Electricity Generation Sector Research Articles

Climate pledges versus commitment: Are policy actions of Middle-East and North African countries consistent with their emissions targets?

Carbon emission is inevitable, and changes with energy consumption and economic development, presents policy options toward sustainable development path. Currently, there is little assurance from policymakers in committing to climate change pledges: taking the Middle-East and North African (MENA) region as a specific case with using 2019 as a cut-off period. We conducted an interim assessment of the Paris Agreement to ascertain whether climate actions are in tandem with emissions reduction targets. Making use of difference-in-difference technique as a quasi-experiment supported by fixed-effects and placebo treatment models, the results point to evidence of less than 1% effective CO2 emissions reduction as of 2019 compared to the 2015 level. The current carbon emissions reduction commitment level is far-reaching contrary to the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) pledged (16.43% on average by 2030 compared to the 2015 level). The analysis suggests that achieving NDCs commitments are currently major burden on policymakers since the economic development is highly linked with nonrenewable energy consumption. Furthermore, a more comprehensive framework when accounting for all available renewable and clean energy projects shows reduction levels in the range of 30%–40% from 2020 to 2030. These results suggest that the Paris Agreement in MENA countries may be more effective from 2020, thus underscore the importance of capturing ongoing projects (involving renewable and clean energy technologies) into interim policy assessment. The shared implication is that greater efforts are demanded from the region and at country levels to further decrease emissions through the use of negative emissions technologies particularly in the electricity generation sector.

Political differences in air pollution abatement under the Clean Air Act

In this paper, we study how local politics affect state level implementation of a critical federal environmental policy, the Clean Air Act, in the electricity generation sector. The analysis focuses on the installation of capital intensive air pollution abatement technology in highly regulated “nonattainment” areas, which violate federal air quality standards. The primary research design uses a regression discontinuity in the vote share for Republican governors and event study analyses of close elections. In nonattainment areas, Republican gubernatorial control differentially decreases new air pollution abatement capital spending by 90% and the probability of installing the most effective nitrogen oxide abatement technology by nine percentage points, relative to attainment areas and the counterfactual of Democratic gubernatorial control. The health benefits from reduced nitrogen oxide emissions in nonattainment areas likely exceed the additional costs of new air pollution abatement technology at electric utilities. However, the estimated benefit-cost ratios are smaller than those from many other air pollution abatement policies and net benefits may be negative for technology that will operate for fewer than five years.

Global and regional externalities of the Ukrainian energy sector

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology for assessing the effects of global and regional externalities that create traditional power generation industries and to propose a transition to a tariff strategy taking into account these consequences. The main purpose of the research is to analyze the current wholesale electricity tariffs in the energy market of Ukraine and propose their assessment taking into account external effects for other sectors of the economy.Design/methodology/approachAt the first stage, according to observations for 2004–2019 on the amount of pollution and the cost of agricultural products in some regions of Ukraine, which is provided in 2010 prices, the impact of hazardous emissions on the cost of agricultural products was analyzed in each region. The use of panel regression allowed to combine spatial and temporal studies (12 separate areas and time interval 2004–2019). To assess the external effects of heat generation, panel regression was used, which made it possible to combine spatial and temporal data on the impact of pollution on the efficiency of agricultural production and add regional losses of agricultural business to the cost of heat generation. This paper uses optimization models to maximize the function of public utility of electricity generation, making allowances for externalities.FindingsThis research assesses the negative externalities of Ukraine's energy and confirms the need for a global transition to a low-carbon economy primarily through climate finance. The analysis revealed the presence of various influences of the factor of regional air pollution and time. The hypothesis of the existence of a negative impact of local air pollution on agricultural production has been confirmed. An increase in emissions by 1,000 tons leads to an average decrease in regional agricultural production by UAH 84 million (at the prices of 2010).Originality/valueThe optimization problem of the ratio of different types of generation is set on the basis of maximizing the function of social utility of electricity generation, taking into account external effects. The authors presented an optimization model of electricity generation, which corresponded to the state of the energy market for 2019, provides an opportunity to assess the contribution of the inverse external effects of each electricity sector and to estimate external tariffs for each electricity generation sector.

