Fuel Electricity Generation Research Articles

Air Pollution In Mid-20Th Century United States: Effects On Infant Mortality And Property Values

This paper studies the local impact of air pollution on infant mortality and housing prices. The empirical analysis relies on the historical expansion in fossil fuel electricity generation from 1938 to 1962, the leading source of domestic coal consumption by the mid-20th century. Combining newly digitized information on plant-level coal consumption with county-level air quality measures and infant mortality rates, we find that increases in coal consumption are associated with higher concentrations of total suspended particulates (TSPs) and increases in infant mortality. Our estimates suggest that the rise in power plant emissions was re- sponsible for an additional 9,486 infant deaths over the sample period. We examine whether these health costs were capitalizated into housing values. Although estimates of the average marginal willingness to pay for clean air are close to zero, there appears to be significant heterogeneity in the housing market response. At low levels of baseline electricity access, thermal power plants are considered an amenity by local residents. As access to electricity expands, the pollution costs overwhelm the benefits of energy production, and the rela- tionship between thermal emissions and housing prices reverses. These results highlight a challenge for current energy policy in the developing world: Given the longevity of electric- ity generation infrastructure, policymakers must take into account both current and future preferences for thermal power when making investment decisions.

Attributional life cycle assessment of mounted 1.8 kWp monocrystalline photovoltaic system with batteries and comparison with fossil energy production system

Abstract The use of renewable technologies will increase with the requirement to meet carbon reduction targets. However, this must be done in a sustainable manner. This paper compares the impact of the current Lebanese electricity system with production of electricity from PV. This is the first paper to look at how the addition of PV to this system, and explores the potential impact. As many electricity networks in the region suffer from similar issues and have similar climates this research will not only inform the Lebanese system, but can be used to influence and inform impacts of other systems. It evaluates the environmental impact, and therefore the actual sustainability, of a 1.8 kWp monocrystalline Photovoltaic (PV) system with and without Lead-Acid batteries (PbA) compared to the existing centralised electricity production mix and decentralised diesel neighbourhood gensets. The analysis is rigorous as it is conducted using the methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA), using the SimaPro software (Ecoinvent 2.2 database) and ReCiPe 2008 method for impact assessment. The environmental impacts of the PV technology are compared to that of the existing fossil fuel electricity generation mix. Results, using the functional unit of 1 kW h, indicate that the PV system, even when equipped with PbA batteries, has a lower environmental burden per delivered output compared to the Lebanese electricity mix, and even more so when decentralised diesel neighbourhood gensets are taken into account. The results of the analysis allows to calculate a series of parameters such as Global Warming Potential (GWP) (0.0402 kg CO 2eq /kW h and 0.0389 kg CO 2eq /kW h), Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) (4.41 MJ/kW h and 4.39 MJ/kW h), Gross Energy Requirement (GER) (1.23 and 1.22), Energy Pay-Back Time (EPBT) (16.9 years and 16.1 years), Carbon Dioxide Pay-Back Time (CO 2eq PBT) (3.52 years and 3.21 years), and Net Energy Ratio (NER) (1.48 and 1.55) for the PV system with and without PbA batteries.

A study of bovine and human carbonic anhydrases as a model enzyme system for CO2 hydration in post combustion capture

The Post Combustion Capture (PCC) process is currently the most applicable and effective approach to reduce emissions of CO2 from fossil fuel electricity generation. If the rate of CO2 hydration can be accelerated, the size of the absorber column can be reduced accordingly. Carbonic anhydrase type II (CAII), being one of the most active enzymes known for the reaction of CO2 with H2O, is a promising catalyst for CO2 absorption in aqueous solution for PCC application. In this study, the catalytic efficiencies of human (hCAII), wild type bovine (wtbCAII), and a series of wtbCAIIs (bCAM1–bCAM9) structurally modified in an attempt to improve thermal and salt stability were determined by stopped-flow spectrophotometry at 25°C. wtbCAII and hCAII were found to have the highest activity for the hydration of CO2 while bCAM9 was the least efficient catalyst (catalytic rate constants of 1.198(6)×108, 1.14(1)×108 and 0.77(2)×108M−1s−1, respectively). The remaining mutants have similar catalytic efficiencies for CO2 hydration and fall in the range of 8.63(6)×107–1.072(2)×108M−1s−1. In addition to these results, this study also verifies the analytical method developed for the study of enzymatic systems.

