The structure of residential energy demand in Greece

This paper attempts to shed light on the determinants of residential energy demand in Greece, and to compare it with some other OECD countries. From the estimates of the short-run and long-run elasticities of energy demand for the period 1965–1999, we find that residential energy demand appears to be price inelastic. Also, we do not find evidence of a structural change probably because of the low efficiency of the energy sector. We find, however, that the magnitude of the income elasticity varies substantially between Greece and other OECD countries.     

Export orientation and domestic electricity generation: Effects on energy efficiency innovation in select sectors

Why are some countries developing many energy efficiency innovations, while others are lagging behind? I argue that export orientation and electricity at low variable cost from nuclear and hydropower plants have an interactive effect on energy efficiency innovation. Export-oriented countries have strong incentives to invest in energy efficiency innovation, as they are in a position to export these technology innovations for global markets. But if inexpensive electricity is supplied in a country, the domestic demand for energy efficiency innovation is missing, and so the home market cannot serve as a springboard for international commercialization. I test this theory against international patent data on energy efficiency innovation in insulation, heating, and lighting for 22 OECD countries, 1991–2007. The statistical analysis indicates that export orientation has large positive effects on energy efficiency innovation in countries that do not rely on nuclear and hydroelectricity.     

Long-term trends of electric efficiencies in electricity generation in developing countries

This analysis provides time-series data on electric efficiencies for 138 countries and regions, covering all fossil fuels for the period 1971–2005, with an emphasis on non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. Fossil fuel consumption for electricity generation in non-OECD countries now exceeds that in the OECD. The historical performance of the top five non-OECD consumers of each fossil fuel for which reliable data are available is presented and discussed. For each fuel, the countries that lead the world in efficiency are used for benchmarks; bringing the rest of the world up to these standards would result in energy savings of 26 EJ (equivalent to 5% of global energy consumption) and CO₂ emissions reduction of 2.1 Pg (equivalent to 8% of global CO₂ emissions). Coal showed the largest potential margin of improvement for both energy and CO₂, with possible savings equivalent to 3% of current global energy consumption and 5% of global CO₂ emissions. The gap in electric efficiency between OECD and non-OECD countries over the past 35 years has widened for coal-fired generation, stayed relatively constant for natural gas, but has shrunk for petroleum. The results show the very gradual nature of overall efficiency improvements and the significant differences among regions and countries.     

Revisiting world energy intensity convergence for regional differences

World convergence in energy intensity is revisited using two new large data sets: a 111-country sample spanning 1971–2006, and a 134-country sample spanning 1990–2006. Both data sets confirm continued convergence. However, the larger data set, which adds the former Soviet Union republics and additional Balkan countries, indicates greater convergence over its more recent time-frame. Further investigation of geographical differences reveals that the OECD and Eurasian countries have shown considerable, continued convergence, while the Sub-Saharan African countries have converged amongst themselves, but at a slower rate than the OECD and Eurasian countries; by contrast, Latin American and Caribbean and Middle East and North African countries have exhibited no convergence to divergence in energy intensity.     

Dutch sectoral energy intensity developments in international perspective, 1987–2005

This paper makes use of a new dataset to investigate energy intensity developments in the Netherlands over the period 1987–2005. The dataset allows for a comparison with 18 other OECD countries. A key feature of our analysis is that we combine a cross-country perspective with a high level of sectoral detail, covering 49 sectors. Particularly innovative is our evaluation of energy intensity developments in a wide range of Service sectors. We find that across sectors, energy intensity levels in the Netherlands on average decreased only marginally, and increased in Services. This performance is in general worse than the OECD average, especially between 1987 and 1995. Changes in the sectoral composition of the economy play an important role in explaining aggregate trends. In the Manufacturing sector, about half of the efficiency improvements were undone by a shift towards a more energy-intensive industry structure. In contrast, in the Service sector efficiency decreased, which was undone for about one third by a shift towards a less energy-intensive sector structure.     

