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Books > Business & Economics > Industry & industrial studies > Energy industries & utilities > General
The electric power delivery system that carries electricity from large central generators to customers could be severely damaged by a small number of well-informed attackers. The system is inherently vulnerable because transmission lines may span hundreds of miles, and many key facilities are unguarded. This vulnerability is exacerbated by the fact that the power grid, most of which was originally designed to meet the needs of individual vertically integrated utilities, is being used to move power between regions to support the needs of competitive markets for power generation. Primarily because of ambiguities introduced as a result of recent restricting the of the industry and cost pressures from consumers and regulators, investment to strengthen and upgrade the grid has lagged, with the result that many parts of the bulk high-voltage system are heavily stressed. Electric systems are not designed to withstand or quickly recover from damage inflicted simultaneously on multiple components. Such an attack could be carried out by knowledgeable attackers with little risk of detection or interdiction. Further well-planned and coordinated attacks by terrorists could leave the electric power system in a large region of the country at least partially disabled for a very long time. Although there are many examples of terrorist and military attacks on power systems elsewhere in the world, at the time of this study international terrorists have shown limited interest in attacking the U.S. power grid. However, that should not be a basis for complacency. Because all parts of the economy, as well as human health and welfare, depend on electricity, the results could be devastating. Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System focuses on measures that could make the power delivery system less vulnerable to attacks, restore power faster after an attack, and make critical services less vulnerable while the delivery of conventional electric power has been disrupted. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 The Electric Transmission and Distribution System as a Terrorist Targetwith 2 The Electric Power System Today 3 Physical Security Considerations for Electric Power Systems 4 Vulnerabilities of Systems for Sensing, Communication, and Control 5 Vulnerabilities Related to the People Who Run the Electric Power System 6 Mitigating the Impact of Attacks on the Power System 7 Restoration of the Electric Power System After an Attack 8 Strategies for Securing Crucial Services and Critical Infrastructure in the Event of an Extended Power Outage 9 Research and Development Needs for the Electric Power Delivery System 10 Recommendations Appendixes Appendix A: Statement of Task Appendix B: Committee Biographical Information Appendix C: List of Presentations and Committee Meetings Appendix D: Acronyms Appendix E: Summary of NERC Cyber Security Standards Appendix F: Substation Configurations Appendix G: Controlling Power Systems Appendix H: R&D Needs for the Power Delivery System
Without a doubt, the topic of energy--from coal, oil, and nuclear
to geothermal, solar and wind--is one of the most pressing across
the globe. It is of paramount importance to policy makers,
economists, environmentalists, and industry as they consider which
technologies to invest in, how to promote use of renewable energy
sources, and how to plan for dwindling reserves of non-renewable
energy.
The energy efficiency services sector (EESS) is poised to become an increasingly important part of the U.S. economy. Energy supply and climate change concerns, volatile and increasing energy prices, and a desire for greater energy independence have led many local, state and national leaders to support an increasingly prominent role for energy efficiency (EE) in U.S. energy policy. The national economic recession has also helped to boost the visibility of energy efficiency as part of a strategy to support economic recovery. This book examines key aspects of the EESS by describing the current job composition, the current workforce size, projections for growth in spending and employment and key issues that may limit this growth.
Eleven years after the first utility privatisation, the agenda has moved from whether privatisation will do better than its state predecessor to the question of how to do better with privatisation. The future of regulation seems very uncertain. The stakeholders consumers, politicians, the companies themselves and their shareholders are increasingly critical. Regulatory processes have borne the brunt of criticism. Conflicting remedies are suggested for the problems which have arisen. Should there be more competition? Should regulators' powers be increased and perhaps widened? Should some of their Offices be amalgamated? Should the respective powers of the Office of Fair Trading and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission be reconsidered? Should government become more involved in regulation? Each year the IEA, in association with the London Business School, publishes a volume of Readings which provides an up-to-date assessment of the state of utility regulation. In this, the latest in the series, the regulators themselves discuss the problems they face and leading commentators assess the regulators' contributions. The result is a wealth of detail about utility regulation in Britain where it is now and where it may be going.
