was also found that in the next two decades the share of Pakistan in the global energy demand will increase. This concludes that population growth will have more impact on energy consumption than economic growth. It could mean that the shift in energy sector would shift towards sustenance instead of using energy for commercial or industrial usage. Conference Track: Policy and Finance and Strategies

Drops of energy: conserving urban water to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

PubMed

Zhou, Yuanchun; Zhang, Bing; Wang, Haikun; Bi, Jun

2013-10-01

Water and energy are two essential resources of modern civilization and are inherently linked. Indeed, the optimization of the water supply system would reduce energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions in the municipal water sector. This research measured the climatic cobenefit of water conservation based on a water flow analysis. The results showed that the estimated energy consumption of the total water system in Changzhou, China, reached approximately 10% of the city's total energy consumption, whereas the industrial sector was found to be more energy intensive than other sectors within the entire water system, accounting for nearly 70% of the total energy use of the water system. In addition, four sustainable water management scenarios would bring the cobenefit of reducing the total energy use of the water system by 13.9%, and 77% of the energy savings through water conservation was indirect. To promote sustainable water management and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, China would require its water price system, both for freshwater and recycled water, to be reformed.

Early-release Estimates From the 2010 MECS Show That Energy Consumption In the Manufacturing Sector Decreased Between 2006 and 2010

EIA Publications

2012-01-01

Energy consumption in the U.S. manufacturing sector fell from 21,098 trillion Btu (tBtu) in 2006 to 19,062 tBtu in 2010, a decline of almost 10% , based on preliminary estimates released from the 2010 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS). This decline continues the downward trend in manufacturing energy use since the 1998 MECS report.

The Impact of DOE Building Technology Energy Efficiency Programs on U.S. Employment, Income, and Investment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scott, Michael J.; Roop, Joseph M.; Schultz, Robert W.

2008-07-31

To more fully evaluate its programs to increase the energy efficiency of the U.S. residential and commercial building stock, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) assesses the macroeconomic impacts of those programs, specifically on national employment, wage income, and (most recently) investment. The analysis is conducted using the Impact of Sector Energy Technologies (ImSET) model, a special-purpose 188-sector input-output model of the U.S. economy designed specifically to evaluate the impacts of energy efficiency investments and saving. For the analysis described in the paper, ImSET was amended to provide estimates of sector-by-sector capital requirementsmore » and investment. In the scenario of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Buildings Technology (BT) program, the technologies and building practices being developed and promoted by the BT program have the prospect of saving about 2.9×1015 Btu in buildings by the year 2030, about 27% of the expected growth in buildings energy consumption by the year 2030. The analysis reported in the paper finds that, by the year 2030, these savings have the potential to increase employment by up to 446,000 jobs, increase wage income by $7.8 billion, reduce needs for capital stock in the energy sector and closely related supporting industries by about $207 billion (and the corresponding annual level of investment by $13 billion), and create net capital savings that are available to grow the nation’s future economy.« less

A Comparison of Iron and Steel Production Energy Use and Energy Intensity in China and the U.S.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hasanbeigi, Ali; Price, Lynn; Aden, Nathaniel

Production of iron and steel is an energy-intensive manufacturing process. In 2006, the iron and steel industry accounted for 13.6% and 1.4% of primary energy consumption in China and the U.S., respectively (U.S. DOE/EIA, 2010a; Zhang et al., 2010). The energy efficiency of steel production has a direct impact on overall energy consumption and related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The goal of this study is to develop a methodology for making an accurate comparison of the energy intensity (energy use per unit of steel produced) of steel production. The methodology is applied to the steel industry in China and themore » U.S. The methodology addresses issues related to boundary definitions, conversion factors, and indicators in order to develop a common framework for comparing steel industry energy use. This study uses a bottom-up, physical-based method to compare the energy intensity of China and U.S. crude steel production in 2006. This year was chosen in order to maximize the availability of comparable steel-sector data. However, data published in China and the U.S. are not always consistent in terms of analytical scope, conversion factors, and information on adoption of energy-saving technologies. This study is primarily based on published annual data from the China Iron & Steel Association and National Bureau of Statistics in China and the Energy Information Agency in the U.S. This report found that the energy intensity of steel production is lower in the United States than China primarily due to structural differences in the steel industry in these two countries. In order to understand the differences in energy intensity of steel production in both countries, this report identified key determinants of sector energy use in both countries. Five determinants analyzed in this report include: share of electric arc furnaces in total steel production, sector penetration of energy-efficiency technologies, scale of production equipment, fuel shares in the iron and steel industry, and final steel product mix in both countries. The share of lower energy intensity electric arc furnace production in each country was a key determinant of total steel sector energy efficiency. Overall steel sector structure, in terms of average plant vintage and production capacity, is also an important variable though data were not available to quantify this in a scenario. The methodology developed in this report, along with the accompanying quantitative and qualitative analyses, provides a foundation for comparative international assessment of steel sector energy intensity.« less

Selective Transient Cooling by Impulse Perturbations in a Simple Toy Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fabrizio, Michele

2018-06-01

We show in a simple exactly solvable toy model that a properly designed impulse perturbation can transiently cool down low-energy degrees of freedom at the expense of high-energy ones that heat up. The model consists of two infinite-range quantum Ising models: one, the high-energy sector, with a transverse field much bigger than the other, the low-energy sector. The finite-duration perturbation is a spin exchange that couples the two Ising models with an oscillating coupling strength. We find a cooling of the low-energy sector that is optimized by the oscillation frequency in resonance with the spin exchange excitation. After the perturbation is turned off, the Ising model with a low transverse field can even develop a spontaneous symmetry breaking despite being initially above the critical temperature.

Competition, Jobs, and Information Policy: The Case for Private-Sector Information Services: U.S. Patents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebersole, Joseph L.

1994-01-01

Discusses the argument for private-sector involvement in the distribution of government information, using U.S. patents as an example. Highlights include industry competitiveness; jobs creation; public access; identifying users; costs; user fees; existing systems of information dissemination; and implications of the Internet and NREN (National…

Market orientation: a concept for health libraries.

PubMed

Sen, Barbara

2006-03-01

This paper is the result of exploratory research forming part of ongoing study into the value and relevance of market orientation as a strategic option for library managers. The aim of the study is to gain an understanding of the concept of market orientation relative to the health library sector. A focus group was used to gather data from health librarians working at different levels in the sector. The data was coded and categorized by an expert panel and analysed using a taxonomic map developed during the study. Health library professionals define and understand market orientation in the same way as the concept is defined in the management literature. Their understanding of the concept is developing. A greater emphasis is given to some aspects of market orientation than others. There are implications for further research. Methods used to measure market orientation in other domains are likely to be relevant for libraries. Research should be extended to different sectors to explore any cross-sector differences. Fostering an organizational culture that supports market orientation has implications for service management and development.

Technology Prioritization: Transforming the U.S. Building Stock to Embrace Energy Efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdelaziz, Omar; Farese, Philip; Abramson, Alexis

2013-01-01

The U.S. Buildings sector is responsible for about 40% of the national energy expenditures. This is due in part to wasteful use of resources and limited considerations made for energy efficiency during the design and retrofit phases. Recent studies have indicated the potential for up to 30-50% energy savings in the U.S. buildings sector using currently available technologies. This paper discusses efforts to accelerate the transformation in the U.S. building energy efficiency sector using a new technology prioritization framework. The underlying analysis examines building energy use micro segments using the Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook and other publically availablemore » information. The tool includes a stock-and-flow model to track stock vintage and efficiency levels with time. The tool can be used to investigate energy efficiency measures under a variety of scenarios and has a built-in energy accounting framework to prevent double counting of energy savings within any given portfolio. This tool is developed to inform decision making and estimate long term potential energy savings for different market adoption scenarios.« less

Projection of U.S. forest sector carbon sequestration under U.S. and global timber market and wood energy consumption scenarios, 2010-2060

Treesearch

Prakash Nepal; Peter J. Ince; Kenneth E. Skog; Sun J. Chang

2012-01-01

This study provides a modeling framework to examine change over time in U.S. forest sector carbon inventory (in U.S. timberland tree biomass and harvested wood products) for alternative projections of U.S. and global timber markets, including wood energy consumption, based on established IPCC/RPA scenarios. Results indicated that the U.S. forest sector’s projected...

SunShot 2030 for Photovoltaics (PV): Envisioning a Low-cost PV Future

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cole, Wesley J.; Frew, Bethany A.; Gagnon, Pieter J.

In this report we summarize the implications, impacts, and deployment potential of reaching the SunShot 2030 targets for the electricity system in the contiguous United States. We model 25 scenarios of the U.S. power sector using the Regional Energy Deployment Systems (ReEDS) and Distributed Generation (dGen) capacity expansion models. The scenarios cover a wide range of sensitivities to capture future uncertainties relating to fuel prices, retirements, renewable energy capital costs, and load growth. We give special attention to the potential for storage costs to also rapidly decline due to its large synergies with low-cost solar. The ReEDS and dGen modelsmore » project utility- and distributed-scale power sector evolution, respectively, for the United States. Both models have been designed with special emphasis on capturing the unique traits of renewable energy, including variability and grid integration requirements. Across the suite of scenarios modeled, we find that reaching the SunShot 2030 target has the potential to lead to significant capacity additions of PV in the United States. By 2050, PV penetration levels are projected to reach 28-46 percent of total generation. If storage also sees significant reductions in cost, then the 2050 solar penetration levels could reach 41-64 percent. PV deployment is projected to occur in all of the lower 48 states, though the specific deployment level is scenario dependent. The growth in PV is projected to be dominated by utility-scale systems, but the actual mix between utility and distributed systems could ultimately vary depending on how policies, system costs, and rate structures evolve.« less

Economic and public policy implications of energy pricing in Costa Rica

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bourgoin, L.

The methods used in examining the role of pricing in energy policy development may apply to many oil-importing countries with foreign exchange constraints. Data are developed by economic sectors on output plus on real factor inputs and factor wages for capital (by a perpetual inventory method), labor and useful energy (adjusted for efficiencies). A constant elasticity of substitution production model using 1965-1982 aggregate energy and nonenergy inputs is used to demonstrate the energy-economy linkages in Costa Rica. Estimates are from the best linear unbiased estimator and from the nonlinear system (structural form) of simultaneous equations jointly estimated by GLS multivariatemore » methods. The elasticity of substitution is 0.98 using only energy source costs and about 0.87-0.89 using energy system costs. The macroeconomic impacts of energy taxation or subsidization in Costa Rica for the range of likely values of the elasticity of substitution suggest that a small energy tax would result in a net national economic gain. Eight energy policy proposals demand management interventions and supply-side enhancements) are formulated for Costa Rica and qualified for five broad criteria according to their likelihood of success. These are chosen since they are believed to promote socioeconomic efficiency, to be politically feasible, and to be administratively implementable; the anticipated degree of popular acceptance and the size of the impact vary.« less

Democratizing Energy Access in a Marketized World: The Cases of Costa Rica and Nicaragua

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colbert, M'Lisa Lee

This thesis explores the experiences, motivations and the imaginary of people who seek to democratize access to energy. Through a survey of the energy democracy movement in Europe and North America and a case study of two participatory and democratically oriented electricity providers in Central America, this thesis examines the differences and similarities between democratizing energy in the Global North and Global South in the context of marketization and the global push to transition to renewable energy. The forces of an expanding global energy economy are increasingly influencing the way that we can access and consume energy in our lives. Local interactions cannot be understood by an isolated analysis without considering the larger structural conditions that implicate them. Today, we are witnessing a global push to transition our energy resources from fossil fuels to renewables due to the emergency of climate change. For the most part, this transition preoccupies itself with changing the technological instruments that source us the energy. Yet few changes are targeting transition from growth focused market-based economic models. Energy Democracy is one new imaginary that people are rallying around to help realize alternatives to drive more equitable and sustainable post-carbon futures. This thesis finds that there are unfounded normative assumptions being made about groups organizing around energy democracy that is causing scatter in the movement. There is an aggressive strand of energy democracy that readily accepts for-profit schemes and risks turning energy democracy into just another space for capital accumulation in the energy sector. This thesis presents two important suggestions for reconciling these problems. Firstly, to look beyond moving the term itself and prioritize connecting on the basis of the underlying principles that define the term. This will ultimately create more meaningful solidarity in the future, and a more grounded and unified movement. Secondly, to increase focus on exploring the experiences and motivations of like-minded groups in the Global South who are heavily implicated by this global energy transition and, necessarily, by any movement that seeks an alternative to it.

Structural Path Analysis of Fossil Fuel Based CO2 Emissions: A Case Study for China.

PubMed

Yang, Zhiyong; Dong, Wenjie; Xiu, Jinfeng; Dai, Rufeng; Chou, Jieming

2015-01-01

Environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA) has long been used to quantify global and regional environmental impacts and to clarify emission transfers. Structural path analysis (SPA), a technique based on EEIOA, is especially useful for measuring significant flows in this environmental-economic system. This paper constructs an imports-adjusted single-region input-output (SRIO) model considering only domestic final use elements, and it uses the SPA technique to highlight crucial routes along the production chain in both final use and sectoral perspectives. The results indicate that future mitigation policies on household consumption should change direct energy use structures in rural areas, cut unreasonable demand for power and chemical products, and focus on urban areas due to their consistently higher magnitudes than rural areas in the structural routes. Impacts originating from government spending should be tackled by managing onsite energy use in 3 major service sectors and promoting cleaner fuels and energy-saving techniques in the transport sector. Policies on investment should concentrate on sectoral interrelationships along the production chain by setting up standards to regulate upstream industries, especially for the services, construction and equipment manufacturing sectors, which have high demand pulling effects. Apart from the similar methods above, mitigating policies in exports should also consider improving embodied technology and quality in manufactured products to achieve sustainable development. Additionally, detailed sectoral results in the coal extraction industry highlight the onsite energy use management in large domestic companies, emphasize energy structure rearrangement, and indicate resources and energy safety issues. Conclusions based on the construction and public administration sectors reveal that future mitigation in secondary and tertiary industries should be combined with upstream emission intensive industries in a systematic viewpoint to achieve sustainable development. Overall, SPA is a useful tool in empirical studies, and it can be used to analyze national environmental impacts and guide future mitigation policies.

Developing Sustainable Urban Water-Energy Infrastructures: Applying a Multi-Sectoral Social-Ecological-Infrastructural Systems (SEIS) Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramaswami, A.

2016-12-01

Urban infrastructure - broadly defined to include the systems that provide water, energy, food, shelter, transportation-communication, sanitation and green/public spaces in cities - have tremendous impact on the environment and on human well-being (Ramaswami et al., 2016; Ramaswami et al., 2012). Aggregated globally, these sectors contribute 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 96% of global water withdrawals. Urban infrastructure contributions to such impacts are beginning to dominate. Cities are therefore becoming the action arena for infrastructure transformations that can achieve high levels of service delivery while reducing environmental impacts and enhancing human well-being. Achieving sustainable urban infrastructure transitions requires: information about the engineered infrastructure, and its interaction with the natural (ecological-environmental) and the social sub-systems In this paper, we apply a multi-sector, multi-scalar Social-Ecological-Infrastructural Systems framework that describes the interactions among biophysical engineered infrastructures, the natural environment and the social system in a systems-approach to inform urban infrastructure transformations. We apply the SEIS framework to inform water and energy sector transformations in cities to achieve environmental and human health benefits realized at multiple scales - local, regional and global. Local scales address pollution, health, wellbeing and inequity within the city; regional scales address regional pollution, scarcity, as well as supply risks in the water-energy sectors; global impacts include greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts. Different actors shape infrastructure transitions including households, businesses, and policy actors. We describe the development of novel cross-sectoral strategies at the water-energy nexus in cities, focusing on water, waste and energy sectors, in a case study of Delhi, India. Ramaswami, A.; Russell, A.G.; Culligan, P.J.; Sharma, K.R.; Kumar, E. (2016). Meta-Principles for developing smart, sustainable, and healthy cities, Science, 352(6288), 940-3. Ramaswami, A., et al. A Social-Ecological Infrastructural Systems Framework for Inter-Disciplinary Study of Sustainable City-Systems. J. Ind Ecol, 16(6): 801-813, 2012.

Structural Path Analysis of Fossil Fuel Based CO2 Emissions: A Case Study for China

PubMed Central

Yang, Zhiyong; Dong, Wenjie; Xiu, Jinfeng; Dai, Rufeng; Chou, Jieming

2015-01-01

Environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA) has long been used to quantify global and regional environmental impacts and to clarify emission transfers. Structural path analysis (SPA), a technique based on EEIOA, is especially useful for measuring significant flows in this environmental-economic system. This paper constructs an imports-adjusted single-region input-output (SRIO) model considering only domestic final use elements, and it uses the SPA technique to highlight crucial routes along the production chain in both final use and sectoral perspectives. The results indicate that future mitigation policies on household consumption should change direct energy use structures in rural areas, cut unreasonable demand for power and chemical products, and focus on urban areas due to their consistently higher magnitudes than rural areas in the structural routes. Impacts originating from government spending should be tackled by managing onsite energy use in 3 major service sectors and promoting cleaner fuels and energy-saving techniques in the transport sector. Policies on investment should concentrate on sectoral interrelationships along the production chain by setting up standards to regulate upstream industries, especially for the services, construction and equipment manufacturing sectors, which have high demand pulling effects. Apart from the similar methods above, mitigating policies in exports should also consider improving embodied technology and quality in manufactured products to achieve sustainable development. Additionally, detailed sectoral results in the coal extraction industry highlight the onsite energy use management in large domestic companies, emphasize energy structure rearrangement, and indicate resources and energy safety issues. Conclusions based on the construction and public administration sectors reveal that future mitigation in secondary and tertiary industries should be combined with upstream emission intensive industries in a systematic viewpoint to achieve sustainable development. Overall, SPA is a useful tool in empirical studies, and it can be used to analyze national environmental impacts and guide future mitigation policies. PMID:26332222

Analysis of energy-saving potential in residential buildings in Xiamen City and its policy implications for southern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Fei

The buildings sector is the largest energy-consuming sector in the world. Residential buildings consume about three-quarters of the final energy in the buildings sector. Promoting residential energy savings is in consequence critical for addressing many energy-use-related environmental challenges, such as climate change and air pollution. Given China's robust economic growth and fast urbanization, it is now a critical time to develop policy interventions on residential energy use in the nation. With this as a background, this dissertation explores effective policy intervention opportunities in southern China through analyzing the residential energy-saving potential, using the city of Xiamen as a case study. Four types of residential energy-saving potential are analyzed: technical potential, economic potential, maximum achievable potential (MAP), and possible achievable potential (PAP). Of these, the first two types are characterized as static theoretical evaluation, while the last two represent dynamic evaluation within a certain time horizon. The achievable potential analyses are rarely seen in existing literature. The analytical results reveal that there exists a significant technical potential for residential energy savings of about 20.9-24.9% in the city of Xiamen. Of the technical potential, about two-thirds to four-fifths are cost-effective from the government or society perspective. The cost-effectiveness is evaluated by comparing the "Levelized Cost of Conserved Energy (LCOCE)" of available advanced technical measures with the "Actual Cost" of conserved energy. The "Actual Cost" of energy is defined by adding the environmental externalities costs and hidden government subsidies over the retail prices of energy. The achievable potential analyses are particularly based on two key realistic factors: 1) the gradual ramping-up adoption process of advanced technical measures; and 2) individuals' adoption-decision making on them. For implementing the achievable potential analyses in Xiamen, a residential energy consumption (REC) projection model specifically tailored for southern China is developed. This computational model builds on the Kastovich (1982) adoption-decision theory and the general logic used in the U.S. EIA's (2003) National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). Base on this projection model, Xiamen's REC from the base year 2011 to 2020 is projected. This model can be used as a policy analysis tool to quantitatively evaluate the real-world impact of diverse policy incentives on residential energy use in southern China. The projection results show that the MAP of residential energy savings in Xiamen will be about only 8.3-8.4% in 2020 from a business-as-usual projection. Ten current appropriate and feasible policy interventions are evaluated for analyzing the PAP in Xiamen, which reveals that only about one-fourth to one-half of Xiamen's MAP will possibly be achieved in 2020. Based on the potential analysis for the Xiamen case, a discussion on promoting energy-saving incentive policies for the residential buildings in southern China is given. It suggests that more new, innovative and market-based policies need to be introduced in China in order to realize larger achievable potential for residential energy savings.

Opportunities for Synergy Between Natural Gas and Renewable Energy in the Electric Power and Transportation Sectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, A.; Zinaman, O.; Logan, J.

2012-12-01

Use of both natural gas and renewable energy has grown significantly in recent years. Both forms of energy have been touted as key elements of a transition to a cleaner and more secure energy future, but much of the current discourse considers each in isolation or concentrates on the competitive impacts of one on the other. This paper attempts, instead, to explore potential synergies of natural gas and renewable energy in the U.S. electric power and transportation sectors.

Nuclear power, energy, and the national debate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCormack, R.A.

1976-01-01

The U.S. power industry is engaged in a national debate. On the outside, it appears to be a nuclear issue, but basically it is energy, growth, capitalism, institutions, and the way of life itself. It is a new experience for the engineers in the power industry, who, in the past handled their responsibilities in a ''low-key way, the way of the specialist.'' All this has changed. The author reviews the concerns the power industry now faces--the lack of an energy policy, state referenda, power plant delays, lobbying for financial support, energy shortages, and fragmentation of the energy industry. The authormore » urges ''that we of the third estate establish a permanent national energy forum bringing together every major sector of the energy industry--coal, oil, uranium, the electric utilities, suppliers and users of high technology, those on the forefront of research for using new fuels, and the major financial institutions who must obtain for all the rest of us in the private sector the money we need from the investor marketplace. The founding purpose and initial task would be to assemble a panel of statesmen from the private sector, following the pattern employed by the National Petroleum Council, to undertake and direct in the next year a fundamental reassessment of the role of the private sector in energy supply and in the research, development, and full commercialization of advanced energy production technology.'' (MCW)« less

Transferring new technologies within the federal sector: The New Technology Demonstration Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Conover, D.R.; Hunt, D.M.

1994-08-01

The federal sector is the largest consumer of products in the United States and annually purchases almost 1.5 quads of energy measured at the building site at a cost of almost $10 billion (U.S. Department of Energy 1991). A review of design, construction, and procurement practices in the federal sector, as well as discussions with manufacturers and vendors, indicated that new technologies are not utilized in as timely a manner as possible. As a consequence of this technology transfer lag, the federal sector loses valuable energy and environmental benefits that can be derived through the application of new technologies. Inmore » addition, opportunities are lost to reduce federal energy expenditures and spur U.S. economic growth through the procurement of such technologies. In 1990, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program, the Pacific Northwest Laboratory began the design of a program to accelerate the introduction of new U.S. technologies into the federal sector. Designated first as the Test Bed Demonstration Program and more recently the New Technology Demonstration Program, it sought to shorten the acceptance period of new technologies within the federal sector. By installing and evaluating various new technologies at federal facilities, the Program attempts to increase the acceptance of those new technologies through the results of {open_quotes}real-world{close_quotes} federal installations. Since that time, the Program has conducted new technology demonstrations and evaluations, evolved to address the need for more timely information transfer, and explored collaborative opportunities with other DOE offices and laboratories. This paper explains the processes by which a new technology demonstration project is implemented and presents a general description of the Program results to date.« less

Empirical support for global integrated assessment modeling: Productivity trends and technological change in developing countries' agriculture and electric power sectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sathaye, Jayant A.

2000-04-01

Integrated assessment (IA) modeling of climate policy is increasingly global in nature, with models incorporating regional disaggregation. The existing empirical basis for IA modeling, however, largely arises from research on industrialized economies. Given the growing importance of developing countries in determining long-term global energy and carbon emissions trends, filling this gap with improved statistical information on developing countries' energy and carbon-emissions characteristics is an important priority for enhancing IA modeling. Earlier research at LBNL on this topic has focused on assembling and analyzing statistical data on productivity trends and technological change in the energy-intensive manufacturing sectors of five developing countries,more » India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and South Korea. The proposed work will extend this analysis to the agriculture and electric power sectors in India, South Korea, and two other developing countries. They will also examine the impact of alternative model specifications on estimates of productivity growth and technological change for each of the three sectors, and estimate the contribution of various capital inputs--imported vs. indigenous, rigid vs. malleable-- in contributing to productivity growth and technological change. The project has already produced a data resource on the manufacturing sector which is being shared with IA modelers. This will be extended to the agriculture and electric power sectors, which would also be made accessible to IA modeling groups seeking to enhance the empirical descriptions of developing country characteristics. The project will entail basic statistical and econometric analysis of productivity and energy trends in these developing country sectors, with parameter estimates also made available to modeling groups. The parameter estimates will be developed using alternative model specifications that could be directly utilized by the existing IAMs for the manufacturing, agriculture, and electric power sectors.« less

Reducing Energy Cost and Greenhouse Gas Emission in the Corporate Sector, a Delphi Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kramer, Maxim L.

2013-01-01

The study is titled "Reducing energy cost and GreenHouse Gas emission in the corporate sector, A Delphi Study". The study applied the Delphi methodology and focused on the Green IT solutions that can help the modern corporate organizations with less than 1000 employees to decrease their energy costs and GHG emissions. The study presents…

Projected Growth in Small-Scale, Fossil-Fueled Distributed Generation: Potential Implications for the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eberle, Annika; Heath, Garvin A

The generation capacity of small-scale (less than one megawatt) fossil-fueled electricity in the United States is anticipated to grow by threefold to twenty-fold from 2015 to 2040. However, in adherence with internationally agreed upon carbon accounting methods, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) U.S. Greenhouse Inventory (GHGI) does not currently attribute greenhouse gases (GHGs) from these small-scale distributed generation sources to the electric power sector and instead accounts for these emissions in the sector that uses the distributed generation (e.g., the commercial sector). In addition, no other federal electric-sector GHG emission data product produced by the EPA or the U.S. Energymore » Information Administration (EIA) can attribute these emissions to electricity. We reviewed the technical documentation for eight federal electric-sector GHG emission data products, interviewed the data product owners, collected their GHG emission estimates, and analyzed projections for growth in fossil-fueled distributed generation. We show that, by 2040, these small-scale generators could account for at least about 1%- 5% of total CO2 emissions from the U.S. electric power sector. If these emissions fall outside the electric power sector, the United States may not be able to completely and accurately track changes in electricity-related CO2 emissions, which could impact how the country sets GHG reduction targets and allocates mitigation resources. Because small-scale, fossil-fueled distributed generation is expected to grow in other countries as well, the results of this work also have implications for global carbon accounting.« less

2017 Standard Scenarios Report: A U.S. Electricity Sector Outlook

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cole, Wesley; Mai, Trieu; Richards, James

This report summarizes the results of 26 forward-looking “standard scenarios” of the U.S. power sector simulated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) using the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) and Distributed Generation (dGen) capacity expansion models. The annual Standard Scenarios, which are now in their third year, have been designed to capture a range of possible power system futures considering a variety of factors that impact power sector evolution.

India's pulp and paper industry: Productivity and energy efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schumacher, Katja

1999-07-01

Historical estimates of productivity growth in India's pulp and paper sector vary from indicating an improvement to a decline in the sector's productivity. The variance may be traced to the time period of study, source of data for analysis, and type of indices and econometric specifications used for reporting productivity growth. The authors derive both statistical and econometric estimates of productivity growth for this sector. Their results show that productivity declined over the observed period from 1973-74 to 1993-94 by 1.1% p.a. Using a translog specification the econometric analysis reveals that technical progress in India's pulp and paper sector hasmore » been biased towards the use of energy and material, while it has been capital and labor saving. The decline in productivity was caused largely by the protection afforded by high tariffs on imported paper products and other policies, which allowed inefficient, small plants to enter the market and flourish. Will these trends continue into the future, particularly where energy use is concerned? The authors examine the current changes in structure and energy efficiency undergoing in the sector. Their analysis shows that with liberalization of the sector, and tighter environmental controls, the industry is moving towards higher efficiency and productivity. However, the analysis also shows that because these improvements are being hampered by significant financial and other barriers the industry might have a long way to go.« less

Waste-to-energy sector and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fotis, S.C.; Sussman, D.

The waste-to-energy sector provides one important avenue for the United States to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significant GHG reductions capable of being achieved by the waste-to-energy (WTE) sector through avoided fossil generation and reduced municipal landfills. The paper begins with a review of the current voluntary reporting mechanism for {open_quotes}registering{close_quotes} GHG reduction credits under section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The paper then provides an overview of possible emerging international and domestic trends that could ultimately lead to mandatory targets and timetables for GHG mitigation in themore » United States and other countries. The paper ends with an analysis of the GHG benefits achievable by the WTE sector, based on the section 1605(b) report filed by the Integrated Waste Services Association IWSA on the GHG emissions avoided for year 1995.« less

Analysis of environmental impacts of renewable energy on the Moroccan electricity sector: A System Dynamics approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chentouf, M.; Allouch, M.

