Improving the approach to efficiency assessment of investment projects in the energy sector

According to the annual world statistics, primary energy consumption demonstrated a steady growth over the past decade but in 2018, its average value was doubled. A rapid development of energy sector will not only lead to the growth of CO2 emissions and other negative consequences, but also to more intensive use of natural resources in the immediate future. Growing pressure on resources might give rise to a number of challenges in virtually all branches of human activity. The energy sector\u2019s impact on the environment is increasing at a high speed, which necessitates the efficiency assessment of investments in energy projects applying a system of technical, economic and environmental indicators. Nowadays, most of the energy projects comprise eco-friendly technological solutions that significantly decrease the use of natural resources but at the same time they might affect financial costs that dampen the attractiveness of investment projects at all. Despite that fact, the economic and environmental evaluation allows identifying the total exposure of the project in the long term and aids in measuring its multiplier effect on the region economy as lots of energy projects have a considerable innovative potential. The present study provides a system of environmental indicators that improves the efficiency assessment process of investment projects in the energy sector

Students' attitudes towards nuclear energy: Russian and Italian experience

Nowadays, the energy sector faces a lot of challenges because of environmental issues, the potential depletion of fossil fuels in the future, problems of technological development, etc. Despite the fact that alternative energy is a key factor of the energy sector's development, it still has several controversial questions, and one of them is "to what extent is nuclear energy safe for the world?" As a consequence, public acceptability has a role to play as it significantly affects the way nuclear energy should be developed in the next decades. In this paper, we provide the main results of the research made in December 2018 in Italy and Russia on students' attitude towards nuclear energy and its development in their homelands. The research method is a questionnaire which was carried out at the University of Trento, Italy, and at Ural Federal University, Russia. According to the given results, most of the students from both countries do not have a negative perception of nuclear energy. However, the opinions on its development in Italy and Russia are completely different: Russian students support the government's energy program in which nuclear energy is one of the most promising trends for the future, whereas Italian students do not accept the possibility that nuclear energy could come back into the Italian energy sector

Production of Gluten-free Bread Based on Rational Use of Natural Resources

The paper provides a scientific foundation for an integrated approach to the problem of expanding the range of bread for special purposes, including that for patients with celiac disease. The high cost of gluten-free foreign products makes rational use of cornflour and bread production technology based on it currently relevant. The use of enzymatic modification of cornflour starch is found to increase the gas formation of dough, which increases the accumulation of mono- and disaccharides up to 5.5 %. The use of surfactants to increase the gas retention capacity of dough is proved to be expedient. The effect of deoiled soy lecithin on the properties of dough and qualitative characteristics of cornbread was discovered. Dry egg albumen was added to make the bread structure porous. Preliminary hydration of protein was revealed to improve the leavening of bread. It was proved that semi-finished product, hydrolysate, in an amount of 50 % of the cornflour weight, 1 % soybean deoiled lecithin, 2.5 % vegetable oil, and 4 % dried egg albumen increase the gas retention capacity of dough and reduce its viscosity and gelatinization temperature to produce high-quality gluten-free corn pan bread

EXPRESS ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF BIOGAS PROJECTS ON ATMOSPHERIC AIR

Greening the global energy sector implies the development and implementation of large-scale energy projects around the world. The quality and effectiveness of the environmental assessment plays a central role in achieving the declared results of eco-modernization: the ability to comprehensively and quickly assess the current activities of an energy facility or an investment project planned for implementation allows one to quickly implement environmental and management solutions. The energy sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and the largest consumer of natural resources; this is what one considers in most of the proposed approaches to environmental assessment in the scientific and methodological literature. However, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions (in particular CO2), energy facilities operating on traditional and alternative fuels consume a significant amount of oxygen as a result of their combustion, which also has a number of negative environmental consequences. The purpose of the study is the development of a methodology for rapid environmental assessment of energy projects, taking into account CO2 emissions and oxygen consumption. The article presents specific indicators of oxygen consumption and CO2 emissions per unit of generating capacity for various types of fossil and alternative fuels and their adoption on the example of a biogas project at a regional energy facility. © 2023 WIT Press.Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 22-28-01740ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant no. 22-28-01740, https://rscf.ru/en/project/22-28-01740/

Considering Waste Generation in the Energy Sector during the Transition to a Circular Economy

The need to reduce the negative environmental impact of energetics with the growing energy demand in the world is the core objective of the industry for the upcoming decades. The global agenda in the field of environmental protection increases the requirements for evaluation of the energy investment projects, in particular for their environmental efficiency. Currently, much attention is paid to assessing the impact of the project on atmospheric air, water bodies and land resources, including the formation of industrial waste during the operational stage. The formation of production and consumption waste at other stages of the project life cycle is not considered either when generating cash flows or when conducting the assessment pf environmental efficiency. It might significantly reduce the reliability of assessment results. The purpose of this study is to develop a system of integrated accounting for all types of waste generated and the environmental costs incurred for handling them during the environmental and economic assessment of energy projects. The paper discusses modern waste management practices at energy enterprises, waste generation at various stages of investment projects implementation, and provides recommendations on waste accounting when assessing their environmental and economic efficiency. © 2023 by the authors.Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 22-28-01740The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation Grant No. 22-28-01740, https://rscf.ru/en/project/22-28-01740/

Introduction of ISO management systems in municipal enterprises providing water supply, water preparation and wastewater treatment in the major cities of the Russian Federation

This article gives information about current situation in the introduction of management systems that comply with ISO standards at water utilities in major Russian cities. Analysis of collected data has shown that the number of plants with international certificates is not large. It might be due to the fact that water and wastewater treatment plants in Russia used to be monopolies on the water services market and worked without any competitors until recently. Constant underfinancing of municipal institutes of water industry also interferes with international certification and other direction of forced development. The article analyses basic reasons for management systems' implementation on municipal water utilities. It compares experience and the results of implementation of Environmental Management Systems complying with ISO 14001 standard on water utilities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. It analyses prospects of international certification of water industry facilities at the current stage of Russian society development. © 2017 WIT Press

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL DECARBONIZATION POLICIES: IS IT POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE CARBON NEUTRALITY BY 2050?

