Setting the standard? A framework for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of building energy standards

The adoption rate and stringency of building energy standards in the U.S. have been increasing since the mid-1990s as a result of the Energy Policy Act mandate of 1992 (EPAct). Current evidence on the energy savings that accrue from commercial building energy standards is based on engineering simulations, which do not account for realized behaviour once a standard is actually adopted. This paper uses quasi-experimental variation in commercial building energy standard adoptions to estimate their effect on realized electricity consumption and cost-effectiveness. In states induced by EPAct to adopt an energy standard where all new nonresidential construction was erected under a commercial standard, electricity consumption per service worker is lower by about 12%, and total commercial electricity consumption is lower by 10%. Including early adopters and never-adopters to the analysis leads to a downward bias in the treatment effect. The realized electricity savings in the EPAct states represent three quarters of predicted simulated savings, and electricity saved in 2010 came at a cost of approximately 7.7 cents per kWh.     

Solar–hydrogen energy system for Egypt

A model for a solar–hydrogen energy system for Egypt has been developed by obtaining relationships for and between the main energy and energy related parameters. The magnitude and trends of the parameters, with and without hydrogen introduction, have been investigated over a period of time. The results indicate that the fossil fuel resources in Egypt could be exhausted within one to two decades. They also indicate that adopting the solar–hydrogen energy system would extend the availability of fossil fuel resources, reduce pollution, and establish a permanent energy system for Egypt. They show that Egypt could become an exporter of hydrogen. © 1999 International Association for Hydrogen Energy.     

Carbon capture and storage: A possible bridge to a future hydrogen infrastructure for Germany?

For a conceivable fossil-fuelled electricity production strategy with CO₂ capture, the location of available storage options could play a key role for plant siting, as additional CO₂ transport infrastructure might be required in some configurations. The possible spatial separation of electricity generation and centralised fossil hydrogen production with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) allows an additional degree of freedom in the system in enabling the transport of hydrogen instead of electricity.This paper analyses energy conversion and transport tasks associated with the plant locations offered by this enhanced scheme. By considering various scenarios for Germany, we describe different gasification/reforming options with CO₂ capture and estimate their cost, including required new infrastructures.The results point out that moderate additional costs could allow the implementation of a first level hydrogen transport infrastructure instead of building a CO₂ transportation network. This could be a smooth way to finance and facilitate the transition to a future larger hydrogen-based energy system. On the long term, this infrastructure would be in place for the transport of non-fossil hydrogen.     

Fusion energy : An energy source of the future?

With an increasing world population and a growing economy, the demand for energy is sure to grow. The latest predictions for world energy demand all show an upward trend and even with increased energy efficiency we will still need substantially more energy by 2050 than we use today. Where's it to come from? Dr Federico Casci of the European Fusion Development Agreement (EFDA) organisation believes part of the answer is fusion…     

Elementary science teacher candidates’ views on hydrogen as future energy carrier

Current energy infrastructure is not sustainable due to highly dependence to fossil fuels. Increasing energy usage obliges people to find new, economic, environmental friendly and safe energy options. Recent studies indicate that there are many alternative ways for fossil fuels such as solar, geothermal, wind and biomass. By using these renewable sources in tri-generation or multigeneration energy systems, the desired energy infrastructure can be set. On the other hand, hydrogen is seen as future energy carrier because of its advantages. There are many options to benefit from hydrogen such as fuel cells, direct combustion, or store as gas or liquid. However, awareness of society of the renewable energy usage and also hydrogen as energy carrier is not sufficient. In order to increase the awareness of the society, teachers have high responsibility. In this study, views of elementary science teacher candidates on hydrogen as future energy carrier are evaluated by using qualitative phenomenological research. Ten students from elementary science teacher department in Afyon Kocatepe University are selected for semi structured interview. The results of these interviews are analyzed by using content analysis method.     

A solar–wind hydrogen energy system for the Ceará state – Brazil

In this paper, a program of electrolytic hydrogen energy for the Ceará state in Brazil is proposed. Hydrogen will be produced through the assistance of photovoltaic cell panels and wind turbines. The generated hydrogen will serve as an energy carrier and will be used in every application where fossil fuels are being used today. The scenarios of fast and slow introduction of hydrogen and of no introduction of hydrogen were envisaged. Results indicate that the introduction of renewable energy hydrogen will increase the energy consumption and the gross internal product per capita of the Ceará state. In the same time it will reduce pollution originated from fossil fuels combustion and consequently will increase the quality of life of the population of such federal state of Brazil.     

