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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.
Geothermal energy, carbon sequestration, and enhanced oil and gas recovery have a clear role in U.S. energy policy, both in securing cost-effective energy and reducing atmospheric CO2 accumulations. Recent publicity surrounding induced seismicity at several geothermal and oil and gas sites points out the need to develop improved standards and practices to avoid issues that may unduly inhibit or stop the above technologies from fulfilling their full potential. It is critical that policy makers and the general community be assured that EGS, CO2 sequestration, enhanced oil/gas recovery, and other technologies relying on fluid injections, will be designed to reduce induced seismicity to an acceptable level, and be developed...
We have developed a state-scale version of the MARKAL energy optimization model, commonly used to model energy policy at the US national scale and internationally. We apply the model to address state-scale impacts of a renewable electricity standard (RES) and a carbon tax in one southeastern state, Georgia. Biomass is the lowest cost option for large-scale renewable generation in Georgia; we find that electricity can be generated from biomass co-firing at existing coal plants for a marginal cost above baseline of 0.2-2.2 cents/kWh and from dedicated biomass facilities for 3.0-5.5 cents/kWh above baseline. We evaluate the cost and amount of renewable electricity that would be produced in-state and the amount of out-of-state...
Rising global demand for energy, high energy prices, climate change, and the threat of terrorism all point to the need for greater energy efficiency and conservation in the United States. While technological innovation is plainly needed, our laws and institutional arrangements must also play an important role. The United States has scores of legal and policy tools from which to choose to improve energy efficiency and curb energy consumption. This Article, which grows out of a Spring 2006 seminar at theWidener University School of Law, evaluates a handful of these tools: transit-oriented development; fuel taxation; real-time pricing for electricity use; public benefit funds; improving the efficiency of existing residential...
This scholarly work explores the causes precipitating the collapse of the nuclear industry during the late 1970s and early 1980s, viewing the nuclear energy sector as a paradigmatic example of the fundamental incompatibility between democracy and capitalism. Though he never explicitly blames either capitalism or democracy, author John L. Campbell explains how the fact that the two are governed by contradictory decision-making logics ultimately doomed the nuclear industry during the time period he examines. Campbell considers policy constraints and faliures in industry and government, such as a lack of standardization in reactor construction and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s (AEC) inability to craft a reactor...
This article compares US and Chinese incentives in winning oil contracts in African countries. Exploration and development of African oil resources has soared, and many nations are competing for these new oil contracts. China has won a significant portion of these oil contracts due to their unique incentive offerings. This report will address a brief history and the development of Sino–African policies and interests, modern US–African energy policy and interests, petroleum opportunities in Africa, China’s growing oil demand, and information on both American and Chinese incentives strategies. This information will be used to compare US and Chinese incentive strategies on winning African oil contracts. Implications...
In June 2008, 303,000 L of hydrofracturing fl uid from a natural gas well were applied to a 0.20-ha area of mixed hardwood forest on the Fernow Experimental Forest, West Virginia. During application, severe damage and mortality of ground vegetation was observed, followed about 10 d later by premature leaf drop by the overstory trees. Two years after fl uid application, 56% of the trees within the fl uid application area were dead. Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. was the tree species with the highest mortality, and Acer rubrum L. was the least aff ected, although all tree species present on the site showed damage symptoms and mortality. Surface soils (0–10 cm) were sampled in July and October 2008, June and October 2009,...
Greater energy efficiency can be achieved in existing dwellings thanks to longer lifecycles, slow replacement rates, and technical innovations. Many such dwellings are located in dense urban neighbourhoods, where urban renewal projects are undertaken. Local government can encourage the setting of ambitious goals as a stepping stone to realizing energy efficiency goals that achieve high levels of energy efficiency. The research question which this paper addresses is: to what degree do local governments influence ambitions to conserve energy in existing housing sites? To examine this issue, thirty-three sites in the Netherlands were studied using a quantitative analysis. The results show that collaboration between...
How much does real GDP respond to unanticipated changes in the real price of oil? Commonly used censored VAR models suggest a substantial decline in real GDP in response to unexpected increases in the real price of oil, yet no response to unexpected declines. We show that these estimates are invalid. Based on a structural model that encompasses both symmetric and asymmetric models as special cases, correctly computed impulse responses are of roughly the same magnitude in either direction, consistent with formal tests for symmetric responses. We discuss implications for theoretical models and for policy responses to energy price shocks.
