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Studies conducted since the late 1970s have estimated the net energy value (NEV) of corn ethanol. However, variations in data and assumptions used among the studies have resulted in a wide range of estimates. This study identifies the factors causing this wide variation and develops a more consistent estimate. We conclude that the NEV of corn ethanol has been rising over time due to technological advances in ethanol conversion and increased efficiency in farm production. We show that corn ethanol is energy efficient as indicated by an energy output:input ratio of 1.34.
The complexity of carbon reduction and economic sustainability is significantly complicated by competing aspects of socioeconomic practices as well as legislative, regulatory, and scientific requirements and protocols. An easy to read and understand guide, Sioshansi, along with an international group of contributors, moves through the maze of carbon reduction methods and technologies, providing steps and insights to meet carbon reduction requirements and maintaining the health and welfare of the firm. The book’s three part treatment is based on a clear and rigorous exposition of a wide range of options to reduce the carbon footprint Part 1 of the book, Challenge of Sustainability, examines the fundamental drivers...
This article reflects the results of a study on sustainability of energy crops. Contribution to the reduction of the greenhouse effect and other environmental effects were investigated for the Netherlands. The study assumed that energy crops are grown on set aside or grain land. Generating electricity and/or heat from hemp, reed, miscanthus, poplar and willow have the best prospects. These crops are sustainable and may in the future be economically feasible. Ethanol from winter wheat has the most favourable environmental effects, but is economically not interesting. Liquid fuels from oil seed rape and sugar beet are not very sustainable.
Long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies for the Netherlands were studied, using a MARKAL energy model. The EMS study identifies longterm technological options for greenhouse gas emission reduction and assesses their cost-effectiveness, taking interactions between technologies into account. The project consisted of three parts: carbon dioxyde (CO 2) emission reduction in the energy system, integrated reduction of greenhouse gases from the energy system with consideration of upstream emissions and CO 2 reduction in the integrated energy and materials system. 500 energy technologies were assessed for their reduction potential. Significant emission reduction seems possible, but it takes an array of measures...
This workshop is part of a broader research project aimed at better understanding how communities can engage in the process of wind energy development. The research is funded through a National Science Foundation grant (#SES 0724672) to Roopali Phadke at Macalester College. This report was prepared by a research team from Macalester College. Throughout the day of the workshop, the research team collected demographic data about participants, gauged their familiarity with wind energy, and elicited their perceptions about landscape impacts. This was done through the use of interactive keypad polling, photographic analysis within focus groups, open-ended writing exercises and a final evaluation. The data were brought...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Wind, electricity, energy, siting, wind energy
This paper estimates the extra costs of drilling for oil and gas on federal land as compared to private land in the Wyoming Checkerboard. The Checkerboard is a center of U.S. oil and gas activity in which square-mile sections of property alternate between federal and private ownership as originally established by the Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864. This land ownership pattern is used as an experimental control that may be used to identify differences in drilling cost on federal and private land. Estimates presented suggest that average drilling costs per well are about $200,000 higher on federal property than on private property. This difference is attributed to more stringent enforcement of environmental...
This article describes the development of an energy accounting. This is a management tool to give farmers a clear understanding of their energy use and of the emission of greenhouse gases on their farm. Results are given of one year accounting on dairy farms and on pig farms. The results show large differences in energy use and in emissions of greenhouse gases between individual farms. These differences indicate that a substantial reduction of emission of greenhouse gasses is possible.
The article discusses a report published by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) that examined the technical feasibility of using wind energy for electricity generation. The report assessed the costs, impacts and challenges associated with the production of 20% wind energy by 2030. Results have shown that there is a need for an enhanced transmission infrastructure and an increase in turbine installations to achieve 20% wind energy.
The National Toxics Network (NTN) calls on federal and state governments to implement a moratorium on the use of hydraulic drilling and fracturing chemicals (‘fracking chemicals’) used in the hydraulic drilling and fracturing of coal gas seams and gas shale extraction, until the fracking chemicals have been fully assessed for their health and environmental hazards by the industrial chemicals regulator, the National Industrial Chemical Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). NTN’s assessment has found that only 2 out of the 23 most commonly used fracking chemicals in Australia have been assessed by NICNAS. Neither of these 2 chemicals have been specifically assessed for their use in hydraulic drilling and fracking.
By replacing fossil fuels bioenergy has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but indirect effects might partly or even completely eliminate this benefit. Production of bio-energy products, such as biofuels for transport, causes several indirect effects through their interactions with the global economic and physical systems. Indirect land-use change leads to GHG emissions – in some cases in the same order of magnitude as the fossil emissions – and loss of nature, but there are other relevant indirect effects as well. Intensification of agricultural production is another indirect effect and could be stimulated more to minimise the undesirable land conversion. However, intensification through increased...
