Showing papers on "Energy policy published in 2010"
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of financial development on energy consumption in a sample of emerging countries was examined using a generalized method of moments estimation technique, and the empirical results showed a positive and statistically significant relationship between financial development and energy consumption when financial development is measured using stock market variables like stock market capitalization to GDP, stock market value traded to GDP and stock market turnover.
952 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the factors that influence energy efficiency and conservation decisions, and the most appropriate policies for their promotion, and argue that specific policies for promoting energy conservation may be required, preferably based on economic instruments or on the provision of information to consumers.
Abstract: Energy efficiency and conservation are major factors in the reduction of the environmental impact of the energy sector, particularly with regard to climate change. Energy efficiency also contributes to reducing external dependence and vulnerabilities in the energy domain. In this paper, we discuss the factors that influence energy efficiency and conservation decisions, and the most appropriate policies for their promotion. Although not all public policies seem justified, we argue that specific policies for promoting energy conservation may be required, preferably based on economic instruments or on the provision of information to consumers.
738 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an overview of seven different ways to structure the remuneration of a feed-in tariffs policy, divided into two broad categories: those in which remunerance is dependent on the electricity price, and those that remain independent from it.
731 citations
TL;DR: A greedy policy is identified which, in low SNR regime, is throughput optimal and also minimizes mean delay and two energy management policies which minimize the mean delay in the queue are obtained.
Abstract: We study a sensor node with an energy harvesting source. The generated energy can be stored in a buffer. The sensor node periodically senses a random field and generates a packet. These packets are stored in a queue and transmitted using the energy available at that time. We obtain energy management policies that are throughput optimal, i.e., the data queue stays stable for the largest possible data rate. Next we obtain energy management policies which minimize the mean delay in the queue. We also compare performance of several easily implementable sub-optimal energy management policies. A greedy policy is identified which, in low SNR regime, is throughput optimal and also minimizes mean delay.
707 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that a broader approach is merited, one that draws on insights from the behavioral sciences, to develop basic behavioral science into large-scale business and policy innovations.
Abstract: Many countries devote substantial public resources to research and development (R&D) for energy-efficient technologies. Energy efficiency, however, depends on both these technologies and the choices of the user. Policies to affect these choices focus on price changes (e.g., subsidies for energy-efficient goods) and information disclosure (e.g., mandated energy-use labels on appliances and autos). We argue that a broader approach is merited, one that draws on insights from the behavioral sciences. Just as we use R&D to develop “hard science” into useful technological solutions, a similar process can be used to develop basic behavioral science into large-scale business and policy innovations. Cost-effectiveness can be rigorously measured using scientific field-testing. Recent examples of scaling behaviorally informed R&D into large energy conservation programs suggest that this could have very high returns.
695 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed an integrated VIKOR-AHP methodology to determine the best renewable energy alternative for Turkey by using pairwise comparison matrices of AHP.
616 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight some of the perspectives for the biodiesel industry to thrive as an alternative fuel, while discussing benefits and limitations of biodiesel, including the improvement of the conversion technology to achieve a sustainable process at cheaper cost, environmentally benign and cleaner emissions, diversification of products derived from glycerol.
Abstract: The present global economy downturn affects every corner of the world including the vehicular fuel industry. This paper highlights some of the perspectives for the biodiesel industry to thrive as an alternative fuel, while discussing benefits and limitations of biodiesel. This includes the improvement of the conversion technology to achieve a sustainable process at cheaper cost, environmentally benign and cleaner emissions, diversification of products derived from glycerol, and policy and government incentives. More specifically, an overview is given on making the production process more economical by developing high conversion and low cost catalysts from renewable sources, and utilizing waste oil as feedstock. Further emphasis is given on the need for public education and awareness for the use and benefits of biodiesel, while promoting policies that will not only endorse the industry, but also promote effective land management.
544 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a dozen utility pilot programs in North America and abroad that focus on the energy conservation impact of In-Home Displays (IHDs) were evaluated. And they found that consumers who actively use an IHD can reduce their consumption of electricity on average by 7 percent when prepayment of electricity is not involved.
520 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a choice experiment approach was used to investigate households' WTP for renewable energy technologies in the UK, and the results suggest that whilst renewable energy adoption is significantly valued by households, this value is not sufficiently large, for the vast majority of households, to cover the higher capital costs of micro-generation energy technologies.
475 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that German renewable energy policy, and in particular the adopted feed-in tariff scheme, has failed to harness the market incentives needed to ensure a viable and cost-effective introduction of renewable energies into the country's energy portfolio.
472 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the impact of power electronics in solving the global warming problem and highlight that power electronics will play a very important role in clean energy generation, bulk storage of electricity, and efficient energy utilization, and eventually it will be a key element in the energy policies of nations.
