Green growth and nuclear energy

This article outlines nuclear energy's potential contribution as part of a green energy portfolio, as well as its role in a green economy towards green growth

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): Potential Applications for Advanced Transportation Tanks and Vehicle Systems

The adequate supply of transport fuel has been a continuous concern ever since the automobile and individual modes of travel began the so far impetuous penetration into the transport sector. Over the years it should have become obvious that the running-out of oil phenomena is largely the result of a misperception regarding the dynamic role of technical change on the economics of hydrocarbon exploration and production, in short, on liquid fuel supply. Thus, oil availability appears not to threaten our mobility even in the medium-to-long-term future. The question of using natural gas as a transport fuel, therefore, is not a response to diminishing oil resources but the result of environmental considerations. This is particularly the case for diesel trucks and busses operating in densely populated metropolitan areas. In the past the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a clean and efficient vehicle fuel hinged on the heavy weight storage cylinders impacting adversely the available pay-load. Advanced light-weight reinforced aluminum storage cylinders have partially removed this obstacle. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art of CNG technology and offers indications of early application niches for CNG based vehicle systems

European Gas Trade: A Quantitative Approach

This second working paper within the series of reports on the ongoing activities in IIASA's International Gas Study presents some test applications of the GATE-I model (Gas Trade, Integrated Version). The general outline of this model can be found in the report, "Model of European Gas Production, Trade and Consumption". The GATE-I model has been applied to demonstrate the feasibility of modeling natural gas scenarios and the corresponding gas trade among the European subregions. Altogether four scenarios were developed: a base case that provides an initial test of the prospects for natural gas in future energy strategies for the European continent and indicates the trade links needed to meet expected demand; a scenario in which different export price-to-quantity relations are assumed for the gas exporting regions of the Soviet Union and North Africa; a supply security scenario that incorporates some gas import dependency policy considerations; and a scenario in which environmental aspects are considered in terms of the costs of meeting SO2 emission reduction requirements for enhanced natural gas consumption. In sum, given the simplification needed to keep GATE-I relatively compact and computationally fast, the main objectives of the exercise have been fully met. The quantitative results of applying the model to the analysis of gas prospects for the above regions should not be considered conclusive, but are suggestive of possible trends with respect to gas use in these regions. The preliminary analysis is currently being followed up with more detailed investigations

A Long-Term Macroeconomic Equilibrium Model for the European Community

MACRO, a highly aggregated, long-term, two-sector general equilibrium model, was developed to examine the energy-economy linkage in the context of the global energy study by the Energy Systems Program Group at IIASA. This report presents a version of MACRO calibrated for the European Community, focusing on model structure, model validation and testing, and four applications to the EC region over a 50-year planning period. The applications, based on a range of energy supply scenarios, examine such economic questions as the impact of rising energy costs on economic activity, the feasibility of common assumptions about price-induced conservation, and the impact of continued high energy levels of energy imports on the trade balance

Technology and the Prospects for Natural Gas

In most long-term energy analysis, the role of natural gas in future energy supplies has been inextricably bound to the prevailing outlook for oil. More often than not energy policy levied to oil issues was automatically extended to natural gas. Consequently, the economic and environmental aspects of natural gas at the consumer's end of the energy chain have been clouded by the resource outlook for oil as well as the uncertainties and volatility of the international oil market. The resource prospects for natural gas change drastically once viewed independently, i.e., not through the traditional oil window. First of all, natural gas resources are not restricted by the geological conditions suitable to contain oil (and gas), so-called sediments. In fact, natural gas has been increasingly found in geological formations where -- because of temperature and pressure conditions -- no oil deposits exist. Still, the major additions to the gas reserve base discovered over the last decade or so have primarily occurred as a result of the search for oil. Despite this limitation in the scope of natural gas exploration (oil window), the global resource base grew four times faster than gas consumption. With advanced exploration and drilling technologies -- combined with the latest data processing and evaluation techniques -- coming on stream, the resource outlook for natural gas from conventional and nonconventional geological formations becomes even brighter. Because of the traditional comprehension of gas equals oil and thus the mistaken understanding of, in the short run, resource constrained natural gas supplies, many advantages of natural gas as an efficient, clean, and environmentally benign fuel have not been fully appreciated. In particular, post-1973 energy policy banned natural gas from the electricity generating sector in many parts of the world. However, technical progress in the field of gas turbine technology has improved the performance characteristics of natural gas as a fuel for electricity generation by more than a factor of two over the last 15 years or so. Consequently, gas lends itself as an economically competitive alternative to coal and, to a certain extent, to nuclear power. Increased reliance on natural gas also mitigates all environmental problems associated with the use of fossil fuels (SO2, NOx, CO2 and particulates)

An Assessment of World Hydrocarbon Resources

Assessments of global coal, oil, and natural gas occurrences usually focus on conventional hydrocarbon reserves, i.e. those occurrences that can be exploited with current technology and present market conditions. The focus on reserves seriously underestimates long-term global hydrocarbon availability. Greenhouse gas emissions based on these estimates may convey the message that the world is running out of fossil fuels, and as a result, emissions would be reduced automatically. If the vast unconventional hydrocarbon occurrences are included in the resource estimates and historically observed rates of technology change are applied to their mobilization, the potential accessibility of fossil sources increases dramatically with long-term production costs that are not significantly higher than present market prices. Although the geographical hydrocarbon resource distribution varies significantly, a regional breakdown for 11 world regions indicates that neither hydrocarbon resource availability nor costs are likely to become forces that automatically would help wean the global energy system from the use of fossil fuel during the next century

Energy Access and Electricity Planning

As developing countries look for ways to achieve sustainable energy services, which is essential to lift people out of poverty, the big challenge centers around providing access for all while avoiding past pitfalls without creating new ones. The reality is that this can only occur if there is a fundamental transformation of energy systems along the entire set of resource to energy service chains - and that will necessitate greater energy efficiency and a bigger role for renewables in the global energy mix energy. Competitive and private sector dominated energy markets rely on clear and consistent government energy-environment policies to align their investment decisions with sustainable development objectives. This paper tries to shed light on how developing countries can carry out energy planning by reviewing the available methodologies and tools, including their potential to integrate rural energy access and encourage the uptake of renewable energy technologies. It also probes how investment needs and cost-effectiveness are reflected in different analytic and planning tools - with a case study on Ethiopia. And it examines the interaction of energy planning and scenario development and how these are applied to informed policy making. The findings suggest that energy planning is essential and feasible. However, support is required to improve data collection and access, develop open accessible modelling tools, and build sustainable national capacity to undertake plannin