Energy Paradigm Research Articles

Energías limpias, poder local y procomún colaborativo

Se considera en el siguiente artículo que, a partir de los años setenta, la humanidad asiste al despliegue de una crisis civilizatoria, es decir, orgánica del sistema-mundo vigente hasta entonces. Que sea una crisis orgánica significa que han cambiado sus dos variables fundamentales: el paradigma o patrón energético y la pauta comunicacional que eran dominantes desde el siglo XVII. Esto conlleva cambios en las formas de gestión y de participación de la sociedad a lo largo y ancho del sistema y subsistemas que lo organizan. Con el desarrollo de estos supuestos se quiere indicar las ventanas de oportunidad que se le presentan en prospectiva a la sociedad colombiana, los retos que en la nueva escena política deben afrontar para su gestión, las fortalezas y debilidades que portan los actores políticos.

The Impact of Magnetic Materials in Renewable Energy‐Related Technologies in the 21st Century Industrial Revolution: The Case of South Africa

Magnetic materials specifically permanent magnets are critical for the efficient performance of many renewable energy technologies. The increased reliance on renewable energy sources has accelerated research in energy‐related technologies the world over. The use of rare‐earth (RE) metals in permanent magnets continues to be a source of greater concern owing to the limited RE supply coupled with dwindling reserves on the globe. This review focuses on how this has impacted on the state‐of‐the‐art magnetic materials that continue to play a pivotal role in driving renewable energy technologies. Magnetic materials are perceived as key in driving the 21st century industrial revolution, and the participation of South Africa in this energy paradigm is critical in driving a new industrial revolution within the African continent. A number of opportunities are highlighted, and clarity is given on the several ubiquitous misconceptions and the risks on the heavy reliance on a single source for RE magnetic materials.

The digital transformation of the Russian electric power industry

This chronicle is devoted to the problems of improvement of state policy and corporate governance in the Russian Federation under conditions of transition to the digital economy business model. The main goal is to analyze new challenges and understand the need to change the energy paradigm applying a system analytical approach to study the level of digitalization. New challenges related to the advancement of digital technologies in the context of global trends of economic and social developme...

Detection of MeV scale neutrinos and the solar energy paradigm

The fundamental solar energy paradigm establishes that the energy in the Sun is due to a series of nuclear reactions which turn hydrogen into helium. In particular, for the Sun the fundamental reaction corresponds to p + p → d + e+ + υe + 0.42 MeV. This is a very slow process which drives the evolution of the Sun over a timescale of 109 years. Electron neutrinos produced in the core interact only weakly and travel almost undisturbed from the core to the surface. They are a unique probe to explore the interior of stars. Observations of solar neutrinos are discussed in the paper. The solar energy paradigm proposed in 1938 by H. Bethe has been measured in realtime by Borexino at 10% level in 2014. This observation allows to probe the solar stability over a 105 years timescale. At present, solar neutrinos offer the opportunity to understand the new Solar Abundance Problem, that is our lack of knowledge of the chemical composition of the Sun. Therefore, improving solar neutrino measurements is of great interest for astrophysics. At the same time, a better determination of some astrophysical factors will reduce uncertainties on predictions to better identify a possible inadequate assumption in the solar model.

METHODS OF EVALUATION OF THE STATE AND EFFICIENCY OF THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Abstract. Today, humanity is experiencing an "urban age", and therefore issues of good management of energy consumption and energy spent on utilization of waste in cities are becoming particularly acute. In this regard, the working group of the World Energy Council proposed a concept of the "energy balance" of the urban environment. This concept was that the energy produced should cover the energy consumed. Metabolism of the urban environment is so hot and so rarely studied by urban planners. This condition is linked first with the fact that metabolism is nothing more than a network of exchange of physical, energy resources and information. This is the real point of meeting the natural, technological, social, economic processes and their transformation into one another. Metabolism is the most important tool for knowing the real mechanics of the movement of resources in such a complex system as the urban environment. The content of the article is an analysis of significant energy and material flows characterizing the metabolism of the urban environment. We considered in the article a new energy paradigm. This paradigm will help in carrying out research in such areas as reducing the burden on the state of the environment, reducing environmental problems and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Methods and models of metabolic processes in the urban environment will allow to implement in practice the concept of sustainable development of the urban environment, which is the development of the teaching V. Vernadsky about the noosphere.

