China's economy will 'decarbonise' as coal use falls

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Baseline Data ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Power Sector ◽  
Economic Strategy ◽  
Structural Shift ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Demand Growth ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Low Carbon Energy ◽  
China’S Economy

Significance Signs of falling coal use, despite concern over major revisions to baseline data, suggest China has established a structural shift towards power sector decarbonisation that fits well with its broader industrial and economic strategy. Impacts Major coal exporters cannot count on China as a source of coal demand growth. China is likely to be left with significant stranded coal-fired plant assets. Low-carbon energy technologies will reduce China's growing dependence on imported energy commodities.

French Nuclear Energy: Concentrated Power

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Araújo
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Power Sector ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
High Concern ◽  
Stable Source ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Nuclear energy is one of the most significant sources of low carbon energy in use in the power sector today. In 2013, nuclear energy represented roughly 11% of the global electricity supply, with growth projected to occur in China, India, and Russia (International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], n.d.a; NEA, n.d.). As a stable source of electricity, nuclear energy can be a stand-alone, base-load form of electricity or complement more variable forms of low carbon energy, like wind and solar power. Among the energy technologies considered here, nuclear energy is complex not only for the science behind it, but also for its societal, environmental, and economic dimensions.This chapter explores the rapid rise of French nuclear energy in the civilian power sector. It considers what a national energy strategy looks like under conditions of high concern about energy supply security when limited domestic energy resources appear to exist. The case reveals that centralized planning with complex and equally centralized technology can be quite conducive to rapid change. However, continued public acceptance, especially for nuclear energy, matters in the durability of such a pathway. France is a traditional and currently global leader in nuclear energy, ranking the highest among countries for its share of domestic electricity derived from nuclear power at 76% of total electricity in 2015 (IAEA, n.d.b). France is highly ranked for the size of its nuclear reactor fleet and amount of nuclear generation, second only to the United States. In 2016, this nation of 67 million people and economy of $2.7 trillion had 58 nuclear power reactors (CIA, n.d.; IAEA, n.d.b). Due to the level of nuclear energy in its power mix, France has some of the lowest carbon emissions per person for electricity (IEA, 2016a). France is also one of the largest net exporters of electricity in Europe, with 61.7 TWh exported (Réseau de Transport d’électricité [RTE], 2016), producing roughly $3.3 billion in annual revenue (World Nuclear Association [WNA], n.d). This European country has the largest reprocessing capacity for spent fuel, with roughly 17% of its electricity powered from recycled fuel (WNA, n.d.).

Low-carbon aims need a new set of energy technologies

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Capture ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Power Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Natural Gas Demand ◽  
And Storage

Significance This will have significant impact on the greening of the power sector and for new technologies dependent on affordable electricity including electric vehicles and the production of bioenergy and hydrogen. Yet in some cases, progress depends on a breakthrough in carbon capture and storage (CCS). Impacts Renewable energy sectors look likely to emerge from COVID-19 impacts stronger than before. Long-term natural gas demand is at risk if CCS development is delayed or unrealised. Electrification technologies, boosted by cheaper power, may receive enhanced regulatory support.

Understanding Indicator Choice for the Assessment of RD&D Financing of Low-Carbon Energy Technologies

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Sonnenschein
Keyword(s):  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Additional Research ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Research Development ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Standard Set ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Rapid decarbonization requires additional research, development, and demonstration of low-carbon energy technologies. Various financing instruments are in place to support this development. They are frequently assessed through indicator-based evaluations. There is no standard set of indicators for this purpose. This study looks at the Nordic countries, which are leading countries with respect to eco-innovation. Different indicators to assess financing instruments are analysed with respect to their acceptance, the ease of monitoring, and their robustness. None of the indicators emerges as clearly superior from the analysis. Indicator choice is subject to trade-offs and leaves room for steering evaluation results in a desired direction. The study concludes by discussing potential policy implications of biases in indicator-based evaluation.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal perspectives on urban energy transitions: a comparative study of three cities in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanesa Castán Broto ◽  
Daphne Mah ◽  
Fangzhu Zhang ◽  
Ping Huang ◽  
Kevin Lo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Energy Transitions ◽  
Urban Energy ◽  
Temporal Dimensions ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Abstract This paper develops an integrated framework to study the socio-spatial and temporal dimensions of urban energy transitions to investigate the development and spread of solar energy technologies in urban China. A comparative analysis of three case studies of solar energy transitions in the cities of Foshan (in Guangdong), Rizhao (in Shandong), and Wuxi (in Jiangsu) demonstrates the framework’s applicability. The results map each city’s trajectory towards low carbon energy. Transitions result from dynamic interactions among central and local governments, solar manufacturers, solar installers, and residents. Alongside industrial strategies, locally-specific factors have a determining influence on the eventual outcomes.

District heating systems based on low-carbon energy technologies in Mediterranean areas

Energy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 397-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Lizana ◽  
Carlos Ortiz ◽  
Víctor M. Soltero ◽  
Ricardo Chacartegui
Keyword(s):  
District Heating ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Heating Systems ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
Mediterranean Areas ◽  
District Heating Systems ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

scholarly journals Modelling Socio-Environmental Sensitivities: How Public Responses to Low Carbon Energy Technologies Could Shape the UK Energy System

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brighid Moran Jay ◽  
David Howard ◽  
Nick Hughes ◽  
Jeanette Whitaker ◽  
Gabrial Anandarajah
Keyword(s):  
Risk Aversion ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Energy Technologies ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Low Carbon Energy

Low carbon energy technologies are not deployed in a social vacuum; there are a variety of complex ways in which people understand and engage with these technologies and the changing energy system overall. However, the role of the public’s socio-environmental sensitivities to low carbon energy technologies and their responses to energy deployments does not receive much serious attention in planning decarbonisation pathways to 2050. Resistance to certain resources and technologies based on particular socio-environmental sensitivities would alter the portfolio of options available which could shape how the energy system achieves decarbonisation (the decarbonisation pathway) as well as affecting the cost and achievability of decarbonisation. Thus, this paper presents a series of three modelled scenarios which illustrate the way that a variety of socio-environmental sensitivities could impact the development of the energy system and the decarbonisation pathway. The scenarios represent risk aversion (DREAD) which avoids deployment of potentially unsafe large-scale technology, local protectionism (NIMBY) that constrains systems to their existing spatial footprint, and environmental awareness (ECO) where protection of natural resources is paramount. Very different solutions for all three sets of constraints are identified; some seem slightly implausible (DREAD) and all show increased cost (especially in ECO).

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