As a renewable energy hydropower for sustainable development in Turkey

The most important renewable sources are hydropower, biomass, geothermal, solar and wind. Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of most of these renewable energy sources. In recently, electricity has demand increased significantly; it is the fastest growing end-use of energy. Therefore, technical, economic and environmental benefits of hydroelectric power make it an important contributor to the future world energy mix. In the world, particularly in the developing countries renewable energy resources appear to be one of the most efficient and effective solutions for sustainable energy development in Turkey. Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of most of the renewable energy sources. This paper deals with policies to meet increasing energy and electricity demand for sustainable energy development in Turkey. Turkey has a total gross hydropower potential of 433 GWh/year, but only 125 GWh/year of the total hydroelectric potential of Turkey can be economically used.     

Solar energy in Andalusia (Spain): present state and prospects for the future

The unsustainability of the present production–consumption energy model highlights the finite nature of conventional energy resources, as well as the environmental degradation inherent in such a model. Today's environmental policies are largely devoted to fostering the development and implementation in Europe of renewable energy technologies. This paper analyses the present and future situation of renewable energy resources in Andalusia in the south of Spain, and more specifically, of solar energy with an average potential radiation of 4.6±0.3 kW h/m² per day. In Andalusia energy policies are generally implemented through regional development plans such as the Plan Energético de Andalucía (PLEAN)¹ and the Programa Andaluz de Promoción de Energías Renovables (PROSOL).² The principle objective of the latter programme is to implement and increase high-temperature solar thermal energy to 100 MW in 2006, even raising it to 230 MW in 2010. Regarding low-temperature solar thermal energy installations, there are plans to increase the quantity of m²/1000 installed per inhabitant from the present figure of 14 to a total of 142. Regarding individual installations of solar photovoltaic energy, the present aim is to cover 20.4% of the national objectives and 15% in installations connected to the electricity network. The geographic location of Andalusia in the south of Spain signifies that it is in a key position to play an important strategic role in the implementation of renewable energy technology in Europe, as well as providing sufficient energy for its own needs and even exporting such projects to other countries.     

Development modes analysis of renewable energy power generation in North Africa

North African countries generally have strategic demands for energy transformation and sustainable development. Renewable energy development is important to achieve this goal. Considering three typical types of renewable energies— wind, photovoltaic (PV), and concentrating solar power (CSP)—an optimal planning model is established to minimize construction costs and power curtailment losses. The levelized cost of electricity is used as an index for assessing economic feasibility. In this study, wind and PV, wind / PV / CSP, and transnational interconnection modes are designed for Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia. The installed capacities of renewable energy power generation are planned through the time sequence production simulation method for each country. The results show that renewable energy combined with power generation, including the CSP mode, can improve reliability of the power supply and reduce the power curtailment rate. The transnational interconnection mode can help realize mutual benefits of renewable energy power, while the apportionment of electricity prices and trading mechanisms are very important and are related to economic feasibility; thus, this mode is important for the future development of renewable energy in North Africa.     

Assessment of the renewable energies potential for intensive electricity production in the province of Jaén,southern Spain

The foreseen depletion of the traditional fossil fuels for the forthcoming decades is forcing us to seek for new sustainable and non-pollutant energy sources. Renewable energies rely on a decentralized scheme strongly dependent on the local resources availability. In this work, we tackle the study of the renewable energies potential for an intensive electricity production in the province of Jaén (southern Spain) which has a pronounced unbalance between its inner electricity production and consumption. The potential of biomass from olive pruning residues, solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind power has been analyzed using Geographical Information System tools, and a proposal for a massive implementation of renewable energies has been arisen. In particular, we propose the installation of 5 biomass facilities, totaling 98 MW of power capacity, with an estimated annual production of 763 GWh, 12 PV facilities, totaling 420 MW of power capacity, with an estimated annual production of 656 GWh and 506 MW of wind power capacity in a number of wind farms, with an estimated annual production of 825 GWh. Overall, this production frame would meet roughly a 75% of the electricity demands in the province and thus would mitigate the current unbalance.     

Situations and problems of renewable energy in the Region of Murcia,Spain

Renewable energies in Spain have been promoted since 2002, proof of this lies in the fact that in 2007 renewable energy accounted for 6.9% of the consumption of primary energy. The renewable energies market is one of the sectors with the greatest growth in recent years in Spain and is key to the energy policies at national level.Both at national and regional level diverse targets have been set for the production of renewable energies, this article seeks to analyse the potential, current state, and perspectives of renewable energies in the Region of Murcia, investigating the possibilities of fulfilling the objectives established.The solar energy potential should be highlighted, where most of the territory has more than 5.0 kWh/m²; also the wind power potential, where in certain areas there are winds of more than 6 m/s; and the biogas potential due to the extensive livestock herds. With reference to the targets for photovoltaic and wind power, these have been reached; but in the rest of the energy sources the fulfilment of the objectives depends on favourable management and administration policies.Likewise, a comparative study of the state of the Region of Murcia has also been carried out, taking the national situation as the reference.     

