This edited collection details and analyses the dramatic changes that the international political economy of energy has undergone in the past decade. This change began with the increasing assertiveness of Russia when the oil price rose above the $100 mark in 2008. This, combined with the rise of shale oil and gas, made the USA all but self-sufficient in terms of fossil fuels. The collapse of the oil price in 2014-15, Saudi Arabia's new strategy of defending its market share and the increasingly tense and controversial relationship between the West and Russia all worked to further strengthen the geopolitical dimension of energy in Europe. The global result is a world in which geopolitics play a bigger part than ever before; the central question the authors of this volume grapple with is how the EU - and European small states - can deal with this. Chapter 4 of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

This book is a study on the Japanese city gas industry, which has been rapidly liberalized in recent years. Especially, it focuses on the background, reasons, methods, and effects of the privatization of publicly owned city gas utilities in Japan. In Japan, after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the liberalization of the electric power and gas business has progressed rapidly. There are a number of studies on the reform of Japan's electricity market, but there are few studies on city gas business. This book describes the state of Japan's public city gas utilities and the necessity of their privatization. And it explains the role of concession as a method of privatization. Then it verifies that the effects of past privatization cases are insufficient. The book also covers deregulation of public utilities in Europe, which triggered Japan's liberalization of its energy and other public utility sectors, and privatization of electricity and gas businesses in India, a developing country in Asia. Finally, this book explores future regulation and business of city gas industry. Pipeline network should be regulated to comply with future unbundling starting from 2022, and gas business altogether with electricity and water businesses need more digitization.

This open access book introduces a multi-disciplinary and comprehensive research on China's long-term low-carbon emission strategies and pathways. After comprehensively considering China's own socioeconomic conditions, policy design, energy mix, and other macro-development trends and needs, the research team has proposed suggestions on China's low-carbon development strategies and pathways until 2050, with required technologies and policies in order to realize the goals of building a great modern socialist country and a beautiful China. These achievements are in conjunction with the climate goals set in the Paris Agreement alongside Global Sustainable Development. The authors hope that the research findings can serve as a reference for all sectors of Chinese society in their climate research efforts, offer support for the formulation and implementation of china's national low-carbon development strategies and policies, and help the world to better understand China's story in the general trend of global green and low-carbon development.

This book presents new vision of regional de-carbonization with concrete scheme design and substantial quantitative demonstration from original interdisciplinary studies. It provides new horizon for not only climate change, environmental conservation but also for international cooperation and peace in East Asia. The chapters introduce diverse low carbon society principles from local to global level with best practices integrating technology evolution and social innovation. While the book is designated for academics and the ultimate goal is to facilitate international climate regime making and environmental cooperation, local government and international organizations (United Nations, World Bank, and others) officers, researchers, international NGO/NPOs, consultants, students (particularly those studying environmental policy studies or international relationships), as well as reporters will find this book useful in broadening their understanding of low-carbon development in East Asia.

Access to modern energy is central in addressing the major global challenges of the 21st century, including poverty, climate change and famine. However large parts of the world, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have poor or no access to modern energy. Victoria Nalule argues that SSA countries have many common energy challenges which could be tackled with collective efforts through regional cooperation. By means of a legal and comparative analysis and a seven-step framework, the book explores the current regional mechanisms employed in Africa to address the challenge of energy poverty and access and whether they are effective in tackling the challenge of energy access, including regional energy infrastructure and regional energy regulations. Chapters discuss the evolution of regionalism in SSA and the role of regional cooperation in the development of renewable energy as a means of confronting both energy access and climate change. Specifically the nexus between energy access, renewable energy and climate change is covered as well as the potential of fossil fuels in addressing energy poverty. The establishment and development of regional energy infrastructure as one of the mechanisms of addressing energy access challenges in SSA and regional efforts to harmonise energy regulation are explored. Finally a concluding chapter provides recommendations for policy makers and other relevant stakeholders on how best to implement some of the suggestions made in previous chapters. International organisations, regional organisations, government officials, scholars and students with interest in the energy sector will highly benefit from this book.

