scholarly journals How the COVID-19 Crisis is Showing us the Complexities in the Global Energy Transition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Germán Meza ◽  
Nilton Bispo Amado ◽  
Ildo Sauer
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Natural Gas Prices ◽  
Alternative Sources ◽  
Post War ◽  
Storage Technologies

The measures for tackling the COVID-19 may shrink the global GDP by approximately 6% in 2020, the deepest post-war recession. As a result, the global energy demand declined by 3.8% in the first quarter of 2020. Concerning fossil fuels, this conjuncture reduced the demand drastically and collapsed the prices to historic levels. Despite the general market disruptions, renewable energy sources (RES) seem to be more resilient to the crisis because they are the only sources that will grow in demand in 2020, driven by priority dispatch. The RES´s significant growth in cumulative installed capacity in the last two decades and the significant cost reductions of RES and energy storage technologies are positive signs towards better market conditions for the global energy transition. Currently, the crisis is seen by international agencies and transition scholars as an opportunity to advance a renewable-based energy transformation. Nevertheless, this article aims at caution about another possibility: if societal changes are not urgently implemented, the crisis may weaken the global energy transition. This article examines this last possibility from a three-level perspective: 1) post-COVID economic recovery, 2) low oil and natural gas prices and competitiveness of alternative sources and, 3) reorganization of the world energy market and the OPEC+. This paper exists to stimulate debate.

scholarly journals Can the 1.5 ℃ warming target be met in a global transition to 100% renewable energy?

AIMS Energy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1170-1191
Author(s):  
Peter Schwartzman ◽  
◽  
David Schwartzman ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Energy Poverty ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation

<abstract> <p>First, we recognize the valuable previous studies which model renewable energy growth with complete termination of fossil fuels along with assumptions of the remaining carbon budgets to reach IPCC warming targets. However, these studies use very complex combined economic/physical modeling and commonly lack transparency regarding the sensitivity to assumed inputs. Moreover, it is not clear that energy poverty with its big present impact in the global South has been eliminated in their scenarios. Further, their CO<sub>2</sub>-equivalent natural gas emission factors are underestimated, which will have significant impact on the computed greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, we address this question in a transparent modeling study: can the 1.5 ℃ warming target still be met with an aggressive phaseout of fossil fuels coupled with a 100% replacement by renewable energy? We compute the continuous generation of global wind/solar energy power along with the cumulative carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in a complete phaseout of fossil fuels over a 20 year period. We compare these computed emissions with the state-of-the-science estimates for the remaining carbon budget of carbon dioxide emissions consistent with the 1.5 ℃ warming target, concluding that it is still possible to meet this warming target if the creation of a global 100% renewable energy transition of sufficient capacity begins very soon which will likely be needed to power aggressive negative carbon emission technology. The latter is focused on direct air capture for crustal storage. More efficient renewable technologies in the near future will make this transition easier and promote the implementation of a global circular economy. Taking into account technological improvements in 2<sup>nd</sup> law (exergy) efficiencies reducing the necessary global energy demand, the renewable supply should likely be no more than 1.5 times the present level, with the capacity to eliminate global energy poverty, for climate mitigation and adaptation.</p> </abstract>

BP Global Energy Outlook 2030

2013 ◽  
pp. 109-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Rühl
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Net Energy ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Market Shares ◽  
The Us ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Oil Gas

This paper presents the highlights of the third annual edition of the BP Energy Outlook, which sets out BP’s view of the most likely developments in global energy markets to 2030, based on up-to-date analysis and taking into account developments of the past year. The Outlook’s overall expectation for growth in global energy demand is to be 36% higher in 2030 than in 2011 and almost all the growth coming from emerging economies. It also reflects shifting expectations of the pattern of supply, with unconventional sources — shale gas and tight oil together with heavy oil and biofuels — playing an increasingly important role and, in particular, transforming the energy balance of the US. While the fuel mix is evolving, fossil fuels will continue to be dominant. Oil, gas and coal are expected to converge on market shares of around 26—28% each by 2030, and non-fossil fuels — nuclear, hydro and renewables — on a share of around 6—7% each. By 2030, increasing production and moderating demand will result in the US being 99% self-sufficient in net energy. Meanwhile, with continuing steep economic growth, major emerging economies such as China and India will become increasingly reliant on energy imports. These shifts will have major impacts on trade balances.

scholarly journals Data Analytics for Profiling Low-Voltage Customers with Smart Meter Readings

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 500
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Pilo ◽  
Giuditta Pisano ◽  
Simona Ruggeri ◽  
Matteo Troncia
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Data Analytics ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Smart Meters ◽  
Large Databases ◽  
A New Technique

