Alternative energy sources in the Amazon

This paper discusses the evaluation of energy potential of palm oil for the generation of electricity in isolated communities. In Brazil, the energy sector culture has historically been directed almost exclusively toward major projects geared to meet the demands of those sectors of society that have the greatest economic and political influence. Prioritizing industrialization and an accelerated urbanization, they have oriented the national energy system toward centralized production of enormous blocks of energy adapted to meet major urban concentration consumption but incapable of satisfying the needs of a large part of the population that inhabits the rural areas. These small- and medium-sized communities are sometimes isolated from the developed urban centers and not connected to the conventional electricity networks. In this scenario, the Amazon region stands out due to its huge territorial extension and low demographic density, which is scattered among islands and other locations not easily accessible. As a rule, these areas lack electricity, and, when they do have it, supply is precarious and provided through fossil fuels for electricity production     

National energy planning in Indonesia

Because Indonesia is richly endowed with a variety of energy resources (oil, gas, coal and hydro and geothermal energy potential), conservation appears to be a less pressing problem than it is elsewhere.The management and planning, on a national scale, of energy production and use began only recently with the formation of the Department of Mining and Energy.The paper outlines the evolution of Indonesia's energy production, domestic demand, and oil and gas exports since the early 1970s, and it provides a forecast to 1984 and beyond.Oil, of course, is predominant (providing about 60% of foreign earnings); followed by natural gas which is also exported. Coal mining on a sizeable scale is just beginning in Southern Sumatra, while hydropotential is harnessed only to a very small extent so far, mainly in the form of multipurpose installations.At present, the bulk of the rapidly growing domestic demand is satisfied by oil, primarily in the form of kerosene which is very heavily subsidized for social reasons. Kerosene competes at the village level with firewood which is available on a non-commercial basis.The policy of the government is aimed at gradually changing this unsatisfactory state of affairs, by restructuring domestic demand so as to draw it away from the precious exportable oil. This, however, is not a simple task.     

Regional renewable energy and resource planning

The exploitation of the energy potential in biomass in a specific geographical region is frequently constrained by high production costs and the amount of land required per unit of energy generated. In addition, the distributed nature of the biomass resource and its normally low energy density may result in large transportation costs. Biomass also requires large land areas to collect and process the incoming solar radiation before the energy can be harvested. Previously published works on regional energy clustering (REC) and the Regional Resources Management Composite Curve, RRMCC (in this paper shortened to RMC), have been extended in this paper to tackle simultaneously the issues of the biomass supply chain, transportation, and land use. The RMC is a tool for supporting decision making in regional resource management. It provides a complete view of energy and land availability in a region, displaying their trade-offs in a single plot. The extension presented in this work has been developed in two steps. The first step presents the Regional Energy Cascade Analysis, which estimates the energy target within regional supply chains and provides the result for energy exchange flows between zones, the quantity of energy required to be imported/exported, and the locations of the demands. In the second step, the initial results are analysed against potential measures for improving the energy and land use targets by using the RMC and a set of rules for its manipulation. The presented method provides the option to assess the priorities: either to produce and sell the surplus energy on the fuel market or use the land for other purposes such as food production. This extended approach is illustrated with a comprehensive case study demonstrating that with the RMC application it is possible to maximise the land use and to maximise the biofuel production for the requested energy demand.     

Croatia energy planning and Kyoto Protocol

Croatia as an Annex I country of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and a country that has pledged in the Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce its GHG emissions by 5% will have to envisage a new energy strategy. Compared to the energy consumption collapse in some transitional countries, Croatia has passed through a relatively short-term reduction of GHG emissions since 1990 because of higher energy efficiency of its pretransition economy. It is expected that in case of baseline scenario, it will breach the Kyoto target in 2003. Several scenarios of power generation are compared from the point of view of GHG emissions. The cost-effective scenario expects a mixture of coal and gas fired power plants to be built to satisfy the new demand and to replace the old power plants that are being decommissioned. More Kyoto friendly scenario envisages forcing the compliance with the Protocol with measures only in power generation sector by the construction of mainly zero emission generating capacity in the future, while decommissioning the old plants as planned, and is compared to the others from the GHG emissions point of view. The conclusion is that by measures tackling only power generation, it will not be possible to keep GHG emission under the Kyoto target level. The case of including the emissions from Croatian owned power plants in former Yugoslavia is also discussed.     

