CO2 emissions in Greece for 1990–2002: A decomposition analysis and comparison of results using the Arithmetic Mean Divisia Index and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index techniques

This paper deals with the decomposition analysis of energy-related CO₂ emissions in Greece from 1990 to 2002. The Arithmetic Mean Divisia Index (AMDI) and the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) techniques are applied and changes in CO₂ emissions are decomposed into four factors: income effect, energy intensity effect, fuel share effect and population effect. The period-wise and time series analyses show that the biggest contributor to the rise in CO₂ emissions in Greece is the income effect; on the contrary, the energy intensity effect is mainly responsible for the decrease in CO₂ emissions. A comparison of the results of the two techniques gave an insight in the intricacies of energy decomposition. Finally, conclusions and future areas of research are presented.     

Renewable energy systems: A societal and technological platform

Today, the analysis of renewable energy places the emphasis on the technological and economic attributes with social and environmental impact assessment providing for a rather static, narrow frame of analysis. The participation and response of social actors and other stakeholders is usually of a traditional type, with consultation documents and public meetings, collection of complaints and suggestion schemes. This often encourages parochialism and an over-concentration on relatively trivial issues. It is, therefore, imperative to establish a new participatory planning platform to incorporate the wider socio-economic aspects of renewable energy systems and to provide for an operational analytical decomposition of them. In this work the issue of decomposition analysis is clarified, and a new agenda for the societal and technological decomposition analysis of renewable energy systems is developed. A case study is disclosed to present the relevance of the established platform for integrated (renewable) energy systems planning. Innovative aspects comprise of the simultaneous inclusion of decision analysis and social acceptance methods and tools in concert with the related public participation techniques.     

CO2 emissions,GDP and energy intensity: A multivariate cointegration and causality analysis for Greece, 1977–2007

This paper deals with the causal relationship analysis between Gross Domestic Product, Energy Intensity and CO₂ emissions in Greece from 1977 to 2007, by means of Johansen cointegration tests and Granger-causality tests based on a multivariate Vector Error Correction Modeling. Results indicate that there is a set of uni-directional and bi-directional causalities among the selected time series. We performed a model Variance Decomposition Analysis using Choleski technique and we provided a comparison with other studies. The findings of the study have significant policy implications for countries like Greece as the decoupling of CO₂ emissions and economic growth seems quite unlikely.     

Understanding the impact of texture on the micromechanical anisotropy of laser powder bed fused Inconel 718

Journal of Materials Science - The manufacturability of metallic alloys using laser-based additive manufacturing methods such as laser powder bed fusion has substantially improved within the last...     

Renewable energy projects: structuring a multi-criteria group decision-making framework

This paper describes an applicable group decision-making framework for assisting with multi-criteria analysis in renewable energy projects, utilizing the PROMETHEE II outranking method. The proposed framework is tested in a case study concerning the exploitation of a geothermal resource, located in the island of Chios, Greece. The presented structure provides a serial, decomposed agenda and enhances overall process transparency. Additional, innovatory elements are the incorporation of differing levels of resource exploitation within the decision framework and the direct determination of the PROMETHEE preference thresholds. The developed methodology provides a user-friendly approach, promotes the synergy between different actors, and could pave a way towards consensus.     

Wind characteristics and mapping for power production in the Island of Lesvos, Greece

This study investigated the wind characteristics of the island of Lesvos, Greece, with the objective of providing the necessary data for identifying the wind power production capabilities of the island. Weather patterns were examined using weather data from four Remote Automatic Weather Stations. Specific tools were used to produce the necessary windroses, Weibull curves and charts that helped to understand the prevailing wind characteristics. By using the tools of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP) as the basic calculation platform, a wind map was produced portraying the wind speeds that prevail at a height of 10 m above ground level. The results of the analysis were tested and evaluated with measurements from 15 wind turbine sites by creating six alternative scenarios. The optimum scenario was used to investigate the installation of a small wind farm with five wind turbines, of 3 MW total capacity.     

