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Books > Business & Economics > Industry & industrial studies > Energy industries & utilities
Energy has become a major element to Russia's attempts, under Putin, to restore its influence over former Soviet territories and reaffirm itself as the dominant regional power. This book investigates how Russia has manipulated the energy of its neighbours on Russian energy supplies to achieve its foreign policy goals, focusing in particular on relations with Ukraine. This book, based on a multitude of primary Ukrainian and Russian primary sources until now not brought to the attention of Western readers, examines important events such as Russia's January 2006 suspension of gas supplies to Ukraine, and the implications for Ukraine's 'Orange Revolution', other post-Soviet states and Western Europe. However, it goes further in showing how domestic political conditions in non-Russian states may facilitate Russia's use of energy as a foreign policy weapon, investigating the local groups that often receive significant profits from allowing Russia to control energy markets and energy transit possibilities. With European countries becoming more dependent upon Russian energy, this book will be of interest not only to Russian Studies and Eastern European Studies experts, but to scholars of international relations and European politics.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has emerged rapidly as a crucial technological option for decarbonising electricity supply and mitigating climate change. Great hopes are being pinned on this new technology but it is also facing growing scepticism and criticism. This book is the first to bring together the full range of social and policy issues surrounding CCS shedding new light on this potentially vital technology and its future. The book covers many crucial topics including the roles and positions that different publics, NGOs, industry, political parties and media are taking up; the way CCS is organised, supported and regulated; how CCS is being debated and judged; how innovation, demonstration and learning are occurring and being conceptualised and promoted; and the role of CCS in the transition to a low carbon energy future. The authors draw on a variety of approaches, concepts, methods and themes and provide a new understanding of innovation in the energy and climate change fields. It tackles the many issues in a way that speaks to those concerned not only to understand these developments, but to those who are involved in the scientific and technological work itself, as well as those charged with evaluating and making decisions relevant to the future of the technology.
Today's urban water managers are faced with an unprecedented set of issues that call for a different approach to urban water management. These include the urgent changes needed to respond to climate change, population growth, growing resource constraints, and rapidly increasing global urbanization. Not only are these issues difficult to address, but they are facing us in an environment that is increasingly unpredictable and complex. Although innovative, new tools are now available to water professionals to address these challenges, solving the water problems of tomorrow cannot be done by the water professionals alone. Instead, the city of the future, whether in the developed or developing world, must integrate water management planning and operations with other city services to meet the needs of humans and the environment in a dramatically superior manner. Water Sensitive Cities has been developed from selected papers from 2009 Singapore Water Week "Planning for Sustainable Solutions" and also papers taken from other IWA events. It pulls together material that supports the water professionals' need for useful and up-to-date material. Authors: Carol Howe, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, The Netherlands Cynthia Mitchell, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Part of Water Quality Set - Buy all four books and save over 30% on buying separately! Drinking Water Quality Management from Catchment to Consumer is a best practice book that builds on the experience of water suppliers and experts across the world in order to provide a practical guide to help utilities improve the management of drinking water quality. It is based on the Water Safety Plan approach and the principles of the Bonn Charter for Safe Drinking Water, and is intended to complement and support other relevant publications particularly the WHO Water Safety Plan Manual. It has evolved from the work of The Bonn Network which is a global group of water suppliers originally established to develop and share best practice in drinking water quality management based on the Bonn Charter. The emphasis is on practical information "by operators for operators", learning from the experience of a range of water suppliers across the world. The book supports and encourages users to think through the best way for them to improve drinking water quality management taking account of local factors. It recognises that whilst water suppliers are central to the provision of good drinking water, this has to take place within a broader legal, institutional, and financial framework which is the responsibility of Government and others. It thus highlights the ways that water suppliers can work with a range of partners to ensure that all are committed to the same goal of good safe drinking water. Drinking Water Quality Management from Catchment to Consumer is an essential reference for water quality, laboratory and operational managers from water utilities around the world. It is also helpful to consultants working in this area and regulatory, health and municipal, and catchment management authorities. The book is of interest to academics working in the field of drinking water quality, and risk management and may be used on any courses aimed at managing drinking water quality.
