Alternative energy capital of the world? Fix, risk, and solar energy in Los Angeles’ urban periphery

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110543
Author(s):  
Sean F Kennedy ◽  
Ryan Stock
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Financial Risk ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Energy Infrastructure ◽  
The World

California is one of the most climate-challenged regions of North America and is considered the vanguard of climate action in the United States. California's climate policy framework has strongly promoted the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure, and the state generates more solar energy than any other in the nation. Using the case of Lancaster, a city of 170,000 residents in northern Los Angeles County seeking to position itself as the “alternative energy capital of the world,” this article examines private investments in solar energy infrastructure as a response to California's entwined economic and ecological crises. Drawing on recent scholarship on socioecological fix, we argue that private accumulation through renewable energy infrastructures in California has required both the presence of crisis conditions and innovations in financial risk mitigation that manage tensions between mobility and fixity inherent in the formation of fixed capital. However, a narrow focus on short-term financial risk obviates other forms of risk, including future impacts of extreme weather on grid infrastructure and electricity supply. While this does not foreclose opportunities for solar energy infrastructure to support positive social and ecological transformation, we argue that such opportunities may be constrained under a mode of energy transition predicated on private accumulation.

Can Finance Change the World?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Jones
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Global Center ◽  
The World

The chapter examines the role of government in green industries from 1980 to the present, using the examples of waste management and wind and solar energy. In waste, privatization and more stringent regulation encouraged the growth of global waste management companies, with huge differences in outcomes. The United States remained a laggard in recycling compared to Germany. In energy, the state of California virtually created the modern wind and solar industries in the 1980s; European governments, especially Denmark and Germany, made Europe the global center for renewable energy in the 1990s; the Chinese government made China and Chinese companies dominant in renewable energy from the 2000s. In all three cases there were significant inefficiencies in outcomes.

Renewable Energy on Tribal Lands: A Feasibility Study for a Biomass-to-Energy Plant on the Cocopah Reservation in Arizona

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Lauren K. D’Souza ◽  
William L. Ascher ◽  
Tanja Srebotnjak
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Energy Plant ◽  
Energy Projects ◽  
Alternative Investment

Native American reservations are among the most economically disadvantaged regions in the United States; lacking access to economic and educational opportunities that are exacerbated by “energy insecurity” due to insufficient connectivity to the electric grid and power outages. Local renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass offer energy alternatives but their implementation encounters barriers such as lack of financing, infrastructure, and expertise, as well as divergent attitudes among tribal leaders. Biomass, in particular, could be a source of stable base-load power that is abundant and scalable in many rural communities. This case study examines the feasibility of a biomass energy plant on the Cocopah reservation in southwestern Arizona. It considers feedstock availability, cost and energy content, technology options, nameplate capacity, discount and interest rates, construction, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and alternative investment options. This study finds that at current electricity prices and based on typical costs for fuel, O&M over 30 years, none of the tested scenarios is presently cost-effective on a net present value (NPV) basis when compared with an alternative investment yielding annual returns of 3% or higher. The technology most likely to be economically viable and suitable for remote, rural contexts—a combustion stoker—resulted in a levelized costs of energy (LCOE) ranging from US$0.056 to 0.147/kWh. The most favorable scenario is a combustion stoker with an estimated NPV of US$4,791,243. The NPV of the corresponding alternative investment is US$7,123,380. However, if the tribes were able to secure a zero-interest loan to finance the plant’s installation cost, the project would be on par with the alternative investment. Even if this were the case, the scenario still relies on some of the most optimistic assumptions for the biomass-to-power plant and excludes abatement costs for air emissions. The study thus concludes that at present small-scale, biomass-to-energy projects require a mix of favorable market and local conditions as well as appropriate policy support to make biomass energy projects a cost-competitive source of stable, alternative energy for remote rural tribal communities that can provide greater tribal sovereignty and economic opportunities.

scholarly journals An innovative method for creating and using nanoparticles for gas extraction from gas hydrates

2019 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 01003
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Bondarenko ◽  
Olena Svietkina ◽  
Kostiantyn Prokopenko ◽  
Baochang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Gas Hydrates ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Investment Climate ◽  
Scientific Institutions ◽  
Energy Projects ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
Legislative Support ◽  
Alternative Sources

The growth of prices for traditional energy sources prompts Ukraine to seek new approaches to solving energy problems. Today, the country has intensified its work in this direction, in particular, legislative support is being developed and improved, and the investment climate for alternative energy projects is improving. In many countries of the world, it has long been understood how serious and necessary is the development of alternative energy. At present, in the face of various gas contradictions and unstable oil prices, the need for energy carriers is constantly increasing, which makes it necessary to seek the latest solutions to the energy problem. Many leading countries in the world are engaged in the search for alternative sources of energy, one of which is natural gas hydrates. This relatively new resource offers great opportunities both for economic growth and stability of states, and for the development of scientific institutions in this field. Flagships in the study and development of gas-hydrated deposits are the United States, China, Japan and Canada. Along with them should be noted the achievements of scientists in India, EU countries, Ukraine, Russia and Bulgaria.

