A bibliometric analysis of recent energy efficiency literatures: an expanding and shifting focus

To meet the energy requirements of sustainable economic growth, policymakers, analysts, and business leaders have increasingly turned to the role that energy efficiency might play. This has resulted in a growing energy efficiency literature, which is examined in this paper. Using bibliometric techniques, we analyze the database of Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index covering the 1991–2010 period. Of the 8,244 publications, 78.8 % were journal articles, and about 95.5 % were published in English. Based on the h-index, an evaluative indicator, the USA has produced the most influential set of publications on energy efficiency, followed by Canada, UK, Japan, and China. In contrast, China is second to the USA in the volume of its publications. Correspondingly, the University of California at Berkeley, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Tsinghua University were the most productive research organizations. The three most common subjects examined in this body of research were “energy and fuels”, “environmental sciences”, and “electrical and electronic engineering”. Energy Policy has been the most productive journal, and “A water and heat management model for proton-exchange-membrane fuel-cells”, has had the most citations (587 through May 2012). Based on an analysis of article titles and keywords, we conclude that the hotspots of energy efficiency research have been green communications, renewable energy, and energy sustainability; green communications, in particular, has developed rapidly as a focus of energy efficiency publications in recent years.     

Building a business to close the efficiency gap: the Swedish ESCO Experience

Energy service companies (ESCOs) are often portrayed as important change agents in capturing the opportunity to curb energy demand and mitigate climate change through increased efficiency. Yet, the literature in this area is limited. While many studies analyze economic and environmental savings from energy efficiency programs, far less attention has been devoted to evaluating managerial and other challenges for ESCOs to transform the “efficiency gap” into a viable business. Sweden presents an interesting case study given its early experience in energy market reform as well as the rapid growth in recent years of its ESCO market. By conducting in-depth interviews with ESCOs operating in Sweden, this research addresses the following: (1) current market opportunity analysis, including how Swedish market conditions shape firms' business strategies, (2) business characteristics and service functions, with attention to perceptions regarding which market segments are considered compelling, and (3) how policy might expand the size and attractiveness of additional sectors/market segments. This analysis is informed by additional discussions with policymaker, agencies, authorities, and customers. The insights garnered are important as Member States prepare to implement the Directive on Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy Services. Despite rapid growth, ongoing challenges remain for ESCOs. Government still has a role in education, policy, and residential sector solutions. Greater details and data on the energy savings produced by ESCO projects are needed. Future research could address best practices for reporting data from ESCO projects. Moreover, with additional data on ESCO projects, studies could benchmark these results with other international programs to promote energy efficiency.     

Carbon pricing and energy efficiency improvement -- why to miss the interaction for developing economies? An illustrative CGE based application to the Pakistan case

Carbon/energy taxes and energy efficiency improvement are studied well in the recent years for their potential adverse impacts on economy, especially for lost production and international competitiveness, and rebound effects. However, little attention has been paid to investigate them jointly, which can not only prevent fall of energy services cost and thereby rebound effect but reduce the associated macroeconomic costs. This study thus employs a 20 sector CGE model to explore separately the impacts of carbon tax and its coordinated implementation with energy efficiency improvement on the Pakistan economy. The country underwent enormous pressure of energy security issues as well as climate change fallouts in the last couple of years and can be regarded as a suitable candidate for energy/environmental conservation policies to be considered at a broader context with more concrete efforts. The simulation results show that the impact of carbon tax on GDP is negative but resulting reductions in pollutant emissions are relatively high. Moreover, the GDP is expected to grow comparatively positive when analyzed with improvements in energy efficiency, with even higher decline in energy consumption demand and so emissions. This simultaneous economic and environmental improvement would thus have positive implications regarding sustainable development of the country.     