2018-05-01

Producing electricity at an affordable price while taking into account environmental concerns has become a major challenge in Morocco. Moreover, the technical and financial issues related to renewable electricity plants are still hindering their efficient integration in the country. In fact, the energy sector (both electricity and heat) accounted for more than half of all Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions in the kingdom due to the major reliance on fossil fuels for answering the growing local demand. The key strategies to alleviate this critical situation include the integration of more renewable energies in the total energy mix and the enhancement of energy efficiency measures in different sectors. This paper strives to (1) evaluate the potential of carbon dioxide mitigation in Moroccan electricity sector following the actual and projected strategies and (2) highlight the policy schemes to be taken in order to achieve the ambitious carbon dioxide mitigation targets in the mid-term. A system dynamics model was built in order to simulate different scenarios of carbon dioxide mitigation policies up to 2030. The results shows that the achievement of renewable energies projects by 2030 could save 228.143 MtCO2 between 2020 and 2030 and an additional 18.127 MtCO2 could be avoided in the same period by enhancing energy efficiency measures.

Commercialisation and entrepreneurialism in maternity.

PubMed

Mander, Rosemary

2011-08-01

against an international background, to examine the implications of private sector activity for maternity care in the United Kingdom National Health Service (UK NHS). the private sector and commercial or entrepreneurial activity in maternity services have attracted limited attention in the UK compared with, for e.g., Greece and the Irish Republic. discursive paper. despite rhetoric to the contrary, financial costs have always featured in the UK NHS. Financial payments in maternity have increased gradually. Commercial and entrepreneurial activity in maternity now includes 'entertainment ultrasound', reflecting a greater hegemonic imbalance. The commercialisation of maternity raises organisational, professional, quality-related and systematic issues, which all carry implications for the childbearing woman. the childbearing woman shoulders financial costs, whose origins and implications matter to both midwife and woman. The mixed benefits of medical investigations deserve closer attention. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghirardi, A.; Sathaye, J.; Goering, P.

This report is an overview of the energy market in four West African countries: The Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, and Senegal. We feel these countries are representative of the West African region. Together they account for 75% of the total energy use in West Africa, 78% of GDP, and 76% of population. The purpose of the study is to analyze the evolution of energy demand in the context of the general socio-economic background of the region. The study also examines energy supply and trade related to the energy sector. The analysis focuses on the study of commercial fuels. Although wemore » have reviewed studies of wood, solar, wind, and agricultural residues, we leave out detailed discussions of these non-commercial energy forms. The first part of the report is an assessment of the trends in energy demand in the four study countries. We discuss the main factors driving energy demand sector by sector. This is followed by a review of the primary energy resources of the countries, and of the capacity for production of secondary fuels. The last section looks at energy trade, with particular emphasis on the role of the United States.« less

Identifying Pathways toward Sustainable Electricity Supply and Demand Using an Integrated Resource Strategic Planning Model for Saudi Arabia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alabbas, Nabeel H.

Despite holding 16% of proved oil reserves in the world, Saudi Arabia might be on an unsustainable path to become a net oil importer by the 2030s. Decades of domestic energy subsidies accompanied by a high population growth rate have encouraged inefficient production and high domestic consumption of fossil fuel energy, which has resulted in environmental degradation, and significant social and economic consequences. In addition, the government's dependence on oil as a main source of revenue (89%) to finance its development programs cannot be sustained due to oil's exhaustible nature and rapidly increasing domestic consumption. The electricity and water sectors consume more energy than other sectors. The literature review revealed that electricity use in Saudi Arabia is following an unsustainable path (7-8% annual growth over the last decade). The water sector is another major energy consumer due to an unprecedented demand for water in the Kingdom (18% of world's total desalinated water output with per capita consumption is twice the world average). Multiple entities have been involved in fragmented planning activities on the supply-side as well as to a certain extent on the demand-side; moreover, comprehensive integrated resource strategic plans have been lacking at the national level. This dissertation established an integrated resource strategic planning (IRSP) model for Saudi Arabia's electricity and water sectors. The IRSP can clearly determine the Kingdom's future vision of its utility sector, including goals, policies, programs, and an execution timetable, taking into consideration economic, environmental and social benefits. Also, a weather-based hybrid end-use econometric demand forecasting model was developed to project electricity demand until 2040. The analytical economic efficiency and technical assessments reveal that Saudi Arabia can supply almost 75% of its electricity from renewable energy sources with a significant achievable potential for saving 26% of peak demand by 2040. However, the development of sustainable energy systems in the country's utility sector will not occur automatically. Thus, several actions are proposed for developing the sustainable energy roadmap, strategies, and policies for Saudi Arabia's utility sector, supporting its position as a new vehicle of growth that facilitates national and socio-economic development and economic diversification plan.

Quantifying the water-energy nexus in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziogou, Isidoros; Zachariadis, Theodoros

2017-11-01

In this paper we provide an assessment of the water-energy nexus for Greece. More specifically, the amount of freshwater consumed per unit of energy produced is determined: for both conventional (lignite, diesel and fuel oil-fired) and advanced (combined operation of gas turbine) thermal power plants in the electricity generation sector; for extraction and refining activities in the primary energy production sector; and for the production of biodiesel that is used as a blend in the ultimately delivered automotive diesel fuel. In addition, the amount of electricity consumed for the purposes of water supply and sewerage is presented. In view of the expected effects of climate change in the Mediterranean region, the results of this study highlight the need for authorities to prepare a national strategy that will ensure climate resilience in both energy and water sectors of the country.

Open innovation in the European space sector: Existing practices, constraints and opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Burg, Elco; Giannopapa, Christina; Reymen, Isabelle M. M. J.

2017-12-01

To enhance innovative output and societal spillover of the European space sector, the open innovation approach is becoming popular. Yet, open innovation, referring to innovation practices that cross borders of individual firms, faces constraints. To explore these constraints and identify opportunities, this study performs interviews with government/agency officials and space technology entrepreneurs. The interviews highlight three topic areas with constraints and opportunities: 1) mainly one-directional knowledge flows (from outside the space sector to inside), 2) knowledge and property management, and 3) the role of small- and medium sized companies. These results bear important implications for innovation practices in the space sector.

A basket two-part model to analyze medical expenditure on interdependent multiple sectors.

PubMed

Sugawara, Shinya; Wu, Tianyi; Yamanishi, Kenji

2018-05-01

This study proposes a novel statistical methodology to analyze expenditure on multiple medical sectors using consumer data. Conventionally, medical expenditure has been analyzed by two-part models, which separately consider purchase decision and amount of expenditure. We extend the traditional two-part models by adding the step of basket analysis for dimension reduction. This new step enables us to analyze complicated interdependence between multiple sectors without an identification problem. As an empirical application for the proposed method, we analyze data of 13 medical sectors from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. In comparison with the results of previous studies that analyzed the multiple sector independently, our method provides more detailed implications of the impacts of individual socioeconomic status on the composition of joint purchases from multiple medical sectors; our method has a better prediction performance.

Multifractal detrended cross-correlations between crude oil market and Chinese ten sector stock markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Liansheng; Zhu, Yingming; Wang, Yudong; Wang, Yiqi

2016-11-01

Based on the daily price data of spot prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil and ten CSI300 sector indices in China, we apply multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA) method to investigate the cross-correlations between crude oil and Chinese sector stock markets. We find that the strength of multifractality between WTI crude oil and energy sector stock market is the highest, followed by the strength of multifractality between WTI crude oil and financial sector market, which reflects a close connection between energy and financial market. Then we do vector autoregression (VAR) analysis to capture the interdependencies among the multiple time series. By comparing the strength of multifractality for original data and residual errors of VAR model, we get a conclusion that vector auto-regression (VAR) model could not be used to describe the dynamics of the cross-correlations between WTI crude oil and the ten sector stock markets.

Energy consumption behavior in the commercial sector: An ethnographic analysis of utility bill information and customer comprehension in the workplace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Payne, Christopher Todd

The commercial and industrial sectors of the United States compose roughly one-third of total United States energy consumption. Many studies have suggested that significant cost-effective energy savings opportunities exist in this sector, but there is a gap between predictions of potential and actual investment in energy-efficient technologies. Very few studies have been conducted to examine the decision-making environment of the business sector. In particular, there is essentially no information about how small-business decision-makers make choices about energy consumption. My research is intended to begin the process of understanding this important arena of energy consumption behavior. Using semi-structured interview techniques, I interviewed forty-four businesses in ten states. The focus of the interviews was the business decision-maker's handling and use of the utility bill---the main (often sole) piece of information that links energy consumption to cost. Through the interviews, I collected information about how utility bills are understood and misunderstood, what components of the bill are seen as useful or confusing, and how energy consumption was seen in the context of larger business decision-making. In addition, I collected data on two forms of energy consumption feedback: historic consumption feedback, in which informants compared their current energy use to patterns of their own energy consumption over time; and group comparison consumption feedback, in which informants compared their energy consumption to the consumption of a group of similar energy consumers. Finally, I collected data on sources of information to which decision-makers turned when they wanted to seek more information about energy consumption alternatives. Overall, my findings suggest that the current utility bill format is often misunderstood. In many cases, particularly in the small-business and medium-size-business categories, the link between energy consumption and energy cost is broken. The result is a sense of disempowerment for many consumers. Rather than seeing their energy consumption as something under their control, they instead view the energy bill as an unavoidable component of operating a business, comparing it to other required expenses like rent or taxes. Reaction to changes in the utility bill to provide consumption feedback were mixed. Improvements to self-comparison information provided on the bill were generally viewed positively. On the other hand, energy consumption comparisons with similar groups of customers were viewed with a great deal of skepticism. The idea of group comparison was generally discarded as impractical or invalid. This research improves academic understanding of the energy consumption decision-making environment in the business sector. By developing a better understanding of the context in which these energy consumption decisions are made, the research suggests opportunities for improvements to the mechanisms by which business decision-makers gain information about energy consumption alternatives and energy efficiency opportunities. Improvements to the information provided on the utility bill could enhance the linkage between energy consumption and energy cost for commercial-sector decision-makers, particularly in the small business sector. This could, in turn, lead to greater attention to economic opportunities for energy consumption reduction. Ultimately, improved utility bill information could result in energy and cost savings to business consumers.

Manpower Needs in a Technological Society and Their Implications for Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ginzberg, Eli

While the impact of technology has been considerable on those sectors of the American economy whose output consists of volume production (e.g., agriculture, manufacture, and mining), it has been relatively small on the service sector, where two-thirds of all Americans make their living. Trends which should be taken into account by curriculum…

Hardwood Chip Export Mills in Arkansas - Implications for Sustainability

Treesearch

John L. Gray; James M. Guldin

2001-01-01

Abstract - Two new hardwood chip export mills (HCEM’s) recently began operating in west-central Arkansas,and a third is planned. Together,they will require 1.1 million tons of nonhickory hardwood roundwood annually, primarily from the nonindustrial private sector. Overall, total physical and operable growth surpluses could support the new sector, but...

Sustainable Leadership and the Implication for the General Further Education College Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lambert, Steve

2011-01-01

The purpose of this article is to review the models of sustainable leadership which are currently available in the compulsory sector to establish whether the models are appropriate for post-compulsory education, and in particular for general further education colleges. Due to the complexities of the environment in which further education colleges…

Training in the Retail Sector in the French and Flemish-Speaking Communities in Belgium. Report for the FORCE Programme. First Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pollet, Ignace; And Others

An international team of researchers studied the following aspects of training in Belgium's retail sector: structure and characteristics, institutional and social context, employment and labor, changing conditions and their implications for skill requirements, and training and recruitment. Data were collected from an analysis of social and…

Fine-structure constant constraints on dark energy. II. Extending the parameter space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martins, C. J. A. P.; Pinho, A. M. M.; Carreira, P.; Gusart, A.; López, J.; Rocha, C. I. S. A.

2016-01-01

Astrophysical tests of the stability of fundamental couplings, such as the fine-structure constant α , are a powerful probe of new physics. Recently these measurements, combined with local atomic clock tests and Type Ia supernova and Hubble parameter data, were used to constrain the simplest class of dynamical dark energy models where the same degree of freedom is assumed to provide both the dark energy and (through a dimensionless coupling, ζ , to the electromagnetic sector) the α variation. One caveat of these analyses was that it was based on fiducial models where the dark energy equation of state was described by a single parameter (effectively its present day value, w0). Here we relax this assumption and study broader dark energy model classes, including the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder and early dark energy parametrizations. Even in these extended cases we find that the current data constrains the coupling ζ at the 1 0-6 level and w0 to a few percent (marginalizing over other parameters), thus confirming the robustness of earlier analyses. On the other hand, the additional parameters are typically not well constrained. We also highlight the implications of our results for constraints on violations of the weak equivalence principle and improvements to be expected from forthcoming measurements with high-resolution ultrastable spectrographs.

Energy demand and environmental implications in urban transport — Case of Delhi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bose, Ranjan Kumar

A simple model of passenger transport in the city of Delhi has been developed using a computer-based software called—Long Range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) and the associated Environmental Database (EDB) model. The hierarchical structure of LEAP represents the traffic patterns in terms of passenger travel demand, mode (rail/road), type of vehicle and occupancy (persons per vehicle). Transport database in Delhi together with fuel consumption values for the vehicle types, formed the basis of the transport demand and energy consumption calculations. Emission factors corresponding to the actual vehicle types and driving conditions in Delhi is introduced into the EDB and linked to the energy consumption values for estimating total emission of CO, HC, NO x, SO 2 Pb and TSP. The LEAP model is used to estimate total energy demand and the vehicular emissions for the base year-1990/91 and extrapolate for the future—1994/95, 2000/01, 2004/05 and 2009/10, respectively. The model is run under five alternative scenarios to study the impact of different urban transport policy initiatives that would reduce total energy requirement in the transport sector of Delhi and also reduce emission. The prime objective is to arrive at an optimal transport policy which limits the future growth of fuel consumption as well as air pollution.

Scaling up the energy service company business: market status and company feedback in the Russian Federation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roshchanka, Volha; Evans, Meredydd

Many energy efficiency professionals have proposed using Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs) as a mechanism to improve public sector energy efficiency in countries with restrictive government budgets. However, in practice, most middle-income countries have used this mechanism only in a limited way. Russia offers an interesting case study because of its huge energy savings opportunities, increasing energy prices, robust political backing for public sector energy efficiency, and evolving legislation that supports EPCs. In 2009, the Russian Federation launched a program to reduce the energy intensity of the country’s large public sector, which accounts for 9 percent of Russia’s total energy consumption.more » To achieve energy efficiency goals, Russia experimented with its public procurement rules, adjusting them to encourage EPCs. We conducted structured interviews with Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) in Russia and supplemented them with online research. Our review shows that, to date, nearly 50 ESCOs signed about 150 contracts in public facilities. Most ESCO contracts in Russia are for 5 years, and they generally are small (under $100,000). ESCOs in Russia face a challenging environment, which leads to smaller projects. ESCOs also are concerned about costly and risky tender procedures, uncertainty regarding repayment from public facilities, the inability to expand projects, and financing. We discuss these challenges and propose potential solutions at policy and company levels. The ESCOs feedback regarding Russia’s experimental model can inform the country’s program for public sector energy efficiency and offer lessons for other countries attempting to develop the EPC mechanism.« less

2016 Standard Scenarios Report: A U.S. Electricity Sector Outlook

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cole, Wesley; Mai, Trieu; Logan, Jeffrey

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is conducting a study sponsored by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) that aims to document and implement an annual process designed to identify a realistic and timely set of input assumptions (e.g., technology cost and performance, fuel costs), and a diverse set of potential futures (standard scenarios), initially for electric sector analysis.

Maximizing Energy Savings Reliability in BC Hydro Industrial Demand-side Management Programs: An Assessment of Performance Incentive Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gosman, Nathaniel

For energy utilities faced with expanded jurisdictional energy efficiency requirements and pursuing demand-side management (DSM) incentive programs in the large industrial sector, performance incentive programs can be an effective means to maximize the reliability of planned energy savings. Performance incentive programs balance the objectives of high participation rates with persistent energy savings by: (1) providing financial incentives and resources to minimize constraints to investment in energy efficiency, and (2) requiring that incentive payments be dependent on measured energy savings over time. As BC Hydro increases its DSM initiatives to meet the Clean Energy Act objective to reduce at least 66 per cent of new electricity demand with DSM by 2020, the utility is faced with a higher level of DSM risk, or uncertainties that impact the costeffective acquisition of planned energy savings. For industrial DSM incentive programs, DSM risk can be broken down into project development and project performance risks. Development risk represents the project ramp-up phase and is the risk that planned energy savings do not materialize due to low customer response to program incentives. Performance risk represents the operational phase and is the risk that planned energy savings do not persist over the effective measure life. DSM project development and performance risks are, in turn, a result of industrial economic, technological and organizational conditions, or DSM risk factors. In the BC large industrial sector, and characteristic of large industrial sectors in general, these DSM risk factors include: (1) capital constraints to investment in energy efficiency, (2) commodity price volatility, (3) limited internal staffing resources to deploy towards energy efficiency, (4) variable load, process-based energy saving potential, and (5) a lack of organizational awareness of an operation's energy efficiency over time (energy performance). This research assessed the capacity of alternative performance incentive program models to manage DSM risk in BC. Three performance incentive program models were assessed and compared to BC Hydro's current large industrial DSM incentive program, Power Smart Partners -- Transmission Project Incentives, itself a performance incentive-based program. Together, the selected program models represent a continuum of program design and implementation in terms of the schedule and level of incentives provided, the duration and rigour of measurement and verification (M&V), energy efficiency measures targeted and involvement of the private sector. A multi criteria assessment framework was developed to rank the capacity of each program model to manage BC large industrial DSM risk factors. DSM risk management rankings were then compared to program costeffectiveness, targeted energy savings potential in BC and survey results from BC industrial firms on the program models. The findings indicate that the reliability of DSM energy savings in the BC large industrial sector can be maximized through performance incentive program models that: (1) offer incentives jointly for capital and low-cost operations and maintenance (O&M) measures, (2) allow flexible lead times for project development, (3) utilize rigorous M&V methods capable of measuring variable load, process-based energy savings, (4) use moderate contract lengths that align with effective measure life, and (5) integrate energy management software tools capable of providing energy performance feedback to customers to maximize the persistence of energy savings. While this study focuses exclusively on the BC large industrial sector, the findings of this research have applicability to all energy utilities serving large, energy intensive industrial sectors.

Enhancing the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource Web Data Delivery System with Geographic Information System (GIS) Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chandler, William S.; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Barnett, Audy J.; Hoell, James M.; Westberg, David J.; Ross, Amanda I.

2015-01-01

Renewable energy technologies are changing the face of the world's energy market. Currently, these technologies are being incorporated within existing structures to increase energy efficiency. Crucial to the success of the emerging renewable market is the availability of accurate, global solar radiation, and meteorology data. This poster traces the history of the development of an effort to distribute data parameters from NASA's research for use in the energy sector applications spanning from renewable energy to energy efficiency. These data may be useful to several renewable energy sectors: solar and wind power generation, agricultural crop modeling, and sustainable buildings.

Industrial Sector Energy Efficiency Modeling (ISEEM) Framework Documentation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karali, Nihan; Xu, Tengfang; Sathaye, Jayant

2012-12-12

The goal of this study is to develop a new bottom-up industry sector energy-modeling framework with an agenda of addressing least cost regional and global carbon reduction strategies, improving the capabilities and limitations of the existing models that allows trading across regions and countries as an alternative.

Economic Assessment of Correlated Energy-Water Impacts using Computable General Equilibrium Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, F.; Andrew, S.; Wang, J.; Yan, E.; Zhou, Z.; Veselka, T.

2016-12-01

Many studies on energy and water are rightfully interested in the interaction of water and energy, and their projected dependence into the future. Water is indeed an essential input to the power sector currently, and energy is required to pump water for end use in either household consumption or in industrial uses. However, each presented study either qualitatively discusses the issues, particularly about how better understanding the interconnectedness of the system is paramount in getting better policy recommendations, or considers a partial equilibrium framework where water use and energy use changes are considered explicitly without thought to other repercussions throughout the regional/national/international economic landscapes. While many studies are beginning to ask the right questions, the lack of numerical rigor raises questions of concern in conclusions discerned. Most use life cycle analysis as a method for providing numerical results, though this lacks the flexibility that economics can provide. In this study, we will perform economic analysis using computable general equilibrium models with energy-water interdependencies captured as an important factor. We atempt to answer important and interesting questions in the studies: how can we characterize the economic choice of energy technology adoptions and their implications on water use in the domestic economy. Moreover, given predictions of reductions in rain fall in the near future, how does this impact the water supply in the midst of this energy-water trade-off?

Price Elasticities for Energy Use in Buildings of the United States

EIA Publications

2014-01-01

Energy demand tends to be responsive to changes in energy prices, a concept in economics known as price elasticity. Generally, an increase in a fuel price causes users to use less of that fuel or switch to a different fuel. The extent to which each of these changes takes place is of high importance to stakeholders in the energy sector and especially in energy planning. The purpose of this analysis is to determine fuel-price elasticities in stationary structures, particularly in the residential and commercial sectors.

Two Essays in Financial Economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putnam, Kyle J.

The following dissertation contains two distinct empirical essays which contribute to the overall field of Financial Economics. Chapter 1, entitled "The Determinants of Dynamic Dependence: An Analysis of Commodity Futures and Equity Markets," examines the determinants of the dynamic equity-commodity return correlations between five commodity futures sub-sectors (energy, foods and fibers, grains and oilseeds, livestock, and precious metals) and a value-weighted equity market index (S&P 500). The study utilizes the traditional DCC model, as well as three time-varying copulas: (i) the normal copula, (ii) the student's t copula, and (iii) the rotated-gumbel copula as dependence measures. Subsequently, the determinants of these various dependence measures are explored by analyzing several macroeconomic, financial, and speculation variables over different sample periods. Results indicate that the dynamic equity-commodity correlations for the energy, grains and oilseeds, precious metals, and to a lesser extent the foods and fibers, sub-sectors have become increasingly explainable by broad macroeconomic and financial market indicators, particularly after May 2003. Furthermore, these variables exhibit heterogeneous effects in terms of both magnitude and sign on each sub-sectors' equity-commodity correlation structure. Interestingly, the effects of increased financial market speculation are found to be extremely varied among the five sub-sectors. These results have important implications for portfolio selection, price formation, and risk management. Chapter 2, entitled, "US Community Bank Failure: An Empirical Investigation," examines the declining, but still pivotal role, of the US community banking industry. The study utilizes survival analysis to determine which accounting and macroeconomic variables help to predict community bank failure. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Reserve Bank data are utilized to compare 452 community banks which failed between 2000 and 2013, relative to a sample of surviving community banks. Empirical results indicate that smaller banks are less likely to fail than their larger community bank counterparts. Additionally, several unique bank-specific indicators of failure emerge which relate to asset quality and liquidity, as well as earnings ratios. Moreover, results show that the use of the macroeconomic indicator of liquidity, the TED spread, provides a substantial improvement in modeling predictive community bank failure.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aden, Nathaniel T.; Zheng, Nina; Fridley, David G.

Urbanization has re-shaped China's economy, society, and energy system. Between 1990 and 2007 China added 290 million new urban residents, bringing the total urbanization rate to 45%. This population adjustment spurred energy demand for construction of new buildings and infrastructure, as well as additional residential use as rural biomass was replaced with urban commercial energy services. Primary energy demand grew at an average annual rate of 10% between 2000 and 2007. Urbanization's effect on energy demand was compounded by the boom in domestic infrastructure investment, and in the export trade following World Trade Organization (WTO) accession in 2001. Industry energymore » consumption was most directly affected by this acceleration. Whereas industry comprised 32% of 2007 U.S. energy use, it accounted for 75% of China's 2007 energy consumption. Five sub-sectors accounted for 78% of China's industry energy use in 2007: iron and steel, energy extraction and processing, chemicals, cement, and non-ferrous metals. Ferrous metals alone accounted for 25% of industry and 18% of total primary energy use. The rapid growth of heavy industry has led China to become by far the world's largest producer of steel, cement, aluminum, and other energy-intensive commodities. However, the energy efficiency of heavy industrial production continues to lag world best practice levels. This study uses scenario analysis to quantify the impact of urbanization and trade on industrial and residential energy consumption from 2000 to 2025. The BAU scenario assumed 67% urbanization, frozen export amounts of heavy industrial products, and achievement of world best practices by 2025. The China Lightens Up (CLU) scenario assumed 55% urbanization, zero net exports of heavy industrial products, and more aggressive efficiency improvements by 2025. The five dominant industry sub-sectors were modeled in both scenarios using a LEAP energy end-use accounting model. The results of this study show that a CLU-style development path would avoid 430 million tonnes coal-equivalent energy use by 2025. More than 60% of these energy savings would come from reduced activity and production levels. In carbon terms, this would amount to more than a billion-tonne reduction of energy-related carbon emissions compared with the BAU scenario in 2025, though the absolute level of emissions rises in both scenarios. Aside from the energy and carbon savings related to CLU scenario development, this study showed impending saturation effects in commercial construction, urban appliance ownership, and fertilizer application. The implication of these findings is that urbanization will have a direct impact on future energy use and emissions - policies to guide urban growth can play a central role in China's efforts to mitigate emissions growth.« less

Lessons Learned from the Private Sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robichaud, Robert J

This session is focused on lessons learned from private sector energy projects that could be applied to the federal sector. This presentation tees up the subsequent presentations by outlining the differences between private and federal sectors in objectives, metrics for determining success, funding resources/mechanisms, payback and ROI evaluation, risk tolerance/aversion, new technology adoption perspectives, and contracting mechanisms.

Strategic responses to CO2 emission reduction targets drive shift in U.S. electric sector water use

EPA Science Inventory

The reliance of the U.S. electric sector on water makes this sector vulnerable to climate change and variability. We use the EPAUS9r MARKAL model to investigate changes in U.S. electric sector water withdrawal and consumption through 2055 under alternative energy system-wide CO2...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khodjamirian, Alexander; Mannel, Thomas; Petrov, Alexey A.

In this paper, we propose a novel method to study flavor-changing neutral currents in the e + e - → D * 0 and e + e -→ B s * transitions, tuning the energy of e + e -- collisions to the mass of the narrow vector resonance D * 0 or B s * . We present a thorough study of both short-distance and long-distance contributions to e + e - → D * 0 in the Standard Model and investigate possible contributions of new physics in the charm sector. This process, albeit very rare, has clear advantagesmore » with respect to the D 0 → e + e - decay: the helicity suppression is absent, and a richer set of effective operators can be probed. Finally, implications of the same proposal for B s * are also discussed.« less

Electrification Futures Study: End-Use Electric Technology Cost and Performance Projections through 2050

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jadun, Paige; McMillan, Colin; Steinberg, Daniel

This report is the first in a series of Electrification Futures Study (EFS) publications. The EFS is a multiyear research project to explore widespread electrification in the future energy system of the United States. More specifically, the EFS is designed to examine electric technology advancement and adoption for end uses in all major economic sectors as well as electricity consumption growth and load profiles, future power system infrastructure development and operations, and the economic and environmental implications of widespread electrification. Because of the expansive scope and the multiyear duration of the study, research findings and supporting data will be publishedmore » as a series of reports, with each report released on its own timeframe.« less

Energy from waste in Europe: an analysis and comparison of the EU 27.

PubMed

Sommer, Manuel; Ragossnig, Arne

2011-10-01

This article focuses on analysing the development of waste-generated energy in the countries of the European Union (EU 27). Besides elaborating the relevant legal and political framework in the waste and energy sector as well as climate protection, the results from correlation analyses based on the databases of the energy statistics from Eurostat are discussed. The share of energy from waste is correlated with macro-economic, waste- and energy-sector-related data, which have been defined as potentially relevant for energy recovery from waste in the countries of the European Union. The results show that a single factor influencing the extent of waste-generated energy could not be isolated as it is being influenced not only by the state of economic development and the state of development of waste management systems in the respective countries but also by energy-sector-related factors and the individual priority settings in those countries. Nevertheless the main driving force for an increase in the utilization of waste for energy generation can be seen in the legal and political framework of the European Union leading to the consequence that market conditions influence the realization of waste management infrastructure for waste-generated energy.

Techno-economic analysis of bioethanol production from rice straw by liquid-state fermentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hidayata, M. H. M.; Salleh, S. F.; Riayatsyahb, T. M. I.; Aditiyac, H. B.; Mahliaa, T. M. I.; Shamsuddina, A. H.

