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Abstract This paper provides new empirical insights on the capital structure of project-financed LNG infrastructures and gas pipeline projects, by using data relating to projects whose financial close occurred between June 2004 and March 2011. Most results are consistent with the basic view of risk-averse funds suppliers. Especially, the projects located in risky countries and larger projects tend to exhibit lower debt ratios and less-concentrated equity ownerships. In addition, regasification projects appear to have a more diluted equity ownership. Methodological issues raised by the financing of these projects are also examined from a capital-budgeting perspective. In particular, the equity residual method, usually used by industrial practitioners to value these projects, should be adjusted.

Abstract This article analyzes the CFTC's Disaggregated Commitments of Traders (DCOT) Report to get more insights into the behavior of different traders during the 2008 oil bubble. The analysis shows that: (1) the Money Manager category perfectly played the oil bubble, got in early and started selling shortly before the bubble peak; (2) the Producer/Merchant/Processor/User category and the Nonreportable category were covering their short positions into the peak of the bubble; (3) the Swap/Dealer category benefited while the price of oil was rising, but incurred heavy losses as the price of oil collapsed; (4) we find no indications of speculation by any group of traders via the positive feedback trading or rational destabilization; and (5) we do, however, criticize the commercial hedgers for failing to arbitrage the soaring oil prices in 2008.

Local citizen-led initiatives relating to energy are developing strongly in Anglo-Saxon countries and a growing body of research is examining their innovative potential. In France, similar grassroots initiatives – albeit with certain specificities – only began to emerge recently and so far, very few studies have dealt with them. The purpose of this article is to propose an exploratory and in-depth analysis of one advanced French case: Le Mene, a pioneer in local energy autonomy. We examine the conditions under which the initiative emerged and the processes through which a grassroots innovation is formed. In studying this case (interviews, analysis of documents), comparing it with other sources of data (expert interviews, comparative observation of other initiatives) and taking stock of various social sciences studies, we show that a social innovation was produced in Le Mene through the hybridisation of actors, sociotechniques and discourses. This initiative was innovative not only in terms of the scope of the mechanisms implemented, but also in terms of the social organisation behind the development of the projects and the capacity to use energy production as a social resource. Finally, we reflect on the possible diffusion of these grassroots initiatives and their policy implications in France.

Abstract This paper studies how the vertical structure of the electricity industry affects the social welfare when the incumbent has a cost advantage in generation relative to the entrants. The model consists of a generation sector and a transmission sector. In the generation sector the incumbent and entrants compete in a Cournot fashion taking as given the access charge to the transmission network set in advance by the regulator to maximize the social welfare. Two vertical structures, integration and separation , are considered. Under vertical separation the transmission network is established as an organization independent of every generator, whereas under vertical integration it is a part of the incumbent's organization. The optimal vertical structure is shown to depend on the number of entrants. If the number of entrants is smaller than a certain threshold, vertical separation is superior in welfare to vertical integration, and vice versa. This is because the choice of vertical structure produces a trade-off in the effects on competition promotion and production efficiency. If a break-even constraint is imposed in the transmission sector, however, vertical integration is shown to be always superior in welfare.

Abstract This paper compares policies and programs in several European countries, Japan and the USA that could enhance the energy efficiency of office technology. Different programs are examined, including federal government programs. In some cases target values for power usage of office equipment have already been set through these federal government programs. Large customer procurement programs, industry involvement, with emphasis on voluntary labeling programs, and research projects are also examined. Procedures that provide energy consumption measurements of various types of equipment are important for providing information to emerging procurement programs. Two sets of proposed test procedures for testing energy consumption of copiers, fax machines and printers are examined and compared. The results provide information for emerging programs and provide a strong basis for a variety of further research and areas for cooperation.

Abstract The interaction or feedback between energy efficiencies or energy intensities and energy use has long been the topic of debate. Some have argued that energy efficiency improvements, by reducing energy intensities and therefore lowering the cost of energy services, would lead to 'rebound’ effects offsetting much or all of any initial savings in energy. In this paper we analyse historical data on energy use, efficiency and pricing in different sectors to try and identify 'rebounds'. For the period of our data (since about 1970) we show that key measures of activity (car use, manufacturing output and structure, house area, etc.) have changed little in response to changes in energy prices or efficiency, instead continuing their long-term evolution relative to GDP or other driving factors. While our analysis cannot disentangle more macro-level economic feedbacks in a detailed way, we show indirectly that such effects also appear to have been small over the 1970s and 1980s. Overall, our analysis of disaggregated sectoral and subsectoral energy-use and activity trends in a variety of IEA economies, suggests that any feedback effect is small compared to both the effects on energy use of changes in energy intensities and overall economic growth. We conclude that most of the improvements in energy efficiencies led to reductions in energy intensities observed in the 1970s and 1980s. Weighted by 1990 activity levels, intensities were roughly 15–20% lower in 1994/5 than in 1973, which in turn meant real savings of energy; energy demand in IEA countries is roughly this much below what it would have been for the same GDP had these savings not occurred. “Rebounds” may have taken back some of the overall savings, but most remain, even after the fall of oil prices in 1986. Any boost to GDP as a result of these savings could not have been sufficient to increase energy demand enough to significantly alter these conclusions. That the savings remained after the fall in oil prices supports the notion that net savings — restrained energy growth relative to GDP in some formulations — arise from technological progress, even if energy prices do not increase. How far this effect can reach, however, is a matter of considerable debate.

Climate change related environmental problems are pushing a constantly growing number of countries to set carbon neutrality goals. Increasing reliance on ecologically friendly technologies is widely considered to be a crucial means of achieving this objective. Many existing studies measure environmental performance using carbon dioxide emissions, or carbon sources, but do not consider the amount of carbon offset through sequestration in carbon sinks. We define carbon neutrality performance as the difference between the carbon sinks and carbon sources and quantify its relationship with green technological innovation, approximated using the notion of environmental productivity. We rely on the Chinese province-level data from 2001 to 2019 and demonstrate that green innovation can significantly facilitate the attainment of carbon neutrality objectives. Our mediation model suggests that low-carbon innovation can help reach carbon neutrality by decreasing net emissions directly, but also by inhibiting the urbanization rate and promoting renewable energy generation. Our analysis helps shed light on the possible strategies that policymakers in China and other developing countries can follow to realize their carbon neutrality aspirations.