A Wireless Triboelectric Nanogenerator

AbstractA new “wireless” paradigm for harvesting mechanical energy via a 3D‐printed wireless triboelectric nanogenerator (W‐TENG) comprised of an ecofriendly graphene polylactic acid (gPLA) nanocomposite and Teflon is demonstrated. The W‐TENG generates very high output voltages >2 kV with a strong electric field that enables the wireless transmission of harvested energy over a distance of 3 m. The W‐TENG exhibited an instantaneous peak power up to 70 mW that could be wirelessly transmitted for storage into a capacitor obviating the need for hard‐wiring or additional circuitry. Furthermore, the use of W‐TENG for wireless and secure actuation of smart‐home applications such as smart tint windows, temperature sensors, liquid crystal displays, and security alarms either with a single or a specific user‐defined passcode of mechanical pulses (e.g., Fibonacci sequence) is demonstrated. The scalable additive manufacturing approach for gPLA‐based W‐TENGs, along with their high electrical output and unprecedented wireless applications, is poised for revolutionizing the present mechanical energy harvesting technologies.

Reimagining Energy and Growth: Decoupling and the Rise of a New Energy Paradigm in West Germany, 1973–1986

AbstractThis article traces the rise of new ideas about energy and growth in West Germany between 1973 and 1986. It shows how new economic expertise emerged in response to the oil shocks, and looks at how West Germany could, paradoxically, sustain growth in a world of seemingly exhausted and insecure energy sources. These experts reconceptualized the economy to imagine a future where “decoupling”—reducing energy consumption while expanding Gross Domestic Production—was possible. They found support in the Social Democratic Party, which, in using their ideas to overcome an internal rift precipitated by the rise of the Green movement in the 1970s, helped make these new ideas mainstream. Investigating this new energy paradigm helps us understand why Germany began to diverge from other large, industrialized states in the 1980s, as it increasingly focused on energy conservation rather than on expanding its energy supply.

Guest Editorial: Climate Change: Why Oil and Gas Must Join the Debate

Guest editorial The US administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change does not eliminate the urgency of addressing existential issues for the oil and gas industry, both in the US or globally. At the center lie two questions: 1) Should the industry take a pro or con position regarding the Paris Accord or remain neutral? 2) What strategies are critical to maintain the oil and gas industry’s preeminence in the global energy markets? There is a brave new world of energy with three defining attributes: unitization, environmentalization, and extreme efficiency. Understanding these three will help answer both questions. Unitization is the emergence of a common energy language—kilowatts, BTUs, or calories—to shop among different brands/sources of energy such as oil, gas, wind, solar, or others. To consumers worldwide, it matters little whether the cars they are driving or the planes they are flying in are fueled by shale oil or hydrogen so long as the economics are right and the fuel of choice meets prevailing public norms of “environmental wellness.” The latter is an imperative, not an option, in this new age. Integration of environmental wellness into corporate and government actions constitutes the essence of “environmentalization.” It is not meant to be synonymous with global warming. It is the sum total of influences on all aspects of the environment. The air quality of Chengdu, China, or fracturing-induced tremors in Oklahoma must be part of this conversation. What ties everything together for consumers worldwide is the ability to choose the most efficiently delivered kilowatts—environmentally and economically—hence the imperative for “extreme efficiency.” Extreme efficiency is the new paradigm of energy markets for fossil fuels and renewables alike. A closer look at seemingly unrelated fronts is worth noting. In the Permian Basin of Texas, the bedrock of the US oil production’s resurgence, crude output levels reached 2.6 million B/D in October 2017 despite a 50% drop in crude prices over the past 3 years. During the same period, US solar energy power generation more than tripled while unit costs dropped 33%. Similar trends in efficiency are evident in wind and unconventional gas. More importantly, CO2 emissions in the US and European Union have come down 20% during the past decade accompanied by comparable drops in energy intensity (consumption per GDP) while China started a downturn trend in CO2 emissions in 2013. More is on the way. The industry needs to take a proactive and solution-centric position vis-a-vis the Paris Agreement. The latter provides a facilitating, albeit imperfect, platform to strive toward modest climate goals—to keep global temperatures from rising more than 2°C by the end of the century. Staying with it would have been the wiser choice for the US given its prominent position in world affairs and its enormous capacity for innovation, even more so when supported by the right policies and realistic goals. It is in these two areas where the oil and gas industry can and should contribute to the Paris Accord.