By replacing fossil fuels bioenergy has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but indirect effects might partly or even completely eliminate this benefit. Production of bio-energy products, such as biofuels for transport, causes several indirect effects through their interactions with the global economic and physical systems. Indirect land-use change leads to GHG emissions – in some cases in the same order of magnitude as the fossil emissions – and loss of nature, but there are other relevant indirect effects as well. Intensification of agricultural production is another indirect effect and could be stimulated more to minimise the undesirable land conversion. However, intensification through increased...
The success of carbon capture, storage and sequestration as a greenhouse gas mitigation strategy will be, in part, dependent on the regulatory framework used to govern its implementation. Creating a science-based regulatory framework that is designed with enough flexibility to encourage greenhouse gas offset activity, effective means of measuring the costs of taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ample protection for human and ecosystem health may prove challenging. For the purposes of this paper we will assume that there is an existing incentive to capture, store and sequester carbon and focus on how to regulate the process. Accounting practices and precursory crediting rules for biological sinks...
As policy makers consider strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they need to understand the available options and the conditions under which these options become economically attractive. This paper explores the economics of carbon capture and sequestration technologies as applied to electric generating plants. The MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model, a general equilibrium model of the world economy, is used to model two of the most promising carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies. The CCS technologies are based on a natural gas combined cycle plant and an integrated coal gasification combined cycle plant. Additionally, the role of natural gas combined cycle plants without...
As policy makers consider strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they need to understand the available options and the conditions under which these options become economically attractive. This paper explores the economics of carbon capture and sequestration technologies as applied to electric generating plants. The MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model, a general equilibrium model of the world economy, is used to model two of the most promising carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies. The CCS technologies are based on a natural gas combined cycle plant and an integrated coal gasification combined cycle plant. Additionally, the role of natural gas combined cycle plants without...
In many ways, the mountain west (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming) is an energy colony for the rest of the United States: it is rich in energy resources that are extracted to fuel economic growth in the wealthier and more populous coastal regions. Federal agencies and global corporations often behave as if the mountain west is a place to be exploited or managed for the benefit of customers and consumers elsewhere. Yet, the area. is not vast empty space with a limitless supply of natural resources, but rather a fast-growing region with a diverse economic base dependent on a limited supply of water. New decision processes and collaborations are slowly changing this situation,...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Energy policy, debate, energy, politics
This project was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of using geothermal effluents for developing and maintaining waterfowl wetlands. Information in the document pertains to a seven State area the West where geothermal resources have development potential. Information is included on physiochemical characteristics of geothermal effluents; known effects of constituents in the water on a wetland ecosystem and water quality criteria for maintaining a viable wetland; potential of sites for wetland development and disposal of effluent water from geothermal facilities; methods of ‘disposal of effluents, including advantages of each method and associated costs; legal and Institutional constraints which could affect geothermal...
The timely development of the nation's energy production capacity in a manner that minimizes potential adverse local and regional impacts associated with energy facilities requires the use of sophisticated techniques for evaluation of siting alternatives and fuel cycle options. This report is a documentation of the computerized SITE methodology that has been developed for evaluating health, environmental, and socioeconomic impacts related to utilization of alternate sites for energy production within a region of interest. The cost, impact, and attribute vectors, which are generated and displayed on density maps, can be used in a multiparameter overlay process to identify preferable siting areas. The assessment of...
Because of the inevitable depletion of fossil fuels and the corresponding release of carbon to the environment, the global energy future is complex. Some of the consequences may be politically and economically disruptive, and expensive to remedy. For the next several centuries, fuel requirements will increase with population, land use, and ecosystem degradation. Current or projected levels of aggregated energy resource use will not sustain civilization as we know it beyond a few more generations. At the same time, issues of energy security, reliability, sustainability, recoverability, and safety need attention. We supply a top-down, qualitative model—the surety model—to balance expenditures of limited resources...
Energy development is an integral part of enhanced economic development. The fact that expanded provision and use of energy services is strongly associated with economic development leaves open how important energy is as a causal factor in economic development, however; and energy development competes with other opportunities for scarce capital and opportunities for policy and institutional reform. In this paper we first give a brief conceptual discussion that seeks to identify the channels through which increased availability of energy services might be a key to stimulating economic development along different stages of the development process. We then examine some empirical work to see what evidence it might provide...