Energy Supply Infrastructure Research Articles

Terrorist targeting and energy security

Sudden, short-term disruptions seriously endangering energy security can be triggered by a variety of events—among them attacks by terrorists. This study investigates terrorist attack practices against energy infrastructures and discusses how we may understand them. Our results indicate that attacks against energy infrastructures are comparatively few. Also, we find no strong connection between the ideologies of various terrorist groups and their proclivity to attack. In addition, the highly disproportionate number of attacks in a handful of countries highlights the strong geographic concentration of attacks. To explain these findings, we analyze terrorist targeting incentives including intimidation levels, symbolism, attack feasibility, and concerns for stakeholders. We argue that terrorists in general have comparatively few incentives to attack energy supply infrastructures based on our assessment of these factors. Moreover, higher levels of terrorist incidents in states more prone to internal violent conflict may suggest stronger incentives to attack energy infrastructures. When outlining energy security policies, the low frequency of worldwide attacks coupled with the high concentration of attacks in certain unstable countries should be taken into consideration. Energy importing countries could benefit from developing strategies to increase stability in key energy supply and/or transit countries facing risks of internal instability.

Alarming visual display monitors affecting shower end use water and energy conservation in Australian residential households

Sustainable urban water consumption has become a critical issue in Australian built environments due to the country's dry climate and increasingly variable rainfall. Residential households have the potential to conserve water, especially across discretionary end uses such as showering. The advent of high resolution smart meters and data loggers allows for the disaggregation of water flow recordings into a registry of water end use events (e.g. showers, washing machine and taps). This study firstly reports on a water consumption end use study sample of 151 households conducted in the Gold Coast, Australia, with a focus on daily per capita shower end use distributions. A sub-sample of 44 households within the greater sample was recruited for the installation of an alarming visual display monitor locked at 40 L consumption for bathroom showers. All sub-sample shower end use event durations, volumes and flow rates were then analysed and compared utilising independent sample t-tests pre- and post-intervention. The installation of the shower monitor instigated a statistically significant mean reduction of 15.40 L (27%) in shower event volumes. Monetary savings resulting from modelled water and energy conservation resulted in a 1.65-year payback period for the device. Furthermore, conservative modelling indicated that the citywide implementation of the device could yield 3% and 2.4% savings in total water and energy consumption, respectively. Moreover, a range of non-monetary benefits were identified, including the deferment of water and energy supply infrastructure, reduced resource inflationary pressures, and climate change mitigation, to name a few. Resource consumption awareness devices like the one evaluated in this study assist resource consumers to take ownership of their usage and individually tackle individualistic and/or society driven conservation goals, ultimately helping to reduce the ecological footprint of built environments.

Optimal Renewable Resources Mix for Distribution System Energy Loss Minimization

It is widely accepted that renewable energy sources are the key to a sustainable energy supply infrastructure since they are both inexhaustible and nonpolluting. A number of renewable energy technologies are now commercially available, the most notable being wind power, photovoltaic, solar thermal systems, biomass, and various forms of hydraulic power. In this paper, a methodology has been proposed for optimally allocating different types of renewable distributed generation (DG) units in the distribution system so as to minimize annual energy loss. The methodology is based on generating a probabilistic generation-load model that combines all possible operating conditions of the renewable DG units with their probabilities, hence accommodating this model in a deterministic planning problem. The planning problem is formulated as mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP), with an objective function for minimizing the system's annual energy losses. The constraints include the voltage limits, the feeders' capacity, the maximum penetration limit, and the discrete size of the available DG units. This proposed technique has been applied to a typical rural distribution system with different scenarios, including all possible combinations of the renewable DG units. The results show that a significant reduction in annual energy losses is achieved for all the proposed scenarios.

Analysis of Long-Term Plan for Energy Supply System for Latvia that is 100% Based on the Use of Local Energy Resources

Analysis of Long-Term Plan for Energy Supply System for Latvia that is 100% Based on the Use of Local Energy Resources The prices of fossil energy resources are expected to rise substantially in the future, therefore fossil energy resources might not be a feasible energy source for Latvia in the long term. The establishment of a fully self-sufficient energy supply system will require a significant transformation of the existing energy supply and transport infrastructure. Early planning of such a system makes it possible to shape development of the existing energy system in order to achieve that goal of a fully self-sufficient energy supply system. The paper shows a potential solution to establish an energy and transport system solely based on the domestic primary resources by the year 2050.