China's rise: Challenging the North-South technology transfer paradigm for climate change mitigation and low carbon energy

Historically, technology transfer from the global North to China played a large role in renewable energy pathways in China, particularly for wind energy, partly also for solar energy. Yet, the rise of China and other emerging economies means a shift away from a reliance on technology transfer and production capabilities to strengthening indigenous innovation capabilities. Drawing on evidence from the hydropower, solar and wind energy industry in China, the paper introduces the concept of ‘geographies of technology transfer and cooperation’ and challenges the North-South technology transfer and cooperation paradigm for low carbon innovation and climate change mitigation. The empirical evidence shows that for low carbon innovation, the conception that China is lacking behind in innovation capabilities is partly outdated. Instead, there is an increase in indigenous innovation capabilities, resulting in South-South technology transfer and cooperation as well as elements of ‘reverse’ South-North technology cooperation.

Solar PV self-consumption: An analysis of influencing indicators in the Portuguese context

Fostered by the emerging distributed energy paradigm, solar photovoltaic energy (PV) deployment has been evolving, both in developing and developed countries. With recent legislation for renewable energy in Portugal, which stimulates self-consumption (SC), PV energy is assumed as the most convenient technology to be applied for distributed generation.This paper evaluates the adequacy and potential impact of PV systems for self-consumption, using a techno-economic performance analysis. For that, real demand profiles from different sectors - residential, retail, hotels and industrial consumers - and simulated solar PV production profiles for different locations, are considered, regarding different panel orientations and tilts. To assess the optimum prosumer profile, discounted payback time (DPBT) and interest rate of investment (IRR) are used as reference metrics.The SC drivers found are tariff and the demand pattern, but also the remuneration of the solar energy surplus. Accommodation and Retail sectors are the prosumers that present the best energy and economic results, with DPBT of 3–6 years and IRR from 17% to 27%, for optimal orientation and location. Given the diversity of domestic consumers, the best prosumers are found for flat or profiles with diurnal occupation, with a self-consumption of 17% and a DPBT of 7 years.

Integrated energy systems: Challenges, trends, philosophy

The creation of an energy metasystem that combines electrical, heat, cooling, and gas supply systems on an intellectual framework is a manifestation of a new energy paradigm. Integrated intelligent power supply systems combine complexity, intelligence, efficiency, reliability, controllability, flexibility of energy conversion, transmission, storage technologies and assume an active consumer.

Energy ethics, homogenization, and hegemony: A reflection on the traditional energy paradigm

This article grapples with the meanings of the notion ‘energy ethics’ by looking at the emergence of what I call the ‘traditional energy paradigm.’ I begin by sketching the distinction between the notions of ‘energy ethics’ and ‘ethics of energy.’ Then, by reflecting on ideas and values implied in the modern Western conceptualization of energy, namely its metaphysical assumptions, I show how this concept is a cultural construct influenced by the natural sciences at the cost of a form of reductionism. Energy has been defined as a property of objects, primarily as the capacity of matter to do work. But this and other similar definitions are strongly dependent on geographical and historical contexts which we often dismiss. These definitions stress only certain measurable, quantifiable, and mechanistic properties of reality. By doing so they implicitly have been promoting instrumental and strongly anthropocentric attitudes toward the use of energy and nature. This traditional energy paradigm has been propagated throughout the world via cultural, socio-economic, and techno-scientific colonization. Different actors have carried out such processes, including multinational companies, educational institutions and international organizations. Meantime, on socio-political levels, this way of understanding energy (and hence natural resources), has found strong allies in neoliberal ideology and free-market capitalism. This homogeneous and colonizing understanding of energy is still prevalent in the energy debate and pervasive in energy policies, preventing different worldviews and more diverse values to be considered. In this article, I argue that the conceptual reduction of energy to what is practically useful, and physically and mathematically measurable hinders more nuanced, complex understandings of what energy might be for different social actors. Energy humanities generally, and energy ethnographies specifically, have a key role in contesting this homogenization, colonization, and hegemony. More diverse perspectives will enrich the energy discourse and hence benefit energy policy.

Weighing the black hole via quasi-local energy

We set to weigh the black holes at their event horizons in various spacetimes and obtain masses which are substantially higher than their asymptotic values. In each case, the horizon mass of a Schwarzschild, Reissner–Nordström, or Kerr black hole is found to be twice the irreducible mass observed at infinity. The irreducible mass does not contain electrostatic or rotational energy, leading to the inescapable conclusion that particles with electric charges and spins cannot exist inside a black hole. This is proposed as the External Energy Paradigm. A higher mass at the event horizon and its neighborhood is obligatory for the release of gravitational waves in binary black hole merging. We describe how these horizon mass values are obtained in the quasi-local energy approach and applied to the black holes of the first gravitational waves GW150914.