Residual stresses and tetragonal phase fraction characterisation of corrosion tested Zircaloy-4 using energy dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction

To improve the understanding of the oxidation mechanism in zirconium alloys for fuel clad applications, detailed residual stress and phase fraction analysis was carried out for the oxides formed on Zircaloy-4 after autoclave exposure at 360 °C for various times by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction. In a post-transition sample (220 days), significant stress variation through the oxide thickness was found for the monoclinic phase in individual oxide layers, with maximum in-plane compressive stresses located towards the metal–oxide interface and a discontinuity in the residual stress profile. The depth of this discontinuity matched well with the depth at which electron microscopy analysis showed an interface between two distinct oxide layers. Analysis of the tetragonal phase with exposure time demonstrated changes of the total volume of tetragonal phase before and during transition. These observations are put into the context of residual stress evolution presented previously, to provide further insight into the importance of phase transformations and residual stresses in determining the corrosion kinetics of Zr alloys.     

Increasing the applicability of wind power projects via a multi-criteria approach: methodology and case study

In this paper a methodological framework for increasing the actual applicability of wind farms is developed and applied. The framework is based on multi-criteria decision aid techniques that perform an integrated technical and societal evaluation of a number of potential wind power projects that are a variation of a pre-existing actual proposal that faces implementation difficulties. A number of evaluation criteria are established and assessed via particular related software or are comparatively evaluated among each other on a semi-qualitative basis. The preference of a diverse audience of pertinent stakeholders can be also incorporated in the overall analysis. The result of the process is an identification of a new project that will exhibit increased actual implementation potential compared with the original proposal. The methodology is tested in a case study of a wind farm in the UK and relevant conclusions are drawn.     

Kinetics of the fcc → hcp Phase Transformation in Cu-Ge Solid Solutions Upon Isothermal Aging

The kinetics of the ζ-phase formation from a supersaturated α-Cu(Ge) solid solution (i.e., transformation from the fcc crystal structure to the hcp crystal structure) containing 10.8 at. pct Ge [at isothermal temperatures of 573 K, 613 K, and 653 K (300 °C, 340 °C, and 380 °C)] were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) for phase fraction determination. Both in situ and ex situ annealing experiments were performed. The transformation kinetics were modeled on the basis of a versatile modular model. The transformation kinetics complied with a site-saturation nucleation mode and strongly anisotropic interface-controlled growth mode in association with a corresponding impingement mode: diffusion of Ge (towards the stacking faults, SFs) does not control the transformation rate. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations showed that segregation of Ge at the stacking faults (SFs) takes place (relatively fast) prior to the structural transformation (fcc → hcp).     

Energy use in the Greek manufacturing sector: A methodological framework based on physical indicators with aggregation and decomposition analysis

A bottom-up methodological framework was developed and applied for the period 1985–2002, to selected manufacturing sub-sectors in Greece namely, food, beverages and tobacco, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, non-metallic minerals and paper. Disaggregate physical data were aggregated according to their specific energy consumption (SEC) values and physical energy efficiency indicators were estimated. The Logarithmic Mean Divisia index method was also used and the effects of the production, structure and energy efficiency to changes in sub-sectoral manufacturing energy use were further assessed. Primary physical energy efficiency improved by 28% for the iron and steel and by 9% for the non-metallic minerals industries, compared to the base year 1990. For the food, beverages and tobacco and the paper sub-sectors, primary efficiency deteriorated by 20% and by 15%, respectively; finally electricity efficiency deteriorated by 7% for the non-ferrous metals. Sub-sectoral energy use is mainly driven by production output and energy efficiency changes. Sensitivity analysis showed that alternative SEC values do not influence the results whereas the selected base year is more critical for this analysis. Significant efficiency improvements refer to “heavy” industry; “light” industry needs further attention by energy policy to modernize its production plants and improve its efficiency.