Energy saving and desalination of water

Data shows residential energy consumption constituting a significant portion of the overall energy end use in the European Union (EU), ranging between 15% and 30%. Furthermore, the EU’s dependency on foreign fossil fuel-based energy imports has been steadily increasing since 1993, constituting approximately 60% of its primary energy. This paper provides an analytical re-view of diverse residential building/energy policies in targeted EU countries, to shed insight on the impact of such policies and measures on energy use and efficiency trends. Accordingly, the adoption of robust residential green and energy efficient building policies in the EU has increased in the past decade. Moreover, data from EU energy efficiency and consumption databases attributes 44% of total energy savings since 2000 to energy upgrades and improvements within the residential sector. Consequently, many EU countries and organizations are continuously evaluating residential building energy consumption patterns to increase the sec-tor’s overall energy performance. To that end, energy efficiency gains in EU households were measured at 1% in 2000 compared to 27.8% in 2016, a 2600% increase. Accordingly, 36 policies have been implemented successfully since 1991 across the EU targeting improvements in residential energy efficiency and reductions in energy use. Moreover, the adoption of National Energy Efficiency Actions Plans (NEEACP) across the EU have been a major driver of energy savings and energy efficiency. Most energy efficiency plans have followed a holistic multi-dimensional approach targeting the following areas, legislative actions, financial incentives, fiscal tax exemptions, and public education and awareness programs and campaigns. These measures and policy instruments have cumulatively generated significant energy savings and measurable improvements in energy performance across the EU since their inception. As a result, EU residential energy consumption trends show a consistent decrease over the past decade. The purpose of this analysis is to explore, examine, and compare the various green building and energy-related policies in the EU, highlighting some of the more robust and progressive aspects of such policies. The paper will also analyze the multiple policies and guidelines across targeted European nations. Lastly, the study will assess the status of green residential building policies in Lebanon, drawing from the comprehensive European measures, in order to recommend a comprehensive set of guidelines to advance energy policies and building practices in the country. Keywords: Building Policies; Residential Energy Patterns; Residential Energy Consumption; Energy Savings

Data shows residential energy consumption constituting a significant portion of the overall energy end use in the European Union (EU), ranging between 15% and 30%. Furthermore, the EU’s dependency on foreign fossil fuel-based energy imports has been steadily increasing since 1993, constituting approximately 60% of its primary energy. This paper provides an analytical review of diverse residential building/energy policies in targeted EU countries, to shed insight on the impact of such policies and measures on the energy use and efficiency trends. Accordingly, the adoption of robust residential green and energy efficient building policies in the EU has increased in the past decade. Moreover, the data from the EU energy efficiency and consumption databases attributes 44% of total energy savings since 2000 to energy upgrades and improvements within the residential sector. Consequently, many EU countries and organizations are continuously evaluating residential building energy consumption patterns to increase the sector’s overall energy performance. To that end, the energy efficiency gains in EU households were measured at 1% in 2000 compared to 27.8% in 2016, a 2600% increase. Accordingly, 36 policies have been implemented successfully since 1991 across the EU targeting improvements in residential energy efficiency and reductions in the energy use. Moreover, the adoption of National Energy Efficiency Actions Plans (NEEACP) across the EU has been a major driver of energy savings and energy efficiency. Most energy efficiency plans have followed a holistic multi-dimensional approach targeting the following areas, legislative actions, financial incentives, fiscal tax exemptions, and public education and awareness programs and campaigns. These measures and policy instruments have cumulatively generated significant energy savings and measurable improvements in the energy performance across the EU since their inception. As a result, the EU residential energy consumption trends show a consistent decrease over the past decade. The purpose of this analysis is to explore, examine, and compare the various green building and energy-related policies in the EU, highlighting some of the more robust and progressive aspects of such policies. Lastly, the paper analyzes the multiple policies and guidelines across targeted EU nations.