Uncertainty in energy planning: Estimating the health impacts of air pollution from fossil fuel electricity generation

Costs of external effects such as health impacts of energy production are not reflected in market prices and as a result are often not taken into account during strategic energy planning. Computationally efficient, reduced-form models that estimate the health impact of air pollution from fossil fuel fired electricity generation can reduce the time and resources needed to analyze policy alternatives. Such models are currently being used for preliminary screening, retrospective studies, as well as in comprehensive multi-pollutant economy-wide approaches. One challenge faced by energy planners concerned with lowering emissions, particularly those using integrated multi-model frameworks for analysis, lies in the trade-off between the uncertainty associated with reduced-form air quality models and the need for sophisticated photochemical modeling that can be prohibitively time and resource intensive.

Thermokinetic properties and performance evaluation of benzylamine-based solvents for CO2 capture

Carbon dioxide (CO2) post combustion capture and storage is the most mature technology option for the mitigation of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel electricity generation. Typically CO2 separation at low pressure is achieved by reactive chemical absorption using aqueous amines. In this work benzylamine (BZA) has been assessed in terms of the chemical and physical properties relevant for its application as an aqueous amine CO2 absorbent. BZA was found to have similar reaction kinetics with CO2 to monoethanolamine (MEA) (kcarb=7600M−1s−1 at 35°C and Ea=38kJmol−1) and similar carbamate stability but with a ∼40% larger enthalpy of protonation. It was also found to be less corrosive and have lower viscosity and heat capacity. Significant performance gains relative to MEA 30wt% were predicted by using BZA in a formulation with either MEA or 2-amino-2-methyl-1-proponal (AMP) with predicted reductions in reboiler duty up to 13%, improvements in mass transfer up to 20% and low corrosion potential.

Proximity and journalistic practice in environmental discourse: Experiencing ‘job blackmail’ in the news

The shift from coal to natural gas to fuel electricity generation has positive (environmental) and negative (economic) consequences for people in the affected areas of the US. Representations of the situation in the media shape how citizens understand and respond to it. We explore the role of proximity in media discourse about the closing of a coal-fired power plant near Waynesburg, a small city in a Pennsylvania coal-mining region. Comparing reporting in smaller-circulation newspapers closer to the site with reporting in larger-circulation regional newspapers, we find that Waynesburg-area papers simply describe the events leading to the closure while regional papers analyze the events in larger contexts, and that politicians, not the plant owners, are represented as blaming environmentalists for job loss. Our findings point to the importance of proximity in environmental discourse and to the need to examine not only what kinds of discourse circulate, but also how and to whom.

Integrated Resource Planning for Long-term Electricity Supply in Selected GMS Countries, Part 1:Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

The scarcity of fossil fuel to supply the high growth in energy demand in the selected Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is leading to the concern about future electricity supply. The effect of the high fossil fuel price on the global market would lead to limitation in economic development in this region. In 2007, most countries in the selected GMS, namely Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, used abundant fossil fuels in electricity generation. Fossil fuels used in power generation accounted for 90%, 85%, 60%, and 1.5% in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, respectively. This study includes the integrated resource planning (IRP) concept into the long-term power planning. IRP is the most appropriate approach that applied to both demand and supply sides. To curb the high growth in electricity demand, the demand-side management options are taken into account. To reduce the high dependency on imported fossil fuel, the domestic renewable energy resources and reduction in transmission and distribution losses are introduced. Results of this study were analyzed by using the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning system model. Results reveal that under the IRP concept, the selected GMS countries could save the installed power capacity of 5,780 MW by 2030.