Environmental Benefits From Carbon Tax in the Chinese Carbon Market: A Roadmap to Energy Efficiency in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Because of China’s global responsibilities to address climate change, the country has made a commitment to limiting the growth of future emissions using policy measures, such as funding mitigation research and regulating energy efficiency requirements directly. Extensions of these policies, such as the measures to improve energy efficiency, use of carbon taxes, and changes to the mix of electricity generation in the country, are also of interest to China. This article applied a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to examine the effects of such energy efficiency and climate change policy options in the post-COVID-19 era in the China economy. The study findings show that even modest measures can have significant effects on emissions with marginal economic impacts, given the current level of development in the China electricity generation and transportation sectors. It is estimated that a 5 RMB per ton carbon tax will reduce emissions by 4.1% and GDP by 0.27%. Emissions drop by 8.2% and GDP drops by 0.54% when energy efficiency increases by 2% across the China economy, respectively. As a final result, a 5% shift away from burning coal would reduce emissions by 9.0%, while GDP would increase by 1.3%. It has been shown that even low carbon taxes can encourage a notable cleaner energy system.

Biomass Feedstocks for Liquid Biofuels Production in Hawaii & Tropical Islands: A Review

Many tropical islands, including Aruba, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Pacific Island countries, are entirely dependent on importing fossil fuels to meet their energy demands. Due to global warming, improving energy use efficiency and developing regionally available renewable energy resources are necessary to reduce carbon emissions. This review analyzed and identified biomass feedstocks to produce liquid biofuels targeting tropical islands, particularly focusing on Hawaii as a case study. Transportation and energy generation sectors consume 25.5% and 11.6%, respectively, of Hawaii's imported fossil fuels. Various nonedible feedstocks with information on their availability, production, and average yields of oils, fiber, sugars, and lipid content for liquid biofuels production are identified to add value to the total energy mix. The available biomass conversion technologies and production costs are summarized. In addition, a section on potentially using sewage sludge to produce biodiesel is also included. Based on a comparative analysis of kamani, croton, pongamia, jatropha, energycane, Leucaena hybrid, gliricidia, and eucalyptus feedstock resources, this study proposes that Hawaii and other similar tropical regions can potentially benefit from growing and producing economical liquid biofuels locally, especially for the transportation and electricity generation sectors

Biomass Feedstocks for Liquid Biofuels Production in Hawaii & Tropical Islands: A Review

Many tropical islands, including Aruba, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Pacific Island countries, are entirely dependent on importing fossil fuels to meet their energy demands. Due to global warming, improving energy use efficiency and developing regionally available renewable energy resources are necessary to reduce carbon emissions. This review analyzed and identified biomass feedstocks to produce liquid biofuels targeting tropical islands, particularly focusing on Hawaii as a case study. Transportation and energy generation sectors consume 25.5% and 11.6%, respectively, of Hawaii's imported fossil fuels. Various nonedible feedstocks with information on their availability, production, and average yields of oils, fiber, sugars, and lipid content for liquid biofuels production are identified to add value to the total energy mix. The available biomass conversion technologies and production costs are summarized. In addition, a section on potentially using sewage sludge to produce biodiesel is also included. Based on a comparative analysis of kamani, croton, pongamia, jatropha, energycane, Leucaena hybrid, gliricidia, and eucalyptus feedstock resources, this study proposes that Hawaii and other similar tropical regions can potentially benefit from growing and producing economical liquid biofuels locally, especially for the transportation and electricity generation sectors

Changing Emissions Results in Changed PM2.5 Composition and Health Impacts

In the period of 2005 to 2016, multiple air pollution control regulations have entered into effect in the United States at both the Federal and state level. In addition, economic changes have also occurred primarily in the electricity generation sector that substantially changed the emissions from this sector. This combination of policy implementations and economics has led to substantial reductions in PM2.5, its major constituents, and source specific PM2.5 concentrations across the New York State, particularly those of sulfate, nitrate, and primary organic carbon. However, secondary organic carbon and spark-ignition vehicular emission contributions have increased. Related studies of changes in health outcomes, the excess rates of emergency department visits and hospitalizations for a variety of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and respiratory infections have increased per unit mass of PM2.5. It appears that the increased toxicity per unit mass was due to the reduction in low toxicity constituents such that the remaining mass had greater impacts on public health.

