scholarly journals Why the Carbon-Neutral Energy Transition Will Imply the Use of Lots of Carbon

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Jan Mertens ◽  
Ronnie Belmans ◽  
Michael Webber
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Chemical Element ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Hydrogen Economy ◽  
Renewable Electricity ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Synthetic Hydrocarbon ◽  
Efficiency Losses ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
And Storage

This paper argues that electrification and gasification go hand in hand and are crucial on our pathway to a carbon-neutral energy transition. Hydrogen made from renewable electricity will be crucial on this path but is not sufficient, mainly due to its challenges related to its transport and storage. Thus, other ‘molecules’ will be needed on the pathway to a carbon-neutral energy transition. What at first sight seems a contradiction, this paper argues that carbon (C) will be an important and required chemical element in many of these molecules to achieve our carbon neutrality goal. Therefore, on top of the “Hydrogen Economy” we should work also towards a “Synthetic Hydrocarbon Economy”, implying the needs for lots of carbon as a carrier for hydrogen and embedded in products as a form of sequestration. It is crucial that this carbon is taken from the biosphere or recycled from biomass/biogas and not from fossil resources. Due to efficiency losses in capturing and converting atmospheric CO2, the production of renewable molecules will increase the overall demand for renewable energy drastically.

Opportunities and Challenges in Converting Existing Natural Gas Infrastructure for Hydrogen Operation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Adam
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Production ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Hydrogen Economy ◽  
Storage Network ◽  
The World ◽  
Drive Trains ◽  
Regulatory Bodies ◽  
And Storage

Abstract Hydrogen holds enormous potential in helping the world achieve its decarbonization goals and is set to play a key role in the Energy Transition. However, two central building blocks are needed to make the hydrogen economy a reality: 1) a sufficient source of emissions-free (i.e., blue or green) hydrogen production and 2) a needs-based transportation and storage network that can reliably and cost-effectively supply hydrogen to end-users. Given the high costs associated with developing new transportation infrastructure, many governments, pipeline operators, and regulatory bodies have begun exploring if it is both possible and economical to convert existing natural gas (i.e., methane) infrastructure for hydrogen operation. This paper outlines opportunities and technical challenges associated with such an endeavor – with a particular focus on adaptation requirements for rotating equipment/compressor drive trains and metallurgical and integrity considerations for pipelines.

scholarly journals Exploring Carbon Neutral Potential in Urban Densification: A Precinct Perspective and Scenario Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 4814
Author(s):  
Bin Huang ◽  
Ke Xing ◽  
Stephen Pullen ◽  
Lida Liao
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Scenario Analysis ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Carbon Reduction ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Carbon Performance

Decarbonising the urban built environment for reaching carbon neutrality is high on the agenda for many cities undergoing rapid expansion and densification. As an important urban form, precincts have been increasingly focused on as the context for urban redevelopment planning and at the forefront for trialling carbon reduction measures. However, due to interplays between the built forms and the occupancy, the carbon performance of a precinct is significantly affected by morphological variations, demographical changes, and renewable energy system deployment. Despite much research on the development of low-carbon precincts, there is limited analysis on aggregated effects of population growth, building energy efficiency, renewable energy penetration, and carbon reduction targets in relation to precinct carbon signature and carbon neutral potential for precinct redevelopment and decarbonisation planning. In this paper, an integrated carbon assessment model, including overall precinct carbon emissions and carbon offset contributed by precinct-scale renewable energy harvesting, is developed and applied to examine the lifecycle carbon signature of urban precincts. Using a case study on a residential precinct redevelopment, scenario analysis is employed to explore opportunities for decarbonising densification development and the carbon neutral potential. Results from scenario analysis indicate that redevelopment of buildings with higher-rated energy efficiency and increase of renewable energy penetration can have a long term positive impact on the carbon performance of urban precincts. Meanwhile, demographical factors in precinct evolution also have a strong influence on a precinct’s carbon neutral potential. Whilst population size exerts upward pressure on total carbon emissions, changes in family types and associated consumption behaviour, such as travelling, can make positive contributions to carbon reduction. The analysis also highlights the significance of embodied carbon to the total carbon signature and the carbon reduction potential of a precinct during densification, reinforcing the notion that “develop with less” is as important as carbon offsetting measures for decarbonising the precinct toward carbon neutrality.

