Global warming and renewable energy sources for sustainable development in Turkey

Turkey, with its young population and growing energy demand per person, its fast growing urbanization, and its economic development, has been one of the fast growing power markets of the world for the last two decades. It is expected that the demand for electric energy in Turkey will be 300 billion kWh by the year 2010 and 580 billion kWh by the year 2020. Turkey is heavily dependent on expensive imported energy resources 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. Turkey's geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of most of these renewable energy sources. This article presents a review of the potential and utilization of the renewable energy sources in Turkey.     

Gharats (watermills): Indigenous device for sustainable development of renewable hydro-energy in Uttrakhand Himalayas

The Himalaya has a rich ancient tradition for tapping hydro-energy from the hill streams and rivers through the device of gharats (watermills). The present contribution encompasses the study on the energy consumption pattern of hill communities living in buffer zone of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, a world heritage site located in Garhwal Himalayas, India, The current status of gharats, the factors responsible for the neglect of this renewable energy device, initiatives taken for upgrading for their revival have been highlighted. Field and policy level opportunities and constraints associated with promotion of such hydro-energy in the study area by upgrading of traditional watermills are analysed and suitable options for removing impediments are suggested.     

Energy for sustainable development in Malaysia: Energy policy and alternative energy

Energy is often known as the catalyst for development. Globally, the per capita consumption of energy is often used as a barometer to measure the level of economic development in a particular country. Realizing the importance of energy as a vital component in economic and social development, the government of Malaysia has been continuously reviewing its energy policy to ensure long-term reliability and security of energy supply. Concentrated efforts are being undertaken to ensure the sustainability of energy resources, both depletable and renewable. The aim of this paper is to describe the various energy policies adopted in Malaysia to ensure long-term reliability and security of energy supply. The role of both, non-renewable and renewable sources of energy in the current Five-Fuel Diversification Strategy energy mix will also be discussed. Apart from that, this paper will also describe the various alternative energy and the implementation of energy efficiency program in Malaysia.     

Techno‐economic analysis of an integrated biorefinery system for poly‐generation of power,heat, pellet and bioethanol

Bioethanol is an alternative to fossil fuels in the transportation sector. The use of pellet for heating is also an efficient way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This paper evaluates the techno‐economic performance of a biorefinery system in which an existing combined heat and power (CHP) plant is integrated with the production of bioethanol and pellet using straw as feedstock. A two‐stage acid hydrolysis process is used for bioethanol production, and two different drying technologies are applied to dry hydrolysis solid residues. A sensitivity analysis is performed on critical parameters such as the bioethanol selling price and feedstock price. The bioethanol production cost is also calculated for two cases with either 10 year or 15 year payback times. The results show that the second case is currently a more feasible economic configuration and reduces production costs by 36.4%–77.3% compared to other types of poly‐generation plants that are not integrated into existing CHP plants. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A renewable perspective for sustainable energy development in Turkey: The case of small hydropower plants

Renewable energy resources provide a large share of the total energy consumption of many developing countries. Turkey's renewable sources are the second largest source for energy production after coal. About two-thirds of the renewable energy produced is obtained from biomass, while the rest is mainly from hydroelectric energy. Hydropower is today the most important kind of renewable and sustainable energy. In Turkey, most of the important water power plants have been developed; hence, only a modest increase in the hydroelectric generating capability can be anticipated in the next two decades. Turkey has a gross annual hydro potential of 433,000 GWh, which is almost 1% of world total potential. Its share is about 16% of the total hydropower capacity in Europe. The total gross electricity production of Turkey has reached about 140,283 GWh in 2003, 75% of this is produced from thermal sources and the reminder 25% from hydropower. The main objective in doing the present study is to investigate the sustainable development of Turkey's small hydropower (SHP) plants. Development of SHP began in 1902 in Turkey. Total installed projects capacity of SHP plant is 2.45% and the total energy potential is about 2.96%, which have installed capacity less than 10 MW.     