中国太阳能资源评估及其利用效率研究进展与展望

围绕太阳能资源分布特征、资源潜力评估和太阳能利用效率的研究,从中国太阳能资源估算及其分布特征、中国太阳能资源潜力评估、太阳能利用方式及其太阳能利用效率研究、光伏发电效率评估、气候变化因子对光伏发电效率的影响等方面,归纳凝练了太阳能资源评估及其利用效率研究的主要成果。结合相关研究的国际前沿、热点问题和社会经济发展需求,剖析了研究中存在的不足和问题;提出加强气候变化背景下太阳能高辐射区光能资源变化新特征研究、深化太阳能高辐射区太阳能发电效率评估研究、深入开展气候变化因子对光伏发电效率的影响及其机制的研究、细化光能开发潜力评估、进一步完善光伏发电效率预测系统、推动绿色低碳社会经济发展等中国未来太阳能资源评估及利用研究需要重点关注的方向。     

Generation IV material issues

Abstract

Generation IV (GenIV) nuclear power concepts have become an active research topic all over the world during the last five to ten years. There are six concepts accepted for the GenIV international forum (GIF) with the common aim to promote both efficiency and safety of reactor technology. Moreover, the issues of uranium sources and the use of closed fuel cycles are included in the discussion and concepts. Thus, the new concepts will offer attractive features but at the same time bring new and demanding challenges for the materials technology due to increased operating temperatures and irradiation doses as well as more aggressive coolants and/or longer life time expectations than those for plant operated today. In the present paper, an overview of the material issues is given with special emphasis on one of the concepts, namely the supercritical light water reactor.     

Energy saving technologies and productive efficiency in the Chinese iron and steel sector

Energy saving and innovation are currently the subjects of much research. In this study we use the Cobb–Douglas (C–D) type production function to estimate the impact of energy saving technologies and innovation investments on the productive efficiency of Chinese iron and steel enterprises for the period 1990–2000. It is shown from the study results that some productive efficiency growth can be attributed to the adoption and amelioration of energy saving measures (pulverized coal injection technology, PCI; continuous casting technology, CCT) and the increase of technique updating and transformation (TUT) investments associated with energy saving. It is also found that the big enterprises possess a substantial efficiency advantage over small- and medium-sized steel makers. Finally, according to this study, enterprises in some certain locations may gain from the economies of agglomeration and hence perform better than others. The policy implications of this study provide an important rationale for the ongoing centralized merger campaign of the iron and steel industry in China. To accelerate the diffusion of advanced energy efficient technologies and encourage innovation will promote the productive efficiency.     

Property law as a barrier to energy upgrades in multi<Emphasis>-</Emphasis>owned properties<Emphasis>:</Emphasis> insights from a study of England and Scotland

Is the law of ownership a barrier to energy upgrades in apartment blocks? Co-owners in multi-owned properties face challenges in reaching agreement to implement energy efficiency measures that owners of single family residences do not encounter. At the European level, this difficulty is recognised in Article 19 of the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive, by which governments are obliged to address barriers to improvements which arise in the specific context of multi-owner properties. Despite this, the position of apartment owners remains mostly invisible in the policy discourse. The small quantity of literature examining the difficulties of group decision making around energy efficiency in apartments has so far focused on mapping the issues. This paper begins the process of ‘colouring in’ the existing outlines by providing an in-depth delineation of the governance barriers to energy upgrades presented by the law of ownership and management in two European jurisdictions: England and Scotland. A doctrinal analysis is employed to ascertain the relevant legal issues and identify how property law constitutes a barrier to energy upgrades within the framework of existing behavioural models. A theoretical inquiry is then used to suggest that reconceptualising property law in the context of multi-owner properties to focus on collective responsibilities rather than individual rights may help to minimise this effect of the law. The paper concludes with recommendations for further research to identify the range of issues property law presents across EU member states. This data is needed to fully test the reconceptualisation hypothesis presented here.     

Does environmental heterogeneity affect the productive efficiency of grid utilities in China?

China's electric power industry has experienced a reform whereby the generation sector is being opened up to competition but the transmission and distribution sectors are still under regulation. Efficiency and benchmarking analyses are widely used for improving the performance of regulated segments. The impact of observable environmental factors, together with unobservable characteristics, on efficiency has gained increasing attention in recent years. This study uses alternative stochastic frontier models combined with input distance functions to measure the productive efficiency of 29 grid firms of China over the period of 1993–2014 and investigates whether the observed environmental and unobserved heterogeneity factors affect the productive efficiency. The results indicate that adverse environmental conditions may bring negative influence to the production of grid utilities while the number of customers and the network length have positive impacts on the utilities' efficiency; Besides, the efficiency is sensitive to the model specification, which illustrates the presence of observed and unobserved heterogeneity; Moreover, there is no significant efficiency improvement in the grid utilities after the unbundling reform of 2002; Finally, the regional grids differ significantly in efficiency, and there is room for improvement, which could be achieved by incentive regulation taking due account of environmental heterogeneity.     

