Alternative Energy Policies Research Articles

Decarbonizing Europe's power sector by 2050 — Analyzing the economic implications of alternative decarbonization pathways

The European Union aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80–95% in 2050 compared to 1990 levels. The transition towards a low-carbon economy implies the almost complete decarbonization of Europe's power sector, which could be achieved along various pathways. In this paper, we evaluate the economic implications of alternative energy policies for Europe's power sector by applying a linear dynamic electricity system optimization model in over 36 scenarios. We find that the costs of decarbonizing Europe's power sector by 2050 vary between 139 and 633bn €2010, which corresponds to an increase of between 11% and 44% compared to the total system costs when no CO2 reduction targets are implemented. In line with economic theory, the decarbonization of Europe's power sector is achieved at minimal costs under a stand-alone CO2 reduction target, which ensures competition between all low-carbon technologies. If, however, renewable energies are exempted from competition via supplementary renewable energy (RES-E) targets or if investments in new nuclear and CCS power plants are politically restricted, the costs of decarbonization significantly rise. Moreover, we find that the excess costs of supplementary RES-E targets depend on the acceptance of alternative low carbon technologies. For example, given a complete nuclear phase-out in Europe by 2050 and politically implemented restrictions on the application of CCS to conventional power plants, supplementary RES-E targets are redundant. While in such a scenario the overall costs of decarbonization are comparatively high, the excess costs of supplementary RES-E targets are close to zero.

A sustainable energy policy for Slovenia: Considering the potential of renewables and investment costs

In this paper, Slovenia's current energy policy is analyzed, the potential of renewable energy sources (RES) is evaluated and examined, and new options for the development of an alternative energy policy and the transition of the Slovenian energy industry into a sustainable energy industry are proposed and cross compared. On the basis of current and future electricity consumption, the evaluated RES potentials, and calculated investment prices, options for alternative investment projects and the alternative development of a more sustainable energy policy in Slovenia are identified. These possibilities and the current energy policy are analyzed and cross-compared from the economic and environmental viewpoint, with special emphasis on investment costs. At the end of the paper, the implementation costs of the proposed alternative energy policy investments are evaluated, calculated, and cross-compared, and the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative energy policy are evaluated. The proposed alternatives have significant benefits in comparison to the existing energy strategy, which focuses on a new lignite thermal power plant. Reconstruction of the existing thermal power plant in Šoštanj is a considerably cheaper alternative and a sound transitory solution for Slovenia. Investment in a multiple fuel power plant is also a cheaper and more efficient alternative, which, in addition, enables the usage of local biomass. Another considerably cheaper and more efficient alternative with lower emissions is a gas-steam power plant. The most promising alternative is found to be electricity production from local RES, resulting in a significant reduction of energy related emissions and domestic sources usage. The estimated investment costs for the last alternative are comparable to the costs for the implementation of Slovenia's current energy policy.

Evaluating the risks of alternative energy policies: a case study of industrial energy efficiency

Numerous studies have shown the potential for US manufacturing to cut its energy costs by installing more efficient equipment that offers competitive payback periods, but the realization of this potential is hindered by numerous obstacles. This paper evaluates seven federal policy options aimed at revitalizing US manufacturing by improving its energy economics while also achieving environmental and energy reliability goals. Traditionally, policy analysts have examined the cost-effectiveness of energy policies using deterministic assumptions. When risk factors are introduced, they are typically examined using sensitivity analysis to focus on alternative assumptions about budgets, policy design, energy prices, and other such variables. In this paper, we also explicitly model the stochastic nature of several key risk factors including future energy prices, damages from climate change, and the cost of criteria pollutants. Using these two approaches, each policy is "stress tested" to evaluate the likely range of private and social returns on investment. Overall, we conclude that the societal cost-effectiveness of policies is generally more sensitive to alternative assumptions about damages from criteria pollutants and climate change compared with energy prices; however, risks also vary across policies based partly on the technologies they target. Future research needs to examine the macroeconomic consequences of the choice between a lethargic approach to energy waste and modernization in manufacturing versus a vigorous commitment to industrial energy productivity and innovation as characterized by the suite of policies described in this paper.

