scholarly journals Trends in the consumption of hard coal in Polish households compared to EU households

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Stala-Szlugaj

Abstract Due to the important role of hard coal in the Polish residential sector, the article traced the changes that have occurred in the use of this fuel in the European Union and in Poland in the years 1990–2014. Throughout the European Union, hard coal has an important place in the structure of primary energy consumption. In the years 1990–2014, primary energy consumption in the European Union (calculated for all 28 Member States) has changed between 1507 and 1722 million toe. Between 2014 and 1990, there was a decrease of primary energy consumption, and the average rate of decline amounted to −0.2%. According to Council Directive 2013/12/EU, by the year 2020 energy consumption throughout the EU is expected to be no more than 1483 Mtoe of primary energy, and already in 2014 total primary energy consumption in the EU28 was higher than assumed by this target by only about 24 million toe (2%). Actions taken to protect the climate result in reducing the consumption of hard coal in the European Union. Between 1990 and 2014, the consumption of hard coal decreased by 41% (a decrease of 126 million toe), and the average rate of decline in consumption of this fuel amounted to −2.1%. Throughout the EU, households are not as significant a consumer of hard coal, as in Poland. Although EU28’s coal consumption in this sector in the years 1990 to 2014 varied between 6.5–15.8 million toe, its share in the overall consumption of this fuel usually maintained at around 3–5%. The changing fuel mix, closing of mines or gradual extinction of coal mining, environmental policy of the individual countries meant that coal has lost its position in some of them. Analyzing the structure of hard coal consumption by households in the EU28 countries in the years 1900 to 2014, one may notice that the leaders are those countries that have their own coal mines. Due to the structure of consumption of hard coal by the customers, the article discussed two countries: Poland and Great Britain in greater detail. In 1990, Poland (50%) and Britain (18%) were close leaders, and twenty-five years later, only Poland has remained in first place (84%) and Great Britain has fallen to fourth place (4%). Between 2014 and 1990, the consumption of hard coal by the British residential sector decreased by 88% to only 0.3 million toe. In the case of Poland, it admittedly decreased by 6%, but still exceeds 6 million toe. The decrease in hard coal consumption in Great Britain was largely a consequence of The Clean Air Act introduced in 1956. In Britain, the process of replacing coal with other fuels (mostly natural gas) lasted several decades. Domestic coal was replaced with another mainly domestic resource – natural gas which ensured the security of its supply. The article also describes the households in the European Union and in Poland. The overall housing stock was taken into account, together with the distribution of population according to the degree of urbanization. Regulations that have a significant impact on the consumption of energy in the European Union were also discussed.

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69
Author(s):  
Anton Pitonak ◽  
Martin Lopusniak ◽  
Miloslav Bagona

Abstract In countries of the European Union, the proportion of buildings in the overall energy consumption represents 40% and their proportion in CO2 emissions 35%. Taking into account dependence of the European Union on import of energy, this represents large quantity of energy and CO2 emissions, in spite of the fact that there exist effective solutions for reduction of building energy demand. In Directive 20-20-20, the European Union adopted three main commitments of fulfillment criteria by 2020. On the basis of this directive, the Slovak Republic declares support of renovation of apartment dwelling houses. Taking into account the fact that state subsidy can be obtained only once, and energy requirements of the European Union are increasingly stricter, a comprehensive approach to renovation of buildings is inevitable. At the same time, it is inevitable to propose the renovation of buildings taking into account requirements stated for buildings for year 2020. Two areas were compared within the case study taking into account primary energy and the quantity of CO2 emissions. Both areas have the same built-up area, but one of them is a district city and the second is a suburb. From results it is obvious that the quantity of primary energy is lower by 88% in the district city than in the suburb. The quantity of CO2 emissions is lower by 69% in the district city than in the suburb.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Alhassan Salami Tijani ◽  
Nazri Mohammed ◽  
Werner Witt

Industrial heat pumps are heat-recovery systems that allow the temperature ofwaste-heat stream to be increased to a higher, more efficient temperature. Consequently, heat pumps can improve energy efficiency in industrial processes as well as energy savings when conventional passive-heat recovery is not possible. In this paper, possible ways of saving energy in the chemical industry are considered, the objective is to reduce the primary energy (such as coal) consumption of power plant. Particularly the thermodynamic analyses ofintegrating backpressure turbine ofa power plant with distillation units have been considered. Some practical examples such as conventional distillation unit and heat pump are used as a means of reducing primary energy consumption with tangible indications of energy savings. The heat pump distillation is operated via electrical power from the power plant. The exergy efficiency ofthe primary fuel is calculated for different operating range ofthe heat pump distillation. This is then compared with a conventional distillation unit that depends on saturated steam from a power plant as the source of energy. The results obtained show that heat pump distillation is an economic way to save energy if the temperaturedifference between the overhead and the bottom is small. Based on the result, the energy saved by the application of a heat pump distillation is improved compared to conventional distillation unit.