S team systems are a ubiquitous element in nearly every type of manufacturing plant. In the United States, steam systems are the single largest consumer of energy in the industrial sector, where they account for 37% of annual onsite energy use. Steam use is particularly prominent in the chemicals, paper, petroleum refining, and food and beverage industries, where it is used in a wide range of processes, including reforming, distillation, concentration, cooking, and drying. Together, these four industries comprise nearly 90% of U.S. industrial steam demand, with chemicals manufacturing (30%) and paper manufacturing (30%) holding the largest shares. At the national level, industrial steam systems account for around 6% of U.S. total primary energy use, or 5,900 trillion British thermal units (TBtu). As such, much attention has been paid to steam system energy efficiency improvements as part of corporate, utility, and government energy and air pollution initiatives. Key incentives include local utility rebates, tax incentives, and lowor no-cost steam system energy efficiency audits. Steam system energy efficiency not only makes sense from an environmental perspective, but also from an economic perspective. As of 2006, U.S. manufacturers spent $21 billion on externally purchased boiler fuels. The actual price tag of industrial steam is likely much higher; nearly one-half of U.S. boiler fuels are self-generated within plants in the form of waste gas, black liquor, wood wastes, and other byproducts. These byproduct fuels are not free, as they are generated from purchased materials and typically require further processing for efficient combustion. Reducing demand for boiler fuels can, therefore, help reduce operating costs and improve profit margins. While clearly justified, the historical focus on reducing energy use has overlooked an increasingly compelling benefit of steam system efficiency: namely, reduced water use. Compared to the many public and private incentives for industrial energy efficiency, there are surprisingly few external incentives for industrial water efficiency. One key barrier to such incentives is the lack of credible data on industrial water use, which, unlike data on energy use, are not compiled at the manufacturing industry or process level in regular national surveys. This dearth of data contributes to a general lack of awareness of the sources and scale of industrial water use within the engineering and policy communities, which limits broader attention to water efficiency beyond the plant floor. Another barrier to steam system water efficiency is that the cost of boiler water—and the associated chemicals required for its treatment—typically only represents a small fraction of boiler operating costs, which are dominated by the costs of fuel. However, as we discuss in this Perspective, U.S. industrial steam systems consume copious amount of water. It follows that steam systems are worth a closer look as a manufacturing water efficiency target. Several current trends suggest that water efficiency will play an increasingly prominent role in the financial and sustainability plans of U.S. manufacturers. Recent water stress due to droughts and rising water infrastructure costs have led to increased public water rates around the country. These conditions may worsen with a changing climate. An increasing number of manufacturers are reporting water use as an important environmental indicator in annual corporate sustainability reports, which raises both public awareness of and accountability for water efficiency. Many manufacturers are also being asked by their corporate customers for environmental “footprint” data as part of large-scale sustainable Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to E. Masanet at eric.masanet@northwestern.edu; M.E. Walker at mwalker9@hawk.iit.edu.