The energy transition for decarbonization requires consumers’ and producers’ active participation to give the power system the necessary flexibility to manage intermittency and non-programmability of renewable energy sources. The accurate knowledge of the energy demand of every single customer is crucial for accurately assessing their potential as flexibility providers. This topic gained terrific input from the widespread deployment of smart meters and the continuous development of data analytics and artificial intelligence. The paper proposes a new technique based on advanced data analytics to analyze the data registered by smart meters to associate to each customer a typical load profile (LP). Different LPs are assigned to low voltage (LV) customers belonging to nominal homogeneous category for overcoming the inaccuracy due to non-existent coincident peaks, arising by the common use of a unique LP per category. The proposed methodology, starting from two large databases, constituted by tens of thousands of customers of different categories, clusters their consumption profiles to define new representative LPs, without a priori preferring a specific clustering technique but using that one that provides better results. The paper also proposes a method for associating the proper LP to new or not monitored customers, considering only few features easily available for the distribution systems operator (DSO).

scholarly journals Analysis of Energy System in Norway with Focus on Energy Consumption Prediction

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Hamlehdar ◽  
Alireza Aslani
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Energy System ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Regression Result ◽  
Industry Growth ◽  
The Status

Abstract Today, the fossil fuels have dominant share of energy supply in order to respond to the high energy demand in the world. Norway is one of the countries with rich sources of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. The current work is to investigate on the status of energy demand in Norway. First, energy and electricity consumption in various sectors, including industrial, residential are calculated. Then, energy demand in Norway is forecasted by using available tools. After that, the relationship between energy consumption in Norway with Basic economics parameters such as GDP, population and industry growth rate has determined by using linear regression model. Finally, the regression result shows a low correlation between variables.

Cash is King - Repurposing Marginal Assets to Reduce Floating LNG CAPEX

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Shane Tierling
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Capital Cost ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
The Impact

Objective / Scope With renewable energy sources not currently able to move energy around the globe and forming small portions of the total global energy supply, it has fallen upon hydrocarbon sources to form the backbone of global energy movements. Hence, the recent energy demand decline, along with policy, have disproportionately impacted world-wide petroleum and LNG pricing. The impact on Floating LNG has been a heightened demand for capital efficiency, required to achieve final investment decision. A business case specific means of reducing FLNG CAPEX, has been repurposing marginal assets. Starting with a breakdown of the cost components of an FLNG facility, this paper will provide examples of the inclusion of preexisting assets into FLNG projects to reduce capital cost. The paper will wrap up with other opportunities for cost savings, to stimulate thought. Methods, Procedures, Process Floating LNG (FLNG) technologies have been deployed to monetize mid-sized offshore gas reservoirs, avoiding constructing a sub-sea gas pipeline to a land-based LNG facility and export jetty. Containing the processing to an oceanic environment also reduces the impact on indigenous peoples as well as terrestrial flora and fauna. FLNG facilities also have the potential of serving multiple offshore fields over the life of the facility, thereby reducing the minimum size field that can be economically monetized. Interest in FLNG continues, despite the current slump in energy prices, however these challenging times are refocusing efforts on reducing the capital cost of FLNG. This paper will explore recent capital cost trends in LNG, with a focus on floating LNG, examples of realized opportunities to reduce CAPEX, and further scope for reductions. Results, Observations, Conclusions The readers will take-away from this paper a deeper understanding of: Recent trends in CAPEX for LNG, and specifically FLNG Where significant opportunities lie for cost reduction Examples of the reuse and repurposing of marginal assets to reduce cost of FLNG facilities Areas to be explored for future capital reduction Novel / Additive Information This paper pulls together disparate threads into a coherent whole, providing visualization of the trends and examples of realized opportunities.

Modern Optimization Algorithms and Applications in Solar Photovoltaic Engineering

2016 ◽  
pp. 390-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Tyukhov ◽  
Hegazy Rezk ◽  
Pandian Vasant
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Smart Grids ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Point Tracking ◽  
Composition Structure ◽  
Primary Energy Supply ◽  
Power Point

This chapter is devoted to main tendencies of optimization in photovoltaic (PV) engineering showing the main trends in modern energy transition - the changes in the composition (structure) of primary energy supply, the gradual shift from a traditional (mainly based on fossil fuels) energy to a new stage based on renewable energy systems from history to current stage and to future. The concrete examples (case studies) of optimization PV systems in different concepts of using from power electronics (particularly maximum power point tracking optimization) to implementing geographic information system (GIS) are considered. The chapter shows the gradual shifting optimization from specific quite narrow areas to the new stages of optimization of the very complex energy systems (actually smart grids) based on photovoltaics and also other renewable energy sources and GIS.

Renewable Energy Sources

2016 ◽  
pp. 238-269
Author(s):  
Mahmure Övül Arıoğlu Akan ◽  
Ayşe Ayçim Selam ◽  
Seniye Ümit Oktay Fırat
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Global Organizations ◽  
Detailed Review ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Near Future

Sustainability concerns resulting from the consumption of natural resources, life-threatening levels of pollution, global warming, climate change and the ever-increasing worldwide energy use have brought renewable energy sources to forefront. Given the possibility of depletion of fossil fuels in the near future, the utilization of clean and renewable energy sources have become inevitable. Consequently, governments and global organizations adopted respective regulations to ensure the production and use of renewable energy and promote the respective new investments. In the light of these developments, the aim of this study is to conduct a detailed review and evaluation on the current literature and global energy statistics. The respective projects, binding regulations, incentives, and pricing mechanisms have also been studied to analyze and compare the renewable energy policies adopted worldwide. Ultimately, the goal is to make certain suggestions and lay out possible solutions regarding global energy problems.