This book gathers the best papers presented at the International Congress on Project Management and Engineering, in its 2017 and 2018 editions, which were held in Cadiz and Madrid, Spain. It covers a range of topic areas, including civil engineering and urban planning, product and process engineering, environmental engineering, energy efficiency and renewable energies, rural development, information and communication technologies, and risk management and safety.

This book provides a comprehensive exploration of some of the most critical issues regarding the EU's Energy Union policy. Applied European energy policies face a number of challenges ranging from the geopolitics of energy and energy regulation, to climate change, advancing renewable and gas technologies, and consumer empowerment structures. This book takes a multi-dimensional look into some of these vital issues regarding the European energy sector with a special focus on the effects the Energy Union policy has in two sensitive regional systems, Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Energy, being by definition a multi-disciplinary field, presents a challenge for readers of any specific disciplinary background that need to grasp an overall understanding of the various aspects of this exciting sector. This book's objective is to offer the opportunity for readers to get a quality, hands-on overview of the Energy Union by the professionals and academics that interact with it on a daily basis.

This book presents a detailed discussion of the fundamentals and practical applications of membrane technology enhancement in a range of industrial processes, energy recovery, and resource recycling. To date, most books on the applications of membrane technology have mainly focused on gas pollution removal or industrial wastewater treatment. In contrast, the enhancement of various membrane processes in the areas of energy and the environment has remained largely overlooked. This book highlights recent works and industrial products using membrane technology, while also discussing experiments and modeling studies on the membrane enhancement process.

This book presents a concept for fostering resource efficient manufacturing. The protection of our environment demands a more responsible use of natural resources, and a higher degree of transparency along manufacturing value chains will be required in order to make significant advances in this context. Industrial decision makers must be provided with adequate methods and tools to simultaneously and systematically pursue technical, economic and environmental targets. Building on established and complementary methods, such as material and energy flow analysis (MEFA), value stream mapping (VSM), life cycle costing (LCC) and environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), this book introduces a concept that allows a holistic modeling and multi-dimensional performance assessment of manufacturing systems on different levels - from processes up to entire value chains and product life cycles. It also demonstrates the application of the concept using two case studies from the metal mechanic industry.

This book explores Turkey-EU relations in the context of natural gas. Utilising the English School theory and narrative policy analysis, the author examines EU narratives on Turkey's role in European energy security in the sphere of natural gas, as well as narratives of Turkish actors on natural gas pipelines and the liberalisation of the natural gas market. The book discusses the extent to which the positions held by Turkish actors on natural gas and energy security constrain and/or enable its integration with the EU. Accordingly, it compares the narratives of the EU and Turkish actors to ascertain how references to the content and scope of the integration varied between January 2001 and July 2019. In the context of this book, "integration" does not necessarily mean Turkey's full membership in the EU. Rather, it refers to different types of relations, which are classified as energy security societies.

This proceedings addresses the challenges of urbanization that gravely affect the world's ecosystems. To become efficiently sustainable and regenerative, buildings and cities need to adopt smart solutions. This book discusses innovations of the built environment while depicting how such practices can transform future buildings and urban areas into places of higher value and quality. The book aims to examine the interrelationship between people, nature and technology, which is essential in pursuing smart environments that optimize human wellbeing, motivation and vitality, as well as promoting cohesive and inclusive societies: Urban Sociology - Community Involvement - Place-making and Cultural Continuity - Environmental Psychology - Smart living - Just City. The book presents exemplary practical experiences that reflect smart strategies, technologies and innovations, by established and emerging professionals, provides a forum of real-life discourse. The primary audience for the work will be from the fields of architecture, urban planning and built-environment systems, including multi-disciplinary academics as well as professionals.