Contribution of renewable energy sources to electricity production in the La Rioja Autonomous Community,Spain. A review

The implementation of the emissions market should imbue renewable energies with a greater degree of competitiveness regarding conventional generation. In order to comply with the Kyoto protocol, utilities are going to begin to factor in the cost of CO₂ (environmental costs) in their overall generating costs, whereby there will be an increase in the marginal prices of the electricity pool.This article reviews the progress made in the La Rioja Autonomous Community (LRAC) in terms of the introduction of renewable energy technologies since 1996, where renewable energy represents approximately only 10% of the final energy consumption of the LRAC. Nonetheless, the expected exploitation of renewable energies and the recent implementation of a combined cycle facility mean that the electricity scenario in La Rioja will undergo spectacular change over the coming years: we examine the possibility of meeting a target of practical electrical self-sufficiency by 2010.In 2004, power consumption amounted to 1494 GWh, with an installed power of 1029.0 MW of electricity. By 2010, the Arrúbal combined cycle facility will produce around 9600 GWh/year, thereby providing a power generation output in La Rioja of close to 2044.7 MW, which will involve almost doubling the present output, and multiplying by 8.9 that recorded in this Autonomous Community in 2001.     

Global warming and environmental benefits of hydroelectric for sustainable energy in Turkey

Over the last two decades; technical, economic and environmental benefits of hydroelectric power make it an important contributor to the future world energy mix, particularly in the developing countries. Turkey has a total gross hydropower potential of 433 GWh/yr, but only 125 GWh/yr of the total hydroelectric potential of Turkey can be economically used. By the commissioning of new hydropower plants, which are under construction, 36% of the economically usable potential of the country would be tapped. Turkey's total economically usable small hydropower potential is 3.75 GWh/yr. It is expected that the demand for electric energy in Turkey will be about 580 billion kWh by the year 2020. Turkey is heavily dependent on expensive imported energy sources that place a big burden on the economy and air pollution is becoming a great environmental concern in the country. In this regard, renewable energy resources appear to be the one of the most efficient and effective solutions for clean and sustainable energy development in Turkey. Environmentally friendly energy development has enormous implications for developing countries as major emitters due to their rapid economic and population growth. With some possible options, the paper concludes that the reduction of emissions can only be achieved when policies are supportive and well targeted, standards and incentives are realistic and flexible, and the public is actively responsive to environmental degradation. Turkey's high rate of energy-related carbon emissions growth is expected to accelerate, with emissions climbing from 57 million tons in 2000 to almost 210 million tons in 2020. Carbon intensity in Turkey is higher than the western developed nation average. In this regard, renewable energy resources appear to be one of the most efficient and effective solutions for clean and sustainable energy development in Turkey. This paper deals with Turkey's renewables energy sources for sustainable environment.     

Hydropower for sustainable energy development in Turkey: The small hydropower case of the Eastern Black Sea Region

Turkey is a rich country from the point of variety and potential of renewable energy resources. Hydros, winds, biomass, solar and geothermal are important renewable and environmentally friendly sources for energy in Turkey. Turkey produces large amount of hydropower with a total gross hydropower potential of 433 TW h/yr, which is equal to 13.8% of the total hydropower potential of Europe. Technically useable potential is 216 TW h/yr and economic potential is 140 TW h/yr. The main aim of the present study is to investigate hydropower potential of Turkey and small hydropower plants in Eastern Black Sea Region for sustainable energy development in Turkey. The geography of Turkey especially, Eastern Black Sea Region supports and suitable the development of the small hydro plants to increase the energy generation and utilization of available water sources in Turkey. Besides, the paper deals with hydropower policies to meet ever increasing energy demand for sustainable development of Turkey.     