Author(s):  
Almas Heshmati ◽  
Shahrouz Abolhosseini

This chapter reviews relevant literature on the current state and effectiveness of developing renewable energy on energy security in general, and on energy security in the European Union (EU) in particular. The chapter elaborates on primary energy import sources, possible alternatives, and how energy security is affected by the sources of supply. It also gives an analysis of the effects of the Ukrainian crisis, the isolation of Iran on diversification sources, and on European energy security. It examines EU’s energy policy, analyses the best motivation for a new energy policy direction within Europe, and suggests alternative solutions for enhanced energy supply security. The aim is to suggest suitable solutions for energy security in Europe through energy supply diversification. Supply diversification includes alternative energy corridors for reducing dependency on Russia as a supplier and enhancing the power generated by renewable energy sources under the European Union 2020 strategy.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1570
Author(s):  
Tomasz Rokicki ◽  
Aleksandra Perkowska ◽  
Bogdan Klepacki ◽  
Piotr Bórawski ◽  
Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska ◽  
...  

The paper’s main purpose was to identify and present the current situation and changes in energy consumption in agriculture in the European Union (EU) countries. The specific objectives were the determination of the degree of concentration of energy consumption in agriculture in the EU countries, showing the directions of their changes, types of energy used, and changes in this respect, establishing the correlation between energy consumption and changes in the economic and agricultural situation in the EU countries. All member states of the European Union were deliberately selected for research on 31 December 2018 (28 countries). The research period covered the years 2005–2018. The sources of materials were the literature on the subject, and data from Eurostat. Descriptive, tabular, and graphical methods were used to analyze and present materials, dynamics indicators with a stable base, Gini concentration coefficient, concentration analysis using the Lorenz curve, coefficient of variation, Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. A high concentration of energy consumption in agriculture was found in several EU countries, the largest in countries with the largest agricultural sector, i.e., France and Poland. There were practically no changes in the concentration level. Only in the case of renewable energy, a gradual decrease in concentration was visible. More and more countries developed technologies that allow the use of this type of energy. However, the EU countries differed in terms of the structure of the energy sources used. The majority of the basis was liquid fuels, while stable and gaseous fuels were abandoned in favor of electricity and renewable sources—according to which, in the EU countries, the research hypothesis was confirmed: a gradual diversification of energy sources used in agriculture, with a systematic increase in the importance of renewable energy sources. The second research hypothesis was also confirmed, according to which the increase in the consumption of renewable energy in agriculture is closely related to the economy’s parameters. The use of renewable energy is necessary and results from concern for the natural environment. Therefore, economic factors may have a smaller impact.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2538
Author(s):  
Praveen K. Cheekatamarla

Electrical and thermal loads of residential buildings present a unique opportunity for onsite power generation, and concomitant thermal energy generation, storage, and utilization, to decrease primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide intensity. This approach also improves resiliency and ability to address peak load burden effectively. Demand response programs and grid-interactive buildings are also essential to meet the energy needs of the 21st century while addressing climate impact. Given the significance of the scale of building energy consumption, this study investigates how cogeneration systems influence the primary energy consumption and carbon footprint in residential buildings. The impact of onsite power generation capacity, its electrical and thermal efficiency, and its cost, on total primary energy consumption, equivalent carbon dioxide emissions, operating expenditure, and, most importantly, thermal and electrical energy balance, is presented. The conditions at which a cogeneration approach loses its advantage as an energy efficient residential resource are identified as a function of electrical grid’s carbon footprint and primary energy efficiency. Compared to a heat pump heating system with a coefficient of performance (COP) of three, a 0.5 kW cogeneration system with 40% electrical efficiency is shown to lose its environmental benefit if the electrical grid’s carbon dioxide intensity falls below 0.4 kg CO2 per kWh electricity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 882 ◽  
pp. 215-220
Author(s):  
Matthias Koppmann ◽  
Raphael Lechner ◽  
Tom Goßner ◽  
Markus Brautsch