Combustion of simulated biogas in a dual-fuel diesel engine

Technology related to biogas has been steadily developed over the last 50 years from small individually designed units to larger production plants. The development, however, has largely taken place on the side of biogas production and anaerobic waste treatment. Utilization of the gas produced by these methods has only recently been the subject of more scientific evaluation. The transformation of energy through biogas into the thermodynamically higher valued mechanical energy successfully and economically is now the most important research area in this field.Of the engine work already published, most concerns spark-ignited engines. The authors’ research work concerns the use of biogas in dual-fuel diesel engines. It examines engine performance using simulated biogas of varying quality representing the range of methane:carbon dioxide composition which may be encountered in gas from different sources. The total programme includes the effects of biogas quality and of the proportion of energy from pilot fuel injection over a range of speeds and loads, investigations into the performance parameters over a range of compositions of gaseous mixture. A two-cylinder, indirect-injection diesel engine of stationary type is being used as the first experimental test bed in this work and the variation of quality is provided by mixing natural gas and carbon dioxide. A data acquisition system for in-cylinder pressure and crank angle is being used successfully and some emissions measurements are also available, particularly for CO and O₂.One of the authors is from India where there is thought to be considerable potential for exploiting the gaseous products from resources such as biogas, landfill and sewage gas through small stationary dual-fuel engines for irrigation and CHP applications. The nature of combustion process in the dual-fuel engine is examined by the authors through pressure-crank angle data and studies of characteristics affecting engine efficiency.     

Identification and analysis of local and regional impacts from the introduction of biodiesel production in the state of Piauí

The recent moves towards the insertion of biofuels in the energy matrix of a number of countries are opening new prospects for agricultural production and for agroindustrial chains. The emergence of this new productive base raises new research issues: in what circumstances are the structuring, organization and implementation of these biodiesel productive chains taking place in Brazil? What are the effects of biodiesel production on local economies? Hence, the central objective of this study is identifying their economic and social impacts at the regions where they are installed. The analytical structure was constructed based on theories of regional and spatial economy: location coefficient, shift–share, theories of industrial location. A preliminary analysis identified that a biodiesel productive arrangement is emerging in the State of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil, with the purpose of stimulating regional development using alternative oil-bearing crops. However, the agricultural project in the town of Canto do Buriti/PI has faced problems of both a cultural and productive nature. Preliminary findings reveal productive, organizational, managerial and governance related difficulties and challenges that need to be faced when establishing a new productive base in a location that up to that point lacks a productive tradition.     

Research progress on the self-ignition of high-pressure hydrogen discharge: A review

As one of the most promising fossil energy substitutes, hydrogen energy is receiving increasing attention, and it has been greatly developed in recent years. However, hydrogen safety issues limit the large-scale application of hydrogen energy. Since 1922, the issue of self-ignition of high-pressure hydrogen discharge has gradually become the focus of attention of scholars in the field of hydrogen energy. Particularly fruitful research results have been obtained in the past 20 years, showing that the minimum discharge pressure of hydrogen self-ignition is approximately 2 MPa. In particular, the discharge tube shape and bursting disc rupture have a significant effect on the characteristics of hydrogen self-ignition. Moreover, the study of the hydrogen self-ignition mechanism under special working conditions has been extended by shock-induced ignition theory. Initial conditions mainly affect the critical pressure of hydrogen self-ignition by changing the formation, development and propagation of shock waves. Finally, the deficiencies and future research trends in research methods, self-ignition characteristics, and dynamic mechanisms are analysed.     