Why We Disagree about Climate Change: A Different Viewpoint

This viewpoint challenges the explanation that societies increasing confrontation with climate change results from its observable realities, specifically those derived from current understanding of its causes and consequences and ability to reliably forecast future changes. It demonstrates that the reality of climate change is not related to personal experience but rather that society's apprehension stems from media attention which is based on advances in scientific understanding as assessed by the IPCC. However this current consensus view fails to meet the requirements of an exact science and is unable to reliably forecast decadal trends. It is speculated that the motives for the promotion of apprehension follows Plato's strategy of the Noble Lie, serving to promote the adoption of an alternative energy policy. The dangers to science of this approach are outlined and a simple way to restore climate science to a more rational and skeptical basis is suggested.

Welfare Impacts of Alternative Biofuel and Energy Policies

An open‐economy equilibrium model is derived to investigate the effects of energy policy on the U.S. economy, with emphasis on corn‐based ethanol. A second best policy of a fuel tax and ethanol subsidy is found to approximate fairly closely the welfare gains associated with the first best policy of an optimal carbon tax and tariffs on traded goods. The largest economic gains to the U.S. economy from these energy policies arise from their impact on U.S. terms of trade, particularly in the oil market. Conditional on the current fuel tax, an optimal ethanol mandate is superior to an optimal ethanol subsidy.

Renewable Energy Policies, Programmes and Progress in Ireland

This article reviews the law and practice relating to renewable energy in Ireland having regard to the State’s obligation to comply with European Union (EU) energy legislation and Ireland’s obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. Particular attention is paid to the current success of Ireland’s onshore wind energy policy and to new developments in offshore and geothermal energy, which have recently been identified as potential solutions to the State’s excessive dependence on imported energy and as having the potential to make Ireland an exporter of renewable energy to the EU mainland. Problems in implementing alternative energy policies are described and future challenges identified.

Producing for the Future: Alternative Energy Policy in Saudis Arabia and UAE

Producing for the Future: Alternative Energy Policy in Saudis Arabia and UAE

Editors' Foreword: Contemporary Debates on Ecology, Society, and Culture in Latin America

Editors' Foreword: Contemporary Debates on Ecology, Society, and Culture in Latin America Marianne Schmink (bio) and José Ramón Jouve-Martín (bio) For the past two decades, studies on ecology, society, and culture in Latin America have multiplied rapidly, mirroring the increasing importance of ecological and environmental debates worldwide. The environment has become the object of a multidisciplinary research endeavor in which the natural sciences, policy and technical sciences, social sciences, and humanities converge. This special issue of Latin American Research Review brings together some of today's most innovative social science and humanities research on environmental issues in Latin America and aims to make it more widely known to scholars working in other fields of Latin American studies and to the public at large. Contributors come from such diverse disciplines as political science, geography, history, anthropology, and literary studies and adopt a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches. From a geographical perspective, we have tried to be as broad as possible in our selection of articles to give readers a sense of contemporary environmental discussions in different parts of Latin America. Articles in this volume deal with Chile, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, and particularly Brazil, which receives special attention because of its important role in contemporary conservation and environmental debates. Cases examined range from islands and aquatic environments to rain forests, agricultural fields, and protected conservation areas, from the rural-urban interface to the arenas of international policy making. Latin America's historical dependency on natural resources, both for local livelihoods and to supply an evolving global market, has made environmental issues central in policy debates and in widespread contests over the meaning and use of natural species and habitats, carried out against the region's persistent legacy of inequality. Many scholars of Latin America have addressed these complex issues from the perspective of economic development and globalization, but perhaps less so through the lens of environmental conservation. Yet the two are intertwined. Conservation of protected areas has grown worldwide, as has the mobilization of citizens at different levels, often in unlikely alliances, to propose new, alternative models for the governance of natural resources that incorporate diverse perspectives and stakeholders in often complex transactions. As conservation has become internationalized, these debates have meshed with the development concerns long of interest to scholars of Latin American studies, through parallel streams [End Page 3] of literature such as cultural ecology, environmental justice, political ecology, and environmental discourse. Historical transformations in global economic, institutional, and ideological forces, as they play out in local and regional contests over resources and territories, underlie the complex ecological, social, and cultural relationships analyzed in this issue. These transformations take place within the framework of the region's global history, including the persistent legacy of inequality and changing responses to it at different times and places. Under current conditions of globalization, dominated by market-driven neoliberal policies, the distribution of benefits and costs among social groups in Latin America from both development and conservation has only worsened. At the same time, the growth of cross-scale socioenvironmental social movements and the increasing attention to alternative energy and development policies as a result of the global economic crisis have broadened the frame of both action and discourse at international forums. The articles gathered in this special issue focus on the environment as a contested domain of markets, livelihoods, rights, and identities, within a context of globalization, commodification of nature, inequality, and contestation. To frame the articles, it is useful to consider how paradigms of conservation and of development have evolved in complex and intertwined ways over the past two centuries (Mulder and Coppolillo 2005). In tandem with ideas and approaches to development, paradigms of conservation also have moved through distinct historical phases, whose goals, approaches, and protagonists are depicted in simplistic form in table 1. Beginning in the nineteenth century, alongside the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of global capitalism, the earliest concerns with the protection of nature led to the setting aside of natural areas to be protected from human exploitation. Yellowstone National Park, created in 1870, became the icon of this top-down, protectionist approach to conservation, which has persisted to the present in...

