Country's Energy Security Research Articles

Geopolitically induced investments in biofuels

While supply disruptions of oil imports are widely considered a serious threat to a country's energy and overall national security, systematic investigations into the effects of security concerns on investments in energy technology are rare. Complementing existing energy policy literature, this paper investigates the impact of conflict involvement of major oil suppliers on RD&D expenditures in biofuels among import-dependent economies, i.e. geopolitically induced investments. Utilizing the recently released data set on Integrated Crisis Early Warning System (ICEWS), our sample comprises information on 12 EU member states from 1997 to 2014. Among those we find that RD&D expenditures in biofuels are positively associated with the conflict involvement of the respective country's major oil supplier. The results are robust across different model specifications and measurements of conflict. We argue that joining arguments from political economy and conflict research can help to explain the heterogeneous pattern of investments in energy technology in resource-poor European countries. In addition, it increases our understanding of innovation activities within the energy sector.

A SIMPLIFIED MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF THE EFFECT OF GAZ HYDRATES ON INTRA-TUBE CORROSION

Increasing domestic oil and gas production is one of the important stages in ensuring the country's energy security. In the short-term perspective, the main resource for increasing production is the development of low-yielding deposits. Natural gas contains from 60 to 98 % methane with impurities, such as water (H 2 O), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) and oxygen (O 2 ). These impurities are capable of serious corrosion of the pipeline, and initiate the origin of gas hydrates. The formed hydrates can cause partial or complete closure of the inner part of the gas pipeline, and if not quickly removed, it will lead to increased pressure inside the pipe and to a possible extraordinary situation. In this paper, the prediction model of the corrosion rate of a gas pipeline under the influence of gas hydrates is considered. The model is based on the thermodynamic properties of liquid and gas, which are part of the formed gas hydrate under the influence of different operating conditions. The model shows that the rate of corrosion increases with the temperature, operating pressure of pumping and acidity. The sharp increase in the speed of corrosion negatively affects the operation of the pipeline, reducing the operational life of the pipeline. Increasing the working pressure raises the temperature of hydration, but at the same time leads to an increase in the rate of erosion corrosion. Research and forecasting of morphology of corrosion damage is extremely important for the achievement and preservation of the integrity of materials and structures, in particular gas pipelines. The proposed model enables prediction of corrosion processes on gas pipelines considering hydrate formation. The influence of pressure on the speed of corrosion processes is estimated and it is shown that under the most unfavorable conditions the rate of corrosion under the action of gas hydrates can reach 1,2 mm/yr (0,0033 mm/day. With such an indicator, the pipeline suffers significant damage in the absence of immediate repair measures. The sharp increase in the speed of corrosion negatively affects the operation of the pipeline, reducing the operational life of the pipeline. Increasing the working pressure raises the temperature of hydration, but at the same time leads to an increase in the rate of erosion corrosion. Also shown is the influence of the pH of the medium in which the gas hydrate is formed, according to the results of the prediction model, the rate of corrosion increases with the level of acidification of the medium.

Assessment of energy security in MedRing countries and regional trends towards renewable energy deployment

Energy security is considered as an important driving force for sustaining socio-economic growth of any nation. The Mediterranean countries (particularly MedRing countries) are witnessing a steady economic growth backed with a relative political stability and improvement of living standards. Moreover, an enormous potential in terms of fossil and renewable energies is still not fully explored in this region. Hence, the establishment of an integrated regional approach for managing the energy sector will most likely enhance energy security and regional cooperation between MedRing countries following the ultimate goal of answering the growing energy demand in the upcoming decades. The aim of this study is to (1) evaluate the levels of energy security in those countries using four selected indicators and (2) highlight their orientations towards the deployment of renewable energy as an important pillar for ensuring the security of the energy systems in these countries. The results showed that the MedRing countries are highly dependent on imported fossil fuels (except for exporting countries such as Algeria, Libya, and Egypt), and thus, the major share of their CO2 emissions are resulting from the energy sector. On the other hand, renewable and nuclear energies seem to be the ideal alternatives for enhancing energy security and creating mutual benefits for the two shores of the Mediterranean basin.