Economic growth and burgeoning populations have put South Asia's energy security in a perilous state. Already energy and power shortages are stunting development in some of the region's least developed locations spurring political insurgences and social dislocation. Should this trend continue, Ebinger argues the Subcontinent will face dire economic, social and political crises. In Energy and Security in South Asia, Brookings ESI director Charles Ebinger, a long-time adviser to South Asian governments, lays out the current regional energy picture arguing that the only way to achieve sustainable energy security is through regional collaboration both within the subcontinent as well as with regional neighbors in the Middle East and Central and Southeast Asia. Dr. Ebinger commences by illustrating the present-day energy environment in each nation as well as the obstacles governments confront in addressing them. Among the issues examined are: (1) the technical strains that near double-digit economic growth are putting on India's dilapidated power infrastructure, (2) the economic costs the country is incurring by increasing reliance on the Middle East for oil and gas resources; (3) the prospects for expanded wind, solar, energy efficiency and nuclear power generation in India to help reduce the nation's growing carbon footprint as it accelerates the use of coal; (4) the implications of Pakistan's expanded use of coal; (5) an analysis of how poor energy pricing systems are bringing about an energy shortage throughout the region (6) an examination of how strains in Indo/Bengali relations threaten the construction of vital regional energy infrastructure projects; (7) a discussion of how continued political upheaval in Nepal is causing power shortages of up to 20 hours per day; and (8), an analysis of how hydropower development is fuelling Bhutan's "Gross National Happiness" campaign. In addition to individual domestic concerns, each nation shares a crisis whereby hundreds of millions on the Subcontinent lack access to electricity and burn inefficient resources such as fuel wood and biomass for lighting, heating, and cooking, thus contributing sizeable carbon emissions. Ebinger then details the need for regional energy cooperation, both within and outside the Subcontinent. Regarding intra-regional collaboration, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh all have an unrealized opportunity for generating income by exporting their vast hydropower resources to a power-starved India. In addition, Bangladesh and India are yet to come to agreements on gas trade and other vital bilateral energy projects. Outside the subcontinent, a plethora of pipelines have been proposed to ease the Subcontinent's fossil fuel resource thirst. Ebinger examines the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, Oman-India subsea pipeline, and the Myanmar-Bangladesh-India pipeline arguing that all these projects offer promises for energy security; however, each has been plagued with political, economic, or security obstacles that have prevented tangible progress. In that light, the third section highlights the geopolitical concerns facing the region's energy security, from the Pakistan-India relationship - and how it relates to energy security, and the developing India-China rivalry for foreign energy resources. China, seen as a competitor to India for Asian economic preeminence, is facing its own energy resource glut. The looming Indian Subcontinent energy crisis will force more than half a billion people - and counting - from emerging from dire poverty, thus potentially sparking domestic and regional instability in an already treacherous area.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards are fleet-wide fuel economy averages that motor vehicle manufacturers must meet each model year. On May 19th, 2009, President Obama announced a plan to integrate CAFE standards administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with automotive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards to be issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This book explores the CAFE standards and its environmental and economical impacts.
Energy tax policy involves the use of one of the government's main fiscal instruments, taxes (both as an incentive and as a disincentive) to alter the allocation or configuration of energy resources and their use. In theory, energy taxes and subsidies, like tax policy instruments in general, are intended either to correct a problem or distortion in the energy markets or to achieve some economic (efficiency, equity, or even macroeconomic) objective. In practice, however, energy tax policy in the United States is made in a political setting, being determined by the views and interests of the key players in this setting: politicians, special interest groups, bureaucrats, academic scholars, and fiscal dictates. As a result, enacted tax policy embodies compromises between economic and political goals, which could either mitigate or compound existing distortions. This book explores the role of taxes in energy production and conservation.
Las ultimas decadas han visto un inusitado progreso en la miniaturizacion de algunos dispositivos de uso comun, como los telefonos moviles, los ordenadores o los reproductores de musica, pero el limite sigue marcado por el peso y el tamano de las baterias. El futuro parece estar en las pilas de combustible, en las que se genera electricidad de manera eficiente y limpia a partir del hidrogeno y otros compuestos. Las posibilidades de las pilas de combustible parecen infinitas y abarcan campos tan dispares como la automocion o el diseno de viviendas sostenibles.
Approaching an uncertain future without Fidel Castro, and still reeling from a downturn at the end of the cold war, Cuba must act decisively to improve its economy and living conditions. One of the major challenges facing the impoverished island nation is securing access to energy resources that are sufficient to meet the needs of its revitalization and development goals. What steps can Cuba take to achieve both short- and long-term energy sustainability and self-sufficiency? In this timely analysis, Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado and his colleagues answer that question. "Cuba's Energy Future" sets the geostrategic context within which Cuba is operating. The book provides an overview of the evolving relations among Caribbean states and explains why Cuba and its longtime nemesis the United States should look for ways to cooperate on developing energy resources. The possible role of oil companies is explored, as is Cuba's energy relationship with Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. The second section of "Cuba's Energy Future" features economic and technical appraisals, economic projections, and trends affecting Cuba's energy needs, including oil and natural gas potential, the country's antiquated electric power sector, and the role of biofuels such as sugarcane ethanol. The concluding section focuses on the conditions necessary for, and the mutual benefits of, greater cooperative engagement with the United States. Contributors: Juan A. B. Belt (Chemonics International, formerly USAID), Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado (University of Nebraska?Omaha and University of Georgia), Amy Myers Jaffe (Rice University), Jorge R. Pi n (Florida International University), Ronald Soligo (Rice University).
