• Energy Research

Abstract The Shin-Meishin Expressway is being constructed from Nagoya to Kobe in Japan, and the section from Takatsuki to Kobe is currently under construction as a viable alternative route as opposed to the Meishin Expressway. However, highway construction is usually considered destructive to the natural environment due to the deforestation required during construction, as well as subsequent increases in CO2 emissions upon completion of new highways as new traffic is brought to the area. By applying a system dynamics methodology with respect to the Meishin and Shin-Meishin Expressways, this study analyzes two major effects of new highway construction (CO2 absorption and CO2 emissions) as well as the potential influence of felling, replanting, and/or maintaining the surrounding forest area on the overall CO2 absorption capacity, net CO2 emissions, and total CO2 stock in the analyzed construction area. Regarding CO2 absorption, it was found that, if the portion of the forest felled during construction is very old, new highway construction can help to recover the lost CO2 absorption capacity by planting new trees along the highway, even if the area of planting is much smaller than the area of felling trees. As for CO2 emissions, it was found that mitigating traffic congestion and decreasing the required driving distance can reduce CO2 emissions from the highway(s) in question. Therefore, this study concludes that new highway construction does not always harm the environment regarding CO2 pollution, as the harmful impacts commonly associated with highway construction can be mitigated with other technological and/or ecological mitigation methods.

Abstract Renewable energy has gained popularity as an alternative to fossil fuels, which regularly emit large amounts of Greenhouse Gases and consume/withdraw large amounts of water, but renewable energy market penetration is still limited while fossil fuels are still the U.S.‘s dominant power source. This is due to resistance in the market, or in this case, the failure of renewable energy policies to achieve long-term environmental sustainability due to neglected external factors (economic, societal, etc.). No available literature analyzes potential sources and/or effects of this policy resistance, so this research investigates the underlying mechanisms in the renewable energy generation market by utilizing a system dynamics model. A two-alternative Generalized Bass Model was developed to simulate the renewable energy market (specifically with respect to solar PV and wind energy), including the environmental, societal, and economic concerns associated with each of the alternatives evaluated in this study, so as to identify and address possible causes of policy resistance and its subsequent effects on environmental impacts (esp. GHG emissions and water withdrawal rates). Based on this model, three separate policy areas (solar PV investments, wind power investments, and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies) and various combinations thereof were proposed and tested within the context of the model. Based on the results of this study, it is highly recommended to invest as generously as possible into multiple renewable energy industries, reduce fossil fuel subsidies (in turn freeing up funding for renewable energy investments), and seek further advancement in renewable energy technologies (e.g. enhancing the useable lifetimes of wind turbines). A balanced policy have potential to increase the share of renewable's up to roughly 40% in the U.S. by 2050, as well as 17% and 32% GHG and water withdrawal reduction potential by 2050.