The Emerging Transactive Microgrid Controller: Illustrating Its Concept, Functionality, and Business Case

Microgrids were initially popularized to increase resiliency of real-time electric power systems regarding natural disasters. With the changing electricity industry landscape in recent years associated with cost-effective distributed energy resources (DERs), such as rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, distributed storage, and increased active demand-side participation, microgrids are finding their place in this landscape as economic transactive agents capable of providing a variety of services to the mutual benefit of the microgrid, the distribution utility, and the power system at large. Presently, microgrids can participate in distribution utility demand response (DR ) and other demand-side programs, provide energy and ancillary services (ASs) to the bulk power system and markets and in some cases provide voltage support and resiliency to neighboring facilities. The emergence of the new distribution system operator (DSO) construct and the transactive energy (TE) paradigm, however, will further enhance a microgrid's capabilities to participate in retail, wholesale, and bilateral markets when operating in a grid-connected mode.

Collateral Ability of Insurance Contract and Compensation Agreement in the Liability of Nuclear Damages and Its Improvement Measures

체르노빌원전사고 이후원자력손해배상법체계는 국내외적으로상당한 변화가 있었다. 손해배상책임 한도액을높이고, 손해의범위가 확장되고, 국제협약의적용범위도 확장됨으로써 배상책임의 실효성을 제고하는데 역점을 두어 왔으며, 이러한 경향은 우리 원자력손해배상제도에도 반영되었다. 그러나 우리나라 원자력손해배상제도 에서는 환경손해의 취급이 법적으로 명확하지 않고, 3억 계산단위(SDR)의 배상책임 한도액도 대규모 사고 시 피해를 배상하는데 한계가 있으며, 국제보충배상협약 가입에 대한 우리의 입장도 분명하지 않다. 본 연구에서는 우선 논의의 출발점으로 우리나라의 원자력손해배상 제도와 국제 원자력손해배상 체제의 개략을 고찰하고, 협약이나 각국의 입법례에 있어 환경손해의 위험을 분석하고 그에 관한 제도 개선안을 도출한다. 다음으로 현재의 배상조치 수준의 적정성 여부도 검토한다. 그리고 보충배상협약의 가입은 원자력의 해외진출에 기반 조성이 된다는 점, 일부나마 책임한도액 부족 우려에 대한 대책이 될 수 있다는 점 및 원자력국가인 대한민국의위상에맞는수용성증진의효과가있다는점을생각할수있는반면, 사업자나나국가의 재정적 부담이 따르고, 인접국의 가입여부에 따라 실효성이 좌우된다는 점을 고려하지 않을 수 없다. 이런 상황에서도 인접국의 동향을 주시하고, 국익의 측면을 고려하여 가입 여부를 결정하여야 할 것이다.With the launch of new climate change system, the shift in the energy paradigm is being attempted in terms of energy cost reduction and response to global warming, nuclear power is recognized as the basic power source. The number of nuclear power plants are increasing. Switzerland who decided to opt away from nuclear power started overturning its decision. The safety is an absolute factor in nuclear power, and it is necessary to prepare technologies and systems to mitigate or eliminate damages in the event of an accident, Victims must be protected sufficiently at the time of an accident. At the same time, systems that shall contribute to or at least will not hinder the progress of nuclear industry need to be built up. However, since there are no sufficient studies on the nuclear liability act of major countries on nuclear power, its in-depth analysis is required. Also, current trends in nuclear power-related treaties should be identified. Implications for the nuclear liability in Korea need to be derived by surveying and analyzing the nuclear liability acts of advanced countries on nuclear power, and international nuclear power treaties. In order to determine the trends in systems of major countries (the US, France and Japan), the nuclear liability acts of these countries were analyzed. Through such analysis, a trend that the liability of the nuclear operators is increasing was identified. It can be stated that the key of the nuclear liability system is how to effectively place the insurance, compensation, domestic and international fund raising, and governmental support. Problems in this regard are as follows. Reparation measures need to be diversified plans to use the mutual insurance and deduction should be considered reparation measures. An union including the construction companies and parts suppliers of nuclear power plants need to be considered. Liability limit for nuclear operators is expected to be gradually increased. Finally, the government s role needs to be specified in legislation. Currently, the legal stability is damaged since the details of government support are not specified. This study has been conducted for the nuclear liability act to be standardized in order to achieve two objectives of protection of victims in the event of accidents and the development of the nuclear industry in the field of nuclear power where safety is the top priority. Building of a developmental model of nuclear liability act was suggested through the introduction of a useful system in Japan where the nuclear accident is actually being handled.