Online Wind-Atlas Databases and GIS Tool Integration for Wind Resource Assessment: A Spanish Case Study

Renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly integrated into the electricity-generation sector, being eco-friendly solutions, decreasing global warming, and improving the energy transition process. Among the different renewables, wind energy is considered a mature, clean, renewable, and inexhaustible technology as well, becoming one of the main resources in a sustainable framework. Aiming to evaluate the wind resource, scientific contributions have mostly presented a common basis: historical data campaigns of the wind resource mainly considering wind speed—including the module, direction, standard deviation, etc. However, online wind-atlas databases are becoming tools widely used for both wind-resource assessment and optimal wind-power locations. Under this framework, this study analyzed and compared such online wind data sources and their integration with GIS tools for optimal wind-resource-assessment purposes. The proposed methodology identified the corresponding wind-atlas databases directly on their websites and indirectly through the wind data used in relevant contributions about the optimal location of wind sites. Our contribution to the scientific community is thus the review and comparison of these atlas databases for reducing the barrier to access wind data—including GIS-tool-integration analysis. The limitations raised by civil societies, particularly regarding environmental and bird concerns, were not included in this study. Nevertheless, the authors are aware of these concerns and limitations. A Spanish case study was also included in this work, comparing both estimated and collected wind-atlas databases in terms of wind-resource assessment.

Do firms respond differently to the carbon pricing by industrial sector? How and why? A comparison between manufacturing and electricity generation sectors using firm-level panel data in Korea

With firm-level panel data for seven years, this study evaluated the effect of carbon pricing policy and analyzed how firms respond to the carbon price, focusing on Korea's Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). Under the assumption that firms' responses to the carbon price might differ across industries, this study compared the manufacturing and electricity generation sectors. Our panel regression analyses show that the ETS has significant impacts on firms' carbon reduction. However, the carbon reduction mechanisms of firms differ by industrial sector. Firms in the manufacturing sector reduced carbon emissions by improving the energy efficiency of their facilities. On the other hand, those in the electricity generation sector reduced emissions by phasing out the use of fossil fuels and by giving more weight to low carbon-intensive energy sources. These findings imply that carbon pricing works as designed, sending economic signals for firms to decarbonize their economic activities. Furthermore, it works differently (and so effectively) according to the industry's characteristics.

Large-scale battery storage, short-term market outcomes, and arbitrage

The expansion of the share of renewable energy in the portfolio mix of the electricity generation sector has accelerated the development and integration of large-scale battery storage facilities. We document charging and discharging patterns in the California market and show how the utility-scale batteries’ activity correlates with load and real-time prices during 2018 and 2019. The empirical findings are partially consistent with the optimal solution of an arbitrage maximizer, indicating that battery owners respond to price incentives only at certain hours of the day. In addition, we provide evidence that battery deployment in the years 2013 through 2017 lowered average intra-day wholesale price spreads and that current market conditions limit the profitability of batteries in this market.

The Roles of Nuclear and Storage in Efficiently Eliminating Co2 Emissions from the Electric Generation Sector

The Roles of Nuclear and Storage in Efficiently Eliminating Co2 Emissions from the Electric Generation Sector

Sistema de mensuração de desempenho, satisfação ambiental e engajamento no trabalho verde,

ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to analyze the effects of the (diagnostic, interactive, and combined) use of performance measurement systems (PMS) on environmental satisfaction and the reflections of that on employees’ green work engagement. Studies on management control systems (MCS) and environmental results have prioritized organizational variables, such as sustainable/environmental development. Efforts directed toward MCS to foster employees’ green behaviors are limited. There is also a call for studies that indicate the interdependence of controls associated with performance, innovation, or other variables in which the environmental context is less contemplated. Employees’ engagement is fundamental for organizations to achieve a higher sustainability level. Hence, the study explores employees’ perceptions about how the organization investigated uses one management control (PMS) to promote the congruence of organizational and individual objectives within the context of environmental sustainability. The literature is concerned about understanding the role of MCS in green behaviors and results. Most of the studies focus on organizational results such as performance, with little evidence for employees’ satisfaction or engagement. Similarly, there is a growing demand to explore MCS interdependence for contexts that go beyond innovation or performance. A single entity survey was conducted in a private Brazilian company from the electric power generation sector, resulting in a sample of 101 employees. For the data analysis, partial least squares structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis were used. The (diagnostic, interactive, and combined) use of PMS positively influences environmental satisfaction and that supports green work engagement. Environmental satisfaction promotes full mediations between the (diagnostic and interactive) use of PMS and green work engagement. Various combinations of conditions lead to high environmental satisfaction and to high green work engagement.