The greatest challenge of our time is to build a world based on the sustainable use of renewable power. Our massive dependence on fossil fuels has upset the very climatic system that made human evolution possible. The global economy and its financial system are in jeopardy, running hot on overtly cheap yet increasingly costly and fast depleting oil. A 100% renewable world is seen by many as an impossible dream in anything but the very long term. But not only do a growing number of initiatives and plans dare to make the change but many have already achieved it. This rich collection presents a series of pioneering efforts and their champions, and the paths to their successes. Ranging from initiatives by individuals to visions for companies, communities and entire countries, it defeats tired economic and technical counter-arguments, showing how the schemes featured not only can and do work but do so economically and with available technology. The book is introduced by incisive writing by Peter Droege, explaining the challenges and framing a roadmap towards a 100% renewable reality.
Over the past 50 years the US economy has experienced economic dynamism and technological change at a dizzying pace, driven substantially by innovation in digital communication technology. This dynamism has had limited effects in the electricity industry, and institutional change within the industry to adapt to these changes has been variable. Many states in the U.S. do not participate in open wholesale markets, and even more states have either no retail markets or have implemented such a restricted and politicized version of retail markets that potential retail market entrants still face substantial entry barriers. This book explores institutional design and regulatory policies in the US electricity industry that can adapt to unknown and changing conditions produced by economic, social, and technological change. Whereas the dominant regulatory paradigm has traditionally been centralized economic and physical control based on natural monopoly theory and power systems engineering, the ideas presented and synthesized by Kiesling compose a different paradigm - decentralized economic and physical coordination through contracts, transactions, price signals, and integrated intertemporal wholesale and retail markets. Digital communication technology, and its increasing pervasiveness and affordability, make this decentralized coordination possible. Kiesling argues that with decentralized coordination, distributed agents themselves control part of the system, and in aggregate their actions produce order. Technology makes this order feasible, but the institutions, the rules governing the interaction of agents in the system, contribute substantially to whether or not order can emerge from this decentralized coordination process.
This book is the latest in a series of respected volumes that provides an up-to-date review of some of the major chemistry topics related to the oil and gas industry. Divided into four sections, it looks in turn at the latest developments in environmental issues, new technology, applications and flow assurance. This reflects the increasingly important role for chemical technologies in offshore, deep water and challenging environments, allied to developments of low environmental impact chemistry. Regulatory strategies are also discussed, from both the governmental and operational perspective. Overall, Chemistry in the Oil Industry VII presents the latest information on developments in the modern oil industry, which will have an impact on future cost-effectiveness and efficiency. It will be a valuable resource for professionals and consultants within the industry, as well as government agencies and laboratory staff.
Are oil-rich countries prone to war? And, if so, why? There is a widely held belief that contemporary wars are motivated by the desire of great powers like the United States or Russia to control precious oil resources and to ensure energy security. This book argues that the main reason why oil-rich countries are prone to war is because of the character of their society and economy. Sectarian groups compete for access to oil resources and finance their military adventures through smuggling oil, kidnapping oil executives, or blowing up pipelines. Outside intervention only makes things worse. The use of conventional military force as in Iraq can bring neither stability nor security of supply. This book examines the relationship between oil and war in six different regions: Angola, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Indonesia, Nigeria and Russia. Each country has substantial oil reserves, and has a long history of conflict. The contributors assess what part oil plays in causing, aggravating or mitigating war in each region and how this relation has altered with the changing nature of war. It offers a novel conceptual approach bringing together Kaldor's work on 'new wars' and Karl's work on the petro-state.