Linear programming models for measuring economy-wide energy efficiency performance

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has recently gained popularity in energy efficiency analysis. A common feature of the previously proposed DEA models for measuring energy efficiency performance is that they treat energy consumption as an input within a production framework without considering undesirable outputs. However, energy use results in the generation of undesirable outputs as by-products of producing desirable outputs. Within a joint production framework of both desirable and undesirable outputs, this paper presents several DEA-type linear programming models for measuring economy-wide energy efficiency performance. In addition to considering undesirable outputs, our models treat different energy sources as different inputs so that changes in energy mix could be accounted for in evaluating energy efficiency. The proposed models are applied to measure the energy efficiency performances of 21 OECD countries and the results obtained are presented.     

Energy consumption,energy R&D and real GDP in OECD countries with and without oil reserves

The objective of the study is to shed light on the contributions of energy consumption and energy R&D on economic growth. We examine two sets of causal relationship between (1) capital stock, energy consumption and real GDP and (2) capital stock, energy R&D and real GDP using panel-based fully-modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) for 20 OECD countries over the period of 1980–2010. Since different countries may respond differently to energy consumption and energy R&D, the sample is further divided into two groups: OECD countries with oil reserves and without oil reserves. Similarly, energy consumption and energy R&D are also further divided into fossil fuel energy and renewable energy. The results show that the role of energy R&D should not be overlooked and fossil fuel R&D is found to drive economic growth more than fossil fuel consumption. The findings also show that while capital stock and fossil fuels are the key factors driving economic growth, renewable energy promotes real output, specifically in the countries without oil reserves.     

Renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and economic activities: Further evidence from OECD countries

This article examines the dynamic relationship between renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and industrial output and GDP growth in OECD countries using data over the period of 1980–2011. The panel cointegration technique allowing structural breaks is used for empirical investigation. The results show that there is a long-term equilibrium relationship among non-renewable and renewable energy sources, industrial output and economic growth. The panel causality analyses show bidirectional causality between industrial output and both renewable and non-renewable energy consumption in the short and long run. However, there is evidence of bidirectional short-run relationship between GDP growth and non-renewable energy consumption while unidirectional causality between GDP growth and renewable energy consumption. These results indicate that OECD economies still remain energy-dependent for their industrial output as well as overall economic growth. However, expansion of renewable energy sources is a viable solution for addressing energy security and climate change issues, and gradually substituting renewable to non-renewable energy sources could enhance a sustainable energy economy.     

Polices for increasing energy efficiency: Thirty years of experience in OECD countries

Energy efficiency improvement was an important phenomenon in the global energy balance over the past 30 years. Without energy efficiency improvements, the OECD nations would have used approximately 49% more energy than was actually consumed as of 1998. This paper first reviews energy intensity trends for the major OECD nations since 1973, considering how much of the overall reduction in E/GDP was due to energy efficiency improvement and how much was due to structural change. The bulk of the paper examines the energy efficiency policies and programs adopted in Japan, United States, and Western Europe, commenting on their effectiveness and energy savings impacts where possible. The paper also reviews the energy efficiency policies and programs adopted in California. This experience shows that well-designed policies can result in substantial energy savings, as demonstrated in the United States where nine specific policies and programs reduced primary energy use in 2002 by approximately 11%. Substantial energy savings also occurred in Japan, some European countries, and in the electricity sector in California.     

The energy–GDP nexus; addressing an old question with new methods

This paper reassesses the causal relationship between per capita energy use and gross domestic product, while controlling for capital and labour (productivity) inputs in a panel of 30 OECD countries over the past 40 years. The paper uses panel unit root and cointegration testing and specifies an appropriate vector error correction model to analyse the nexus between income and energy use. In doing so we contribute to an old debate using modern tools that shed a new light. There is some evidence that over the very short-run bidirectional causality exists. Our results also show a strong unidirectional causality running from capital formation and GDP to energy usage. In the long run the reverse causality, found in recent work, is lost. We then show that we can reproduce these earlier results in our data if we reproduce a slightly misspecified model for the Engle–Granger two-step procedure used in these earlier papers. Our findings thus imply that results are very sensitive to model misspecification and careful testing of specifications is required. Our results have some strong policy implications. They suggest that policies aimed at reducing energy usage or promoting energy efficiency are not likely to have a detrimental effect on economic growth, except over the very short run.     