The impact of sustainable energy production on land use in Britain through to 2050

Historically, land use in Britain has been shaped by the environment's capacity to provide energy as well as food, water and shelter. Over the next decades, energy will again become a major driver in land cover change as we seek to capture the necessary energy to replace fossil fuels, reduce environmental damage and substitute for insecure supplies. Britain was one of the first places to exploit fossil fuels extensively, initially coal, and it has the potential to generate considerable amounts of renewable energy from tides, waves, the wind, biomass and sunlight. The UK Government's policy is to develop a suite of technologies that will provide a resilient supply without compromising its economy or its international commitments to environmental protection. This paper examines the three major terrestrial options for renewable energy and assesses each by successively filtering them for feasibility, achievability and practicality incorporating existing developments, designation and public opinion. Technology and opinion are dynamic, so the outputs need to be viewed as indicative of alternative scenarios rather than as fixed forecasts. Implications for changes in the energy supply infrastructure needed to match the new supply chains are highlighted. The demand for energy depends on the demographic profile (population size, age distribution, lifestyle and expectations) and on economic activity. Here total demand is predicted using the UK Energy Research Centre's Energy 2050 model, which uses linear programming to balance economics and environmental capacity by major demand sectors in five-year time steps. The core model often generates challenging results.

Energy efficiency: how far does it get us in controlling climate change?

The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has served as a landmark document to influence humanity’s battle against climate change. It was the AR4 that first declared that there is a “very high confidence” that “the global average net effect of human activities” since the industrial revolution “has been one of warming”, and that warming of the climate system is by now “unequivocal”(IPCC 2007a). In addition, it established that most of the observed increase in global average temperatures in the last five decades is very likely due to anthropogenic influence, i.e. to the observed human-caused increase in greenhouse gas concentrations. Depending on the rate of change in greenhouse gas emissions, global mean temperature will continue to rise between 1°C and 6°C as compared to 1990–2000 levels (IPCC 2007a). The IPCC AR4 and several other studies published thereafter have clearly demonstrated that with warming of several degrees above current levels, dramatic ecological, agricultural, economic and social damages will be happening (IPCC 2007b; SEG 2007; Stern 2006). The AR4 has identified the emission reductions needed to stabilize warming at certain levels (Fig. 1, IPCC 2007c). The figure demonstrates that in order to cap warming at a level such as the one defined by the European Union and the UN Scientific Expert Group on Climate Change (European Commission 2007; SEG 2007), i.e. at 2 C above pre-industrial levels, the task is huge. In order to stay below this temperature level, global CO2 emissions will need to peak before 2015, and they will need to be reduced by 50–85% of their 2000 levels by 2050 (see Fig. 1), as compared to the 25–90% increase projected for 2030 if no further climate measures are taken (IPCC 2007c). Even to meet a 2.4–2.8°C warming target level, they still need to be reduced by 30–60%. When one considers the significant challenges governments have gone through in order to meet their 0–8% reduction targets as mandated by the Kyoto Protocol, reductions in the order of 50–85% seem undoable at first sight. However, another very important finding of the Fourth Assessment report is that “the range of stabilization levels assessed can be achieved by deployment of a portfolio of technologies that are currently available and those that are expected to be commercialized in coming decades”. The reason is that over a period of 40 years replacing the existing energy supply infrastructure with low carbon energy sources and a large part of the transportation system, building stock and industrial equipment with highly efficient alternatives is feasible, while short term changes are much more difficult Energy Efficiency (2009) 2:87–94 DOI 10.1007/s12053-009-9049-7

Automated Buildings as Active Energy Consumers

This paper discusses the role of buildings as active consumers in electrical power grids, with a focus on concepts and implementation possibilities (here: BACnet, ZigBee). In recent years, the idea of energy management using building automation came again into the focus of attention in the light of CO 2 reduction policies and the increasing need to reduce energy consumption. Large functional buildings hold a significant share in total energy demand, so it is promising to make use of existing automation infrastructures to increase energy efficiency in buildings. Energy savings can however not only be achieved in the building itself, but also by optimizing the interaction between the building and the energy supply infrastructure, mainly the electrical power grid. Instead of being passive energy consumers, buildings have the ability to shift energy consumption in time and therefore can act as active consumers, supporting the power grid and integration of renewables.

