• Energy Research
• Closed Access close
• Restricted close
• Embargo close
• 11. Sustainability close
• 1. No poverty close
• SE close

Over the past three decades, Swedish energy policy has evolved in three major stages—oil reduction, phase-out of nuclear energy, renewable energy—each with a different focus. Since 1977, Swedish law has required municipalities to develop an energy plan that addresses the supply, distribution, and use of energy. Whether such plans have contributed to the development of local energy-systems has been a subject for debate. This paper is based on a study of 12 municipal energy-plans that attempted to control and develop local energy-systems in southern Sweden. The analysis examines how municipalities promote oil reduction, efficient energy use, and the use of renewable energy. The plans varied in planning processes, contents, and level of ambition. The results of the study show that the contents of the plans follow the national energy-policies with respect to reduction of oil use, improved energy efficiency, and increased use of renewable energy.

In order to contribute to knowledge on how-to expand bioenergy this paper examines an example of success from Sweden. The idea is to identify factors that can explain the difference between success and failure of bioenergy systems. In the aftermath of the oil crises in the 1970s, the local government in the town of Enkoping in Sweden was cautioned by the local Swedish military regiment to shift towards domestic energy supplies rather than imported fossil fuels. During the decades that followed the local energy companies developed a pioneering bioenergy system. There are 3 important conditions relevant, to explain the success: (1) the introduction of the carbon tax in Sweden provided market conditions making bioenergy sufficiently competitive with fossil fuels; (2) the know-how developed by the local energy companies through experimentation and collaboration with research institutions encouraged investments in local opportunities; and (3), the formation of partnerships in a regional network of actors, including private companies providing biofuels and technology, research institutions, and local government, helped to co-ordinate the development of the bioenergy system. (Less)

Trends in energy intensities for 31 countries are evaluated, over the period from 1950 to 1988, using a purchasing power parity-based GDP measure and United Nations energy statistics. With non-commercial energy included, the energy intensities of low income countries are similar to those of high income countries. Energy intensities have decreased for 15 out of the 31 countries studied. The analysis indicates that there is a level of energy intensity, between 0.25 and 0.5 toe per 1000 (1980) international dollars, to which many countries are converging. Energy use per capita increases with higher incomes, but cross-country comparisons can be misleading and inappropriate due to large differences in, for example, economic structure and climate. Electricity appears to be the energy carrier of choice for advanced economies, leading to increased use of electricity relative to other energy carriers. Electricity intensities for eight industrialized countries are evaluated. In four countries, electricity intensities have decreased in recent years. This result suggests that electricity intensities may develop similarly to how energy intensities have developed as economic structure and energy end-use efficiency continue to change.

It is often argued that the inequality in the world is increasing. We study the global income and resource inequality between 1960 and late 1990s. Income is measured in GDP/capita in terms of both current market exchange rate and purchasing power parity (PPP). Consumption of paper, energy, electricity, food, animal food, as well as emissions of carbon dioxide, is also studied. Changes in the absolute and relative gap between the top and bottom 20% consumers as well as the Atkinson measure are used as inequality indicators. Some remarks are made on how to compare income across countries and how inequality should be measured. We find that the inequality in terms of GDP/capita measured in PPP terms is rather stable in relative terms, but increasing in absolute terms. We conclude that inequality as measured by the Atkinson index is decreasing for all resources but that the gap in resource consumption in absolute terms is increasing for paper and electricity consumption.

Abstract In order to promote the development of energy storage industry and relieve the retirement pressure of EV batteries, the application of retired EV batteries in energy storage for second-life use has gained significant attentions. Considering that distributed battery storages are still not economically attractive enough at present, the booming of sharing economy may provide a more feasible option. Based on a non-cooperative game theoretical model, this study aims to explore the impact of sharing business models on economic performance of retired EV batteries integrated with distributed PV systems. Four scenarios were proposed, including: a traditional scenario of S1 - individual battery storages, the sharing scenarios of S2 - shared battery storage, S3 - shared PV generation, and S4 - shared battery storage and shared PV generation. Through a case study in Beijing, the obtained results show that: (i)although sharing business models may not guarantee to bring economic benefits to each individual, they can contribute to a reduction in electricity expenses of the whole community; (ii) sharing business models can enhance PV self-consumption ratio and battery utilization ratio; (iii) sharing business models can improve the NPV by 1995 RMB-6975 RMB compared to the traditional scenario.

