This book examines in detail the planning and modelling of local infrastructure like energy systems, including the complexities resulting from various uncertainties. Readers will discover the individual steps involved in infrastructure planning in cities and territories, as well as the primary requirements and supporting quality factors. Further topics covered concern the field of uncertainty and its synergies with infrastructure planning. Theories, methodological backgrounds and concrete case studies will not only help readers to understand the proposed methodologies for modelling and uncertainty analysis, but will also show them how these approaches are implemented in practice.

This book aims to describe the mechanisms of the internal wholesale electricity market in terms of the legal tools and practices used by electricity producers, the most important market participants. In this regard, the focus is on Northwestern Europe. Because of the book’s functional perspective, it is not limited to the external regulation of electricity markets at the EU level and also describes the business models and practices employed by electricity producers. Both the physical and financial marketplaces are examined and topics including electricity supply, balancing, transmission and derivatives are covered. The target for the completion of the EU’s internal electricity market was 2014. The internal wholesale electricity market is very important not only for electricity producers, suppliers and major end consumers but also for network operators, marketplace operators, electricity technology firms, investment firms and market regulators.

This book explores the idea that daily lived experiences of climate change are a crucial missing link in our knowledge that contrasts with scientific understandings of this global problem. It argues that both kinds of knowledge are limiting: the sciences by their disciplines and lived experiences by the boundaries of everyday lives.  Therefore each group needs to engage the other in order to enrich and expand understanding of climate change and what to do about it. Complemented by a rich collection of examples and case studies, this book proposes a novel way of generating and analysing knowledge about climate change and how it may be used. The reader is introduced to new insights where the book: • Provides a framework that explains the variety of simultaneous, co-existing and often contradictory perspectives on climate change. • Reclaims everyday experiential knowledge as crucial for meeting global challenges such as climate change. • Overcomes the science-citizen dichotomy and leads to new ways of examining public engagement with science. Scientists are also human beings with lived experiences that filter their scientific findings into knowledge and actions. • Develops a ‘public action theory of knowledge’ as a tool for exploring how decisions on climate policy and intervention are reached and enacted. While scientists (physical and social) seek to explain climate change and its impacts, millions of people throughout the world experience it personally in their daily lives. The experience might be bad, as during extreme weather, engender hostility when governments attempt mitigation, and sometimes it is benign. This book seeks to understand the complex, often contradictory knowledge dynamics that inform the climate change debate, and is written clearly for a broad audience including lecturers, students, practitioners and activists, indeed anyone who wishes to gain further insight into this far-reaching issue.

Sustainable development is the key for the survival in 21st century. The natural resources are finite and cannot be used with impunity because we are the custodian of these resources and have responsibility to pass these to the next generation. This monumental task requires several major commitments and most important of them is to arrest population explosion which has already reached seven billion. Natural resources like air to breath, food to eat, and water to drink, and fossil fuel to maintain this life style are being overexploited. Unrestrained consuming culture will accelerate undesired situation. This situation will have more dire consequences in resource limited ecosystems like dry lands. Given the severe scarcity of water, ever increasing population and soil salinization out of the box solutions for the provision of food and clean energy is required to spare meager fresh water resources for conventional agriculture. This volume contains a number of articles dealing with halophyte ecology, bio-geography, ecophysiology, hyper-saline soils, biofuels, biosaline agriculture, biosaline landscaping, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity. It also contains the communication of innovative ideas, such as the research into floating mangroves, seagrass terraces, as well as a World Halophyte Garden containing all known salt-tolerant plant species. It is hoped that the information provided will not only advance vegetation science, but that it will truly generate more interdisciplinarity, networking, awareness, and inspire farmers, and agricultural and landscaping stakeholders to seriously engage in halophyte cash crop production in coastal hyper-saline areas.

This book sets out some positive directions to move forward including government policy and regulatory options, an innovative GRID (Greening, Regenerative, Improvement Districts) scheme that can assist with funding and management, and the first steps towards an innovative carbon credit scheme for the built environment. Decarbonising cities is a global agenda with huge significance for the future of urban civilisation. Global demonstrations have shown that technology and design issues are largely solved. However, the mainstreaming of low carbon urban development, particularly at the precinct scale, currently lacks sufficient: standards for measuring carbon covering operational, embodied and transport emissions; assessment and decision-making tools to assist in design options; certifying processes for carbon neutrality within the built environment; and accreditation processes for enabling carbon credits to be generated from precinct-wide urban development. Numerous barriers are currently hindering greater adoption of high performance, low carbon developments, many of which relate to implementation and governance. How to enable and manage precinct-scale renewables and other low carbon technologies within an urban setting is a particular challenge.