Process cooling and air conditioning are becoming increasingly important in the industry. Refrigeration is still mostly accomplished with compression chillers, although alternative technologies are available on the market that can be more efficient for specific applications. Within the scope of the project “EffiCool” a technology toolbox is currently being developed, which is intended to assist industrials users in selecting energy efficient and eco-friendly cooling solutions. In order to assess different refrigeration options a consistent methodology was developed. The refrigeration technologies are assessed regarding their efficiency, CO2-emissions and primary energy consumption. For CCHP systems an exergetic allocation method was implemented. Two scenarios with A) a compression chiller and B) an absorption chiller coupled to a natural gas CHP system were calculated exemplarily, showing a greater overall efficiency for the CCHP system, although the individual COP of the chiller is considerably lower.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Jurasz ◽  
Jerzy Mikulik

Polish energy sector is (almost from its origin) dominated by fossil fuel feed power. This situation results from an abundance of relatively cheap coal (hard and lignite). Brown coal due to its nature is the cheapest energy source in Poland. However, hard coal which fuels 60% of polish power plants is picking up on prices and is susceptible to the coal imported from neighboring countries. Forced by the European Union (EU) regulations, Poland is struggling at achieving its goal of reaching 15% of energy consumption from renewable energy sources (RES) by 2020. Over the year 2015, RES covered 11.3% of gross energy consumption but this generation was dominated by solid biomass (over 80%). The aim of this paper was to answer the following research questions: What is the relation of irradiation values to the power load on a yearly and daily basis? and how should photovoltaics (PV) be integrated in the polish power system? Conducted analysis allowed us to state that there exists a negative correlation between power demand and irradiation values on a yearly basis, but this is likely to change in the future. Secondly, on average, daily values of irradiation tend to follow power load curve over the first hours of the day.


Author(s):  
J Harrod ◽  
P J Mago

Due to the soaring costs and demand of energy in recent years, combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems have arisen as an alternative to conventional power generation based on their potential to provide reductions in cost, primary energy consumption, and emissions. However, the application of these systems is commonly limited to internal combustion engine prime movers that use natural gas as the primary fuel source. Investigation of more efficient prime movers and renewable fuel applications is an integral part of improving CCHP technology. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyse the performance of a CCHP system driven by a biomass fired Stirling engine. The study is carried out by considering an hour-by-hour CCHP simulation for a small office building located in Atlanta, Georgia. The hourly thermal and electrical demands for the building were obtained using the EnergyPlus software. Results for burning waste wood chip biomass are compared to results obtained burning natural gas to illustrate the effects of fuel choice and prime mover power output on the overall CCHP system performance. Based on the specified utility rates and including excess production buyback, the results suggest that fuel prices of less than $23/MWh must be maintained for savings in cost compared to the conventional case. In addition, the performance of the CCHP system using the Stirling engine is compared with the conventional system performance. This comparison is based on operational cost and primary energy consumption. When electricity can be sold back to the grid, results indicate that a wood chip fired system yields a potential cost savings of up to 50 per cent and a 20 per cent increase in primary energy consumption as compared with the conventional system. On the other hand, a natural gas fired system is shown to be ineffective for cost and primary energy consumption savings with increases of up to 85 per cent and 24 per cent compared to the conventional case, respectively. The variations in the operational cost and primary energy consumption are also shown to be sensitive to the electricity excess production and buyback rate.


2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiromi Yamamoto ◽  
Kenji Yamaji

The uses of fossil fuels cause not only the resources exhaustion but also the environmental problems such as global warming. The purposes of this study are to evaluate paths to ward sustainable energy systems and roles of each renewable. In order to realize the purposes, the authors developed the global land use and energy model that figured the global energy supply systems in the future considering the cost minimization. Using the model the authors conducted a simulation in C30R scenario, which is a kind of strict CO2 emission limit scenarios and reduced CO2 emissions by 30% compared with Kyoto protocol forever scenario, and obtained the following results. In C30R scenario bio energy will supply 33% of all the primary energy consumption. How ever, wind and photo voltaic will supply 1.8% and 1.4% of all the primary energy consumption, respectively, because of the limits of power grid stability. The results imply that the strict limits of CO2 emissions are not sufficient to achieve the complete renewable energy systems. In order to use wind and photo voltaic as major energy resources we need not only to reduce the plant costs but also to develop unconventional renewable technologies. .


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