Alternative energy development strategies for China towards 2030

The purposes, objectives and technology pathways for alternative energy development are discussed with the aim of reaching sustainable energy development in China. Special attention has been paid to alternative power and alternative vehicle fuels. Instead of limiting alternative energy to energy sources such as nuclear and renewable energy, the scope of discussion is extended to alternative technologies such as coal power with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), electric and hydrogen vehicles. In order to take account of the fact that China’s sustainable energy development involves many dimensions, a six-dimensional indicator set has been established and applied with the aim of comprehensively evaluating different technology pathways in a uniform way. The analysis reaches the following conclusions: (a) in the power sector, wind power, nuclear power and hydro power should be developed as much as possible, while R&D of solar power and coal power with CCS should be strengthened continuously for future deployment. (b) in the transportation sector, there is no foreseeable silver bullet to replace oil on a large scale within the time frame of 20 to 30 years. To ease the severe energy security situation, expedient choices like coal derived fuels could be developed. However, its scale should be optimized in accordance to the trade-off of energy security benefits, production costs and environmental costs. Desirable alternative fuels (or technologies) like 2nd generation biofuels and electrical vehicles should be the subject of intensive R&D with the objective to be cost effective as early as possible.     

Alternative energy development strategies for China towards 2030

The purposes, objectives and technology pathways for alternative energy development are discussed with the aim of reaching sustainable energy development in China. Special attention has been paid to alternative power and alternative vehicle fuels. Instead of limiting alternative energy to energy sources such as nuclear and renewable energy, the scope of discussion is extended to alternative technologies such as coal power with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), electric and hydrogen vehicles. In order to take account of the fact that China’s sustainable energy development involves many dimensions, a six-dimensional indicator set has been established and applied with the aim of comprehensively evaluating different technology pathways in a uniform way. The analysis reaches the following conclusions: (a) in the power sector, wind power, nuclear power and hydro power should be developed as much as possible, while R&D of solar power and coal power with CCS should be strengthened continuously for future deployment. (b) in the transportation sector, there is no foreseeable silver bullet to replace oil on a large scale within the time frame of 20 to 30 years. To ease the severe energy security situation, expedient choices like coal derived fuels could be developed. However, its scale should be optimized in accordance to the trade-off of energy security benefits, production costs and environmental costs. Desirable alternative fuels (or technologies) like 2nd generation biofuels and electrical vehicles should be the subject of intensive R&D with the objective to be cost effective as early as possible.     

Alternative energy technologies in buildings: Stakeholder perceptions

This paper explores the factors affecting the use of alternative energy technologies (AETs) in buildings through the eyes of building project stakeholders. While there are many published lists of incentives and restrictions to using these technologies there are few reports of their impact in practical contexts. The paper reports on the results of a qualitative study of building project stakeholders in the UK—their experience of AETs, the factors that influence assessments and their views on how to improve the chances of using AETs in future projects. The large amount of variation in the importance of drivers and barriers to using AETs between projects is revealed. Despite this variation the emphasis for assessment methods is on financial concerns, largely ignoring more qualitative concerns. This lack of suitable assessment methodologies along with a lack of education, motivation and case-study information in the building industry are restricting the use of AETs in UK building projects.     