Abstract: Global energy consumption is dramatically increasing due to our quest for a higher standard of living and the increasing world population. Most of our energy comes from fossil fuels, and burning these fuels causes environmental problems, and in particular, the global warming problem. Global warming raises the sea level; brings drought in tropical regions near the equator; increases hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods; and causes the spread of diseases. The consequences are serious and have the potential to bring tremendous unrest in the world. Various measures to solve or mitigate the global warming problem have been outlined in this article. This article particularly highlights the impact of power electronics in solving this problem. Power electronics will play a very important role in clean energy generation, bulk storage of electricity, and efficient energy utilization, and eventually, it will be a key element in the energy policies of nations. It has been estimated that the widespread energy efficiency improvement by power electronics and other methods with the existing technologies can save 20% of the global energy demand, and another 20% can be saved by preventing waste, i.e., by various conservation methods. Finally, the global warming problem is solvable by the united effort of humanity.
TL;DR: Tidal energy has the potential to play a valuable part in a sustainable energy future and is an extremely predictable energy source, depending only on the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun and the centrifugal forces created by the rotation of the earth-moon system as discussed by the authors.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarize the availability, current status, major achievements and future potentials of renewable energy options in India and assesses specific policy interventions for overcoming the barriers and enhancing deployment of renewables for the future.
Abstract: Renewable energy sources and technologies have potential to provide solutions to the long-standing energy problems being faced by the developing countries. The renewable energy sources like wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, biomass energy and fuel cell technology can be used to overcome energy shortage in India. To meet the energy requirement for such a fast growing economy, India will require an assured supply of 3-4 times more energy than the total energy consumed today. The renewable energy is one of the options to meet this requirement. Today, renewable account for about 33% of India's primary energy consumptions. India is increasingly adopting responsible renewable energy techniques and taking positive steps towards carbon emissions, cleaning the air and ensuring a more sustainable future. In India, from the last two and half decades there has been a vigorous pursuit of activities relating to research, development, demonstration, production and application of a variety of renewable energy technologies for use in different sectors. In this paper, efforts have been made to summarize the availability, current status, major achievements and future potentials of renewable energy options in India. This paper also assesses specific policy interventions for overcoming the barriers and enhancing deployment of renewables for the future.
TL;DR: In this paper, the intricacy of the existing and new energy policies, issues and challenges in Malaysia is examined and discussed, and the recently launched National Green Technology Policy is also discussed, which will continue to focus on adequacy, quality, security and sustainability of both non-renewable and renewable energy supply in the country's development and the promotion and implementation of its energy efficiency programs.
Abstract: Energy is essential to the way we live. Whether it is in the form of oil, gasoline or electricity, a country's prosperity and welfare depends on having access to reliable and secure supplies of energy at affordable prices. However, it is also one of the benefits taken for granted by many people, knowing little about the impact of electricity on their lives. Having dependent mainly on oil and gas for half a century, Malaysia has started to realize the importance to adopt renewable energy in the energy mix and continuously reviewed its energy policy to ensure sustainable energy supply and security. This paper examines and discusses the intricacy of the existing and new energy policies, issues and challenges in Malaysia. The overall approach in addressing the energy issues and challenges will continue to focus on adequacy, quality, security and sustainability of both non-renewable and renewable energy supply in the country's development and the promotion and implementation of its energy efficiency programs. The recently launched National Green Technology Policy is also discussed.
TL;DR: The proposed approach can be useful in the effective implementation of energy policies, since accurate predictions of energy consumption affect the capital investment, the environmental quality, the revenue analysis, the market research management, while conserve at the same time the supply security.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provided an assessment of these policies and programs to begin to understand issues that will play a critical role in China's energy and economic future, and concluded that activities undertaken in China will have a significant influence on the global effort to reduce the growth, and later the absolute quantity, of greenhouse gas emissions.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the wind energy industry from the point of view of wind energy policy and found that energy policy could help increasing wind power generation as well as stimulating the energy industry.
Abstract: With the increasing negative effects of fossil fuel combustion on the environment in addition to limited stock of fossil fuel have forced many countries to inquire into and change to environmentally friendly alternatives that are renewable to sustain the increasing energy demand. Energy policy plays a vital role to mitigate the impacts of global warming and crisis of energy availability. This paper explores the wind energy industry from the point of view of the wind energy policy. It is noticed that energy policy could help increasing wind power generation as well as stimulating the energy industry. It may be stated that without specific energy policy, a country would not be able to solve the acute problems like reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission, scarcity of energy, etc. This paper discussed the existing successful energy policies for few selected countries. Based on literatures, it has been found that FIT, RPS, incentives, pricing law and Quota system are the most useful energy policies practiced by many countries around the world. Then, status of wind energy policy for Malaysia was investigated and compared with few selected countries around the world.