Short and long-term carbon balance of bioenergy electricity production fueled by forest treatments.

BackgroundForests store large amounts of carbon in forest biomass, and this carbon can be released to the atmosphere following forest disturbance or management. In the western US, forest fuel reduction treatments designed to reduce the risk of high severity wildfire can change forest carbon balance by removing carbon in the form of biomass, and by altering future potential wildfire behavior in the treated stand. Forest treatment carbon balance is further affected by the fate of this biomass removed from the forest, and the occurrence and intensity of a future wildfire in this stand. In this study we investigate the carbon balance of a forest treatment with varying fates of harvested biomass, including use for bioenergy electricity production, and under varying scenarios of future disturbance and regeneration.ResultsBioenergy is a carbon intensive energy source; in our study we find that carbon emissions from bioenergy electricity production are nearly twice that of coal for the same amount of electricity. However, some emissions from bioenergy electricity production are offset by avoided fossil fuel electricity emissions. The carbon benefit achieved by using harvested biomass for bioenergy electricity production may be increased through avoided pyrogenic emissions if the forest treatment can effectively reduce severity.ConclusionForest treatments with the use of harvested biomass for electricity generation can reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere by offsetting fossil fuel electricity generation emissions, and potentially by avoided pyrogenic emissions due to reduced intensity and severity of a future wildfire in the treated stand. However, changes in future wildfire and regeneration regimes may affect forest carbon balance and these climate-induced changes may influence forest carbon balance as much, or more, than bioenergy production.

Electricity generation and microbial community in microbial fuel cell using low-pH distillery wastewater at different external resistances

Single chamber MFC (SMFC) consisted of two separator-electrode assemblies (SEA) using low-pH distillery wastewater (DW) was operated under continuous mode. The electricity generation and microbial community were analyzed according to the external resistance (Rext; 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 5kΩ). The two SEAs exhibited different electricity generations, despite sharing the same anodic chamber. The SMFC showed the largest maximum power density (PDmax) of 3.7W/m3 (SEA 1) and 12.9W/m3 (SEA 2) at 5kΩ. These results demonstrated that low-pH wastewater could be sufficiently used as fuels for electricity generation. Pyrosequencing analysis showed that microbial communities at the phylum level were significantly different according to the Rext. The communities of SEA 1 were slightly different from those of SEA 2. In both SEAs, Firmicutes (>45%) were the most dominant at 0.1kΩ, while Firmicutes (>34%) and Caldiserica (>34%) were dominant at 5kΩ. Caldiserica sp. might significantly contribute to electricity generation under low-pH and high-Rext.

The effect of size-control policy on unified energy and carbon efficiency for Chinese fossil fuel power plants

This paper examines the effect of size control policy on the energy and carbon efficiency for Chinese fossil fuel power industry. For this purpose, we propose two non-radial directional distance functions for energy/carbon efficiency analysis of fossil fuel electricity generation. One is named a total-factor directional distance function that incorporates the inefficiency of all input and output factors to measure the unified (operational and environmental) efficiency of fossil fuel power plants, and the other is called an energy–environmental directional distance function that can be used to measure the energy–environmental performance of fossil fuel electric power plants. Several standardized indicators for measuring unified efficiency and energy–environmental performance are derived from the two directional distance functions. An empirical study of 252 fossil fuel power plants in China is conducted by using the proposed approach. Our empirical results show that there exists a significant positive relationship between the plant size and unified efficiency, the five state-owned companies show lower unified efficiency and energy–environmental performance than other companies. It is suggested that Chinese government might need to consider private incentives and deregulation for its state-owned enterprises to improve their performance proactively.