Water quality processes in the drinking water distribution network are strongly influenced by the flow velocity and residence time of the water in the network. In order to understand how the water quality changes in the drinking water distribution network, a good understanding of hydraulics is required. Specifically in the periphery of the network, where customers are connected, the hydraulics can change rapidly. During the night time the water is almost stagnant and the residence time increases. In the morning, when everybody gets up and flushes the toilet and takes a shower, high flow velocities can occur. During the remainder of the day flow velocities are low. The stochastic endues model SIMDEUM was developed to simulate water use on a small time scale (1 s) and small spatial scale (per fixture). SIMDEUM enables a good model of flow velocities, residence times and the connected water quality processes in the water distribution network. Stochastic Water Demand Modelling: Hydraulics in Water Distribution Networks describes the requirements of hydraulics in water quality modelling and provides insight into the development of detailed residential and non-residential water demand models. The book illustrates the use of detailed demand models in water quality models with respect to the variation in residence times and the relation with particle accumulation and resuspension. The models are compared to measurements in several real drinking water distribution networks.
Tapping Water Markets is about the past, present, and future of water markets. It compares water markets with political water allocation, documents the growth of water markets, and explores the ways in which water markets can be improved and implemented further. This book provides up-to-date information of where and why water shortages are occurring and where and why water markets are evolving to resolve conflicting water uses. Though the main focus is on the United States, it includes examples from other parts of the world to show how water markets are beginning to thrive. It contains institutional detail that is accessible to people who are not economic or hydrologic experts, and comes alive with numerous examples and case studies of water markets. The book begins with an analysis of water institutions as they have varied over time and location. It then covers a range of discrete water management topics including surface water allocation, groundwater management, environmental flows, and water quality trading. The book concludes with predictions about the future of water scarcity and the ability of water markets to shape that future more positively.
This Safety Guide provides recommendations on how to meet the requirements of IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SSR?2/1 (Rev. 1), Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Design, in relation to fuel handling and storage systems. The publication addresses the design aspects of handling and storage systems for fuel that remain part of the operational activities of a nuclear reactor. It covers the following stages of fuel handling and storage in a nuclear power plant: receipt, storage and inspection of fresh fuel before use and transfer of fresh fuel into the reactor; removal of irradiated fuel from the reactor and transfer of the irradiated fuel to the spent fuel pool; and reinsertion of irradiated fuel from the spent fuel pool into the reactor. Recommendations are also provided on the storage, inspection and repair of irradiated or spent fuel in the spent fuel pool, and the preparation for the removal of this fuel from the spent fuel pool and on the handling of fuel casks in the spent fuel pool and on their transfer.
Australia's Uranium Trade explores why the export of uranium remains a highly controversial issue in Australia and how this affects Australia's engagement with the strategic, regime and market realms of international nuclear affairs. The book focuses on the key challenges facing Australian policy makers in a twenty-first century context where civilian nuclear energy consumption is expanding significantly while at the same time the international nuclear nonproliferation regime is subject to increasing, and unprecedented, pressures. By focusing on Australia as a prominent case study, the book is concerned with how a traditionally strong supporter of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime is attempting to recalibrate its interest in maximizing the economic and diplomatic benefits of increased uranium exports during a period of flux in the strategic, regime and market realms of nuclear affairs. Australia's Uranium Trade provides broader lessons for how - indeed whether - nuclear suppliers worldwide are adapting to the changing nuclear environment internationally.
Groundwater is becoming increasingly scarce while the demand for water continues to grow at a global scale. Understanding groundwater resources and their sustainable management is imperative for the future of groundwater use, conservation and protection. This revised and updated two-volume set, focused on sustainability, covers the economic values of groundwater production and use, including micro- and macroeconomic factors, groundwater markets, economic evaluation tools, climate change, transboundary issues and policy evaluation. It explores numerous applications and describes ways to evaluate the economics of groundwater use in the context of the larger ecosystem and the natural capital it provides. FEATURES OF THIS VOLUME Includes an important new chapter on groundwater sustainability management Addresses new examples of groundwater use that are applicable at both the local and international levels Provides the foundation for policy, program and project analysis for all major uses of groundwater Updates groundwater use data along with explanations of major production costs and use benefits Gives a new perspective on users' competition for the subsurface environment Production, Use, and Sustainability of Groundwater, Second Edition, the first volume of the two-volume set Groundwater Economics, is a must-have for any professional or student who needs to understand, evaluate and manage water resources from a range of production and use perspectives affecting groundwater resource sustainability.