Solar Water Distillation Using Two Different Phase Change Materials

2014 ◽  
Vol 592-594 ◽  
pp. 2409-2415 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Naga Sarada ◽  
Banoth Hima Bindu ◽  
Sri Rama R. Devi ◽  
Ravi Gugulothu
Keyword(s):  
Solar Energy ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Underground Water ◽  
Solar Still ◽  
Water Distillation ◽  
The World

In recent years with the exacerbation of energy shortage, water crisis increases around the world. With the continuous increase in the level of greenhouse gas emissions, the use of various sources of renewable energy is increasingly becoming important for sustainable development. Due to the rising oil price and environmental regulations, the demand of utilizing alternative power sources increased dramatically. Alternative energy and its applications have been heavily studied for the last decade. Energy and water are essential for mankind that influences the socioeconomic development of any nation. Pure water resources become more and more scarce every day as rivers, lakes wells and even seawater pollution rapidly increases. Solar energy is one promising solution to secure power and potable water to future generation. The process of distillation can be used to obtain fresh water from salty, brackish or contaminated water. Water is available in different forms such as sea water, underground water, surface water and atmospheric water. Clean water is essential for good health. The search for sustainable energy resources has emerged as one of the most significant and universal concerns in the 21st century. Solar energy conversion offers a cost effective alternative to our traditional usages. Solar energy is a promising candidate in many applications. Among the alternative energy sources used for electricity production, wind and solar energy systems have become more attractive in recent years. For areas where electricity was not available, stand alone wind and solar systems have been increasingly used. The shortage of drinking water in many countries throughout the world is a serious problem. Humankind has depended for ages on river, sea water and underground water reservoirs for its fresh water needs. But these sources do not always prove to be useful due to the presence of excessive salinity in the water. To resolve this crisis, different methods of solar desalination have been used in many countries. Distillation is a well known thermal process for water purification, most importantly, water desalination. Most of the conventional water distillation processes are highly energy consuming and require fossil fuels as well as electric power for their operation. Single basin solar still is a popular solar device used for converting available brackish or waste water into potable water. Because of its lower productivity, it is not popularly used. Numbers of works are under taken to improve the productivity and efficiency of the solar still. There are large numbers of PCMs that melt and solidify at wide range of temperatures, making them attractive in a number of applications. PCMs have been widely used in latent heat thermal storage systems for heat pumps, solar engineering and spacecraft thermal control applications. The use of PCMs for heating and cooling applications for buildings has been investigated within the past decade. The experimental results computed in the field of water distillation process using solar energy in the presence of energy storage materials sodium sulphate and sodium acetate are discussed in this paper. Keywords: solar energy, saline water, distillation, phase change material.

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR ENERGY IN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TRANSITION TO THE CARBON-NEUTRAL ECONOMY

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Pimonenko ◽  
O. Lyulyov ◽  
N. Letunovska ◽  
O. Lytvynenko ◽  
A. Nazarenko
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Alternative Energy Sources ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Leading Position

The article aims to study current trends in the use of solar energy in Ukraine and the world as one of the main directions of decarbonization of the national economy. The authors systematize the prospects, advantages and disadvantages of the development of renewable energy sources. They conducted a comparative analysis of the "efficiency" of solar energy in some countries and Ukraine. The authors determined that the leading position in terms of the share of energy consumed from renewable sources is occupied by countries with developed economies due to the availability of effective motivational mechanisms. From the experience of EU countries, the authors concluded that renewable energy sources form a prerequisite for obtaining additional socio-economic and environmental effects. In the presence of favorable market conditions, renewable energy sources can increase the level of energy security in the country and its energy independence. The article analyzes the legislation of Ukraine on stimulating the development of alternative energy. The authors proposed two opposed ways of further developing solar energy in Ukraine. In particular, the country can implement methods of using alternative energy, which developed countries have successfully implemented. Another area involves increasing research and innovation in implementing, using, maintaining, and utilizing energy-generating devices from alternative energy sources. Despite the polarity of the proposed directions for further development of renewable energy, in both cases, the state policy on attracting investment and promoting the use of energy from alternative energy sources is crucial. In addition, the authors noted the benefits for society from the development and implementation of alternative energy sources. The scaling up and promotion of energy production technologies from alternative sources can reduce carbon emissions, which has been an urgent problem globally.