This book identifies possible employment impacts that could result from hydrogen market expansion in the transportation, stationary and portable power sectors. Any study of potential future impacts presents difficult challenges and involves significant uncertainties. This study estimates the employment impacts of a transformation of the U.S. economy to the use of hydrogen between 2020 and 2050. This time frame was selected because the ongoing efforts to develop hydrogen based transportation and stationary technologies indicate that broad-based commercial and industrial use of and the first significant employment impacts from those technologies are most likely to emerge within the indicated time frame. This book highlights possible skill and educational needs to support the associated industries and technologies. In addition to the specific skill requirements of the fuel cell industry, future education of the next generation are discussed, focusing on skill sets that have the ability to adapt to changing technologies.
Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries and the critical need for energy has led to significant vulnerabilities. Threats to global energy security include the political instability of several energy producing countries, the manipulation of energy supplies, the competition over energy sources, attacks on supply infrastructure, as well as accidents and natural disasters. It is also the limited supplies of the most common forms of primary energy, i.e. Oil and Gas that changes perceptions on this topic. Although plenty of coal, up to 155 years worth, is readily available, coal is not the fossil fuel of choice for many more advanced countries because of its highly polluting nature. The potential need to change our primary energy sources in the foreseeable future is the crux of the energy security question, leading to higher prices, more limited access to sources of energy, competitions and political troubles, which in turn make the threat even larger.
Energy security has become a top priority issue for the United States and countries around the globe, but what does the term "energy security" really mean? For many it is assuring the safe supply and transport of energy as a matter of national security. For others it is developing and moving toward sustainable and low-carbon energy sources to avoid environmental catastrophe, while still others prioritize affordability and abundance of supply. The demand for energy has ramifications in every part of the globe --from growing demand in Asia, to the pursuit of reserves in Latin America and Africa, to the increased clout of energy-producing states such as Russia and Iran. Yet the fact remains that the vast majority of global energy production still comes from fossil fuels, and it will take a thorough understanding of the interrelationships of complex challenges --finite supply, environmental concerns, political and religious conflict, and economic volatility --to develop policies that will lead to true energy security. In E "nergy Security, " Brookings scholars present a realistic, cross-disciplinary look at the American and global quests for energy security within the context of these geopolitical, economic, and environmental challenges. For example, political analysts Pietro Nivola and Erin Carter wrap their arms around just what is means to be "energy independent" and whether that is an advisable or even feasible goal. Suzanne Maloney addresses "Energy Security in the Persian Gulf: Opportunities and Challenges," while economist Jason Bordoff and energy analyst Bryan Mignone trace the links between climate policies and energy-access policies. Carlos Pascual and his colleagues examine delicate geopolitical issues. Assuring long-term energy security remains one of the industrialized world's most pressing priorities, but steps in that direction have been controversial and often dangerous, and results thus far have been tenuous. In this insightful volume, Brookings assesses exactly what we're talking about, what it means in several contexts, and where we go from here.
This book studies policymaking in the Latin American electricity and telecommunication sectors. Murillo's analysis of the Latin American electricity and telecommunications sectors shows that different degrees of electoral competition and the partisan composition of the government were crucial in resolving policymakers' tension between the interests of voters and the economic incentives generated by international financial markets and private corporations in the context of capital scarcity. Electoral competition by credible challengers dissuaded politicians from adopting policies deemed necessary to attract capital inflows. When electoral competition was low, financial pressures prevailed, but the partisan orientation of reformers shaped the regulatory design of market-friendly reforms. In the post-reform period, moreover, electoral competition and policymakers' partisanship shaped regulatory redistribution between residential consumers, large users, and privatized providers.
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques. A national energy policy comprises a set of measures involving that country's laws, treaties and agency directives. This book presents the latest research on the economic effects, security aspects and environmental issues connected with energy policy.
Un rapport de la Banque mondiale recommande aux gouvernements des pays d' Afrique subsaharienne d'investir dans des plans d'etectrification coordonnes a long terme pour atteindre plus rapidement leurs objectifs de developpernent.
Oil and Terrorism in the New Gulf examines the national security implications of U.S. energy security policies in the Middle East, and the emerging U.S. involvement in oil exploration and extraction in West Africa. Similar political, social, and economic challenges poverty, corruption, lack of infrastructure, and weak governments are seen in the oil-producing states of both the Middle East and Africa. Drawing comparisons between these two regions allows Forest and Sousa to formulate policy recommendations for how to handle foreign policy toward Africa in the future based on lessons learned from past interaction with the Middle East. Oil and Terrorism in the New Gulf promises to inform a lively debate over the future of U.S. foreign policies toward Africa and is a valuable resource for policymakers and the academic community that should be approached in a coherent, integrated fashion to ensure the success of the United State's energy and national security agendas.