Bridging the scales: A conceptual model for coordinated expansion of renewable power generation,transmission and storage

To analyze the challenge of large-scale integration of renewables during the next decades, we present a conceptual power system model that bridges the gap between long term investment allocation and short-term system operation decisions. It integrates dynamic investments in generation, transmission and storage capacities as well as short-term variability and spatial distribution of supply and demand in a single intertemporal optimization framework. Large-scale grid topology, power flow distributions and storage requirements are determined endogenously. Results obtained with a three region model application indicate that adequate and timely investments in transmission and storage capacities are of great importance. Delaying these investments, which are less costly than investments in generation capacities, leads to system-wide indirect effects, such as non-optimal siting of renewable generation capacities, decreasing generation shares of renewables, increasing residual emissions and hence higher overall costs.     

Renewable energy resources and sustainable development in Mykonos (Greece)

Nowadays, the increase of carbon dioxide emissions contributes to the surface temperature's increase and it is the prime cause for the climatic changes. The basic measure that has been taken by world community for the confrontation of this phenomenon was the use of renewable energy sources (RES).This research refers to the use of RES, in the island of Mykonos. It focuses on the repercussions of renewable energy sources on the environment as well as the economic sector. Specifically, it refers to the aeolian parks and to the photovoltaic systems of electric energy production. At the same time, the research takes into account the existing legislative regulations for the uses as well as for the spatial planning frames for the RES.For the exploration of repercussions was used not only the research of elements and that of primary sources but also the methodology of interviews as well as the observation on the spot. The conclusions showed that the correct management of renewable energy sources from regulations of local authorities like the Municipality of Mykonos, as well as the private sector can contribute to the protection of environment and to the economic development of the area.     

A dynamic inexact energy systems planning model for supporting greenhouse-gas emission management and sustainable renewable energy development under uncertainty—A case study for the City of Waterloo,Canada

In this study, a dynamic interval-parameter community-scale energy systems planning model (DIP-CEM) was developed for supporting greenhouse-gas emission (GHG) management and sustainable energy development under uncertainty. The developed model could reach insight into the interactive characteristics of community-scale energy management systems, and thus capable of addressing specific community environmental and socio-economic features. Through integrating interval-parameter and mixed-integer linear programming techniques within a general optimization framework, the DIP-CEM could address uncertainty (expressed as interval values) existing in related costs, impact factors and system objectives as well as facilitate dynamic analysis of capacity-expansion decisions under such a uncertainty. DIP-CEM was then applied to the City of Waterloo, Canada to demonstrate its applicability in supporting decisions of community energy systems planning and GHG-emission reduction management. One business-as-usual (BAU) case and two GHG-emission reduction cases were analyzed with desired plans of GHG-emission reduction. The results indicated that the developed DIP-CEM could help provide sound strategies for dealing with issues of sustainable energy development and GHG-emission reduction within an energy management system.     

Meeting energy demand in a developing economy without damaging the environment—A case study in Sabah,Malaysia, from technical,environmental and economic perspectives

The challenges faced by the developing countries are unique in that they need to meet the increasing energy demands for their economic growths at a competitive price without damaging the environments. In this paper, a case study on the electricity demand issue in Sabah, Malaysia, is presented to investigate potential solutions in addressing this current need for a typical developing economy from the technical, economical and environmental perspectives. Sabah, one of the 13 states in Malaysia, is currently experiencing a serious power shortage, especially at the east coast. A 300 MW coal plant is proposed by the electricity utility company. However, the proposal has been rejected in the past several years due to the negative environmental impacts of the plant. In this paper, a number of alternative solutions were evaluated and proposed with respect to the viability of technologies, financial return and minimum environmental impact in terms of GHG emission.     

Implementation of biofuels in Malaysian transportation sector towards sustainable development: A case study of international cooperation between Malaysia and Japan