The third edition of the landmark book on power system stability and control, revised and updated with new material The revised third edition of Power System Control and Stability continues to offer a comprehensive text on the fundamental principles and concepts of power system stability and control as well as new material on the latest developments in the field. The third edition offers a revised overview of power system stability and a section that explores the industry convention of q axis leading d axis in modeling of synchronous machines. In addition, the third edition focuses on simulations that utilize digital computers and commercial simulation tools, it offers an introduction to the concepts of the stability analysis of linear systems together with a detailed formulation of the system state matrix. The authors also include a revised chapter that explores both implicit and explicit integration methods for transient stability. Power System Control and Stability offers an in-depth review of essential topics and: Discusses topics of contemporary and future relevance in terms of modeling, analysis and control Maintains the approach, style, and analytical rigor of the two original editions Addresses both power system planning and operational issues in power system control and stability Includes updated information and new chapters on modeling and simulation of round-rotor synchronous machine model, excitation control, renewable energy resources such as wind turbine generators and solar photovoltaics, load modeling, transient voltage instability, modeling and representation of three widely used FACTS devices in the bulk transmission network, and the modeling and representation of appropriate protection functions in transient stability studies Contains a set of challenging problems at the end of each chapter Written for graduate students in electric power and professional power system engineers, Power System Control and Stability offers an invaluable reference to basic principles and incorporates the most recent techniques and methods into projects.

This book highlights key recent developments in air conditioning technologies for cooling and dehumidification with the specific objectives to improve energy efficiency and to minimize environmental impact. Today, air conditioning, comprising cooling and dehumidification, is a necessity in commercial and residential buildings and even in many industrial processes. This book provides key update on recent developments in air conditioning systems, cooling cycles and innovative cooling/dehumidification technologies. Key technologies related to cooling include heat-driven absorption and adsorption cooling and water-based dew point evaporative cooling. Technologies connected with dehumidification involve new generations of adsorbent-desiccant dehumidifiers, liquid-based desiccants and membranes that sieve out water vapor from air. Losses in cooling cycles and thermo-economic analysis for a sustainable economy are also judiciously documented.

This book is about theories and applications of thermosyphons and heat pipes. It discusses the physical phenomena that drive the working principles of thermosyphons, heat pipes and related technologies. Many applications are discussed in this book, including: rationalizing energy use in industry, solar heating of houses, decrease of water consumption in cooling towers, improvement of the thermal performance of industrial and domestic ovens and driers and new devices for heating stored oil and gas in petrochemical plants. Besides, the book also presents heat pipe and thermosyphon technologies for the thermal management of electronic devices, from portable equipment to airplanes and satellites. The first part of the book explores the physical working principles of thermosyphons and heat pipes, by explaining current heat transfer and thermal resistance models. The author discusses the new heat pipe and thermosyphon technologies that have been developed in the last decade for solving a myriad of electronic, environment and industrial heat and thermal problems. The focus then shifts to the thermosyphon technology applications, and the models and simulations necessary for each application - including vehicles, domestic appliances, water conservation technologies and the thermal control of houses and other structures. Finally, the book looks at the new technologies for heat pipes (mini/micro) and similar devices (loop heat pipes), including new models for prediction of the thermal performance of porous media. This book inspires engineers to adopt innovative approaches to heat transfer problems in equipment and components by applying thermosyphon and heat pipe technologies. It is also of interest to researchers and academics working in the heat transfer field, and to students who wish to learn more about heat transfer devices.

Von der physikalischen Basis bis zu Umsetzungen im hauslichen und kraftwerkstechnischen Bereich reichen die Aspekte der Solarthermie. Dieses Buch bietet eine fundierte Analyse der Thematik von Grundlagen der solaren Einstrahlung bis zu neuen Anwendungen. Diskutiert werden passive Aspekte, Energie- und Impulstransport in Systemen, aktive Nutzung von Niedertemperatursystemen sowie kraftwerkstechnische Umsetzungen. Bisher genutzte Konzepte, Spezifika und die Ankopplung an Kraftwerkszyklen werden ebenso beschrieben wie potenzielle Speicherverfahren.

This book analyzes the current approaches to energy management in India that is based on a carbon-intensive pathway, which if continued, may have serious implications for climate change mitigation with severe consequences for human health and survival. India, being a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; however, the country's dilemmas are whether to prioritize environment over economy or vice versa and also whether economic growth can be sustained by relying on carbon-intensive development. Those are explored in this book. The Indian economy is poised for a big leap in the near future, and the topmost priority of the government is to ensure energy security, accessibility, and affordability for nearly 1.5 billion people. Currently, 70% of India's electricity generation comes from coal- and oil-based thermal power plants, and only 12-15% of energy is generated from renewable sources. Experts are of the view that the demand for coal and gas power generation will continue to rise and is expected to reach the equivalent of nearly 2 billion t of oil by 2030. The annual consumption of natural gas is expected to increase fourfold to 200 billion m3 a year in the near future, and its share in the primary energy basket of coal, oil, and gas will rise from 6.5% to 15% by 2030. This will not only cause a significant drain on foreign reserves but will also pose an enormous challenge to policymakers and scientists. This book serves as a useful guide in shaping India's future energy policy.