The role of energy storage in accessing remote wind resources in the Midwest

Replacing current generation with wind energy would help reduce the emissions associated with fossil fuel electricity generation. However, integrating wind into the electricity grid is not without cost. Wind power output is highly variable and average capacity factors from wind farms are often much lower than conventional generators. Further, the best wind resources with highest capacity factors are often located far away from load centers and accessing them therefore requires transmission investments. Energy storage capacity could be an alternative to some of the required transmission investment, thereby reducing capital costs for accessing remote wind farms. This work focuses on the trade-offs between energy storage and transmission. In a case study of a 200MW wind farm in North Dakota to deliver power to Illinois, we estimate the size of transmission and energy storage capacity that yields the lowest average cost of generating and delivering electricity ($/MWh) from this farm. We find that transmission costs must be at least $600/MW-km and energy storage must cost at most $100/kWh in order for this application of energy storage to be economical.

Innovations in financing that drive cost parity for long-term electricity sustainability: An assessment of Italy, Europe's fastest growing solar photovoltaic market

Subsidy programs, such as feed-in tariffs, designed to make renewable technologies cost competitive with fossil fuels in electricity generation, have been effective in a number of nations. However, these subsidies can become very costly and they raise questions whether there are fair conditions for competition for different energy sources. As a result even effective programs face an uncertain future, changes in political support following the financial crises in Europe and the United States have demonstrated. In the case of solar photovoltaic energy, cost declines resulting from market-expansion schemes and the overall reductions in the price of photovoltaic cells have been significant particularly over the past decade. Yet, they have still left solar power up to 50% more expensive than conventional options. As an alternative in this paper we describe a financing tool based on a pollution abatement methodology. In developing this levelized cost of electricity framework we build a methodology to examine, and then utilize, the social costs and impacts of energy generation technologies. We find that as a means to bridge the cost gap between current conventional energy process and retail solar energy, a program based on a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loan program would, in the short-term, be an effective tool to accelerate grid parity between solar and conventional energy generation and in the long-term provides a theoretically and financially sound alternative to subsidy-based incentives.

An Alternative Pathway for Stimulating Regional Deployment of Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

Abstract Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture and storage (CCS) is a key climate mitigation technology that can global CO 2 emissions by thousands of megatonnes of CO 2 annually. CCS is almost certainly required, along with a wide portfolio of other technologies in an “all of the above” strategy, to achieve the reductions in global CO 2 emissions necessary to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of CO 2 . Despite many high-profile demonstration projects, commercial-scale CCS deployment is still impeded by multiple issues including economic viability, public awareness and acceptance, and regulation and permitting. Developing a large-scale, highly visible and economically feasible CCS network—in addition to existing investment approaches— will be required to overcome these barriers to widespread CCS adoption. We propose a pathway to an integrated CCS network that connects multiple industrial CO 2 sources and geologic storage reservoirs using existing CCS technologies. Specifically, we propose that such a network could utilize CO 2 emissions from ethylene manufacturing for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, creating a regional ethylene:CO 2 -EOR network. The ethylene market presents several key advantages for capturing CO 2 : ethylene is a high-value chemical with a price that can readily absorb capture costs (unlike fossil fuel electricity generation), ethylene sources are both closely clustered and emit a large volume of CO 2 , and existing capture technology is cost-competitive when coupled with nearby EOR reservoirs. Our analysis describes the techno-economic potential of CO 2 capture and EOR, the potential policy implications, and how the ethylene industry could be an ideal first-mover for jumpstarting commercial-scale CCS operations. As part of this analysis we identify the costs and CO 2 flows for ethylene production and EOR across the Gulf Coast region. We introduce the concepts of “byproduct CO 2” (CO 2 as a byproduct or waste stream from an existing industry such as power generation) and “extracted CO 2” (naturally-occurring CO 2 extracted from subsurface reservoirs for EOR); extracted CO 2 cannot decrease the carbon footprint of oil production, unlike byproduct CO 2 . We also suggest ethylene:CO 2 -EOR as a blueprint for other regional-scale byproduct CO 2 -EOR projects such as the Alberta oil sands, Marcellus and other U.S. shale fields, and large-scale coal-to-liquid and coal-to-chemical operations in China.