How and why did fossil fuel use change in Fukushima Prefecture before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake?

The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) in March 2011 greatly changed the spatial pattern of energy use in Fukushima Prefecture. The previously nuclear-reliant energy policy has transformed, with energy now generated mainly by fossil fuels and renewable sources. The spatio-temporal variation of fossil fuel use and the major causes of these changes have not previously been fully clarified.This study quantified the annual fossil fuel use in eight user sectors at high spatial resolution using a bottom-up approach. The total fossil fuel use in Fukushima is estimated to have increased by about 91,233 TJ from 2010 to 2015, despite decreases in most socioeconomic indicators. The increase was mainly attributed to changes in electricity generation (104,521 TJ). The three sectors with the greatest decrease in energy use were road transportation (-7159 TJ), industrial and commercial (-3608 TJ), and residential (-2334 TJ). Spatial analysis using high-resolution maps identified areas of increased energy use mainly in central, southeastern, and northeastern Fukushima and confirmed some local variations in energy use by sector. It showed that decreasing energy use in the area within 20 km of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station resulted in increased use in areas located >20 km from the power station. Sensitivity analysis clarified the relations among factors underlying each sector’s changing energy use before and after the GEJE. For instance, consider the electricity generation sector: reduced energy use was caused by decreased energy use intensity (-23,299 TJ) and the increased use of biomass (-4848 TJ), whereas increases were caused by rising utilization efficiency (102,410 TJ) and increased electricity generation capacity (35,988 TJ), which led to a large overall increase for this sector (104,521 TJ). However, road transportation’s negative energy use change (-7159 TJ) arose owing to decreased traffic volumes (-7573 TJ) and decreased energy use intensity (-7177 TJ), despite some positive energy use changes caused by the increased proportion of large vehicles (3684 TJ) and changes in mean travel speed (1381 TJ). The approach used in this study will be helpful for policy makers to evaluate spatio-temporal variations and develop policies to reduce energy use in response to unusual local events.

Did the restructuring of the electricity generation sector increase social welfare in Pakistan?

The power sector of Pakistan has undergone a substantial, yet protracted power sector reform program in 1992. Under this program, the government allowed participation of Independent Power Producers (IPPs), followed by the breakup of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) into various entities and the establishment of power sector regulatory authority, namely NEPRA in 1997. The power sector reforms in Pakistan have not been evaluated sufficiently to determine the actual costs and benefits incurred by different segments of the society, to correct the path of upcoming reforms. This study attempts to investigate the socio-economic impacts of restructuring of WAPDA's generation segment and private sector participation in the electricity generation sector of Pakistan by using a social cost-benefit analysis approach. The study has analyzed the impacts of reforms on government, private sector, and consumers (domestic, commercial, industrial and agriculture) of the power sector. The results have shown that the main benefit of private sector participation came from the timely expansion of generation capacity. However, environmental and electricity generation costs became exorbitant after power sector reforms. Consumers and government remained net losers, while IPPs were winners in the process of restructuring and privatization. This paper concludes that power generation sector reforms with private sector participation have impacted the overall social welfare adversely. It further concludes that had regulation been scrupulous with adequate supportive role of government with social obligations, consumers and government could have benefited from restructuring and privatization of the power sector generation sector in Pakistan.

The driving factors of CO2 emissions from electricity generation in Spain: A decomposition analysis

ABSTRACT We apply an index decomposition analysis to investigate the main drivers of CO2 emissions in the electricity generation sector in Spain over the period 1991–2017. We quantify the impact of five different effects: carbonization, transformation, fossil intensity, electricity intensity, and production effects. Four subperiods are identified. The relevance of the drivers changed over these subperiods. The fossil intensity, electricity intensity, and production effects played an important role in the increase in emissions during the first half of the period, and particularly from 1999 to 2005. In contrast, the carbonization and fossil intensity effects were the dominant drivers of emissions reductions between 2006 and 2010. The research allows an assessment of the impact of different measures on emissions by considering their influence on the different effects, and suggests which sets of measures could be more effective in reducing emissions.

