The role of sustainable energy utility,natural resource utilization and waste management in reducing energy poverty: Evidence from South Asian countries

Energy poverty is still viewed as a central global challenge which is risking billions of lives belonging to all economies, particularly, developing and under developing economies. It is subjected that more than 1 billion people are still struggling to have access to electricity and around 2.7 billion burns non-renewable resources to make their daily meals ready. The encourages academia to explore the plausible solutions to alleviate energy poverty. In this regard, the present study attempts to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainable energy and utility, natural resource utilization and waste management on energy poverty reduction. The study chose South Asian economies as a sample study and assessed the data from 2011 to 2020. By utilizing MMQR, the obtained results expose that RE output and consumption, natural resource utilization, waste management, inflation, and industrialization are helpful in reducing energy poverty due to their positive linkage. Under the evidence, the study is able to offer empirical baseline for future researchers to address the similar problem in other set of countries.     

A study conducted to reduce construction waste generation in Turkey

Waste occurs within the lifecycle of buildings, during the construction, modification and demolition phases. These construction wastes become serious environmental problems in many countries and in Turkey. However, no net data regarding the amount of construction wastes exist in Turkey. During its period of usage, frequent interior modifications are made for various reasons, particularly true for residences in Turkey, thus generating construction wastes. The primary environmental target regarding this subject should be the prevention and reduction of construction waste generation. The aim of this study is to provide suggestions regarding the prevention/reduction of waste generated due to modifications done for various purposes in residences in Turkey. To this end, a survey of homeowners in Istanbul was conducted to determine the nature and purpose of modification work done in residences. In order to come up with solutions towards reducing the construction waste generation, it is vital that these reasons are known. In light of the causes determined, suggestions for solving the problems have been developed.     

Field survey on energy consumption due to hot water supply and cooking in Nanjing and Hefei,China

A field survey on energy consumption by hot water supply and cooking was conducted in two cities in China, Nanjing, and Hefei. In each city, 5 housing complexes were selected, and approximately 100 or 200 residential units were selected from each of them. The following items were surveyed: (1) fundamental information, such as number of family members, data on residents, etc., (2) bathing style, and (3) frequency of cooking and cooking time. Most of the residents take showers seven times a week in the summer, but less frequently in the winter. In contrast, the frequency of taking baths increases to several times a week during the winter, compared with 0 or 1 times a week in the summer. These results differ slightly depending on the heating and cooling systems used in the houses. The frequency with which people cook in their own houses ranges from 4 to 7 times a week, which means that “eating out” is relatively frequent, although the result differs significantly among the housing complexes. Distribution of the cooking time has usually two peaks at 20 to 30 min and 50 to 60 min (or 30 to 40 min and longer than 60 min) for lunch and dinner, respectively. The high energy consumption for cooking might be due to the long cooking time.     

Knowledge,sustainability and corporate strategies in the European energy sector

The paper analyses the apparent position of the European Union and the largest European energy corporations concerning the energy future of Europe and the environmental impacts of their business activities. In contrast to growing public concern at the long-term environmental, economic and social consequences of the reliance on non-renewable energy sources, official words about sustainable development are copious, but ineffective in producing investment in public and private research and development expenditures in the energy sector. Apart from the economic and social problems of the innovation deficit of the European Union, the stagnant and shrinking expenditures also raise ethical dilemmas linked to the questions of intergenerational equity. If we believe that there are technological solutions to our environmental problems we should redefine the corporate responsibility in terms of knowledge production, use and dissemination, too.     

A comprehensive and well tested energy balance for water supply systems

This paper presents a novel energy balance scheme and performance indicators for assessing energy efficiency in water supply systems. This assessment consists of a three-step procedure: system characterisation and data collection, energy balance calculation and energy performance indicators assessment. The main innovation is the integrated approach between energy and water balances allowing the quantification of energy inefficiencies directly associated with water losses. Comprehensive energy performance indicators can be calculated by utilities with different maturity levels allowing a fair comparison of energy efficiency between systems with different layouts and operational schemes. This energy balance scheme has been applied by 17 water utilities in Portugal. Results have shown that systems provide more than twice the minimum energy necessary to supply their consumers and, consequently, there is a significant energy saving potential: 40% through water loss reduction, 30% for changes in network operation and layout and 30% for pump inefficiency reduction.     

