Examining the potential of natural gas demand-side measures to benefit customers,the distribution utility,and the environment: two case studies from Europe

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how integrated resource planning (IRP) oriented to the gas sector can be applied both in new networks and in mature networks, and to present the advantages of its application. One case study is described, in the western central region of Portugal, to illustrate the results of a pilot project on natural gas IRP implementation in a new network in the European Union (EU). The city of Burg, Germany, with a mature gas network with district heating was also analysed in terms of IRP potential. The most important phases of the integrated resource plan definition and implementation (especially those oriented to the demand-side) are presented, namely, the definition of the most efficient technologies (including solar energy), fuel-switching possibilities, a detailed study of the impacts in the economy, environment and society, and the policy incentives necessary to motivate the gas utility companies to perform IRP. In the main case study, the suggested implementation plan would lead to a reduction of around 4.7% in natural gas consumption. Additionally, 13.3% of cost-effective fuel switching from other competing forms of energy to natural gas can be achieved. A proposed EU energy services directive on mandatory energy–efficiency activities for gas and electricity distribution utilities in the EU, will promote the large-scale implementation of the proposed approach in Europe.     

利用需求侧资源降低配电网脆弱性的优化方法研究

基于需求侧用户资源能量转换和存储设备的可调特性,分析电网故障后需求侧资源对改善配电网的脆弱性的价值.为最大化挖掘需求侧分布式能源对电网负荷恢复的作用,构建考虑规划-运行的两阶段需求侧资源优化选择模型.该模型在充分考虑不同电网故障场景的基础上,以系统投资成本和失负荷运行成本之和最小化为目标,同时考虑用户用能、系统运行等约...     

我国工业节能现状调研和对策

近年来我国一次能源的消费持续快速增长,尤其是工业领域能耗巨大,约占我国总能耗的70%,能源供应形势严峻。针对目前我国以化石能源消耗为主的能耗结构,本文在用能现状分析的基础上,着重从科学用能的角度提出了节能降耗的关键技术路线,主要包括热能的梯级利用、能源-资源的综合利用、动力机械节能、余能的回收利用等,同时探讨了依靠良好的政策管理、积极的示范推广来实现节能的目的。     

Exergy based supply side energy management for sustainable energy development

Sustainability is regarded as a major consideration for both urban and rural development. People have been exploiting the natural resources with no consideration to the effects—both short term (environmental) and long term (resource crunch). It is felt that knowledge and technology have not been used optimistically. The urban areas depend to a large extent on commercial energy sources. The rural areas use non-commercial sources like firewood, agricultural wastes. Even this is decreasing over the years, with the villagers wanting to adopt the ready to use sophisticated technology. The debate now is to identify a suitable via media. The option that fills this gap aptly is the renewable energy source. Though it is often argued that the link between renewable energy and sustainability is only theoretical and academical rather than practical, it must be realised that in the long run renewable energy is the only option that could meet the growing energy needs. An attempt has been made here to analyse the supply side management of energy resources contrary to demand side management which is followed now. The results reveal that exergy destruction is reduced thus increasing the returns and paving the way for sustainable development.     

City size and energy conservation: Do large cities in China consume more energy?

Although the nexus between urbanization and energy consumption has been widely discussed at the macro level or in specific areas such as in relation to residents and transport, how the expansion of city size affects energy consumption in the process of urbanization is still unknown. Clarifying this impact mechanism is necessary for China to achieve its energy conservation goals. In this context, based on a systematic theoretical elaboration, this study constructs an econometric model of the nexus between city size and energy use and performs a series of robust empirical analyses through the endogenous control of instrumental variables. The results show that the current expansion of China's city size tends to positively affect energy consumption; however, as city size continues to expand, energy consumption will exceed the critical value and change from increasing to decreasing. In this process, it is easier to achieve a decline in energy intensity than a decline in per capita energy consumption. Cities with a population exceeding 1 million in their urban districts are more conducive to reducing energy use. Compared with the expansion of urban built-up areas, an increasing population agglomeration can more effectively promote the decline of urban energy consumption. This study provides policy makers with new ideas about urban planning and energy conservation.     