The citizens of the United States generally oppose new energy developments, yet the public does not want to go without cheap, plentiful energy. This book explores the intricate relationship between public opinion and energy issues. Using the state of California as a model, the author addresses such questions as, What roles do ideology and other values play in influencing opinions on energy issues? How much does the public understand about energy issues? Who favors further oil development or the expansion of nuclear power? How have people's opinions changed over time and how are they likely to change in the future? Are people guided by self-interest or other motives? Energy, the Environment, and Public Opinion sheds light on how much the public understands about energy policy, what the public wants officials to do about our energy problems, and how governments at various levels are likely to come to grips with energy shortages in the future.
Since the European Union's de-regulation policy for electricity and
energy suppliers was implemented, new strategic configurations have
emerged. Traditional restraints of geographical limitations on
energy companies have been partly removed: the diversity at
national regulatory and company level means that the European scene
is one of a multiplicity of strategic configurations and
developments, whilst also being complex and segmented. This book highlights the strategic and regulatory challenges of
European deregulation, with its main focus being on the business
strategies within the emerging de-regulated electricity markets;
various regulatory implications which are being raised in this new
climate are discussed. Some of the central strategic issues facing
the electricity industry in its new competitive context are
explored and reviewed, with classical themes debated as a prelude
to the following empirical investigation of actual business
strategies pursued by the electricity and energy industries. The main section of this work consists of 7 national case
studies of business strategies which also include one North and one
South American case. These were considered important inclusions as
the North American companies are large investors in the European
market, whilst the European companies invest in the South American
market. The final chapter is a comparison and summary of the
national patterns of market structures, business strategies and
regulatory styles with a brief look at some challenges to be faced
in future.
This book, with its evidence and case studies from a wide variety of countries in both the Third World and the transitional economies of Eastern Europe, examines the World Bank's new energy policies. Written by well informed analysts in leading NGOs concerned with energy questions, this book seeks to add to the pressure on the Bank to shift its capital lending and policy advice in favour of sustainable energy, including serious investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and energy provision for the rural poor. The Bank has traditionally been the leading multilateral financier of energy provision. Since 1992, it has begun to implement a reform programme based on privatization of the energy sector. This book explains the historical development of the Bank's energy policies. It outlines promising initiatives within the Bank for sustainable energy and explains why these are having little impact on mainstream energy lending. It describes how and why the Bank's energy polices have actually led to an increase in fossil fuel power plants in the top-ten low income countries, while continuing to marginalize renewable energy. While not wishing to launch an ideological attack on privatization, the authors are concerned with how the Bank has allowed regulatory processes to be highjacked by vested interests. Another problem is institutional barriers within the Bank itself. While a minority of staff are genuinely concerned to implement its excellent rhetoric about sustainable development, too many retain their market-fixated approach and do not support investments oriented to renewable energy sources, energy provision in rural areas or even energy efficient technologies. This book constitutes a powerful, policy-oriented critique of the Bank which often gives an impression of talking too much and changing its behaviour too little.
Energie-Effizienz-Indikatoren sind Kennziffern zur Beschreibung der energiewirtschaftlichen Entwicklung. Durch die Verknupfung energiestatistischer Daten mit oekonomischen oder physikalischen Bezugsgroessen koennen sie dazu beitragen, die Entwicklung des Energieverbrauchs zu erklaren und international zu vergleichen. Von besonderem Interesse ist dabei die Frage, in welchem Masse die Verbrauchsentwicklung auf wirtschaftliches Wachstum, auf Strukturwandel und auf Verbesserungen der Energieeffizienz zuruckzufuhren ist. Im Auftrag des Bundesministeriums fur Wirtschaft und Technologie ist untersucht worden, welche Rolle solche Indikatoren im Rahmen einer marktwirtschaftlich orientierten Energiepolitik grundsatzlich spielen koennen und wie deren Aussagefahigkeit hinsichtlich statistischer Methoden und Daten zu beurteilen ist. Anhand ausgewahlter Indikatoren fur einzelne Sektoren wird die Entwicklung des Energieverbrauchs in Deutschland differenziert analysiert.
This tale of two cities--Butte, Montana, and Chuquicamata, Chile--traces the relationship of capitalism and community across cultural, national, and geographic boundaries. Combining social history with ethnography, Janet Finn shows how the development of copper mining set in motion parallel processes involving distinctive constructions of community, class, and gender in the two widely separated but intimately related sites. While the rich veins of copper in the Rockies and the Andes flowed for the giant Anaconda Company, the miners and their families in both places struggled to make a life as well as a living for themselves. Miner's consumption, a popular name for silicosis, provides a powerful metaphor for the danger, wasting, and loss that penetrated mining life. Finn explores themes of privation and privilege, trust and betrayal, and offers a new model for community studies that links local culture and global capitalism. |
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