Groundwater is a vitally important resource and as its use increases, the available supply is depleted, creating a ripple effect of impacts on both the environment and the economy that need to be disseminated to a larger audience of students and practitioners. This second edition of Groundwater Economics accomplishes just that. This two-volume set is a comprehensive work focused on the economic values of groundwater resources and use, and it reinforces the need for a strong economic rationale in decision-making relating to that use. This new edition includes a new chapter on sustainability as well as updating all chapters with a focus on sustainability. It thoroughly explains the economic value of groundwater for sustainable use and needs, with practical examples, and includes thirteen new and updated case studies on the economics of groundwater data for decision-making. It also addresses both local and regional groundwater economic choices through a series of applications at an international level. This set, written by a sustainability professional with decades of experience in managing groundwater use and protection, is written for other professionals as well as students, who need to understand and evaluate water resources and mange their use from a variety of sustainable approaches.
The Smart Grid has the potential to revolutionize electricity delivery systems, and the security of its infrastructure is a vital concern not only for cyber-security practitioners, engineers, policy makers, and utility executives, but also for the media and consumers. Smart Grid Security: An End-to-End View of Security in the New Electrical Grid explores the important techniques, challenges, and forces that will shape how we achieve a secure twenty-first century electric grid. Includes a Foreword by Michael Assante, President and CEO, National Board of Information Security ExaminersFollowing an overview of the components of the Smart Grid, the book delves into the evolution of security standards and regulations and examines ways in which the Smart Grid might be regulated. The authors discuss the technical details about how metering technology is being implemented and the likely threats and vulnerabilities that utilities will face. They address the home area network (HAN) and examine distribution and transmission-the foundation for the delivery of electricity, along with distributed generation, micro-grids, and operations. The book explores future concepts-such as energy storage and the use of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs)-in addition to the concomitant risk for fraud and manipulation with stored energy. Consumer-related issues are discussed as they pertain to emerging ways of receiving and generating energy. The book examines dysfunctions ranging from inadvertent outages to cyber-attack and presents recommendations on how to respond to these incidents. It concludes with speculation of future cyber-security challenges and discusses new ways that the grid can be defended, such as better key management and protection. Written in a style rigorous enough for the practitioner yet accessible to a broad audience, this comprehensive volume covers a topic that is becoming more critical to industry and consumers everywhere.
Urban climate adaptation currently focusses mainly on hazards but often ignores opportunities which arise in both space and time. Opportunistic Adaptation provides a rationalized approach to mainstream measures for climate adaptation into urban renewal cycles. Adaptation opportunities are identified by projecting the lifespans of urban assets into the future to obtain an operational urban adaptation agenda for the future. Upscaling of the adaptation process is done by synchronizing the end-of-lifecycle of a group of assets to develop adaptation clusters that comprise multiple dwellings, infrastructure as well as public spaces. An extensive catalogue of adaptation measures for different scale-levels ensures flexibility in the type of measures that can be integrated. Sequencing the adaptation measures over long periods of time provides insight and flexibility in the long-term protection standards that can be achieved. By applying a design-centered approach, the potentials of obtaining co-benefits in the urban landscape are maximized. Potentials of clustering of nature-based solutions are being considered which ensures to maximize the delivery of ecosystem services. This research aims to assess \the adaptation potential of Bangkok, based on a case study area (Lat Krabang) by mapping the adaptation opportunities and flood vulnerability. The resulting outputs will contribute to the development of a flexible and inclusive FRM strategy.