Hydrocarbon plant—New source of energy for future

The development of alternative sources for energy and chemicals, particularly the use of plant biomass as a renewable source for fuel or chemical feedstocks, has received much recent attention. This paper attempts to review the work carried out by many workers on evaluation of some plant materials as source of energy and chemical feedstocks and the possibilities of producing hydrocarbon and related chemical products, directly or indirectly. Also an exploratory work carried out at Regional Research Laboratory, Jorhat is discussed. Some future directions, which need to be considered to promote development of these petrocrops, are suggested.     

Solar hydrogen energy: The European–Maghreb connection. A new way of excellence for a sustainable energy development

The global sustainability is a key word of the future energy system for human beings. It should be friendly to our earth. Hydrogen energy is a critical resource to sustainable energy development. Over the coming decades, rapid economic growth will necessitate expanded and diversified energy supplies. This study is proposed to illustrate the attention to the opportunities and possibilities of connecting the energy consumer in North Mediterranean countries, to the reservoir of the Great Sahara of North Africa using hydrogen as a solar energy carrier. It also discusses cooperation between North Africa and north sides of the Mediterranean that has been going on for a long time, in oil and natural gas industry, and why cannot be done in solar hydrogen energy industry, which will reduce pollution and will last forever. Clearly, North Africa is a major bilateral partner with the Europe and the people of the two shares of the Mediterranean will be work together and to built strategic relationships for many decades. In the future, North Africa countries are well-positioned to play a greater role in the Europe clean energy equation. Demographically, interregional migration due to economic concerns will decline. Now, there are good chances to start such cooperation for the benefits of all partners.     

Are energy statistics useful for making energy scenarios?

One can measure “energy quantities” – e.g. joules, BTU, quads – but only at a given scale and within a specific narrative about energy conversions at the time. Therefore, at the moment of generating aggregate indicators, the arithmetic summing of assessments of energy quantities referring to different scales and narratives is meaningless. This paper addresses epistemological problems typical of energy accounting, which are at the moment tackled by acknowledging the existence of unspecified “qualitative differences” among different energy forms – e.g. a joule of electricity has more “value” than a joule of coal. Three energy forms referring to different scales and narratives about energy conversions are relevant for national accounting: Primary Energy Sources (PES), Energy Carriers (EC), and End Uses (EU). We critically examine the usefulness of current energy statistics in relation to this distinction. The conventional linear representation – flow chart – based on a single scale and a single quantitative accounting confuses the three semantic categories and entails an important loss of information. Finally, we illustrate an innovative scheme for energy accounting across hierarchical levels that: (i) addresses the autocatalytic nature of energy transformations; (ii) provides a multi-scale quantitative representation; and (iii) preserves the semantic distinction between relevant energy forms (PES, EC, and EU).     

The role of hydrogen and fuel cells to store renewable energy in the future energy network – potentials and challenges

The penetration of renewable energy sources is expected to rapidly increase from 15% to 50% in 2050 due to their vital contribution to the global energy requirements, sustainability and quality of life in economical, environmental and health aspects. This huge rise highlights the necessity of development of energy storage systems, especially for intermittency renewable energies such as solar photovoltaic and wind turbine, in order to balance the energy network. In this study, renewable energy options including pumped hydro, pressurized air, flywheels, Li ion batteries, hydrogen and super-capacitors are compared based on a specific set of criteria. The criteria considered are energy/power density, ease of integration with the existing energy network, cost effectiveness, durability, efficiency and safety. Our study showed that storing renewable energy sources in the form of hydrogen through the electrolysis process is ranked as the most promising option considering the mentioned criteria. It brings about several benefits suggesting that hydrogen and fuel cells are promising contributors towards a more sustainable future, both in energy demand and environmental sustainability.     

Is cluster policy useful for the energy sector? Assessing self-declared hydrogen clusters in the Netherlands

Research on science-based industries has shown that it is important for organisations to be active in interorganisational networks. Cluster policy has been developed as a means to stimulate the development of these networks and thereby the success rate of these industries. Cluster policy is however not a common policy instrument in the energy sector. In this paper, we focus on three self-declared clusters active in hydrogen-related R&D in the Netherlands and address several characteristics of these clusters. We conclude that cluster policy is a useful addition to existing energy R&D policies but that monitoring whether self-declared clusters actually function as clusters and what their contribution is to the overall system is pivotal in reaping the benefits of cluster policy.     