Alternative Energy Policies in Germany with particular Reference to Solar Energy

Rising fuel prices, threats to supplies and the global problem of climate change demand adequate responses (Brown, 2008). The energy policy of the EU aims to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy to make a very significant contribution to reducing emissions, improving security of energy supply, and boosting competitiveness of technology innovation in renewable energy sectors. Germany—as the largest member state in the EU in terms of population and economic output—plays a key role. Germany is an acknowledged world leader in the development of technologies for the generation of solar systems for producing electricity and heat. In particular, the German government has boosted renewable energy as share of total energy consumption by remarkable measures involving first hand attractive feed-in tariffs. Additionally, the German government wanted to create employment through supporting the development of competitive green technology in the long-term.

The effects of energy efficiency improvement in China with global interaction

China has pledged to reduce its carbon intensity defined as carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40–45% by 2020 and by 60–65% by 2030 compared to the 2005 level. To fulfill the pledges, China’s government has made energy efficiency its de facto climate policy. This article raises the question to what extent energy efficiency will be an efficient mitigation measure for reaching the targets as pledged by China to the UNFCCC. In this context, two issues blur the picture. One is the potential rebound effect, generally causing one percent improvement in energy efficiency to generate less than one percent reduction in energy-related emissions since users adapt to the direct and indirect productivity gains and cost reductions in energy use. Further, there is the impact on energy use in China from interaction with global markets, in which China has emerged as a dominant player. In the present paper, we study the net implications of energy efficiency improvement in China within alternative global climate policy regimes. Our results show that a one percent energy efficiency improvement in China reduces energy use by 0.38–0.59 percent per year depending on alternative international contexts. Hence, policy makers should consider climate policies adopted by the other regions such as carbon trading system when assessing the implications of energy efficiency for energy consumption and climate mitigation. Policy makers should also consider overlapping effects of alternative energy policies, as energy efficiency improvement might have no effect on energy and emission reduction if there is global carbon trade. However, policy makers can expect more reduction in energy use and emissions due to energy efficiency improvement in the new mechanism announced in the Paris Agreement at the COP21.

Multicriteria renewable energy planning using an integrated fuzzy VIKOR & AHP methodology: The case of Istanbul

The purpose of this study is twofold: first, it is aimed at determining the best renewable energy alternative for Istanbul by using an integrated VIKOR-AHP methodology. Second, a selection among alternative energy production sites in this city is made using the same approach. In the proposed VIKOR-AHP methodology, the weights of the selection criteria are determined by pairwise comparison matrices of AHP. In energy decision making problems, the judgments of decision makers are usually vague. As it is relatively difficult for decision makers to provide exact values for the criteria, the evaluation data for the alternative energy policies should be expressed in linguistic terms. In order to model this kind of uncertainty in human preferences, fuzzy logic is applied very successfully. Thus, both classical VIKOR and classical AHP procedures are performed under fuzzy environment. The originality of the paper comes from the application of the proposed integrated VIKOR-AHP methodology to the selection of the best energy policy and production site. It is found that wind energy is the most appropriate renewable energy option and Catalca district is the best area among the alternatives for establishing wind turbines in Istanbul.