Modern transportation nowadays has evolved into an important economic activity for human civilisation. Even though various alternative energy solutions have been put forward to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels, biofuels remain one of the few options which are capable of replacing the roles of fossil fuels in transportation sector without suffering from major economic losses. Malaysia with a huge supply of palm oil for biofuels production is intended to implement mandatory biodiesel blends in its transportation sector in 2011 in order to achieve its carbon reduction commitment towards a more sustainable development. This implementation was originally targeted to start in 2009 but had to be postponed due to several obstacles such as expensive cost, lack of sufficient infrastructure and low public demand. On the other hand, Japan is also trying to fulfil its carbon reduction obligation as outlined under Kyoto Protocol with the usage of biofuels to replace fossil fuels in the transportation sector. However, it lacks sufficient biofuels supply to support its high transportation energy demand. In this case study, the mutual cooperation between Malaysia and Japan in the implementation of biofuels in transportation sector will be studied and analysed in order to overcome the challenges presented in both countries. It is hope to ascertain potential cooperation opportunities amongst those two countries to promote biofuels energy as Malaysia is rich in natural resources whilst Japan has the relevant expertise and technology. It is believed that the strengths from one country can help to cover for the weaknesses from the other and vice versa via closer bilateral partnership which will be extremely crucial when dealing with global energy issues. Ultimately, it is hope that this case study will enable both Malaysian and Japanese government to achieve their renewable energy target in domestic transportation sector.     

The development of urban renewable energy at the existential technology research center (ETRC) in Toronto, Canada

This paper presents new forms of urban renewable energy, in particular, the integration of solar and wind power into the industrial and commercial buildings with flat roofs which populate a city's downtown core. This combination of renewable energy passively adapts to pre-existing structures and exploits them to their full advantage. The working prototypes presented aim to introduce an element of multi-functionality to building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), creating systems which produce energy while meeting required needs and desirable features of urban buildings. We also explore the combination of wind energy and various energy efficiency initiatives with BIPV designs. Our energy efficiency initiatives include a new method of generating the perception of natural sunlight from artificial light and brainwave controlled lighting that dims automatically when occupants’ concentration is lowered. These efforts result in an environment that celebrates the existential notion of self-empowerment through reducing energy consumption and having control over one's own energy production. Our discussion follows into market considerations of our BIPV designs and how project costs are lowered and space is conserved, assets when designing for urban locations. The test site for the development of urban renewable energy is the Existential Technology Research Center (ETRC), located in downtown Toronto, Canada.     

Energy consumption in barley and turnip rape cultivation for bioethanol and biodiesel (RME) production

The energy consumption for six spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) production chains and five spring turnip rape (Brassica rapa ssp. oleifera (DC) Metsg.) production chains were compared with each other and in relation to the energy content of the seed yield. Two cultivation intensities, standard and intensive production, were used for barley. Fertiliser production and grain drying were the most energy consuming phases of the chains. The production of nitrogen fertiliser alone accounted for 1/3-1/2 of the total energy consumption of the production chains. If barley were direct drilled and the yield stored in airtight silos, instead of drying, the energy consumption would decrease by 30-34%. Use of wood-chips instead of oil for grain drying would decrease the use of fossil fuel to the same extent. The input-output ratios for the intensive barley production chains were 0.18-0.25. They were somewhat lower than the ratios for the standard production intensity. The intensive production was more energy efficient despite higher input rates. The input-output ratios for turnip rape production were 0.32-0.34. The energy consumption for manufacturing, repair and maintenance of machines and buildings requires more research because it is a significant factor but the data available are largely old and few studies have been conducted.     

Regional sustainable water and energy development projects: A case of Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) in Turkey

Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) region in Turkey is rich in water for irrigation and hydroelectric power. The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers represent over 28% of the nation's water supply by rivers, and the economically irrigable areas in the region make up 20% of those for the entry country. 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 construction of new hydropower plants, 36% of the economically usable potential of the country would be tapped. The GAP region has a 22% share of the country's total hydroelectric potential, with plans for 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric power plants. Once completed, 27 billion kWh of electricity will be generated annually.     

Research and deployment priorities for renewable technologies: Quantifying the importance of various renewable technologies for low cost,high renewable electricity systems in an Australian case study

This study aims to identify research priorities to enable low cost, high renewable power systems. An evolutionary program optimises the mix of technologies in 100% renewable energy portfolios (RE) in the Australian National Electricity Market. Various technologies are reduced in availability to determine their relative importance for achieving low costs. The single most important factor is found to be the integration of large quantities of wind; therefore wind integration is identified as a research priority. In contrast, photovoltaics are found to “saturate” the system at less than 10% of total energy (in the absence of storage or demand management, installation of further photovoltaics does not contribute significant further value). This indicates that policies to promote utility-scale photovoltaics should be considered in partnership with complementary measures (such as demand side participation and storage). Biofuelled gas turbines are found to be important; a complete absence of bioenergy increases costs by AU$20–30/MWh, and even having only 0.1 TWh per year of bioenergy available reduces average costs by AU$3–4/MWh. Limits on the non-synchronous penetration (NSP) are found to be relatively expensive, suggesting a significant research priority around finding alternative approaches to providing synchronous services, such as inertia. Geothermal and concentrating solar thermal technologies do not appear essential as long as sufficient wind and peaking bioenergy is available.     