Scoping the potential of monitoring and control technologies to reduce energy use in homes

This scoping study takes a broad look at how information technology-enabled monitoring and control systems could assist in mitigating energy use in residences by more efficiently allocating the delivery of services by time and location. A great deal of energy is wasted in delivering services inefficiently to residents such as heating or cooling unoccupied spaces, overheating/undercooling for whole-house comfort, leakage current, and inefficient appliances. We construct a framework to estimate different categories of inefficient energy services and the result of our initial estimate is that over 39% of residential primary energy is wasted. We next discuss how monitoring and control technologies could manage home energy use to reduce waste. Technologies considered here include programmable thermostats, smart meters and outlets, zone heating, automated sensors, and wireless communications infrastructures. The level of energy services delivered is assumed to remain unchanged, with all energy savings being realized through better management. A final discussion on barriers to adoption of these systems speculates that a lack of consumer awareness of the technologies, high costs due to lack of economies of scale, and difficult user interfaces are currently the major hurdles toward adoption.     

The capability to reduce primary energy demand in EU housing

The European Union has been demonstrating its adherence to energy efficiency policy in the last decade. At the main EU summits there were stated the requirements to reduce energy consumption in the EU, and to make it sustainable over the long term. The “20-20-20” promise of a 20% share of renewable energies in total EU energy consumption and a 20% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by 2020 was determined in 2007 and affirmed in 2008. The paper deals with the evaluation of some ways of reaching a 20% reduction in primary energy demand in housing. For that purpose some measures leading to such a reduction for a dwelling house are estimated. These measures require an additional investment into the energy performance of a building. For the achievement of goals stated by the European Parliament in energy demand it will be necessary to involve a considerable level of financial and technical support in these spheres. An estimation of the amount of supporting program funds is also presented in the paper.     

A data-driven approach to reduce electricity theft in developing countries

Theft of electricity is a problem in many developing countries. But AMI is paving the way for data-centric architecture to help in theft detection. However, a smart grid or even AMR is a long shot for many developing countries due to the costs involved in its large-scale deployment. This paper presents a technique to detect outliers among electricity users that further investigates electricity theft using data analytics on monthly usage data available to every utility company. Using this technique, we have reduced the search space for theft identification to as low as 3.4% of the total customer base.     

Financial inclusion and energy poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa

This study examines the relationship between financial inclusion and energy poverty reduction, proxied with access to electricity and clean cooking technologies and fuels, using data from 23 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 2004 to 2019. Evidence from dynamic ordinary least squares, fully modified ordinary least squares, and canonical correlation regression techniques showed that financial inclusion significantly reduces energy poverty in SSA. However, financial inclusion's impact on energy poverty reduction differs significantly among individual SSA countries. We recommend that policies promoting financial inclusion would reduce energy poverty.     

二次供水造成水质污染的原因分析及管理对策

介绍了太原市供水能力的现状及二次供水现状,通过对二次供水设施的调查,分析了二次供水造成水质污染的原因,并从提高管网输配水能力、规范设计、施工等方面提出了加强二次供水管理的对策,以保证用户用到水质合格的自来水。     

Applicability of computer simulation to solving of waste and wastewater management,and pollution prevention problems

Concepts and methodologies of model building, modelling and computer simulation are presented. First, analysis of model types, classification and modelling philosophy are outlined. Next, special emphasis is given to the conceptual and technical tools applied in computer simulation. Finally, some examples of computer simulation application to solving of environmental problems are discussed.     

保障城市供水 合理降低能耗

在对供水系统运行分析的基础上,保证用水市场需求的前提下,通过调整水厂的供水量和加压站的供水范围,并对大型加压站实施分压供水等措施,产生了较好的节能效果,取得了良好的经济效益和社会效益。     

主要发达国家关键矿产供应链保障战略措施简述

全球战略性新兴产业的蓬勃发展和能源绿色转型赋予关键矿产重要的战略意义,使其成为世界各国新一轮争夺的焦点。美国、欧盟、加拿大、澳大利亚、日本、韩国等发达经济体通过“定战略、列清单、强产业、建联盟、严审查”五方面的系列战略措施,加紧争夺关键矿产资源,保障本国供应安全。主要发达国家（地区）关键矿产供应链保障战略上升至国家整体安全的高度,关键矿产清单动态调整并趋于精细化,本国关键矿产相关产业支持政策措施体系已全面覆盖,涉及关键矿产项目投资和稳定供应的双边和多边联盟不断拓展,针对联盟外国家的关键矿产投资的外资审查制度不断完善。未来关键矿产国际竞争将会日益激烈。为此,应提高对关键矿产重要性的认识,从国家战略高度重视关键矿产供应链安全保障;筑牢国内关键矿产供应和产业基础,着力打造自主可控、安全可靠的产业链供应链;持续提升关键矿产国际合作深度,深化我国关键矿产全球供应链韧性。     

Use of diffusers materials to improve the homogeneity of sunlight under pergolas installed in road tunnels portals for energy savings

In spite of the benefits of shifting the threshold zone of road tunnels by means of pergolas, installed before their portal to save energy in the electrical lighting, the lack of uniformity in the road under these structures makes them a non accurate solution in terms of visual performance and, hence, road safety. In this work, a new solution, consisting on the introduction of a diffuser material in the spaces between beams of the pergola is proposed. The measurements and results in a scale mock-up, a computational simulation and the comparison with a theoretical model, as well as the potential impact in real tunnels are presented and analyzed.     

