Green Energy

A B S T R A C T Future energy security and environmental issues are major driving forces for increased biomass utilization globally and especially in developing countries like Pakistan. For efficient utilization of indigenous biomass resources in the future energy mix, it is important to gain knowledge of current energy system in various sectors. Some of the technologies and initiatives are under development to achieve transition from non-renewable resources to renewable resources, and reducing fossil fuel dependency and greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, number of proposals has been presented for the development of sustainable biofuels production methods for promise for accelerating a shift away from an unsustainable approach to possible sustainable production practices or a sustainable social, economic and environment. This article presents an extensive literature review of the biomass-based renewable energy potential in Pakistan based on current energy scenario and future perspectives. It also highlights the availability of the indigenous and local biomass resources and potential biomass conversion technologies to convert such resources to bioenergy. The drivers for utilization of indigenous biomass resources in future energy mix and challenges regarding awareness among stakeholders and R & D to fill knowledge gaps are economically restraints. The article concludes with suggestions on future directions and policies for effective implementation of biomass based renewable energy production.

A lot of attention is being paid to wind energy due to the focus on renewable energy. Malaysia is situated in the equatorial region and its climate is governed by the monsoons. Wind resource in Malaysia varies from one location to another. Wind speed is better offshore compared to onshore, so more contribution by offshore wind powers in terms of electricity generation. Wind energy potentiality and techno- economic feasibility of offshore wind farms in Malaysia is investigated in this paper. Research was conducted using HOMER software to assess the potential of wind energy along the South China Sea coastline. This study indicates the best sites to set up offshore wind farms in Malaysia while costs associated for wind energy generation are calculated. Two model of the wind turbines Vestas V-47 and V-80 are taken for economic feasibility analyses. Investment, operation and maintenance costs have been evaluated for offshore wind energy. Feed-in tariff policy effects energy price and wind farms profitability were analyzed.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=6129028

The development of offshore wind farms has been a way for the state to repackage national development projects using green energy discourses. In Taiwan, where the further development of nuclear power is suspended due to public antinuclear sentiment, offshore wind farms have been heavily promoted as a way of meeting electricity demand. The planned site for offshore wind farms, mainly the intertidal zone along the coast of Changhua County, overlaps with both oyster farms and the habitat of Taiwanese humpbacked dolphins, categorized as a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This has resulted in a clash between conserving the oyster farming landscape, protecting an endangered species, and developing green energy. Facing this dilemma, pro–wind farm discourses that highlight concerns about global climate change have gradually supplanted those stressing the welfare of oysters and dolphins, even though the latter have been used successfully as local icons by movements opposing previous development projects on the intertidal zone. This article reconsiders the politics of territorialization implied by the “green” label affixed to offshore wind farm projects and other forms of green energy in general. As such, the meaning of offshore wind farms, as a newly discovered energy resource, is intertwined with the changing meanings of both dolphins and oyster farms, as rival nonhuman objects of resource exploitation and natural conservation. The territorialization of such resources in the emerging discursive space of green energy has proceeded via relational placemaking with nonlinear connections among multiple human and nonhuman elements.
Key Words: conservation, intertidal zone, landscape, renewable resources, resource frontier.

While renewable energy is essential to reduce global warming, such projects are not always implemented in a socially responsible manner as regards local communities. In northern Kenya, the installation of wind turbines for power generation has negatively affected indigenous peoples due to the occupation of their lands without prior consultation, their forced displacement, and an increase in prostitution, substance abuse, and inter-ethnic conflict. Marianne Wiben writes for Debates Indígenas.

Global warming has risen as a primary global concern. It has stimulated interest in the development of the renewable energy (RE) system. Studies demonstrated that the regions of Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Kingdom Saudi Arabia (KSA), and United Arab Emirates (UAE) face several changes in the form of uncertain weather conditions. Given the strategic location of the Gulf States and its enormous oil and natural resource, it is characterized to hold potential for using renewable energies such as solar, wind, and geothermal energy for meeting the power production needs. Previous studies suggested that energy consumptions such as crude oil and fossil fuels are the major sources of providing economic benefits to the states. The high oil price, deterioration of the financial markets, and incident of Arab Spring has shifted the working at a national and international level, making it important in using RE resources to generate excessive energy. The pr...