Lessons from the 2003 heat wave: a French perspective

What was learned from the extreme heat wave in Europe that occurred in summer 2003 causing 14 800 deaths in France and many more elsewhere? With the perspective of three years after the event, an emphasis is placed on the readiness of society in the case of a similar climatic event. Using 2003 recorded data and subsequent analyses, the paper addresses several components of social readiness for extreme heat waves: the thermal quality of the built environment at the scale of individual buildings as well the urban surroundings; the inhabitants' behaviour in managing indoor comfort; the consequences of clay soil subsidence; and the market boom for air-conditioning and the subsequent increased load placed upon the impaired capacity of the electricity supply system. These are specific instances of the following three general categories of climate impact: direct impacts on the population; impacts on the energy supply infrastructure; and impacts on buildings. Action plans that were proposed by several public authorities all aim at creating a better anticipation and coordination. The analysis of these decisions and their test during a heat wave in 2005 demonstrate the benefits of the integration of the proposed measures. Qu'avons-nous appris de la canicule qui a sévi en Europe durant l'été 2003 et qui a fait 14 800 victimes en France et encore plus ailleurs? Trois ans après, l'accent est mis sur la question de la préparation de la société en cas de phénomène climatique similaire. S'appuyant sur des données enregistrées en 2003 et sur leur analyse, l'auteur aborde plusieurs aspects de cette question: les caractéristiques thermiques du cadre bâti, qu'il s'agisse du logement ou de l'environnement urbain, l'aptitude des habitants à gérer l'ambiance thermique de leur logement, les conséquences de la subsidence des sols argileux et l'envol du marché de la climatisation avec pour corollaire une forte demande d'électricité imposée à un système de production lui-même perturbé par la vague de chaleur. Ce sont là des exemples spécifiques des trois grandes catégories d'impacts du climat: impact direct sur la population, impact sur l'infrastructure d'alimentation en énergie et impact sur les bâtiments. Les plans d'action proposés par plusieurs organismes publics visent à mieux anticiper ces phénomènes et à assurer la coordination des actions. L'analyse de ces décisions et leur mise à l'épreuve durant une vague de chaleur en 2005 démontrent l'intérêt de l'intégration des mesures proposées. Mots clés: parc immobilier, impacts du changement climatique, phénomènes extrêmes, vague de chaleur, impacts sur l'homme, santé publique, politique publique, réduction des risques

A novel process integration, optimization and design approach for large-scale implementation of oxy-fired coal power plants with CO 2 capture

The widespread use of fossil fuels within the current energy infrastructure is considered as the largest source of anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide, which is largely blamed for global warming and climate change. At the current state of development, the risks and costs of non-fossil energy alternatives, such as nuclear, biomass, solar, and wind energy, are so high that they cannot replace the entire share of fossil fuels in the near future timeframe. Additionally, any rapid change towards non-fossil energy sources, even if possible, would result in large disruptions to the existing energy supply infrastructure. As an alternative, the existing and new fossil fuel-based plants can be modified or designed to be either “capture” or “capture-ready” plants in order to reduce their emission intensity through the capture and permanent storage of carbon dioxide in geological formations. This would give the coal-fired power generation units the option to sustain their operations for longer time, while meeting the stringent environmental regulations on air pollutants and carbon emissions in years to come. Currently, there are three main approaches to capturing CO 2 from the combustion of fossil fuels, namely, pre-combustion capture, post-combustion capture, and oxy-fuel combustion. Among these technology options, oxy-fuel combustion provides an elegant approach to CO 2 capture. In this approach, by replacing air with oxygen in the combustion process, a CO 2-rich flue gas stream is produced that can be readily compressed for pipeline transport and storage. In this paper, we propose a new approach that allows air to be partially used in the oxy-fired coal power plants. In this novel approach, the air can be used to carry the coal from the mills to the boiler (similar to the conventional air-fired coal power plants), while O 2 is added to the secondary recycle flow as well as directly to the combustion zone (if needed). From a practical point of view, this approach eliminates problems with the primary recycle and also lessens concerns about the air leakage into the system. At the same time, it allows the boiler and its back-end piping to operate under slight suction; this avoids the potential danger to the plant operators and equipment due to possible exposure to hot combustion gases, CO 2 and particulates. As well, by integrating oxy-fuel system components and optimizing the overall process over a wide range of operating conditions, an optimum or near-optimum design can be achieved that is both cost-effective and practical for large-scale implementation of oxy-fired coal power plants.