A multi-objective approach for developing national energy efficiency plans

The main objective of this Doctoral thesis is the development of improved assessment methodologies that evaluate energy efficiency policy instruments at different stages in their policy cycle and better account for the social context within which these are implemented. These improvements are deemed necessary in view of the ever-increasing requirements for the realization of energy savings at a national and international level as well as the stricter prerequisites for the additionality of energy efficiency policies. Existing evaluation frameworks and planning processes thus need to be enhanced to account for aspects and rules of measurement that have been neglected in the past. In addition, more realistic and transparent evaluation frameworks should be developed at different stages of the policy instrument cycle, to guide and support their more pragmatic design and implementation towards target achievement. The dissertation aimed at contributing to the scientific gap identified for the better integration of the stricter additionality pre-requisites as well as the social and behavioural aspects of energy efficiency-related investments in the policy planning and design processes of energy efficiency policy instruments. Through a thorough analysis of all the parameters of the problem and the development of an evidence base, more realistic and transparent evaluation methodologies were developed. These improve existing evaluation practices and aim to support the decision-making process of national policy-makers for designing more effective policy instruments for energy efficiency. Specifically, the thesis proposes the development of the following evaluation methodologies: (i) Qualitative process evaluation of energy efficiency policy instruments: supports policy decision- makers in the process of assessing and ranking policy instruments. The ranking is conducted through intermediate performance criteria and semi-quantitative assessment scales reflecting the ease of implementation of policy instruments. The proposed approach provides recommendations for policy redesign to address the hurdles identified during the implementation stage of the policy instruments. (ii) Empirical model for determining the ex-post effect of financial subsidies for energy efficiency: quantifies the additional impact that can be attributed to the chosen policy instrument with regards to the adoption of energy efficiency measures. The selection of the policy instrument may result from the previous evaluation. The proposed modelling considers the heterogeneity of residential consumers as well as other exogenous factors that influence the adoption of energy efficiency technologies and therefore the impact of the policy instrument. (iii) Ex-ante evaluation of the energy savings potential of financial subsidies: focuses on the design of a portfolio of energy-saving technologies to implement alternative subsidy policies promoting energy efficiency in the household sector. To this end, an innovative bottom-up, techno-economic, assessment framework is being developed to model the alternative subsidy scenarios. The framework assesses the long-term energy savings potential of individual technologies, under different subsidy scenarios, and from three evaluation perspectives (i.e. participant, policy-maker, social). Finally, the results obtained are compared to the targets set for energy efficiency as well as the budget requirements. Overall, the aforementioned research chapters consist independent yet sequential steps of an integrated methodological evaluation framework, which: evaluates policy instruments at different stages in their policy cycle (i.e. during, ex post and ex ante) and integrates social and behavioural barriers when assessing their future potential for energy savings. In addition, this thesis contributes to the development and exploitation of innovative methods to support the policy planning and design stage of effective policy instruments for energy efficiency, such as: multi-criteria analysis, cluster analysis, discrete-choice econometric modelling and bottom-up economic-engineering assessment for determining the long-term savings potential. Τhe availability of real as well as nationally representative data and information, collected in the framework of the European projects “APRAISE-Assessment of Policy Interrelationships and Impacts on Sustainability in Europe” and “ENSPOL - Energy Saving Policies and Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes” determined the feasibility as well as the design of the proposed methodological assessment framework and consist an important element of the proposed approach as well as of the results obtained. Finally, the application of the proposed methodological framework in a real situation (i.e. the mix of national policy instruments and technical measures operating and market available targeting the Greek building and household sector), have allowed the evaluation of the results’ completeness and reliability. This was accomplished through the development of the methodological framework in close cooperation with national policy-makers and key market stakeholders.

Energy Benefits of Electronic Controls at Small and Medium Sized U.S. Manufacturers

Heterogeneous effects of energy efficiency and renewable energy on economic growth of BRICS countries: A fixed effect panel quantile regression analysis

Energy is an essential indication of productivity, usage, and nation-building in the development context. However, energy diversity that emphasizes renewables is still vital for economic development in emerging nations. This study examines the impact of renewable energy on economic development in emerging and growth-leading economies (EAGLE's) from 1980 to 2019. The econometric procedure used in this study is pooled mean group regression/Panel ARDL approach. The study's results support the growth-conservation theory and demonstrate that wealth creation is not dependent entirely on fossil fuels and that other energy sources may also be used. There is a positive association between renewable energy production and consumption and economic development in EAGLE countries. For the overall sample selected, the association between the long run and short is positive and significant, whereas individual analysis for each country provided mixed results. In the short run, the association between renewable energy consumption and economic development for Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Philippines is negative. While in production, most countries showed positive and significant results except Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Russia. The result of this study will help policy makers from the selected countries towards the use of renewable energy production and consumption, its importance and contribution to the economic development of these countries. However, some countries showed a negative relationship particularly Russian economy is rich in natural resources (oil, natural gas). While the remaining countries that showed negative relationship have number of problems associated with renewable energy consumption and production. This study refers the attention of policy makers from developing countries to consider the potential impact of renewable energy for the economic development. Energy transition can also contribute to the environmental protection and the reduction of greenhouse gases.

To date, a sufficient number of studies have dealt with the effect of financial development on energy consumption. Yet, most of these studies have neglected diversification between renewable and non-renewable energy consumption. In fact, financial development may affect renewable energy consumption differently than non-renewable energy consumption. This is because renewable energy production necessitates high-cost investments. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to estimate the impact of financial development on renewable and non-renewable energy consumption in 37 OECD countries by employing the one-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) for the period 2002–2015. The findings statistically proved that financial development is positively linked with renewable energy consumption, but it is not related to non-renewable energy consumption. This paper also confirmed the existence of a negative correlation between the openness index and renewable energy consumption with non-renewable energy consumption. Intuitively, it was expected that renewable energy production engages in high-cost investments compared to non-renewable energy production. Thus, renewable energy consumption is more responsive to a solid and well-structured financial market than non-renewable energy consumption.

