• Energy Research
• Restricted close
• CN close
• GB close
• Energy Policy close

The beneficial results of the exponential expansion of photovoltaic installations in Germany and Italy are discussed. Remarkable falls in the peak price of electricity have been observed in both countries. The reasons are discussed in the light of the data from the Kombikraftwerk project. This has demonstrated, in a scaled, real-time experiment, how the demand on the German grid can be met by photovoltaics and wind with back-up from biogas and (pumped hydro) storage. We discuss the implications of the fall in price of photovoltaic cells particularly for 3rd generation technology. Using the specific example of the UK, we demonstrate the advantages of the complementary nature of wind and photovoltaic resources. We demonstrate that the wind and photovoltaic capacity targets for an all renewably powered UK are likely to be significantly lower than in Germany. We conclude by summarising the evidence in favour of a moratorium on all new electricity generation other than by the renewables.

Abstract Improving energy supply efficiency and quality is regarded as a key pathway to shifting towards a fully sustainable energy system. To address the low efficiency and high emissions in the downstream oil industry caused by the problem of vertically integrated monopoly, the Chinese government is making an effort to promote a multiproduct pipeline network reform. The fundamental and indispensable step for this goal is the pipeline network interconnectivity. This paper quantifies the energy-environmental impacts of the pipeline network interconnectivity reform on China's downstream oil supply chain to 2030. An integrated framework is developed to obtain the detailed design-scale information required for assessment, introducing demand forecasting and demand reallocation into a pipeline network optimal planning model. The model is formulated as a fuzzy mixed integer linear programming that optimizes the infrastructure development scheme and supply chain operation plan simultaneously while taking into account demand uncertainty. The results show that, compared with the baseline, the pipeline interconnectivity reform could reduce yearly energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 9.7–19.8% and 12.5–17.9%, respectively. It is shown that this reform policy could overcome infrastructure constraints, increase pipeline utilization, and improve both energy and environmental performance. The proposed framework can be a theoretical guideline for policymakers within and beyond China.

A claim has been that 97% of the scientific literature endorses anthropogenic climate change (Cook et al., 2013. Environ. Res. Lett. 8, 024024). This claim, frequently repeated in debates about climate policy, does not stand. A trend in composition is mistaken for a trend in endorsement. Reported results are inconsistent and biased. The sample is not representative and contains many irrelevant papers. Overall, data quality is low. Cook's validation test shows that the data are invalid. Data disclosure is incomplete so that key results cannot be reproduced or tested. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

While for wind, solar energy or hydropower, energy supply happens directly from the source to the wind wheels, hydropower turbines or solar panels, in the case of biogas, energy production cannot directly take from the energy source, organic matter, but depends on the institutional structures and farmers' practices involved for making energy available. With the production of bioenergy in rural areas, practices within agriculture are transformed, requiring new ways of organizing production processes. Research has left the question largely unanswered of how agricultural biogas production and use are – and can best be – organized within rural society. Which kinds of social organization exist, how are these embedded in existing agricultural institutions and practices, and how do these systems function? Under which conditions may the different kinds of social organization of biogas production and use work sustainably? This introduction article to the Special Issue “The social organization of agricultural biogas production and use” presents a framework for analysing the different kinds of social organization of biogas production and use presented hereafter. Analysis parameters are the supply network, distribution network, distribution of benefits, social boundaries of the system (accessibility) and scale. Using these parameters, the Special Issue articles are outlined.

We take inspiration from the Modern Portfolio Theory introduced by Markowitz to propose a simplified strategy for the portfolio management of renewable energy sources based on Gaussian fluctuations with tunable correlations. By analyzing the impact of production fluctuations, we show how - depending on the sources' temporal correlation patterns - a careful geographical allocation of different types of renewal energy sources can reduce both the energy needs for balancing the power system and its uncertainty. The proposed strategy can be easily integrated in a decision support system for the planning of renewable energy sources. Therefore, providing policy/decision makers with an additional tool. We test our strategy on a set of case studies including a real-case based on literature data for solar and wind sources, and discuss how to extend the computation to non-Gaussian sources. The paper shows that in the Markowitz framework an efficient trade-off between production and fluctuations can be easily achieved, and that such framework also leads to important considerations on energy security. In perspective, analysis of time series together with such enriched frameworks would allow for the analysis of multiple realistic renewable generation scenarios helping decisions on the optimal size and spatial allocation of future energy storage facilities.

There is increasing attention for the contribution of emerging economies to global innovation, including innovation of renewable energy technologies. The Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework presents a list of system functions for the analysis of the development of a technology. It has often been applied to renewable energy technologies, but with a strong focus on advanced economies. In this paper, we elaborate on emerging economy innovation system formation, structured according to TIS functions. Rather than analysing development of the technology, we analyse the development of the Chinese TIS vis-a-vis the global forefront. Key to this notion is that TIS, especially for clean-tech, are transnational phenomena. Lagging TIS depend on the global TIS, whereas leading TIS contribute to its formation. It is concluded that China has reduced its dependence on foreign knowledge and investment, but the outward contribution remains limited. The main challenge to foreign market expansion lies in reforming the domestic TIS to focus on turbine quality rather than cost reduction. Demonstration projects are needed, especially for large capacity and offshore turbine models, in order to build up operational history and get quality certification.

The Chinese government since 1995 has carried out programs for the construction of household biogas digesters in the Chinese countryside. Despite the large governmental spending in the building of household biogas digesters, only 12.16% of the households suitable to produce and use biogas, have built a digester (Li, 2009). This article asks which factors on the household level may be important for the decision whether or not to build a biogas digester. Based on a survey with 1227 households from Guangxi, Hubei, Shandong and Gansu provinces, results of a binary Probit Model show that the governmental promotion of biogas has a significant effect on households’ decision. The question arises which households may, if governmental programs were to be running out, be most likely to construct a household biogas digester? The household head's age, the number of household members staying at home, the total household income and the subjective discount rate of the respondents are significant factors in a farm household's decision to build a biogas digester. However, also agro-climatic conditions reveal to be decisive, which is why technical solutions for tackling the low productivity of biogas digesters in cold regions may need to be further considered.

The claim that 97% of the scientific literature endorses anthropogenic climate change (Cook et al., 2013, Environmental Research Letters) does not stand. Numbers are padded with many irrelevant papers. A trend in composition is mistaken for a trend in endorsement. Reported results are inconsistent. The sample is not representative. Key results cannot be reproduced or tested as data disclosure is incomplete.