Development of new generation cooperatives in agriculture for renewable energy research,development, and demonstration projects

Any of several business structures may be used to operate a farm enterprise. Models have been developed showing advantages and disadvantages of sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations when applied as farm enterprises. In recent years, the farm cooperative business structure has taken on a different complexion, especially when faced with new crops and uses, mixed, multiple, and international markets, and cross-cutting market sectors. These new generation cooperatives have played a particularly strong role in developing renewable energy and agricultural enterprises, especially in the face of proposed new crop rotations, inclusion of perennial crops in these rotations, and different management scenarios based on agro-forestry principles. In this paper, we define conditions under which the farm cooperative is an appropriate business enterprise structure, and review and update the status of four of these new generation cooperative business structures in Minnesota, New York, and Iowa. We assess the status of development of these cooperatives and the market conditions needed for the agriculture, energy, and environmental sectors that comprise these cooperatives.     

I. Technical assessment for first generation green biorefinery (GBR) using mass and energy balances: Scenarios for an Irish GBR blueprint

“Green biorefinery” (GBR) could be an alternative option for using grassland biomass. GBR involves applying technology to chemically and physically fractionate (split) biomass such as grass and grass silage into marketable products. From the grass fibre fraction insulation materials can be produced. From the grass juice fraction, proteinaceous products for animal feed and lactic acid (LA) for plastic production (polylactic acid - PLA) can be produced. This paper is the first part in the analysis to develop a blueprint for a first generation Irish GBR system. The focus of this paper is on the technical aspects of developing three GBR system models and subsequent scenario analyses. The three GBR system models were a combination of feedstock system and biorefinery technology; Grass/silage-basic technology (GS), Silage-basic technology (S) and Silage-High Tech (AT). The models, which were integrated mass and energy balances, were then assessed at the three different input volumes, to generate nine scenarios. The scenarios which required further economic analysis in a companion paper to determine their overall feasibility (technical and economic) in the development of blueprint for a first generation Irish GBR system were identified. From the technical analysis outlined in this paper six scenarios were identified which require further economic analysis. These were scenarios generated for the GS, S and AT GBR systems, at two input volume rates.     

Hydrogen economy for sustainable development in GCC countries: A SWOT analysis considering current situation,challenges, and prospects

The increasingly serious threat of climate change caused by the excessive use of fossil fuels have been prompting GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries to aggressively seek a clean energy source in the future. Recently GCC countries announced their carbon emission targets e.g. Saudi Arabia & Bahrain's net-zero emissions by 2060, UAE and Oman net-zero emissions by 2050, Qatar 25% and Kuwait 7.4% reduction by 2035. In recent years, governments and energy companies across the world alike are placing large wagers on hydrogen, in an effort to lower emissions. Therefore, to achieve these long term stated emission targets of GCC countries, Hydrogen Economy is one of the areas where efforts must be ramped up. However, there are currently numerous obstacles to the scaled and to substitute the revenue of fossil fuel exports with green hydrogen economy in Gulf countries, such as high production costs of green hydrogen, a lack of infrastructure, storage and transportation problems, regulation and the necessary demand in the indigenous end-user sectors. The aim of this study is to analyze the existing obstacles and future prospects of hydrogen economy in GCC region using SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis approach. The results shows that GCC countries have the resources and opportunity to be a leader in hydrogen, but will need to take risks if it wants to compete globally. The uptake of hydrogen in short- and midterm will largely be based on blue hydrogen, however as it is expected a substantial fall green hydrogen production cost by 2030, it is therefore in the long term green hydrogen production offers the major route for the GCC, based on natural endowments. It is revealed that the scale and growth of the hydrogen economy in GCC countries will largely depend on external factors (i.e., global hydrogen adoption and demand) beyond their control.     