Comparative Assessment of the Impact of Electricity Consumption in Different Economic Sectors on the Economic Development of the EU Member States

Recently, the Member States of the European Union (EU) have found themselves in a controversial situation. On the one hand, national economic development is barely possible without increasing electricity consumption, whereas on the other we are facing increased use of natural resources (coal, oil, gas, wood), thermal effects, pollution and risks to human health. The European Green Deal is a response to the currently observed negative trends. The strategy aims to accelerate the economic development of the EU Member States, thus reducing electricity consumption. Objectives may include both the national economy and the electricity generation sector by applying advanced technologies and introducing innovations that increase output efficiency while reducing electricity costs. Assessing the current situation is vital for the successful implementation of the European Green Deal, i.e., by comparing the impact of electricity consumption on the economic development of the Member States. Thus, combining indicators for national economic development and the extent of electricity consumption into a single aggregate is necessary because electricity greatly affects economic development. The proposed methodology allows dividing the analysed EU Member States into three groups, in line with the degree of national economic development and the scope of electricity consumption in their economy sectors.

Evaluation of decoupling of GDP and CO2 emissions in EU-15

Generally, economic growth is accompanied by an increase in energy consumption, which consequently leads to higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions. These, in turn, are the causes of global warming, which is one of the most acute environmental problems nowadays. Decoupling occurs when environmental pressure can be decreased without the negative effect of the economic growth of a country. This study is focused on the investigation of the decoupling of the economy and environmental pressure. The analysis was carried out for EU-15 countries for the period between 1990 and 2014. For the evaluation of decoupling the Tapio decoupling elasticity method was used. This method provides the extent of decoupling of the economy and environmental pressure for each country. The economy was measured in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), while the environmental pressure was represented by CO2 emissions from the public electricity and heat generation sector. The EU-15 countries were classified into three groups depending on the individual reduction targets following Kyoto Protocol. Group I had high values of reduction targets ranging from -28% to -12.5%, Group II had moderate values of reduction targets situated between -7.5% and 0%, and Group III had mild values of reduction targets from +4% to +27%. The results of this analysis show that there is strong fluctuation of the extent of decoupling between GDP and CO2 emissions for each country in the specified period. Therefore, there are no clear patterns of decoupling intensity that can be observed. However, it is important to notice that in almost every country the decoupling between GDP and CO2 emissions was either strong or weak. This study has shown that generally most of the countries achieved some extent of decoupling between the growth of the economy and the pressure on the environment. The countries that showed the decoupling of more than 80% of the specified period are Luxemburg, Ireland, and Italy. For most of the countries, the decoupling was deteriorated by the financial crisis of 2008. Another possible reason for the decrease in decoupling is the extensive use of renewable energy resources. While their application lowers the CO2 emissions, the high production and operation costs constrict the growth of the economy. Sweden, Finland, and Denmark had such situation.

Analysis of potential effects of renewable energy policy

Korea has announced its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 by accelerating its shift toward renewable energy. We examined the effects of increasing renewable energy use on the demands for fossil fuels and the power supply price for the Korean electric power generation sector. Using the estimated price elasticities of demand between energy inputs, we can calculate that a 1% increase in renewable energy would lead to a 0.06%, 0.35%, and 0.17% lower demand for coal, oil, and gas, respectively, ceteris paribus, possibly resulting in a potential CO2 reduction by as much as 0.173 × 106 tons in total. The null hypothesis of no contribution of increasing renewable energy on power generation costs was rejected. The simulation results show that renewable energy generation costs did not increase sufficiently to cause the power supply price to rise significantly over the period 2000–2015.

Multi-unit Japanese auction for device agnostic energy management

The energy system is undergoing structural changes due to the integration of volatile electricity generation technology and sector coupling. This article proposes an adapted continuous Japanese auction for device agnostic energy management for a sector coupled energy system. The auction mechanism ensures that no device specific information has to be exchanged. The algorithm is implemented for a single household containing a PV-system, a battery storage, an electric vehicle, a domestic hot water system, and a household load. For every component, a demand/supply function is proposed, which respects the respective physical characteristics. The algorithm is simulated for one year and compared to a reference, which represents an individual control of the devices without considering coordination. Further, two different auctioneers are proposed, one which focuses on energy efficient use of local resources and another one aims to reduce peak load. The results show that the proposed algorithm decreases the peak powers of the investigated system and improves local power usage, i.e. own consumption and self-sufficiency. Thus, this algorithm can reduce grid reinforcement demand due to lower peak powers by better usage of local resources, while satisfying sector coupling needs.

Phasing out the blast furnace to meet global climate targets

Phasing out the blast furnace to meet global climate targets