China and the Copenhagen Accord The Effects of Energy Efficiency Improvement in Global Interaction

China has pledged to reduce its carbon intensity defined as carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45% by 2020 and by 60-65% by 2030 compared to the 2005 level. To fulfill the pledges, China’s government has made energy efficiency its de facto climate policy. This article raises the question to what extent energy efficiency will be an efficient mitigation measure for reaching the targets as pledged by China to the UNFCCC. In this context, two issues blur the picture. One is the potential rebound effect, generally causing one percent improvement in energy efficiency to generate less than one percent reduction in energy-related emissions since users adapt to the direct and indirect productivity gains and cost reductions in energy use. Further, there is the impact on energy use in China from interaction with global markets, in which China has emerged as a dominant player. In the present paper, we study the net implications of energy efficiency improvement in China within alternative global climate policy regimes. Our results show that a one percent energy efficiency improvement in China reduces energy use by 0.38-0.59 percent per year depending on alternative international contexts. Hence, policy makers should consider climate policies adopted by the other regions such as carbon trading system when assessing the implications of energy efficiency for energy consumption and climate mitigation. Policy makers should also consider overlapping effects of alternative energy policies, as energy efficiency improvement might have no effect on energy and emission reduction if there is global carbon trade. However, policy makers can expect more reduction in energy use and emissions due to energy efficiency improvement in the new mechanism announced in the Paris Agreement at the COP21.

Use of multi-criteria decision analysis to explore alternative domestic energy and electricity policy scenarios in an Irish city-region☆

Abstract In this paper, multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was used to assess 6 policy measures or scenarios relating to residential heating energy and domestic electricity consumption, using an Irish city-region as case study. The analysis was undertaken using a modified version of MCDA based on the NAIADE (Novel Approach to Imprecise Assessment and Decision Environments) software and involved a decision output based on a mix of qualitative and quantitative assessment, which offered a ranking of options. It was concluded that Scenario 2, which proposes reducing energy and electricity consumption, was the most preferable option and Scenario 3, which proposes increasing the contribution of wood waste, was the least preferable option. This suggests that absolute reduction and demand management should be prioritised over fuel substitution or renewable energy technologies. MCDA was also compared with ecological footprint (EF) analysis for the same set of scenarios and it was found that both metrics show that Scenario 2 is preferable. However, MCDA shows that Scenario 3 is the least preferable scenario, whereas EF analysis suggests that Scenario 4 is, i.e. increased contribution of short rotation coppice (SRC). This suggests that a mix of assessment tools/indicators should be used when attempting to identify the most justifiable policy options as different indicators reflect different policy aspects.

Comprehensive evaluation of household indirect energy consumption and impacts of alternative energy policies in China by input–output analysis

Households consume a large amount of indirect energy through the consumption of goods and services. This fact makes the quantitative analysis of indirect household energy consumption the foundation of energy policy design. This paper improves the compilation method of energy input–output tables, and establishes a sequence of energy input–output tables for China. Based on these tables, the indirect energy consumption of both rural and urban households is calculated. Then, with economic data for the year of 2005, the adjusted input–output price model is applied to evaluate how the alternative energy policies impact production prices, consumption prices, and real income of rural and urban households through the mechanism of indirect energy consumption by using electricity as an example. This research has practical implications for Chinese economy. The integration of energy-efficiency improvements and energy prices increase serves as a means to achieve both economic and energy conservation goals, and may also have a positive effect on residents’ real income and a minimal effect on production prices.