Local and External Forces: Understanding Key Factors behind Mexico's Energy Reform

Throughout the logic of geoeconomics and geopolitics, countries become stronger or weaker as a result of how natural resources are wielded. The power derived from the management of natural resources has deep implications for any country. Mexico has recently completed a major energy reform, ending the state monopoly on oil and gas and allowing private companies to invest in the energy sector. The reform aims at boosting the declining oil production and transforming Petróleos Mexicanos into a more competitive enterprise. When the reform was planned and implemented, the oil price was around 95 USD per barrel. However, since 2014, the international market has held decreasing oil prices that are spoiling prospects for a range of high-cost ventures in many countries. Mexico has not been the exception. This article analyzes, through the lens of geopolitics and geoeconomics, the main forces behind Mexico's energy reform. We also conclude that external actors are prevailing on the Mexican energy scenario; that Pemex is becoming weaker, not stronger; and that in the midterm the country's energy security will most likely be in the hands of few international oil companies.

ПРОБЛЕМИ ТА ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ РОЗВИТКУ РИНКУ БІОПАЛИВА В УКРАЇНІ

The features of the biofuel market development in Ukraine are studied. It was determined that Ukraine has sufficient resource potential for the production of such main types of biofuels as: rare types of motor fuel (biodiesel and bioethanol), biogas from the processing of agricultural waste and other organic waste, biomass for heat production. When choosing a location for production facilities, it is necessary to focus on the availability of raw materials. The demand for biofuels, both in Ukraine and in the world, exceeds the supply. Therefore, the market is characterized by positive dynamics. The main obstacles to the development of the market are the instability of supply and sales, underdeveloped infrastructure, insufficient investment, and problems with technical equipment. Analyzing the opportunities and threats to the development of bioenergy in Ukraine, it was determined that under the conditions of state support, the benefits of developing biofuels will exceed the possible risks. It is important to create a motivational environment for business entities, to create conditions for predicting the payback periods of investment projects in this area. Prospects for the development of the biofuel market associated with the formation of bioclusters, which will allow systematic interaction between suppliers, producers, sellers and consumers of biofuels. Clusters allow you to obtain synergies from the sharing of resources, production base and infrastructure. The development of the infrastructure of the market under consideration should take place with government assistance and be considered as a strategic direction for enhancing the country's energy security. The development of electronic exchanges for trading biofuel and resources for its production is promising. In this way, the problem of stability in the sale of finished products can be overcome.

Present condition and prospects for Polish coal mining

Coal is the basis of energy production in Poland. Its production, however, has been steadily decreasing. Falling prices on world markets, which make their extraction in Poland, continues to pay off. You can not forget, however, that the country's energy security is based on this raw material all the time. Actions should be taken to limit the cost of extraction. It is necessary to start to use advanced technologies in coal combustion process and be aware of its other applications. With this in mind it is necessary not only to lead efforts to liquidate mines, but also to take corrective actions. Nowadays, coal mining is experiencing a setback. However, the resources that are in Poland do not allow you to abandon this energy source. In the coming years we can expect an increase in demand for coal. Polish power industry in the coming decades will be based, as at present, on carbon. In line with the Polish Energy Policy until 2050 Poland should strive for energy independence and therefore the indigenous resources of coal and lignite will stabilize country's energy security. Consumption of coal will remain at current levels, due to improvements in the efficiency of new generation units. Therefore, the aim of the suggested actions should be providing both the security of energy and the rational use of available resources of coal. Key words: coal, energy, Polish mining.

Efficient Management of Insecure Fossil Fuel Imports through Taxing Domestic Green Energy?

