Vintage capital and the diffusion of clean technologies

We develop a general equilibrium vintage capital model with energy-saving technological progress and an explicit energy sector to study the impact of investment subsidies on equilibrium investment and output. Energy and capital are assumed to be complementary in the production process. New machines are less energy consuming and scrapping is endogenous. Two polar market structures are considered for the energy market, free entry and natural monopoly. First, it is shown that investment subsidies may induce a larger equilibrium investment into cleaner technologies either under free entry or natural monopoly. However in the latter case, this happens if and only if the average cost is decreasing fast enough. Second, larger diffusion rates do not necessarily mean lower energy consumption at equilibrium, which may explain certain empirical observations.Energy-saving technological progress; vintage capital; market imperfections; natural monopoly; investment

Promoting clean technologies under imperfect competition

We develop a general equilibrium multi-sector vintage capital model with energy-saving technological progress and an explicit energy market to study the impact of investment subsidies on investment and output. Energy and capital are assumed to be complementary in the production process. New machines are less energy consuming and scrapping is endogenous. The intermediate inputs sector is modelled à la Dixit-Stiglitz (1977). Two polar market structures are considered for the energy market, free entry and natural monopoly. The impact of imperfect competition on the outcomes of the decentralized equilibria are deeply characterized. We identify an original paradox: adoption subsidies may induce a larger investment into cleaner technologies either under free entry or natural monopoly. However, larger diffusion rates do not necessarily mean lower energy consumption at equilibrium, which may explain certain empirical puzzles.Energy-saving technological progress; vintage capital; market imperfections; natural monopoly; investment subsidies

Carbon Leakage with International Technology Spillovers

In this paper we study the effect of international technology spillovers on carbon leakage. We first develop and analyse two simple competing models for carbon leakage. The first model represents the pollution haven hypothesis. It focuses on the international competition between firms that produce energy-intensive goods. The second model highlights the role of a globally integrated carbon-energy market. We calculate formulas for the leakage rates in both models and, through meta-analysis, show that the second model captures best the major mechanisms reported in the CGE literature on carbon leakage. We extend this model with endogenous energy-saving technology and international technology spillovers. This feature is shown to decrease carbon leakage. We build-in the endogenous energy-saving technology in a large CGE model and verify that the results from the formal model carry over. Carbon leakage becomes negative for moderate levels of international technology spillover.arbon-Leakage, Climate Policy, Induced Technological Change; Trade and Environment

An energy-saving development initiative increases birth rate and childhood malnutrition in rural Ethiopia

Background: Evolutionary life history theory predicts that, in the absence of contraception, any enhancement of maternal condition can increase human fertility. Energetic trade-offs are likely to be resolved in favour of maximizing reproductive success rather than health or longevity. Here we find support for the hypothesis that development initiatives designed to improve maternal and child welfare may also incur costs associated with increased family sizes if they do not include a family planning component. Methods and Findings: Demographic and anthropometric data were collected in a rural Ethiopian community benefiting from a recent labour-saving development technology that reduces women's energetic expenditure (n = 1,976 households). Using logistic hazards models and general linear modelling techniques, we found that whilst infant mortality has declined, the birth rate has increased, causing greater scarcity of resources within households. Conclusions: This study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate a link between a technological development intervention and an increase in both birth rate and childhood malnutrition. Women's nutritional status was not improved by the energy-saving technology, because energy was diverted into higher birth rates. We argue that the contribution of biological processes to increased birth rates in areas of the developing world without access to modern contraception has been overlooked. This highlights the continued need for development programmes to be multisectoral, including access to and promotion of contraception

DTN based Management Framework for Green On/Off Networks

National audienceThe increasing cost of powering high performance networking infrastructure has led to the proposal of various energy saving schemes. The On/Off technique, being the most common energy saving scheme, consists of powering down partially or entirely a network infrastructure for energy saving purposes. Despite their capability to achieve great energy savings, On/Off networks experience high packet-loss rates due to the absence of reliability on packet delivery. Moreover, they cannot guarantee any response time to user applications. This paper presents the design and implementation of MFO2N; Experimental results show a correlation between offered quality of service and overall network power consumption, revealing that a trade-off should be made