2016-03-01

Renewable energy is the latest approach of the Malaysian government in an effort to find sustainable alternative energy sources and to fulfill the ever increasing energy demand. Being a country that thrives in the service and agricultural sector, bioethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass presents itself as a promising option. However, the lack of technical practicality and complexity in the operation system hinder it from being economically viable. Hence, this research acquired multiple case studies in order to provide an insight on the process involved and its implication on production as well as to obtain a cost analysis of bioethanol production. The energy input and cost of three main components of the bioethanol production which are the collection, logistics, and pretreatment of rice straw were evaluated extensively. The theoretical bioethanol yield and conversion efficiency obtained were 250 L/t and 60% respectively. The findings concluded that bioethanol production from rice straw is currently not economically feasible in Malaysia’s market due to lack of efficiency in the pretreatment phase and overbearing logistics and pretreatment costs. This work could serve as a reference to future studies of biofuel commercialization in Malaysia.

The need for strategic tax planning among nonprofit hospitals.

PubMed

Smith, Pamela C

2005-01-01

Strategic tax planning issues are important to the nonprofit health care sector, despite its philanthropic mission. The consolidation of the industry has led management to fight for resources and develop alternative strategies for raising money. When management evaluates alternative collaborative structures to increase efficiency, the impact on governance structures must also be considered. The increased governmental scrutiny of joint ventures within the health care sector warrants management's attention as well. The financial incentives must be considered, along with the various tax policy implications of cross-sector collaborations.

Top Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Efficiency Opportunities at DoD/Army Sites - A Guide for O&M/Energy Managers and Practitioners

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sullivan, Gregory P.; Dean, Jesse D.; Dixon, Douglas R.

2007-05-25

This report, sponsored the Army's Energy Engineering Analysis Program, provides the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Energy manager and practitioner with useful information about the top O&M opportunities consistently found across the DoD/Army sector. The target is to help the DoD/Army sector develop a well-structured and organized O&M program.

Using Dynamic Time Warping and Data Forensics to Examine Tradeoffs among Land-Energy-Water Networks Across the Conterminous United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McManamay, R.; Allen, M. R.; Piburn, J.; Sanyal, J.; Stewart, R.; Bhaduri, B. L.

2017-12-01

Characterizing interdependencies among land-energy-water sectors, their vulnerabilities, and tipping points, is challenging, especially if all sectors are simultaneously considered. Because such holistic system behavior is uncertain, largely unmodeled, and in need of testable hypotheses of system drivers, these dynamics are conducive to exploratory analytics of spatiotemporal patterns, powered by tools, such as Dynamic Time Warping (DTW). Here, we conduct a retrospective analysis (1950 - 2010) of temporal trends in land use, energy use, and water use within US counties to identify commonalities in resource consumption and adaptation strategies to resource limitations. We combine existing and derived data from statistical downscaling to synthesize a temporally comprehensive land-energy-water dataset at the US county level and apply DTW and subsequent hierarchical clustering to examine similar temporal trends in resource typologies for land, energy, and water sectors. As expected, we observed tradeoffs among water uses (e.g., public supply vs irrigation) and land uses (e.g., urban vs ag). Strong associations between clusters amongst sectors reveal tight system interdependencies, whereas weak associations suggest unique behaviors and potential for human adaptations towards disruptive technologies and less resource-dependent population growth. Our framework is useful for exploring complex human-environmental system dynamics and generating hypotheses to guide subsequent energy-water-nexus research.

Gas-phase ion chemistry and organic chemistry-the story of a hybrid six sector mass spectrometer--the "AutoSpec 6F".

PubMed

Gerbaux, Pascal; Lamote, Luc; Van Haverbeke, Yves; Flammang, Robert; Brown, Jeffrey M

2012-01-01

The AutoSpec 6F mass spectrometer is a large, floor standing instrument comprising a pair of commercial EBE geometry (AutoSpec) mass spectrometers coupled in series to provide an hybrid EBE-EBE configuration, (E and B being respectively electrostatic and magnetic sectors.) It was designed in close collaboration between Professor R. Flammang and VG Analytical in Manchester, UK. It was equipped with five collision cells and allowed the recording of high energy CID (collision induced dissociation), MIKES (mass analyzed ion kinetic energy spectrometry) and NRMS (neutralization re-ionization mass spectrometry) data as well as consecutive MSn analyses. The field-free regions between sectors allowed the study of unimolecular decomposition products from long-lived metastable ions. The mass spectrometer became even more versatile when an RF-only quadrupole collision cell was installed between the second and the third electric sector. This allowed the study of associative ion/molecule reactions in the low kinetic energy regime. Bimolecular chemical reactions were performed inside the quadrupole cell when a neutral reagent was introduced and the reaction products were analyzed by high energy CID in the downstream sectors. This paper tells the history and summarizes the capabilities of this versatile instrument.

Strategic Implications of Global Health

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

National Intelligence Officer for Economic Issues, with the active collaboration of CIA, DIA/National Center for Medical Intelligence, and the...participating in other forms of economic activity . • A degraded health sector, shortages of medical personnel, and infections stemming from deficient...country, and poor health undercuts efforts to diversify economic activity away from oil into more skill-intensive and value-added sectors. Poor health of

The Impact of Private Sector Competition on Public Schooling in Kuwait: Some Socio-Educational Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Shehab, Ali Jasem

2010-01-01

With the diminishing model of the welfare state, public education in Kuwait is facing the challenges of the competition of private schools, while the private sector has always struggled against the monopolistic power of the public schools that educate a broad spectrum of K-12 students. This article presents estimates of the effect of private…

Outsourcing the State's Responsibilities? Third Sector Organizations Supporting Migrant Families' Participation in Schools in Catalonia and London

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paniagua, Alejandro; D'Angelo, Alessio

2017-01-01

Based on two case studies of Third Sector Organizations (TSOs) working with schools and parents in Catalonia and London, this paper aims to discuss some of the implications of "participative" programmes aimed at involving those migrant families seen by schools as "hard to reach". First, we describe how an ambiguous notion of…

Intensive management – can the South really live without it?

Treesearch

James M. Guldin; T. Bently Wigley

1998-01-01

Over the past five years, the public and private sectors have debated the future of forest management and its implications for the next century. In the public sector, resource managers have debated the meaning and significance of "ecosystem management," a term coined in 1992 by then-Forest Service Chief F. Dale Robertson; he suggested that this approach to...

The importance of socially responsible strategic planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Štrukelj, Tjaša

2017-10-01

This paper researches the importance of social responsible strategic planning regardless of the sector and shows research results on the case example of the selected tourism sector, which has economic and employment potential and social and environmental implications. Tourism sector is closely interdependent with transport sector and influences it. Therefore, the more we develop the tourism sector, the more the transport sector is developing as well. Based on Mulej’s Dialectical Systems Theory (DST) we found out that enterprises should integrate sustainability and social responsibility into their strategic planning if they want the Earth to survive. This urged the European Union, ISO International Standards Organization, many other organisations and many researchers. To make strategic planning socially responsible, enterprise’s governors should request social responsibility in business policy, which represents their governance guidelines and is implemented through the strategies set up by top managers and realised in the basic realisation process - their business operations.

Looking for America's energy solutions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DiBona, C.J.

The United States has had to rely on imported oil in recent years. Neither increased coal production in the future nor increased use of nuclear energy will change this situation. Actually, all the projections regarding energy use over the next 25 years assume both increased production of these two sources of fuel as well as continued reliance on imported oil. Imported oil then will be a major factor in meeting the future demands of the industrial sector, which consumed 38.3 percent of U.S. total energy in 1975. Oil imports will also be necessary to meet the demands of the household/commercialmore » sector, which in 1975 accounted for 35.4 percent of the energy consumed in this country, and of the transportation sector, which used 26.1 percent of the energy. Conservation measures have been practiced, but this will not resolve the problem of increased reliance on imported oil over the next two decades. This country will need to continue its efforts in the research and development of alternate energy sources. It will also have to increase its production of all domestic energy supplies. (MCW)« less

Electrical generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Although electricity is not a natural resource in the sense of coal or oil and gas, the electric utility industry is an integral part of the energy sector of the economy. Electricity is derived by converting one type of energy resource (oil, gas, coal, uranium) into a usable energy form (electricity) and thus has unique properties as a source of energy for the end user. Electrical energy, however, is not only important to New Mexico because electric utilities consume a portion of the natural gas and a large portion of coal resources extracted in the state, but also because electricity affects industrial growth in both the energy and non-energy sectors of the state's economy.

Investigating competing uses of unevenly distributed resources in Nicaragua applying the Climate, Land Use (Food), Energy and Water strategies framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, Eunice; Sridharan, Vignesh; Howells, Mark

2017-04-01

The distribution of resources in Nicaragua is not even, as it is the case in many countries in the world. However, in the particular case of water resources, commonly used by different sectors and essential to basic human activities, their availability differs along the main drainage basins and is often mismatched with sectoral demands. For example, the population is distributed unevenly, with 80% being located in water scarce areas of the Pacific and Central region of Nicaragua. Agricultural activities also take place in regions where water resources are vulnerable. The spatial distribution of water and energy resources, population and land use in Nicaragua allowed for the identification of three target regions for the analysis: the Pacific coast, the Dry Corridor zone, and the Atlantic region. Each of these zones has different challenges on which the CLEWs assessment focused on. Water sources in the Pacific coast are mostly groundwater, and uncertainty exists related to the long-term availability of such source. This is also the region where most of the sugarcane, an important source of revenue for Nicaragua, is produced. As sugarcane needs to be irrigated, this increases the pressure on water resources. The Dry Corridor is an arid stretch in Central America cyclically affected by droughts that have a severe impact on the households whose economy and subsistence depends on agriculture of grains and coffee beans. It is expected that climate change will exacerbate further the food security problem. When water is lacking, also population experiences limited access to water for drinking and cooking. In addition, two major hydropower plants are located in this zone. Water resources are available both from surface and groundwater sources, however, due to their intensive use and vulnerability to climate, their availability can affect severely different sectors, presenting risks to food, water and energy security. Hydropower potential is foreseen to be exploited in the Matagalpa and Escondido River Basins draining to the Atlantic Ocean. Although competition for water resources in not as acute as in other regions due to abundant surface water and lower population density, climate change and the use of land for grazing could present risks to the exploitation of the renewable energy potential. This could have an impact on medium and long-term energy planning and the ambition of decreasing fuel imports for electricity generation and increase electricity access. To assess the potential implications of the previous challenges and provide insights on solutions where conflicts are more stringent, in line with sustainable development priorities, the CLEWs framework was used to perform the integration of resource systems models. WEAP was used for the representation of the water and land use systems, and then soft-linked with the energy systems model for Nicaragua, developed using the long-term energy planning tool OSeMOSYS. Hydropower expansion, the development of the electricity system, water availability for crop production, water allocation across sectors, sugarcane cultivation and bi-products use in electricity generation, and potential impacts of climate change, are amongst the issues investigated with the region-specific scenarios defined for the study.

Impacts of Energy Sector Emissions on PM2.5 Air Quality in Northern India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karambelas, A. N.; Kiesewetter, G.; Heyes, C.; Holloway, T.

2015-12-01

India experiences high concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and several Indian cities currently rank among the world's most polluted cities. With ongoing urbanization and a growing economy, emissions from different energy sectors remain major contributors to air pollution in India. Emission sectors impact ambient air quality differently due to spatial distribution (typical urban vs. typical rural sources) as well as source height characteristics (low-level vs. high stack sources). This study aims to assess the impacts of emissions from three distinct energy sectors—transportation, domestic, and electricity—on ambient PM2.5­­ in northern India using an advanced air quality analysis framework based on the U.S. EPA Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Present air quality conditions are simulated using 2010 emissions from the Greenhouse Gas-Air Pollution Interaction and Synergies (GAINS) model. Modeled PM2.5 concentrations are compared with satellite observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for 2010. Energy sector emissions impacts on future (2030) PM2.5 are evaluated with three sensitivity simulations, assuming maximum feasible reduction technologies for either transportation, domestic, or electricity sectors. These simulations are compared with a business as usual 2030 simulation to assess relative sectoral impacts spatially and temporally. CMAQ is modeled at 12km by 12km and include biogenic emissions from the Community Land Model coupled with the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols in Nature (CLM-MEGAN), biomass burning emissions from the Global Fires Emissions Database (GFED), and ERA-Interim meteorology generated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for 2010 to quantify the impact of modified anthropogenic emissions on ambient PM2.5 concentrations. Energy sector emissions analysis supports decision-making to improve future air quality and public health in India.

A Regional Water Resource Planning Model to Explore the Water-Energy Nexus in the American Southwest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores-Lopez, F.; Yates, D.; Purkey, D.; Huber-lee, A. T.

2011-12-01

The power sector withdraws substantial cooling water for electric generation in the United States and is thus heavily dependent on available water resources. Changes in water supplies and water quality may impact the reliability of power generation. This research intends to guide energy policy and decision making, leading to reduced greenhouse gas emission and avoiding unintended consequences related to water management in the context of future decisions around type and location of energy generation. It is recognized that different energy management strategies will have different water management implications that extend from the local, to the regional, and ultimately to the national scale. Further, the importance of these impacts will be defined by the characteristics of individual water systems within which energy management strategies are implemented. The Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system was employed to represent the water resource systems of the American Southwest, where various energy management strategies could be represented within a broad water management context, but with regional specificity. A point of convergence for the American Southwest is Southern California, which relies on water transfers from both the Sacramento/San Joaquin system and the Colorado River systems. The reality is that the water systems of the Los Angeles/San Diego system are connected to those of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley of California, Central Arizona, Metropolitan Las Vegas, the Salt Lake Valley, the Rio Grande Valley, the Front Range of the Rockies, and in fact, to the borders of Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, and Mexico through Interstate and International Compacts. The Southwest WEAP application was developed to represent the water management implications of different energy and water management strategies and development pathways under current and future conditions. The energy assumptions are derived from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) analysis that is being conducted independently, and for the entire United States. In addition to different energy development strategies, other development pathways can and will be explored, such as changes in municipal water demand use and patterns, and/or changes in irrigation demand.

Desired and Undesired Effects of Energy Labels--An Eye-Tracking Study.

PubMed

Waechter, Signe; Sütterlin, Bernadette; Siegrist, Michael

2015-01-01

Saving energy is an important pillar for the mitigation of climate change. Electric devices (e.g., freezer and television) are an important player in the residential sector in the final demand for energy. Consumers' purchase decisions are therefore crucial to successfully reach the energy-efficiency goals. Putting energy labels on products is often considered an adequate way of empowering consumers to make informed purchase decisions. Consequently, this approach should contribute to reducing overall energy consumption. The effectiveness of its measurement depends on consumers' use and interpretation of the information provided. Despite advances in energy efficiency and a mandatory labeling policy, final energy consumption per capita is in many countries still increasing. This paper provides a systematic analysis of consumers' reactions to one of the most widely used eco-labels, the European Union (EU) energy label, by using eye-tracking methodology as an objective measurement. The study's results partially support the EU's mandatory policy, showing that the energy label triggers attention toward energy information in general. However, the energy label's effect on consumers' actual product choices seems to be rather low. The study's results show that the currently used presentation format on the label is insufficient. The findings suggest that it does not facilitate the integration of energy-related information. Furthermore, the current format can attract consumers to focus more on energy-efficiency information, leading them to disregard information about actual energy consumption. As a result, the final energy consumption may increase because excellent ratings on energy efficiency (e.g., A++) do not automatically imply little consumption. Finally, implications for policymakers and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Regional applicability and potential of salt-gradient solar ponds in the United States. Volume 2: Detailed report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, E. I. H.

1982-01-01

A comprehensive assessment of the regional applicability and potential of salt-gradient solar ponds in the United States is provided. The assessment is focused on the general characteristics of twelve defined geographic regions. Natural resources essential to solar ponds are surveyed. Meteorological and hydrogeological conditions affecting pond performance are examined. Potentially favorable pond sites are identified. Regional thermal and electrical energy output from solar ponds is calculated. Selected pond design cases are studied. Five major potential market sectors are evaluated in terms of technical and energy-consumption characteristics, and solar-pond applicability and potential. Relevant pond system data and financial factors are analyzed. Solar-pond energy costs are compared with conventional energy costs. The assessment concludes that, excepting Alaska, ponds are applicable in all regions for at least two market sectors. Total solar pond energy supply potential in the five market sectors examined is estimated to be 8.94 quads/yr by the year 2000, approximately 7.2% of the projected total national energy demand.

Solar energy to biofuels.

PubMed

Agrawal, Rakesh; Singh, Navneet R

2010-01-01

In a solar economy, sustainably available biomass holds the potential to be an excellent nonfossil source of high energy density transportation fuel. However, if sustainably available biomass cannot supply the liquid fuel need for the entire transport sector, alternatives must be sought. This article reviews biomass to liquid fuel conversion processes that treat biomass primarily as a carbon source and boost liquid fuel production substantially by using supplementary energy that is recovered from solar energy at much higher efficiencies than the biomass itself. The need to develop technologies for an energy-efficient future sustainable transport sector infrastructure that will use different forms of energy, such as electricity, H(2), and heat, in a synergistic interaction with each other is emphasized. An enabling template for such a future transport infrastructure is presented. An advantage of the use of such a template is that it reduces the land area needed to propel an entire transport sector. Also, some solutions for the transition period that synergistically combine biomass with fossil fuels are briefly discussed.

Regional applicability and potential of salt-gradient solar ponds in the United States. Volume 2: Detailed report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, E. I. H.

1982-03-01

A comprehensive assessment of the regional applicability and potential of salt-gradient solar ponds in the United States is provided. The assessment is focused on the general characteristics of twelve defined geographic regions. Natural resources essential to solar ponds are surveyed. Meteorological and hydrogeological conditions affecting pond performance are examined. Potentially favorable pond sites are identified. Regional thermal and electrical energy output from solar ponds is calculated. Selected pond design cases are studied. Five major potential market sectors are evaluated in terms of technical and energy-consumption characteristics, and solar-pond applicability and potential. Relevant pond system data and financial factors are analyzed. Solar-pond energy costs are compared with conventional energy costs. The assessment concludes that, excepting Alaska, ponds are applicable in all regions for at least two market sectors. Total solar pond energy supply potential in the five market sectors examined is estimated to be 8.94 quads/yr by the year 2000, approximately 7.2% of the projected total national energy demand.

A Comprehensive System of Energy Intensity Indicators for the U.S.: Methods, Data and Key Trends

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Belzer, David B.

2014-08-31

This report describes a comprehensive system of energy intensity indicators for the United States that has been developed for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) over the past decade. This system of indicators is hierarchical in nature, beginning with detailed indexes of energy intensity for various sectors of the economy, which are ultimately aggregated to an overall energy intensity index for the economy as a whole. The aggregation of energy intensity indexes to higher levels in the hierarchy is performed with a version of the Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method. Based upon themore » data and methods in the system of indicators, the economy-wide energy intensity index shows a decline of about 14% in 2010 relative to a 1985 base year. Discussion of energy intensity indicators for each of the broad end-use sectors of the economy—residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation—is presented in the report. An analysis of recent changes in the efficiency of electricity generation in the U.S. is also included. A detailed appendix describes the data sources and methodology behind the energy intensity indicators for each sector.« less

Energy consumption renewable energy development and environmental impact in Algeria - Trend for 2030

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahnoune, F.; Imessad, K.; Bouakaz, D. M.

2017-02-01

The study provides a detailed analysis of the energy production and consumption in Algeria and the associated CO2 emissions. Algeria is an important energy producer (oil and natural gas). The production is currently around 155 MToe. The total primary energy consumption amounted to about 58 MToe equivalent to 1.46 Toe/capita. The energy demand is still increasing, an average annual growth rate of more than 6% per year during the last decade. The growth rate for electricity production was almost twice that of the total energy consumption. In 2015, the installed capacity of the electricity generation plants reached 17.6 GW. Electricity consumption was 64.6 TWh and is expected to reach at least 75 TWh in 2020 and 130 TWh in 2030. The already high electricity demand will double by 2030. In the structure of final energy consumption, the transport sector ranks first (36%), natural gas consumption ranks second (28.5%), followed by electricity production (27.7%). By activity, the energy sector is the main source of CO2 emissions, about ¾ of the total and this sector has the most important potential for mitigation measures. CO2 emissions from this energy sector amounted to 112.2 MT CO2 as follows: 33% transport, 31% electricity production and 26% from natural gas combustion for residential use. The integration of renewable sources in the energy mix represents for Algeria a major challenge. In 2015, Algeria adopted an ambitious program for development of renewable energy. The target is to achieve 22 GW capacity of electricity from renewable by 2030 to reach a rate of 27 % of national electricity generation through renewable sources. By implementing this program, CO2 emissions of power generation will be reduced by more than 18% in 2030.

Energy Management in Higher Education: Value for Money Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, Edinburgh.

This Value for Money project provides an update of the 1996 "Energy Management Study in the Higher Education Sector: National Report." It reviews the management arrangement for utilities in the higher education (HE) sector, and it identifies key actions and future issues that must be addressed by HE institutions in developing a strategic…

US Clean Energy Sector and the Opportunity for Modeling and Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Inge, Carole Cameron

2011-01-01

The following paper sets forth the current understanding of the US clean energy demand and opportunity. As clean energy systems come online and technology is developed, modeling and simulation of these complex energy programs provides an untapped business opportunity. The US Department of Defense provides a great venue for developing new technology in the energy sector because it is demanding lower fuel costs, more energy efficiencies in its buildings and bases, and overall improvements in its carbon footprint. These issues coupled with the security issues faced by foreign dependence on oil will soon bring more clean energy innovations to the forefront (lighter batteries for soldiers, alternative fuel for jets, energy storage systems for ships, etc).

2017 Standard Scenarios Report: A U.S. Electricity Sector Outlook

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cole, Wesley J.; Mai, Trieu T.; Richards, James

The 2017 Standard Scenarios includes a suite of U.S. electricity sector scenarios. The report explores four power sector storylines, including the growth in natural gas and renewable energy, the relative competitiveness of wind and solar PV, the potential impact of low-cost battery storage, and the impact of nuclear lifetimes on the capacity expansion of the power sector.

Intersects between Land, Energy, Water and the Climate System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hibbard, K. A.; Skaggs, R.; Wilson, T.

2012-12-01

Climate change affects water, and land resources, and with growing human activity, each of these sectors relies increasingly on the others for critical resources. Events such as drought across the South Central U.S. during 2011 demonstrate that climatic impacts within each of these sectors can cascade through interactions between sectors. Energy, water, and land resources are each vulnerable to impacts on either of the other two sectors. For example, energy systems inherently require land and water. Increased electricity demands to contend with climate change can impose additional burdens on overly subscribed water resources. Within this environment, energy systems compete for water with agriculture, human consumption, and other needs. In turn, climate driven changes in landscape attributes and land use affect water quality and availability as well as energy demands. Diminishing water quality and availability impose additional demands for energy to access and purify water, and for land to store and distribute water. In some situations, interactions between water, energy, and land resources make options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions vulnerable to climate change. Energy options such as solar power or biofuel use can reduce net greenhouse gas emissions as well as U.S. dependence on foreign resources. As a result, the U.S. is expanding renewable energy systems. Advanced technology such as carbon dioxide capture with biofuels may offer a means of removing CO2 from the atmosphere. But as with fossil fuels, renewable energy sources can impose significant demands for water and land. For example, solar power mayrequire significant land to site facilities and water for cooling or to produce steam. Raising crops to produce biofuels uses arable land and water that might otherwise be available for food production. Thus, warmer and drier climate can compromise these renewable energy resources, and drought can stress water supplies creating competition between energy production and agriculture. These kinds of stresses often initiate innovated technological developments, such as dry cooling to reduce water demands in the U.S. Southwest for utility-scalesolar development, however, the need for large areas of land remain, and often, large land tracts in this region are under Federal ownership and used as conservation or wildlife refuges. Conflicting stakeholder views, institutional commitments, and international concerns can constrain options for reducing vulnerability to climate change, and interactions among water, energy, and land resource sectors can intensify such constraints. While management decisions may focus primarily on one of these resource sectors, where the three sectors are tightly coupled, options for mitigating or adapting to climate change may be limited more than expected. For example, the Columbia River Treaty between Canada and the U.S. emphasizes hydroelectric power and flood control, but with warmer temperatures and drier summers projected for the Northwest, diminishing water supplies will result in increased pumping for resource production (i.e., deeper groundwater) and transmission. Finally, coordinated water management for agriculture, ecosystem services, and hydropower will be an important aspect of adaptation not necessarily accommodated by the Treaty.

Household energy use in urban Venezuela: Implications from surveys in Maracaibo, Valencia, Merida, and Barcelona-Puerto La Cruz

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Figueroa, M.J.; Sathaye, J.

1993-08-01

This report identifies the most important results of a comparative analysis of household commercial energy use in Venezuelan urban cities. The use of modern fuels is widespread among all cities. Cooking consumes the largest share of urban household energy use. The survey documents no use of biomass and a negligible use of kerosene for cooking. LPG, natural gas, and kerosene are the main fuels available. LPG is the fuel choice of low-income households in all cities except Maracaibo, where 40% of all households use natural gas. Electricity consumption in Venezuela`s urban households is remarkably high compared with the levels usedmore » in households in comparable Latin American countries and in households of industrialized nations which confront harsher climatic conditions and, therefore, use electricity for water and space heating. The penetration of appliances in Venezuela`s urban households is very high. The appliances available on the market are inefficient, and there are inefficient patterns of energy use among the population. Climate conditions and the urban built form all play important roles in determining the high level of energy consumption in Venezuelan urban households. It is important to acknowledge the opportunities for introducing energy efficiency and conservation in Venezuela`s residential sector, particularly given current economic and financial constraints, which may hamper the future provision of energy services.« less

Implications of water constraints for electricity capacity expansion in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, L.; Hejazi, M. I.; Iyer, G.; Forman, B. A.

2017-12-01

U.S. electricity generation is vulnerable to water supply since water is required for cooling. Constraints on the availability of water will therefore necessitate adaptive planning by the power generation sector. Hence, it is important to integrate restrictions in water availability in electricity capacity planning in order to better understand the economic viability of alternative capacity planning options. The study of the implications of water constraints for the U.S. power generation system is limited in terms of scale and robustness. We extend previous studies by including physical water constraints in a state-level model of the U.S. energy system embedded within a global integrated assessment model (GCAM-USA). We focus on the implications of such constraints for the U.S. electricity capacity expansion, integrating both supply and demand effects under a consistent framework. Constraints on the availability of water have two general effects across the U.S. First, water availability constraints increase the cost of electricity generation, resulting in reduced electrification of end-use sectors. Second, water availability constraints result in forced retirements of water-intensive technologies such as thermoelectric coal- and gas- fired technologies before the end of their natural lifetimes. The demand for electricity is then met by an increase in investments in less water-dependent technologies such as wind and solar photovoltaic. Our results show that the regional patterns of the above effects are heterogeneous across the U.S. In general, the impacts of water constraints on electricity capacity expansion are more pronounced in the West than in the East. This is largely because of lower water availability in the West compared to the East due to lower precipitation in the Western states. Constraints on the availability of water might also have important implications for U.S. electricity trade. For example, under severe constraints on the availability of water, some states flip from being net exporters of electricity to becoming net importers and vice versa. Our study demonstrates the impacts of water availability constraints on electricity capacity expansion in the U.S. and highlights the need to integrate such constraints into decision-making so as to better understand state-level challenges.

Accounting for Human Health and Ecosystems Quality in Developing Sustainable Energy Products: The Implications of Wood Biomass-based Electricity Strategies to Climate Change Mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weldu, Yemane W.

The prospect for transitions and transformations in the energy sector to mitigate climate change raises concerns that actions should not shift the impacts from one impact category to another, or from one sustainability domain to another. Although the development of renewables mostly results in low environmental impacts, energy strategies are complex and may result in the shifting of impacts. Strategies to climate change mitigation could have potentially large effects on human health and ecosystems. Exposure to air pollution claimed the lives of about seven million people worldwide in 2010, largely from the combustion of solid fuels. The degradation of ecosystem services is a significant barrier to achieving millennium development goals. This thesis quantifies the biomass resources potential for Alberta; presents a user-friendly and sector-specific framework for sustainability assessment; unlocks the information and policy barriers to biomass integration in energy strategy; introduces new perspectives to improve understanding of the life cycle human health and ecotoxicological effects of energy strategies; provides insight regarding the guiding measures that are required to ensure sustainable bioenergy production; validates the utility of the Environmental Life Cycle Cost framework for economic sustainability assessment; and provides policy-relevant societal cost estimates to demonstrate the importance of accounting for human health and ecosystem externalities in energy planning. Alberta is endowed with a wealth of forest and agricultural biomass resources, estimated at 458 PJ of energy. Biomass has the potential to avoid 11-15% of GHG emissions and substitute 14-17% of final energy demand by 2030. The drivers for integrating bioenergy sources into Alberta's energy strategy are economic diversification, technological innovation, and resource conservation policy objectives. Bioenergy pathways significantly improved both human health and ecosystem quality from coal fuel. Bioenergy alternatives have higher economic cost than the prevailing scenario of coal-fired generation system. Although coal fuel is the most cost effective way of electricity generation, its combustion results in the loss of 123.5 billion USD per year for Alberta due to societal life cycle cost. This research demonstrated that bioenergy can support the transformation of a fossil-based energy system to a more sustainable power production system; however, respiratory effects is a concern.