Consumers' perceptions regarding tradeoffs between food and fuel expenditures: A case study of U.S. and Belgian fuel users

Biofuels have been suggested as a sustainable alternative to fossil-based fuels, but when produced with inputs traditionally used as food and feed grain, the production of biofuels has contributed to price increases in the food sector. In the fall of 2006, a survey was administered to compare consumer perceptions regarding the tradeoff between renewable fuels and food in the United States (U.S.) (n = 242) and Belgium (n = 363). Results show that respondents in both countries prefer lower food prices to lower fuel prices (67.6% in the U.S. and 78.9% in Belgium). A logit model was estimated to determine which variables impacted whether a consumer favored policies that lower fuel prices at the cost of higher food prices. While the sample of Belgian respondents appeared to realize that lower fuel prices eventually had to come at the cost of higher food prices, the sample of U.S. respondents felt domestic agriculture could provide some low-cost, environmentally friendly alternatives with little impact on food prices. Accessible public transportation in Belgium acted as an important fuel saving strategy in that country and led respondents to emphasize food price decreases over fuel price decreases. Also, respondents with heightened awareness towards the environment recognized that the expansion of renewable fuels may need to come at the cost of higher food prices. These attitudes were similar in both countries. Finally, in both countries older respondents placed more importance on lower food prices than lower fuel prices.     

Towards a low carbon energy future – Renewable energy cooperation between Germany and Norway

Renewable energy is a cornerstone of German climate change policies. Germany has adopted particularly ambitious renewable energy targets, and is now implementing an Energiewende – a transition to a nuclear-free and low-carbon energy system. The transition could be eased through European cooperation. This article investigates the economic, political, environmental and technological factors that act as drivers and barriers to renewable energy cooperation between Germany and Norway. The article finds that German actors see Norwegian electricity as a means for enhancing the stability of their electricity system as Germany shifts to a greater reliance on renewables. In Norway the picture is more mixed. Norwegian state-owned electricity producers and grid operators are interested in cooperation largely out of profit motives, but expect Germany to create a favorable environment for investors. Energy-intensive industries and consumers on the other hand, are afraid that more electricity cooperation with Germany will raise electricity prices. The Norwegian environmental movement is split on the issue. Parts of the movement see renewable energy cooperation as an important step towards a European low-carbon energy future. Nature and outdoor organizations, however, argue that new renewable energy infrastructure, including pumped-storage hydropower, will result in major environmental impacts. If cooperation is to be achieved, these economic and environmental concerns will have to be taken seriously.     

Cost-effectiveness of renewable electricity policies

We analyze policies to promote renewable sources of electricity. A portfolio standard (RPS) raises electricity prices and primarily reduces gas-fired generation. A knee of the cost curve exists between 15% and 20% goals for 2020 in our central case, and higher natural gas prices lower the cost of greater reliance on renewables. A renewable energy production tax credit lowers electricity price at the expense of taxpayers, which limits its effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions, and it is less cost-effective at increasing renewables than a portfolio standard. Neither policy is as cost-effective as a cap-and-trade policy for achieving carbon emission reductions.     

CO2 emission and avoidance in mobile applications

The present paper analyzes the CO₂ emissions from mobile communications and portable wireless electronic devices in the Korea environment. The quantitative and qualitative contributions to CO₂ emission reduction of the substitution of renewable energy for traditional electricity as the power supply in these devices are also investigated.Firstly, the national CO₂ emission coefficient is temporarily estimated as 0.504 tCO₂/MWh, which can be regarded as the basis for calculating CO₂ emissions in mobile devices. The total annual CO₂ emissions from mobile devices is calculated as approximately 1.4 million tons, comprising 0.3 million tCO₂ for portable wireless electronic devices and 1.1 million tCO₂ for electric equipment required for mobile communication service.If renewable energy sources are substituted for traditional electricity sources in the supply for mobile devices, solar cell and wind turbine systems can reduce CO₂ emissions by about 87% and 97%, respectively. However, the use of fuel cell systems will only slightly reduce the CO₂ emissions. However, the use of the direct methanol fuel cell system can release 8% more CO₂ emissions than that emitted by using traditional electricity sources.     

Integration of a cogeneration unit into a kraft pulping process

The integration of cogeneration with other measures that impact the power production capacity in a Canadian Kraft pulping mill is studied. Those measures are removal of pressure reduction valves, adjustment of the steam pressure level, biomass boiler capacity, and reduction in process energy demand. CADSIM Plus software is used to simulate the cogeneration plant. The dynamic behavior of the process during start-up and its effect on electricity generation are also considered. It is shown that by replacing the PRVs with turbines, 14.4 MW of power can be generated. Moreover, by implementing cogeneration units and process measures to recover 23% of internal energy, 44.5 MW of electricity can be generated in addition to shutting down the existing bunker oil boiler. Therefore, implementation of cogeneration in the pulp and paper industry is technically possible and it offers significant economic advantages. A cost analysis of the complete project gives a simple payback time of less than a year.     