Asymmetric adaptations to energy price changes

The effectiveness of policies to reduce the use of energy depend on the elasticity of substitution between the various inputs and on the rate of technological progress. This paper presents a theoretical model emphasising energy investments’ characteristics of uncertainty and irreversibility that result in testable hypotheses concerning the relative values of substitution parameters and rates of technological change in periods of high and increasing energy prices and in periods of low prices. Estimation results for a panel of sectors of the Dutch economy show that the elasticity of substitution between energy and other inputs is low in periods of low energy prices, whereas it is significantly higher in the preceding period of high and increasing energy prices. Furthermore, energy-saving technological progress in periods of high and increasing energy prices is also significantly higher than if energy prices are low and falling. The regression results suggest that, due this asymmetric response of firms to changes in energy prices, taxing energy in the current period of low energy prices will not yield substantial reductions in energy use of Dutch industry.

Some aspects of the energy cost linked to the IAQ. Impact of free-cooling and heat recovery in office buildings.

CLIMA 2000 (.1997.BRUSELAS)Increasing air exchange rate to improve IAQ may increase energy consumption, but this increase may be compensated for by strategies such as free cooling and heat recovery. The frame of the proposed paper is the examination of the potential at a regional level (the Iberian peninsula) of the different strategies mentioned above in typical office buildings. Based on a set of reference building morphologies, studies are conducted to evaluate the impact of increasing air ventilation rates for different orientations, quality of the envelope (opaque walls and glazing), operating schedules and indoor set-point temperatures. Then, the impact of the increased air ventilation rates is corrected by introducing the effect of free-cooling, air-to-air heat recovery devices of different types and finally, the combined effect of both energy savings strategies. The research provides Maps allowing: 1. To identify zones when heating or cooling regimes are dominant, in terms of both, peak load conditions and energy requirements. 2. To compare the expected performance of the two energy saving strategies at a certain locality. 3. To compare the potential benefit of applying a given strategy at different localities. 4. To indicate regions of recommendable application of the strategies and the expected energy savings achievable

Energy saving and solar electricity in fan-ventilated greenhouses

Greenhouse cultivation is an energy intensive process therefore it is worthwhile to introduce energy saving measures and alternative energy sources. Here we show that there is scope for energy saving in fan ventilated greenhouses. Measurements of electricity usage as a function of fan speed have been performed for two models of 1.25 m diameter greenhouse fans and compared to theoretical values. Reducing the speed can cut the energy usage per volume of air moved by more than 70%. To minimize the capital cost of low-speed operation, a cooled greenhouse has been built in which the fan speed responds to sunlight such that full speed is reached only around noon. The energy saving is about 40% compared to constant speed operation. Direct operation of fans from solar-photovoltaic modules is also viable as shown from experiments with a fan driven by a brushless DC motor. On comparing the Net Present Value costs of the different systems over a 10 year amortization period (with and without a carbon tax to represent environmental costs) we find that sunlight-controlled system saves money under all assumptions about taxation and discount rates. The solar-powered system, however, is only profitable for very low discount rates, due to the high initial capital costs. Nonetheless this system could be of interest for its reliability in developing countries where mains electricity is intermittent. We recommend that greenhouse fan manufacturers improve the availability of energy-saving designs such as those described here

Willingness to Pay for Energy-Saving Measures in Residential Buildings

This paper uses a choice experiment to evaluate the consumers’ willingness to pay for energysaving measures in residential buildings. These measures include air renewal systems as well as thermal insulation of windows and facades. In addition to considerable savings in energy consumption, these systems incur other “private” benefits such as thermal comfort, air quality and protection against noise. The extremely low rates of usage of these systems in Switzerland’s residential buildings is generally explained by consumers’ lack of information and/or the insignificance of private benefits, which have led the Swiss authorities to adopt a promotion policy through direct subsidies and information campaigns. The valuation of private benefits of energy-saving measures has been estimated using hypothetical choice experiments performed on two samples consisting respectively of 163 tenants living in apartment buildings and 142 residents of single-family houses. The respondents were repeatedly asked to choose between their status quo and an alternative situation characterized by different attributes and prices. The estimation method is based on a fixed effect logit model. The results suggest a significant willingness to pay for energy-saving attributes.energy efficiency, choice experiment, conjoint analysis, discrete choice, housing