scholarly journals PROSPECTS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR LOW-RISE BUILDINGS IN CRIMEA

2020 ◽  
pp. 85-93
Author(s):  
N. V. Tsopa ◽  
A. E. Dikarev
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Power Supply ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The World ◽  
The Crimea

in the article provides a comparative analysis of the development of solar energy in the world, in the European Union, in Russia and in Crimea; the advantages and disadvantages of the use of solar energy, the features of the use of renewable energy sources are considered, the use of solar energy in the Crimea is justified; describes the mechanism of a feasibility study for the use of autonomous power supply for low-rise buildings in Crimea.

scholarly journals Photovoltaic power generation system

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huang Huanhai
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
Energy Status ◽  
The World ◽  
New Energy

The potential crisis of energy and the deterioration of ecological environment make the world's cumbersomedevelopment of renewable energy including new energy, including solar energy. Traditional energy in the coal, oil andnatural gas are evolved from ancient fossils, it is collectively referred to as fossil fuels. As the world's energy needscontinue to increase, fossil fuels will also be depleted, it is necessary to fi nd a new energy to replace the traditionalenergy. Solar energy is a clean renewable energy with mineral energy incomparable superiority. Modern society shouldbe a conservation-oriented society, and social life should also be a life-saving energy. At the same time, Premier WenJiabao also proposed on June 30, 2005 and stressed the need to speed up the construction of a conservation-orientedsociety. And solar energy as an inexhaustible new environmentally friendly energy has become the world's energyresearch work in the world an important issue. Is the world in the economic situation to take a simpler, economical,environmentally friendly and reliable building heating and heating energy-saving measures. This paper summarizes thecurrent global energy status, indicating the importance of solar power and prospects. Details of the various solar powergeneration methods and their advantages, and made a comparison of this power generation parameters. At the sametime pointed out that the diffi culties faced by solar power and solutions, as well as China's solar power of the favorableconditions and diffi culties. The future of China's solar energy made a prospect.

scholarly journals Modern Trends in the Development of Renewable Energy: the Experience of the EU and Leading Countries of the World

2020 ◽  
pp. 117-133
Author(s):  
L.Hr. Melnyk ◽  
O.N. Derykolenko ◽  
Yu.O. Mazin ◽  
O.I. Matsenko ◽  
V.S. Piven
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Alternative Energy Sources ◽  
The World ◽  
The Eu

Energy security and independence is one of the key points in sustainable development. In modern conditions of rapid growth and development of technologies, more and more attention is paid to finding practical solutions for environmentally friendly and inexpensive energy production. For a long time, scientists from various fields of scientific activity around the world have been engaged in the development and use of alternative energy sources. The share of renewable energy sources in the generation of electricity around the world is growing steadily, which indicates an increase in the use of energy obtained from alternative sources, such as, for example, wind and sun. These trends testify to the desire of consumers to abandon the use of fossil energy sources and nuclear power plants as much as possible in order to ensure further sister development. Under the current conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for electricity worldwide has decreased, however, as the study shows, this pandemic has not affected the development of renewable energy. The article analyzes modern trends in the development of renewable energy, taking into account the experience of the EU countries and leading countries of the world in this area. As a result, it was concluded that in modern conditions, to achieve sustainable development, transformation processes are needed in such an important area as energy. Various processes in the global economy, which contributed to the intensive development of alternative energy sources, served as a powerful impetus for such changes. Many countries have made significant progress in the development of renewable energy.

National Cyber Governance Awareness Policy and Framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (02) ◽  
pp. 70-89
Author(s):  
Hala Bou Alwan
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Cyber Security ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
The World ◽  
Cyber Education

AbstractDespite an ongoing drive by governments and law enforcers around the world to improve the sophistication of their risk mitigation measures, cyber-attacks are continually increasing. A study from Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) shows more than 4,000 ransomware attacks occurred daily in 2016. That's a 300 percent increase over 2015, where 1,000 ransomware attacks were seen per day. Cyber criminals are successfully penetrating even the most high-profile companies and governmental agencies. The breach at the NSA was truly alarming and just one recent example of the dire situation the country, and world, face as cybercrime intensifies and the cyber security talent shortage becomes more serious.Accordingly, the purpose of this research is to focus on cyber education at the national, government, and law enforcement level examining the methodology to set the tone from the top ensuring alignment between governments, law enforcers, private sector, and academic level. It also examines the gaps in cyber laws and educational governance initiatives and their impact on efficient execution of cyber policies for various regions of the world with a focus on the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.Finally, this article recommends policy guidelines and a compliance manual framework for governments and law enforcers to consider ensuring that cyber risks are properly addressed and mitigated in a structured and coherent way.

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