Zukünftige Energie- und Industriesysteme
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The paper reviews the current knowledge on the use of biomass for non-food purposes, critically discusses its environmental sustainability implications, and describes the needs for further research, thus enabling a more balanced policy approach. The life-cylce wide impacts of the use of biomass for energy and material purposes derived from either direct crop harvest or residuals indicate that biomass based substitutes have a different, not always superior environmental performance than comparable fossil based products. Cascading use, i.e. when biomass is used for material products first and the energy content is recovered from the end-of-life products, tends to provide a higher environmental benefit than primary use as fuel. Due to limited global land resources, non-food biomass may only substitute for a certain share of non-renewables. If the demand for non-food biomass, especially fuel crops and its derivates, continues to grow this will inevitably lead to an expansion of global arable land at the expense of natural ecosystems such as savannas and tropical rain forests. Whereas the current aspirations and incentives to increase the use of non-food biomass are intended to counteract climate change and environmental degradation, they are thus bound to a high risk of problem shifting and may even lead to a global deterioration of the environment. Although the "balanced approach" of the European Union's biomass strategy may be deemed a good principle, the concrete targets and implementation measures in the Union and countries like Germany should be revisited. Likewise, countries like Brazil and Indonesia may revisit their strategies to use their natural resources for export or domestic purposes. Further research is needed to optimize the use of biomass within and between regions.
Toothless tiger? : Is the EU action plan on energy efficiency sufficient to reach its target?
(2007)
Motivated by, inter alia, the increasing energy prices, the security of energy supply and climate change, the new EU "Action Plan for Energy Efficiency: Realising the Potential" (EEAP), sets out the policies and measures required to be implemented over the next six years to achieve the EU's goal of reducing annual primary energy consumption by about 20 % by 2020. By increasing energy efficiency, the security of energy supply and the reduction of carbon emissions are also improved.
The paper will analyse the 20 % target of the new EEAP for the energy demand side by comparison with different recent energy scenarios for the EU. It will therefore review the recommended policies and measures and examine, in which energy demand sectors energy efficiency may be increased and to which extend. The main focus is whether the recommended policies and actions will be sufficient and which additional measures may be useful, if additional measures are needed.
The Russian natural gas industry is the world's largest producer and transporter of natural gas. This paper aims to characterize the methane emissions from Russian natural gas transmission operations, to explain projects to reduce these emissions, and to characterize the role of emissions reduction within the context of current GHG policy. It draws on the most recent independent measurements at all parts of the Russian long distance transport system made by the Wuppertal Institute in 2003 and combines these results with the findings from the US Natural Gas STAR Program on GHG mitigation options and economics.
With this background the paper concludes that the methane emissions from the Russian natural gas long distance network are approximately 0.6% of the natural gas delivered. Mitigating these emissions can create new revenue streams for the operator in the form of reduced costs, increased gas throughput and sales, and earned carbon credits. Specific emissions sources that have cost-effective mitigation solutions are also opportunities for outside investment for the Joint Implementation Kyoto Protocol flexibility mechanism or other carbon markets.
Iran ist einer der größten Ölexporteure der Welt, sieht sich aber trotzdem mit zahlreichen Energieproblemen konfrontiert (z. B. stark steigender und subventionierter Energieverbrauch). Gemein mit anderen OPEC-Staaten hat Iran außerdem das so genannte Dutch Disease. Für Iran wurden Langzeit-Energieszenarien berechnet, die den Einsatz von Energieeffizienz und erneuerbaren Energien in unterschiedlich hohen Graden abbilden. Es wird gezeigt, dass in Iran unter Beibehaltung des bisherigen energieintensiven Entwicklungspfads binnen weniger Jahrzehnte mehr Erdöl und Erdgas verbraucht werden, als heimisch produziert werden kann. Nur unter Annahme hoher Effizienzsteigerungen wird es möglich sein, dass Iran auch noch im Jahr 2050 Erdöl und Erdgas exportiert. Unter Annahme von Preiskurven wird deutlich, dass Energieeffizienz für den iranischen Staat sehr hohe (ökonomische) Gewinne ermöglicht. Die Nutzung erneuerbarer Energien in Iran ermöglicht ebenfalls hohe ökonomische Gewinne: Durch deren heimischen Einsatz kann Erdgas eingespart und exportiert werden. Außerdem tragen sie zu einer Diversifizierung des heimischen Energiemix sowie des Exportportfolios bei. Kernenergie ist dagegen für die Herstellung iranischer Versorgungssicherheit nicht notwendig. Der großmaßstäbliche Einsatz erneuerbarer Energien als Exportgut könnte innerhalb der OPEC einen Prozess der Disaggregation gemeinsamer Interessen einleiten. Dennoch sprechen zahlreiche Gründe dafür, dass die OPEC eine weitreichende Strategie für erneuerbare Energien und Energieeffizienz entwickelt, die langfristig ihren eigenen Interessen dient und sie zu einem Klimaschutz-Vorreiter machen kann.