scholarly journals Economic perspective of hybrid wind-diesel technology for commercial loads of Dhahran Saudi Arabia: A step towards sustainable future

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-178
Author(s):  
S.M. Shaahid
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Hybrid Systems ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Commercial Building

The governments world-wide are deliberating to promote renewable energy sources such as wind to mitigate increasing demand of energy and to overcome effects of pollution due to to use of fossil fuels. Integration of wind turbine generators (WTG) with the diesel plants is pursued widely to reduce dependence on fossil-fuels and to reduce carbon emissions. Literature indicates that commercial/residential buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A) consume an estimated 10 - 40% of the total electric energy generated. The aim of this study is to analyze wind-speed data of Dhahran (East-Coast, K.S.A.) to assess the economic feasibility of utilizing hybrid wind-diesel power systems to meet the load requirements of a typical commercial building (with annual electrical energy demand of 620,000 kWh). The monthly average wind speeds range from 3.3 to 5.6 m/s. The hybrid systems simulated consist of different combinations of 100 kW commercial WTG supplemented with diesel generators. NREL?s (HOMER Energy?s) HOMER software has been employed to perform the techno-economic analysis. The simulation results indicate that for a hybrid system comprising of 100 kW wind capacity together with 175 kW diesel system, the wind penetration (at 37 m hub-height, with 0% annual capacity shortage) is 25%. The cost of generating energy (COE, $/kWh) from this hybrid wind-diesel system has been found to be 0.121 $/kWh (assuming diesel fuel price of 0.1$/liter). The study exhibits that for a given hybrid configuration, the number of operational hours of diesel gensets decreases with increase in wind farm capacity. Emphasis has also been placed on wind penetration, un-met load, energy production and COE, excess electricity generation, percentage fuel savings and reduction in carbon emissions (relative to diesel-only situation) of different hybrid systems, cost break-down of wind-diesel systems, COE of different hybrid systems, etc.

scholarly journals Intimately Coupling Photocatalytic Optical Fibers and Biofilm for Rapid and Sustainable Degradation of 4-Chlorophenol

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jilin Yuan ◽  
Linyang Li ◽  
Chuanbao Xiao ◽  
Nianbing Zhong ◽  
Dengjie Zhong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Fibers ◽  
Biomass Production ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Scenedesmus Obliquus ◽  
Wastewater Remediation ◽  
Microalgal Biomass ◽  
Biofilm Growth ◽  
H 41

Abstract The need for wastewater treatment is progressively rising as the release of copious amounts of industrial wastewater is increasing. Likewise, there is an urgent requirement for renewable energy sources because of the growing energy demand and depletion of fossil fuels. The use of microalgae to convert toxic phenolic wastewater to lipid-enriched biofuel has recently been proposed. Here, we report a new strategy for coupling N-doped TiO2-coated photocatalytic optical fibers and a microalgal biofilm to degrade 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) and produce biomass. In the combined photocatalysis and biodegradation system, the photocatalytic products were directly biodegraded by the heterotroph-enriched (Salinarimonas and Pseudomonas) biofilm, promoting biomass production; O2 produced by the phototrophs (Scenedesmus obliquus) promoted the generation of hydroxyl free radicals using N-doped TiO2. Thus, the combined photocatalysis and biodegradation system rapidly and sustainably degraded 4-CP while maintaining the growth of the microalgal biomass. The 4-CP removal, dechlorination, and biofilm growth rates reached ~78 µM/h, ~41 µM/h, and 1.8 g/h/m2, respectively. Overall, we present a useful synergy between an optical catalyst and a bioreactor that has implications for both wastewater remediation and sustainable microalgal biomass production.

scholarly journals How much energy storage can we afford? On the need for a sunflower society, aligning demand with renewable supply

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Desing ◽  
Rolf Widmer
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Synthetic Fuels ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Available Energy ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Storage Demand ◽  
Storage Technologies

Our society has become accustomed to demanding energy whenever we want it. When decarbonising the energy system, this becomes a fundamental challenge due to the extent of energy storage required for matching the intermittent renewable supply to society's current demand. Available energy storage technologies are energetically expensive either to build - like batteries - or to operate - like synthetic fuels. Due to these energetic costs, requiring more storage leads to a slower energy transition and consequently higher climate risks. This paper explores the energy implications of adding energy storage to fast and complete energy transition pathways. Technological innovation can mitigate the problem to some extent by focusing on reduced energy intensity of storage alongside with improved turnaround efficiency. Most influential is, however, the extent of storage that we want: reducing storage demand greatly accelerates the transition and therefore reduces the induced probability of violating 1.5°C peak heating. In addition, it can immediately be implemented with readily available and scalable technologies. However, it requires a fundamental rethinking of the way we use energy in society: aligning energy demand with renewable supply as best as we can. Following the course of the sun, just like sunflowers do, we need to schedule our most energy-intensive activities around midday and summer, while reducing demand during night and winter. The sunflower society has the potential to accelerate climate action and therewith reduce climate risks.

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