Operational resilience of reservoirs to climate change, agricultural demand, and tourism: A case study from Sardinia.

PubMed

Mereu, Simone; Sušnik, Janez; Trabucco, Antonio; Daccache, Andre; Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia, Lydia; Renoldi, Stefano; Virdis, Andrea; Savić, Dragan; Assimacopoulos, Dionysis

2016-02-01

Many (semi-) arid locations globally, and particularly islands, rely heavily on reservoirs for water supply. Some reservoirs are particularly vulnerable to climate and development changes (e.g. population change, tourist growth, hydropower demands). Irregularities and uncertainties in the fluvial regime associated with climate change and the continuous increase in water demand by different sectors will add new challenges to the management and to the resilience of these reservoirs. The resilience of vulnerable reservoirs must be studied in detail to prepare for and mitigate potential impacts of these changes. In this paper, a reservoir balance model is developed and presented for the Pedra e' Othoni reservoir in Sardinia, Italy, to assess resilience to climate and development changes. The model was first calibrated and validated, then forced with extensive ensemble climate data for representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5, agricultural data, and with four socio-economic development scenarios. Future projections show a reduction in annual reservoir inflow and an increase in demand, mainly in the agricultural sector. Under no scenario is reservoir resilience significantly affected, the reservoir always achieves refill. However, this occurs at the partial expenses of hydropower production with implications for the production of renewable energy. There is also the possibility of conflict between the agricultural sector and hydropower sector for diminishing water supply. Pedra e' Othoni reservoir shows good resilience to future change mostly because of the disproportionately large basin feeding it. However this is not the case of other Sardinian reservoirs and hence a detailed resilience assessment of all reservoirs is needed, where development plans should carefully account for the trade-offs and potential conflicts among sectors. For Sardinia, the option of physical connection between reservoirs is available, as are alternative water supply measures. Those reservoirs at risk to future change should be identified, and mitigating measures investigated. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Industry sector analysis: The market for renewable energy resources (the Philippines). Export trade information

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cannon, E.; Miranda, A.L.

1990-08-01

The market survey covers the renewable energy resources market in the Philippines. Sub-sectors covered include biomass, solar energy, photovoltaic cells, windmills, and mini-hydro systems. The analysis contains statistical and narrative information on projected market demand, end-users; receptivity of Philippine consumers to U.S. products; the competitive situation, and market access (tariffs, non-tariff barriers, standards, taxes, distribution channels). It also contains key contact information.

Strategic Response to Energy-Related Security Threats in the US Department of Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-15

generation in the United States are fossil fuels . These include coal, natural gas, and oil . In some cases solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric...and findings. The research addressed engagement on climate change and energy security issues by DoD across various tiers and sectors of the...on climate change and energy security issues by DoD across various tiers and sectors of the organization. Specifically, a tripartite analysis

Examination of the factors and issues for an environmental technology utilization partnership between the private sector and the Department of Energy. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brouse, P.

1997-05-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) held a meeting on November 12, 1992 to evaluate the DOE relations with industry and university partners concerning environmental technology utilization. The goal of this meeting was to receive feedback from DOE industry and university partners for the identification of opportunities to improve the DOE cooperative work processes with the private sector. The meeting was designed to collect information and to turn that information into action to improve private sector partnerships with DOE.

Iran Sanctions

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-07

resolutions. November 21, 2011: Treasury Department names Iranian financial sector as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern. December...imposes sanctions on several key sectors of Iran’s economic infrastructure. For a broader analysis of policy on Iran, see CRS Report RL32048, Iran...1 Energy Sector Sanctions: The Iran

Wesley Cole | NREL

Science.gov Websites

. Areas of Expertise Capacity expansion modeling of the U.S. electricity sector Renewable energy models Interaction of rooftop PV deployment with the greater electricity sector Impacts of policies on the evolution of the electricity sector Interactions of the natural gas supply chain with the

Review of Sector and Regional Trends in U.S. Electricity Markets. Focus on Natural Gas. Natural Gas and the Evolving U.S. Power Sector Monograph Series. Number 1 of 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Logan, Jeffrey; Medlock, III, Kenneth B.; Boyd, William C.

2015-10-15

This study explores dynamics related to natural gas use at the national, sectoral, and regional levels, with an emphasis on the power sector. It relies on a data set from SNL Financial to analyze recent trends in the U.S. power sector at the regional level. The research aims to provide decision and policy makers with objective and credible information, data, and analysis that informs their discussions of a rapidly changing energy system landscape. This study also summarizes regional changes in natural gas demand within the power sector. The transition from coal to natural gas is occurring rapidly along the entiremore » eastern portion of the country, but is relatively stagnant in the central and western regions. This uneven shift is occurring due to differences in fuel price costs, renewable energy targets, infrastructure constraints, historical approach to regulation, and other factors across states.« less

A Marginal Cost Based "Social Cost of Carbon" Provides Inappropriate Guidance in a World That Needs Rapid and Deep Decarbonization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morgan, M. G.; Vaishnav, P.; Azevedo, I. L.; Dowlatabadi, H.

2016-12-01

Rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns due to climate change are projected to alter many sectors of the US economy. A growing body of research has examined these effects in the energy, water, and agricultural sectors. Rising summer temperatures increase the demand for electricity. Changing precipitation patterns effect the availability of water for hydropower generation, thermo-electric cooling, irrigation, and municipal and industrial consumption. A combination of changes to temperature and precipitation alter crop yields and cost-effective farming practices. Although a significant body of research exists on analyzing impacts to individual sectors, fewer studies examine the effects using a common set of assumptions (e.g., climatic and socio-economic) within a coupled modeling framework. The present analysis uses a multi-sector, multi-model framework with common input assumptions to assess the projected effects of climate change on energy, water, and land-use in the United States. The analysis assesses the climate impacts for across 5 global circulation models for representative concentration pathways (RCP) of 8.5 and 4.5 W/m2. The energy sector models - Pacific Northwest National Lab's Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) - show the effects of rising temperature on energy and electricity demand. Electricity supply in ReEDS is also affected by the availability of water for hydropower and thermo-electric cooling. Water availability is calculated from the GCM's precipitation using the US Basins model. The effects on agriculture are estimated using both a process-based crop model (EPIC) and an agricultural economic model (FASOM-GHG), which adjusts water supply curves based on information from US Basins. The sectoral models show higher economic costs of climate change under RCP 8.5 than RCP 4.5 averaged across the country and across GCM's.

Evaluating the Relationship between the Population Trends, Prices, Heat Waves, and the Demands of Energy Consumption in Cities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fu, Katherine; Allen, Melissa; Archibald, Richard

The demands of energy consumption have been projected as a key factor that affects an economy at the city, national, and international level. Contributions to total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 by various urban sectors include electricity (31%), transportation (28%), industry (20%), agriculture (10%), and commercial and residential (10%). Moreover, the heavy demands of energy consumption in the cities by residents, commercial businesses, industries, and transportation are important for maintaining and sustaining sufficient economic growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between population trends, historical energy consumptions, the changes of average electricity price, average annualmore » temperature, and extreme weather events for three selected cities: New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. These cities are exemplary of, metropolitan areas in the East, Middle, and the Western regions of the U.S. Here, we find that the total energy consumptions of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are influenced to various degrees by changes in population, temperature and the average price of electricity and that only one city, Los Angeles, does price significantly affect electricity use. Our finding has implications for policy making, suggesting that each city s climate, size and general economic priorities must be considered in developing climate change mitigation strategies and incentives.« less

Evaluating the Relationship between the Population Trends, Prices, Heat Waves, and the Demands of Energy Consumption in Cities

DOE PAGES

Fu, Katherine; Allen, Melissa; Archibald, Richard

2015-11-18

The demands of energy consumption have been projected as a key factor that affects an economy at the city, national, and international level. Contributions to total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 by various urban sectors include electricity (31%), transportation (28%), industry (20%), agriculture (10%), and commercial and residential (10%). Moreover, the heavy demands of energy consumption in the cities by residents, commercial businesses, industries, and transportation are important for maintaining and sustaining sufficient economic growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between population trends, historical energy consumptions, the changes of average electricity price, average annualmore » temperature, and extreme weather events for three selected cities: New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. These cities are exemplary of, metropolitan areas in the East, Middle, and the Western regions of the U.S. Here, we find that the total energy consumptions of New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are influenced to various degrees by changes in population, temperature and the average price of electricity and that only one city, Los Angeles, does price significantly affect electricity use. Our finding has implications for policy making, suggesting that each city s climate, size and general economic priorities must be considered in developing climate change mitigation strategies and incentives.« less

The impacts of climate change on irrigation and crop production in Northeast China and implications for energy use and GHG Emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Tingting; Wang, Jinxia; Huang, Jikun; Xie, Wei; Zhu, Tingju

2018-06-01

The water-food-energy-GHG nexus under climate change has been gaining increasing attention from both the research and policy communities, especially over the past several years. However, most existing nexus studies are qualitative and explorative in nature. So far, very few studies provide integrated analysis of this nexus across all the four sectors. The purpose of this paper is to examine this nexus by assessing the effects of climate change on agricultural production through the change in water availability, evaluating the adjustment responses and resulting energy consumption and GHG emission, with the Northeast China as a case study. Based on our simulation results, by 2030, climate change is projected to increase water supply and demand gap for irrigation in Northeast China. Due to the increase in water scarcity, irrigated areas will decrease, and the cropping pattern will be adjusted by increasing maize sown areas and decreasing rice sown areas. As a result, the total output of crops and profits will clearly be reduced. Finally, energy consumption and GHG emission from irrigation will be reduced. This study suggests that climate change impact assessment fully consider the nexus among water, food, energy and GHG; however, more studies need to be conducted in the future.

Electrification of the transportation sector: Is there a need for restructuring the automotive parts suppliers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bekaslan, A. Ebru

The future of the transportation sector has significant implications for the mitigation of climate change through reduced GHG emissions as well as achieving energy efficiency and energy independence. Battery-powered, plug-in, and hybrid electric vehicles are widely seen as the greatest source of a solution. This thesis analyzes the historical development and growth of the automotive industry as well as the restructuring toward the next generation technologies in comparison with the U.S. and China to shed light on the question of how a developing country can structure its strategies to be able to upgrade and be competitive over time. Conventional business models can become obsolete. Companies will find it difficult to maintain their market position unless they gain new perspectives on the outlook of the industry as a whole, and take into account the successful business models of tomorrow. The potential for further growth of the Turkish automotive supplier base particularly in the next generation of automotive technologies is therefore highly dependent on policies and strategies at the national level as much as its dependence on the global strategies of the automotive industry's major players. In this sense, the key questions that motivate this study are whether there are foreseeable technological changes and product-segmentation strategies that could significantly enhance the competitiveness of local Turkish suppliers of automotive components. The thesis builds on the theory of innovative enterprise and evolutionary agglomeration to examine the competitive potential of the Konya Auto Part Suppliers' Cluster in Turkey.

Energy Efficiency Investments in Public Facilities - Developing a Pilot Mechanism for Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs) in Russia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Evans, Meredydd; Roshchanka, Volha; Parker, Steven A.

: Russian public sector buildings tend to be very inefficient, which creates vast opportunities for savings. This report overviews the latest developments in the Russian legislation related to energy efficiency in the public sector, describes the major challenges the regulations pose, and proposes ways to overcome these challenges. Given Russia’s limited experience with energy performance contracts (EPCs), a pilot project can help test an implementation mechanism. This paper discusses how EPCs and other mechanisms can help harness energy savings opportunities in Russia in general, and thus, can be applicable to any Russian region.

ImSET: Impact of Sector Energy Technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roop, Joseph M.; Scott, Michael J.; Schultz, Robert W.

2005-07-19

This version of the Impact of Sector Energy Technologies (ImSET) model represents the ''next generation'' of the previously developed Visual Basic model (ImBUILD 2.0) that was developed in 2003 to estimate the macroeconomic impacts of energy-efficient technology in buildings. More specifically, a special-purpose version of the 1997 benchmark national Input-Output (I-O) model was designed specifically to estimate the national employment and income effects of the deployment of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) -developed energy-saving technologies. In comparison with the previous versions of the model, this version allows for more complete and automated analysis of the essential featuresmore » of energy efficiency investments in buildings, industry, transportation, and the electric power sectors. This version also incorporates improvements in the treatment of operations and maintenance costs, and improves the treatment of financing of investment options. ImSET is also easier to use than extant macroeconomic simulation models and incorporates information developed by each of the EERE offices as part of the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Belzer, David B.; Bender, Sadie R.; Cort, Katherine A.

This report provides an update to a previously published (Rev 1) report that describes a comprehensive system of energy intensity indicators for the United States that has been developed for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) over the past decade. This system of indicators is hierarchical in nature, beginning with detailed indexes of energy intensity for various sectors of the economy, which are ultimately aggregated to an overall energy intensity index for the economy as a whole. The aggregation of energy intensity indexes to higher levels in the hierarchy is performed with a versionmore » of the Log Mean Divisia index (LMDI) method. Based upon the data and methods in the system of indicators, the economy-wide energy intensity index shows a decline of about 14% in 2011 relative to a 1985 base year. Discussion of energy intensity indicators for each of the broad end-use sectors of the economy—residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation—is presented in the report. An analysis of recent changes in the efficiency of electricity generation in the U.S. is also included. A detailed appendix describes the data sources and methodology behind the energy intensity indicators for each sector.« less

50% REDUCTION IN GLOBAL GHG EMISSION BY 2050 AND ITS IMPLICATION

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujimori, Shinichiro; Masui, Toshihiko; Matsuoka, Yuzuru

To prevent the global temperature increase by two degrees, global greenhouse gas emission in 2050 should be cut by half relative to its 1990 level. This study shows following three things by using multi regions and sectors recursive dynamic type computable general equilibrium model. One is the feasibility of that global emission target. The others are the counter measures and the impact on the macro economy, if that target were feasible. In addition, the scenarios with and without international emission trading are implemented and the effect of the trading is analyzed. As a result, that target can be achieved. The marginal abatement cost is 750/tCO2-eq in 2050. Energy efficiency improvement, renewable energy and carbon capture and storage technologies are the main players as counter measures. If the emission trading is available freely, GDP loss is 4.5% globally in 2050. Otherwise, the loss is increased to 6.1%. The emission trading mechanism is also one of the important measures.

The Rise and Decline of U.S. Private Sector Investments in Energy R&D since the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dooley, James J.

2010-11-01

This paper presents two distinct datasets that describe investments in energy research and development (R&D) by the US private sector since the mid1970s, which is when the US government began to systematically collect these data. The first dataset is based upon a broad survey of more than 20,000 firms’ industrial R&D activities. This broad survey of US industry is coordinated by the US National Science Foundation. The second dataset discussed here is a much narrower accounting of the energy R&D activities of the approximately two dozen largest US oil and gas companies conducted by the US Department of Energy’s Energymore » Information Agency. Even given the large disparity in the breadth and scope of these two surveys of the private sector’s support for energy R&D, both datasets tell the same story in terms of the broad outlines of the private sector’s investments in energy R&D since the mid 1970s. The broad outlines of the US private sector’s support for energy R&D since the mid 1970s is: (1) In the immediate aftermath of the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, there is a large surge in US private sector investments in energy R&D that peaked in the period between 1980 and 1982 at approximately $3.7 billion to $6.7 billion per year (in inflation adjusted 2010 US dollars) depending upon which survey is used (2) Private sector investments in energy R&D declined from this peak until bottoming out at approximately $1.8 billion to $1 billion per year in 1999; (3) US private sector support for energy R&D has recovered somewhat over the past decade and stands at $2.2 billion to $3.4 billion. Both data sets indicate that the US private sector’s support for energy R&D has been and remains dominated by fossil energy R&D and in particular R&D related to the needs of the oil and gas industry.« less

Learners in the English Learning and Skills Sector: The Implications of Half-Right Policy Assumptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodgson, Ann; Steer, Richard; Spours, Ken; Edward, Sheila; Coffield, Frank; Finlay, Ian; Gregson, Maggie

2007-01-01

The English Learning and Skills Sector (LSS) contains a highly diverse range of learners and covers all aspects of post-16 learning with the exception of higher education. In the research on which this paper is based we are concerned with the effects of policy on three types of learners--unemployed adults attempting to improve their basic skills…

Cross-Sectoral Leaders of Partnerships in Reforming Senior L/earning in Queensland: Implications for the Professional Learning of Education and Training Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Michael; Chen, Xiafang; Harreveld, Bobby

2009-01-01

This working paper "investigates" the role of Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) in providing leaders with a driver for reforming Senior L/earning (Years 10, 11 and 12). Using a "case study methodology", this paper explores the collaboration and cooperation across different borders and sectors among leaders in…

Agriculture and the Property Tax: A Forward Look Based on a Historical Perspective. Agricultural Economic Report No. 392.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stam, Jerome M.; Sibold, Ann G.

Assessing the property tax in terms of agriculture, this report analyzes the following in an historical sense in order to draw implications for the future: (1) the importance of the property tax to the agricultural sector; (2) the horizontal equity of the property tax for the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors in terms of income and wealth;…

Tablets in K-12 Education: Integrated Experiences and Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

An, Heejung, Ed.; Alon, Sandra, Ed.; Fuentes, David, Ed.

2015-01-01

The inclusion of new and emerging technologies in the education sector has been a topic of interest to researchers, educators, and software developers alike in recent years. Utilizing the proper tools in a classroom setting is a critical factor in student success. "Tablets in K-12 Education: Integrated Experiences and Implications"…

University-Industry Relations in Bolivia: Implications for University Transformations in Latin America

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vega-Jurado, Jaider; Fernandez-de-Lucio, Ignacio; Huanca, Ronald

2008-01-01

This article examines the implications of how academics respond to the debate on the production of knowledge and its transfer to the productive sector, for the transformation of Latin American universities. The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 349 lecturers from Bolivian public universities, which inquired into aspects of…

Innovative Compensation Systems: Implications for Employers, Unions, and Government. Background Paper No. 33.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schuster, Michael

An examination of the innovative compensation systems called gainsharing, profit-sharing, pay-for-knowledge, two-tier wage plans, and lump sum bonuses has the following public policy implications: (1) more research is needed to evaluate the private and public sectors' experience with those alternative systems; (2) gainsharing and profit-sharing…

Microinstallations Based on Renewable Energy Sources in the Construction Sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurzak, Lucjan

2017-10-01

The focus of this paper is on the status and prognoses of the use of microinstallations based on renewable energy sources to supply heat and power. The technologies that have been important in Europe and Poland for microgeneration of electricity include photovoltaic systems, micro wind turbines and co-generation systems. Solar collectors, heat pumps and biomass have also been used to generate heat. Microinstallations for renewable energy sources represent the initial point and the foundation for the development of micro networks, intelligent networks and the whole prosumer energy sector.

Factors Influencing Energy Use and Carbon Emissions in China

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fisher-Vanden, Karen; Jefferson, Gary

This research project was designed to fill a critical void in our understanding of the state of energy research and innovation in China. It seeks to provide a comprehensive review and accounting of the various elements of the Chinese government and non-governmental sectors (commercial, university, research institutes) that are engaged in energy-related R&D and various aspects of energy innovation, including specific programs and projects designed to promote renewable energy innovation and energy conservation. The project provides an interrelated descriptive, statistical, and econometric account of China's overall energy innovation activities and capabilities, spanning the full economy with a particular focus onmore » the dynamic industrial sector.« less

Energy efficiency of engines and appliances for transport on land, water, and in air.

PubMed

Furfari, Samuele

2016-01-01

The transport sector is fundamental for the economy but also for personal life. With a growing population and the globalization process, it is not surprising that the demand of transport is set to grow in the near future and certainly until 2050. This paper focuses on the huge potential of progress in the sector of technology for transport. As the principal sector for transport will remain on roads, the paper emphasizes the progress in the automotive sector. Since car manufacturers are investing massively into research and technology development to offer ever more efficient cars--not only energy efficient but also efficient in terms of safety and comfort--the car of tomorrow will be very different from the present one. The increasing role of electronics in cars will synergistically cooperate with that of so-called smart cities. The potential development of methane in the transport sector, mainly used for heavy transportation is discussed.

76 FR 80433 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To List...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-23

... commodities portion of the Index consists of multiple commodity sectors (e.g., Energy, Industrial Metals) and... component weight. Weightings of the Commodities Futures Contracts are based on generally known world production levels, as adjusted to limit the impact of the energy sector. Weightings of the Financials Futures...

Communicating uncertainty in seasonal and interannual climate forecasts in Europe.

PubMed

Taylor, Andrea L; Dessai, Suraje; de Bruin, Wändi Bruine

2015-11-28

Across Europe, organizations in different sectors are sensitive to climate variability and change, at a range of temporal scales from the seasonal to the interannual to the multi-decadal. Climate forecast providers face the challenge of communicating the uncertainty inherent in these forecasts to these decision-makers in a way that is transparent, understandable and does not lead to a false sense of certainty. This article reports the findings of a user-needs survey, conducted with 50 representatives of organizations in Europe from a variety of sectors (e.g. water management, forestry, energy, tourism, health) interested in seasonal and interannual climate forecasts. We find that while many participating organizations perform their own 'in house' risk analysis most require some form of processing and interpretation by forecast providers. However, we also find that while users tend to perceive seasonal and interannual forecasts to be useful, they often find them difficult to understand, highlighting the need for communication formats suitable for both expert and non-expert users. In addition, our results show that people tend to prefer familiar formats for receiving information about uncertainty. The implications of these findings for both the providers and users of climate information are discussed. © 2015 The Authors.

Communicating uncertainty in seasonal and interannual climate forecasts in Europe

PubMed Central

Taylor, Andrea L.; Dessai, Suraje; de Bruin, Wändi Bruine

2015-01-01

Across Europe, organizations in different sectors are sensitive to climate variability and change, at a range of temporal scales from the seasonal to the interannual to the multi-decadal. Climate forecast providers face the challenge of communicating the uncertainty inherent in these forecasts to these decision-makers in a way that is transparent, understandable and does not lead to a false sense of certainty. This article reports the findings of a user-needs survey, conducted with 50 representatives of organizations in Europe from a variety of sectors (e.g. water management, forestry, energy, tourism, health) interested in seasonal and interannual climate forecasts. We find that while many participating organizations perform their own ‘in house’ risk analysis most require some form of processing and interpretation by forecast providers. However, we also find that while users tend to perceive seasonal and interannual forecasts to be useful, they often find them difficult to understand, highlighting the need for communication formats suitable for both expert and non-expert users. In addition, our results show that people tend to prefer familiar formats for receiving information about uncertainty. The implications of these findings for both the providers and users of climate information are discussed. PMID:26460115

What Can China Do? China's Best Alternative Outcome for Energy Efficiency and CO2 Emissions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

G. Fridley, David; Zheng, Nina; T. Aden, Nathaniel

After rapid growth in economic development and energy demand over the last three decades, China has undertaken energy efficiency improvement efforts to reduce its energy intensity under the 11th Five Year Plan (FYP). Since becoming the world's largest annual CO{sub 2} emitter in 2007, China has set reduction targets for energy and carbon intensities and committed to meeting 15% of its total 2020 energy demand with non-fossil fuel. Despite having achieved important savings in 11th FYP efficiency programs, rising per capita income and the continued economic importance of trade will drive demand for transport activity and fuel use. At themore » same time, an increasingly 'electrified' economy will drive rapid power demand growth. Greater analysis is therefore needed to understand the underlying drivers, possible trajectories and mitigation potential in the growing industrial, transport and power sectors. This study uses scenario analysis to understand the likely trajectory of China's energy and carbon emissions to 2030 in light of the current and planned portfolio of programs, policies and technology development and ongoing urbanization and demographic trends. It evaluates the potential impacts of alternative transportation and power sector development using two key scenarios, Continued Improvement Scenario (CIS) and Accelerated Improvement Scenario (AIS). CIS represents the most likely path of growth based on continuation of current policies and meeting announced targets and goals, including meeting planned appliance efficiency standard revisions, fuel economy standards, and industrial targets and moderate phase-out of subcritical coal-fired generation with additional non-fossil generation. AIS represents a more aggressive trajectory of accelerated improvement in energy intensity and decarbonized power and transport sectors. A range of sensitivity analysis and power technology scenarios are tested to evaluate the impact of additional actions such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and integrated mine-mouth generation. The CIS and AIS results are also contextualized and compared to model scenarios in other published studies. The results of this study show that China's energy and CO{sub 2} emissions will not likely peak before 2030, although growth is expected to slow after 2020. Moreover, China will be able to meet its 2020 carbon intensity reduction target of 40 to 45% under both CIS and AIS, but only meet its 15% non-fossil fuel target by 2020 under AIS. Under both scenarios, efficiency remains a key resource and has the same, if not greater, mitigation potential as new technologies in transport and power sectors. In the transport sector, electrification will be closely linked the degree of decarbonization in the power sector and EV deployment has little or no impact on China's crude oil import demand. Rather, power generation improvements have the largest sector potential for overall emission mitigation while mine-mouth power generation and CCS have limited mitigation potential compared to fuel switching and efficiency improvements. Comparisons of this study's results with other published studies reveal that CIS and AIS are within the range of other national energy projections but alternative studies rely much more heavily on CCS for carbon reduction. The McKinsey study, in particular, has more optimistic assumptions for reductions in crude oil imports and coal demand in its abatement scenario and has much higher gasoline reduction potential for the same level of EV deployment. Despite these differences, this study's scenario analysis of both transport and power sectors illustrate the necessity for continued efficiency improvements and aggressive power sector decarbonization in flattening China's CO{sub 2} emissions.« less

Executive Summary - Natural Gas and the Transformation of the U.S. Energy Sector: Electricity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Logan, J.; Heath, G.; Macknick, J.

In November 2012, the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) released a new report, 'Natural Gas and the Transformation of the U.S. Energy Sector: Electricity.' The study provides a new methodological approach to estimate natural gas related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, tracks trends in regulatory and voluntary industry practices, and explores various electricity futures. The Executive Summary provides key findings, insights, data, and figures from this major study.

Liberian energy consumption and sectoral distribution for 1981

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samuels, G.

1985-02-01

This report is one of a series of project papers providing background information for an assessment of energy options for Liberia, West Africa; it summarizes 1981 Liberian energy consumption data collected during 1982. Total Liberian primary energy consumption in 1981 was equivalent to 11,400,000 barrels of crude oil (BCOE) - 64% from wood, 31% from petroleum, and 5% from hydro. About 71% (8,100,000 BCOE) entered the domestic market. The difference represents exports (400,000 BCOE), refining losses (200,000 BCOE), and losses in converting wood to charcoal (2,600,000 BCOE). Of the 8,100,000 BCOE entering the domestic market, 58% was in the formmore » of wood and charcoal, 35% petroleum products, and 7% hydro. Excluding wood and charcoal, electricity generation consumed 59% of the energy entering the domestic market. The three iron ore mining companies accounted for 60% of all electricity production; the Liberia Electricity Corporation for 35%, and private organizations and individuals for 5%. The mining operations (including electricity generation and transportation uses) consumed about 60% of all petroleum products. The transportation sector consumed 30% of all petroleum of which 85% was for road transport, 12% for the railroads owned and operated by the mining companies, and 3% for sea and air transport. Nontransportation energy use in the industrial, commercial, government, and agriculture and forestry sectors is small. Together, these sectors account for less than 10% of the petroleum products consumed. Wood and charcoal were used almost entirely by the residential sector, which also consumed an additional 530,000 BCOE of other fuels. Over 90% of the 530,000 BCOE was for electricity and 290,000 (56%) was from petroleum. Over half of the petroleum (150,000 BCOE) was for generation at the mines for their associated communities. 8 references, 10 tables.« less

Determining residential energy consumption-based CO2 emissions and examining the factors affecting the variation in Ankara, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kus, Melike; Akan, Perihan; Aydinalp Koksal, Merih; Gullu, Gulen

2017-11-01

Energy demand of Turkey has been showing a remarkable increase in the last two decades due to rapid increase in population and changes in consumption trends. In parallel to the increase in energy demand, the CO2 emissions in Turkey are also increasing dramatically due to high usage of fossil fuels. CO2 emissions from the residential sector covers almost one fourth of the total sectoral emissions. In this study, CO2 emissions from the residential sector are estimated, and the factors affecting the emission levels are determined for the residential sector in Ankara, Turkey. In this study, detailed surveys are conducted to more than 400 households in Ankara. Using the information gathered from the surveys, the CO2 emissions associated with energy consumption of the households are calculated using the methodology outlined at IPCC. The statistical analyses are carried out using household income, dwelling characteristics, and household economic and demographic data to determine the factors causing the variation in emission levels among the households. The results of the study present that the main factors impacting the amount of total energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions are household income, dwelling construction year, age, education level of the household, and net footage of the dwelling.