China’s 2060 goal could change climate outlook

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Iron Ore ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Change Climate ◽  
Carbon Neutral

Significance Beijing already targeted peak emissions in 2030, but had not previously set a deadline for going carbon-neutral. Xi’s announcement, following policy decisions that encouraged more coal-fired power plants, seems to have caught Chinese bureaucrats by surprise. Impacts The carbon neutrality target makes it more likely that China will adopt ambitious green policies in its next Five-Year Plan (2021-25). China’s ministries, industry bodies, provinces and cities will have to create new economic plans consistent with the 2060 goal. Renewable energy, electric vehicles, recycling and related industries will receive a boost. Coal, steel and energy-intensive and polluting industries will see a downturn. Demand for iron ore and coal will fall; demand will rise for minerals needed in electrification and renewables, such as copper and lithium.

scholarly journals An Enabling Framework to Support the Sustainable Energy Transition at the National Level

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3834
Author(s):  
Marina Blohm
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Energy ◽  
National Level ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Ecological Protection ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Under Construction ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Climate Crisis

The world is fighting against the impacts of the climate crisis. Although the technical feasibility of 100% renewable energy systems was already verified by a variety of research studies, there were still more than 200 GW of unsustainable new coal power capacity under construction at a global level in 2018. To achieve the required carbon neutrality, current energy systems need to be transformed toward sustainable energy. The review of the literature has shown that several barriers for carbon-neutral technologies exist, which currently impede the sustainable transition. This paper focuses on the development of an enabling framework to overcome existing barriers to facilitate sustainable and carbon-neutral technologies at the national level. Additionally, it should support decision makers to consider all underlying criteria of this urgently needed energy transition. The criteria of such an enabling framework can be classified in 11 categories, which are (1) environmental and ecological protection; (2) society, culture, and behavior; (3) equity and justice; (4) knowledge; (5) energy markets; (6) energy policy; (7) legal requirements; (8) finance; (9) institutions; (10) infrastructure; and (11) clash of interests. Even though some criteria differ from country to country, a strong governmental support for the transition is always required to be successful.

scholarly journals Foreign Direct Investments, Renewable Electricity Output, and Ecological Footprints: Do Financial Globalization Facilitate Renewable Energy Transition and Environmental Welfare in Bangladesh?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muntasir Murshed ◽  
Mohamed Elheddad ◽  
Rizwan Ahmed ◽  
Mohga Bassim ◽  
Ei Thuzar Than
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Financial Globalization ◽  
Renewable Electricity ◽  
Fdi Inflows ◽  
Ecological Footprints ◽  
Renewable Electricity Generation

AbstractPhasing out fossil fuel dependency to adopt renewable energy technologies is pertinent for both ensuring energy security and for safeguarding the well-being of the environment. However, financial constraints often restrict the developing countries, in particular, from undergoing the renewable energy transition that is necessary for easing the environmental hardships. Against this background, this study makes a novel attempt to evaluate the impacts of FDI inflows on enhancing renewable energy use and attaining environmental sustainability in Bangladesh between 1972 and 2015. Using the autoregressive distributed lags with structural break approach to estimate the short- and long-run elasticities, it is found that FDI inflows enhance the share of renewable electricity output in the total electricity output levels of the country. Besides, FDI inflows are also evidenced to directly hamper environmental quality by boosting the ecological footprints figures of Bangladesh. Hence, it can be said that FDI promotes renewable electricity generation in Bangladesh but transforms the nation into a pollution haven. However, although FDI inflows cannot directly reduce the ecological footprints, a joint ecological footprint mitigation impact of FDI inflows and renewable electricity generation is evidenced. Besides, the findings also verify the authenticity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis in Bangladesh’s context. Therefore, economic growth can be referred to as being both the cause and the panacea to the environmental problems faced by Bangladesh. These results, in a nutshell, calls for effective measures to be undertaken for attracting the relatively cleaner FDI in Bangladesh whereby the objectives of renewable energy transition and environmental sustainability can be achieved in tandem. In line with these findings, several appropriate financial globalization policies are recommended.