This timely study is the first to examine the relationship between competition for energy resources and the propensity for conflict in the Caspian region. Taking the discussion well beyond issues of pipeline politics and the significance of Caspian oil and gas to the global market, the book offers significant new findings concerning the impact of energy wealth on the political life and economies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. The contributors, a leading group of scholars and policymakers, explore the differing interests of ruling elites, the political opposition, and minority ethnic and religious groups region-wide. Placing Caspian development in the broader international relations context, the book assesses the ways in which Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey are fighting to protect their interests in the newly independent states and how competition for production contracts and pipeline routes influences regional security. Specific chapters also link regional issues to central questions of international politics and to theoretical debates over the role of energy wealth in political and economic development worldwide. Woven throughout the implications for U.S. policy, giving the book wide appeal to policymakers, corporate executives, energy analysts, and scholars alike.
Recent developments like the rising trend in crude oil price, the international economic crisis, the civil revolts in Northern Africa and the Middle East, the nuclear threat in Japan after the tsunami, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the economic growth of emerging countries like China and India have a direct relation to the security of energy supply anywhere in the world. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of energy risks, energy scenarios and energy policies with special reference to the European Union and its member states, emphasizing the economic and geopolitical dimensions of energy security. The book assesses both quantitatively and qualitatively the socioeconomic and political risks related to the European energy supply, together with the EU 's energy relations with other countries. Two innovative indicators have been developed to estimate geopolitical energy risks and energy-related relations with other countries. The book also examines the process of convergence of member states energy security policies, the path towards a common European energy policy, and the process of Europeanization projected towards the energy corridors through which the EU receive energy imports. In addition, alternative strategic scenarios related to energy risk are assessed. Finally, guidelines for the EU 's energy policy and new strategies using energy corridors are suggested in order to maximize EU 's energy security. The book should be of interest to students and researchers across a wide range of subjects, including energy economics and policy, energy and foreign policy in the EU, energy policies in EU member states and several aspects related to international political economy.
The new edition of this thoroughly considered textbook provides a reliable, accessible and comprehensive guide for students of photovoltaic applications and renewable energy engineering. Written by a group of award-winning authors it is brimming with information and is carefully designed to meet the needs of its readers. Along with exercises and references at the end of each chapter, it features a set of detailed technical appendices that provide essential equations, data sources and standards. The new edition has been fully updated with the latest information on photovoltaic cells, modules, applications and policy. Starting from basics with 'The Characteristics of Sunlight' the reader is guided step-by-step through semiconductors and p-n junctions; the behaviour of solar cells; cell properties and design; and PV cell interconnection and module fabrication. The book covers stand-alone photovoltaic systems; specific purpose photovoltaic systems; remote area power supply systems; grid-connected photovoltaic systems and water pumping. Applied Photovoltaics is highly illustrated and very accessible, providing the reader with all the information needed to start working with photovoltaics.
Any understanding of the complex politics of the post-Soviet Caucasus presupposes an understanding of the relationship between the transportation of Azerbaijan's oil, inter-state relations and ethnic conflicts. Energy and Security in the Caucasus is a contribution to the debate revolving around the geo-politics of the Caucasus.
Fuel Taxes and the Poor challenges the conventional wisdom that gasoline taxation, an important and much-debated instrument of climate policy, has a disproportionately detrimental effect on poor people. Increased fuel taxes carry the potential to mitigate carbon emissions, reduce congestion, and improve local urban environment. As such, higher gasoline taxes could prove to be a fundamental part of any climate action plan. However, they have been resisted by powerful lobbies that have persuaded people that increased fuel taxation would be regressive. Reporting on examples of over two dozen countries, this book sets out to empirically investigate this claim. The authors conclude that while there may be some slight regressivity in some high-income countries, as a general rule, fuel taxation is a progressive policy particularly in low income countries. Rich countries can correct for regressivity by cutting back on other taxes that adversely affect poor people, or by spending more money on services for the poor. Meanwhile, in low-income countries, poor people spend a very small share of their money on fuel for transport. Some costs from fuel taxes may be passed on to poor people through more expensive public transportation and food transport. Nevertheless, in general the authors find that gasoline taxes become more progressive as the income of the country in question decreases. This book provides strong arguments for the proponents of environmental taxation. It has immediate policy implications at the intersection of multiple subject areas, including transportation, environmental regulation, development studies, and climate change. Published with Environment for Development initiative.