This book investigates how a North African solar thermal power plant can be set up under the guidance of European investors (e.g. the Desertec Concept) as a Public Private Partnership (PPP). It outlines the importance of early awareness of contract-related risks, investment risks and dispute settlement, arguing that commercial and investment arbitration are the best tools for settling disputes regarding a large-scale solar thermal project. Furthermore, by comparing institutional and ad hoc arbitration, it shows that the former offers highly suitable support. The latest developments in the area of investment arbitration under EU law and the general acceptance of arbitration in Islamic countries are examined in particular. This book also demonstrates that a solar thermal power plant must meet certain requirements to be considered an investment. These requirements are examined in relation to Art. 25 of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Convention (ICSID Convention) and respective case law. Overall, the book offers valuable guidelines for investors and host states on how to successfully implement large-scale solar thermal projects.

This volume investigates the impact of energy technology innovations on economic development and presents new areas of research into the financial economics of energy as well as new studies into valuation, electricity pricing and the economic, regulatory and environmental costs of alternative energy sources. Academics and practitioners take a global perspective and present cases from several countries. The book concentrates on three issues: 1) innovation and shocks in energy markets; 2) environment and renewables and 3) fossil fuel regulation. The book will provide a useful resource for anyone with an academic or business interest in energy and value issues. This is the fourth volume in a series on energy organized by the Center for Energy and Value Issues (CEVI). The previous volumes in the series include Financial Aspects in Energy (2011), Energy Economics and Financial Markets (2012) and Perspectives on Energy Risk (2014).

This book reports on the first empirical validation of “AccuRate,� Australia’s national benchmark software tool for house energy ratings. The validation was conducted by the University of Tasmania in collaboration with Forest and Wood Products Australia, the Australian Government, the CSIRO and industry partners. The study presented here describes the results of graphical and statistical analysis of variations observed between the measured and simulated data from three different test buildings in Launceston, Tasmania. It shows that, while the AccuRate software is well suited to modeling energy flows, there are discrepancies between the simulated and measured temperatures of the test buildings. Moreover, it highlights possible connections between the discrepancies in all zones and the outside air temperature, wind speed, global and diffuse solar radiation, and possibly the ground model. Beyond its contribution to further investigations into the ongoing improvement and calibration of the Australian NatHERS-supported AccuRate software, this book also meticulously describes the methodology used in conducting the research, which is expected to pave the way for further studies of this type.

ThAccelerating the diffusion of energy-efficient renovations is a key policy lever in order to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. This book provides a broad, systemic perspective on the causes of the diffusion of energy-efficient renovations in Switzerland and policy recommendations for accelerating the diffusion process. Specifically, the book provides a description of the societal problem situation within which the diffusion process takes place and an analysis of the actors involved. It provides a detailed explanation of the causes of the diffusion process that synthesizes insights from the engineering, economics, marketing, sociology, communication studies and political science literature. It employs the System Dynamics methodology to simulate the diffusion process and analyze policy levers. The book proposes two regulations and a sketch of a business model as particularly promising public policy interventions. It concludes with an outline of a generic theory of the diffusion of sustainable technologies. 

This critical volume examines the different methods used for the synthesis of a great number of photocatalysts, including TiO2, ZnO and other modified semiconductors, as well as characterization techniques used for determining the optical, structural and morphological properties of the semiconducting materials. Additionally, the authors discuss photoelectrochemical methods for determining the light activity of the photocatalytic semiconductors by means of measurement of properties such as band gap energy, flat band potential and kinetics of hole and electron transfer. Photocatalytic Semiconductors: Synthesis, Characterization and Environmental Applications provide an overview of the semiconductor materials from first- to third-generation photocatalysts and their applications in wastewater treatment and water disinfection. The book further presents economic and toxicological aspects in the production and application of photocatalytic materials.

The thesis represents the development of an entirely new experimental platform for generating and studying converging radiative shock waves. It was discovered that the application of large magnetic pressures to gas-filled cylindrical metallic tubes could sequentially produce three shocks within the gas. A comprehensive set of instrumentation was devised to explore this system in detail and an exceptionally thorough experimental and theoretical study was carried out in order to understand the source of the shock waves and their dynamics. The research is directed towards some of the most interesting topics in high energy density physics (HEDP) today, namely the interaction of HED material with radiation and magnetic fields, with broad applications to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and laboratory plasma astrophysics. The work has already generated significant international interest in these two distinct research areas and the results could have significant importance for magnetic ICF concepts being explored at Sandia National Laboratories in the US and for our understanding of the very strong shock waves that are ubiquitous in astrophysics.