This article explores the growing environmental activism of nondemocratic regional organizations (NDROs) by investigating the case of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), addressing the following questions: What explains the emergence of environmental regionalism in the SCO? What are its characteristics and e ects? We show that China has acted as the driver of environmental regionalism in the SCO-whose members rank among the world's top CO 2 emitters-providing positive incentives for the establishment of regional environmental institutions and fostering member states' green energy transition through the top-down deployment of Chinese nancial institutions and construction companies. In so doing, China has sought to consolidate its regional leadership in Eurasia, while promoting its economic statecraft and its bid for global environmental leadership.

Etant entendu que les entreprises et les entrepreneurs de toutes catégories, des micro- entités aux multinationales, jouent un rôle central dans la croissance et la lutte contre la pauvreté, leurs décisions d’investissement influent sur la création d’emplois, la disponibilité et les prix des biens et services proposés aux consommateurs, ainsi que sur les recettes fiscales qui permettent aux pouvoirs publics de financer le système de santé, d’éducation et d’autres services.

Africa and other developing countries have for long borne the blunt of continued environmental pollution despite the fact that the carbon footprint of these economies has comparatively been low. However, statistics today predict a steady growth in economic development in Africa driven by an accelerated growth in the construction sector and migration from rural to urban centers. With this, the Carbon footprint of these countries is expected to steadily increasing the environmental burden for an environment that is already torn apart. This is because the construction industry alone has been blamed for a third of the global environmental pollution. However, prior research by academia, global environmental bodies and governments has shown that sustainable green approaches can be adopted within the construction industry to reduce its carbon footprint and to enhance savings on the environment. Moreover, these environmental savings have been considered not just as enhancing savings for the environment but also their capability to bring greater financial benefits for the organizations as well as increased quality of life for occupants of these buildings and to the society at large. This research analyzes the green technological innovations that can be leveraged for sustainable economic development in developing economies. The research considers two green building cases (the United Nations green building in Nairobi and the Eastgate center in Harare, Zimbabwe) to draw its conclusions. The result of this study is a framework for sustainable building and construction in developing economies.

Your car battery should last about 3 to 5 years…
But many people find that they have to change their car battery every 1 to 2 years.
Why is this?
And what can you do to prolong your car’s battery life?
Well… That’s what we’ll discuss in this article.
We’ll show you why car batteries die early …and what you can do to prevent this from happening.
We’ll also give you 8 simple tips and tricks to maximize the lifespan of your car’s 12 volt battery.

This is a presentation I made about Tesla's international business strategies on the 30th May 2017 at Pusan National University. It is based on the case study paper titled "TESLA International Business Strategies," which I wrote as a term paper for the International Business course lectured by Professor Eon-Seong Lee. The full TESLA case study (which contains details not included in this presentation) can be accessed through the following link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322750674_TESLA_International_Business_Strategies?channel=doi&linkId=5a6d7695aca2722c947e156f&showFulltext=true.

Plasma technology is considered a sustainable and clean technology for the conversion of naturally abundant compounds (i.e., water (H2O) and nitrogen gas (N2)) into energy-abundant compounds (e.g., hydrogen gas (H2), ammonia (NH3)) or chemical feed molecules (e.g., nitric oxide (NO)). Here, we report a plasma catalyst-integrated system for sustainable ammonia production, which can facilitate massive, localized ammonia production. This study demonstrates the single-step cogeneration of H2 and nitric oxides (NOx) from H2O in the nitrogen discharge used for ammonia production, which proceeded via the catalytic reduction of NOx by H2. The proposed plasma technique yields higher NO and H2 concentrations than conventional plasma methods, which were used to obtain an ammonia concentration of ∼0.84% with a selectivity of ∼95% and a production rate of 120 μmol/s. These promising results provide a breakthrough in the transition toward sustainable and environmentally friendly ammonia production.

Producing power through renewable energy systems in buildings, known as green buildings, is becoming more and more crucial and also popular in these days. In this paper we are introducing a new system by which it is possible to produce more than 1000 watts electrical power. The system works by wastewater generated from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing and bathing, known as greywater. To this end, it is necessary to have a vertical sewage plumbing system which is located inside or outside of the building. Conducting greywater of each floor to the plumbing system, it is possible to use plumbing system height and greywater pressure if we dam the end of the plumbing system. Whenever the pipeline fills completely with greywater, the fluid has constant pressure and makes sufficient turbine head that can propel the propeller of a turbine. This Waste to Energy (WtE) system is capable to provide notable electrical power of needful light or other public electrical facilities of a typical building complex. The turbine can produce electrical energy according to the height of the building (sewage plumbing) and its habitancy. The higher and more habitant the building, the more energy is produced.