The nexus between information technology and environmental pollution: Application of a new machine learning algorithm to OECD countries

This paper examines the linkages among Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) penetration, electricity consumption, economic growth, urbanization, and environmental pollution for 25 OECD countries over the 1990–2017 period. We first conduct several panel data analyses and then write and apply a new Machine Learning (ML) algorithm. Empirical findings show that ICT usage enhances economic growth, and it is also a crucial driver of electricity consumption, which, in turn, translates into polluting emissions. The ML results highlight internet usage emerges as a substantial CO₂ emissions-enabler, thus corroborating our panel data findings. Potential policy measures are discussed.     

从安全防御到安全无忧:新城市世界的可持续性和韧性

21世纪的世界"可持续"程度很大程度上取决于城市的可持续性。贯彻可持续性的理念早期聚焦于实现稳定性,实施有效管理,控制改变和发展——是一种"安全防御"的意识。近期,关于变化、干扰、不确定性和适应性的思考构成了韧性科学产生的基础,即系统重组并从变化和扰动中恢复,而不是转化为其他状态的能力——换言之,系统是"安全无忧"的。尽管韧性城市的概念在理论上受到关注,但在目前城市规划和设计中的实践还很少。本文讨论了适用于城市的韧性理论,并提供了一系列构建城市韧度的策略:多功能、冗余度和模块化、(生物和社会)多样性、多尺度网络和连通性,以及适应性规划设计。这些策略将在韧性理论和可持续科学背景下进行讨论,并且以国际案例中的一些创新政策、工程和项目为例进行阐释。     

Sustainability reporting and ESG performance in the utilities sector

In the last few years, many policymakers started implementing stricter rules about sustainability reporting in their jurisdictions. However, this process has been characterized by criticisms related to the potential misalignments between Environmental, Social and Governance factors (ESG) performance and sustainability reporting quality. This evidence is particularly relevant for the utilities sector because of the existence of reputational risks associated with their activities. The paper aims to contribute to the debate through novel insights about the nonlinear relationship between sustainability reporting quality and ESG performance in the utilities sector.     

Estimating the cost of equity for the regulated energy and infrastructure sectors in India

The cost of equity capital is a key input used by regulators to fix permissible rates of return and determine regulated tariffs. Investors also need an appropriate hurdle rate to make investment decisions. Regulators worldwide often use a single-factor model to estimate the cost of equity. The empirical literature shows that such a model has limited efficacy in explaining stock returns, while other factors also capture the risk involved in the market. This study is perhaps the first to apply three asset pricing models—the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and the Fama-French three- and five-factor models—to estimate the cost of equity for the Indian energy and infrastructure sectors. We find that the reasonable rate of return fixed by the respective regulator based on the CAPM is often higher than this study's estimated cost of equity (using CAPM). The spread between the regulated return across the identified energy and infrastructure sectors is estimated using a single-factor model, and our estimation using the three-factor model is relatively lower. The spread increases when we apply the recent five-factor model for regulated utilities. The study can guide policymakers and regulators in estimating and fixing reasonable rates of return for the infrastructure sectors.     

Embodied energy comparison of surface water and groundwater supply options

The embodied energy associated with water provision comprises an important part of water management, and is important when considering sustainability. In this study, an input-output based hybrid analysis integrated with structural path analysis was used to develop an embodied energy model. The model was applied to a groundwater supply system (Kalamazoo, Michigan) and a surface water supply system (Tampa, Florida). The two systems evaluated have comparable total energy embodiments based on unit water production. However, the onsite energy use of the groundwater supply system is approximately 27% greater than the surface water supply system. This was primarily due to more extensive pumping requirements. On the other hand, the groundwater system uses approximately 31% less indirect energy than the surface water system, mainly because of fewer chemicals used for treatment. The results from this and other studies were also compiled to provide a relative comparison of embodied energy for major water supply options.     

Embodied and Operational Energy Consumption in the City

This study shows how estimates of energy consumption can be extracted from existing data sets and efficiently related to characteristics of the real property making up the discrete areas of the city. The study suggests that embodied energy consumption may be more significant than previously thought and suggests how estimates of embodied and operational energy may be used as a development control tool in the planning system.