Prioritizing low-carbon energy sources to enhance China’s energy security

2015 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 129-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingzheng Ren ◽  
Benjamin K. Sovacool
Keyword(s):  
Energy Security ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Implementation of Brackish Groundwater Desalination Using Wind-Generated Electricity as a Proxy for Energy Storage: A Case Study of the Energy-Water Nexus in Texas

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Clayton ◽  
Ashlynn S. Stillwell ◽  
Michael E. Webber
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Compressed Air ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
West Texas ◽  
Storage Technologies ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

With a push toward renewable electricity generation, wind power has grown substantially in recent U.S. history and technologies continue to improve. However, the intermittency associated with wind-generated electricity without storage has limited the amounts sold on the grid. Furthermore, continental wind farms have a diurnal and seasonal variability that is mismatched with demand. To increase the broader use of wind power technologies, the development of systems that can operate intermittently during off-peak hours must be considered. Utilization of wind-generated electricity for desalination of brackish groundwater presents opportunities to increase use of a low-carbon energy source and supply alternative drinking water that is much needed in some areas. As existing water supplies dwindle and population grows, cities are looking for new water sources. Desalination of brackish groundwater provides one potential water source for inland cities. However, this process is energy-intensive, and therefore potentially incongruous with goals of reducing carbon emissions. Desalination using reverse osmosis is a high-value process that does not require continuous operation and therefore could utilize variable wind power. That is, performing desalination in an intermittent way to match wind supply can help mitigate the challenges of integrating wind into the grid while transforming a low-value product (brackish water and intermittent power) into a high-value product (treated drinking water). This option represents a potentially more economic form of mitigating wind variability than current electricity storage technologies. Also, clean energy and carbon policies under consideration by the U.S. Congress could help make this integration more economically feasible due to incentives for low-carbon energy sources. West Texas is well-suited for desalination of brackish groundwater using wind power, as both resources are abundant and co-located. Utility-scale wind resource potential is found in most of the region. Additionally, brackish groundwater is found at depths less than 150 m, making west Texas a useful geographic testbed to analyze for this work, with applicability for areas with similar climates and water supply scarcity. Implementation of a wind-powered desalination project requires both economic and geographic feasibility. Capital and operating cost data for wind turbines and desalination membranes were used to perform a thermoeconomic analysis to determine the economic feasibility. The availability of wind and brackish groundwater resources were modeled using geographic information systems tools to illustrate areas where implementation of a wind-powered desalination project is economically feasible. Areas with major populations were analyzed further in the context of existing and alternative water supplies. Utilization of wind-generated electricity for desalination presents a feasible alternative to energy storage methods. Efficiency, economics, and ease of development and operation of off-peak water treatment were compared to different energy storage technologies: pumped hydro, batteries, and compressed air energy storage. Further economics of compressed air energy storage and brackish groundwater desalination were examined with a levelized lifetime cost approach. Implementation of water desalination projects using wind-generated electricity might become essential in communities with wind and brackish groundwater resources that are facing water quality and quantity issues and as desires to implement low carbon energy sources increase. This analysis assesses the economic and geographic feasibility and tradeoffs of such projects for areas in Texas.

scholarly journals From Energy Security to the Security of Energy Services: Shortcomings of Traditional Supply-Oriented Approaches and the Contribution of a Socio-Technical and User-Oriented Perspectives

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-108
Author(s):  
Yael Parag
Keyword(s):  
Energy Security ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Discussion Paper ◽  
Energy Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Traditional literature and policy approach to energy security focus on the security of energy supply. It is argued here that a supply-centric approach to energy security is too narrow to account for the complex nature of energy systems and tends to overlook energy users, their expectations from, interaction with and roles in future low carbon energy systems. From users’ point of view, be they households, businesses or governments, the supply of kWh or oil barrels is often meaningless. What matters is not the source of energy, but rather the services provided by it. Therefore, securing energy services seems to be the public and the government’s concern, and the security of supply is only one mean to achieving it. Stemming from science, technology and society studies, this discussion paper suggests that applying a multi-level socio-technical and user-oriented perspectives which focus on the energy services and considers also psychological, social and cultural aspects of energy consumption, could reveal new and overlooked actors, roles, means and strategies that may provide and contribute to energy services security.Keywords: energy security, energy services, socio-technical systems