A small open economy produces a consumer good as well as renewable (green) and fossil fuel based (brown) energy. It imports fossil fuel at an uncertain price and suffers from carbon emission damages. Unregulated competitive markets are shown to be inefficient. The implied market failures are due to the agents' attitudes toward risk, to risk shifting, and the uniform price for both types of energy. Under the plausible assumptions that consumers are prudent and at least as risk-averse as the producers of brown energy, the risk can be efficiently managed by placing a tariff on fuel imports (which is equivalent to taxing carbon emissions in the model at hand) and taxing green energy. The need to tax green energy contradicts the widespread view that subsidization of green energy is an appropriate means to enhance energy security in countries depending on risky fossil fuel imports.

Assessment on Egypt's CSP Components Manufacturing Potential

Abstract A previous study of the World Bank assessed the international competitiveness of five MENA countries, where Egypt showed significant potential to develop several key solar industries. The analysis revealed that Egypt's key strengths on production factors are: low cost of labor and of energy for industrial consumers; availability of glass, steel, and stainless steel; and a strong manufacturing capability and that Egypt's planned deployment of solar energy up to 2020 can be a driver. In this paper, current solar component manufacturing value chains and Egypt's industrial base and potential markets to be served are analyzed to identify the value chains in which Egypt's manufacturing sector could participate. Several solar industries (Heat transfer equipment, Pumping equipment, Mirror, Storage tanks, and Structures) are identified as attractive to be developed in Egypt. A solar component manufacturing industry would lower the cost of the solar plants to be built, increase the country's energy security and contribute to regional renewable energy development. Egypt has the opportunity to enlarge its solar component manufacturing base, which, according to the assumptions in this study, would create up to 3,000 jobs, most of them in installation activities. Growing solar component manufactures also would increase GDP by over 300 million US$/year; no shortages of materials supply are expected. Energy, on the other hand, might pose a problem, because some of the proposed industries are energy intensive.

Prospects for Russian–Indian Cooperation in the High North: Actors, Interests, Obstacles

The paper examines emerging prospects for Russia–India cooperation. While the two countries can collaborate in various areas of mutual interest, the paper identifies possible challenges and effects on the cooperation in the Arctic region. The sanctions imposed by the West could impede Russian energy projects in the Arctic. This could force the state to find a way to replace Western technologies through enhancing capacities of national industry and developing cooperation with other states, including Asian countries. This shift is also bolstered by the political interest to strengthen the position of Russia in the Asian region as a whole, and to increase the country's energy security. The paper provides an overview of the Russian and Indian interest and policy in the Arctic, and presents the perspectives and challenges for both countries.

OWNERSHIP OF REFINERY BUSINESS IN CROATIA AND POLAND AS A FACTOR IMPACTING NATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY

The paper gives an analysis of changes in the refinery business ownership structure in two “new” EU members: Poland and Croatia, after their shift to market based economy. The key area of analysis refers to the state control over refinery assets as a tool of national energy security. Refinery sectors in both countries are presented focusing on their respective strengths and weaknesses. Changes in ownership structure of three major players: INA, LOTOS and PKN ORLEN are reviewed in order to establish how they affected sustainability and development of these entities. The paper takes into account not only the interests of Poland and Croatia, but also refers to Hungary, Czech Republic and Lithuania. The analysis was performed with regards to the general trends and expectations in the European refinery sector. Our conclusions indicate that state control over key refinery assets represent a valuable tool for energy policy and, in cases when lost, it has to be compensated by other measures. If refining capacity is left unchecked and uncontrolled energy security of the country is easily threatened. This situation often leads to an almost paradoxical situation where the energy security of individual EU member countries can easily be in conflict with the overall EU energy security policy and guidelines.

Simulating reservoir storage for a wind-hydro hydrid system

A wind-hydro hybrid system is proposed to improve Brazil's use of its renewable energy portfolio. In this scheme, winds from local or remote locations supply extra generation, so that the hydroelectric outflow can be reduced accordingly to wind production. The water savings, in turn, lead to a significant improvement of the reservoir's storage. A simple model is developed and applied to the Itumbiara hydroelectric reservoir of midwest Brazil. Scenarios for different wind contributions are compared to historical observations from 1994 to 2011. Results suggest that, if implemented, the hybrid system should improve the country's energy security. Hydroelectric reservoirs might be able to confront interannual climate variability without risks to the energy supply. A positive impact on the multiple use of reservoirs is expected for fish-farming, irrigation, recreation, navigation and water supply.

