Productive use of energy to offset the mutual exclusivity regarding natural resource dependence and sustainable environments

Productive use of energy – Pathway to development? Reviewing the outcomes and impacts of small-scale energy projects in the global south

Productive Use of Energy (PUE) is a term describing the use of energy for the delivery of a service or the process of adding value to a product. Typical PUE applications in emerging economies include: irrigation services, maize milling, refrigeration, mobile phone charging, barbershops and entertainment/communication hubs. Existing research has established that promoting PUE in rural areas of developing countries can transform local economies and reduce poverty. However, to deliver a sustainable PUE project with associated social impact requires a robust financial model and ownership structure. This paper shares research and practical experience related to the economic feasibility of rural businesses in Malawi powered by solar PV. Through this, insight into rural PUE opportunities that can become commercially viable and improve the livelihood of rural residents. Feasibility studies of PUE use cases were conducted through surveys of existing businesses to determine CAPEX, OPEX and monthly income. Results of which informed pilot projects of 5 rural businesses powered by standalone solar PV. A commercial `strategy' for wide scale implementation has been considered and this is described along with future research routes to accelerate dissemination of solar PV PUE initiatives.

▪ Abstract This review utilizes the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) working definition of “productive uses of energy,” which states “in the context of providing modern energy services in rural areas, a productive use of energy is one that involves the application of energy derived mainly from renewable resources to create goods and/or services either directly or indirectly for the production of income or value.” The definition reflects the shift toward the aspirations of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Traditionally, the productive uses of energy have been rather narrowly defined. The focus has been on the direct impact of energy use on gross domestic product (GDP) and the importance of motive power for agriculture. This conventional view has some utility in understanding the nature of development at the national and regional level; however, in order to respond to international development goals while maintaining pace with an ever-evolving understanding of what development is, it is important to consider how this traditional thinking may be augmented. The earlier thinking about the productive uses of energy needs to be updated with an enhanced understanding of the tremendous impact that energy services have on education, health, and gender equality. Indeed, a refined understanding of energy use has important public policy implications because scarce resources may be guided into investments that may achieve the desired national or international development goals.

The goal of this investigation was to estimate the 1999 energy consumption of set-top boxes and telephony products in the U.S. residential sector. Results of this study will be used to identify new energy conservation opportunities and to align programs with those opportunities. We conducted a bottom-up analysis for set-top boxes and telephony products using our own power measurements and stock and usage estimates from secondary sources. The most common set-top boxes in U.S. homes in 1999 were analog cable boxes, digital cable boxes, wireless receivers, and game consoles. According to these measurements, analog cable boxes and wireless receivers draw between 10 and 15 watts, while digital cable boxes draw between 20 and 25 watts in both the Active and Standby modes. Video games used less than 2 watts in Standby mode, and about 8 watts when Active. We estimate that set-top boxes accounted for 0.7% of residential electricity use in 1999. Our investigation of telephony products included answering machines, cordless phones, cordless phone answering machine combination units, and mobile phone chargers. Answering machines, cordless phones, and combination units use between 2 and 3 watts in both the Active and Standby modes. Mobile phone chargers use about 1 watt in standby. We estimate that these telephony products account for 0.5% of U.S. residential electricity consumption. Together, set-tops and telephony constituted 1.2% of U.S. residential electricity consumption in 1999. Standby power use accounted for about 60% of this energy use. The combined total energy use of the products investigated for this study and those researched previously for this series of reports account for about 6.6% of residential electricity use in the U.S.

In this paper, the influence of different external wall insulation materials on the energy consumption of a newly built apartment in Germany is investigated. Three types of insulation materials commonly used in Germany including mineral fiber, polyurethane, and vacuum insulation panel are chosen for the case studies. An energy analysis model is established to clarify the primary energy use for production of the insulation materials and for building space heating. The calculation results show that the energy consumption for insulation material production increases with the insulation thickness, whereas the energy use for space heating decreases with the insulation thickness. Thus, there exists an optimum thickness to get the lowest total energy consumption for each kind of insulation material. The ascending order of the total energy consumption of the three materials is mineral fiber, polyurethane, and vacuum insulation panel. However, the optimum insulation thicknesses for the three insulation materials show a verse order at a certain heat transfer coefficient of the base envelope. The energy payback time (EPT) is proposed to calculate the payback time of the primary energy use for insulation material production. Mineral fiber has the shortest time, followed by polyurethane and vacuum insulation panel. The EPTS is 10, 19 and 21 years, respectively when the heat transfer coefficient of the base envelope is 0.2 W/(m2·K). In addition, the simulated results show that the theoretical value and the simulated value are basically identical.

