Energy Projects in Milton Keynes: Energy Consultative Unit Progress Report 1976-1981

The Energy Consultative Unit was a joint Open University/MKDC body set up by Professor Jake Chapman, founder of the OU Energy Research Group. This report describes the work carried out on energy-related projects in Milton Keynes over the period 1976-1981, many of them involving the Open University. After a short explanation of how energy is used in the UK, the report introduces the Energy Consultative Unit projects and summarises the main conclusions drawn from the Unit's work. It then describes the projects on which the Unit has worked and summarises other energy projects under way in the new city. It does not go into the projects in detail, but there are a number of technical reports available for people who want to study them in more depth, and these are listed in the back of the report. The projects represent the work of a considerable number of people and a list of acknowledgements, indicating who should be contacted for further information, is also set out at the back of the report

Energy Saving Obligations and White Certificates : Ideas and Considerations for the Transport Sector

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Life Cycle Costing Applications in Sustainable Building

Life Cycle Costing (LCC) which is defined ISO 15686-5:2005 is used to assess the sustainable and renewable technology used in building. The results indicate that the premium cost of sustainable/renewable technology in building is surprisingly lower than many have expected. The life time saving benefits are mainly coming from energy savings. However benefits might also come from improved indoor environmental quality, greater employee comfort/productivity, reduced employee health costs and lower operations and maintenance costs. These benefits will normally greatly exceed any additional upfront premium costs. The information derived from this study will assist people to be aware of the life cycle cost and benefit of sustainable and renewable technology in building. It will also provide the architect/engineer the information about energy conservation potential acquired via energy saving and conservation

In what circumstances is investment in HR worthwhile?

INTRODUCTION By High Speed Rail (HSR) we normally mean rail technologies capable of speeds of the order of 300km ph on new dedicated track. Such systems offer journey times that are more competitive with other modes, and particularly air, than traditional train services, and very high capacity. But their capital cost is also high. The proposals of the European Commission for the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) envisage expenditure of 600b euros, of which 250b euros is for priority projects, and a large part of this expenditure is for high speed rail. Thus it is extremely important to have a robust appraisal methodology for these huge investments. It is not clear that this has happened in the case of the Trans European Networks. Individual projects are suggested by, and appraised by, member state governments, even though they are applying to the European Commission for assistance with funding. Research for the European Commission has appraised the TEN-T network as a whole, but has not appraised the individual elements of the programme to ensure that they are all worthwhile (TML, 2005). The aim of this paper is to consider the methodology for the appraisal of high speed rail proposals, and to produce some indication of the circumstances in which such proposals might be worthwhile. In the next section we present an overview of the principal costs and benefits which need to be taken into account in an HSR appraisal. Then we illustrate the process for two particular contrasting examples – the study of HSR proposals in Great Britain, and an ex post evaluation of the Madrid-Seville line in Spain. In section four of the paper we formulate a model to incorporate the principal parameters influencing the outcome of an appraisal and in section five we use this model to draw conclusions on the circumstances in which high speed rail may be justified

Barriers to energy efficiency: evidence from selected sectors

To combat climate change, it is essential to reduce the use of fossil fuels and minimise greenhouse gas emissions. To help to achieve that objective, energy must be used efficiently. However, many international studies claim that companies and other organisations are “leaving money on the floor” by neglecting highly cost-effective opportunities to invest in measures that would improve their energy efficiency. A new ESRI report, “Barriers to Energy Efficiency: Evidence from Selected Sectors”, examines these claims in the context of the Irish economy, and asks why organisations apparently ignore financially rewarding opportunities to improve their energy efficiency. The report is based on detailed case studies of organisations in the mechanical engineering, brewing and higher education sectors

In what circumstances is investment in HR worthwhile?

INTRODUCTION By High Speed Rail (HSR) we normally mean rail technologies capable of speeds of the order of 300km ph on new dedicated track. Such systems offer journey times that are more competitive with other modes, and particularly air, than traditional train services, and very high capacity. But their capital cost is also high. The proposals of the European Commission for the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) envisage expenditure of 600b euros, of which 250b euros is for priority projects, and a large part of this expenditure is for high speed rail. Thus it is extremely important to have a robust appraisal methodology for these huge investments. It is not clear that this has happened in the case of the Trans European Networks. Individual projects are suggested by, and appraised by, member state governments, even though they are applying to the European Commission for assistance with funding. Research for the European Commission has appraised the TEN-T network as a whole, but has not appraised the individual elements of the programme to ensure that they are all worthwhile (TML, 2005). The aim of this paper is to consider the methodology for the appraisal of high speed rail proposals, and to produce some indication of the circumstances in which such proposals might be worthwhile. In the next section we present an overview of the principal costs and benefits which need to be taken into account in an HSR appraisal. Then we illustrate the process for two particular contrasting examples – the study of HSR proposals in Great Britain, and an ex post evaluation of the Madrid-Seville line in Spain. In section four of the paper we formulate a model to incorporate the principal parameters influencing the outcome of an appraisal and in section five we use this model to draw conclusions on the circumstances in which high speed rail may be justified