Comfort theory and practice: Barriers to the conservation of energy by building occupants

Three related issues are examined in this paper. First, international developments in the theoretical bases of comfort research over the past twenty-five years are outlined. Secondly, practical applications of the findings of that research, in Britain over the last fifteen years, to designing systems for controlling environmental conditions in buildings are considered. Thirdly, the implications of comfort theory and practice for attempts to conserve energy in non-domestic buildings are discussed. It is concluded that, because of developments which have occurred during this period, there now exist deeply entrenched but restricted notions about the nature of comfort itself, and about how, and by whom, acceptable environmental conditions should be created and maintained in such buildings. The existence of these notions facilitates expropriation from building occupants of their autonomy to control their own immediate environment and its transference, by means of automated and centralised environmental control systems, to technical specialists.     

Shifting towards offshore wind energy—Recent activity and future development

To date, most of the existing wind farms have been built on-land but during the last few years many countries have also invested in offshore applications. The shift towards offshore wind project developments has mainly been driven by European energy policies, especially in north-west countries. In offshore sites the winds are stronger and steadier than on-land, making wind farms more productive with higher capacity factors. On the other hand, although offshore wind energy is not in its infancy period, most of the costs associated with its development are still much higher from onshore counterparts; however some recent technological progress may have the potential to narrow this gap in the years to come. In the present work, an overview of the activity noted in the field of offshore wind energy is carried out, with emphasis being given on the current status and future trends of the technology employed, examining at the same time energy production and availability issues as well as economic considerations.     

G8+5 collaboration on energy efficiency and IPEEC: Shortcut to a sustainable future?

In recent years, the G8+5 system has proven to be a major focal point of international cooperation in the field of energy efficiency. The G8 has set up multiple dialogues and collaborative frameworks with five emerging economies (China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa) on energy and energy efficiency. The most prominent initiative so far is the creation of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) in 2009. This article critically evaluates these joint efforts between the G8 and the ‘Plus Five’ on energy efficiency. More specifically, the purpose of this article is (1) to frame and explain the emergence of this kind of great-power cooperation; (2) to map G8+5 collaboration on energy efficiency; and (3) to provide a critical assessment of the relevance, impact and results of G8+5 initiated energy efficiency initiatives. The main conclusion is that the G8+5 system has performed better on the external dimension (steering global governance) than on the internal dimension (coordination of domestic policies) of global energy efficiency governance.     

Renewable energy education for sustainable development

Rising international concern about global warming and the rapid development of the renewable energy industry over recent years has led to a need for multidisciplinary programs in energy studies. We have developed a postgraduate program in energy studies which is based on the principles of ecologically sustainable development. This program combines work in energy technology with energy policy, energy economics and environmental and social issues. The program is offered on campus at Murdoch University and by external study, via the internet, throughout Australia and overseas. It has attracted considerable interest from students seeking to find new opportunities within the renewable energy industry. This paper outlines the philosophy of the energy studies program, its implementation and outcomes.     

Energy recovery from industrial waste of a confectionery plant by means of BIGFC plant

The search of environment friendly solutions for waste management, along with increasing costs and recent regulations on waste disposal, leads toward the recovery of energy and requires research activities related to plant definition and thermo-economic comparison. On the other hand, energy recovery from waste has never been an easy task. The high pollutant level in waste combustion gases requires low maximum temperatures in thermodynamic cycles thus affecting the efficiency of the “heat to electricity” conversion process. The recent progress of high temperature fuel cells seems to bring a significant change in this scenario, thanks to the feasible combination with advanced gasification systems. A thermo-economic comparison of different solutions for energy recovery from industrial waste is reported, considering an advanced dual bed gasification-MCFC integrated plant. The solution has been applied to a confectionery plant. Even if this system seems to promise high thermodynamic efficiency, a lot of effort in research is necessary for technical analysis of the advanced plant open issues and for the thermo-economic evaluation of potential advantage over consolidated systems. The thermodynamic analysis has been conducted interfacing Aspen⁺ flowsheets developed with the integration of a proprietary numerical code. The definition of a complex plan of costs would have been presumptuous at this stage of the development; therefore, a reverse economic approach has been used and is suggested by the authors; a specific solver has been implemented for this purpose. An extensive survey of the confectionary plant has been conducted considering the present energy system, the current supplies, and the trends of the required energy needs. The results show that the proposed advanced energy system can represent a valid solution for both industrial waste management and for integration in energy supply.     