Synthetic Biology is already an object of intensive debate. However, to a great extent the discussion to date has been concerned with fundamental ethical, religious and philosophical questions. By contrast, based on an investigation of the field’s scientific and technological character, this book focuses on new functionalities provided by synthetic biology and explores the associated opportunities and risks. Following an introduction to the subject and a discussion of the most central paradigms and methodologies, the book provides an overview of the structure of this field of science and technology. It informs the reader about the current stage of development, as well as topical problems and potential opportunities in important fields of application. But not only the science itself is in focus. In order to investigate its broader impact, ecological as well as ethical implications will be considered, paving the way for a discussion of responsibilities in the context of a field at a transitional crossroads between basic and applied science. In closing, the requirements for a suitable regulatory framework are discussed. The book is intended as a source of information and orientation for researchers, students and practitioners in the natural sciences and technology assessment; for members of scientific and technological, governmental and funding institutions; and for members of the general public interested in essential information on the current status, prospects and implications of synthetic biology.

Addressing the major issues associated with green energy and energy efficiency, this book examines the economics of energy from the theoretical as well as applied perspectives. It makes a valuable contribution to existing discussion around environment and climate change issues, and provides an analysis of the socioeconomic and policy-oriented aspects of this topic. Each chapter is self-contained and tackles the fundamental issues and latest developments of a particular sub-topic. Combining rigour and accessibility, this book allows non-specialized readers to understand the complexity of the topic, and to likewise access the most relevant and up-to-date literature. It simultaneously enables more specialized readers to broaden their understanding of complex energy topics and it provides a comprehensive overview of the cutting-edge developments of the issues covered by the book. This book covers important themes including regulation for green energy, the promotion of green energy and efficiency, the challenges and options of renewable energy, and efficiency in economic sectors. It is intended for researchers and postgraduates with an interest in energy, climate change and environmental economics, and also policymakers and energy companies.

This brief provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary research and materials technologies utilizing oriented-attachment nanocrystals (OA NCs) for the energy conversion devices. Starting with a historical introduction, the book presents basic theory with an emphasis on thermodynamic and kinetic models of the oriented-attachment nanocrystals growth. Further chapters review recent advances in the synthesis, characterization, and application of the oriented-attachment nanocrystals in fuel cells, batteries, supercapacitors, solar cells and photocatalysis. This book will appeal to researchers and scholars from a variety of disciplines including electrochemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, physics and mechanical engineering.

Emission inventory is basic for the understanding of environmental behaviors and potential effects of compounds, however, current inventories are often associated with relatively high uncertainties. One important reason is the lack of emission factors (EFs), especially for the residential solid fuel combustion in developing countries. In the present study, emission factors of a group of pollutants including particulate matter, organic carbon, elemental carbon (sometimes known as black carbon) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were measured for a variety of residential solid fuels including coal, crop straw, wood, and biomass pellets in rural China. The study provided a large number of emission factors that can be further used in emission estimation. Composition profiles and isomer ratios were investigated and compared so as to be used in source apportionment. In addition, the present study identified and quantified the influence of factors like fuel moisture, volatile matter on emission performance. The publication of the study will be of interest and helpful to the readers in the field of air pollution, human health, fuel saving and energy consumption etc. Guofeng Shen works at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences, Jiangsu Academy of Environmental Sciences, China.

The success of Brazil in the large-scale production and use of fuel ethanol has been widely discussed and analyzed by other countries interested in adopting policies designed to encourage the use of biofuels. Within this context, certain questions arise: Could the Brazilian experience be replicated in other countries? What were the conditions that enabled the creation of the Brazilian Proálcool (National Ethanol Program and what lessons can be learned? To examine these issues, it is important to understand the functioning of the key, interconnected markets (those for sugarcane, sugar and ethanol), which, from their inception, were the objects of extensive government intervention until 1999. Two main conditions enabled the creation of Proálcool: robust production of sugarcane and sugar (tightly regulated by the government, which applied the numerous regulations then in place); and the military regime that was in place at the time, whose decision-making and enforcement powers were quite broad, facilitating the carrying out of the necessary actions, as well as making it easier to coordinate the activities of the various stakeholders and sectors involved. This book increases understanding of the functioning of the sugarcane supply chain in Brazil, not only during the phase of government intervention but also in recent years (in the free-market environment). The lessons, positive and negative, gleaned from the Brazilian experience can contribute to reflection on and the development of alternative modalities of biofuel production in other countries, making the book of interest to scholars and policy-makers concerned with biofuel and renewable resources as well as economic development.