Community energy planning in Canada: The role of renewable energy

An emerging trend in Canada is the creation of community energy plans, where decisions that used to be left to regional level energy agencies or private individuals are now being considered at the community level. A desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to become more energy self-sufficient is driving this change. Theoretically, local level management is desirable because it achieves these goals through improvements in the three areas of energy efficiency, energy conservation and switching to renewable energy sources. The analysis of 10 of the first community energy plans in Canadian communities, ranging in population size from 500 to one million, finds that communities are choosing policies and programs centred on increasing energy efficiency and conservation while renewable energy receives much less attention. Municipal operations were called upon to set higher targets than the general community. Communities that recognized the substantial potential of renewable energy often focused on technologies that the municipal sector could implement, such as bio-fuels for their transportation fleet. Wind, passive solar design, solar photovoltaics and solar thermal options were only recommended in a few cases. Overall, only one of the five larger communities (Calgary) recommended implementing multiple renewable energy technologies while three of the five smaller communities proposed multiple renewable energy sources. The implication is that smaller and more remote communities may be the most willing to lead in the planned introduction of renewable energy systems.     

Trigeneration primary energy saving evaluation for energy planning and policy development

Trigeneration or combined heat, cooling and power (CHCP) is becoming an increasingly important energy option, particularly on a small-scale basis (below 1 MW_e), with several alternatives nowadays available for the cooling power production and the coupling to cogeneration systems. This paper deals with the introduction of a suitable framework for assessing the energy saving performance of trigeneration alternatives, orientated towards energy planning studies and the development of regulatory policies. In particular, a new generalized performance indicator—the trigeneration primary energy saving (TPES)—is introduced and discussed, with the aim of effectively evaluating the primary energy savings from different CHCP alternatives. The potential of the TPES indicator is illustrated through specific analyses run over different combinations of trigeneration equipment, providing numerical examples based on time-domain simulations to illustrate the dependence of the energy saving characteristics on the CHCP system configurations and equipment, as well as on the loading levels. In addition, the key aspect of adequately establishing the reference efficiencies for the conventional separate production of electrical, thermal and cooling power is addressed in detail. This aspect affects both equipment selection and potential profitability of the considered solutions under the outlook of receiving financial incentives.     

Potential energy planning conflicts in the UK

During the latter half of the 19ar 1970s there was great concern about potential conflicts over energy development proposals in the UK, most of which were expected to emerge within the framework of land use planning procedures and the associated opportunities for public participation. While there has been widespread dissatisfaction with the way in which the planning system handles energy developments, there is little consensus about the nature of the problem or about possible solutions to it. Greatly reduced energy forecasts allow a pause for reflection, but it is argued that there is no room for complacency about conflict over energy developments in future.     

A planning model for acute energy shortages

This paper presents some results of a model developed by the Energy Systems Research Group under the auspices of the Swedish Energy Research and Development Board and the National Swedish Industrial Board for the allocation of energy resources during a temporary shortfall. the model is basically an input-output model of the conventional sort with special treatment of energy inputs. Different objective functions can be used, but the results here assume maximization of private consumption with given restrictions on other demand components and on the composition of private consumption. First a reference case intended to be a representative situation for the latter part of the seventies was developed to be used as a basis for comparisons. Following that a ‘worst case’, in which no adaptation responses were allowed for, was run. Then several cases in which only one adaptation mechanism was introduced were computed. These mechanisms included conservation, allowing reduction of other demand components such as exports, allowing limited changes in the composition of consumer demand or in other types of demand, and allowing inventories of finished and semi-finished goods to be drawn upon. Finally, several runs were made in which several of these mechanisms for adaptation were permitted to operate simultaneously.     

The economics of comprehensive community energy planning

This paper is the result of a survey of cities engaged in the Comprehensive Community Energy Program. It states the underlying themes of local energy analysis and summarizes methodology and conclusions reached in the various studies with special emphasis on economic methodologies.     

An integrated energy planning model for Illinois

An integrated energy supply and demand model for the state of Illinois is described. This equilibrium model is an important tool for integrating information from a variety of planning studies and data bases. A wide range of energy issues affecting diverse areas of the energy system, such as Illinois coal production under alternate oil price assumptions, renewable energy resource potential, and conservation options, can be analyzed by using the model.     