Too little, too early: California’s transient advantage in the photovoltaic solar industry

Throughout its brief history, California has established itself as a national or international leader in key industries—such as aerospace, computing and entertainment—through early mover pre-emption and strong clustering effects. California firms were the initial world leaders in producing photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and dominated the initial aerospace niche market. However, these early efforts failed to create a durable cluster, and when the U.S. market lost interest in renewable energy during the 1990s, California firms were largely surpassed by Japanese, German and Chinese producers that focused on the mass market of using PV to displace fossil fuels for electricity generation. This paper reviews the history of the California PV producers in three phases: aerospace niche markets of the 1950s and 1960s, a brief policy-induced effort at electricity generation in the 1980s, and a twenty first century resurgence fueled by Silicon Valley venture capital. It then discusses why the early entry of the California firms failed to translate to sustained advantage for the firms or the region.

The complex future of CO2 capture and storage: Variable electricity generation and fossil fuel power

Fossil fuels are an integral part of the US energy portfolio, playing a prominent role for current and future domestic energy security. A sustainable, low-carbon future will require CO2 to be captured from major coal and natural gas power plants. However, fossil fuel electricity generation CO2 emissions are typically highly variable throughout each day with daily generation profiles varying greatly between plants. We demonstrate that understanding this variability is absolutely critical for setting a suitable carbon price as well as identifying if and how much CO2 a power plant will capture. For example, we show that a CO2 emissions price (or tax) of anywhere between $85/tCO2 and $135/tCO2 will be required to incentivize a gas power plant to manage all its capturable CO2; this range is solely due to differences in CO2 emissions profile. Further, we show that the setting a carbon price is very sensitive to system-wide costs including the CO2 value for enhanced oil recovery and, in particular, the costs for CO2 transport and storage. We also find that, even though coal-fired plants are more CO2-intensive and thus incur greater CO2 management costs, coal plants require a significantly lower carbon price ($15/tCO2 lower) in order to encourage CO2 capture. We conclude that integrating fossil fuel power, particularly natural gas, into a large-scale CO2 capture and storage system is a complex problem that will require detailed research and modeling.

Wisconsin Energy Corporation: Case Study Of Corporate Social Responsibility

Increasing by approximately 32% a year globally over the last five years, wind energy has proven to be a clean, abundant, and cost effective renewable source of energy. Wind energy is an important part of the strategy to replace fossil fuel electricity generation. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas currently generate over 70% of the power consumed in North America. The dramatic increase in the cost for fossil fuels and the growing pressure on the world's nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have combined to position wind power as the world’s fastest growing new source of electricity generation. This case study discusses a major producer of America’s wind energy, Wisconsin Energy Corporation (WEC), and their strategies and commitments to alternative energy and a more sustainable future. The company’s “triple bottom line” including economic, social, and environmental benefits will also be evaluated.

Energy efficiency, CO2 emission performance and technology gaps in fossil fuel electricity generation in Korea: A meta-frontier non-radial directional distance functionanalysis

This paper proposes a meta-frontier non-radial directional distance function to model energy and CO2 emission performance in electricity generation. This approach allows for the consideration of the group heterogeneity of electricity generation, non-radial slacks, and undesirable outputs simultaneously. We extend several standardized indices to measure total-factor energy efficiency, CO2 emission performance, and technology gaps in electricity generation. We estimate the potential reductions in energy use and CO2 emissions under different technology assumptions. We conduct an empirical analysis of fossil fuel electricity generation in Korea by using the proposed approach. The results indicate that coal-fired power plants show higher levels of total-factor energy efficiency and CO2 emission performance than oil-fired ones. Under the meta-frontier technology assumption, coal-fired power plants show a smaller technology gap than oil-fired ones. This suggests that the Korean government should promote technological innovation to reduce technology gaps for oil-fired plants, thereby improving energy and CO2 emission performance and meeting emission reduction targets in the electricity generation industry.