This book explores current developments in the African energy sector and highlights how these are likely to be affected by the ongoing global efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy. It analyses the legal, regulatory and policy frameworks at the national and regional level as they relate to Energy transition in Africa and discusses how regionalism is increasingly utilized to tackle energy access and climate change challenges. Using case studies from across the continent, several key thematic issues, including gender justice, social license to operate, local content and conflict of energy laws are covered in detail. The authors also uniquely examine the progressive nature of global energy use and introduce the new concept of 'Energy Progression.' This book will be an invaluable reference for researchers and policymakers looking for a comprehensive overview of the field.

This book explores local content policies and their role in natural resource management within the realm of energy justice. Based on several country case studies it discusses the role of regional integration for such policies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Energy justice has been widely applied across different aspects of development, but here the principles of justice are specifically integrated with the management and implementation of oil and gas projects. Such an analysis offers novel means of implementing policies in local regions, moving away from a one-size fits all approach that leads to the ineffective transplantation of policies from developed economies to developing Sub-Saharan economies. The book argues that with a regional approach, Sub-Saharan Africa can leverage natural resources, industrial parks, supplier clusters, regional financing mechanisms and regional training facilities which would drive down the costs of production, increase efficiency and integrate the local Sub-Saharan population into the oil and gas industry. This would result in the benefits as well as the environmental concerns and responsibilities intrinsic to these industries, being spread more equally amongst local and none local stakeholders. This book will be a valuable resource for scholars and students as well as policy makers and practitioners in the areas of extractive industry-related disciplines energy governance, and economic development in Africa.

This edited book explicitly deals with the energy humanities, summarising existing knowledge in the area and outlining possible future directions for the nascent field. Assuming a variety of disciplinary stances and using a plethora of methodologies to address a number of pressing energy-related issues, the individual contributions showcase the crucial importance of including the humanities and social sciences into the current discussion on energy. Furthermore, they illustrate one of the central claims of the energy humanities, namely, that energy permeates all aspects of our contemporary modes of existence, and is inextricably linked with historical, political, social, ideological, and cultural issues, relationships, and practices. Through numerous case studies, Energy Humanities and Energy Transition looks to the past, present, and future in search of examples of best practices and possible models for pathways to a successful energy transition and life 'after oil'. While much of existing research on energy humanities has been criticised for its excessive focus on oil, this book considers a wide range of energy resources, including nuclear energy, renewables, and natural gas. Furthermore, it brings to the forefront under-researched topics such as the colonial legacy inscribed in energy infrastructure and the energy history of the humanities. The contributions in this volume explore not only how the perspectives and expertise of the humanities and social sciences can alter the discourse on energy transition, and our way of thinking about possible solutions and future scenarios, but also how their new focus on energy affects the disciplines themselves. Energy Humanities and Energy Transition presents a variety of theories, methods, topics, and disciplinary angles, meaning it will be of interest to a wide audience, from practitioners and policy makers, to students and researchers working across the humanities and social sciences. The thematically oriented structure, distinct focus of each individual chapter, and the comprehensive introduction and conclusion that contextualize the contributions within the wider framework of energy transition, make this edited book accessible to readers from many different fields and suitable for various university programs.

This book examines energy transition issues within the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. The European Union is aiming for an almost complete decarbonization of its energy sector by 2050. However, the path towards a carbon-free economy is full of challenges that must be solved by individual EU members. Across 18 chapters, leading researchers explore challenges related to energy transition and analyse individual EU members from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the region as a whole. To further explore this complex issue, the volume also includes several countries from South East Europe in its analysis. As perspective members, these countries will be important contributors to the EU's mid- and long-term climate and energy goals. The focus on a variety of issues connected to energy transition and systematic analyses of the different CEE countries make it an ideal reference for anyone with a general interest in the region or European energy transition. It will also be a useful resource for students looking for an accessible overview of the field.