حلقة البحث هذه حول البيئة الخضراء والمستدامة , ولقد أعددت هذه الحلقة عندما كنت في السنة الثالثة من دراستي الجامعية , أتمنى أن تنال إعجابكم وان تكون ذو فائدة لكم 
This seminar on green and sustainable environment, I prepared this seminar when I was in the third year of my university, I hope you like it and be of interest to you

This is the Draft Table of Contents for my forthcoming book (Lexington--hopefully December 2016): Eco-Nihilism: The Philosophical Geopolitics of the Climate Change Apocalypse.

I post it here to give my readers--for whom I'm tremendously grateful--a preview of the book's themes and argument.

In this paper we make a different case for renewables: we contrast the the extraction of energy (fuels), which - in spite of technological change - takes place under diminishing returns, with the harvesting of nature's renewable energy, which takes place using manufacturing devices generating increasing returns and costs decline along steep learning curves. This, we argue, gives a fresh perspective both on renewables and on energy security.

Renewable energies are emerging across the globe in an attempt to slow down global warming and to improve national energy security in face of the depleting fossil fuel reserves. However, the general policy of mandating the replacement of fossil fuels with the so-called “green” energies may not be as effective and environmental-friendly as previously thought, due to the secondary impacts of renewable energies on different natural resources. Thus, an integrated systems analysis framework is essential to selecting optimal energy sources that address global warming and energy security issues with minimal unintended consequences and undesired secondary impacts on valuable natural resources. This paper proposes a system of systems (SoS) framework to determine the relative aggregate footprint (RAF) of energy supply alternatives with respect to different sustainability criteria and uncertain performance values. Based on the proposed method, the RAF scores of a range of renewable and nonrenewable energy alternatives are determined using their previously reported performance values under four sustainability criteria, namely carbon footprint, water footprint, land footprint, and cost of energy production. These criteria represent environmental efficiency, water use efficiency, land use efficiency, and economic efficiency, respectively. The study results suggest that geothermal energy and biomass energy from miscanthus are the most and least resource-use efficient energy alternatives based on the performance data available in the literature. In addition, despite their lower carbon footprints, some renewable energy sources are less promising than non-renewable energy sources from a SoS perspective that considers the trade-offs between the greenhouse gas emissions of energies and their effects on water, ecosystem, and economic resources. Robustness analysis suggests that with respect to the existing performance values and uncertainties in the literature, solar thermal and hydropower have the most and least level of RAF robustness, respectively. Sensitivity analysis indicates that geothermal energy and ethanol from sugarcane, have the lowest and highest RAF sensitivity to resource availability, respectively.

The significance of this study will be to compare various ways of constructing green buildings / more sustainable housing schemes. There have been proposals for these types of constructions however the efficiency of current proposals requires exploring. It would also benefit to review current Environmental Impact Assessment compared with International Assessments if there are any loops holes in the current South African schemes.

Research Aim:
• What is currently being proposed by government
• Explore various design options of sustainability
• Compare these options with current proposals
• Conclude with recommendations based on these analyses for a possible streamlined approach for future proposals

Research Objectives:
1. Where is South Africa in the sustainability journey of development?
2. What are the cost comparisons between current construction and sustainable construction?
3. What are the current Environmental Impact Assessment tools being used in South Africa and compare them to International tools?
4. How would a sustainable housing scheme improve the livelihood of the locals?
5. Is sustainable development financially viable in low incoming areas?
6. Is retrofitting worth considering for already established areas?

BOOK REVIEW

Green Transformations or Rebranding Dystopia?

The Politics of Green Transformations, edited by Ian Scoones, Melissa Leach, and Peter Newell, Oxford, Routledge, 2015, 220 pp. + Bibliography and Index, £25.49 GBP (Paperback), ISBN 978-1-138-79290-6

Despite the clear need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lack of access to capital and appropriate financing mechanisms has limited the deployment of renewable energy technologies (RETs). Feed-in Tariff (FIT) programs have been used successfully in many countries to make RETs more economically feasible. Unfortunately, the large capital costs of RETs can result in both the slow uptake of FIT programs and incomplete capture of deployment potential. Subsidies are concentrated in financial institutions rather than the greater population as traditional bank loans are required to fund RET projects. This paper critically analyzes and considers the political, financial and logistical risks of an innovative peer-to-peer financing mechanism. This mechanism has the goal of increasing RET deployment capacity under a FIT program in an effort to equitably distribute both the environmental and economic advantages throughout the entire population. Using the Ontario FIT program as a case study, this article illustrates how the guaranteed income stream from a solar photovoltaic system can be modeled as an investment and how peer-to-peer lending mechanisms can then be used to provide capital for the initial costs. The requirements for and limitations of these types of funding mechanisms for RETs are quantified and discussed and future work to deploy this methodology is described.