Stability of the electricity industry is crucial for economic growth of all nations. Sustainable economic growth cannot be accomplished without secured energy supply. The book underlines how management of the electricity industry should be conducted and the efficient form of electricity market structure. The book also studies the electricity industry in Korea which has been a strongly supportive and vital factor in the economic development of Korea for the last few decades. The book focuses on the three market players of the electricity market and they are the suppliers, consumers and the government-related organizations. It includes detailed information on generation and finances at the generator level and analyzes the efficiency differences among generators, plants and business units by using different performance measurement methods. It identifies and analyzes different production factors' effectiveness and relationships in generation. The comprehensive analysis helps to provide explanations in the differences in the performance of the studied units. The book also discusses the implications of the findings for future resource allocation and how we can further enhance the efficiency of the industry. The book will appeal to those interested in energy and energy policies, as well as researchers and practitioners in the economic development and electricity and utilities industry.
This research aims to investigate the prevailing sediment dynamics and the sediment budget in the Mekong Delta by using a process-based model. Understanding sediment dynamics for the Mekong Delta requires high resolution analysis and detailed data, which is a challenge for managers and scientists. This study introduces such an approach and focuses on modeling the entire system with a process-based approach with Delft3D-4 and Delft3D Flexible Mesh (DFM). The first model is used to explore sediment dynamics at the coastal zone. The latter model allows straightforward coupling of 1D and 2D grids, making it suitable for analyzing the complex river and canal network of the Mekong Delta. The validated model suggests that the Mekong Delta receives ~99 Mt/year sediment from the Mekong River. This is much lower than the common estimate of 160 Mt/year. Only about 23% of the modelled total sediment load at Kratie is exported to the sea. The remaining portion is trapped in the rivers and floodplains of the Mekong Delta. The results advance understanding of sediment dynamics and sediment budget in the Mekong Delta. As such the model is an efficient tool to support delta management and planning.
This book explores the multifaceted aspects of India's energy security concerns. Bringing together a set of opinions and analysis from experts and policymakers, it sheds light on the context of India's energy insecurity and explores its various dimensions, its nature and extent. Contributors examine the role that trade, foreign and security policy should play in enhancing India's energy security. It is argued that the key challenge for India is to increase economic growth while at the same time keeping energy demands low. This is especially challenging with the transition from biomass to fossil fuels, the growth of motorized private transport, and rising incomes, aspirations and changing lifestyles. The book suggests that at this time there are strong arguments to lessen the fossil fuel path dependence and it argues for a need to engage with all the key sources of this dependence to implement a process of energy change. India's Energy Security is a timely contribution given the national and international interest in the issue of energy security and the possibility that energy concerns have the potential of becoming the cause of serious international conflicts. It will be of interest to academics and policy makers working in the field of Asian Studies, Energy Policy, International Relations and Security Studies.
The geopolitics of oil and gas have made a spectacular return to the international political agenda. The European Union (EU) has recognized the importance of incorporating energy security more systematically into foreign policy. It has committed itself to pursuing an energy security policy based on market interdependence, European unity and long-term governance improvements in producer states. In offering the first broad, global assessment of the foreign policy dimensions of EU energy security, this book considers how far these commitments have been implemented. Examining how the EU's general approach to energy security has played out in the specific political contexts of different countries and regions, distinctive features of the book include: a thorough analysis of current EU strategies towards energy security, assessing the EU as an international actor a key focus on the governance structures of producer states including the Middle East; Russia, Central Asia and the Caspian, and Sub-Saharan Africa a major addition to debates surrounding markets and geopolitics, informing both international relations and international political economy This book will be of interest to students, scholars and policy makers in the fields of European/EU Politics, energy politics, foreign policy and International Relations. |
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