An assessment on the planning and construction of an island renewable energy system – A case study of Kinmen Island

During the last 50 years, Kinmen's economy has gone from military-based to increasingly tourism-based, Kinmen has been putting various constructions into action, and hence, the demand for electricity supply is getting higher relatively while the province is pushing various constructions. Nowadays, Kinmen County Government has made directions for future developments already and kept on promoting the sustainable development of Kinmen Island in order to make it a suitable place for living. According to the development blueprint, the future resident population will increase to around 150 ～ 200 thousand people so the relative electricity consumption in Kinmen Island will cause serious problems for Taipower in addition to large scale environmental pollution. The present study researches on both the limitation and independence of this particular island and presumes the electricity power supply will be provided through renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, wind energy, and tidal power generation and so on, whereby it will achieve the target of energy saving and carbon reduction successfully soon. Upon the construction process of the renewable energy sources, this study will simultaneously assess the eco-environment and social conditions on the island to evaluate the feasibility of existing renewable energy technologies which are more mature and determine the optimum renewable energy system that shall be constructed in the Kinmen region in the near future, in order to replace traditional energy sources. Meanwhile, it will assist the related energy industries to create an ultra-clean environment in Kinmen with self-developing power and enhance international competition forces so as to establish a positive international image of environmental protection by achieving a habitat with energy self-sufficiency, and ultimately the empirical model can be duplicated and promoted to other islands.     

Assessment of renewable energy reserves in Taiwan

Since Taiwan imports more than 99% of energy supply from foreign countries, energy security has always been the first priority for government to formulate energy policy. The development of renewable energy not only contributes to the independence of energy supply, but also achieves benefits of economic development and environmental protection. Based upon information available to public, the present paper reassesses reserves of various renewable energies in Taiwan. The assessment includes seven kinds of renewable energies, namely, solar energy, wind power, biomass energy, wave energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy and hydropower, which are all commercialized and matured in terms of current technologies. Other renewable energies, which have not proven as matured as the aforementioned ones, are only assessed preliminarily in this paper, such as second generation of biomass, deep geothermal energy, the Kuroshio power generation and ocean thermal energy conversion.According to the estimation of this paper, the reserve of wind energy, up to 29.9 kWh/d/p (i.e., kWh per day per person), is the largest one among seven kinds of renewable energies in Taiwan, followed by 24.27 kWh/d/p of solar energy, 4.55 kWh/d/p of biomass, 4.58 kWh/d/p of ocean energy, 0.67 kWh/d/p of geothermal energy and 16.79 kWh/d/p of hydropower. If regarding biomass as a primary energy, and assuming 40% being the average efficiency to convert primary energy into electricity, the total power of the seven kinds of renewable energy reserves is about 78.03 kWh/d/p, which is equal to 2.75 times of 28.35 kWh/d/p of national power generation in 2008. If the reserves of 54.93 kWh/d/p estimated from other four kinds of renewable energies that have not technically matured yet are also taken into account, it will result that the reserves of renewable energy in Taiwan can be quite abundant.Although the results of the assessment point out that Taiwan has abundant renewable energy resources, the four inherent shortcomings – low energy density, high cost of power generation, instability of power supply, and current cost of renewable energy being still higher than that of fossil energy – have to be overcome first, before renewable energy is actually formed as a main component in national energy mix. The measures executed by government to break through these barriers further include the upgrade of the technological level, the formulation of the necessary policies, and the work together from all levels for the overall promotion.     

Hydropower in Turkey for a clean and sustainable energy future

Over the last two decades, global electricity production has more than doubled and electricity demand is rising rapidly around the world as economic development spreads to emerging economies. Not only has electricity demand increased significantly, it is the fastest growing end-use of energy. Therefore, technical, economic and environmental benefits of hydroelectric power make it an important contributor to the future world energy mix, particularly in the developing countries. This paper deals with policies to meet increasing energy and electricity demand for sustainable energy development in Turkey. Turkey has a total gross hydropower potential of 433 GWh/year, but only 125 GWh/year of the total hydroelectric potential of Turkey can be economically used. By the commissioning of new hydropower plants, which are under construction, 36% of the economically usable potential of the country would be tapped. Turkey's total economically usable small hydropower potential is 3.75 GWh/year.     