The vast oil resources in Saudi Arabia have for decades encouraged a generous system of oil subsidies, making the Kingdom one of the leading countries in the world with the cheapest domestic price of oil. Such subsidies have, however, encouraged inefficient utilization of oil, which is largely consumed in the power, water and transportation sectors, contributing substantially to CO2 emission in the country. These problems are exacerbated by demographic dynamics, urbanization, changes in income and consumption patterns, and industrialization. On current trends of domestic consumption patterns, Saudi Arabia will consume the whole of the oil it will produce by 2030, which will reflect negatively on the financial capacity of the government to execute its development programs. It is this revenue constraining concern, rather than ecological challenges, that has started to attract policy attention in Saudi Arabia. This book gives a unique perspective on these challenges by looking at them as investment opportunities, not financial constraints on the government budget. It sets out to examine the nature and extent of the energy and environmental challenges facing Saudi Arabia, and to explore various options for turning these challenges into profitable investment opportunities that could create jobs, boost income, develop capability in clean energy technology and promote environmental sustainability.

This book highlights how energy-system models are used to underpin and support energy and climate mitigation policy decisions at national, multi-country and global levels. It brings together, for the first time in one volume, a range of methodological approaches and case studies of good modeling practice on a national and international scale from the IEA-ETSAP energy technology initiative. It provides insights for the reader into the rich and varied applications of energy-system models and the underlying methodologies and policy questions they can address. The book demonstrates how these models are used to answer complex policy questions, including those relating to energy security, climate change mitigation and the optimal allocation of energy resources. It will appeal to energy engineers and technology specialists looking for a rationale for innovation in the field of energy technologies and insights into their evolving costs and benefits. Energy economists will gain an understanding of the key future role of energy technologies and policy makers will learn how energy-system modeling teams can provide unique perspectives on national energy and environment challenges. The book is carefully structured into three parts which focus on i) policy decisions that have been underpinned by energy-system models, ii) specific aspects of supply and end-use sector modeling, including technology learning and behavior and iii) how additional insights can be gained from linking energy-system models with other models. The chapters elucidate key methodological features backed up with concrete applications. The book demonstrates the high degree of flexibility of the modeling tools used to represent extremely different energy systems, from national to global levels.

It is the purpose of this book to provide the meteorological knowledge and tools to improve the risk management of energy industry decisions, ranging from the long term finance and engineering planning assessments to the short term operational measures for scheduling and maintenance. Most of the chapters in this book are based on presentations given at the inaugural International Conference Energy & Meteorology (ICEM), held in the Gold Coast, Australia, 8-11 November 2011. The main aim of the conference was to strengthen the link between Energy and Meteorology, so as to make meteorological information more relevant to the planning and operations of the energy sector. The ultimate goal would be to make the best use of weather and climate data in order to achieve a more efficient use of energy sources. This book seeks to realise the same objective.

Human reliability, error, and human factors in the area of power generation have been receiving increasing attention in recent years. Each year billions of dollars are spent in the area of power generation to design, construct/manufacture, operate, and maintain various types of power systems around the globe, and such systems often fail due to human error. This book compiles various recent results and data into one volume, and eliminates the need to consult many diverse sources to obtain vital information. It enables potential readers to delve deeper into a specific area, providing the source of most of the material presented in references at the end of each chapter. Examples along with solutions are also provided at appropriate places, and there are numerous problems for testing the reader's comprehension. Chapters cover a broad range of topics, including general methods for performing human reliability and error analysis in power plants, specific human reliability analysis methods for nuclear power plants, human factors in control systems, and human error in power plant maintenance. They are written in such a manner that the potential reader requires no previous knowledge to understand their contents. "Human Reliability, Error, and Human Factors in Power Generation" will prove useful to many individuals, including engineering professionals working in the power generation industry, researchers, instructors, and undergraduate and graduate students in the field of power engineering.

This book covers broad aspects of the chemistry of -stacked polymers and low-molecular-weight molecules, from synthesis through theory. It is intended for graduate students and researchers in academia and industry and consists of chapters written by renowned scientists who have made significant contributions to this field in the past decade. -Stacked polymers and low-molecular-weight molecules are expected to replace main-chain conjugated polymers such as polyacetylenes and polythiophenes as organic conducting and energy-transferring substances that are important as materials for photo-electronic applications. -Stacked polymers and molecules have significant advantages over main-chain conjugated polymers, i.e., high solubility in solvents, large freedom in molecular design, and colorless nature.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the efficiency with which energy resources are extracted and converted into work has played a prominent role in the accumulation of material wealth. The prominent role of energy resources, in conjunction with their scarcity and their uneven geographic distribution, has had significant repercussions. Collaboration, competition and conflict among nation states for energy resources have created global, geopolitical and market risks. In this volume, academic scholars and practitioners assess these risks from global, geopolitical and market perspectives. They do so by presenting empirical research and discussing our current understanding of this quickly changing and developing field. This is the third volume in a series on energy organized by the Centre for Energy and Value Issues (CEVI). The previous volumes in the series were Financial Aspects in Energy (2011) and Energy Economics and Financial Markets (2012).