Balancing the Burden? Desk Review of Women\u27s Time Poverty and Infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific

The objectives of this review are as follows: (i) determine the contribution of infrastructure in reducing women’s time poverty and how this is being recorded; (ii) determine if women’s time savings result from increased access to infrastructure and are used for productive work that also reduces consumption poverty; (iii) assess ways in which infrastructure projects more effectively reduce both time and consumption poverty for women. Allocation of time for different activities between individuals within the household is influenced by gender division of labor and social and cultural norms. All over the world, women work more hours than men; men spend more time in paid work, whereas women bear the burden of unpaid work. Much of this unpaid work relates to household tasks such as fetching water and collecting firewood; cooking; and caring for the family, including the children, the sick, and the elderly. This can result in time poverty for women, necessitating trade-offs with regard to allocating time, reducing their time for paid work, and depriving them of time for social or community activities to improve their status. The findings from time-use surveys in Asia and the Pacific clearly indicate these gendered patterns of time-use. The review finds that basic infrastructure has the potential to reduce the time spent on housework and care work and influence the gender division of labor. However, infrastructure projects rarely include interventions to address this directly, even when reducing time burdens is a slated aim of the project. The review also reveals that the impacts of improved infrastructure on women’s time poverty significantly differ across types of infrastructure. Improved water supply has significant impacts on reducing the time women spend doing burdensome unpaid work but has little impact on the gender division of labor in the household. For women and girls without access to improved sanitation, the amount of time needed each day to find a place to defecate, or to accompany children, is significant but has been largely invisible until recently. Electricity also tends to reduce the amount of time spent on housework on care work, despite its limited use for cooking. Electricity sometimes has an impact on the amount of time women spend on paid work despite the reluctance to use electricity for cooking. An important impact of electricity is on the empowerment of women through increased access to information. Improved transport infrastructure results in significant changes in the lives of women and girls, which impact on how their time is allocated to different tasks. However, the impacts of travel time on time poverty of women are complex due to the new opportunities that are opened up, adding new time-use demands on women in addition to their traditional roles. There is a substantial gap in data indicating the relationships between infrastructure, time poverty, and women’s empowerment. Project-specific research could collect both quantitative and qualitative information and data to better understand such relationships

Using the stated preference method for the calculation of social discount rate

The aim of this paper is to build the stated preference method into the social discount rate methodology. The first part of the paper presents the results of a survey about stated time preferences through pair-choice decision situations for various topics and time horizons. It is assumed that stated time preferences differ from calculated time preferences and that the extent of stated rates depends on the time period, and on how much respondents are financially and emotionally involved in the transactions. A significant question remains: how can the gap between the calculation and the results of surveys be resolved, and how can the real time preferences of individuals be interpreted using a social time preference rate. The second part of the paper estimates the social time preference rate for Hungary using the results of the survey, while paying special attention to the pure time preference component. The results suggest that the current method of calculation of the pure time preference rate does not reflect the real attitudes of individuals towards future generations

The Local Dimension of Energy

In this paper, we postulate that some of the best opportunities for reducing energy demand and carbon emissions are through stronger involvement and leadership from local government. We show that local government can and do have a significant impact on both energy production and energy consumption and are important participants for the implementation of distributed generation (DG). the progress being made by successful local governments can be narrowed to three key factors. First, they have all recognised the co-benefits of a local energy strategy: a reduction in fuel poverty, increased employment, improved quality of life and mitigation of uncertain fuel supplies and prices. Secondly, successful councils have strong political leadership and employee support to implement the structural change to bring about change. Thirdly, leading councils have gained momentum by working in partnership with utilities, private companies, NGO’s, DNO’s and government departments to raise finance and garner support. While climate change remains a global issue, some of the best strategies for mitigation are implemented at the local level

Energy efficiency: annual report, 2003/2005

"This is the 13th Annual Report on energy efficiency activity in the education sector and covers the 2003/04 and 2004/05 financial years. The report comprises energy information from Education and Library Boards (ELBs), Voluntary Grammar Schools (VGS) and Grant Maintained Integrated (GMI) schools. Included in this report is an outline of each Board’s overall energy consumption and CO2 performance and, equally importantly, a general overview of their investment in energy efficient schemes and energy related initiatives within their area." - DENI website