Blue Hydrogen Economy - A New Look at an Old Idea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Ehlig-Economides ◽  
Dimitrios G. Hatzignatiou
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Hydrogen Generation ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Generation Process ◽  
Hydrogen Economy ◽  
Core Skills ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
The Cost ◽  
And Storage

Abstract Previous efforts to promote hydrogen as an energy carrier described a Utopian world in which renewable resources provided all energy for heating, electricity, transportation, and industrial needs. The elegance of this vision overlooked the cost and the footprint represented by the renewable energy resources required to generate so much electricity, and the additional cost required to employ electrolysis to generate hydrogen for energy storage not possible for electricity. Today an abundance of natural gas offers an option for hydrogen generation from methane that can include capturing and storing CO2 produced from the generation process. This results in blue hydrogen, effectively as ecologically attractive as the green hydrogen from electrolysis, and considerably less expensive. This paper evaluates a New Hydrogen Economy employing blue hydrogen as a bridge to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Of particular interest is the observation that depleted natural gas reservoirs offer pore space sufficient to store about 1.5 times the CO2 coming from hydrogen generation from the produced natural gas. The implication of this observation is that blue hydrogen generation need not rely on saline aquifer storage or on CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery. We find that blue hydrogen cost is comparable to the cost of current crude oil-based transportation fuels. Further, electricity generated using blue hydrogen is less expensive than decarbonized electricity generated from natural gas with post combustion CO2 capture and storage. The infrastructure required for this energy transition can leverage existing natural gas transport and storage and existing petroleum industry skills. Energy companies committed to net zero emissions need not rely only on renewable energy sources or nuclear power. Further, switching to blue hydrogen reduces or eliminates combustion related pollution including nitrogen and sulfur oxides. Finally, the Blue Hydrogen Economy makes efficient and cost effective use of petroleum engineering core skills, as well as the core skills championed by the petroleum industry.

scholarly journals Possibilities for De-carbonizing the Heating and Cooling Sector in the Island of Crete, Greece

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-56
Author(s):  
John Vourdoubas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Renewable Electricity ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
Wind Energy Resources

Clean energy transition in islands is important and urgent in the current era of climate change. The possibility of de-carbonizing the heating and cooling sector in the island of Crete, Greece has been investigated. Fossil fuels are used in Crete in electricity generation, in heat and cooling production as well as in transportation. The use of various renewable and non-renewable fuels as well as the technologies used in heat and cooling generation has been examined together with the annual changes in fossil fuels consumption during the last years. Various renewable energies like solar energy, biomass and low enthalpy geothermal energy combined with renewable electricity could cover all the heating and cooling requirements in Crete totally eliminating the use of fossil fuels. Their technologies are mature, reliable, and cost efficient.  Renewable and low cost electricity can be easily generated by the abundant solar and wind energy resources in Crete powering electric systems generating heat and cooling. Current work indicates that the heating and cooling sector in Crete can be de-carbonized. This would result in the mitigation of climate change complying with the European goal for carbon neutrality in Europe by 2050.

ANALYSIS OF WAYS FOR ACHIEVING 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD (REVIEW)

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
T.A. Zheliezna
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
The United States ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Renewable Electricity ◽  
The World ◽  
The Cost

The aim of the work is to analyze targets on the transition to 100% renewable energy sources (RES) existing in different countries of the world as well as strategies for their achievement. The task of the work is to identify the most promising directions and develop appropriate recommendations for Ukraine. The global trend is setting targets for the transition to 100% RES, at least in some energy sectors, developing appropriate strategies and their implementation. Over the last decade, the cost of renewable energy has been steadily declining, making RES more competitive with fossil fuels in many parts of the world. Today, more than 50 countries, hundreds of cities and regions in one form or another have committed to switching to 100% RES. Most often it is about achieving 100% of renewable electricity. So far, at least 52 cities and regions have achieved their targets for the transition to 100% RES. Of these, 41 are located in Europe and 9 are located in the United States. About 2/3 of these targets relate only to renewable electricity. In Ukraine, the official targets for the development of RES are set out in the National Renewable Energy Action Plan until 2020 and in the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035. Recently, a draft Concept of the “green” energy transition of Ukraine until 2050 was developed, which sets the goal of achieving a climate-neutral economy by 2070. One of the main directions of decarbonization of the economy is the development of RES in combination with increasing energy efficiency and energy saving. It is necessary to resume completing the document with the inclusion of reasonable long-term goals to achieve 100% RES in certain energy sectors and in the whole energy balance of Ukraine.

scholarly journals The Path Toward a Hydrogen Economy: How Industry Can Broaden the Use of Hydrogen

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Free Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Hydrogen Economy ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
The Past ◽  
Renewable Energy Production ◽  
And Storage

In the past couple of years, it became evident that hydrogen would need to play a pivotal role in a carbon-free energy system. It would help decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors and act as an energy carrier to manage large variability in renewable energy production and enhance energy security. In most cases, its transportation and storage over a certain distance and timeframe is cheaper than that of electricity. For hydrogen to make an impact, it needs to expand its utility beyond its existing applications.

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