Tipping points for carbon dioxide and air pollution benefits: an energy systems analysis of natural gas verses electric technologies in the U.S. buildings sector

EPA Science Inventory

Our analysis examines emission trade-offs between electricity and natural gas use in the buildings sector at the system level, including upstream emissions from the electric sector and natural gas mining emissions.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

This paper responds to the Development Committee Communique of April 2006 requesting the World Bank to review existing financial instruments and explore the potential value of new financial instruments to accelerate investment in clean energy. It builds on the report 'Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework' that was presented to the Development Committee at the April 2006 Spring Meeting and concludes: The major financing gap for the energy for development and energy access agendas can be met by deepening and broadening energy sector policy reform to attract private sector investments and additional public sector financing. A long-term stablemore » global regulatory framework, with differentiated responsibilities, is needed to stimulate private investments and provide predictability. The Bank proposes the development of a number of options to accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy. Risks of weather-related disasters need to be integrated into poverty and sustainable development strategies with a combination of public and private sector resources. Clean energy will address the following issues that affect poor people and undermine progress on many of the Millennium Development Goals: Pollution at the household level, especially indoor air pollution, which adversely affects human health; Environmental impacts at the local, national and regional level, including urban air pollution and acid deposition, which affects human health and ecological systems; and The adverse impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from the production of energy on agricultural productivity, water resources, human health, human settlements and ecological systems. 11 figs., 2 tabs., 2 annexes.« less

Market entry and exit by biotech and device companies funded by venture capital.

PubMed

Burns, Lawton R; Housman, Michael G; Robinson, Charles A

2009-01-01

Start-up companies in the biotechnology and medical device sectors are important sources of health care innovation. This paper describes the role of venture capital in supporting these companies and charts the growth in venture capital financial support. The paper then uses longitudinal data to describe market entry and exit by these companies. Similar factors are associated with entry and exit in the two sectors. Entries and exits in one sector also appear to influence entry in the other. These findings have important implications for developing innovative technologies and ensuring competitive markets in the life sciences.

Water demands for electricity generation in the U.S.: Modeling different scenarios for the water–energy nexus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Lu; Hejazi, Mohamad I.; Patel, Pralit L.

Water withdrawal for electricity generation in the United States accounts for approximately half the total freshwater withdrawal. With steadily growing electricity demands, a changing climate, and limited water supplies in many water-scarce states, meeting future energy and water demands poses a significant socio-economic challenge. Employing an integrated modeling approach that can capture the energy-water interactions at regional and national scales is essential to improve our understanding of the key drivers that govern those interactions and the role of national policies. In this study, the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM), a technologically-detailed integrated model of the economy, energy, agriculture and landmore » use, water, and climate systems, was extended to model the electricity and water systems at the state level in the U.S. (GCAM-USA). GCAM-USA was employed to estimate future state-level electricity generation and consumption, and their associated water withdrawals and consumption under a set of six scenarios with extensive details on the generation fuel portfolio, cooling technology mix, and their associated water use intensities. Six scenarios of future water demands of the U.S. electric-sector were explored to investigate the implications of socioeconomics development and growing electricity demands, climate mitigation policy, the transition of cooling systems, electricity trade, and water saving technologies. Our findings include: 1) decreasing water withdrawals and substantially increasing water consumption from both climate mitigation and the conversion from open-loop to closed-loop cooling systems; 2) open trading of electricity benefiting energy scarce yet demand intensive states; 3) within state variability under different driving forces while across state homogeneity under certain driving force ; 4) a clear trade-off between water consumption and withdrawal for the electricity sector in the U.S. The paper discusses this withdrawal-consumption trade-off in the context of current national policies and regulations that favor decreasing withdrawals (increasing consumptive use), and the role of water saving technologies. The highly-resolved nature of this study both geographically and technologically provides a useful platform to address scientific and policy relevant and emerging issues at the heart of the water-energy nexus in the U.S.« less

Integrating Renewable Generation into Grid Operations: Four International Experiences

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weimar, Mark R.; Mylrea, Michael E.; Levin, Todd

International experiences with power sector restructuring and the resultant impacts on bulk power grid operations and planning may provide insight into policy questions for the evolving United States power grid as resource mixes are changing in response to fuel prices, an aging generation fleet and to meet climate goals. Australia, Germany, Japan and the UK were selected to represent a range in the level and attributes of electricity industry liberalization in order to draw comparisons across a variety of regions in the United States such as California, ERCOT, the Southwest Power Pool and the Southeast Reliability Region. The study drawsmore » conclusions through a literature review of the four case study countries with regards to the changing resource mix and the electricity industry sector structure and their impact on grid operations and planning. This paper derives lessons learned and synthesizes implications for the United States based on answers to the above questions and the challenges faced by the four selected countries. Each country was examined to determine the challenges to their bulk power sector based on their changing resource mix, market structure, policies driving the changing resource mix, and policies driving restructuring. Each countries’ approach to solving those changes was examined, as well as how each country’s market structure either exacerbated or mitigated the approaches to solving the challenges to their bulk power grid operations and planning. All countries’ policies encourage renewable energy generation. One significant finding included the low- to zero-marginal cost of intermittent renewables and its potential negative impact on long-term resource adequacy. No dominant solution has emerged although a capacity market was introduced in the UK and is being contemplated in Japan. Germany has proposed the Energy Market 2.0 to encourage flexible generation investment. The grid operator in Australia proposed several approaches to maintaining synchronous generation. Interconnections to other regions provides added opportunities for balancing that would not be available otherwise, and at this point, has allowed for integration of renewables.« less

CO2 Mitigation Measures of Power Sector and Its Integrated Optimization in China

PubMed Central

Dai, Pan; Chen, Guang; Zhou, Hao; Su, Meirong; Bao, Haixia

2012-01-01

Power sector is responsible for about 40% of the total CO2 emissions in the world and plays a leading role in climate change mitigation. In this study, measures that lower CO2 emissions from the supply side, demand side, and power grid are discussed, based on which, an integrated optimization model of CO2 mitigation (IOCM) is proposed. Virtual energy, referring to energy saving capacity in both demand side and the power grid, together with conventional energy in supply side, is unified planning for IOCM. Consequently, the optimal plan of energy distribution, considering both economic benefits and mitigation benefits, is figured out through the application of IOCM. The results indicate that development of demand side management (DSM) and smart grid can make great contributions to CO2 mitigation of power sector in China by reducing the CO2 emissions by 10.02% and 12.59%, respectively, in 2015, and in 2020. PMID:23213305

Green buildings for Egypt: a call for an integrated policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bampou, P.

2017-11-01

As global warming is on the threshold of each country worldwide, Middle East and North African (MENA) region has already adopted energy efficiency (EE) policies on several consuming sectors. The present paper valuates the impact of temperature increase in the residential building sector of Egypt that is the most integrated example of the 7 out of the 20 MENA countries that have started their green efforts upon building environment. Furthermore, as it is based on a literature research upon socio-economic characteristics, existing building stock, existing legal and institutional framework, it elaborates a quantitative evaluation of Egypt's energy-saving potential, outlining basic constraints upon energy conservation, in order for Egypt to be able to handle the high energy needs due to its warm climate. Last but not least, the paper proposes a policy pathway for the implementation of green building codes and concludes with the best available technologies to promote EE in the Egyptian building sector.

Low-energy plasma observations at synchronous orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lennartsson, W.; Reasoner, D. L.

1978-01-01

The University of California at San Diego Auroral Particles Experiment on the ATS 6 satellite in synchronous orbit has detected a low-energy plasma population which is separate and distinct from both the ring current and the plasma sheet populations. The density and temperature of this low-energy population are highly variable, with temperatures in the range kT = 1-30 eV and densities ranging from less than 1 per cu cm to more than 10 per cu cm. The occurrence of a dense low-energy plasma is most likely in the afternoon and dusk local time sectors, whereas n greater than 1 per cu cm is seen in the local night sector only during magnetically quiet periods. These observations suggest that this plasma is the outer zone of the plasmasphere. During magnetically active periods this low-energy plasma is often observed flowing sunward. In the dusk sector, strong sunward plasma flow is often observed for 1-2 hours prior to the onset of a substorm-associated particle injection.

Energy data sourcebook for the US residential sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wenzel, T.P.; Koomey, J.G.; Sanchez, M.

Analysts assessing policies and programs to improve energy efficiency in the residential sector require disparate input data from a variety of sources. This sourcebook, which updates a previous report, compiles these input data into a single location. The data provided include information on end-use unit energy consumption (UEC) values of appliances and equipment efficiency; historical and current appliance and equipment market shares; appliances and equipment efficiency and sales trends; appliance and equipment efficiency standards; cost vs. efficiency data for appliances and equipment; product lifetime estimates; thermal shell characteristics of buildings; heating and cooling loads; shell measure cost data for newmore » and retrofit buildings; baseline housing stocks; forecasts of housing starts; and forecasts of energy prices and other economic drivers. This report is the essential sourcebook for policy analysts interested in residential sector energy use. The report can be downloaded from the Web at http://enduse.lbl. gov/Projects/RED.html. Future updates to the report, errata, and related links, will also be posted at this address.« less

Economic growth, energy consumption and CO2 emissions in India: a disaggregated causal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nain, Md Zulquar; Ahmad, Wasim; Kamaiah, Bandi

2017-09-01

This study examines the long-run and short-run causal relationships among energy consumption, real gross domestic product (GDP) and CO2 emissions using aggregate and disaggregate (sectoral) energy consumption measures utilising annual data from 1971 to 2011. The autoregressive distributed lag bounds test reveals that there is a long-run relationship among the variables concerned at both aggregate and disaggregate levels. The Toda-Yamamoto causality tests, however, reveal that the long-run as well short-run causal relationship among the variables is not uniform across sectors. The weight of evidences of the study indicates that there is short-run causality from electricity consumption to economic growth, and to CO2 emissions. The results suggest that India should take appropriate cautious steps to sustain high growth rate and at the same time to control emissions of CO2. Further, energy and environmental policies should acknowledge the sectoral differences in the relationship between energy consumption and real gross domestic product.

The Value of Wind Technology Innovation: Implications for the U.S. Power System, Wind Industry, Electricity Consumers, and Environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mai, Trieu T; Lantz, Eric J; Mowers, Matthew

Improvements to wind technologies have, in part, led to substantial deployment of U.S. wind power in recent years. The degree to which technology innovation will continue is highly uncertain adding to uncertainties in future wind deployment. We apply electric sector modeling to estimate the potential wind deployment opportunities across a range of technology advancement projections. The suite of projections considered span a wide range of possible cost and technology innovation trajectories, including those from a recent expert elicitation of wind energy experts, a projection based on the broader literature, and one reflecting estimates based on a U.S. DOE research initiative.more » In addition, we explore how these deployment pathways may impact the electricity system, electricity consumers, the environment, and the wind-related workforce. Overall, our analysis finds that wind technology innovation can have consequential implications for future wind power development throughout the United States, impact the broader electricity system, lower electric system and consumer costs, provide potential environmental benefits, and grow the U.S. wind workforce.« less

A water resources model to explore the implications of energy alternatives in the southwestern US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yates, D.; Averyt, Kristen; Flores-Lopez, Francisco; Meldrum, J.; Sattler, S.; Sieber, J.; Young, C.

2013-12-01

This letter documents the development and validation of a climate-driven, southwestern-US-wide water resources planning model that is being used to explore the implications of extended drought and climate warming on the allocation of water among competing uses. These model uses include a separate accounting for irrigated agriculture; municipal indoor use based on local population and per-capita consumption; climate-driven municipal outdoor turf and amenity watering; and thermoelectric cooling. The model simulates the natural and managed flows of rivers throughout the southwest, including the South Platte, the Arkansas, the Colorado, the Green, the Salt, the Sacramento, the San Joaquin, the Owens, and more than 50 others. Calibration was performed on parameters of land cover, snow accumulation and melt, and water capacity and hydraulic conductivity of soil horizons. Goodness of fit statistics and other measures of performance are shown for a select number of locations and are used to summarize the model’s ability to represent monthly streamflow, reservoir storages, surface and ground water deliveries, etc, under 1980-2010 levels of sectoral water use.

SEE Action Guide for States: Energy Efficiency as a Least-Cost Strategy to Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollution and Meet Energy Needs in the Power Sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schwartz, Lisa; Leventis, Greg; Schiller, Steven R.

This guide is designed to provide information to state decision makers and staff on options to advance energy efficiency through strategies designed or implemented at the state and local levels of government and in the private sector.1 The information in this guide is intended to be useful to a wide variety of partners and stakeholders involved in energy-related discussions and decision-making at state and local levels. These energy efficiency options, or “pathways” as they are identified in this guide, can assist states in using energy efficiency to meet air pollution reduction and other policy objectives such as energy affordability andmore » reliability. A pathway is a set of interdependent actions that results in measurable energy savings streams and associated avoided air emissions and other benefits over a period of time. These activities can include state, local, or private sector regulations, policies, programs and other activities. For each of five broad pathways that offer sizable cost-effective energy savings, the guide addresses likely questions policy makers and regulators face when screening for the best opportunities to advance energy efficiency in their state.« less

Assessing the Impact of Energy Access on Households in Kyrgyzstan: Government Rhetoric Versus Daily Realities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, Alyssa

While significant literature enumerates the impacts of electrification on development, the impact of energy insecurity on daily life and governance is comparatively poorly understood. In post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, I will argue that this question is of critical importance for two reasons. First, if one were to only study state rhetoric on the subject, one might believe it to be self-evident that Kyrgyzstan is energy secure and even exporting excess hydroelectric production to its neighbors. In actuality, as I will illustrate by comparing household accounts of the impact of energy supply intermittencies on daily life to government rhetoric on energy, the sector's exports are only indicative of the government's lack of concern for domestic demand and desperate need for revenue. Yet, given that a similar mismatch in the resource allocation priorities of Kyrgyzstani citizens and those of their government created context for revolution in 2010, this finding has serious implications for the political stability of the country. Second, with the progression of global climate change, the population's struggle to access already restricted resource bases will only be further complicated by climate-induced vulnerabilities and resource degradation. Particularly in the short-term, while such a mismatch persists, consumer-driven, community-level interventions must play a key role in improving the energy access, capacity to adapt to climate change, and economic well-being of Kyrgyzstani citizens.

Medical tourism in India: perceptions of physicians in tertiary care hospitals.

PubMed

Qadeer, Imrana; Reddy, Sunita

2013-12-17

Senior physicians of modern medicine in India play a key role in shaping policies and public opinion and institutional management. This paper explores their perceptions of medical tourism (MT) within India which is a complex process involving international demands and policy shifts from service to commercialisation of health care for trade, gross domestic profit, and foreign exchange. Through interviews of 91 physicians in tertiary care hospitals in three cities of India, this paper explores four areas of concern: their understanding of MT, their views of the hospitals they work in, perceptions of the value and place of MT in their hospital and their views on the implications of MT for medical care in the country. An overwhelming majority (90%) of physicians in the private tertiary sector and 74.3 percent in the public tertiary sector see huge scope for MT in the private tertiary sector in India. The private tertiary sector physicians were concerned about their patients alone and felt that health of the poor was the responsibility of the state. The public tertiary sector physicians' however, were sensitive to the problems of the common man and felt responsible. Even though the glamour of hi-tech associated with MT dazzled them, only 35.8 percent wanted MT in their hospitals and a total of 56 percent of them said MT cannot be a public sector priority. 10 percent in the private sector expressed reservations towards MT while the rest demanded state subsidies for MT. The disconnect between their concern for the common man and professionals views on MT was due to the lack of appreciation of the continuum between commercialisation, the denial of resources to public hospitals and shift of subsidies to the private sector. The paper highlights the differences and similarities in the perceptions and context of the two sets of physicians, presents evidence, that questions the support for MT and finally analyzes some key implications of MT on Indian health services, ethical issues emerging out of that and the need for understanding the linkages between public and private sectors for a more effective intervention for an equitable medical care policy.

Medical tourism in india: perceptions of physicians in tertiary care hospitals

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Senior physicians of modern medicine in India play a key role in shaping policies and public opinion and institutional management. This paper explores their perceptions of medical tourism (MT) within India which is a complex process involving international demands and policy shifts from service to commercialisation of health care for trade, gross domestic profit, and foreign exchange. Through interviews of 91 physicians in tertiary care hospitals in three cities of India, this paper explores four areas of concern: their understanding of MT, their views of the hospitals they work in, perceptions of the value and place of MT in their hospital and their views on the implications of MT for medical care in the country. An overwhelming majority (90%) of physicians in the private tertiary sector and 74.3 percent in the public tertiary sector see huge scope for MT in the private tertiary sector in India. The private tertiary sector physicians were concerned about their patients alone and felt that health of the poor was the responsibility of the state. The public tertiary sector physicians’ however, were sensitive to the problems of the common man and felt responsible. Even though the glamour of hi-tech associated with MT dazzled them, only 35.8 percent wanted MT in their hospitals and a total of 56 percent of them said MT cannot be a public sector priority. 10 percent in the private sector expressed reservations towards MT while the rest demanded state subsidies for MT. The disconnect between their concern for the common man and professionals views on MT was due to the lack of appreciation of the continuum between commercialisation, the denial of resources to public hospitals and shift of subsidies to the private sector. The paper highlights the differences and similarities in the perceptions and context of the two sets of physicians, presents evidence, that questions the support for MT and finally analyzes some key implications of MT on Indian health services, ethical issues emerging out of that and the need for understanding the linkages between public and private sectors for a more effective intervention for an equitable medical care policy. PMID:24345280

Establishing a Conceptual Foundation for Addressing Challenges Facing Food-Energy-Water Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldsby, M.; Padowski, J.; Katz, S.; Brady, M.; Hampton, S. E.

2017-12-01

Ensuring the security of food, energy and water in the face of a changing environment is a top societal priority. In order to make sound policy decisions aimed at meeting those needs, policy-makers need decision-relevant information. As such, considerable effort and resources have recently been devoted to investigating the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus in order to better provide that information. However, despite the increased research activity into FEW systems and FEW problems, little attention has been devoted to the fundamental conceptual issues underlying contemporary FEW systems. Consequently, this inattention has led to conceptual confusion about what is and what is not a FEW system. This project aims to fill that lacuna in order to better facilitate the FEW research agenda. Toward that end, we identify three features that distinguish FEW problems from other resource management problems: (1) the production and management of the resources in each sector of a FEW system is specialized to its own sector; (2) interdependencies exist between sectors such that overproduction in one sector, for example, may have impacts on other sectors; and (3) there are real limits to FEW resource availability as well as limits on the ability to transact across sector boundaries. We contend that once armed with this distinction, one can model the stocks and flows of FEW capital in a conceptually rigorous way that may lead to operational innovations of FEW management.

The 2nd order focusing sector field type TOF mass analyzer with an orthogonal ion acceleration for LC-IMS-MS.

PubMed

Poteshin, S S; Zarakovsky, A I

2017-03-15

Original orthogonal acceleration (OA) electrostatic sector time of flight (TOF) mass analyzer is proposed those allows the second order focusing of time of flight by initial ions position. Resolving power aberration limit exceeding 80,000 FW (full width mass peak) was shown to be obtainable for mass analyzer with the total length of flight L=133.2cm, the average ion energy 3700V and the ion energy spread of 2.5% on the entrance of sector field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mutual Predators: An Examination of Russia's Oil, Gas, and Nuclear Sectors in the Post-Soviet Era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rousselle, Adam

Russia's energy sector has changed dramatically over the past three decades and this study examines this change within the oil, gas, and nuclear sectors. Having inherited a state capitalist system after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia's bureaucracy now presides over an incredibly rich and deeply problematic energy economy. At its core, this is a study on institutionalized corruption and the behavior of corrupt elites. More specifically, it examines whether Russia can succeed within this context and what this may teach us on the nature of corrupt states and institutions.

What China can learn from international policy experiences to improve industrial energy efficiency and reduce CO 2 emissions?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Xu; Shen, Bo; Price, Lynn

China’s industrial sector dominates the country’s total energy consumption and energy efficiency in the industry sector is crucial to help China reach its energy and CO 2 emissions reduction goals. There are many energy efficiency policies in China, but the motivation and willingness of enterprises to improve energy efficiency has weakened. This report first identifies barriers that enterprises face to be self-motivated to implement energy efficiency measures. Then, this report reviews international policies and programs to improve energy efficiency and evaluates how these policies helped to address the identified barriers. Lastly, this report draws conclusions and provides recommendations to Chinamore » in developing policies and programs to motivate enterprises to improve energy efficiency.« less

Some Issues of Micro and Small Enterprises in Wolaita Soddo Town of SNNPR, Ethiopia and Implication for Technical and Vocational Education and Skills Training: Leather Sector in Extra Emphasis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ginja, Tamirat Gibon

2016-01-01

Technical and Vocational Education & skills Training (TVET) and Micro & Small Enterprises (MSEs) are so significant sectors in socio-economic development journey of a country. This Article was aimed at investigating empirically the challenges that Micro and Small Enterprises facing and the extent of business development services provided…

Assessing effects of mitigation strategies for global climate change with an intertemporal model of the U.S. forest and agriculture sectors.

Treesearch

Ralph J. Alig; Darius M. Adams; Bruce McCarl; J.M. Callaway; Steven Winnett

1997-01-01

A model of product and land markets in U.S. forest and agricultural sectors is used to examine the private forest management, land use, and market implications of carbon sequestration policies implemented in a "least social cost" fashion. Results suggest: policy-induced land use changes may generate compensating land use shifts through markets: land use...

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Kazakhstan: Trends and Analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karatayev, Marat; Rivotti, Pedro; Sobral Mourão, Zenaida; Konadu, D. Dennis; Clarke, Michèle

2017-04-01

The concept of the water, energy and food nexus is extremely relevant to Kazakhstan as the country faces population growth, economic progress and environmental challenges such as water scarcity, desertification, and climate change. Furthermore, poor sectoral coordination and institutional fragmentation have caused an unsustainable resource use and threaten the long-term sustainability of water, energy and food security in Kazakhstan. Specifically, low tariffs in the water and electricity sectors have led to under-investment in water and energy efficiency measures, leading to extensive water losses, soil salinity, as well as degradation of agricultural land. Using the nexus approach, this study aims to investigate and map the linkages between water resources, energy production and food security in Kazakhstan, with an emphasis on the current coordination framework. This will enable the identification of critical interdependency issues in the management of these resources. The results will provide a better understanding of the current interconnectedness of the sectors, and support the coordination of decision-making at various levels of governance and research of land, water and energy to meet sustainable development goals.

A reduced-form approach for representing the impacts of wind and solar PV deployment on the structure and operation of the electricity system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, Nils; Strubegger, Manfred; McPherson, Madeleine

In many climate change mitigation scenarios, integrated assessment models of the energy and climate systems rely heavily on renewable energy technologies with variable and uncertain generation, such as wind and solar PV, to achieve substantial decarbonization of the electricity sector. However, these models often include very little temporal resolution and thus have difficulty in representing the integration costs that arise from mismatches between electricity supply and demand. The global integrated assessment model, MESSAGE, has been updated to explicitly model the trade-offs between variable renewable energy (VRE) deployment and its impacts on the electricity system, including the implications for electricity curtailment,more » backup capacity, and system flexibility. These impacts have been parameterized using a reduced-form approach, which allows VRE integration impacts to be quantified on a regional basis. In addition, thermoelectric technologies were updated to include two modes of operation, baseload and flexible, to better account for the cost, efficiency, and availability penalties associated with flexible operation. In this paper, the modeling approach used in MESSAGE is explained and the implications for VRE deployment in mitigation scenarios are assessed. Three important stylized facts associated with integrating high VRE shares are successfully reproduced by our modeling approach: (1) the significant reduction in the utilization of non-VRE power plants; (2) the diminishing role for traditional baseload generators, such as nuclear and coal, and the transition to more flexible technologies; and (3) the importance of electricity storage and hydrogen electrolysis in facilitating the deployment of VRE.« less

Nanoparticle-plant interaction: Implications in energy, environment, and agriculture.

PubMed

Rai, Prabhat Kumar; Kumar, Vanish; Lee, SangSoo; Raza, Nadeem; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Ok, Yong Sik; Tsang, Daniel C W

2018-06-14

In the recent techno-scientific revolution, nanotechnology has gained popularity at a rapid pace in different sectors and disciplines, specifically environmental, sensing, bioenergy, and agricultural systems. Controlled, easy, economical, and safe synthesis of nanomaterials is desired for the development of new-age nanotechnology. In general, nanomaterial synthesis techniques, such as chemical synthesis, are not completely safe or environmentally friendly due to harmful chemicals used or to toxic by-products produced. Moreover, a few nanomaterials are present as by-product during washing process, which may accumulate in water, air, and soil system to pose serious threats to plants, animals, and microbes. In contrast, using plants for nanomaterial (especially nanoparticle) synthesis has proven to be environmentally safe and economical. The role of plants as a source of nanoparticles is also likely to expand the number of options for sustainable green renewable energy, especially in biorefineries. Despite several advantages of nanotechnology, the nano-revolution has aroused concerns in terms of the fate of nanoparticles in the environment because of the potential health impacts caused by nanotoxicity upon their release. In the present panoramic review, we discuss the possibility that a multitudinous array of nanoparticles may find applications convergent with human welfare based on the synthesis of diverse nanoparticles from plants and their extracts. The significance of plant-nanoparticle interactions has been elucidated further for nanoparticle synthesis, applications of nanoparticles, and the disadvantages of using plants for synthesizing nanoparticles. Finally, we discuss future prospects of plant-nanoparticle interactions in relation to the environment, energy, and agriculture with implications in nanotechnology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Public Sector Reform and Governance for Adaptation: Implications of New Public Management for Adaptive Capacity in Mexico and Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eakin, Hallie; Eriksen, Siri; Eikeland, Per-Ove; Øyen, Cecilie

2011-03-01

Although many governments are assuming the responsibility of initiating adaptation policy in relation to climate change, the compatibility of "governance-for-adaptation" with the current paradigms of public administration has generally been overlooked. Over the last several decades, countries around the globe have embraced variants of the philosophy of administration broadly called "New Public Management" (NPM) in an effort to improve administrative efficiencies and the provision of public services. Using evidence from a case study of reforms in the building sector in Norway, and a case study of water and flood risk management in central Mexico, we analyze the implications of the adoption of the tenets of NPM for adaptive capacity. Our cases illustrate that some of the key attributes associated with governance for adaptation—namely, technical and financial capacities; institutional memory, learning and knowledge; and participation and accountability—have been eroded by NPM reforms. Despite improvements in specific operational tasks of the public sector in each case, we show that the success of NPM reforms presumes the existence of core elements of governance that have often been found lacking, including solid institutional frameworks and accountability. Our analysis illustrates the importance of considering both longer-term adaptive capacities and short-term efficiency goals in public sector administration reform.

TQM implementation for the healthcare sector.

PubMed

Chiarini, Andrea; Vagnoni, Emidia

2017-07-03

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enlarge the debate on total quality management (TQM) implementation in the healthcare sector and to evaluate how and whether leadership can affect TQM implementation. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on findings from a literature review of TQM and leadership. The authors analysed these findings to categorise causes of a lack of leadership in TQM programme implementations. Findings The authors propose three categories of causes of a lack of leadership in TQM programme implementation. The first cause is well-known: a lack of senior managers' involvement and commitment. The second category is the "combined leadership" that occurs in large healthcare organisations; and the third category is the influence of an external "political leadership" on public healthcare. Research limitations/implications This paper presents researchers with three categories of causes of failure of leadership in TQM implementation that can be investigated. It also encourages reflections from practitioners concerning TQM leadership in the healthcare sector. Practical implications The authors request that practitioners reflect on ways to create or sustain a "monolithic" leadership, especially in large organisations, to ensure a common vision, values and attitude for unitary TQM governance. Originality/value In an original way, this paper analyses and proposes three categories of causes linked to a lack of TQM leadership in the healthcare sector.