Strategies to balance energy security, business, trade and sustainable development: selected case studies†

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-99
Author(s):  
Paolo Davide Farah
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Balance Energy ◽  
Security Business

Abstract Energy is pivotal for socio-economic and cultural development. Last century witnessed a drastic increase, on one hand on the consumption of energy and, on the other on greenhouse gases emissions. Traditionally, energy security has been linked with the need to guarantee supply and, in turn, enables economic growth. Against this background, countries focused on diversifying both energy sources and trade partners while at the same time increasing investment in energy infrastructure and technology. Investment in low-carbon energy sources for enhancing national energy policies prompts for a new understanding of energy security. The aim is, in fact, not anymore limited to securing provision but also to strengthen diversification and counteract the negative effects of energy consumption on the environment. The need to include a sustainability component to energy in trade, business and in the society at large, is adding a further layer of complexity in shaping national and international energy policy. Strategies to balance energy security, business, trade, and sustainable development are urgently needed in the Anthropocene. Creative and innovative approaches to energy policy could be found in countries where energy consumption is on a steady rise and environmental degradation is crystal clear.

National Policies to Promote Renewable Energy

Daedalus ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed T. El-Ashry
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
The World ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

The world is entering a new energy era marked by concerns over energy security, climate change, and access by the poor to modern energy services. Yet the current energy path is not compatible with sustainable development objectives. Global demand for energy will continue to grow; so will CO2 emissions. Achieving a low-carbon energy world will require an unprecedented technological transformation in the way energy is produced and used. That transformation has begun, as renewables capacity continues to grow, prices continue to fall, and shares of global energy from renewables continue to increase. Government policies are the main driver behind renewable energy's meteoric growth. Still, the world is tapping only a small amount of the vast supply of renewable energy resources. There is broad consensus that the role of these resources should be expanded significantly in order to meaningfully address energy security, energy access, and climate change.

Energy efficiency a source of low carbon energy sources? Evidence from 16 high-income OECD economies

Energy ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 123063
Author(s):  
Taimoor Hassan ◽  
Huaming Song ◽  
Yasir Khan ◽  
Dervis Kirikkaleli
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
High Income ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Does air pollution affect clean production of sustainable environmental agenda through low carbon energy financing? evidence from ASEAN countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 0958305X2110078
Author(s):  
Muhammad K Anser ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Danish I Godil ◽  
Malik S Shabbir ◽  
Mosab Tabash ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Productivity Level ◽  
Clean Production ◽  
Sustainable Environment ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

This study describes different options regarding financing in low carbon energy sectors and air pollution, which further affect clean production and sustainable environment agenda regarding the Association of southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states. The purpose of this study is to reduce air pollution and improve environmental production through low carbon energy financing. This study further investigates, which particular country among selected ASEAN states has most affected by air pollution and decrease their energy sources as well as clean productivity level. The findings of this study indicate that transformation toward low carbon energy increased energy efficiency encouraged by all sectors of society in the target countries. It is observed that around 20,000 people have died in South East Asia (SEA) every year due to the polluted air environment among these countries.

scholarly journals Nuclear Power in Poland’s Energy Transition

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3626
Author(s):  
Janusz Gierszewski ◽  
Łukasz Młynarkiewicz ◽  
Tomasz R. Nowacki ◽  
Jacek Dworzecki
Keyword(s):  
Energy Security ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

This article presents an analysis of the future role of nuclear energy in Poland’s path to a low-carbon energy transition. The arguments in favor of implementing nuclear power are to be found on three levels: energy security, economic competitiveness and energy efficiency, and lastly, limited environmental impact. In the process of creating this study, the methodology in the field of security sciences was used, including its interdisciplinary approach. Theoretical methods were used, e.g., critical analysis of scientific sources and comparison of statistical data and empirical methods, e.g., document analysis, comparative analysis. The article is based on an analysis of the literature on the subject, applicable legal acts, and government strategies in the field of energy security. The article contains the results of research no. BS.21.6.13 carried out by a research team from the Pomeranian Academy in Słupsk that allowed to indicate the probable directions of transformation of the energy sector in Poland in the next decade.

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