Climate sensitivity uncertainty and the necessity to transform global energy supply

This paper analyses the policy relevance of the dominant uncertainty in our current scientific understanding of the terrestrial climate system, and provides further evidence for the need to radically transform—this century—our global energy supply infrastructure, given the global average temperature increase as a result of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. We investigate the effect on required CO 2 emission reduction efforts, both in terms of how much and when, of our present uncertain knowledge of the climate sensitivity to a doubling of the atmospheric CO 2 concentration. We use a top–down integrated assessment model in which there are two competing energy sources, fossil and non-fossil. Technological change is represented endogenously through learning curves, and modest but non-zero demand exists for the relatively expensive carbon-free energy resource. We find that during the forthcoming two decades the relative roles of carbon-free energy and energy savings are similar, while in the long run the importance of carbon-free energy deployment becomes predominant, independent of the assumed climate sensitivity, but dependent on some of our model's characteristic features. We also find that, in the absence of the realisation of drastic energy efficiencies or a massive deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies, non-carbon energy resources should provide 10–30% and 80–90% of total energy supply, in 2020 and 2100, respectively. Finally, we observe that in our model the timing of the emissions reduction effort is nearly linear and close to independent of either the climate sensitivity or policy target.

Obtaining drinking water using solar electrodialysis

This paper shows the main worldwide experiments in PV powered electrodialysis plants and analyses possible applications of such systems in the Brazilian Northeast region. The use of PV arrays to power electrodialysis plants for desalination of brackish water from deep wells makes sense in arid and semiarid regions. In such areas there is often an inadequate water and energy supply infrastructure along with favorable levels of solar radiation for electric generation, as is the case of the Brazilian Northeast region.

1203 都市におけるエネルギー供給インフラストラクチャーの最適計画(GS-12 設計工学(1))

1203 都市におけるエネルギー供給インフラストラクチャーの最適計画(GS-12 設計工学(1))

Fuel cells – a 21st century power system

Fuel cells have been applied for practical power generation in spacecraft since the first manned flight. Because of their wide range of potentially attractive characteristics and supported by the oil shocks of the 1970s as well as growing environmental concerns, their development for terrestrial applications has been pursued ever since. Today the first wide-spread demonstrations are taking place. This paper will give a review of the principles, characteristics, construction, system lay-outs and development status of fuel cells. The prospects for integration in energy supply infrastructures and further commercialisation will be discussed.

The influence of transport and energy supply infrastructure on regional development in Slovenia

The influence of transport and energy supply infrastructure on regional development in Slovenia

A Global and Long-Range Picture of Energy Developments

Most studies of energy supply and demand ignore either global inter-dependence or the long time spans necessary to adjust to new energy sources. The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis has therefore studied on a global scale, for seven major world regions, the balance between energy supply and demand for the next 50 years. Reported here are the results for two benchmark scenarios. In the "low" scenario world energy consumption increases from today's 8.2 terawatt-year per year to 22 terawatt-year per year in 2030; in the "high" scenario, consumption increases to 35 terawatt-year per year. The study showed that time will be the limiting constraint in adapting the energy supply infrastructure to changing resource availability; resources will be available until the second half of the next century, but a strong shift will be required to low-grade fossil fuels such as shale oil and tar sands. Each scenario studied indicated increased environmental problems associated with increased use of fossil fuels, and potential geopolitical problems associated with the world distribution of resources.