Measures of the environmental footprint of the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle

Previous estimates of environmental impacts associated with the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle (FEFC) have focused primarily on energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. Results have varied widely. This work builds upon reports from operating facilities and other primary data sources to build a database of front end environmental impacts. This work also addresses land transformation and water withdrawals associated with the processes of the FEFC. These processes include uranium extraction, conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, depleted uranium disposition, and transportation.To allow summing the impacts across processes, all impacts were normalized per tonne of natural uranium mined as well as per MWh(e) of electricity produced, a more conventional unit for measuring environmental impacts that facilitates comparison with other studies. This conversion was based on mass balances and process efficiencies associated with the current once-through LWR fuel cycle.Total energy input is calculated at 8.7 × 10^− 3 GJ(e)/MWh(e) of electricity and 5.9 × 10^− 3 GJ(t)/MWh(e) of thermal energy. It is dominated by the energy required for uranium extraction, conversion to fluoride compound for subsequent enrichment, and enrichment. An estimate of the carbon footprint is made from the direct energy consumption at 1.7 kg CO₂/MWh(e). Water use is likewise dominated by requirements of uranium extraction, totaling 154 L/MWh(e). Land use is calculated at 8 × 10^− 3 m²/MWh(e), over 90% of which is due to uranium extraction. Quantified impacts are limited to those resulting from activities performed within the FEFC process facilities (i.e. within the plant gates). Energy embodied in material inputs such as process chemicals and fuel cladding is identified but not explicitly quantified in this study. Inclusion of indirect energy associated with embodied energy as well as construction and decommissioning of facilities could increase the FEFC energy intensity estimate by a factor of up to 2.     

Financing investments in renewable energy : the impacts of policy design

The costs of electric power projects utilizing renewable energy technologies (RETs) are highly sensitive to financing terms. Consequently, as the electricity industry is restructured and new renewables policies are created, it is important for policymakers to consider the impacts of renewables policy design on RET financing. This paper reviews the power plant financing process for renewable energy projects, estimates the impact of financing terms on levelized energy costs, and provides insights to policymakers on the important nexus between renewables policy design and financing. We review five case studies of renewable energy policies, and find that one of the key reasons that RET policies are not more effective is that project development and financing processes are frequently ignored or misunderstood when designing and implementing renewable energy policies. The case studies specifically show that policies that do not provide long-term stability or that have negative secondary impacts on investment decisions will increase financing costs, sometimes dramatically reducing the effectiveness of the program. Within U.S. electricity restructuring proceedings, new renewable energy policies are being created, and restructuring itself is changing the way RETs are financed. As these new policies are created and implemented, it is essential that policymakers acknowledge the financing difficulties faced by renewables developers and pay special attention to the impacts of renewables policy design on financing. As shown in this paper, a renewables policy that is carefully designed can reduce renewable energy costs dramatically by providing revenue certainty that will, in turn, reduce financing risk premiums.     

Economic evaluation of hybrid renewable energy systems for rural electrification in Iran—A case study

The Binalood region in Iran enjoys an average wind speed of 6.82 m/s at 40 m elevation and an average daily solar radiation of 4.79 kWh/m²/day. Within this perspective, a remote rural village in Binalood region, called Sheikh Abolhassan, can readily be expected to have more than enough potential for its load demand to be supplied with a stand-alone hybrid renewable energy system. Yet the local state-run electrical service provider extended the utility grid to the village in 2006 to boost the already present diesel generator. This study aims, firstly, to explore how economical it would have been to keep supplying the electricity of the village by the diesel generator and add renewable energy generators to increase the renewable fraction of the system. On a second stage, we tried to investigate how renewable energy sources (RESs) can still be added to the current utility grid power supply in Sheikh Abolhassan to achieve a more economical and environmentally friendly system. The software HOMER is used in this study to evaluate the feasibility of various hybrid diesel-RES and grid-RES energy systems. Findings indicated that the addition of renewable power generators to the system both before and after the grid extension could and still can result in a more economical power system, which is obviously cleaner and more climate-benign.     

Power,placement and LEC evaluation to install CSP plants in northern Chile

Chile is expecting a 5.4% growth in energy consumption per year until 2030, requiring new and better solutions for the upward trend of its electricity demand. This state leads to select and study one of the potential alternatives for electricity generation: concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Such renewable technology found in Chile a very favorable condition. Recent researches indicate Atacama Desert as one of the best regions for solar energy worldwide, having an average radiation higher than in places where CSP plants are currently implemented, e.g. Spain and USA. The aim of this study is to present an analysis of levelized energy cost (LEC) for different power capacities of CSP plants placed in distinct locations in northern Chile. The results showed that CSP plants can be implemented in Atacama Desert with LECs around 19 ¢US$/kWh when a gas-fired backup and thermal energy storage (TES) systems are fitted. This value increases to approximately 28 ¢US$/kWh if there is no backup system.