Cost and primary energy efficiency of small-scale district heating systems

Efficient district heat production systems (DHSs) can contribute to achieving environmental targets and energy security for countries that have demands for space and water heating. The optimal options for a DHS vary with the environmental and social-political contexts and the scale of district heat production, which further depends on the size of the community served and the local climatic conditions. In this study, we design a small-scale, minimum-cost DHS that produces approximately 100GWhheat per year and estimate the yearly production cost and primary energy use of this system. We consider conventional technologies, such as heat-only boilers, electric heat pumps and combined heat and power (CHP) units, as well as emerging technologies, such as biomass-based organic Rankine cycle (BORC) and solar water heating (SWH). We explore how different environmental and social-political situations influence the design of a minimum-cost DHS and consider both proven and potential technologies for small-scale applications. Our calculations are based on the real heat load duration curve for a town in southern Sweden. We find that the district heat production cost increases and that the potential for cogeneration decreases with smaller district heat production systems. Although the selection of technologies for a minimum-cost DHS depends on environmental and social-political contexts, fewer technical options are suitable for small-scale systems. Emerging technologies such as CHP-BORC and SWH improve the efficiency of primary energy use for heat production, but these technologies are more costly than conventional heat-only boilers. However, systems with combined technologies are less sensitive to fluctuations in fuel prices, specifically the SWH system, compared to technologies based on conventional fuels. Furthermore, increased market penetration of SWH will reduce the investment costs of such systems and, along with expected fuel price increases, SWH may be cost-efficient in DHSs.

Energy security in China: A quantitative analysis and policy implications

This study aims to examine how China's energy security has changed over 30 years of reform and the opening period. It constructs a 4-As quantitative evaluation framework—the availability of energy resources, the applicability of technology, the acceptability by society, and the affordability of energy resources. The quantitative results show that China's energy security was at its best during the sixth FYP period (1981–1985), but then deteriorated until it hit higher levels between 1995 and 2005. However, it was still lower than the level reached during the sixth FYP period. During the eleventh FYP period (2006–2010), the energy security situation deteriorated again. Differences in policy priority over the study period appear to affect the country's energy security status. This study suggests that China needs to develop renewable energy resources on a large scale and pay more attention to emissions control to reverse the downward trend in energy security.

Alternative energy in Israel: opportunities and risks

Unlike other countries in the Middle East, Israel has limited hydrocarbon deposits. Since its founding in 1948 Israel has largely relied on foreign supplies to meet almost all its energy needs. In recent years substantial natural gas deposits have been discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean. These discoveries are likely to fundamentally improve the country's energy security. Equally important, Israel has invested massive efforts and resources to utilize the largely untapped solar and wind power. It has also considered initiating a nuclear power programme. Finally, efforts have been made to raise energy efficiency.

Research Review of Coal Mining on the Coal Village

China is a country with rich coal, coal mining plays an important role in our country's energy security. But at the same time, in support of national progress of energy industry and national economic development, coal mining has caused a lot of damage to the ecological environment and social issues. The exploitation of underground resources not only leaded to the ground the destruction of arable land, but also damaged the ground coal mining under village buildings seriously. This leaded to the farmers of the coal mining under villages lost their survival, caused the contradiction between human and land and the contradiction of the cadres and the masses, causing a group petition and a series of incidents, directly affect sustainable development of the mining area. So according to the particularity of coal mining under villages, in this paper, systematic summary and analysis research of coal mining under village on recent literature ,have very important theoretical significance and social value.