Technological Change, Fuel Efficiency and Carbon Intensity in Electricity Generation: A Cross-Country Empirical Study

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the determinants of energy efficiency in fossil fuel electricity generation across 28 OECD countries over the period 1981-2006, with particular attention to the role played by technological development and the availability of energy efficient technologies in the market. This contribution is novel in three respects: first, empirically assess the effects of different determinants of energy efficiency, which include the input mix in electricity generation, the capacity ratio at which power plants are run, as well as the characteristics of the production technology. Second, we focus on the role of technological availability: using patent data for carefully selected innovations in fossil-fuel technologies, we build an indicator which proxies for technological developments in fuel-efficient electricity generation. Third, by formalizing the relationship between fuel efficiency and carbon intensity, we assess the impact of changes in the input mix and in technological availability on CO2 emissions in the electricity sector. Results show that input mix, capacity utilization and new investment in capacity play a significant role in increasing energy efficiency. Increasing the stock of available technologies (or stock of knowledge) is also associated with higher efficiency levels. Given the link between increased efficiency and lower CO2 emissions, we conclude that technological change has a negative and significant effect on carbon intensity, while the changing input mix affects CO2 intensity both through an increase in efficiency as well as by lowering the input-weighted emission factor.

Electricity industry reforms in Thailand: an analysis of productivity

PurposeIn the early 1990s, the Thai government initiated a process of reform of the electricity industry with the argument that such reform would improve the performance of the industry and contribute to enhancing the overall economic prosperity. The purpose of this paper is to examine the veracity of this argument by analysing both the technical and environmental performance of the Thai electricity industry.Design/methodology/approachA data envelopment analysis‐based methodology is employed in this study to measure the productivity of the Thai electricity industry, for the period 1980‐2006. This method enables the decomposition of productivity changes into technical and efficiency changes, and hence enables one to determine if changes in productivity are due to electricity reform (efficiency gains) or due to autonomous technological improvements.FindingsThe study reveals that the increase in the productivity of the Thai electricity industry over the period 1980‐2006 was mainly driven by technological improvements and that industry reform has had insignificant impact on productivity. Further, the impacts of electricity reform on the environment appear to be relatively modest – this too was driven by government regulation that supports the use of less environmentally detrimental fuels for electricity generation by the private producers, rather than electricity reform.Originality/valueThe analysis in this paper contributes to the literature on productivity and efficiency, by applying the DEA method to a time series data for a single industry. Additionally, the analysis of environmental performance of the Thai electricity industry – to the best of knowledge of the authors – is the first of its kind for the Thai electricity industry.

Evaluation of full-strength paper mill effluent for electricity generation in mediator-less microbial fuel cells

In the search for renewable, sustainable and affordable energy sources, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer the advantage of a biological oxidation of pollutants to the direct generation of electricity by microorganisms. We thus examined the biodegradability and suitability of unamended paper mill effluent for power production in MFCs. In addition, an investigation of the response from indigenous waste microbes upon introduction of an exogenous Enterobacter cloacae culture was performed. Unamended effluent alone reached a substrate degradation rate (SDR) of 0.112 kg COD/m 3 day and 29.4 ± 2.4% total chemical oxygen demand (tCOD) removal, the power density peaked at 24 ± 3 mW/m 2 and 47.7% glucose increase at the termination of the reactor cycle after 12 ± 3 days. The introduction of E. cloacae in separate setups lowered electricity generation, but benefited remediation, power density decreased to 13 ± 2 mW/m 2 whereas the SDR increased to 0.257 kg COD/m 3 day. Also, there was 44.1% glucose removal in the presence of E. cloacae . It was concluded that unamended paper mill effluent can fuel electricity generation in MFCs with its concomitant remediation. The addition of E. cloacae to live paper mill effluent may be antagonistic in terms of electricity generation. Key words: Microbial fuel cells, paper mill effluent, bioremediation, substrate degradation rate, wastewater, renewable energy, electricity.