Implications of supernova remnant origin model of galactic cosmic rays on gamma rays from young supernova remnants

It is widely believe that galactic cosmic rays are originated in supernova remnants (SNRs) where they are accelerated by diffusive shock acceleration process at supernova blast waves driven by expanding SNRs. In recent theoretical developments of the diffusive shock acceleration theory in SNRs, protons are expected to accelerate in SNRs at least up to the knee energy. If SNRs are true generator of cosmic rays, they should accelerate not only protons but also heavier nuclei with right proportion and the maximum energy of heavier nuclei should be atomic mass (Z) times that of protons. In this work we investigate the implications of acceleration of heavier nuclei in SNRs on energetic gamma rays those are produced in hadronic interaction of cosmic rays with ambient matter. Our findings suggest that the energy conversion efficiency has to be nearly double for the mixed cosmic ray composition instead of pure protons to explain the observation and secondly the gamma ray flux above few tens of TeV would be significantly higher if cosmic rays particles can attain energies Z times of the knee energy in lieu of 200 TeV, as suggested earlier for non-amplified magnetic fields. The two stated maximum energy paradigm will be discriminated in future by the upcoming gamma ray experiments like Cherenkov Telescope array (CTA).

Special Issue on Advancing Grid-Connected Renewable Generation Systems

Renewables are heavily involved in power generation, as an essential component for today’s energy paradigm. Energy structure—both national and international—has been undergoing significant changes over the past few decades.[...]

Zero-Voltage Ride-Through Capability of Single-Phase Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems

Distributed renewable energy systems play an increasing role in today’s energy paradigm. Thus, intensive research activities have been centered on improving the performance of renewable energy systems, including photovoltaic (PV) systems, which should be of multiple-functionality. That is, the PV systems should be more intelligent in the consideration of grid stability, reliability, and fault protection. Therefore, in this paper, the performance of single-phase grid-connected PV systems under an extreme grid fault (i.e., when the grid voltage dips to zero) is explored. It has been revealed that combining a fast and accurate synchronization mechanism with appropriate control strategies for the zero-voltage ride-through (ZVRT) operation is mandatory. Accordingly, the representative synchronization techniques (i.e., the phase-locked loop (PLL) methods) in the ZVRT operation are compared in terms of detection precision and dynamic response. It shows that the second-order generalized integrator (SOGI-PLL) is a promising solution for single-phase systems in the case of fault ride-through. A control strategy by modifying the SOGI-PLL scheme is then introduced to single-phase grid-connected PV systems for ZVRT operation. Simulations are performed to verify the discussions. The results have demonstrated that the proposed method can help single-phase PV systems to temporarily ride through zero-voltage faults with good dynamics.

The impact and determinants of the energy paradigm on economic growth in European Union.

Contemporary economies are strongly reliant on energy and analyzing the determining factors that trigger the changes in energy paradigm and their impact upon economic growth is a topical research subject. Our contention is that energy paradigm plays a major role in achieving the sustainable development of contemporary economies. In order to prove this the panel data methodology of research was employed, namely four panel unit root tests (LLC, IPS, F-ADF and F-PP) aiming to reveal the connections and relevance among 17 variables denoting energy influence on economic development. Moreover, it was introduced a specific indicator to express energy consumption per capita. Our findings extend the classical approach of the changes in energy paradigm and their impact upon economic growth and offer a comprehensive analysis which surpasses the practices and policy decisions in the field.

Sustainability in Buildings – A Teaching Approach

Abstract Energy consumption in buildings is responsible for an important share of global consumed energy. The current electric energy paradigm carries important consequences both at economic and environmental levels. The so called Zero Energy Buildings’ strategy provides some guidelines in order to achieve better results in buildings energy demand. This scenario is a highly multidisciplinary engineering issue, and poses several challenges at the higher education level, that is taught in separate areas. This paper presents some higher education teaching limitations to address new technological challenges in new buildings design.