Dependable Capacity Evaluation of Wind Power and Solar Power Generation Systems

Integration of renewable energy sources, such as wind power and solar power, into the generation system can enhance country's energy security. These alternative energy help diversify sources of primary energy used to produce electricity. However, the biggest disadvantage of using these types of renewable energy power plants is that it might reduce power system reliability because these intermittent renewable energy sources have low dependable capacity. This paper aims to evaluate the dependable capacity of wind power and solar power generation systems. It considers uncertainties due to intermittent wind speed, solar irradiance, ambient temperature, and unavailability of their corresponding generators. Additionally, load uncertainty is also taken into account. The dependable capacity of the wind power and solar power generation systems are determined from the principle of generation system reliability evaluation. The reliability index such as Loss of Load Probability (LOLP) will be used as a key indicator to dene the dependable capacity

Next power generation-mix for Bangladesh: Outlook and policy priorities

Abstract Bangladesh's strategy for economic development relies heavily on its energy and power policy, searching for an efficient implementation of planned power generation-mix of gas, oil, coal and hydro. At present, the contribution of gas is around 83% of total power generation, which is much higher than other traditional fuel sources. To reduce this single-source dependency on gas, Bangladesh needs to initiate alternative option to sustain its mid-term power generation-mix in addition to achieve its long-term energy security. Government of Bangladesh has already initiated a new master plan for the development of power generation under fuel-diversification scenario. In this view, local coal production and imported coal would assist the power planners to reduce the sole dependency on gas-driven power plants. In addition, cross-border hydropower import from Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal would also be a vital policy imperative to maintain the country's long-term energy security. Nonetheless, adding extra power to production side is certainly essential, demand side management through efficient energy use and energy conservation could also be of assistance to the release the existing crisis to a greater extent.

Commentary: Powering America with sustainable energy in the 21st century

The United States continues to rely heavily on foreign oil and coal-based electricity for its transportation and power generation needs, respectively. The perennial lack of a national energy policy has deprived the United States of strong direction towards the development of sustainable domestic energy resources, which are abundantly available, enhance the country's energy security, and reduce its carbon footprint. Technology innovation and economies of scale in the last ten years have made wind, solar thermal, biomass, and natural gas viable and cost-competitive alternatives to highly polluting coal. Biomass and natural gas can produce base-load electricity, whereas wind and solar can address peak demand, when combined with fossils or with energy storage systems like batteries. In vehicles, biofuels and electric motors can rather seamlessly replace gasoline and reduce significantly our dependence on foreign oil. While each form of alternative energy has its own advantages, they can all contribute to economic growth in the 21st century by attracting investment, creating jobs, generating tax revenues, and making the entire US economy more sustainable.

Sustainable Technologies for Energy Management to Meet the Coal Demand in the Indian Context

The global energy requirement has grown at a phenomenonal rate and the consumption of primary energy sources has had a very high positive growth. This article focuses on the consumption of different primary energy sources and identifies that coal will continue to remain as the primary energy in the foreseeable future. It examines the energy requirement perspective for India and demand of coal as the primary energy source. Economic development and poverty alleviation depend on securing affordable energy sources and the Indian coal mining industry offers a bright future for the country's energy security, provided the industry is allowed to develop by supportive government policies and adopts the latest technologies for mining. It is ironic that in spite of having plentiful reserves, India is not able to increase coal production to meet its current and future demand. The strategies to be adopted for growth and meeting the coal demand are discussed. But such energy is very much concerned with environmental degradation and must be driven by contemporary managerial acumen addressing environmental and social challenges effectively. The article highlights the emissions of greenhouse gases due to burning of fossil fuels and environmental consequences of global warming and sea-level rise. Environmental laws for the abatement of environmental degradation are discussed in this article.

Korelasi antara Waktu, Ruang, dan Energi dalam Penguatan Ketahanan Energi Nasional

<span><em>This paper attempts to bring up the sense of vital energy in </em><span><em>people's lives. Without a thorough planning, energy could lead a problem to </em><span><em>wildlife as a country's energy security and also could threaten the national </em><span><em>security of countries concerned. Choosing a source of energy for at least three </em><em>factors that must be observed, namely security of supply, pricing (</em>economical price<span><span><span><em>), and the environment that are closely associated with the </em><span><em>dimension of time and space.</em></span></span></span></span></span><br /></span></span></span>