Public sector reform and governance for adaptation: implications of new public management for adaptive capacity in Mexico and Norway.

PubMed

Eakin, Hallie; Eriksen, Siri; Eikeland, Per-Ove; Øyen, Cecilie

2011-03-01

Although many governments are assuming the responsibility of initiating adaptation policy in relation to climate change, the compatibility of "governance-for-adaptation" with the current paradigms of public administration has generally been overlooked. Over the last several decades, countries around the globe have embraced variants of the philosophy of administration broadly called "New Public Management" (NPM) in an effort to improve administrative efficiencies and the provision of public services. Using evidence from a case study of reforms in the building sector in Norway, and a case study of water and flood risk management in central Mexico, we analyze the implications of the adoption of the tenets of NPM for adaptive capacity. Our cases illustrate that some of the key attributes associated with governance for adaptation--namely, technical and financial capacities; institutional memory, learning and knowledge; and participation and accountability--have been eroded by NPM reforms. Despite improvements in specific operational tasks of the public sector in each case, we show that the success of NPM reforms presumes the existence of core elements of governance that have often been found lacking, including solid institutional frameworks and accountability. Our analysis illustrates the importance of considering both longer-term adaptive capacities and short-term efficiency goals in public sector administration reform.

Assessing the Sustainability of Japan's Foreign Aid Program: An Analysis of Development Assistance to Energy Sectors of Developing Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yamaguchi, Hideka

2005-01-01

This article examines the effect of Japan's official development assistance (ODA) over 10 years that proposed to facilitate environmental conservation in developing countries. Special emphasis is given to ODA disbursements in the energy sector to evaluate whether Japan's foreign aid has shifted its policy toward more environmentally sound goals.…

Models for residential-and commercial-sector energy conservation analysis: Applications, limitations, and future potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, H. E.; Fuller, R. E.

1980-09-01

Four of the major models used by DOE for energy conservation analyses in the residential and commercial building sectors are reviewed and critically analyzed to determine how these models can serve as tools for DOE and its Conservation Policy Office in evaluating and quantifying their policy and program requirements. The most effective role for each model in addressing future issues of buildings energy conservation policy and analysis is assessed. The four models covered are: Oak Ridge Residential Energy Model; Micro Analysis of Transfers to Households/Comprehensive Human Resources Data System (MATH/CHRDS) Model; Oak Ridge Commercial Energy Model; and Brookhaven Buildings Energy Conservation Optimization Model (BECOM).

Generation and Use of Thermal Energy in the U.S. Industrial Sector and Opportunities to Reduce its Carbon Emissions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McMillan, Colin; Boardman, Richard; McKellar, Michael

This report quantifies greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the industrial sector and identifies opportunities for non-GHG-emitting thermal energy sources to replace the most significant GHG-emitting U.S. industries based on targeted, process-level analysis of industrial heat requirements. The intent is to provide a basis for projecting opportunities for clean energy use. This provides a prospectus for small modular nuclear reactors (including nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems), solar industrial process heat, and geothermal energy. This report provides a complement to analysis of process-efficiency improvement by considering how clean energy delivery and use by industry could reduce GHG emissions.

The Development of Sensor Applications in the Sectors of Energy and Environment in Italy, 1976–2015

PubMed Central

Di Francia, Girolamo

2017-01-01

Although sensor technologies have been developing quite similarly all over the world, the investigation of their applications has been more affected by the specific industrial and economic characteristics of each country. This paper aims to investigate the development of applications based on sensor devices in the sectors of energy and the environment, in Italy, throughout the last forty years (1976–2015), examining the most relevant papers published by Italian R & D groups working in this field. Italy depends on foreign imports for more than 80% of its primary energy needs, and this has directed the research effort on the development of sensor applications both to improve load shaping and consumers’ awareness and to develop specific equipment to maximize renewable energy production. Similarly, for the environment sector, there are increasing efforts to develop solutions to support a more and more capillary control of the environment itself using a cooperative approach. In both the sectors it seems that the solutions proposed can help to relieve the structural problems that Italy suffers and that the scientific and technical results obtained so far also have significant international relevance. PMID:28387739

Protecting ICS Systems Within the Energy Sector from Cyber Attacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnes, Shaquille

Advance persistent threat (APT) groups are continuing to attack the energy sector through cyberspace, which poses a risk to our society, national security, and economy. Industrial control systems (ICSs) are not designed to handle cyber-attacks, which is why asset owners need to implement the correct proactive and reactive measures to mitigate the risk to their ICS environments. The Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) responded to 290 incidents for fiscal year 2016, where 59 of those incidents came from the Energy Sector. APT groups know how vulnerable energy sector ICS systems are and the destruction they can cause when they go offline such as loss of production, loss of life, and economic impact. Defending against APT groups requires more than just passive controls such as firewalls and antivirus solutions. Asset owners should implement a combination of best practices and active defense in their environment to defend against APT groups. Cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure will become more complex and harder to detect and respond to with traditional security controls. The purpose of this paper was to provide asset owners with the correct security controls and methodologies to help defend against APT groups.

Regulation of international energy markets: Economic effects of political actions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shcherbakova, Anastasia V.

Recent increases in volatility of energy prices have led many governments to reevaluate their regard of national energy reserves and reconsider future exploration, production, and consumption patterns. The flurry of activity that has been generated by such price volatility has included large-scale nationalizations of energy sectors, unilateral renegotiations of foreign energy development contracts, and expropriations of resources from foreign energy firms on one hand, and on the other hand more rapid energy sector liberalization, intensified search for and development of renewable fuels and technologies, and development of incentives for increased energy efficiency and conservation. The aim of this dissertation is to examine and quantify the extent of positive and negative effects that have resulted from some of these activities. The first chapter focuses on quantifying the effect that nationalistic sentiment has had on economic attractiveness of energy sectors during the decade prior to the recent global economic crisis, as measured by foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. Empirical results demonstrate that both political and economic conditions play an important role in investors' decisions. A combination of investment friendliness, corruption levels, and democracy all help to explain the trends in energy-sector investment levels over time in my sample countries, although differences in the types of corruption existing in these nations do not. Investment levels, in turn, appear to influence future levels of oil production, underscoring the significance of good investment policies for future success of energy sectors. Chapter two considers the response of energy stock prices to severe regulatory actions. It employs an event study framework to examine causal effects of critical informational announcements (i.e. events of expropriation and nationalization) on daily returns and cumulative losses in firm value of energy corporations. Results show that a firm's participation in a regulated market results in an average decline in its stock returns of up to 50 basis points per day, and a cumulative loss of more than 3.5% of its market value. Negative shocks to securities returns persist for at least two months. Participation in a regulated market, however, is not always unfavorable, as involved firms not directly targeted by regulatory action appear to gain sizable risk premiums. Additional evidence suggests that, although there is no direct linear relationship between firm size and effect magnitude, large firms tend to be hurt more in the short term, while small firms suffer bigger declines in returns over a longer time period. The last chapter turns to global electricity sectors to examine the development of Demand Response (DR) programs, which have become popular means of addressing the sector's central market failure of pricing below marginal generation cost. DR programs incorporate demand signals into retail electricity rates, and have the potential to effectively and inexpensively improve grid reliability and increase end-use efficiency. However, DR faces many challenges, arguably the most important of which is a general lack of information among consumers regarding usage levels and existence of alternative providers and rate plans. Financial considerations, lack of access to technological infrastructure, and misaligned producer incentives also play an important role in DR's limited success.

SWOT analysis of the renewable energy sources in Romania - case study: solar energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lupu, A. G.; Dumencu, A.; Atanasiu, M. V.; Panaite, C. E.; Dumitrașcu, Gh; Popescu, A.

2016-08-01

The evolution of energy sector worldwide triggered intense preoccupation on both finding alternative renewable energy sources and environmental issues. Romania is considered to have technological potential and geographical location suitable to renewable energy usage for electricity generation. But this high potential is not fully exploited in the context of policies and regulations adopted globally, and more specific, European Union (EU) environmental and energy strategies and legislation related to renewable energy sources. This SWOT analysis of solar energy source presents the state of the art, potential and future prospects for development of renewable energy in Romania. The analysis concluded that the development of solar energy sector in Romania depends largely on: viability of legislative framework on renewable energy sources, increased subsidies for solar R&D, simplified methodology of green certificates, and educating the public, investors, developers and decision-makers.

The influence of eating location on nutrient intakes in Irish adults: implications for developing food-based dietary guidelines.

PubMed

O'Dwyer, N A; Gibney, M J; Burke, S J; McCarthy, S N

2005-05-01

To examine the contribution of the food service sector to the nutrient quality of the Irish diet, and to compare intakes at home, work and outside the home ('out') and within the subgroups of the out location (pub, deli, takeaway). Random sample of adults from the Republic of Ireland. Food intake data were collected using a 7-day food diary. Respondents recorded the location of every eating occasion determined by where the food was prepared rather than consumed. Intakes of energy, protein, fat and carbohydrate were significantly greater at home than at work or out (P<0.05). The intake of alcohol was significantly (P<0.001) greater out than at home or work. The percentage contribution of fat to energy was above the recommendations (33% of total energy and 35% of food energy) for both men and women at all locations, with the exception of the contribution of fat to total energy for men at the out location. Within the subgroups of the out location, the contribution of alcohol to total energy was greatest in pubs and the contribution of fat to both total and food energy was greatest in takeaways. Intakes of fibre and most micronutrients per 10 MJ of food energy were greater (P<0.05) at home than at work or out. Foods eaten outside the home contribute a disproportionately high level of fat intake and should be targeted in public health nutrition strategies.

Implications of climate change damage for agriculture: sectoral evidence from Pakistan.

PubMed

Ahmed, Adeel; Devadason, Evelyn S; Al-Amin, Abul Quasem

2016-10-01

This paper gives a projection of the possible damage of climate change on the agriculture sector of Pakistan for the period 2012-2037, based on a dynamic approach, using an environment-related applied computable general equilibrium model (CGE). Climate damage projections depict an upward trend for the period of review and are found to be higher than the global average. Further, the damage to the agricultural sector exceeds that for the overall economy. By sector, climatic damage disproportionately affects the major and minor crops, livestock and fisheries. The largest losses following climate change, relative to the other agricultural sectors, are expected for livestock. The reason for this is the orthodox system of production for livestock, with a low adaptability to negative shocks of climate change. Overall, the findings reveal the high exposure of the agriculture sector to climate damage. In this regard, policymakers in Pakistan should take seriously the effects of climate change on agriculture and consider suitable technology to mitigate those damages.

Relationships between Food Manufacturers and Retailers and Possible Implications for Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Richard; Kruse, Wilfried

A pilot study examined the relationship between the retail sector and food and beverages industries and their implications for training. A range of case studies were undertaken in food manufacturing and retailing enterprises in the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany. The UK case studies examined the problems of manufacturers, both small and large,…

Education and Child Poverty in Times of Austerity in Portugal: Implications for Teachers and Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flores, Maria Assunção; Ferreira, Fernando Ilídio

2016-01-01

In recent years Portugal has experienced a severe financial and economic crisis, with implications for all sectors of society, particularly education. Salary cuts, high rates of unemployment, high taxation and worsening career progression are just some ways in which the teaching profession has been affected. Recent policy changes have also…

Commercial Buildings Partnerships - Overview of Higher education projects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parrish, Kristen; Robinson, Alastair; Regnier, Cindy

2013-02-01

The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP), a public/private, cost-shared program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, its national laboratories, and private-sector technical experts. These teams explored energy-saving measures across building systems – including some considered too costly or technologically challenging – and used advanced energy modeling to achieve peak whole-building performance. Modeling results were then included in new construction or retrofit designs to achieve significant energy reductions. CBP design goals aimed to achieve 50 percent energy savings compared to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2004 for new construction, while retrofits aremore » designed to consume at least 30 percent less energy than either Standard 90.1-2004 or current consumption. After construction and commissioning of the project, laboratory staff continued to work with partners to collect and analyze data for verification of the actual energy reduction. CBP projects represent diverse building types in commercial real estate, including lodging, grocery, retail, higher education, office, and warehouse/storage facilities. Partners also commit to replicating low-energy technologies and strategies from their CBP projects throughout their building portfolios. As a result of CBP projects, five sector overviews (Lodging, Food Sales, General Merchandise, Higher Education, Offices) were created to capture successful strategies and recommended energy efficiency measures that could broadly be applied across these sectors. These overviews are supplemented with individual case studies providing specific details on the decision criteria, modeling results, and lessons learned on specific projects. Sector overviews and CBP case studies will also be updated to reflect verified data and replication strategies as they become available.« less

Desired and Undesired Effects of Energy Labels—An Eye-Tracking Study

PubMed Central

Waechter, Signe; Sütterlin, Bernadette; Siegrist, Michael

2015-01-01

Saving energy is an important pillar for the mitigation of climate change. Electric devices (e.g., freezer and television) are an important player in the residential sector in the final demand for energy. Consumers’ purchase decisions are therefore crucial to successfully reach the energy-efficiency goals. Putting energy labels on products is often considered an adequate way of empowering consumers to make informed purchase decisions. Consequently, this approach should contribute to reducing overall energy consumption. The effectiveness of its measurement depends on consumers’ use and interpretation of the information provided. Despite advances in energy efficiency and a mandatory labeling policy, final energy consumption per capita is in many countries still increasing. This paper provides a systematic analysis of consumers’ reactions to one of the most widely used eco-labels, the European Union (EU) energy label, by using eye-tracking methodology as an objective measurement. The study’s results partially support the EU’s mandatory policy, showing that the energy label triggers attention toward energy information in general. However, the energy label’s effect on consumers’ actual product choices seems to be rather low. The study’s results show that the currently used presentation format on the label is insufficient. The findings suggest that it does not facilitate the integration of energy-related information. Furthermore, the current format can attract consumers to focus more on energy-efficiency information, leading them to disregard information about actual energy consumption. As a result, the final energy consumption may increase because excellent ratings on energy efficiency (e.g., A++) do not automatically imply little consumption. Finally, implications for policymakers and suggestions for further research are discussed. PMID:26231028

[Analysis of grey correlation between energy consumption and economic growth in Liaoning Province, China.

PubMed

Wang, Li; Xi, Feng Ming; Wang, Jiao Yue

2016-03-01

The contradiction between energy consumption and economic growth is increasingly prominent in China. Liaoning Province as one of Chinese heavy industrial bases, consumes a large amount of energy. Its economic development has a strong dependence on energy consumption, but the energy in short supply become more apparent. In order to further understand the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth and put forward scientific suggestions on low carbon development, we used the grey correlation analysis method to separately examine the relevance of economic growth with energy consumption industries and energy consumption varieties through analy sis of energy consumption and economic growth data in Liaoning Province from 2000 to 2012. The results showed that the wholesale and retail sector and hotel and restaurant sector were in the minimum energy consumption in all kinds of sectors, but they presented the closest connection with the economic growth. Although industry energy consumption was the maximum, the degree of connection between industry energy consumption and economic growth was weak. In all types of energy consumption, oil and hydro-power consumption had a significant connection with economic growth. However, the degree of connection of coal consumption with economic growth was not significant, which meant that coal utilization efficiency was low. In order to achieve low carbon and sustainable development, Liaoning Province should transform the economic growth mode, adjust industry structure, optimize energy structure, and improve energy utilization efficiency, especially promote producer services and develop clean and renewable energy.

A comprehensive framework to assess, model, and enhance the human role in conserving energy in commercial buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azar, Elie

Energy conservation and sustainability are subjects of great interest today, especially in the commercial building sector which is witnessing a very high and growing demand for energy. Traditionally, efforts to reduce energy consumption in this sector consisted of researching and developing energy efficient building technologies and systems. On the other hand, recent studies indicate that human actions are major determinants of building energy performance and can lead to excessive energy use even in advanced low-energy buildings. As a result, it is essential to determine if the approach to future energy reduction initiatives should remain solely technology-focused, or if a human-focused approach is also needed to complement advancements in technology and improve building operation and performance. In practice, while technology-focused solutions have been extensively researched, promoted, and adopted in commercial buildings, research efforts on the role of human actions and energy use behaviors in energy conservation remain very limited. This study fills the missing gap in literature by presenting a comprehensive framework to (1) understand and quantify the influence of human actions on building energy performance, (2) model building occupants' energy use behaviors and account for potential changes in these behaviors over time, and (3) test and optimize different human-focused energy reduction interventions to increase their adoption in commercial buildings. Results are significant and prove that human actions have a major role to play in reducing the energy intensity of the commercial building sector. This sheds the light on the need for a shift in how people currently use and control different buildings systems, as this is crucial to ensure efficient building operation and to maximize the return on investment in energy-efficient technologies. Furthermore, this study proposes methods and tools that can be applied on any individual or groups of commercial buildings to evaluate the human impact on their energy performance. This is expected to boost research on the topic and promote the integration of human-focused interventions in large-scale energy reduction initiatives and policies. Finally, this dissertation presents a roadmap for the future challenges to energy conservation and the steps to take towards a more sustainable building sector and society.

Global Energy Issues and Alternate Fueling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hendricks, Robert C.

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes world energy issues and alternate fueling effects on aircraft design. The contents include: 1) US Uses about 100 Quad/year (1 Q = 10(exp 15) Btu) World Energy Use: about 433 Q/yr; 2) US Renewable Energy about 6%; 3) Nuclear Could Grow: Has Legacy Problems; 4) Energy Sources Primarily NonRenewable Hydrocarbon; 5) Notes; 6) Alternate Fuels Effect Aircraft Design; 7) Conventional-Biomass Issue - Food or Fuel; 8) Alternate fuels must be environmentally benign; 9) World Carbon (CO2) Emissions Problem; 10) Jim Hansen s Global Warming Warnings; 11) Gas Hydrates (Clathrates), Solar & Biomass Locations; 12) Global Energy Sector Response; 13) Alternative Renewables; 14) Stratospheric Sulfur Injection Global Cooling Switch; 15) Potential Global Energy Sector Response; and 16) New Sealing and Fluid Flow Challenges.

State Clean Energy Policies Analysis: State, Utility, and Municipal Loan Programs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lantz, E.

2010-05-01

High initial costs can impede the deployment of clean energy technologies. Financing can reduce these costs. And, state, municipal, and utility-sponsored loan programs have emerged to fill the gap between clean energy technology financing needs and private sector lending. In general, public loan programs are more favorable to clean energy technologies than are those offered by traditional lending institutions; however, public loan programs address only the high up-front costs of clean energy systems, and the technology installed under these loan programs rarely supports clean energy production at levels that have a notable impact on the broader energy sector. This reportmore » discusses ways to increase the impact of these loan programs and suggests related policy design considerations.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Steinberg, Daniel; Bielen, Dave; Eichman, Josh

Electrification of end-use services in the transportation, buildings, and industrial sectors coupled with decarbonization of electricity generation has been identified as one of the key pathways to achieving a low-carbon future in the United States. By lowering the carbon intensity of the electricity generation and substituting electricity for higher-emissions fossil fuels in end-use sectors, significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions can be achieved. This report describes a preliminary analysis that examines the potential impacts of widespread electrification on the U.S. energy sector. We develop a set of exploratory scenarios under which electrification is aggressively pursued across all end-use sectors andmore » examine the impacts of achieving these electrification levels on electricity load patterns, total fossil energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and the evolution of the U.S. power system.« less

The dual economy in long-run development

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

A salient feature of developing economies is the coexistence of a modern commercial sector alongside a traditional subsistence sector—the dual economy. The apparent differences in productivity between sectors imply substantial losses in aggregate productivity. Existing theories of the dual economy rely on exogenous price distortions, and cannot explain why or if these distortions evolve over the course of development. This paper provides a model of the dual economy in which the productivity differences arise endogenously because of a non-separability between the value of market and non-market time in the traditional sector. Incorporating endogenous fertility, the model then demonstrates how a dual economy will originate, persist, and eventually disappear within a unified growth framework. An implication is that traditional sector productivity growth will exacerbate the inefficiencies of a dual economy and produce slower overall growth than will modern sector productivity improvements. PMID:23946556

National Electric Sector Cybersecurity Organization Resource (NESCOR)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

The goal of the National Electric Sector Cybersecurity Organization Resource (NESCOR) project was to address cyber security issues for the electric sector, particularly in the near and mid-term. The following table identifies the strategies from the DOE Roadmap to Achieve Energy Delivery Systems Cybersecurity published in September 2011 that are applicable to the NESCOR project.

Assessment of environmental co-benefits of energy system decarbonisation - the case of UK air quality using Remote Sensing and Model simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobral Mourao, Z.; Konadu, D. D.; Damoah, R.

2016-12-01

The UK has a binding obligation to reduce GHG emission by 80% (based on 1990 levels) by 2050. Meeting this target requires extensive decarbonisation of the UK energy system. Different pathways that achieve this target at the lowest system costs are being explored at different levels of policy and decisions on future energy infrastructure. Whilst benefits of decarbonisation are mainly focused on the impacts on climate change, there are other potential environmental and health impacts such as air-quality. In particular, a decrease in fossil fuel use by directly substituting current systems with low-carbon technologies could lead to significant reductions in the concentrations of SO2, NOX, CO and other atmospheric pollutants. So far, the proposed decarbonisation pathways tend to target the electricity sector first, followed by a transition in transport and heating technologies and use. However, the spatial dimension of where short term changes in the energy sector occur in relation to high density population areas is not taken into account when defining the energy transition strategies. This may lead to limited short-term improvements in air quality within urban areas, where use of fossil fuels for heating and transport is the main contribution to overall atmospheric pollutant levels. It is therefore imperative to explore decarbonisation strategies that prioritise transition in sectors of the energy system that produce immediate improvements in air quality in key regions of the UK. This study aims to use a combination of Remote Sensing observations and atmospheric chemistry/transport modelling approaches to estimate and map the atmospheric pollutants impact of the traditional approach of decarbonising electricity first compared to a slower transition in the electricity sector, but faster change in end use sectors (heating and transport). This would provide an additional standard to compare future energy system pathways beyond the traditional metrics of cost and GHG emissions reductions.

Comparing projections of industrial energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions in long-term energy models

DOE PAGES

Edelenbosch, O. Y.; Kermeli, K.; Crijns-Graus, W.; ...

2017-01-09

The industry sector consumes more energy and emits more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than any other end-use sector. Integrated assessment models (IAMs) and energy system models have been widely used to evaluate climate policy at a global level, and include a representation of industrial energy use. In this study, the projected industrial energy use and accompanying GHG emissions, as well as the model structure of multiple long-term energy models are compared. The models show varying degrees to which energy consumption is decoupled from GDP growth in the future. In all models, the sector remains mostly (>50%) reliant on fossil energymore » through 2100 in a reference scenario (i.e., absent emissions mitigation policies), though there is significant divergence in the projected ability to switch to alternative fuels to mitigate GHG emissions. Among the set analyzed here, the more technologically detailed models tend to have less capacity for switching from fossil fuels to electricity. This highlights the importance of understanding of economy-wide mitigation responses and costs as an area for future improvement. Analyzing industry subsector material and energy use details can improve the ability to interpret results, and provide insight in feasibility of how emissions reduction can be achieved.« less

Global and Regional Evaluation of Energy for Water

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Yaling; Hejazi, Mohamad; Kyle, Page

Despite significant effort to quantify the inter-dependence of the water and energy sectors, global requirements of energy for water (E4W) are still poorly understood, which may result in biases in projections and consequently in water and energy management and policy. This study estimates water-related energy consumption by water source, sector, and process, for 14 global regions from 1973 to 2012. Globally, E4W amounted to 10.2 ± 5 EJ of primary energy consumption in 2010, accounting for 1.2–3% of total global primary energy consumption, of which 58% pertains to surface water, 30% to groundwater, and 12% to non-fresh water, assuming medianmore » energy intensity levels. The sectoral E4W allocation includes municipal (45%), industrial (30%), and agricultural (25%), and main process-level contributions are from source/conveyance (39%), water purification (27%), water distribution (12%) and wastewater treatment (18%). While the USA was the largest E4W consumer from the 1970’s until the 2000’s, the largest consumers at present are the Middle East, India, and China, driven by rapid growth in desalination, groundwater-based irrigation, and industrial and municipal water use, respectively. The improved understanding of global E4W will enable enhanced consistency of both water and energy representations in integrated assessment models.« less

Comparing projections of industrial energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions in long-term energy models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Edelenbosch, O. Y.; Kermeli, K.; Crijns-Graus, W.

The industry sector consumes more energy and emits more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than any other end-use sector. Integrated assessment models (IAMs) and energy system models have been widely used to evaluate climate policy at a global level, and include a representation of industrial energy use. In this study, the projected industrial energy use and accompanying GHG emissions, as well as the model structure of multiple long-term energy models are compared. The models show varying degrees to which energy consumption is decoupled from GDP growth in the future. In all models, the sector remains mostly (>50%) reliant on fossil energymore » through 2100 in a reference scenario (i.e., absent emissions mitigation policies), though there is significant divergence in the projected ability to switch to alternative fuels to mitigate GHG emissions. Among the set analyzed here, the more technologically detailed models tend to have less capacity for switching from fossil fuels to electricity. This highlights the importance of understanding of economy-wide mitigation responses and costs as an area for future improvement. Analyzing industry subsector material and energy use details can improve the ability to interpret results, and provide insight in feasibility of how emissions reduction can be achieved.« less

Which environmental problems get policy attention? Examining energy and agricultural sector policies in Sweden

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Engstroem, Rebecka; Nilsson, Mans; Finnveden, Goeran

2008-05-15

Not all environmental problems get the same level of policy attention. An interesting question is thus why certain aspects receive attention and others do not. This paper studies the level of policy attention given to different environmental aspects in agriculture and energy policy in Sweden and explores empirically some factors that can explain the level of attention. The first step was to explore the link between environmental issue characteristics and the level of policy attention. The level of policy attention was measured through a content analysis of Swedish government bills. The results from the content analysis are clear and stablemore » over the studied time period. In the agriculture sector biodiversity and toxicity are in focus whereas in the energy sector climate change and resources are given the attention. Besides these aspects, the attention is limited. These results were compared with the results from sector-wide environmental assessments of the same sectors. These assessments were based on hybrid input-output analysis and life cycle assessment methodologies. A main finding from the study is that issue importance is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for policy attention. Other explanations are needed to understand which environmental issues get attention in sectoral policy. Our assessment showed that while the level of knowledge does not provide an explanation, the presence of strong and well-organised stakeholders within the sector, with an interest in having a certain issue on the agenda, might be decisive for issue attention. Path dependency and limited attention capacity are other important factors.« less

Assessment of air quality and climate co-benefits of decarbonisation of the UK energy system using remote sensing and model simulations - the case for prioritizing end uses in urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobral Mourao, Zenaida; Konadu, Daniel Dennis; Damoah, Richard; Li, Pei-hao

2017-04-01

The UK has a binding obligation to reduce GHG emission by 80% (based on 1990 levels) by 2050. Meeting this target requires extensive decarbonisation of the UK energy system. Different pathways that achieve this target at the lowest system costs are being explored at different levels of policy and decisions on future energy infrastructure. Whilst benefits of decarbonisation are mainly focused on the impacts on climate change, there are other potential environmental and health impacts such as air-quality. In particular, a decrease in fossil fuel use by directly substituting current systems with low-carbon technologies could lead to significant reductions in the concentrations of SO2, NOX, CO and other atmospheric pollutants. So far, the proposed decarbonisation pathways tend to target the electricity sector first, followed by a transition in transport and heating technologies and use. However, the spatial dimension of where short term changes in the energy sector occur in relation to high density population areas is not taken into account when defining the energy transition strategies. This may lead to limited short-term improvements in air quality within urban areas, where use of fossil fuels for heating and transport is the main contribution to overall atmospheric pollutant levels. It is therefore imperative to explore decarbonisation strategies that prioritise transition in sectors of the energy system that produce immediate improvements in air quality in key regions of the UK. This study aims to use a combination of Remote Sensing observations and atmospheric chemistry/transport modelling approaches to estimate and map the impact on NOx of the traditional approach of decarbonising electricity first compared to a slower transition in the electricity sector, but faster change in the transport sector. This is done by generating a set of alternative energy system pathways with a higher share of zero emissions vehicles in 2030 than the energy system optimization model would choose if the only goal was the 80% GHG emissions reduction. Our overarching goal is to provide an additional standard to compare future energy system pathways beyond the traditional metrics of cost and GHG emissions reductions.