Can the future EU ETS support wind energy investments?

This article discusses how the future Emissions Trading Scheme legislation should be designed to allow the European Union to comply with the 20% CO₂ emissions reduction target, while at the same time promoting wind energy investments. We examine whether CO₂ prices could eventually replace the existing support schemes for wind and if they adequately capture its benefits. The analysis also looks at the effectiveness of the clean development and joint implementation mechanisms to trigger wind projects and technology transfer in developing countries. We find out that climate policy is unlikely to provide sufficient incentives to promote wind power, and that other policies should be used to internalise the societal benefits that accrue from deploying this technology: CO₂ prices can only reflect the beneficial impact of wind on climate change but not its contribution to the security of supply or employment creation. A minimum price of around €40/tCO₂ should be attained to maintain present support levels for wind and this excludes income risks and intermediation costs. Finally, CDM improves the return rate of wind energy projects in third countries, but it is the local institutional framework and the long-term stability of the CO₂ markets that matters the most.     

A new experimental simulation method for the development of non-renewable hydrogen energy—Oil and gas resources

At present, the proportion of tight oil in non-renewable hydrogen energy is increasing. According to an initial exploration and attemptable practice on the exploration of tight oil, it is found that the cost can be controlled effectively and positive effects are achieved. But this technique cannot make sure the proppants filled uniformly in the long fracture. Several researches on the proppants migration experiment devices and factors influencing on proppant setting are reviewed and a new set of experimental device to simulate the laws of proppants setting in long fracture is developed. This device can simulate the main factors influencing proppants setting performance. It analyzes several factors such as wall filtration, construction displacement, sand concentration, proppant size and density, viscosity of fracturing fluid is used to rank the influencing degree of every factor. Considering the effects of mutual interference between proppants, width of fracture, rough fracture surface and fracture surface filtration during the proppants setting progress, the mathematical model of proppant setting is modified by adding sand concentration correction factor, wall effect correction factor and filtration correction factor. The experimental data verify the accuracy of the settlement model is established using the data getting from experiment.     

A model for atomic hydrogen–bimetal interactions

The adsorption of atomic H on the bimetallic FeNi(111) surface has been studied by ASED-MO tight binding calculations. The energy of the system was calculated by the atom superposition and electron delocalization molecular orbital (ASED-MO) method. Seven H locations on the alloy surface were selected and the hydrogen atom was positioned in their energy minima configurations.     

High-temperature electrolysis for large-scale hydrogen production from nuclear energy – Experimental investigations

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is currently assessing the feasibility of using solid-oxide based electrolysis cell technology for high temperature electrolysis of steam for large-scale hydrogen production. In parallel, the INL is studying the simultaneous electrolysis of steam and carbon dioxide for syngas (hydrogen/carbon monoxide mixture) production. When linked to a nuclear power source, this technology provides a carbon neutral means of producing syngas while consuming CO₂. The scope of experimental investigations at the INL includes single button cell tests, multi-cell stacks, and multi-stack systems. Multi-cell stack testing used 10 cm × 10 cm (8 cm × 8 cm active area) or 20 cm × 20 cm (18 cm × 18 cm active area) planar cells supplied by Ceramatec, Inc (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA). Multi-stack testing encompassed up to 720 10 cm × 10 cm cells and was conducted in a newly developed 15 kW Integrated Laboratory Scale (ILS) test facility. Gas composition, operating voltage, and operating temperature were varied during testing. The tests were heavily instrumented, and outlet gas compositions were monitored with a gas chromatograph. Results to date show the process to be a promising technique for large-scale hydrogen and syngas production.     

Assessment of hydrogen as a potential energy storage for urban areas’ PV-assisted energy systems - Case study

The world is experiencing unprecedented development in the clean energy sector in residential and industrial applications. This paper provides a case study assessing different scenarios of greenizing the electrical energy demand in El-Mostakbal city in Egypt. Three scenarios are studied with consideration of a photovoltaic (PV) system integrated with the grid-connected city with different integrated system configurations. The scenarios for the grid-connected city are scenario-I: only PV, scenario-II: PV with batteries for electricity storage along with grid electricity, and scenario-III: PV with hydrogen production, storage, and utilization for covering the electric demand along with grid electricity, these scenarios are assessed technoeconomically, and the results show an optimized case where the electricity demand of the city can be met with 64.3% produced from solar energy, at $71.7 M of the net present cost.