In this brochure, WISIONS focuses on how sustainable energy use can support poverty reduction. WISIONS presents projects from Namibia, Brazil, the Philippines and India that have been successfully implemented, with the intention of further promoting the particular approaches used by these projects. Using a key number of internationally accepted criteria, the main consideration for the selection of the projects was energy and resource efficiency with social aspects being of high additional relevance. The assessment of the projects also included the consideration of regional factors acknowledging different needs and potentials.
In rural areas, access to electricity is required for better living standard, enhance income options and reduce population migration. In last decades, steady progress has been made but the status of electrification significantly varies across countries. In developing countries, about 1.6 billion people live without electricity and another 2 billion have access but to an unreliable extent. Large population also live in remote areas where extension of grid is not feasible, where people continuing to live under distress conditions. International projections reveal that number of un-electrified people will remain same by the year 2030 if similar pace of electrification is continued in future.From this perspective, the study describes what bigger countries such as India, China and Brazil are doing and where rural electrification stands in priority in a poor country like Ethiopia. Is off-grid technologies show an option for such remote locations" The two case studies of Vietnam and South Africa reveal that work carried out through external support in the absence of national policies. As a result, people have experienced the benefits of technologies but unable to retain them in long term. Electricity has given various advantages but poor affordability of the people hinders the acceptance of technologies in rural areas.The study shows the need of a framework to achieve the long-term support for rural electrification. A framework that could direct the national priorities, understands social, economic and environmental aspects of off-grid technologies, identify key areas to be strengthen, allocates the roles and responsibilities at different working levels, maintains a consistent flow of adequate finance, pursue regular monitoring process and incorporate the monitoring results, or, critical success factors into the national policies to make them more effective. Both macro- as well as micro-level approaches have been suggested in this study.
Solar-Sparprojekt macht Schule : Privatkapital finanziert erneuerbare Energien in den Kommunen
(2007)
In this brochure, WISIONS focuses on the applications of solar assisted cooling systems. After taking a more detailed look at the characteristics of such appliances, WISIONS presents projects in Spain, the USA, Germany and China that have been successfully implemented, with the intention of further promoting the particular approaches used by these projects. Using a key number of internationally accepted criteria, the main consideration for the selection of the projects was energy efficiency and successful performance. The assessment of the projects also included the consideration of regional factors acknowledging different needs and potentials.
In this brochure, WISIONS focuses on renewable energy in the food supply chain. WISIONS presents projects from Nigeria, Pakistan, Nicaragua, Cambodia and Kenya that have been successfully implemented, with the intention of further promoting the particular approaches used by these projects. Using a key number of internationally accepted criteria, the main consideration for the selection of the projects was energy and resource efficiency, but social aspects were also of relevance. The assessment of the projects also included the consideration of regional factors acknowledging different needs and potentials
Scenarios for the future of renewable energy through 2050 are reviewed to explore how much renewable energy is considered possible or desirable and to inform policymaking. Existing policy targets for 2010 and 2020 are also reviewed for comparison. Common indicators are shares of primary energy, electricity, heat, and transport fuels from renewables. Global, Europe-wide, and country-specific scenarios show 10% to 50% shares of primary energy from renewables by 2050. By 2020, many targets and scenarios show 20% to 35% share of electricity from renewables, increasing to the range 50% to 80% by 2050 under the highest scenarios. Carbon-constrained scenarios for stabilization of emissions or atmospheric concentration depict trade-offs between renewables, nuclear power, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) from coal, most with high energy efficiency. Scenario outcomes differ depending on degree of future policy action, fuel prices, carbon prices, technology cost reductions, and aggregate energy demand, with resource constraints mainly for biomass and biofuels.
Atomstreit mit dem Iran, Unruhen in Nigeria, Hurrikans in den USA: immer neue Krisen treiben den Ölpreis in die Höhe. Und wir hängen am immer teurer werdenden Tropf, ob Industriebetrieb oder Verbraucher. Öl, unser wichtigster Energieträger, heizt nicht nur das Klima auf, sondern entpuppt sich zunehmend als Krisenfaktor für die Welt.
Mit der stetig wachsenden Verletzlichkeit unserer Energiesysteme reift die Erkenntnis, welche grundlegenden strukturellen Faktoren die Energiesicherheit bestimmen. Wie können wir unsere Abhängigkeit von Energieimporten verringern, den Klimaschutz verbessern und globale sozioökonomische Schieflagen entschärfen?
Eine Vielzahl von Vorschlägen ist in diesem Buch zusammengestellt: internationale Energiekooperationen "auf Augenhöhe", Steigerung der Energieeffizienz, Solarstromtransport aus Nordafrika, geopolitische Strategien oder diplomatisches Engagement in China, ... Wer sich für die ökologische, wirtschaftliche und soziale Zukunft unseres Planeten interessiert, kommt am Öl nicht vorbei - und sollte dieses Buch lesen.