地方落实“十一五”节能目标难点和对策的调查

我国在“十一五”规划纲要中提出“十一五”末万元GDP能耗下降20％左右的目标,各省、市、自治区正在积极落实这一目标。山东、江苏、山西省3省既有能源消费大省,也有能源生产大省,可作为沿海能源匮乏省份和内陆能源资源丰富省份的代表。调研表明,3个省已经着手开展能耗指标分解、节能保障机制的建立、能源消费监测等基础性工作,但同时普遍存在着追求高GDP增长速度,缺乏调整结构的有效手段等问题,制约“十一五”节能目标的实现。解析山东、江苏、山西落实节能降耗的举措、经验及其遇到的问题,对全国乃至其他地区开展节能降耗工作具有借鉴意义。本文就一些共性问题进行了归纳和总结,并提出了相关对策建议。     

The unrecognized contribution of renewable energy to Europe's energy savings target

We show that renewable energy contributes to Europe's 2020 primary energy savings target. This contribution, which is to a large extent still unknown and not recognized by policy makers, results from the way renewable energy is dealt with in Europe's energy statistics. We discuss the policy consequences and argue that the ‘energy savings’ occurring from the accounting of renewable energy should not distract attention from demand-side energy savings in sectors such as transport, industry and the built environment. The consequence of such a distraction could be that many of the benefits from demand-side energy savings, for example lower energy bills, increase of the renewable energy share in energy consumption without investing in new renewable capacity, and long-term climate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80%, will be missed. Such distraction is not hypothetical since Europe's 2020 renewable energy target is binding whereas the 2020 primary energy savings target is only indicative.     

A harmonized calculation model for transforming EU bottom-up energy efficiency indicators into empirical estimates of policy impacts

This study is an impact analysis of European Union (EU) energy efficiency policy that employs both top-down energy consumption data and bottom-up energy efficiency statistics or indicators. As such, it may be considered a contribution to the effort called for in the EU's 2006 Energy Services Directive (ESD) to develop a harmonized calculation model. Although this study does not estimate the realized savings from individual policy measures, it does provide estimates of realized energy savings for energy efficiency policy measures in aggregate. Using fixed effects panel models, the annual cumulative savings in 2011 of combined household and manufacturing sector electricity and natural gas usage attributed to EU energy efficiency policies since 2000 is estimated to be 1136 PJ; the savings attributed to energy efficiency policies since 2006 is estimated to be 807 PJ, or the equivalent of 5.6% of 2011 EU energy consumption. As well as its contribution to energy efficiency policy analysis, this study adds to the development of methods that can improve the quality of information provided by standardized energy efficiency and sustainable resource indexes.     

Climate-related electricity demand-side management in oil-exporting countries—the case of the United Arab Emirates

The oil crisis of the 1970s has increased the concern about the continuity of oil imports flow to major oil-importing developed countries. Numerous policy measures including electricity demand-side management (DSM) programs have been adopted in such countries. These measures aim at reducing the growing need for electricity power that increases the dependency on imported foreign oil and damages the environment. On the other hand, the perception that energy can be obtained at very low cost in oil-rich countries led to less attention being paid to the potential of DSM policies in these countries. This paper discusses such potential using the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Since air conditioning is a major source of electric energy consumption, the relationship between climate conditions and electric energy consumption is considered. An electricity demand model is constructed using time series techniques. The fitted model seems to represent these relationships rather well. Forecasts for electricity consumption using the estimated model indicate that a small reduction in cooling degrees requirement might induce a significant reduction in electric energy demand. Hence, a DSM program is proposed with policy actions to include, among others, measures to reduce cooling degrees requirement.     

A supply-side approach to energy policy

Existing energy policy proposals are approached from a demand-side perspective to solve the immediate problem of meeting existing demands defined by existing technologies. However, a constructive forward-looking policy requires a supply-side perspective. The purview of energy policy is ultimately the efficient allocation of our scarce supply of available energy for ‘exergy’. The authors outline a proposal for efficient exergy management. This supply-side orientation is based upon basic thermodynamic principles, thus offering a foundation for formation of consistent criteria for policy-oriented decision making.     