Renewable energy conversion and utilization in ASEAN countries

The world population has passed six billion people and the pressure on basic daily needs is particularly dominant in the developing countries, such as the ASEAN. As most of the natural resources, particularly that of fossil fuel is depleting rapidly, more efficient ways to produce daily necessity are becoming important issues. In addition, both the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol require, that efforts should be directed to improve efficiency of energy conversion devices, effective use of the clean and environmentally friendly renewable source of energy, beside providing sink for the green house gas (GHG) emissions. INFORSE report to the UN Secretary General indicated that the total energy sources in the industrialized countries will diminish drastically, but by providing enough funding for R/D in renewable energy conversion, about 50% of the world energy could be supplied by the developing countries by the year 2050.Despite the above limiting conditions, current data indicated growing energy demand in most of the developing countries, particularly in the ASEAN region. Consequently, these countries, should find out the best strategy in utilizing the available energy sources to maintain sustainable development. One of the reasonable option is to make use of the potential renewable energy resources within the countries and develop industries that complies with the unique characteristics of the energy, which is usually disperse, low density and mostly is still not yet competitive with power generation system using subsidized fuel price. Although some basic R/D on renewable energy technology is also being conducted in ASEAN, more effort, however, is directed to its immediate applications in providing basic energy need for rural house-hold, creating productive uses to process agricultural commodities, and to support general rural electrification programs. Such activity has been supported by relevant and operational government policies, international assistances, and gradual involvement of the private sectors.     

Sustainable geothermal utilization – Case histories; definitions; research issues and modelling

Sustainable development by definition meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The Earth's enormous geothermal resources have the potential to contribute significantly to sustainable energy use worldwide as well as to help mitigate climate change. Experience from the use of numerous geothermal systems worldwide lasting several decades demonstrates that by maintaining production below a certain limit the systems reach a balance between net energy discharge and recharge that may be maintained for a long time (100–300 years). Modelling studies indicate that the effect of heavy utilization is often reversible on a time-scale comparable to the period of utilization. Thus, geothermal resources can be used in a sustainable manner either through (1) constant production below the sustainable limit, (2) step-wise increase in production, (3) intermittent excessive production with breaks, and (4) reduced production after a shorter period of heavy production. The long production histories that are available for low-temperature as well as high-temperature geothermal systems distributed throughout the world, provide the most valuable data available for studying sustainable management of geothermal resources, and reservoir modelling is the most powerful tool available for this purpose. The paper presents sustainability modelling studies for the Hamar and Nesjavellir geothermal systems in Iceland, the Beijing Urban system in China and the Olkaria system in Kenya as examples. Several relevant research issues have also been identified, such as the relevance of system boundary conditions during long-term utilization, how far reaching interference from utilization is, how effectively geothermal systems recover after heavy utilization and the reliability of long-term (more than 100 years) model predictions.     

Policies to promote energy conservation in China

Various characteristics of the Chinese energy system have contributed to inefficient energy use. In recent years, severe energy shortages in China and rising international concerns over greenhouse gas emissions have sparked greater interest in efforts to promote energy conservation and reduce China's currently high levels of energy waste. This paper briefly presents the results of a series of long-term energy and carbon emissions scenarios for China. Based on these results, this paper then identifies the following policy options and measures as the most effective means for improving the efficiency of energy use in China; re-adjusting the structure of China's economy, improving China's energy pricing system and improving the efficiencies of China's energy-generating and end-use technologies.     

Barriers' and policies' analysis of China's building energy efficiency

With the rapid economic growth and the improvement of people's living standards, China's building energy consumption has kept rising during the past 15 years. Under the effort of the Chinese government and the society, China's building energy efficiency has made certain achievements. However, the implementation of building energy efficiency in China is still far from its potential. Based on the analysis of the existing policies implemented in China, the article concluded that the most essential and the most effective ways to promote building energy efficiency is the government's involvement as well as economic and financial incentives. In addition, the main barriers in the process of promoting building energy efficiency in China are identified in six aspects. It has been found that the legal system and administrative issues constitute major barriers, and the lack of financial incentives and the mismatching of market mechanism also hamper the promotion of building energy efficiency. Finally, in view of the existing policies and barriers analysis, three corresponding policy proposals are presented.