Safety is a major concern of society and touches on many areas of human activity. One important component of safety is the reliability of equipment and systems and the actions of the professionals, who design, build and operate them. Modelling methods have been developed to assess the risk associated with taking decisions relating to the design, maintenance or operation of a system. Such models include the element of uncertainty inherent in the behaviour of any given system. There are a number of theories, techniques and methods available, continuously being developed and improved, which evaluate the safety and reliability of systems, ensuring that these are operated and managed in a way as to keep the associated risks within the boundaries of what is considered tolerable or acceptable. These proceedings highlight the theories and methods used to assess safety and reliability, presenting them as powerful tools for decision-making which can be used effectively to manage the daily risks to which modern society is exposed.

This book offers an authoritative analysis of the state-of-the art in energy and climate research and policy. It starts by describing the current status of technologies that are expected to have an influence on the energy systems of the future. For an adequate evaluation, it presents the latest findings on the effects of energy supply and consumption as well as of the emissions on both the environment and people's health. This is followed by an extensive discussion of the economic and social problems related to climate change, the need for energy transitions, and other issues that may require public investment and international agreements. The book reviews the problem of energy policy from a global perspective, providing readers with the technical, political, economic and ethical background needed to understand the current situation and work at better solutions for a sustainable, just and prospering world.

This book explores the role which policy networks and particularly advocacy coalitions play in EU energy policy, and the factors that account for their policy success. It captures the often neglected interaction between public and private actors in EU energy security policy and between opposing advocacy coalitions. The volume's case studies examine coalitions working on two issues central to EU energy policy debates over the last decade: fracking for shale gas and developing the Southern Gas Corridor, a pipeline system linking Europe with the gas region of the Caspian Sea. Although the coalitions studied are focused on impacting EU energy policy, they stretch beyond the EU borders. The book draws on original, rich, and intriguing data, around 90 interviews with energy stakeholders and over six months of fieldwork and participant observation, analysed through an innovative combination of frame analysis and social network analysis.

This book represents a synthesis of research findings on energy in remote rural areas in East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia, demarcating a localised understanding of electricity issues that are relevant to similar community profiles in other developing countries, which are facing similar challenges. The authors discuss several key issues relating to electricity access in the Indonesian context, such as government energy expenditure and policies for geothermal development. The book also presents empirical estimates of the social effects of electricity access. In focusing on an underdeveloped area in eastern Indonesia affected by innumerable problems relating to poverty, the book contributes to related discussions on the first Sustainable Development Goal in proposing possibilities for poverty reduction vis-a-vis improved energy infrastructure. It demonstrates the impact of electricity access on people's welfare. Co-published with the Indonesia Institute of Science (LIPI), this updated edition is a valuable reference for policymakers and scholars interested in the electricity sector in Indonesia and rural areas in developing countries elsewhere. It appeals to specialists researching and working in the energy sector and is also interested in scholars and practitioners focused on sustainable development and Indonesian policymaking more broadly.

This book focuses on the different kinds of biofuels and biofuel resources. Biofuels represent a major type of renewable energy. As part of a larger bio-economy, they are closely linked to agriculture, forestry and manufacturing. Biofuels have the potential to improve regional energy access, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and contribute to climate protection. Further, this alternative form of energy could revitalize the forestry and agricultural sector and promote the increased use of renewable resources as raw materials in a range of industrial processes. Efforts are continuously being made to develop economically competitive biofuels, and microbes play important roles in the production of biofuels from various bioresources. This book elaborates on recent advances in existing microbial technologies and on sustainable approaches to improving biofuel production processes. Additionally, it examines trends in, and the limitations of, existing processes and technologies. The book offers a comprehensive overview of microbial bioresources, microbial technologies, advances in bioconversion and biorefineries, as well as microbial and metabolic engineering for efficient biofuel production. Readers will also learn about the environmental impacts and the influence of climate change on the sustainability of biofuel production. This book is intended for researchers and students whose work involves biorefinery technologies, microbiology, biotechnology, agriculture, environmental biology and related fields.