Renewable energy production and consumption has a triggering effect on the components associated with the energy sector. This study aims to analyze the effects of renewable energy generation and consumption on economic growth in Türkiye for the period 1990-2020 based on annual data. For the analyses in the study, the vector autoregression model (VAR) and Johansen cointegration test, vector error correction, and Granger causality are used for the data of renewable energy consumption (REC, percentage of total final energy consumption), renewable electricity generation (REG, per capita electricity generation from renewables), and economic growth (GDP constant 2010 US$). According to the findings from the study, no causality was found from production to gross domestic product from renewable energy consumption in the short run, but causality from renewable energy consumption to gross domestic product was found. In the long run, it can be said that renewable energy consumption is not the cause of gross domestic product, but gross product is the cause of renewable energy consumption.

Increasing worldwide energy demand and diminishing supplies of fossil fuels have necessitated the development and increasing use of new sustainable energy sources, as well as more parsimonious energy use. In the context of agriculture, research has focused predominantly on the production of bio-energy, while only a limited number of studies have investigated the energy use and possible energy saving in conventional agricultural production. In response to this lack in empirical research this study aims (i) to measure the farm-level energy and cost efficiency of conventional agricultural (wheat) production, (ii) to identify the potential for energy saving in conventional agriculture and quantify its shadow cost, (iii) to identify production technologies and managerial practices that reduce total energy use. We adjusted the method by Coelli, Lauwers, Van Huylenbroeck (2007) introducing analogy between cost and nutrient minimization to measure energy use reduction potential and its costs. The analysis was carried out on survey data for 95 farms for production year 2007/08. Energy coefficients for individual non-renewable inputs were derived from the PLANETE methodology (Methode Pour L'Analyse EnergeTique de l'Exploitation) developed by SOLAGRO. We applied data envelopment analysis to estimate energy and cost optima and efficiencies, and truncated regression to identify statistically significant determinants of energy efficiency. We found significant differences in energy consumption per unit of wheat production among Czech farms - best producers consume 46% less energy per unit of production than average producers, however, from that ca. 30% is due to variation in production conditions. Marked share of energy inefficiency (over 50% of potential energy savings) originates in technical efficiency, which offers simultaneous cost savings. Producing wheat in energy optimum would increase costs by 9% when compared to cost optimum. The largest potential of energy savings was found in fuel, and fertilizers and other chemicals. Regression analysis implies that use of more fuel-efficient machinery or machinery with other energy-saving technical parameters (e.g., higher utility weight) and optimizing material transport could increase energy efficiency, while some commonly applied technological practices (such as conventional soil preparation) have a negative energy efficiency effects.

The H-shape design planned for New York City’s new Public School 109, as described by The New York Times, allowed for large courtyards shielded from neighbors’ noise for play and recreation, windows that open onto the courtyards to provide light and air, and thoroughly ventilated wardrobes to dry clothing and maintain circulation. That was a few years ago—in 1901, to be exact. But those long-ago improvements—attention to indoor air quality, ventilation, lighting, and acoustics—now distinguish “high-performance” schools, which are specifically designed to promote better attendance, achievement, and behavior. Throw in energy and water conservation features—which are traditional “green” elements—along with a recycling program, an environmentally preferable purchasing program, nontoxic cleaning products, integrated pest management, a school garden to augment other healthful cafeteria food, and a sustainably developed site, and you have the new ideal for today’s healthy schools and child care centers. But many children attend schools that bear no resemblance to this picture. Numerous studies have demonstrated that schools can be places where kids too often are exposed to toxic chemicals, mold, lead, asbestos, and other harmful agents. Moreover, some schools are located in areas where the outdoor air is so polluted that teachers wouldn’t want to open the windows even if they could. With children spending about one-third of their day at school, healthy school facilities could, if given the support, provide children with the most pollution-free part of their day, experts say.

The Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) program at West Virginia University (WVU), which is funded by the Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), has provided a unique opportunity to enhance efficient energy utilization in small to medium-sized manufacturers. It has also provided training to engineering students in the identification and analysis of efficient energy use in each aspect of the manufacturing process and associated supporting elements. The outcomes of the IAC Program at WVU have assisted the manufacturers and the students in having a heightened sensitivity to industrial energy conservation, waste reduction, and productivity improvement, as well as a better understanding of the technical aspects of manufacturing processes and the supporting elements through which efficient energy utilization can be enhanced. The IAC at WVU has conducted 101 energy assessments from 2002 until 2006. The focus of the industrial assessments has been on energy savings. It has been the IAC’s interest to strongly focus on energy savings and on waste minimization and productivity improvements that strictly have an impact on energy. The IAC at WVU was selected as the Center of the year in 2005 from amongst 26 centers and has obtained a ranking within the top 5 in the previous few years. From 2002 to 2006, the total recommended energy savings produced by the IAC at WVU is 1,214,414 MMBtu, of which the electricity accounts for 93,826,067 kWh (equivalent to 320,226 MMBtu) and natural gas for 871,743 MMBtu. The balance is accounted for in savings in other fuels, mainly coal and wood. This results in an average recommended energy savings of 928,971 kWh from electricity and 8,631 MMBtu from natural gas per facility. The total CO2 emissions saved from 2002 to 2006 is 154,462 tons, with an average of 1,529.3 tons per facility. The average recommended energy cost savings per facility is $135,036. The overall implementation rate of the assessment recommendations is 60.6% for the 101 industrial assessments conducted since 2002. The implemented recommendations resulted in total energy savings of 62,328,006 kWh from electricity, 295,241 MMBtu from natural gas, and 43,593 MMBtu from other fuels, totaling 551,557 MMBtu. The average implemented energy savings per industrial facility is 5,461 MMBtu and the average implemented energy cost savings is $ 59,879. The average implemented energy and productivity cost savings exceeds the program average of $ 60,000 per assessment. The IAC at WVU has produced a variety of energy efficiency recommendations in areas of industrial energy consumption such as Boilers and Steam systems (19), Air Compressors (15), HVAC (4), Chillers (12), Furnaces and Ovens (17), Motors (8), Lighting (20), Insulation (3), CHP and Cogeneration (4), and Process Equipment (7). The project has benefited the public by enabling the reduction of CO2 emissions by 89,726 tons due to the implemented energy saving recommendations at 101 small and medium sized manufacturing facilities. Since CO2 is a green house gas, its reduction will improve the quality of the environment significantly. The reduction in operating costs for the manufacturing facilities in terms of energy cost savings will increase the manufacturing facilities’ profits and improve their competitive edge, thus causing possible expansion in the manufacturing activities, leading to increase in good paying jobs.

Taking focus on the possible effects on welfare and environmental issues in Türkiye and India, this study explores the relationship between the leasing of mineral resources (MRs), economic performance, use of renewable energy, and environmental policies. The study estimates changes in MRs throughout economic expansion using artificial intelligence (artificial neural network [ANN]) and supervised machine learning (SML). It focuses on important variables like index of stringency of environmental policies and the consumer price index, the conclusions of the ANN, ensemble method, and ML studies show how sensitive quarterly changes in the rent on MRs are to changes in the consumer price index, economic performance, and the use of renewable energy. Evaluation criteria such as root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and coefficient of determination highlight how much better ML models predict outcomes than ANN trials. In particular, the ML findings show an outstanding R2 of 0.99, an MAE of 0.6625, an MSE of 0.8324, a MAPE of 35.3677, and an RMSE of 0.9123 for India. Türkiye's machine learning results, on the other hand, display an MAE of 0.0164, an MSE of 0.0007, MAPE of 66.1594, RMSE of 0.0279, and a strong R2 of 0.98. For ANN, the error histogram is plotted to assess the model. The extremely low value of 0.0090 and 0.010, respectively, for Türkiye and India on the error histogram reflects the exceptional prediction quality. Türkiye and India have abundant MRs; however, they must be managed correctly for long‐term sustainability. Future researchers may verify this work using time series or panel data from other disciplines. This study examines factors affecting sustainable economic growth, including MR use, environmental policies, and eco‐friendly innovations. Other indicators, such as energy efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions, renewable energy consumption, and global value chain participation, may provide a different perspective. This study's conclusions should be verified by more research employing other geographic locations and others machine learning methods, as well as to illustrate how sustainable development is influenced by other variables.

An Interactive Decision Support System for Energy Management in Process Industry