Most motors are designed to operate at a constant speed and provide a constant output; however, modern technology requires different speeds in many applications where electric motors are used. A variable speed drive (VSD) is a device that regulates the speed and rotational force, or output torque of mechanical equipment. Effects of applying VSDs are in both productivity improvements and energy savings in pumps, fans, compressors and other equipment. Variable speed drive technology and the importance of controlling the speed of existing motors have fascinated many attentions in the last years with the advent of new power devices and magnetic materials. This paper is a comprehensive review on applications of VSD in electrical motors energy savings. The aim is to identify energy saving opportunities and incorporated costs of applying variable speed drives to the existing applications of electrical motors. Subsequently, economic analysis, payback period and the effect of current and voltage harmonics generated by VSDs are presented. Authors are hopeful to provide useful information for future variable speed drive applications like fans, pumps, chillers, ventilators and heaters

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032111004308

Five years after its foundation by a group of innovative Silicon-Valley engineers, Tesla, with its mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, delivered the world’s first fully electric sports car model—the Tesla Roadster—in February 2008. Since then, it has produced two other zero-emission electric car models, the Tesla Model S and Model X, and unveiled a fourth model, the Tesla Model 3. Tesla’s first expansion moves into the foreign market were its opening of a showroom in London and a store in Munich in June and September 2009, respectively. This paper examines strategies Tesla employed in the foreign market, discusses elements that catalyzed its success, establishes problems it should solve, and outlines essential managerial implications.

The possibility exists for creating solar panels from ice very cheaply, i.e. for the cost of the tray, wires and tensioners to hold the wires down. These would only be workable in locales wherein the ambient air temperature is cold, but the low cost makes them attractive and suggests future wide adoption. How to get there? Should governments rely on planned large-scale initiatives, on local initiatives, or on the marketplace? Various themes for context are explored.
Reports of energy development in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, comprising former Soviet republics) suggest that energy development leads to economic growth in the short term, and that there is a feedback mechanism that operates in the long term. See Apergis & Payne's 2009 article “Energy Consumption and Economic Growth” in Energy Economics. Thus energy development could be undertaken as a large-scale government initiative with economy as justification. In New York State in the US, standard solar power generation in centralized plants delivers savings to users (i.e. rate payers and tax payers) on the order of 15¢ to 40¢ per kWh. See Perez, Zweibel & Hoff's 2011 article “Solar Power Generation in the US” in Energy Policy and Branker & Pearce's 2010 “Financial return for government support of large-scale thin-film solar photovoltaic manufacturing in Canada” in the same journal for more examples.
Yet the situation for solar panels from ice is unique. Extra photovoltaic panels (PV) from ice when coupled with a feed-in tariff (FIT) could result in regional electricity grids flush with cheap electricity during winter.  Ice PV could also be added to homes, businesses or plants that already have PV very easily since the energy storage component is already in place. Energy storage can take the form of batteries, ultracapacitors, fuel cells or a (hybrid) combination of these, and energy storage is a current area of scientific and economic exploration. Tesla Motors recently announced a partnership to provide battery-based home energy storage cheaply (probably around $2500 per unit).
Perhaps it will be a national government need to promote a nascent energy storage technology sector. Demand could be placed very high with the introduction of PV from ice. Once many units are in place, there will be a great deal of flexibility, and innovation related to solar panel technology could be promoted locally. Energy storage units are the key here. If industrial development within renewables is desired, ice may be a useful lead in.
Notably, some flexibility is required. For example, it's not known what the effect of different substances dissolved in the ice would be. Perhaps nickel particles added to water as it freezes would create extra layers that would make ice PV more productive than silicon. Local initiatives or a FIT would promote experimentation to a greater extent than a national energy plant program. Citizen science could have the day.
Ultimately, ice PV policy depends on governmental and societal goals. If there is no interest in developing PV technology generally, then letting the market work unfettered would bypass any development incentive and yet allow for adoption if personal desire dictates. If the PV sector is already well-developed, then a broad policy set might be negotiated with the participation of major businesses and academia, maybe including a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). If novel technological development is desired, then local initiatives and FIT make sense. Indeed, Solangi et al.'s 2010 “Review on Global Solar Energy Policy” in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews highlights the efficacy of FIT and RPS in a variety of settings.