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TL;DR: A new understanding of roof area distribution and potential PV outputs has an immense significance to energy policy formulation in Ontario and the methodology developed here is transferable in other regions to assist in solar PV deployment.
Abstract: Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has matured to become a technically viable large-scale source of sustainable energy. Understanding the rooftop PV potential is critical for utility planning, accommodating grid capacity, deploying financing schemes and formulating future adaptive energy policies. This paper merges the capabilities of geographic information systems and object-based image recognition to determine the available rooftop area for PV deployment in an example large-scale region in south eastern Ontario. An innovative five-step procedure has been developed for estimating total rooftop PV potential which involves geographical division of the region; sampling using the Feature Analyst extraction software; extrapolation using roof area-population relationships; reduction for shading, other uses and orientation; and conversion to power and energy outputs. A relationship across the region was found between roof area and population of 70.0 m2/capita ± 6.2%. For this region with appropriate roof tops covered with commercial solar cells the potential PV peak power output is 5.74 GW (157% of the region’s peak power demands) and the potential annual energy production is 6909 Gwh (5% of Ontario’s total annual demand). This suggests that 30% of Ontario’s demand can be met with province-wide rooftop PV deployment. This new understanding of roof area distribution and potential PV outputs has an immense significance to energy policy formulation in Ontario and the methodology developed here is transferable in other regions to assist in solar PV deployment.
TL;DR: In this paper, a five-step procedure has been developed for estimating total rooftop PV potential which involves geographical division of the region; sampling using the Feature Analyst extraction software; extrapolation using roof area-population relationships; reduction for shading, other uses and orientation; and conversion to power and energy outputs.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a geographically explicit framework and use spatial modeling and cost estimates from recent engineering studies to determine where stand-alone renewable energy generation is a cost effective alternative to centralized grid supply.
TL;DR: In this paper, a contingent valuation study was conducted, using a double bound dichotomous choice format, to elicit people's acceptance and willingness to pay for renewable energy sources in Crete.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to analyse and to evaluate the citizens’ public acceptance and willingness to pay (WTP), for Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in Crete. For this purpose a contingent valuation study was conducted, using a double bound dichotomous choice format to elicit people's WTP and factors affecting it. Residents of 1440 households all over Crete were interviewed face-to-face. Major conclusions can be used as a basis for sustainable energy planning, for policies and the formulation of awareness campaigns and for RES investment programs and projects in order to prepare implementation conditions and enhance public acceptance of renewable energy investments and programmes. Mean WTP per household was found to be 16.33€ to be paid quarterly as an additional charge on the electricity bill. Larger willingness to pay was reported by those with high family income and residence size, those having a higher level of energy information and awareness concerning climatic change, those who have invested in some energy saving measures, and those who suffer from more electricity shortages than others.
01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: In this paper, a fresh look at the major non-renewable and renewable energy sources and examine their long-term viability, scalability, and the sustainability of the resources that they use.
Abstract: We take a fresh look at the major nonrenewable and renewable energy sources and examine their long-term viability, scalability, and the sustainability of the resources that they use. We achieve this by asking what would happen if each energy source was a single supply of power for the world, as a gedanken experiment. From this perspective, a solar hydrogen economy emerges as a dominant solution to the world's energy needs. If we globally tap sunlight over only 1% of the incident area at only an energy conversion efficiency of 1%, it is simple to show that this meets our current world energy consumption. As 9% of the planet surface area is taken up by desert and efficiencies well over 1% are possible, in practice, this opens up many exciting future opportunities. Specifically, we find solar thermal collection via parabolic reflectors - where focussed sunlight heats steam to about 600?C to drive a turbine - is the best available technology for generating electricity. For static power storage, to provide electricity at night, there are a number of viable options that are discussed. For mobile power storage, such as for fueling vehicles, we argue the case for both liquid and gaseous hydrogen for use in internal combustion engines. We outline a number of reasons why semiconductor solar cells and hydrogen fuel cells do not appear to scale up for a global solution. We adopt an approach that envisions exploiting massive economy of scale by establishing large arrays of solar collectors in hot desert regions of the world. For nonrenewable sources we argue that we cannot wait for them to be exhausted - we need to start conserving them imminently. What is often forgotten in the energy debate is that oil, natural gas, and coal are not only used as energy sources, but we also rely on them for embodying many crucial physical products. It is this fact that requires us to develop a solar hydrogen platform with urgency. It is argued that a solar future is unavoidable, as ultimately humankind has no other choice.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the embodied CO 2 emissions of China's import and export and showed that about 3357 million tons of CO2 emissions were embodied in the exports and the emissions avoided by imports were 2333 million tons in 2005.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors survey the academic literature on energy security and conclude that it is composed of availability, affordability, efficiency, and environmental stewardship, and analyze the relative energy security performance of the United States and 21 other member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1970 to 2007.