Society exergy analysis: a comparison of different societies

Data from exergy analyses for a number of different countries found in the literature are compared and the differences are discussed. In studies of Sweden, Ghana, Japan, Italy and Norway, the exergy in material flows had been considered, in addition to the flows of energy carriers. In other studies, the use of energy carriers was analyzed for the USA, Finland, Canada, Brazil, Turkey, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and the World. The exergy of material flows in these societies was estimated. The total annual exergy input per capita to the societies ranged over one order of magnitude. The total exergy efficiency varied from approximately 0.1 to 0.3, whereas the end-use exergy efficiency in general was slightly higher. It was found that different investigators had made somewhat different assumptions on exergy efficiencies in specific sectors, and these assumptions are discussed. However, the structure of the energy system appeared to be more important for the total exergy efficiency than the assumptions on the sectors. In particular, the residential–commercial sector represents major irreversibilities in many societies. In countries where electricity from thermal power plants has a significant contribution to the end use, this also caused large irreversibilities. Finally, the method of society exergy analysis is discussed. It is pointed out that, because of structural dissimilarities, different countries should be compared with care. However, the development within each society can be evaluated using exergy analyses. Furthermore, such analyses can be used as a means to increase the awareness of the notion of energy quality and degradation.     

Energy subsidies,structure of electricity prices and technological change of energy use

This paper addresses the impact of the structure of energy prices on technological change in renewable energy sources. It operates on two fields of research that are often not related to each other. Firstly, the increasing interest in environmental economics for the determinants of green technological change, and secondly the impact of government policies aimed at subsidizing energy prices. Recent research claims a positive relationship between energy prices and the number of patents in the fields of energy efficiency. This paper extends this research by investigating the impact of the price structure of electricity on patent counts in 1) renewable energy sources, 2) wind energy and 3) solar power. In nearly all OECD countries in the period 1990–2006 industrial energy users pay a lower price per energy unit than households due, among others, to government subsidy policies. The empirical results show that reducing government subsidies and hence increasing the electricity price of (large) industrial electricity users relative to the price paid by (small) residential users provides a clear incentive to increase inventions as measured by number of patents in the technical fields of solar and wind energy. These results are an important input in the debate on reducing government support to large energy users.     

Efficiency-improving fossil fuel technologies for electricity generation: Data selection and trends

This paper studies patenting dynamics in efficiency improving electricity generation technologies as an important indicator of innovation activity. We build a novel database of worldwide patent applications in efficiency-improving fossil fuel technologies for electricity generation and then analyse patenting trends over time and across countries. We find that patenting has mostly been stable over time, with a recent decreasing trend. OECD countries represent the top innovators and the top markets for technology. Some non-OECD countries, and particularly China, are also very active in terms of patenting activity in this sector. The majority of patents are first filed in OECD countries and only then in BRIC and other non-OECD countries. BRIC and other non-OECD countries apply for patents that are mostly marketed domestically, but BRIC countries represent important markets for patent duplication of OECD inventions. These results are indicative of significant technology transfer in the field of efficiency-improving technologies for electricity production.     

Convergence in per capita energy use among OECD countries

Unlike previous studies which mainly focus on the integration properties of energy consumption and production, this study examines the convergence of per capita energy use among 25 OECD countries over the period 1960 to 2010. In particular, newly developed LM and RALS-LM unit root tests with allowance for two endogenously determined structural breaks are employed. The results indicate significant support for per capita energy use convergence among OECD countries.     