Nexus between financial development,tourism, renewable energy,and greenhouse gas emission in high-income countries: A continent-wise analysis

This study explained the nexus of GHG emission with tourism, financial development index, energy use, renewable energy, and trade in 34 high-income countries from three continents (Asia, Europe, and America) from 1995 to 2017. The Dumitrescu and Hurlin non-causality test established the feedback hypothesis for GHG and financial development (Europe); renewable energy and GHG (Europe); financial development and renewable energy (Europe); financial development and energy (Europe); tourism and energy (America); and trade and tourism (America). The uni-directional causality was observed from financial development to GHG (Asia, America); trade openness to GHG (Asia, Europe, America); tourism to GHG (Asia, Europe, America); trade to financial development (Europe); tourism to renewable energy (Europe); financial development to trade (America); financial development to tourism (America); trade to renewable energy (America); and tourism to renewable energy (America). The Parks' Feasible Generalized Least Square explored the reciprocal connection of GHG emission with financial development (Asia, Europe, America); renewable energy (Asia, Europe, America); trade in (Asia, Europe, America); and tourism (Europe). The Augmented Mean Group estimator showed a decrease in GHG due to financial development (Asia, America); renewable energy (Europe, America); and trade openness (Europe). A country-level reciprocal connection of GHG was detected with financial development in 11 countries, renewable energy in 22 countries, trade openness in 5 countries, and tourism in 12 countries. It is recommended to link the financial development with renewable energy and eco-friendly technologies by increasing the renewable energy in Asia and the financial development in America. It is also recommended to fix the mandatory target of renewable energy by establishment of renewable energy agency. Government should ensure efficient use of energy resources and should provide financial support to the eco-friendly projects at low interest rates. Government should promote environment-friendly tourism by using eco-friendly transportation in Asia and America. Government should increase the area under forest cover and promote eco-friendly products by using print, electronic, and social media. The importance of clean environment should be highlighted in the educational syllabus.     

A review on the renewable energy development in Algeria: Current perspective,energy scenario and sustainability issues

The quality of life and safeness of the present and future generations are strongly intertwined with the availability of energy sources and the sustainability of the energy infrastructure. Energy consumption in developed countries grows at a rate of approximately 1% per year, and that of developing countries, 5% per year (Muneer et al., 2005 [1]). Present reserves of oil and natural gas can only cover consumption at this rate for the next 50 years in the case of oil, and for the next 70 years in the case of natural gas. Therefore, one of the fundamental priorities for a country such as Algeria is to use several renewable energies (RE) sources and environmentally friendly energy conversion technologies. Algeria is endowed with large reserves of energy sources, mainly hydrocarbons and a considerable potential for the utilisation of RE sources especially with respect to solar energy. Algeria has the potential to be one of the major contributors in solar energy and become a role model to other countries in the world. RE are now one of the major elements of Algeria's energy policy and in view of boosting the national effort in terms of RE beyond 2011, Algeria has developed a national programme for the period 2011–2030 to promote concrete actions in the fields of energy efficiency and RE in line with the approach adopted by the government on February 3, 2011. Besides, it confirms Algerian's ambition to become an international hub for industrial and energy production and exportation in the solar sector. With this in mind, along with the environmental responsibility issues, public awareness gradually increased over the last seven years and alternative energy resources have become a new area of interest. As a tangible target, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) strategic plan aims to reach a 40% share of RE (mainly solar) in electric energy production by 2030. The various future projects are all factors that will undoubtedly give Algeria an important role in the implementation of RE technology in North Africa, the capacity for providing sustainable supply of cost-effective electricity from RE sources for the needs of the population, and the possibility of even exporting 10,000 MW to neighbouring and European market. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the existing renewable energy sector and a forecast for demand growth, additional capacity, investment requirements and Algeria's ambitious objectives of use of RE and environment protection. The paper also discusses the current energy scenario and explores the alternative energy like solar and wind to ensure energy security supply, reliability, greater efficiency in energy conversion, transmission and utilisation. Particular attention is paid to Algeria's global and sustainable solutions of the environmental challenges and the problems of conservation of fossil energy resources under the clean development mechanism (CDM) structure. The report also provides a detailed analysis of the existing renewable energy sector and a forecast for demand growth, additional capacity, and investment requirements