Renewable Economy Research Articles

Sustainable co-production of food and solar power to relax land-use constraints

Renewable energy could often be land constrained by the diffuse nature of renewable resources. To relax land constraints, we propose the concept of ‘aglectric’ farming, where agricultural land will be sustainably shared for food and energy co-production. While wind turbines on agricultural land are already put into practice, solar power production on agricultural land is still under research. Here, we propose photovoltaic systems that are suitable for installation on agricultural land. Adjusting the intensity, spectral distribution and duration of shading allows innovative photovoltaic systems to achieve significant power generation without potentially diminishing agricultural output. The feasibility of solar aglectric farms has been proven through shadow modelling. The proposed solar aglectric farms—used alone or in combination with regular solar parks or wind plants—could be a solution for a sustainable renewable economy that supports the ‘full Earth’ of over 10 billion people. Diffusion of renewable energy technologies can be constrained by alternative land uses. Here the authors propose the idea of ‘aglectric’ farming and show with modelling how to use agricultural land sustainably for food and energy co-production.

Biomass Promises: A Bumpy Road to a Renewable Economy

Biomass Promises: A Bumpy Road to a Renewable Economy

Transportation in a 100% renewable energy system

A 100% renewable economy would give a lasting solution to the challenges raised by climate change, energy security, sustainability, and pollution. The conversion of the present transport system appears to be one of the most difficult aspects of such renewable transition. This study reviews the technologies and systems that are being proposed or proven as alternative to fossil-fuel based transportation, and their prospects for their entry into the post-carbon era, from both technological and energetic viewpoints. The energetic cost of the transition from the current transportation system into global 100% renewable transportation is estimated, as well as the electrical energy required for the operation of the new renewable transportation sector. A 100% renewable transport providing the same service as global transport in 2014 would demand about 18% less energy. The main reduction is expected in road transport (69%), but the shipping and air sectors would notably increase their consumptions: 163% and 149%, respectively. The analysis concludes that a 100% renewable transportation is feasible, but not necessarily compatible with indefinite increase of resources consumption. The major material and energy limitations and obstacles of each transport sector for this transition are shown.

The New Chautauqua Game: Designing the Renewable City and Region Using E[m]ergy Accounting

This paper presents the results of a simplified method for reconfiguring a small city and rural county to support its current population on the environmental energies available within the boundaries of the county. It is configured as a game, based on the simplifying assumption that the collection and concentration of renewable energies is almost entirely a matter of surface or land area, so that a renewable economy becomes a matter of competing land uses, of tradeoffs between land used for the production of food, fuel, electricity, and so on. E[m]ergy accounting was used to translate different forms of consumption into equivalent land areas, while the many forms of production and consumption were reduced to 25 parameters that can be varied to test alternate scenarios for the county. The results have been coded into a web site for playing the game.

On the need for a global engineering initiative to mitigate climate change

There is growing scientific evidence that the continued emission of greenhouse gases will eventually lead to catastrophic irreversible climate change and that, therefore, a global effort needs to be started to transition to a fully renewable economy. In this article, the engineering challenges of converting to emission-free power generation are reviewed and the feasibility of two proposed solutions, i.e. the ‘wind–water–solar’ and the ‘energy ship’ proposals, are discussed. It is concluded that a well-conceived and executed engineering effort needs to be initiated and guided by a Global Engineering Council for the purpose of examining and ranking various proposals and making specific recommendations.

A positive vision of sustainability

Growing population, increased urbanization, a growing global economy, and increased use of natural resources have created a demand for sustainability. Sustainability is an interdisciplinary field that requires collaboration from multiple perspectives. The planet’s resources are all being used at a ferocious pace. Energy is at the center of this issue; dependence on fossil fuels is causing extensive damage to ecosystems and public health and is a major cause of global climate change. The goal of a renewable resource-based economy is therefore important for the future, but rather than attacking the fossil fuel industry, it should be achieved through a positive vision of sustainability—one that includes the need to invest in basic and applied science of renewable energy in order to make renewables cheaper than fossil fuels. We will discuss the opportunities in sustainability-focused education and research that are needed for the transition to a renewable economy. We will also discuss the trend toward urbanization and the opportunities that exist in urban areas to close the cycle of production and consumption. Not only does most of the world’s population live in cities, but cities are paving the path toward a sustainable future. All of these factors contribute to a positive and creative vision of sustainability that focuses on building something new and clean rather than defeating something old and dirty.

Video Game Visions of Climate Futures

This article discusses ARMA 3 (2013), a military simulation game from Bohemia Interactive. Through the prominent placement of visual representations of renewable power generation the game offers a compelling vision of the future in which current resistance to low-carbon and renewable economies have been overcome. I argue that the potential of this vision to challenge cultural futures and imaginaries is dependent on its presentation aesthetically and not, as is often suggested, on game mechanics operating in a “persuasive” mode. Instead, I argue that ARMA 3’s aesthetic vision can skirt around the ideological resistances players may have against accepting more didactic modes of engagement with the highly charged and ideologically contested reality of anthropogenic climate change. In this way, I suggest ARMA 3 offers a compelling challenge to current theories about games ability to persuade or influence players.