Abstract: How well are industrialized nations doing in terms of their energy security? Without a standardized set of metrics, it is difficult to determine the extent to which countries are properly responding to the emerging energy security challenges related to climate change: a growing dependency on fossil fuels, population growth, and economic development. In response, this article first surveys the academic literature on energy security and concludes that it is composed of availability, affordability, efficiency, and environmental stewardship. It then analyzes the relative energy security performance, based on these four dimensions, of the United States and 21 other member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1970 to 2007. Four countries are examined in greater detail: one of the strongest (Denmark), one of the most improved in terms of energy security ( Japan), one with weak and stagnant energy security (United States), and one with deteriorating energy security (Spain). The article concludes by offering implications for public policy.
TL;DR: A fuzzy multicriteria decision-making methodology is suggested for the selection among energy policies, based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) under fuzziness, which determines the best energy policy for Turkey.
Abstract: Since the correct energy policy affects economic development and environment, the most appropriate energy policy selection is excessively important. Recently some studies have concentrated on selecting the best energy policy and determining the best energy alternatives. In most of these studies, multicriteria and fuzzy approaches to energy policy making are frequently used. The fuzzy set theory is a powerful tool to treat the uncertainty in case of incomplete or vague information. In this paper, a fuzzy multicriteria decision-making methodology is suggested for the selection among energy policies. The methodology is based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) under fuzziness. It allows the evaluation scores from experts to be linguistic expressions, crisp or fuzzy numbers. In the application of the proposed methodology, the best energy policy is determined for Turkey.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the technical and economical issues related to decentralized power generation in India using biomass gasification and discuss principal factors influencing the viability of the biomass-based power generation.
Abstract: This article attempts to highlight the technical and economical issues related to decentralized power generation in India using biomass gasification. Biomass-based energy has several distinct advantages such as wide availability and uniform distribution that puts it ahead among the renewable energy options for India. The estimated potential of power generation through renewable sources in India is 85 GW with biomass power contributing approximately 20 GW. Especially, in the remote areas and hilly terrains of India, biomass gasification-based power generation offers a highly viable solution for meeting energy demands of small villages and hamlets, which would not only make them independent but will also reduce burden on state electricity boards. This paper reviews various technical options for biomass gasification-based low-, medium- and large-scale power generation. We essentially discuss the merits and demerits (operational and other problems) of different systems. Further, we also deal with economics of these systems and discuss principal factors influencing the viability of the biomass-based power generation. Finally, we review some case studies of biomass-based power generation for meeting energy needs, both thermal and electrical.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the relevant barriers to renewable energy investments and, based on experience from other countries, provide policy recommendations, and discuss the potential and possible shortcomings of this and other existing support schemes and identify complementing measures on a national scale.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the interrelations among the drivers of renewable energy and climate change, and propose a consistent set of potentials of renewable supplies, including costs and prices.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the global and geopolitical dimensions of future international energy security and its implications for Europe and the EU-27 and discuss to which extent the EU's newly proclaimed "Energy Action Plan" of the EU Spring summit of 2007 and its declared common energy (foreign) policy are a sufficient strategy to cope with the new global and political challenges.
01 Jul 2010
TL;DR: Feed-in tariffs (FITs) are the most widely used renewable energy policy in the world for driving accelerating renewable energy (RE) deployment, accounting for a greater share of RE development than either tax incentives or renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Feed-in tariffs (FITs) are the most widely used renewable energy policy in the world for driving accelerating renewable energy (RE) deployment, accounting for a greater share of RE development than either tax incentives or renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies. FITs have generated significant RE deployment, helping bring the countries that have implemented them successfully to the forefront of the global RE industry. In the European Union (EU), FIT policies have led to the deployment of more than 15,000 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) power and more than 55,000 MW of wind power between 2000 and the end of 2009. In total, FITs are responsible for approximately 75% of global PV and 45% of global wind deployment. Countries such as Germany, in particular, have demonstrated that FITs can be used as a powerful policy tool to drive RE deployment and help meet combined energy security and emissions reductions objectives. This policymaker's guide provides a detailed analysis of FIT policy design and implementation and identifies a set of best practices that have been effective at quickly stimulating the deployment of large amounts of RE generation. Although the discussion is aimed primarily at decision makers who have decided that a FIT policy best more » suits their needs, exploration of FIT policies can also help inform a choice among alternative renewable energy policies. « less