Demand for electricity from small industry and businesses, which is defined as the productive use of energy (PUE), is a key success factor for micro-grids. Because of the typically low energy usage of residential customers, without linkage to and support for these energy users, micro-grids are likely to struggle to reach the critical revenue needed for financial viability. This report is a resource entrepreneurs and developers can use to understand the technical and business model challenges related to PUE in smaller micro-grids. It focuses on small agricultural processing, and small industrial and commercial loads. This report examines best practices for promoting PUE and the business models used by developers. It starts with background information and a literature review followed by a discussion of key enterprise considerations for productive use (PU) including: value chain and business case analysis, enterprise development and training, appliance financing, and developers running PU businesses. Unlike many other reports on PUE, this report is based on application specific data. The report is also unique in that it provides actual customer demographics and load profiles. This report considers PUE from both business and technical perspectives, and it considers the interests of both the micro-grid operators and the microenterprises and entrepreneurs they serve. It looks at the service levels required by different PUs and the technical characteristics and challenges of different types of PU equipment. The report also includes examples of business cases for some of the most important PU opportunities, including milling, ice making, carpentry, egg incubation, and water treatment. This report is a resource that entrepreneurs, governments, and non-governmental organizations can use to help design programs to meet their individual goals of PUE in micro-grids and economic development in rural Africa. It can also be used by developers, engineers, and other organizations designing micro-grids to inform their technical and business decisions and to improve system design, reduce risk, and increase success with adding PU loads to both new and existing micro-grids.

Effect of different frame materials on the primary energy use of a multi storey residential building in a life cycle perspective

Low-carbon production of iron and steel: Technology options, economic assessment, and policy

Does financial sector development mitigate power sector-based carbon dioxide emissions to establish environmental sustainability in BRICS?

Conceptualization and antecedents of productive use of electricity: A systematic literature review

Industry level production functions and energy use in 12 EU countries

The productive use of energy (PUE) is a critical pathway to development, as it enhances productivity and facilitates income-generating activities. However, PUE is little understood in low-resource urban settings in the context of off-grid energy. Drawing on two projects implemented between 2019 and 2022, this paper presents a case of off-grid solar for PUE in a young, unelectrified informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa. The projects investigated the state of energy access in the settlement using household surveys and interviews, and installed solar microgrids in partnership with a local off-grid solar provider who deployed a ‘service-based’ provision model. We find that limited energy options in the settlement commensurately limited energy usage mainly to domestic applications. The microgrids provided reliable refrigeration and lighting for small businesses which improved their operations, delivered energy autonomy, and stimulated aspirations for growth. Energy consumption from the microgrids revealed seasonal and temporal variations which requires flexible demand-responsive energy systems, and holds implications for sizing, storage, and scaling. Although targeted, the ‘service-based’ model limited productive uses to only those that fit within the remit of the model and high costs particularly for appliances prohibited wider PUE adoption. These challenges impact the scalability of off-grid solar in informal settlements which calls for innovative financing approaches and increased policy support for off-grid providers operating in these communities. Off-grid solar has the potential to stimulate PUE and alleviate energy poverty in informal settlements, but more case studies are required to widen the evidence-base, thereby advancing South Africa’s energy transitions agenda.

Primary energy implications of different design strategies for an apartment building

The development of bioenergy markets is beneficial from a climate perspective and helps ensure sustainable forest management both locally and globally. This study aimed to provide an overview of the current state of Lithuanian forest biomass resources with a particular focus on the legal, economic and ecological aspects of forest biomass use for energy and to identify the lessons that should be learned from the history of biomass introduction in the country’s energy sector. These experiences and lessons are valuable both nationally and internationally, where good practices and challenges for the introduction and development of forest biomass for energy production are revealed. We examined the question of whether regulatory drivers in the energy sector can increase forest biomass use for energy production and contribute to sustainable development of Lithuania. To answer this question, we described the legal and market instruments regulating forest biomass use for energy production, the forestry sector and renewable energy policy in Lithuania, the current and potential amount of forest biomass available for energy production and ecological considerations relating to forest biomass use for energy. In Lithuania, forest biomass resources are strategically important for the renewable energy sector. The National Energy Strategy of Lithuania aims to increase the share of renewable energy sources, including forest biomass, within the total energy consumption, with targets of 30% in 2020, 45% in 2030 and 80% in 2050. Lithuania successfully achieved the target of EU legislation on renewables in 2015 ahead of the obligation to achieve it in 2020. Renewable energy is mainly used in heating, as well as in the electricity and transport sectors. This has resulted in a significant price reduction for end users due to the increased use of biomass, mainly local forest biomass, for heat energy production and in the emergence of a biofuel exchange, which acts as a system of biomass auctions that to some extent prevent unjustified price increases. Legislation developed for the energy biomass market in Lithuania allows efficient restructuring of the energy sector, especially for heat production. The Lithuanian energy sector has already successfully replaced imported and relatively expensive natural gas with locally available cheaper renewable energy sources (RES). Compliance with formal environmental regulations is required to protect the soil, ground vegetation, understory and biodiversity during commercial tree harvesting. Lithuania has basic guidelines for the use of wood ash as a compensatory fertiliser, with strict requirements for the chemical quality of wood ash.

Do natural resource dependence, economic growth and transport energy consumption accelerate ecological footprint in the most innovative countries? The moderating role of technological innovation