How much does real GDP respond to unanticipated changes in the real price of oil? Commonly used censored VAR models suggest a substantial decline in real GDP in response to unexpected increases in the real price of oil, yet no response to unexpected declines. We show that these estimates are invalid. Based on a structural model that encompasses both symmetric and asymmetric models as special cases, correctly computed impulse responses are of roughly the same magnitude in either direction, consistent with formal tests for symmetric responses. We discuss implications for theoretical models and for policy responses to energy price shocks.
Noise exposure is known to cause hearing loss and a variety of disturbances, such as annoyance, hypertension and loss of sleep. It is generally accepted that these situations are caused by the acoustical events processed by the auditory system. However, there are acoustical events that are not necessarily processed by the auditory system, but that nevertheless cause harm. Infrasound and low frequency noise (ILFN, <500Hz) are acoustical phenomena that can impact the human body causing irreversible organic damage to the organism, but that do not cause classical hearing impairment. Acoustical environments are normally composed of all types of acoustical events: those that are processed by the auditory system, and those...
Over the past 20 years a number of powerful perceptions concerning the prospects for the supply of various sources of energy, at both the global and the regional level, have strongly influenced governmental and inter-governmental energy sector analyses and policies. Unhappily, the perceptions that have so ruled supply-side questions have been based in part on a set of demonstrable fictions and fallacies. These have led to high costs and severe difficulties for the Western world's economy, most notably in respect of the massive increase in the price of oil since 1970. Much of this increase can, indeed, only be defined as a self-inflicted wound on the fabric of Western society arising from policies which reflected...
Biofuels world production has increased sharply in recent years. Oil reserves depletion, the oil high price and the confidence in biofuels “carbon neutrality” are the main causes of this phenomenon. However, claims related to the negative consequences of biofuel programs are frequent; mainly those related to the biofuels/food competition and sustainability. This paper aims to contribute for the development of a framework for sustainability indicators as a tool for performance assessment. The most used indicators to measure the biofuels sustainability are: Life Cycle Energy Balance (LCEB), quantity of fossil energy substituted per hectare, co-product energy allocation, life cycle carbon balance and changes in soil...
A study of a citizensÏ advisory council is used to reexamine a long-standing proposition, referred to here as the resources hypothesis, drawn from the participation literature. The hypothesis proposes that the effectiveness of citizen participation mechanisms will be enhanced by increased access to resources (such as funding and technical assistance). The council considered here is involved in the environmental management of the marine oil trade in Alaska, and has greater access to resources than any other council examined in the extant literature. However, this council has experienced uneven success in securing the implementation of its proposals for policy change. The results suggest that the success of a participatory...
As electricity demand increases, policymakers must make decisions about which energy resources will meet future demands. Much of the recent literature has focused on the contribution of new coal power plants to carbon emissions (Milford et al., 2005; Milford et al., 2007; MIT 2007). However, policymakers and industry are increasingly interested in job creation and economic development analyses to understand the full impacts of new electricity generation projects.1 Additionally, economic development impacts are often a critical piece in building public support for wind power projects. The purpose of this research is to look at the specific factors that drive wind-power-related economic development and to better understand...
We have developed a state-scale version of the MARKAL energy optimization model, commonly used to model energy policy at the US national scale and internationally. We apply the model to address state-scale impacts of a renewable electricity standard (RES) and a carbon tax in one southeastern state, Georgia. Biomass is the lowest cost option for large-scale renewable generation in Georgia; we find that electricity can be generated from biomass co-firing at existing coal plants for a marginal cost above baseline of 0.2-2.2 cents/kWh and from dedicated biomass facilities for 3.0-5.5 cents/kWh above baseline. We evaluate the cost and amount of renewable electricity that would be produced in-state and the amount of out-of-state...
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.
This article compares US and Chinese incentives in winning oil contracts in African countries. Exploration and development of African oil resources has soared, and many nations are competing for these new oil contracts. China has won a significant portion of these oil contracts due to their unique incentive offerings. This report will address a brief history and the development of Sino–African policies and interests, modern US–African energy policy and interests, petroleum opportunities in Africa, China’s growing oil demand, and information on both American and Chinese incentives strategies. This information will be used to compare US and Chinese incentive strategies on winning African oil contracts. Implications...