A service transition is supposed to lead to the decline of energy intensity (energy/GDP). We argue that this interpretation is overly optimistic because the shift to a service economy is somewhat of an illusion in terms of real production. Several recent studies of structural effects on energy intensity have made the error of using sector shares in current prices, combined with GDP in constant prices, which is inconsistent and ignores the different behaviour of prices across sectors. We use the more correct method of sector shares in constant prices, and make an attempt to single out the effect from the real service transition by using two complementary methods: shift share analyses in current and constant prices, and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) for 10 developed and 3 emerging economies. A service transition is rather modest in real terms. The major driver of the decline in energy intensity rests within the manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, the transition to a service sector had a small downward impact on energy intensity in 7 of the developed countries (and no impact in the others). For emerging economies like Brazil, Mexico and India, it is the residential sector that drives energy intensity down because of the declining share of this sector as the formal economy grows, and as a consequence of switching to more efficient fuels. (Less)

Electric vehicles have a potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions but still face challenges. This study asks what can be learned from the US automobile history. In 1900, there were three equal contenders in the US automotive industry: gasoline, electric and steam cars. Only a decade later, the gasoline car had achieved a crushing dominance. This dominance is often attributed to techno-economic factors, such as an innate inferiority of electric cars. Meanwhile, the role of the infrastructures is not well understood. This study presents evidence on the mechanisms behind the rise of gasoline vehicles, using a database of more than 36,000 passenger car models. We estimated econometric models to explain the technology choice of car producers, which show that the slow expansion of electricity infrastructure had a key impact. We estimate that a 15 or 20 year earlier diffusion of electricity grids would have tipped the balance in favour of electric vehicles, most notably in metropolitan areas. In the context of the current climate crisis, the results support the notion that large-scale investment in infrastructure is critical to achieve sustainable socio-technological transitions. The dominance of gasoline vehicles in the automotive market has been attributed to techno-economic factors, though the role of infrastructure development remains understudied. Taalbi and Nielsen quantify the impact of rates of highway and electricity infrastructure development in the technology choice in the early automotive industry

Abstract Cites have been identified as one key arena to meet future sustainability challenges. However, if cites are to be part of the transition it must become possible to confirm results of ongoing actions. By the introduction information and communication technologies, it has become easier to collect performance parameters from the built environment, thereby enable more detailed evaluation. The aim of this paper is therefore to examine the potential and limitation of using dynamic and high resolution meter data for evaluation of energy consumption in buildings and households. The novelty of this approach is that dynamic and high resolution meter data can increase the level of detail in evaluation results and ease detection of deviations in the structures performance. However, most benefits are found from the occupant perspective, as more detailed evaluation information enable better inclusion of this stakeholder group. Furthermore this study has shown that the commonly used indicator energy use per heated floor area is an insufficient communication tool when taking holistic approach to building energy evaluation. Limitation to full use of dynamic and high resolution meter data have been identified to data collection and management, preservation of personal integrity and incentives to react on the given evaluation information.

Abstract There is a growing scientific consensus that limiting the increase in global average temperature to around 2 °C above pre-industrial levels is necessary to avoid unacceptable impact on the climate system. This requires that the developed countries’ emissions are radically reduced during the next 40 years. Energy scenario studies provide insights on the societal transitions that might be implied by such low-carbon futures, and in this paper we discuss how a greater attention to different governance and institutional issues can complement future scenario exercises. The analysis is based on a critical review of 20 quantitative and qualitative scenario studies, all of relevance for meeting long-term climate policy objectives. The paper: (a) analyzes some key differences in energy technology mixes and primary energy use patterns across these studies; (b) briefly explores the extent and the nature of the societal challenges and policy responses implied; and (c) discusses a number of important implications for the design and scope of future scenario studies. Our review shows that in previous scenario studies the main attention is typically paid to analyzing the impact of well-defined and uniform policy instruments, while fewer studies factor in the role of institutional change in achieving different energy futures. We therefore point towards a number of strategies of integrating issues of transition governance into future scenario analyses, and argue for a closer synthesis of qualitative and quantitative scenario building.