A system dynamics approach to scenario analysis for urban passenger transport energy consumption and CO2 emissions: A case study of Beijing

With the accelerating process of urbanization, developing countries are facing growing pressure to pursue energy savings and emission reductions, especially in urban passenger transport. In this paper, we built a Beijing urban passenger transport carbon model, including an economy subsystem, population subsystem, transport subsystem, and energy consumption and CO₂ emissions subsystem using System Dynamics. Furthermore, we constructed a variety of policy scenarios based on management experience in Beijing. The analysis showed that priority to the development of public transport (PDPT) could significantly increase the proportion of public transport locally and would be helpful in pursuing energy savings and emission reductions as well. Travel demand management (TDM) had a distinctive effect on energy savings and emission reductions in the short term, while technical progress (TP) was more conducive to realizing emission reduction targets. Administrative rules and regulations management (ARM) had the best overall effect of the individual policies on both energy savings and emission reductions. However, the effect of comprehensive policy (CP) was better than any of the individual policies pursued separately. Furthermore, the optimal implementation sequence of each individual policy in CP was TP→PDPT→TDM→ARM.     

中国居民生活用能现状及展望

居民生活用能分析是能源政策研究中的重要组成部分。文章运用活动分析法借助于LEAP模型，对1999年中国居民能源消费情况进行了描述和分析，总结出中国居民生活能源消费的特点，并且针对未来发展趋势，提出了对策建议。     

A method for mapping the turbulence intensity and excess energy available to building mounted wind turbines over a UK City

Assessing the potential of proposed urban wind installations is hindered by insufficient assessments of both urban wind resource, and the effectiveness of commercial gust control solutions within built up areas. Evaluating the potential performance of wind turbines within the urban environment requires an estimation of the total energy that would be available to them were effective control systems to be used. This paper presents a methodology for estimating the excess energy content (EEC) present in the gusty urban wind, which is usually under represented when using assessments based only on mean wind speeds. The method is developed using high temporal resolution wind measurements from eight potential turbine sites within the urban and suburban environment. By assessing the relationship between turbulence intensities and the EEC, an analytical methodology for predicting the total wind energy available at a potential turbine site is proposed. Sensitivity analysis with respect to temporal data resolution on the predicted EEC is also demonstrated. The methodology is then integrated with an analytical methodology that was initially developed to predict mean wind speeds at different heights within a UK city based on detailed mapping of its aerodynamic characteristics. Additional estimates of turbulence intensities and EEC based on the current methodology allow a more complete assessment of the wind resource available. The methodology is applied to the UK city of Leeds as a case study and the potential to map turbulence intensities and the total kinetic energy available at different heights within a typical urban city is demonstrated. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Residential energy consumption: A convergence analysis across Chinese regions

The process of urbanization and the raise of living standards in China have led an increasing trend in the patterns of residential consumption. Projections for the population growth rate in urban areas do not paint a very optimistic picture for energy conservation policies. In addition, the concentration of economic activities around coastal areas calls for new prospects to be formulated for energy policy. In this context, the objective of this paper is twofold. First, we analyse the effect of the urbanization process of the Chinese economy in terms of the long-run patterns of residential energy consumption at national level. By using the concept of club convergence, we examine whether electricity and coal consumption in rural and urban areas converge to the same long-run equilibrium or whether in fact they diverge. Second, the impact of the regional concentration of the economic activity on energy consumption patterns is also assessed by source of energy across Chinese regions from 1995 to 2011. Our results suggest that the process of urbanization has led to coal being replaced by electricity in urban residential energy consumption. In rural areas, the evidence is mixed. The club convergence analysis confirms that rural and urban residential energy consumption converge to different steady-states. At the regional level, we also confirm the effect of the regional concentration of economic activity on residential energy consumption. The existence of these regional clusters converging to different equilibrium levels is indicative of the need of regional-tailored set of energy policies in China.     