Regulation of the Power Sector is a unified, consistent and comprehensive treatment of the theories and practicalities of regulation in modern power-supply systems. The need for generation to occur at the time of use occasioned by the impracticality of large-scale electricity storage coupled with constant and often unpredictable changes in demand make electricity-supply systems large, dynamic and complex and their regulation a daunting task. Arranged in four parts, this book addresses both traditional regulatory frameworks and also liberalized and re-regulated environments. First, an introduction gives a full characterization of power supply including engineering, economic and regulatory viewpoints. The second part presents the fundamentals of regulation and the third looks at the regulation of particular components of the power sector in detail. Advanced topics and subjects still open or subject to dispute form the content of Part IV. In a sector where regulatory design is the key driver of both the industry efficiency and the returns on investment, Regulation of the Power Sector is directed at regulators, policy decision makers, business managers and researchers. It is a pragmatic text, well-tested by the authors' quarter-century of experience of power systems from around the world. Power system professionals and students at all levels will derive much benefit from the authors' wealth of blended theory and real-world-derived know-how.

This book examines the economics and related impacts of unconventional shale gas development. While focusing on the Marcellus and Utica Shales in the Mid-Atlantic region, additional insights from other regions are included to provide a broader view of these issues. Shale gas development in recent years has changed the energy discussion in the US, as existing reserves of natural gas coupled with horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing make exploitation of these reserves economically feasible. The importance of natural gas is seen as likely to continue to expand over the coming years, and is expected to increase even further with environmental considerations, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing producing natural gas from deposits such as the Marcellus Shale is making the US a net producer of natural gas. Previous studies have examined the economic impact of exploration and production in the region. Other studies have addressed legal, environmental, biodiversity, and public health impacts of unconventional shale development. This is the first volume to focus solely on the economics and related financial impacts of this development. This book not only fills the research gap, but also provides information that policy makers and the public need to better understand this pressing issue.

This book uses the metaphor “The economy is society's metabolism� as a springboard to develop a rigorous theoretical framework for a better system of national accounts which goes “Beyond GDP� and is relevant to the age of resource depletion. Society is entering a new era in which biophysical limits related to natural resource extraction rates and the biosphere's waste assimilation capacity are becoming binding constraints on mature economies. Unfortunately, the data needed for policy-makers to understand and manage economic growth in this new era are not universally available. All stakeholders need a new way to understand our economy in the context of the biosphere’s ability to provide essential natural capital, and we suggest that detailed information about materials, energy, embodied energy, and energy intensity should be routinely gathered, analyzed, and disseminated from a centralized location to provide markets and policymakers with a more comprehensive understanding of the biophysical economy. However, a firm theoretical foundation is needed before proceeding along this new path, which this book is intended to provide. After arguing that the stock of manufactured capital is an important driver of material and energy demands imposed upon the biosphere, a new accounting framework is derived from the laws of thermodynamics to reflect the fact that material and embodied energy accumulate within the capital stock of economic sectors. This framework extends the Energy Input-Output (EI-O) techniques first developed by Bullard, Herendeen, and others to estimate energy intensity of economic products. Implications from the new framework are discussed, including the value of economic metrics for policy-making, the need for physically-based rather than product-based EI-O formulations, a re-assessment of the concept of economic “growth,� and an evaluation of recycling, reuse, and dematerialization. The framework also provides an opportunity to assess an array of definitions for Daly's “steady-state economy� in relation to the ideal of a sustainable economy. The book ends with a list of steps to be taken in creating a more comprehensive system of national accounts: National accounting agencies worldwide should develop and maintain balance sheets of both natural and manufactured capital in addition to national income statements All stocks and inter-sector flows should be provided in physical as well as financial units In the US, the Bureau for Economic Analysis (BEA) should restart detailed Capital, Labor, Energy, Material, and Services (KLEMS) reporting National accounting agencies should routinely estimate the energy intensity of economic products, and all of the above should be estimated and disseminated on an annual basis.