Use of ecological footprinting to explore alternative domestic energy and electricity policy scenarios in an Irish city-region

The purpose of this paper is to measure the ecological footprint (EF) of energy and electricity consumption by the residents of an Irish city-region, in terms of the land area required to sequester carbon emissions from energy and electricity consumption and to support energy infrastructure and development. The EF was also used to analyse the impact of potential scenarios and policies and results were compared with the business as usual (BAU) projection in order to identify the optimal policy measure. It was found that the total EF for domestic energy and electricity consumption by Limerick residents increased by 7% from 0.125 global hectares (gha) per capita in 1996 to 0.134 gha per capita in 2002. The EF was then used to assess different policy measures or scenarios. It was concluded that Scenario 2, which proposes reducing energy and electricity consumption, was the most preferable option, and Scenario 4, which proposes increasing the contribution of short rotation coppice (SRC), the least preferable option. This suggests that absolute reduction and demand management should be prioritised over renewables substitution in a policy hierarchy. Of the renewable energy scenarios, Scenario 4 has the highest EF as a result of land appropriation for biomass production.

Priority determination in strategic energy policies in Turkey using analytic network process (ANP) with group decision making

In developing countries, energy consumption is continuously increasing in parallel to the developing technology. Turkey is one of these countries with its increasing population and energy demand, which increases every year with a very high rate, that is, 8% annually. Moreover, along with the increasing energy demand, the strategic energy policies have to be analyzed scientifically including the geographical importance for the realization phase. It is necessary to prioritize the determined policies and plan them according to the economic situation of the country. Hence, alternative energy policies have been prioritized objectively with scientific methods including the related institutions' evaluation. In this study, a model based on analytic network process, a group decision-making technique, is proposed for evaluating strategic energy policies. The model is used to assign priorities to strategic energy policies of Turkey. With this model, various people are included in the decision-making process and the effectiveness of the process is increased. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Renewable Energy Policy Alternatives for the Future

The United States has been subsidizing ethanol since 1978. In the last decade, a subsidy has been added for biodiesel. The ethanol subsidy has ranged from 40 to 60 cents per gallon over the entire time period (Tyner and Taheripour 2007). The ethanol subsidy is currently 51 cents per gallon, and the biodiesel subsidy is 50 cents for biodiesel made from recycled materials, such as cooking grease or tallow and $1 per gallon for biodiesel made from oilseed crops, such as soybeans. Over the years, the objectives for biofuel subsidies have included in-

Evaluation of renewable energy policies in an integrated economic-energy-environment model

This paper evaluates socio-economic impacts of alternative renewable energy policies in Poland. Applying a general equilibrium bioenergy model we perform simulations of alternative policy instruments. The obtained numerical results allow us to assess and compare welfare and distributional impacts of alternative policies. Our empirical findings advocate that the bioenergy sector in Europe would benefit most from an integrated economic-energy-environment approach to policy making.

Applied general equilibrium analysis of renewable energy policies

In this paper we develop an applied general equilibrium framework for assessing socio-economic impacts of alternative renewable energy policies and apply it to the bioenergy sector. The policy scenarios are assessed in a comparative static analysis. The numerical simulation results allow us to assess and compare welfare and distributional impacts of alternative renewable energy policies. Our empirical findings suggest that the bioenergy sector in Poland would benefit most from an indirect tax reduction. According to our simulation results, reducing the fossil energy sectors’ subsidies would be the second best policy option.

Oil Independence

Oil independence has been a goal of U.S. energy policy for the past 30 years, yet the term has never been rigorously defined. A rigorous, measurable definition is proposed: to reduce the costs of oil dependence to less than 1% of gross domestic product in the next 20 to 25 years, with 95% probability. A simulation model incorporating the possibility of oil supply disruptions and other sources of uncertainty is used to test whether two alternative energy policy strategies—business as usual (BAU) and an interpretation of the strategy proposed by the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP)—can achieve oil independence for the United States. BAU does not produce oil independence. The augmented NCEP strategy comes close to achieving oil independence for the U.S. economy within the next 20 to 25 years, but more effort is needed to achieve full independence. The success of the strategy appears to be robust regardless of how the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries responds to it. Expected annual savings are estimated to exceed $250 billion per year by 2030.