The complexity of the task of decarbonizing the global economy requires an integrated and coordinated approach from the governments of developed and developing countries, the organization of effective international cooperation and scientific and technological progress in the field of environmental technologies and alternative energy sources. At present, despite the measures taken, the problem of achieving carbon neutrality is the difficulties of abandoning fossil fuels in countries showing significant economic growth and being the largest CO2 emitters in recent decades. The purpose of this study is to review and analyse the current state of different energy sources consumption by the leading countries in CO2 emissions, and the projected changes in the global energy system during the fourth energy transition considering possible decarbonization scenarios. The article presents a comparative analysis of national policies and initiatives for the transition to a low-carbon economy and assesses the prospects for achieving the stated targets for reducing CO2 emissions by 2050. © 2023 WIT Press.Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, MinobrnaukaACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Ural Federal University Program of Development within the Priority-2030 Program) is gratefully acknowledged

Review and Comparative Analysis of Renewable Energy Policies in the European Union, Russia and the United States

The activity of the world community in the field of climate and environmental conservation is increasing every year. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by the majority of governments, and the additional goals set on COP26 in 2021 set the objectives of maximum reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere and the transition to renewable energy sources (RES). Consequently, the energy sector, as the largest sector of the world economy and the largest environmental polluter, is undergoing the greatest change. The development and implementation of an effective policy in the field of RES, which is part of the energy development strategy, is one of the factors of renewable energy market’s rapid development and stimulating the transition to clean energy. However, despite the measures taken by the world community to reduce the environmental impact of the energy sector and the development of renewable energy, the volume of greenhouse gas emissions continues to show an upward trend: from 2000 to 2021, the volume of CO2 emissions produced by the power sector increased by 74.7%. This trend might be associated with a low level of elaboration of the current renewable energy policy, with barriers to the development of the renewable energy market or with the specifics of the energy sector. The purpose of this study is to review and analyze renewable energy policies in the European Union, Russia, and the United States in order to identify specific approaches to the development of renewable energy, key tools, and barriers. The current state of the energy sectors of the considered countries was analyzed, their features were identified, and a review as well as a comparative analysis of their renewable energy policies were conducted.The research funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Ural Federal University Program of Development within the Priority-2030 Program) is gratefully acknowledged

Improving the Approach to Efficiency Assessment of Investment Projects in the Energy Sector

According to the annual world statistics, primary energy consumption demonstrated a steady growth over the past decade but in 2018, its average value was doubled. A rapid development of energy sector will not only lead to the growth of CO2 emissions and other negative consequences, but also to more intensive use of natural resources in the immediate future. Growing pressure on resources might give rise to a number of challenges in virtually all branches of human activity. The energy sector’s impact on the environment is increasing at a high speed, which necessitates the efficiency assessment of investments in energy projects applying a system of technical, economic and environmental indicators. Nowadays, most of the energy projects comprise eco-friendly technological solutions that significantly decrease the use of natural resources but at the same time they might affect financial costs that dampen the attractiveness of investment projects at all. Despite that fact, the economic and environmental evaluation allows identifying the total exposure of the project in the long term and aids in measuring its multiplier effect on the region economy as lots of energy projects have a considerable innovative potential. The present study provides a system of environmental indicators that improves the efficiency assessment process of investment projects in the energy sector. © 2020 WIT Press.This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract number 02.A03.21.0006

REGULATIONS FOR EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN THE ENERGY SECTOR: BRIEF OVERVIEW AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The policy of decarbonization and eco-modernization of the energy industry adopted by many countries implies a serious selection of investment projects primarily on the environmental pillar: projects aimed at reducing the negative impact on the environment or projects whose environmental damage from the implementation might be minimal, become priority. Therefore, the environmental impact assessment of investment projects became mandatory in the efficiency assessment process. Nowadays, there is no generally acclaimed methodology in the world for assessing the environmental and economic efficiency of investment projects: each country may have and apply its own requirements and methods or use recommendations developed and prepared by the international organizations. To ensure high efficiency of environmental and economic assessment, numerous normative tools, including recommendations and/or requirements for their implementation, are recommended that may vary significantly in different countries. The present study aims on comparative analysis of normative documents adopted in Russia, the USA and the EU to assess the environmental and economic efficiency of investment projects. In addition, the results of the analysis will help to identify the key differences in regulations and the main problems and difficulties of conducting an environmental and economic assessment of investment projects. Finally, this may enable further assessment of the possibilities of creating a unified global approach. © 2022 WITPress. All rights reserved.Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 22-28-01740ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 22-28-01740, https://rscf.ru/en/project/22-28-01740/.Syngellakis S.Magaril E.International Journal of Energy Production and Management;WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environmen