Electricity network planning targeting Low-Carbon energy transition

Electricity sector, as one of the major emission sources of carbon dioxide (CO₂), is responsible for reducing carbon emissions and is a major player that addresses global climate change. In the efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change over the coming decades, decarbonizing power systems is critical. To achieve this goal, power generation systems need a transition from a high reliance on coal-fired power stations to a low-carbon energy mix. This paper proposes a transition planning method that includes the retirement of coal-fired generators and the integration of large-scale renewable power plants. Hence, transmission systems need to be upgraded simultaneously with the changing of generation mix to ensure system reliability. This paper also considers carbon emission cost and introduces and compares two models, which include carbon trading and carbon tax. Furthermore, issues related to the ramping of renewable power systems that are caused by the large penetration of renewable power generators are taken into account by adding the cost related to the sudden change of renewable generation (ramping cost) in the objective function. The proposed model is demonstrated on a modified IEEE 24-bus RTS system.     

Spanish energy planning towards a sustainable future

There is a growing awareness among all countries and their decision makers, regardless of economic and industrial development, that the environment must be protected, leading towards a sustainable future. This is especially important in the energy sector—which is the principal factor in economic and industrial development—since the primary energy sources of today, fossil fuels, are the main culprits of global environmental problems, such as the greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion, acid rains and pollution. Industrial countries, being greater consumers of fossil fuels, are affected to a greater extent by their environmental harms. Consequently, these countries are leading the way in environmental protection measures.The European Union, the second largest industrial grouping in the world, has become one of the leaders in taking important measures in the energy sector to curb the harmful emissions over the years. Spain, a member of the European Union, has initiated planning to reduce the pollutants produced by the energy sources and bring them in line with the European Union efforts, while keeping up the country's economic development. This paper reports the efforts and planning of Spain through the year 2010 to comply with the European Union environmental regulations on one hand and to sustain economic development on the other.     

An integrated energy planning model for Hawaii

The State of Hawaii, importing over 90% of its energy requirements, is unique in the USA. In this paper, a Hawaii energy flow matrix is constructed. The 1977 Hawaii input-output table is used to assess each sector's direct energy intensity and total (direct and indirect) energy intensities, and to formulate as a linear programming problem for evaluating the impacts of energy shortages.     

Optimal planning for industrial park-integrated energy system with hydrogen energy industry chain

Establishing an industrial park-integrated energy system (IN-IES) is an effective way to reduce carbon emission, reduce energy supply cost and improve system flexibility. However, the modeling of hydrogen storage in traditional IN-IES is relatively rough. In order to solve this problem, an IN-IES with hydrogen energy industry chain (HEIC) is proposed in this paper. Hydrogen production, transportation, and storage technologies are applied in HEIC. Firstly, a novel long-term hydrogen storage model considering different time steps is presented. Secondly, hydrogen compressor models considering different pressure ratios are further employed. On this basis, the impact of the HEIC on the planning and operation results of IN-IES is studied. Finally, the superiority and the effectiveness of the proposed model and planning method are verified by simulation cases.     

eTransport: Investment planning in energy supply systems with multiple energy carriers

The need for local energy planning is not reduced after liberalization. Both integrated energy companies and local governments have to consider alternative solutions across traditional supply and demand sectors and make plans for the total integrated energy infrastructure. This situation has created a need for new improved methodologies and tools for system planning and operation that include multiple energy carriers and sufficient topological details. In this paper, a novel optimisation model ‘eTransport’ is presented that takes into account both the topology of multiple energy infrastructures and the technical and economic properties of different investment alternatives. The model minimises total energy system cost (investments, operation and emissions) of meeting predefined energy demands of electricity, gas, space heating and tap water heating within a geographical area over a given planning horizon, including alternative supply infrastructures for multiple energy carriers. The model employs a nested optimisation, calculating both the optimal diurnal operation of the energy system and the optimal expansion plan typically 20–30 years into the future. The model is tested on a number of real case studies, and a full graphical user interface has been implemented. A sample case study is included to demonstrate the use of the model.     

高级计划与排程技术对生产计划系统的重组及节能效益

对比传统的生产计划制定流程,并以高级计划与排程在某半导体工厂的实施为例,介绍高级计划与排程技术和供应链规划矩阵,论述其整个实施过程和实施前后工厂生产计划制定方法与流程的变化及单位产值能源成本的降低。