Entre interesses e possibilidades: a aproximação da política bragantina ao Rio da Prata

Em 1808, interesses antigos, aliados às novas possibilidades começaram a ser analisados para que Portugal garantisse, além de sua hegemonia na América, medidas econômicas renovadas para tentar resolver velhos problemas. O objetivo deste artigo é compreender a forma com que a Coroa portuguesa, por meio da especulação diplomática disponível à época, movimentou seu recém instalado aparato político, econômico e militar na colônia do Brasil no intuito de expandir suas imprecisas fronteiras meridionais até a região do Rio da Prata logo da chegada da Corte portuguesa em território americano.

Energy Security, Economic Development and Global Warming: Addressing Short and Long Term Challenges

Energy security, economic development and averting global warming are conflicting objectives in a fossil fuel economy. In the long run, sustainable development requires a shift to renewable energy sources. In the short run the climate change problem requires swift action2 and different strategies. There is no “silver bullet” and a combination of technologies and strategies will be required to meet the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) requirements.3 The article develops one example based on ‘negative carbon’ using air capture of carbon dioxide for storage into geological sites and solid materials. When driven by energy produced by carbon-neutral sources (such as Concentrated Solar Power or CSP) this approach can co-produce electricity while reducing carbon concentration in the atmosphere (Jones 2008, 2008b, Chichilnisky 2008, Chichilnisky and Eisenberger, 2009, Chichilnisky and Eisenberger et. al., 2009). While providing additional energy the process makes fossil power plants net carbon sinks, however changing entirely the relationship between the three problems: in the short run it advances energy security and economic development while averting climate change. In the long run, the approach accelerates the transition to renewable sources of energy and is compatible with sustainable development. The article addresses short and long run challenges with this capability in the context of the economic incentives provided by the carbon market of the UN Kyoto Protocol, whose functioning is analyzed. We explore the implications for extending Kyoto’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in a way that benefits most the developing nations in Latin America and Africa, and the global transition from a fossil to a renewable economy.

Energy Security, Economic Development and Global Warming: Addressing Short and Long Term Challenges (Seguridad Energética, Desarrollo Económico Y Calentamiento Global: Desafíos De Corto y Largo Plazo) (Spanish)

Energy security, economic development and averting global warming are conflicting objectives in a fossil fuel economy. In the long run, sustainable development requires a shift to renewable energy sources. In the short run the climate change problem requires swift action and different strategies. There is no “silver bullet” and a combination of technologies and strategies will be required to meet the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) requirements. The article develops one example based on ‘negative carbon’ using air capture of carbon dioxide for storage into geological sites and solid materials. When driven by energy produced by carbon-neutral sources (such as Concentrated Solar Power or CSP) this approach can co-produce electricity while reducing carbon concentration in the atmosphere (Jones 2008, 2008b, Chichilnisky 2008, Chichilnisky and Eisenberger, 2009, Chichilnisky and Eisenberger et. al., 2009). While providing additional energy the process makes fossil power plants net carbon sinks, however changing entirely the relationship between the three problems: in the short run it advances energy security and economic development while averting climate change. In the long run, the approach accelerates the transition to renewable sources of energy and is compatible with sustainable development. The article addresses short and long run challenges with this capability in the context of the economic incentives provided by the carbon market of the UN Kyoto Protocol, whose functioning is analyzed. We explore the implications for extending Kyoto’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in a way that benefits most the developing nations in Latin America and Africa, and the global transition from a fossil to a renewable economy.

Energy security, economic development and global warming: addressing short and long term challenges

Energy security, economic development and averting global warming are conflicting objectives in a fossil fuel economy. In the long run, sustainable development requires a shift to renewable energy sources. In the short run it requires swift action (IPCC) and different strategies 1 . The article analyses a negative carbon process to co-produce electricity while reducing carbon concentration in the atmosphere (Jones, 2008, 2009; Chichilnisky, 2008b; Chichilnisky and Eisenberger, 2009; Eisenberger et al., 2009). While providing additional energy the process makes fossil power plants net carbon sinks. The article addresses short and long run challenges with this capability in the context of the economic incentives provided by the carbon market of the UN Kyoto Protocol, created by one of the authors in 1997 (Chichilnisky, 1993, 1996; Chichilnisky and Heal, 1994, 1995; Chichilnisky and Sheeran, 2009; Pagnamenta, 2009). We propose extending Kyoto's clean development mechanism (CDM) in a way that benefits Latin America and Africa (Chichilnisky and Heal, 1999; Chichilnisky, 1996), and analyse the global transition from a fossil to a renewable economy.