Energy efficiency in the U.S. residential sector: An engineering and economic assessment of opportunities for large energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions reductions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lima de Azevedo, Ines Margarida

Energy efficiency and conservation is a very promising part of a portfolio of the needed strategies to mitigate climate change. Several technologies and energy efficiency measures in the residential sector offer potential for large energy savings. However, while energy efficiency options are currently considered as a means of reducing carbon emissions, there is still large uncertainty about the effect of such measures on overall carbon savings. The first part of this thesis provides a national assessment of the energy efficiency potential in the residential sector under several different scenarios, which include the perspectives of different economic agents (consumers, utilities, ESCOs, and a society). The scenarios also include maximizing energy, electricity or carbon dioxide savings. The second part of this thesis deals with a detailed assessment of the potential for white-light LEDs for energy and carbon dioxide savings in the U.S. commercial and residential sectors. Solid-state lighting shows great promise as a source of efficient, affordable, color-balanced white light. Indeed, assuming market discount rates, the present work demonstrates that white solid-state lighting already has a lower levelized annual cost (LAC) than incandescent bulbs and that it will be lower than that of the most efficient fluorescent bulbs by the end of this decade. However, a large literature indicates that households do not make their decisions in terms of simple expected economic value. The present analysis shows that incorporating the findings from literature on high implicit discount rates from households when performing decisions towards efficient technologies delays the adoption of white LEDs by a couple of years. After a review of the technology, the present work compares the electricity consumption, carbon emissions and cost-effectiveness of current lighting technologies, when accounting for expected performance evolution through 2015. Simulations of lighting electricity consumption and implicit greenhouse gases emissions for the U.S. residential and commercial sectors through 2015 under different policy scenarios (voluntary solid-state lighting adoption, implementation of lighting standards in new construction and rebate programs or equivalent subsidies) are also included.

U.S. energy sector impacts of technology innovation, fuel price, and electric sector CO 2 policy: Results from the EMF 32 model intercomparison study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hodson, Elke L.; Brown, Maxwell; Cohen, Stuart

We study the impact of achieving technology innovation goals, representing significant technology cost reductions and performance improvements, in both the electric power and end-use sectors by comparing outputs from four energy-economic models through the year 2050. We harmonize model input assumptions and then compare results in scenarios that vary natural gas prices, technology cost and performance metrics, and the implementation of a representative national electricity sector carbon dioxide (CO 2) policy. Achieving the representative technology innovation goals decreases CO 2 emissions in all models, regardless of natural gas price, due to increased energy efficiency and low-carbon generation becoming more costmore » competitive. For the models that include domestic natural gas markets, achieving the technology innovation goals lowers wholesale electricity prices, but this effect diminishes as projected natural gas prices increase. Higher natural gas prices lead to higher wholesale electricity prices but fewer coal capacity retirements. Some of the models include energy efficiency improvements as part of achieving the high-technology goals. Absent these energy efficiency improvements, low-cost electricity facilitates greater electricity consumption. The effect of implementing a representative electricity sector CO 2 policy differs considerably depending on the cost and performance of generating and end-use technologies. The CO 2 policy influences electric sector evolution in the cases with reference technology assumptions but has little to no influence in the cases that achieve the technology innovation goals. This outcome implies that meeting the representative technology innovation goals achieves a generation mix with similar CO 2 emissions to the representative CO 2 policy but with smaller increases to wholesale electricity prices. Finally, higher natural gas prices, achieving the representative technology innovation goals, and the combination of the two, increases the amount of renewable generation that is cost-effective to build and operate while slowing the growth of natural-gas fired generation, which is the predominant generation type in 2050 under reference conditions.« less

The Impact of Technological Progress in the Energy Sector on Carbon Emissions: An Empirical Analysis from China

PubMed Central

Jin, Lei; Duan, Keran; Shi, Chunming; Ju, Xianwei

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the relationship between technological progress in the energy sector and carbon emissions based on the Environment Kuznets Curve (EKC) and data from China during the period of 1995–2012. Our study confirms that the situation in China conforms to the EKC hypothesis and presents the inverted U-curve relationship between per capita income and carbon emissions. Furthermore, the inflection point will be reached in at least five years. Then, we use research and development (R & D) investment in the energy industry as the quantitative indicator of its technological progress to test its impact on carbon emissions. Our results show that technological progress in the energy sector contributes to a reduction in carbon emissions with hysteresis. Furthermore, our results show that energy efficiency improvements are also helpful in reducing carbon emissions. However, climate policy and change in industrial structure increase carbon emissions to some extent. Our conclusion demonstrates that currently, China is not achieving economic growth and pollution reduction simultaneously. To further achieve the goal of carbon reduction, the government should increase investment in the energy industry research and improve energy efficiency. PMID:29207562

The Impact of Technological Progress in the Energy Sector on Carbon Emissions: An Empirical Analysis from China.

PubMed

Jin, Lei; Duan, Keran; Shi, Chunming; Ju, Xianwei

2017-12-04

This paper investigates the relationship between technological progress in the energy sector and carbon emissions based on the Environment Kuznets Curve (EKC) and data from China during the period of 1995-2012. Our study confirms that the situation in China conforms to the EKC hypothesis and presents the inverted U-curve relationship between per capita income and carbon emissions. Furthermore, the inflection point will be reached in at least five years. Then, we use research and development (R & D) investment in the energy industry as the quantitative indicator of its technological progress to test its impact on carbon emissions. Our results show that technological progress in the energy sector contributes to a reduction in carbon emissions with hysteresis. Furthermore, our results show that energy efficiency improvements are also helpful in reducing carbon emissions. However, climate policy and change in industrial structure increase carbon emissions to some extent. Our conclusion demonstrates that currently, China is not achieving economic growth and pollution reduction simultaneously. To further achieve the goal of carbon reduction, the government should increase investment in the energy industry research and improve energy efficiency.

Innovation and performance: The case of the upstream petroleum sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persaud, A. C. Jai

This thesis investigates innovation in the upstream crude oil and natural gas sector, a strategic part of the Canadian economy and a vital industry for North American energy trade and security. Significant interest exists in understanding innovation in this sector from a private and public policy perspective. Interest in the sector has intensified recently due to concerns about world oil supply, Canada's oil sands development, and the potential that Canada may become an "energy superpower." The study examines the factors that drive companies involved in exploration, development, and production in the upstream petroleum sector to innovate and the impact of their innovation activities through major technologies on their performance. The thesis focuses on process innovation, which involves the adoption of new or significantly improved production processes, and is distinct from product innovation, which is based on the development and commercialization of a product with improved product characteristics to deliver new services to the consumer. The thesis provides a comprehensive review of the literature and develops an investigative model framework to examine the drivers of innovation and the impact of innovation on performance in the upstream petroleum sector. The research employs a survey questionnaire that was developed to obtain data and information, which was missing in the literature or not publicly available to test key relationships of innovation and performance indicators. In addition to the survey questionnaire, a number of knowledgeable experts in the industry were also interviewed. A total of 68 respondents completed the survey questionnaire, accounting for 40 percent of the firms in the industry. This percentage goes up to over 50 percent when account is taken of extremely small firms who could not fill out the survey. Further, the 68 respondents account for most of the industry revenues, production, and employment. The respondents include most of the key explorers, developers, and producers as well as the owners of the major projects and oil sands developments. Almost all firms in the industry with revenues above $1B with employees above 1000 responded to the survey. As well, many companies have joint project arrangements and farm-in agreements with other companies in the industry. Hence, this survey is considered highly representative of the industry. Industry associations were very helpful in providing advice, and in endorsing the circulation of the questionnaire. The results show that the sector relies more heavily on acquiring advanced machinery and equipment, processes and other external knowledge than on internal R&D. Advanced machinery and equipment includes embedded R&D. 3D and 4D seismic stand out as the most relied upon in exploration, horizontal wells in development activities, and field recovery in production. Increasing productive capacity, reducing costs and reducing environmental impact are the three main drivers of innovation. Collaboration is important to the sector and agreements with competitors and suppliers are ranked as most important. The main reason for collaboration is to gain access to external knowledge. Government tax incentives (e.g., the Scientific Research and Experimental Development) (SR&ED) tax credit and its fiscal framework are important in spurring R&D. Fiscal policies, on the other hand, are more important for acquiring advanced machinery and equipment, advanced processes, and other external knowledge. The study has several broad implications with respect to the application of technologies: (1) Without the adoption of major technologies, costs would have been substantially higher and productive capacity and productivity much lower. This study also contributes to the view that resources should not be treated as a fixed stock but as flow which can be improved. (2) The environment is an important driver of innovation, particularly environmental regulation. Providing the right mix of regulation and leaving firms to undertake innovation may result in favorable impacts. (3) Increasing R&D tax incentives may not necessarily have an increased direct impact on innovation in exploration, development, and production compared to other types of firms in the economy. The innovation impact, however, may be increased indirectly through the acquisition of imbedded R&D. (4) Collaboration among firms and with government can be useful to address specific industry problems. Government's role will continue to be important in developing pre-competitive technologies for achieving public policy goals. (5) Technology can play an important role in Canada becoming an "energy superpower" and, more importantly, a "clean energy superpower" and contributing to energy security in Canada and in the U.S. Discussions with industry officials suggest that water availability, energy availability for oil sands development, skill shortages, and super depletion allowances for CO2 sequestration are important issues and challenges for the industry. These areas warrant investigation. In addition to these issues, this thesis concludes by making suggestions for further research. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

ARPA-E: Accelerating U.S. Energy Innovation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Manser, Joseph S.; Rollin, Joseph A.; Brown, Kristen E.

ARPA-E is charged with addressing the most pressing issues facing the U.S. energy sector today, as well as those projected to impact national energy security in the future. The agency’s mission is clearly elucidated in its authorizing statute:2 “To overcome long-term and high-risk technological barriers in the development of energy technologies.” The three principal thrusts of the agency’s mission are (i) reducing energy imports, (ii) reducing energy-related emissions and greenhouse gases, and (iii) improving energy efficiency in all sectors of the U.S. economy. Meeting these ambitious challenges requires focused, interdisciplinary effort on a national scale that will help ensure themore » United States maintains a competitive lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies.« less

The long-run effects of economic, demographic, and political indices on actual and potential CO2 emissions.

PubMed

Adom, Philip Kofi; Kwakwa, Paul Adjei; Amankwaa, Afua

2018-07-15

This study examines the long-run drivers of potential and actual CO 2 emissions in Ghana, a sub-Saharan Africa country. The use of the former helps address the reverse causality problem and capture the true long-run effects. The Stock-Watson dynamic OLS is used with data from 1970 to 2014. The result shows that potential CO 2 emissions improve model efficiency. Income (except in "other sector") and financial development (except in manufacturing and construction sector) have compelling positive and negative effects on actual and potential CO 2 emissions, respectively. A higher price (oil and electricity) reduces actual and potential CO 2 emissions, but electricity price is more vital in residential, buildings and commercial and public services sector, while oil price is crucial in the transport sector. Democracy lowers actual and potential CO 2 emissions in the aggregate (insignificant) and transport sectors but raises it in the manufacturing and construction sector. The effect is, however, inconsistent for the remaining sectors. Urbanization raises aggregate actual and potential CO 2 emissions, but the effect is inconsistent for the transport sector. The findings have important implications for policy formulation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mission and status of the US Department of Energy's battery energy storage program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, J. E.; Hurwitch, J. W.; Landgrebe, A. R.; Hauser, S. G.

1985-05-01

The mission of the US Department of Energy's battery research program has evolved to reflect the changing conditions of the world energy economy and the national energy policy. The battery energy storage program supports the goals of the National Energy Policy Plan (FY 1984). The goals are to provide an adequate supply of energy at reasonable costs, minimize federal control and involvement in the energy marketplace, promote a balanced and mixed energy resource system, and facilitate technology transfer from the public to the private sector. This paper describes the history of the battery energy storage program and its relevance to the national interest. Potential market applications for battery energy storage are reviewed, and each technology, its goals, and its current technical status are described. The paper concludes by describing the strategy developed to ensure effective technology transfer to the private sector and reviewing past significant accomplishments.

Energy efficiency in California laboratory-type facilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mills, E.; Bell, G.; Sartor, D.

The central aim of this project is to provide knowledge and tools for increasing the energy efficiency and performance of new and existing laboratory-type facilities in California. We approach the task along three avenues: (1) identification of current energy use and savings potential, (2) development of a {ital Design guide for energy- Efficient Research Laboratories}, and (3) development of a research agenda for focused technology development and improving out understanding of the market. Laboratory-type facilities use a considerable amount of energy resources. They are also important to the local and state economy, and energy costs are a factor in themore » overall competitiveness of industries utilizing laboratory-type facilities. Although the potential for energy savings is considerable, improving energy efficiency in laboratory-type facilities is no easy task, and there are many formidable barriers to improving energy efficiency in these specialized facilities. Insufficient motivation for individual stake holders to invest in improving energy efficiency using existing technologies as well as conducting related R&D is indicative of the ``public goods`` nature of the opportunity to achieve energy savings in this sector. Due to demanding environmental control requirements and specialized processes, laboratory-type facilities epitomize the important intersection between energy demands in the buildings sector and the industrial sector. Moreover, given the high importance and value of the activities conducted in laboratory-type facilities, they represent one of the most powerful contexts in which energy efficiency improvements stand to yield abundant non-energy benefits if properly applied.« less

Scale Matters: An Action Plan for Realizing Sector-Wide"Zero-Energy" Performance Goals in Commercial Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Selkowitz, Stephen; Selkowitz, Stephen; Granderson, Jessica

2008-06-16

It is widely accepted that if the United States is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions it must aggressively address energy end use in the building sector. While there have been some notable but modest successes with mandatory and voluntary programs, there have also been puzzling failures to achieve expected savings. Collectively, these programs have not yet reached the majority of the building stock, nor have they yet routinely produced very large savings in individual buildings. Several trends that have the potential to change this are noteworthy: (1) the growing market interest in 'green buildings' and 'sustainable design', (2) the majormore » professional societies (e.g. AIA, ASHRAE) have more aggressively adopted significant improvements in energy efficiency as strategic goals, e.g. targeting 'zero energy', carbon-neutral buildings by 2030. While this vision is widely accepted as desirable, unless there are significant changes to the way buildings are routinely designed, delivered and operated, zero energy buildings will remain a niche phenomenon rather than a sector-wide reality. Toward that end, a public/private coalition including the Alliance to Save Energy, LBNL, AIA, ASHRAE, USGBC and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) are developing an 'action plan' for moving the U.S. commercial building sector towards zero energy performance. It addresses regional action in a national framework; integrated deployment, demonstration and R&D threads; and would focus on measurable, visible performance indicators. This paper outlines this action plan, focusing on the challenge, the key themes, and the strategies and actions leading to substantial reductions in GHG emissions by 2030.« less

Reforming Mexico’s Energy Sector to Enhance Stability

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-27

requirement to reform Mexico’s energy sector. Subsequent analysis demonstrates government ownership of Petroleos Mexico (Pemex) is the fundamental...ownership of Petroleos Mexico (Pemex) is the fundamental destabilizing flaw in regulatory policy, by tracing various problems back to this root cause... Petroleos Mexico (Pemex) is the second largest company in Latin America and the seventh largest producer of oil in the world.1 The government of

Analysis of alternative pathways for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions.

PubMed

Loughlin, Daniel H; Kaufman, Katherine R; Lenox, Carol S; Hubbell, Bryan J

2015-09-01

Strategies for reducing tropospheric ozone (O3) typically include modifying combustion processes to reduce the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and applying control devices that remove NOx from the exhaust gases of power plants, industrial sources and vehicles. For portions of the U.S., these traditional controls may not be sufficient to achieve the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. We apply the MARKet ALlocation (MARKAL) energy system model in a sensitivity analysis to explore whether additional NOx reductions can be achieved through extensive electrification of passenger vehicles, adoption of energy efficiency and conservation measures within buildings, and deployment of wind and solar power in the electric sector. Nationally and for each region of the country, we estimate the NOx implications of these measures. Energy efficiency and renewable electricity are shown to reduce NOx beyond traditional controls. Wide-spread light duty vehicle electrification produces varied results, with NOx increasing in some regions and decreasing in others. However, combining vehicle electrification with renewable electricity reduces NOx in all regions. State governments are charged with developing plans that demonstrate how air quality standards will be met and maintained. The results presented here provide an indication of the national and regional NOx reductions available beyond traditional controls via extensive adoption of energy efficiency, renewable electricity, and vehicle electrification.

Providers' perspectives on inbound medical tourism in Central America and the Caribbean: factors driving and inhibiting sector development and their health equity implications.

PubMed

Johnston, Rory; Crooks, Valorie A; Cerón, Alejandro; Labonté, Ronald; Snyder, Jeremy; Núñez, Emanuel O; Flores, Walter G

2016-01-01

Many governments and health care providers worldwide are enthusiastic to develop medical tourism as a service export. Despite the popularity of this policy uptake, there is relatively little known about the specific local factors prospectively motivating and informing development of this sector. To identify common social, economic, and health system factors shaping the development of medical tourism in three Central American and Caribbean countries and their health equity implications. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Mexico, Guatemala, and Barbados with 150 health system stakeholders. Participants were recruited from private and public sectors working in various fields: trade and economic development, health services delivery, training and administration, and civil society. Transcribed interviews were coded using qualitative data management software, and thematic analysis was used to identify cross-cutting issues regarding the drivers and inhibitors of medical tourism development. Four common drivers of medical tourism development were identified: 1) unused capacity in existing private hospitals, 2) international portability of health insurance, vis-a-vis international hospital accreditation, 3) internationally trained physicians as both marketable assets and industry entrepreneurs, and 4) promotion of medical tourism by public export development corporations. Three common inhibitors for the development of the sector were also identified: 1) the high expense of market entry, 2) poor sector-wide planning, and 3) structural socio-economic issues such as insecurity or relatively high business costs and financial risks. There are shared factors shaping the development of medical tourism in Central America and the Caribbean that help explain why it is being pursued by many hospitals and governments in the region. Development of the sector is primarily being driven by public investment promotion agencies and the private health sector seeking economic benefits with limited consideration and planning for the health equity concerns medical tourism raises.

Providers’ perspectives on inbound medical tourism in Central America and the Caribbean: factors driving and inhibiting sector development and their health equity implications

PubMed Central

Johnston, Rory; Crooks, Valorie A.; Cerón, Alejandro; Labonté, Ronald; Snyder, Jeremy; Núñez, Emanuel O.; Flores, Walter G.

2016-01-01

Background Many governments and health care providers worldwide are enthusiastic to develop medical tourism as a service export. Despite the popularity of this policy uptake, there is relatively little known about the specific local factors prospectively motivating and informing development of this sector. Objective To identify common social, economic, and health system factors shaping the development of medical tourism in three Central American and Caribbean countries and their health equity implications. Design In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Mexico, Guatemala, and Barbados with 150 health system stakeholders. Participants were recruited from private and public sectors working in various fields: trade and economic development, health services delivery, training and administration, and civil society. Transcribed interviews were coded using qualitative data management software, and thematic analysis was used to identify cross-cutting issues regarding the drivers and inhibitors of medical tourism development. Results Four common drivers of medical tourism development were identified: 1) unused capacity in existing private hospitals, 2) international portability of health insurance, vis-a-vis international hospital accreditation, 3) internationally trained physicians as both marketable assets and industry entrepreneurs, and 4) promotion of medical tourism by public export development corporations. Three common inhibitors for the development of the sector were also identified: 1) the high expense of market entry, 2) poor sector-wide planning, and 3) structural socio-economic issues such as insecurity or relatively high business costs and financial risks. Conclusion There are shared factors shaping the development of medical tourism in Central America and the Caribbean that help explain why it is being pursued by many hospitals and governments in the region. Development of the sector is primarily being driven by public investment promotion agencies and the private health sector seeking economic benefits with limited consideration and planning for the health equity concerns medical tourism raises. PMID:27876457

On the climate policy implications of substitutability and flexibility in the economy: An in-depth integrated assessment model diagnostic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Craxton, Melanie; Merrick, James; Makridis, Christos

This paper conducts an in-depth model diagnostic exercise for two parameters, 1) the elasticity of substitution between the capital/labour aggregate and the energy aggregate in the Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) MERGE's production function and 2) the rate at which new technologies can be deployed within the energy system. We show that in a more complementary world the model's ability to adjust the carbon intensity of its energy sector is more important whereas in a more substitutable world the ability to expand carbon free technologies is of lesser relative importance. The uncertainty in the literature surrounding the elasticity of substitution parameter,more » its interaction with the mechanisms of technical change, and the associated danger of grounding forward-looking analyses in historically based parameters lend support to the importance of such a diagnostic exercise. Building on work from model intercomparison studies, we investigate whether a given model's choice of strategy is primarily a function of the choice of its parameter values or its structure. As a result, a deeper understanding of what drives model behaviour is beneficial to both modellers and the policymakers who utilise their insights and output.« less

Historical carbon footprinting and implications for sustainability planning: a case study of the Pittsburgh region.

PubMed

Hoesly, Rachel; Blackhurst, Mike; Matthews, H Scott; Miller, Jeffrey F; Maples, Amy; Pettit, Matthew; Izard, Catherine; Fischbeck, Paul

2012-04-17

This study estimates fossil-based CO(2) emissions and energy use from 1900-2000 for Allegheny County, PA. Total energy use and emissions increased from 1900 to 1970, reflecting the significant industrial, economic, and population growth that occurred in Allegheny County. From 1970 to 2000, Allegheny County experienced a 30% decrease in total emissions and energy use from peak values, primarily because of a decline in industrial activity (40% decrease in value added) and the loss of a quarter of its population. Despite these dramatic economic and demographic transitions, per capita emissions remained stable from 1970 to 2000, buoyed by relatively stable or slightly increasing emissions in the commercial and transportation sectors. Allegheny County's history suggests the scale of change needed to achieve local emissions reductions may be significant; given years of major technological, economic, and demographic changes, per capita emissions in 1940 were nearly the same in 2000. Most local governments are planning emissions reductions rates that exceed 1% per year, which deviate significantly from historical trends. Our results suggest additional resources and improved planning paradigms are likely necessary to achieve significant emissions reductions, especially for areas where emissions are still increasing.

Climate impacts of oil extraction increase significantly with oilfield age

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masnadi, Mohammad S.; Brandt, Adam R.

2017-08-01

Record-breaking temperatures have induced governments to implement targets for reducing future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Use of oil products contributes ~35% of global GHG emissions, and the oil industry itself consumes 3-4% of global primary energy. Because oil resources are becoming increasingly heterogeneous, requiring different extraction and processing methods, GHG studies should evaluate oil sources using detailed project-specific data. Unfortunately, prior oil-sector GHG analysis has largely neglected the fact that the energy intensity of producing oil can change significantly over the life of a particular oil project. Here we use decades-long time-series data from twenty-five globally significant oil fields (>1 billion barrels ultimate recovery) to model GHG emissions from oil production as a function of time. We find that volumetric oil production declines with depletion, but this depletion is accompanied by significant growth--in some cases over tenfold--in per-MJ GHG emissions. Depletion requires increased energy expenditures in drilling, oil recovery, and oil processing. Using probabilistic simulation, we derive a relationship for estimating GHG increases over time, showing an expected doubling in average emissions over 25 years. These trends have implications for long-term emissions and climate modelling, as well as for climate policy.

Understanding future emissions from low-carbon power systems by integration of life-cycle assessment and integrated energy modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pehl, Michaja; Arvesen, Anders; Humpenöder, Florian; Popp, Alexander; Hertwich, Edgar G.; Luderer, Gunnar

2017-12-01

Both fossil-fuel and non-fossil-fuel power technologies induce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to their embodied energy requirements for construction and operation, and upstream CH4 emissions. Here, we integrate prospective life-cycle assessment with global integrated energy-economy-land-use-climate modelling to explore life-cycle emissions of future low-carbon power supply systems and implications for technology choice. Future per-unit life-cycle emissions differ substantially across technologies. For a climate protection scenario, we project life-cycle emissions from fossil fuel carbon capture and sequestration plants of 78-110 gCO2eq kWh-1, compared with 3.5-12 gCO2eq kWh-1 for nuclear, wind and solar power for 2050. Life-cycle emissions from hydropower and bioenergy are substantial (˜100 gCO2eq kWh-1), but highly uncertain. We find that cumulative emissions attributable to upscaling low-carbon power other than hydropower are small compared with direct sectoral fossil fuel emissions and the total carbon budget. Fully considering life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions has only modest effects on the scale and structure of power production in cost-optimal mitigation scenarios.

On the climate policy implications of substitutability and flexibility in the economy: An in-depth integrated assessment model diagnostic

DOE PAGES

Craxton, Melanie; Merrick, James; Makridis, Christos; ...

2017-07-12

This paper conducts an in-depth model diagnostic exercise for two parameters, 1) the elasticity of substitution between the capital/labour aggregate and the energy aggregate in the Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) MERGE's production function and 2) the rate at which new technologies can be deployed within the energy system. We show that in a more complementary world the model's ability to adjust the carbon intensity of its energy sector is more important whereas in a more substitutable world the ability to expand carbon free technologies is of lesser relative importance. The uncertainty in the literature surrounding the elasticity of substitution parameter,more » its interaction with the mechanisms of technical change, and the associated danger of grounding forward-looking analyses in historically based parameters lend support to the importance of such a diagnostic exercise. Building on work from model intercomparison studies, we investigate whether a given model's choice of strategy is primarily a function of the choice of its parameter values or its structure. As a result, a deeper understanding of what drives model behaviour is beneficial to both modellers and the policymakers who utilise their insights and output.« less

Photovoltaic technology for sustainability: An investigation of the distributed utility concept as a policy framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Letendre, Steven Emery

The U.S. electric utility sector in its current configuration is unsustainable. The majority of electricity in the United States is produced using finite fossil fuels. In addition, significant potential exists to improve the nation's efficient use of energy. A sustainable electric utility sector will be characterized by increased use of renewable energy sources and high levels of end-use efficiency. This dissertation analyzes two alternative policy approaches designed to move the U.S. electric utility sector toward sustainability. One approach is labeled incremental which involves maintaining the centralized structure of the electric utility sector but facilitating the introduction of renewable energy and efficiency into the electrical system through the pricing mechanism. A second policy approach was described in which structural changes are encouraged based on the emerging distributed utility (DU) concept. A structural policy orientation attempts to capture the unique localized benefits that distributed renewable resources and energy efficiency offer to electric utility companies and their customers. A market penetration analysis of PV in centralized energy supply and distributed peak-shaving applications is conducted for a case-study electric utility company. Sensitivity analysis was performed based on incremental and structural policy orientations. The analysis provides compelling evidence which suggests that policies designed to bring about structural change in the electric utility sector are needed to move the industry toward sustainability. Specifically, the analysis demonstrates that PV technology, a key renewable energy option likely to play an important role in a renewable energy future, will begin to penetrate the electrical system in distributed peak-shaving applications long before the technology is introduced as a centralized energy supply option. Most policies to date, which I term incremental, attempt to encourage energy efficiency and renewables through the pricing system. Based on past policy experience, it is unlikely that such an approach would allow PV to compete in Delaware as an energy supply option in the next ten to twenty years. Alternatively, a market-based, or green pricing, approach will not create significant market opportunities for PV as a centralized energy supply option. However, structural policies designed to encourage the explicit recognition of the localized benefits of distributed resources could result in PV being introduced into the electrical system early in the next century.

Economic input-output life-cycle assessment of trade between Canada and the United States.

PubMed

Norman, Jonathan; Charpentier, Alex D; MacLean, Heather L

2007-03-01

With increasing trade liberalization, attempts at accounting for environmental impacts and energy use across the manufacturing supply chain are complicated by the predominance of internationally supplied resources and products. This is particularly true for Canada and the United States, the world's largest trading partners. We use an economic input-output life-cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) technique to estimate the economy-wide energy intensity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity for 45 manufacturing and resource sectors in Canada and the United States. Overall, we find that U.S. manufacturing and resource industries are about 1.15 times as energy-intensive and 1.3 times as GHG-intensive as Canadian industries, with significant sector-specific discrepancies in energy and GHG intensity. This trend is mainly due to a greater direct reliance on fossil fuels for many U.S. industries, in addition to a highly fossil-fuel based electricity mix in the U.S. To account for these differences, we develop a 76 sector binational EIO-LCA model that implicitly considers trade in goods between Canada and the U.S. Our findings show that accounting for trade can significantly alter the results of life-cycle assessment studies, particularly for many Canadian manufacturing sectors, and the production/consumption of goods in one country often exerts significant energy- and GHG-influences on the other.

Exploring the public-private and company size differences in employees' work characteristics and burnout: data analysis of a nationwide survey in Taiwan.