Technology transfer issues and challenges for improved energy efficiency and environmental performance in China

The need to ensure sustainable energy related technology transfer from OECD countries to industrializing nations and nations in transition is considered. Particular reference is made to the issues and challenges associated with China. This is an industrializing nation with a strong need to achieve significant improvements in overall energy efficiency and the associated environmental impact. This together with an overwhelming dependence on coal in all market sectors highlights the challenges that need to be surmounted. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A note on the environmental Kuznets curve for CO2: A pooled mean group approach

This paper investigates whether the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for CO₂ emissions is satisfied using the panel data of 28 countries by taking nuclear energy into account. Using the pooled mean group (PMG) estimation method, our main results indicate that (1) the impacts of nuclear energy on CO₂ emissions are significantly negative, (2) CO₂ emissions actually increase monotonically within the sample period in all cases: the full sample, OECD countries, and non-OECD countries, and (3) the growth rate in CO₂ emissions with income is decreasing in OECD countries and increasing in non-OECD countries.     

Energy consumption and economic growth: New insights into the cointegration relationship

This paper examines the long-run relationship between energy consumption and real GDP, including energy prices, for 25 OECD countries from 1981 to 2007. The distinction between common factors and idiosyncratic components using principal component analysis allows to distinguish between developments on an international and a national level as drivers of the long-run relationship. Indeed, cointegration between the common components of the underlying variables indicates that international developments dominate the long-run relationship between energy consumption and real GDP. Furthermore, the results suggest that energy consumption is price-inelastic. Causality tests indicate the presence of a bi-directional causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth.     

Coordinating technological progress and environmental regulation in CO2 mitigation: The optimal levels for OECD countries & emerging economies

As technological progress and environmental regulation are not only important drivers of but also the double-edged swords in mitigation of CO₂ emissions, it is important to figure out their optimal threshold values for CO₂ emissions' reduction. This paper employs the panel smooth transition regression technique to explore these optimal values in the case of OECD countries and emerging economies. The results show that: (1) OECD countries are at a level of excessive technological progress, which will have a rebound effect and increase CO₂ emissions. (2) Emerging economies are under a strict level of environmental regulation, which will lead to serious ‘green paradox’ effects and harm the economic development. Moreover, they have great potential to achieve CO₂ emissions reduction targets through technological progress. (3) Due to the rebound effect, the concentration of environment-related technologies should be shifted from improving energy efficiency to reducing carbon emissions directly such as capture, storage, sequestration or disposal of greenhouse gases. (4) OECD countries should provide low-carbon technical support to emerging economies. In addition, because of the existence of heterogeneity, OECD countries ought to determine their levels of technological progress and environmental regulation according to their own actual conditions.     

Heterogeneous effects of regulation on the efficiency of the electricity industry across European Union countries

This paper focuses on the relationship between the stringency of regulation (OECD indicators) and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the electricity sectors of 19 European Union countries for the period 1994–2007. Both the OECD regulatory indicator and the TFP growth index have been decomposed in order to bring to light a complex picture of interrelations in which the negative impact of the overall regulation on productivity is the result of opposite forces. Estimation results tell us that only the stringency of entry regulation significantly reduces technological change, whereas vertical integration exhibits a negative and significant impact only on the catching up process (pure efficiency change). Lastly, we found an interesting result concerning the explanatory variables of the scale efficiency change: in this case only public ownership matters, in other terms high levels of public in the structure ownership of electric companies guarantee improvements in reaching the optimal scale of production. These heterogeneous effects are also confirmed when we use a different measure of efficiency, that is, the distance of the actual from the optimal reserve margin.     

Decomposing energy productivity change: A distance function approach

By using output distance functions, this paper decomposes energy productivity change into several components: effects of the changes in the ratios of non-energy inputs to energy, energy supply composition, and output composition; technical efficiency change; technological change. We apply this method to decompose energy productivity change in 23 OECD countries between 1980 and 1990. Results show that technological change is the most important source; increase in capital–energy ratio and the growing importance within total energy supply of electricity also contribute to it.