中国城镇居民生活完全能源消费的测算及趋势分析

本文以1996～2010年为样本期,运用CLA方法,对中国居民生活能源消费进行测算,分析居民生活能源消费的变化趋势及原因.研究结果表明,城镇居民生活直接和完全能源消费呈现上升趋势.间接能源消费呈现先期增长较快,2004年以后呈现波动略降的趋势.人们的消费行为倾向由生存型消费逐步向发展型和享受型消费转变.因此,提出结构节能效应,提倡适度合理的消费方式,促进生活节能等政策建议.     

Residential energy consumption patterns: the case of Lebanon

In an attempt to fill a significant gap in baseline information, 509 households have been studied to analyse the residential consumption patterns in the urban environment in Lebanon. The average annual household energy consumption has been found to be 6907 kWh, whereas per capita consumption is 1727 kWh. Seasonal and monthly variations are analysed indicating increased energy consumption in the summer months accounting for 28% of total annual consumption. Correlations are indicated for energy consumption with apartment price, area, income and number of residents. Multiple regression analysis indicated statistical significance of income, area and number of residents to the energy consumption. Based on current consumption and electricity generating technologies, 1.6 tons of CO₂, 7.3 kg of SO₂ in addition to other pollutants are generated per resident. Comparative analysis indicates that Lebanon has electricity consumption similar to that of Western Europe, paving the way for significant energy saving potential. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Urban heat islands and electrical energy consumption

This study proposes the development of thermal and energy consumption maps to generate useful planning information. A residential neighbourhood in a medium-sized city was selected as the study area. In this area, 40 points were taken as urban reference points where air temperatures at the pedestrian level were collected. At the same time, rural temperatures made available by the city meteorological station were registered. Data of electrical energy consumption of the building units (houses and apartments) were collected through a household survey that was also designed to identify the users’ income levels. Then, maps were developed so that the configuration of urban heat islands and electrical energy consumption could be visualised, compared and analysed. The results showed that the income level was the most important variable influencing electrical energy consumption. However, a strong relationship of the consumption with the thermal environment was also observed.     

Analysis of sectoral energy conservation in Malaysia

The electrical energy consumption in Malaysia has increased sharply in the past few years, and modern energy efficient technologies are desperately needed for the national energy policy. This article presents a comprehensive picture of the current status of energy consumption and various energy conservation options viable for Malaysian environment. A detailed survey is made to assess the consumption pattern and the existing techniques for energy efficiency. Based on the survey, the feasibility of improving the available systems and adopting new programs in different sectors is investigated. The study reveals the fact that the energy conservation policy of the country has been fairly improved in the last ten years. However the country has to pay more attention to this area and make urgent measures to adopt more energy efficient technologies in various sectors.     

高风电渗透率下考虑需求侧管理策略的智能微电网调度方法

提出了一种高风电渗透率下考虑需求侧管理策略的智能微电网调度方法.首先,考虑经济、环境成本指标、清洁能源就地消纳量以及可中断负荷和可转移负荷策略,建立了多目标优化调度模型.然后,引入ε约束法生成Pareto前沿解集,利用归一化方法求出最优折衷解.最后,基于24节点配电系统对所提方法进行分析验证.算例结果表明:建立的多目标...     

Global climate change: Implications for thailand's energy systems

An energy/environmental model has been developed to estimate Thailand's energy consumption and CO₂ emissions through the end of the National Tenth Plan (year 2011). The projection suggests that fossil-fuel consumption, not deforestation, will be the major source of emissions during 1990–2011. By the year 2011, energy-efficiency improvement measures could bring about a 14% reduction of CO₂ emissions. Any reduction beyond this level would require switches of fuel mix in the power, transportation, and industrial sectors. Fuel shifts in the power sector alone could cut emissions by up to 20% to 30%. In the longer run, Thailand should consider adopting unconventional sources of energy, as well as make use of reforestation policy to absorb future CO₂ emissions.