PubMed

Yeh, Wan-Yu; Yeh, Ching-Ying; Chen, Chiou-Jong

2018-05-15

Distinct differences exist between public-private sector organizations with respect to the market environment and operational objectives; furthermore, among private sector businesses, organizational structures and work conditions often vary between large- and small-sized companies. Despite these obvious structural distinctions, however, sectoral differences in employees' psychosocial risks and burnout status in national level have rarely been systematically investigated. Based on 2013 national employee survey data, 15,000 full-time employees were studied. Sector types were classified into "public," "private enterprise-large (LE)," and "private enterprise-small and medium (SME);" based on the definition of SMEs by Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the associations of sector types with self-reported burnout status (measured by the Chinese version of Copenhagen Burnout Inventory) were examined, taking into account other work characteristics and job instability indicators. Significantly longer working hours and higher perceived job insecurity were found among private sector employees than their public sector counterparts. With further consideration of company size, greater dissatisfaction of job control and career prospect were found among SME employees than the other two sector type workers. This study explores the pattern of public-private differences in work conditions and employees' stress-related problems to have policy implications for supporting mechanism for disadvantaged workers in private sectors.

Study of the possibilities of more rational use of energy in the sector of trade and commerce, part 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebersbach, K. F.; Fischer, A.; Layer, G.; Steinberger, W.; Wegner, M.; Wiesner, B.

1982-07-01

The energy demand in the sector of trade and commerce was registered and analyzed. Measures to improve the energy demand structure are presented. In several typical firms like hotels, office buildings, locksmith's shops, motor vehicle repair shops, butcher's shops, laundries and bakeries, detailed surveys of energy consumption were done and included in a statistic evaluation. Subjects analyzed were: development of the energy supply; technology of energy application; final energy demand broken down into demand for light, power, space heating and process heat as well as the demand for cooling; daily and annual load curves of energy consumption and their dependence on various parameters; and measures to improve the structure of energy demand. Detailed measurement points out negligences in the surveyed firms and shows possibilities for likely energy savings. In addition, standard values for specific energy consumption are obtained.

Industrial Energy Efficiency Practices in Indonesia: Lesson Learned from Astra Green Energy (AGen) Award

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Telaga, A. S.; Hartanto, I. D.

2017-03-01

Many countries have used award system to promote energy efficiency practices in industry. The award system has been found to have significant impact to increase energy conservation and sustainability adoption in companies. Astra International (AI) as a holding company of more than 200 companies also organised Astra green energy (AGen) award to all affiliated companies (AFFCO) in Astra group. The event has been used to share energy efficiency best practices among AFFCO in Astra group. AFFCOs of Astra International are among the biggest and the leader in their industrial sectors Therefore, analyses from AFFO’s energy efficiency case studies represents current practices in Indonesia industrial sectors. Analyses are divided into industry, building, and renewable energy. The results from analyses found that AFFCOs already aware of energy conservation and have implemented projects to promote energy efficiency. However, the AFFCOs do not optimally use monitoring data for energy reduction.

An Implication of Health Sector Reform for Disadvantaged Women's Struggle for Birth Control: A Case of Kurdish Rural-Urban Migrant Women in Van, Turkey.

PubMed

Him, Miki Suzuki; Hoşgör, Ayşe Gündüz

2015-09-01

In this article, we examine how socioeconomically disadvantaged women are affected by health sector reform and family planning policy changes in Turkey through a case study of Kurdish women's struggles for birth control. In Turkey, a family planning program became relatively marginalized in primary health care services as a result of health sector reform as well as a shift of population policy toward a moderately pronatal approach. We argue that an emerging health care system would leave disadvantaged women unable to benefit from contraceptives and would perpetuate reproductive health inequalities between women in the country.

Ecuador Country Analysis Brief

EIA Publications

2015-01-01

In Ecuador, the oil sector accounts for more than half of the country's export earnings and approximately two-fifths of public sector revenues. Resource nationalism and debates about the economic, strategic, and environmental implications of oil sector development are prominent issues in the politics of Ecuador and the policies of its government. Ecuador is the smallest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and it produced 556,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) of petroleum and other liquids in 2014, of which crude oil production was 555,000 bbl/d. A lack of sufficient domestic refining capacity to meet local demand has forced Ecuador to import refined products, limiting net oil revenue.

Workplace romance in the public sector: sex differences in reactions to the Clinton-Lewinsky affair.

PubMed

Powell, G N

2000-12-01

This study examined reactions of part-time MBA students (n = 199) and undergraduate business students (n = 220) to the affair involving U.S. President Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky prior to Clinton's impeachment by the House of Representatives. Consistent with research on attitudes toward workplace romance in the private sector, women believed that this affair occurring in the public sector represented a more serious problem for the nation and more than men were inclined to prefer that some type of action, e.g., resignation or impeachment, be taken. Implications of the results are discussed.

Policy directions in urban health in developing countries--the slum improvement approach.

PubMed

Harpham, T; Stephens, C

1992-07-01

The urban development, or housing, sector has a longer experience of addressing the problems of the urban poor in developing countries than the health sector. In recent years the policy of 'slum improvement', which involves both sectors, has attracted the support of international donors. This article documents the development of the slum improvement approach and addresses key issues of the approach which have implications for health planning: covering the poorest dwellers; relocation; land tenure; gentrification; debt burdens and the impact on women. Questions about the approach which still need answering are defined and a summary of the constraints in slum improvement and potential solutions is presented.

Shoreline changes at the mouths of the Mekong River delta over the last 50 years: fluctuating sediment supply and shoreline cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anthony, E.; Besset, M.; Brunier, G.; Dussouillez, P.; Dolique, F.; Nguyen, V. L.; Goichot, M.

2014-12-01

River delta shorelines may be characterized by complex patterns of sediment transport and sequestering at various timescales in response to changes in sediment supply, hydrodynamic conditions, and deltaic self-organization. While being good indicators of delta stability, these changes also have important coastal management and defence implications. These aspects are examined with reference to the mouths of the Mekong River delta, the world's third largest delta, backbone of the Vietnamese economy and home to nearly 20 million people. We conducted an analysis of shoreline fluctuations over the last five decades using low-resolution Landsat (1973-2014), very high-resolution SPOT 5 (2003-2011) satellite imagery, topographic maps (1950, 1965), and field hydrodynamic and shoreline topographic measurements. The results show that the 250 km-long river-mouth sector of the delta shoreline has been characterized by overall accretion but with marked temporal and spatial variations. The temporal pattern is attributed to fluctuations in sediment supply due to both human activities and natural variations in catchment sediment loads (e.g., 2000-2003), and natural adjustments in delta-plain sediment storage and delivery to the coast. The spatial pattern is indicative of discrete sediment cells that may be a response to an overall decreasing sand supply, especially since 2003, following increasingly massive riverbed mining with concomitant losses in channel-bed sand. Field measurements show the prevalence of mesotidal bar-trough beaches characterized by sand migration to the southwest in response to energetic dry-season monsoon waves. Beaches underfed as a result of both wave-energy gradients and possible diminishing sand supply from the adjacent river mouths are eroded to feed accreting beaches. Understanding this cell pattern has important implications in terms of: (1) interpreting past patterns of shoreline translation involved in the construction of successive beach ridges that characterise the prograding mouths sector of the Mekong; (2) linking shoreline stability/instability with coastal sand supply by the Mekong River and the impacts of human activities on this supply; (3) shoreline management and defence planning in the critical sandy river-mouth sector of this densely populated delta.

Annual Technology Baseline and Standard Scenarios | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov Websites

electric sector analysis in the United States. NREL analysts consistently apply the products of this work Scenarios Annual Report and A U.S. Electric Sector Outlook - This annual report presents an outlook of the U.S. electricity sector based on a suite of standard scenarios with their associated assumptions

India Energy Outlook: End Use Demand in India to 2020

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

de la Rue du Can, Stephane; McNeil, Michael; Sathaye, Jayant

Integrated economic models have been used to project both baseline and mitigation greenhouse gas emissions scenarios at the country and the global level. Results of these scenarios are typically presented at the sectoral level such as industry, transport, and buildings without further disaggregation. Recently, a keen interest has emerged on constructing bottom up scenarios where technical energy saving potentials can be displayed in detail (IEA, 2006b; IPCC, 2007; McKinsey, 2007). Analysts interested in particular technologies and policies, require detailed information to understand specific mitigation options in relation to business-as-usual trends. However, the limit of information available for developing countries oftenmore » poses a problem. In this report, we have focus on analyzing energy use in India in greater detail. Results shown for the residential and transport sectors are taken from a previous report (de la Rue du Can, 2008). A complete picture of energy use with disaggregated levels is drawn to understand how energy is used in India and to offer the possibility to put in perspective the different sources of end use energy consumption. For each sector, drivers of energy and technology are indentified. Trends are then analyzed and used to project future growth. Results of this report provide valuable inputs to the elaboration of realistic energy efficiency scenarios.« less

Development of renewable energy in China: Studying the experience and making recommendations for Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lanshina, T. A.; Kulakov, A. V.

2017-07-01

The article reviews a state policy of China, due to which the country has managed to develop the world's largest sector of renewable energy sources (RES). Basic aspects of the formation and development of a comprehensive system of state support for the sector, i.e., the creation of scientific and technological advancement, stimulation of renewable energy equipment manufacturing, and support for RES electricity generation, are studied. Key programs implemented in specific stages are analyzed. Considerable attention is paid to the role and characteristics of foreign technology transfers. The dynamics of China's RES sector and the results of its rapid growth with the active participation of the state are researched. On the basis of the analysis, it is concluded that, in general, China's experience in development of RES is successful. Using the example of China, it is safe to say that, in the presence of a balanced state policy, a country is able to create in a decade a strong renewable energy equipment industry and to become a leader in the area of RES electricity generation. Specific features and main problems of the Russian RES sector are considered. On the basis of China's experience, recommendations for improving the state policy in RES are made for Russia. According to the authors, first of all, a sharp increase in state support for scientific research and development (R&D), pilot and demonstration projects, recognition of RES as a part of the fuel and energy sector at all tiers of authority, guarantees of state support for RES in the long run, ensuring access to long-term funds, and the creation of state programs supporting households participation in the distributed power generation are needed.

The Changing Nature and Patterns of Work and Implications for VET. Review of Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waterhouse, Peter; Wilson, Bruce; Ewer, Peter

An overview of recent literature on changes in the nature and patterns of work and their implications for vocational education and training (VET) is offered. Changes in the nature and patterns of work present significant challenges to the VET sector. More women have entered the work force; unemployment has reemerged as a significant factor;…

The Department of Defense energy vulnerabilities: Potential problems and observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freiwald, D. A.; Berger, M. E.; Roach, J. F.

1982-08-01

The Department of Defense is almost entirely dependent on civilian energy supplies to meet its needs in both peacetime and periods of heightened conflict. There are a number of potential vulnerabilities to the continual and timely supply of energy to both the civilian and military sectors. These include denial of the energy resources themselves, disruption of critical transportation networks, destruction of storage facilities, and interruption of electrical power. This report briefly reviews the present situation for provision of energy from the civilian sector to the military. General vulnerabilities of the existing energy supply system are identified, along with the potential for armed aggression (including terrorist and sabotage activities) against the energy network. Conclusions and some tentative observations are made as to a proper response to the existing vulnerabilities.

Raising Public Awareness: The Role of the Household Sector in Mitigating Climate Change

PubMed Central

Lin, Shis-Ping

2015-01-01

In addition to greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial, transportation and commercial sectors, emissions from the household sector also contribute to global warming. By examining residents of Taiwan (N = 236), this study aims to reveal the factors that influence households’ intention to purchase energy-efficient appliances. The assessment in this study is based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and perceived benefit or cost (BOC) is introduced as an independent variable in the proposed efficiency action toward climate change (ECC) model. According to structural equation modeling, most of the indicators presented a good fit to the corresponding ECC model constructs. The analysis indicated that BOC is a good complementary variable to the TPB, as the ECC model explained 61.9% of the variation in intention to purchase energy-efficient appliances, which was higher than that explained by the TPB (58.4%). This result indicates that the ECC model is superior to the TPB. Thus, the strategy of promoting energy-efficient appliances in the household sector should emphasize global warming and include the concept of BOC. PMID:26492262

Raising Public Awareness: The Role of the Household Sector in Mitigating Climate Change.

PubMed

Lin, Shis-Ping

2015-10-20

In addition to greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial, transportation and commercial sectors, emissions from the household sector also contribute to global warming. By examining residents of Taiwan (N = 236), this study aims to reveal the factors that influence households' intention to purchase energy-efficient appliances. The assessment in this study is based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and perceived benefit or cost (BOC) is introduced as an independent variable in the proposed efficiency action toward climate change (ECC) model. According to structural equation modeling, most of the indicators presented a good fit to the corresponding ECC model constructs. The analysis indicated that BOC is a good complementary variable to the TPB, as the ECC model explained 61.9% of the variation in intention to purchase energy-efficient appliances, which was higher than that explained by the TPB (58.4%). This result indicates that the ECC model is superior to the TPB. Thus, the strategy of promoting energy-efficient appliances in the household sector should emphasize global warming and include the concept of BOC.

Sectoral output, energy use, and CO2 emission in middle-income countries.

PubMed

Sohag, Kazi; Al Mamun, Md; Uddin, Gazi Salah; Ahmed, Ali M

2017-04-01

Middle-income countries are currently undergoing massive structural changes towards more industrialized economies. In this paper, we carefully examine the impact of these transformations on the environmental quality of middle-income countries. Specifically, we examine the role of sector value addition to GDP on CO 2 emission nexus for middle-income economies controlling for the effects of population growth, energy use, and trade openness. Using recently developed panel methods that consider cross-sectional dependence and allow for heterogeneous slope coefficients, we show that energy use and growth of industrial and service sectors positively explain CO 2 emissions in middle-income economies. We also find that population growth is insignificantly associated with CO 2 emission. Hence, our paper provides a solid ground for developing a sustainable and pro-growth policy for middle-income countries.

Federal/State Jurisdictional Split: Implications for Emerging Electricity Technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dennis, Jeffery S.; Kelly, Suedeen G.; Nordhaus, Robert R.

The first Administration-wide Quadrennial Energy Review (QER), released in April 2015, found that the “interacting and overlapping” division of authority between “federal, regional and state institutions and regulatory structures” for the electricity sector could “impede development of the grid of the future [and] . . . the development of markets that efficiently integrate” new and emerging technologies.1 While “technology is indifferent to state-Federal boundaries and jurisdictions,” the QER explained, “technology users cannot be.”2 The report concluded that “[b]oth Federal and state governments need to play constructive and collaborative roles in the future to ensure that consumers and industry are ablemore » to maximize the value of new technologies.”3 The QER recommended that the Department of Energy (“DOE”) facilitate such collaboration by playing a “convening role” to bring together state and federal regulators and other stakeholders to consider these issues.4 This paper provides background and analysis on these jurisdictional issues and the impact they may have on adoption of emerging energy technologies and coordination of markets for those technologies, in support of future dialogs on these subjects. In particular, this paper reviews the structure of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”),5 and compares the division of authority between the federal and state governments adopted there with other federal energy and energy-related statutes.« less

How energy conversion drives economic growth far from the equilibrium of neoclassical economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kümmel, Reiner; Lindenberger, Dietmar

2014-12-01

Energy conversion in the machines and information processors of the capital stock drives the growth of modern economies. This is exemplified for Germany, Japan, and the USA during the second half of the 20th century: econometric analyses reveal that the output elasticity, i.e. the economic weight, of energy is much larger than energy's share in total factor cost, while for labor just the opposite is true. This is at variance with mainstream economic theory according to which an economy should operate in the neoclassical equilibrium, where output elasticities equal factor cost shares. The standard derivation of the neoclassical equilibrium from the maximization of profit or of time-integrated utility disregards technological constraints. We show that the inclusion of these constraints in our nonlinear-optimization calculus results in equilibrium conditions, where generalized shadow prices destroy the equality of output elasticities and cost shares. Consequently, at the prices of capital, labor, and energy we have known so far, industrial economies have evolved far from the neoclassical equilibrium. This is illustrated by the example of the German industrial sector evolving on the mountain of factor costs before and during the first and the second oil price explosion. It indicates the influence of the ‘virtually binding’ technological constraints on entrepreneurial decisions, and the existence of ‘soft constraints’ as well. Implications for employment and future economic growth are discussed.

Modeling the impact of transport energy consumption on CO2 emission in Pakistan: Evidence from ARDL approach.

PubMed

Danish; Baloch, Muhammad Awais; Suad, Shah

2018-04-01

The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between transport energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon dioxide emission (CO 2 ) from transport sector incorporating foreign direct investment and urbanization. This study is carried out in Pakistan by applying autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) and vector error correction model (VECM) over 1990-2015. The empirical results indicate a strong significant impact of transport energy consumption on CO 2 emissions from the transportation sector. Furthermore, foreign direct investment also contributes to CO 2 emission. Interestingly, the impact of economic growth and urbanization on transport CO 2 emission is statistically insignificant. Overall, transport energy consumption and foreign direct investment are not environmentally friendly. The new empirical evidence from this study provides a complete picture of the determinants of emissions from the transport sector and these novel findings not only help to advance the existing literature but also can be of special interest to the country's policymakers. So, we urge that government needs to focus on promoting the energy efficient means of transportation to improve environmental quality with less adverse influence on economic growth.

Generation and Use of Thermal Energy in the Industrial Sector and Opportunities to Reduce its Carbon Emissions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McMillan, Colin; Boardman, Richard; McKellar, Michael

Changes are occurring throughout the U.S. economy, especially in regard to how energy is generated and used in the electricity, buildings, industrial, and transportation sectors. These changes are being driven by environmental and energy security concerns and by economics. The electric-sector market share of natural gas and variable renewable generation, such as wind and solar photovoltaics (PV), continues to grow. The buildings sector is evolving to meet efficiency standards, the transportation sector is evolving to meet efficiency and renewable fuels standards, and the industrial sector is evolving to reduce emissions. Those changes are driving investment and utilization strategies for generationmore » and other assets. Nuclear and renewable energy sources are important to consider in the energy sector’s evolution because both are considered to be clean and non-carbon-emitting energy sources. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are jointly investigating potential synergies between technologies exploiting nuclear and renewable energy sources. The two laboratories have held several joint workshops since 2011. Those workshops brought together experts in both areas to identify synergies and potential opportunities to work together. Workshop participants identified nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems (N-R HESs) as one of the opportunities and recommended investigating whether N-R HESs could both generate dispatchable electricity without carbon emissions and provide clean energy to industrial processes. They also recommended analyzing the potential for N-R HESs to provide dispatchable capacity to a grid with high penetrations of non-dispatchable resources and to investigate whether real inertia provided by thermal power cycles within N-R HESs provides value to the grid. This report is one of a series of reports INL and NREL are producing to investigate the technical and economic aspects of N-R HESs. Previous reports focused on tightly coupled N-R HESs. Previously, INL analyzed the dynamic performance of two hypothetical N-R HESs and NREL analyzed the optimal economic configurations and operation of the same two N-R HESs. The first of those two is a Texas-synthetic gasoline scenario that includes four subsystems: a nuclear reactor, thermal power cycle, wind power plant, and synthetic gasoline production technology. The second hypothetical N-R HES is an Arizona-desalination scenario with four subsystems: a nuclear reactor, thermal power cycle, PV, and a desalination plant. INL analyzed the technical performance of the same two N-R HESs in another report. In another report NREL used the Texas-synthetic gasoline scenario provides the basis; however, the industrial process was removed. Instead, that N-R HES sells heat directly to an industrial customer. Subsystems that convert electricity to heat were also included. Future analyses are planned for other N-R HES options including one where hydrogen is produced within an N-R HES. This report quantifies greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the industrial sector and identifies opportunities for non-GHG-emitting thermal energy sources, such as N-R HESs, to replace the most significant GHG-emitting U.S. industries based on targeted, process-level analysis of industrial heat requirements.« less

Air Force Civil Engineer Center Management of Energy Savings Performance Contracts Needs Improvement

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-04

audits on Air Force ESPCs. Background ESPCs provide a way for the private sector to finance Federal Government energy savings projects . ESPC is a...through DoD Instruction23 requires that any funds paid by a DoD Component pursuant to a private-sector- financed energy project be from funds made...Defense F r a u d , W a s t e & A b u s e DODIG-2016-087 ( Project No. D2015-D000CI-0200.00) │ i Results in Brief Air Force Civil Engineer Center

Changing the Future of Obesity: Science, Policy and Action

PubMed Central

Gortmaker, Steven L; Swinburn, Boyd; Levy, David; Carter, Rob; Mabry, Patricia L.; Finegood, Diane; Huang, Terry; Marsh, Tim; Moodie, Marj

2011-01-01

The global obesity epidemic has been on the rise for four decades, yet sustained prevention efforts have barely begun. An emerging science using quantitative models has provided key insights into the dynamics of this epidemic, and made it possible to combine different pieces of evidence and calculate the impact of behaviors, interventions and policies at multiple levels – from person to population. Forecasts indicate large effects of high levels of obesity on future population health and economic outcomes. Energy gap models have quantified the relationships of changes in energy intake and expenditure to weight change, and documented the dominant role of increasing intake on obesity prevalence. The empirical evidence base for effective interventions is limited but growing. Several cost-effective policies are identified that governments should prioritize for implementation. Systems science provides a framework for organizing the complexity of forces driving the obesity epidemic and has important implications for policy-makers. Multiple players (including governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society) need to contribute complementary actions in a coordinated approach. Priority actions include policies to improve the food and built environments, cross-cutting actions (such as leadership, health-in-all policies, and monitoring), and much greater funding for prevention programs. Increased investment in population obesity monitoring would improve the accuracy of forecasts and evaluations. Embedding actions within existing systems in both health and non-health sectors (trade, agriculture, transport, urban planning, development) can greatly increase impact and sustainability. We call for a sustained worldwide effort to monitor, prevent and control obesity. PMID:21872752

Recent climatic change, greenhouse gas emissions and future climate: The implications for India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, P. Govinda; Kelly, P. M.; Hulme, M.

1996-03-01

In this paper, we discuss past climatic trends over India, greenhouse gas emissions due to energy consumption, forest and land-use changes, climate change scenarios for the year 2050, potential consequences for agriculture and cyclone activity and the possibility that India might limit the increasing trend in its emissions. India's mean surface air temperature has increased significantly by about 0.4°C over the past ccntury. Neither monsoon nor annual rainfall shows any significant trend. On average, there has been a rise in sea levels around India over recent decades, though considerable uncertainties exist in the accuracy and interpretation of the available data. Carbon emissions from the energy sector amount to 71 MT a year, equivalent to all other sectors combined. From land-use data, a marginal net sequestration of 5.25 million tonnes of carbon occurred during 1986. Following the IPCC guidelines, methane emissions from rice and livestock are estimated at 17.4 and 12.8 Tg/year, respectively. According to recent climate model projections, India may experience a further rise in temperature of 1 °C by the year 2050, about four times the rate of warming experienced over the past 100 years. A modest increase in precipitation amounts might occur. Cereals production is estimated to decrease and the nutrition security of the population-rich but land-hungry region of India might be hampered. An increase in local tropical cyclone activity may occur over thc next century, posing added problems as large areas in the coastal regions have a dense population. About 70% of the electricity generation in India is from coal-based power stations. Altering this dependence significantly to reduce emissions would imply a substantial change in the present energy policy of India. There is great potential for improving energy efficiency and conservation. The adoption of cleaner coal-technologies should be considered, as must the development of renewable, non-conventional energy sources. In all cases, serious institulional barriers and resource limitations need to be addressed. The scope for carbon sequestration is limiled by land availabilily and other factors. It is argued that any response to global warming must be located firmly in the framework of sustainable development.

Analysis of Final Energy Consumption Patterns in 10 Arab Countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Hinti, I.; Al-Ghandoor, A.

2009-08-01

This study presents an analysis of the energy consumption patterns in 10 Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria. Commonalities and variations between these countries are discussed and explained through key economic and energy indicators, and the relationship between the overall final energy consumption per capita and the GDP per capita is examined. The distribution of the final energy consumption across different sectors is also analysed, and the patterns of consumption in the industrial, transportation, and residential sectors are discussed with focus on the types of energy consumed, and the main drivers of this consumption. The findings and the conclusions of this study are believed to be beneficial to the national energy policy planners in identifying possible strengths, weaknesses, and areas of emphasis and improvement in their strategic energy plans.

Incorporating environmental concerns into power sector decision-making: A case study of Sri Lanka. World Bank Environment Paper 6

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meier, P.; Munasinghe, M.; Team, S.L.S.

1994-04-01

Weighs Sri Lanka`s options for addressing environmental concerns during the planning stages of energy policymaking. Here is a holistic approach to analyzing the environmental impact of various power systems. Unlike standard impact studies that begin at the project level, this method calls for environmental assessments that start at the planning stage of a national framework for energy policymaking. The framework would take into account the energy needs of Sri Lanka`s total economy. It also would make it easier to incorporate environmental goals into power sector decisionmaking at the critical investment stage. Sri Lanka`s development options for the power sector aremore » reviewed in detail. Topics include alternative ways to assess the economic value of a power plant`s impact on biodiversity, human health, and air and water pollution. The study also assesses which energy planning options work best and recommends ways in which the Ceylon Electricity Board can improve its environmental policies.« less

Industrial Control Systems/SCADA systems risk assessment in the energy sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falodun, Babatunde

The energy sector is one of the most critical components of our national infrastructure. It not only provides the electrical power and petroleum required to run day-to-day operations and mechanisms in society, it's also an important element that directly impacts the economy with regard to growth and stability. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) /Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA) are computerized mechanisms, they are both software and hardware that are used to control real time processes and operations in power plants and oil production facilities. A significant attack on these control systems that leads to widespread disruption of energy could result in catastrophic consequences for any major city and even the nation. This research paper explores cyber threats and vulnerabilities faced by ICS/SCADA systems in the energy sector and also highlights possible outcomes of a successful breach. Furthermore, the research underscores mitigation strategies that could be used to prevent and respond to an attack. Keywords: Cybersecurity, SCADA, Cyber Attacks, Threats, Vulnerabilities, Risk Assessment, Dr. Albert Orbinati.

Transportation energy strategy: Project {number_sign}5 of the Hawaii Energy Strategy Development Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-08-01

This study was prepared for the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) as part of the Hawaii Energy Strategy program. Authority and responsibility for energy planning activities, such as the Hawaii Energy Strategy, rests with the State Energy Resources Coordinator, who is the Director of DBEDT. Hawaii Energy Strategy Study No. 5, Transportation Energy Strategy Development, was prepared to: collect and synthesize information on the present and future use of energy in Hawaii`s transportation sector, examine the potential of energy conservation to affect future energy demand; analyze the possibility of satisfying a portion of the state`s futuremore » transportation energy demand through alternative fuels; and recommend a program targeting energy use in the state`s transportation sector to help achieve state goals. The analyses and conclusions of this report should be assessed in relation to the other Hawaii Energy Strategy Studies in developing a comprehensive state energy program. 56 figs., 87 tabs.« less

Cyber Security Audit and Attack Detection Toolkit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peterson, Dale

2012-05-31

This goal of this project was to develop cyber security audit and attack detection tools for industrial control systems (ICS). Digital Bond developed and released a tool named Bandolier that audits ICS components commonly used in the energy sector against an optimal security configuration. The Portaledge Project developed a capability for the PI Historian, the most widely used Historian in the energy sector, to aggregate security events and detect cyber attacks.

Expected benefits of federally-funded thermal energy storage research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spanner, G. E.; Daellenbach, K. K.; Hughes, K. R.; Brown, D. R.; Drost, M. K.

1992-09-01

Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) conducted this study for the Office of Advanced Utility Concepts of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The objective of this study was to develop a series of graphs that depict the long-term benefits of continuing DOE's thermal energy storage (TES) research program in four sectors: building heating, building cooling, utility power production, and transportation. The study was conducted in three steps. The first step was to assess the maximum possible benefits technically achievable in each sector. In some sectors, the maximum benefit was determined by a 'supply side' limitation, and in other sectors, the maximum benefit is determined by a 'demand side' limitation. The second step was to apply economic cost and diffusion models to estimate the benefits that are likely to be achieved by TES under two scenarios: (1) with continuing DOE funding of TES research; and (2) without continued funding. The models all cover the 20-year period from 1990 to 2010. The third step was to prepare graphs that show the maximum technical benefits achievable, the estimated benefits with TES research funding, and the estimated benefits in the absence of TES research funding. The benefits of federally-funded TES research are largely in four areas: displacement of primary energy, displacement of oil and natural gas, reduction in peak electric loads, and emissions reductions.