The authors of this edition propose a novel and inspiring research approach to the subject of plants, which – being a form of life that is different, yet akin to us – is a constant source of nourishment and metaphors, decoration and obsessions. The articles included in this thematic block on plants enter into lively ongoing debates on genetics, feminism, ecology and plant ontology. They are excellent examples of the fact that in Polish philosophical and cultural reflection there was an understanding very early on of the challenges that posthumanism poses to our anthropocentric intellectual habits. Foreign readers will recognize in these Polish reflections a bold willingness to ask ethical and aesthetic questions of great relevance to the modern world that go far beyond the safe, though most likely imagined, limits of what it is to be human.

The possibility exists for creating solar panels from ice very cheaply, i.e. for the cost of the tray, wires and tensioners to hold the wires down. These would only be workable in locales wherein the ambient air temperature is cold, but the low cost makes them attractive and suggests future wide adoption. How to get there? Should governments rely on planned large-scale initiatives, on local initiatives, or on the marketplace? Various themes for context are explored. Reports of energy development in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, comprising former Soviet republics) suggest that energy development leads to economic growth in the short term, and that there is a feedback mechanism that operates in the long term. See Apergis & Payne's 2009 article “Energy Consumption and Economic Growth” in Energy Economics. Thus energy development could be undertaken as a large-scale government initiative with economy as justification. In New York State in the US, standard solar power generation in centralized plants delivers savings to users (i.e. rate payers and tax payers) on the order of 15¢ to 40¢ per kWh. See Perez, Zweibel & Hoff's 2011 article “Solar Power Generation in the US” in Energy Policy and Branker & Pearce's 2010 “Financial return for government support of large-scale thin-film solar photovoltaic manufacturing in Canada” in the same journal for more examples. Yet the situation for solar panels from ice is unique. Extra photovoltaic panels (PV) from ice when coupled with a feed-in tariff (FIT) could result in regional electricity grids flush with cheap electricity during winter. Ice PV could also be added to homes, businesses or plants that already have PV very easily since the energy storage component is already in place. Energy storage can take the form of batteries, ultracapacitors, fuel cells or a (hybrid) combination of these, and energy storage is a current area of scientific and economic exploration. Tesla Motors recently announced a partnership to provide battery-based home energy storage cheaply (probably around $2500 per unit). Perhaps it will be a national government need to promote a nascent energy storage technology sector. Demand could be placed very high with the introduction of PV from ice. Once many units are in place, there will be a great deal of flexibility, and innovation related to solar panel technology could be promoted locally. Energy storage units are the key here. If industrial development within renewables is desired, ice may be a useful lead in. Notably, some flexibility is required. For example, it's not known what the effect of different substances dissolved in the ice would be. Perhaps nickel particles added to water as it freezes would create extra layers that would make ice PV more productive than silicon. Local initiatives or a FIT would promote experimentation to a greater extent than a national energy plant program. Citizen science could have the day. Ultimately, ice PV policy depends on governmental and societal goals. If there is no interest in developing PV technology generally, then letting the market work unfettered would bypass any development incentive and yet allow for adoption if personal desire dictates. If the PV sector is already well-developed, then a broad policy set might be negotiated with the participation of major businesses and academia, maybe including a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). If novel technological development is desired, then local initiatives and FIT make sense. Indeed, Solangi et al.'s 2010 “Review on Global Solar Energy Policy” in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews highlights the efficacy of FIT and RPS in a variety of settings.

ABSTRACT According to Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), one third of food produced globally for human consumption is lost along the food supply chain. In many countries food waste are currently landfilled or incinerated together with other combustible municipal wastes for possible recovery of energy. However, these two approaches are facing more and more economic and environmental stresses. Due to its organic- and nutrient-rich composition, theoretically food waste can be utilized as a useful resource for production of biofuel through various fermentation processes. So far, valorization of food waste has attracted increasing interest, with biogas, hydrogen, ethanol and biodiesel as final products. Therefore, this review aims to examine the state-of-the-art of food waste fermentation technologies for renewable energy generation.