Patrick A. Narbel

A Review of Solar Energy: Markets, Economics and Policies

Solar energy has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years due to both technological improvements resulting in cost reductions and government policies supportive of renewable energy development and utilization. This study analyzes the technical, economic and policy aspects of solar energy development and deployment. While the cost of solar energy has declined rapidly in the recent past, it still remains much higher than the cost of conventional energy technologies. Like other renewable energy technologies, solar energy benefits from fiscal and regulatory incentives and mandates, including tax credits and exemptions, feed-in-tariff, preferential interest rates, renewable portfolio standards and voluntary green power programs in many countries. Potential expansion of carbon credit markets also would provide additional incentives to solar energy deployment; however, the scale of incentives provided by the existing carbon market instruments, such as the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, is limited. Despite the huge technical potential, development and large-scale, market-driven deployment of solar energy technologies world-wide still has to overcome a number of technical and financial barriers. Unless these barriers are overcome, maintaining and increasing electricity supplies from solar energy will require continuation of potentially costly policy supports.

Estimating the Cost of Future Global Energy Supply

This study produces an attempt to estimate the cost of future global energy supplies. The approach chosen to address this concern relies on a comparative static exercise of estimating the cost of three energy scenarios representing different energy futures. The first scenario, the business as usual scenario, predicts the future energy-mix based on the energy plans held by major countries. The second scenario is the renewable energy scenario, where as much of the primary energy supply as possible is replaced by renewable energy by 2050. The cost of the renewable energy generating technologies and their theoretical potential are taken into account in order to create a plausible scenario. The third scenario, the nuclear case, is based on the use of nuclear and renewable energy to replace fossil-fuels by 2050. Endogenous learning rates for each technology are modeled using an innovative approach where learning rates are diminishing overtime. It results from the analysis that going fully renewable would cost between −0.4 and 1.5% of the global cumulated GDP over the period 2009–2050 compared to a business as usual strategy. An extensive use of nuclear power can greatly reduce this gap in costs.

Rethinking How to Support Intermittent Renewables

Few intermittent renewable power projects would have been deployed if specific policy instruments had not been implemented. Common policy instruments include the feed-in tariff, the feed-in premium and the quota system. Based on a numerical analysis, this paper shows that these specific policy instruments do not necessarily facilitate the deployment of valuable energy sources because they ignore the cost of intermittency. A valuable intermittent energy source is defined here as a source of energy which requires little financial support and which limits the need for capacity payments in order to ensure the security of supply. Based on insights from the numerical analysis, a new policy instrument is suggested: a multiplicative premium. This type of policy instrument would be a least cost approach to securing a certain quantity of intermittent generation.

The Likely Impact of Basel III on a Bank's Appetite for Renewable Energy Financing

The new Basel III regulations are likely to make long-term financing more expensive, which will affect the financing of capital-intensive renewable energy technologies, because they typically rely on long-term financing. In addition, the capital and liquidity requirements of Basel III are likely to limit the amount of capital available for renewable energy financing from banks in the future. Together, these are threats to renewable energy deployment because limited financing may prevent the financing of some projects and because more expensive loans are likely to make a number of projects uninteresting financially. A potential solution is proposed here, which requires financing capital-intensive energy projects, pooling these investments into a portfolio and selling down the portfolio in tranches to various types of investors. The benefit of this solution for banks is that it will allow them to maintain the financing of capital intensive renewable energy projects, while complying more easily with Basel III.

Nuclear Energy Systems

This chapter describes the basic processes of present and potential future nuclear power generation technologies. A brief outline of the historical development of nuclear power in the last century is first presented, followed by a short introduction to the nuclear physics needed to understand the fission process and the working principle of nuclear reactors. Later, the costs related to investments, operation, resources, storage and decommisioning of reactors are examined. Finally, a discussion on possible new nuclear technologies is provided at the end of this chapter.

Basic Physical Processes and Economics

This first chapter provides the reader with the background theory on the physics and the economics necessary to fully understand the material presented in the rest of the book. The starting point of the chapter is a discussion of the concept of energy and the definition of important notions related to this concept, such as the various units used in science and engineering. The Earth-Sun energy system, including the famous greenhouse effect, are then presented. Finally, the basic economic terms related to energy plants, pricing and production are discussed.

Fossil Energy Systems

This chapter gives an overview of the fossil energy sources, which undoubtedly still are dominating the supply of energy. We introduce here how coal, oil and gas are explored, recovered and used for energy production. The most conventional resources and production methods are described, and at the end of the chapter we introduce some of the unconventional fossil energy sources which have a promising resource potential. Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources and therefore represent a limited source of energy. The global reserves will be assessed and the cost of continued production of energy based on these diminishing resources will be evaluated. But first, we start with a historical review of mankind’s involvement with fossil deposits and use as an energy source.

Estimating the cost of future global energy supply

This study produces an attempt to estimate the cost of future global energy supplies. The approach chosen to address this concern relies on a comparative static exercise of estimating the cost of three energy scenarios representing different energy futures. The first scenario, the business as usual scenario, predicts the future energy-mix based on the energy plans held by major countries. The second scenario is the renewable energy scenario, where as much of the primary energy supply as possible is replaced by renewable energy by 2050. The cost of the renewable energy generating technologies and their theoretical potential are taken into account in order to create a plausible scenario. The third scenario, the nuclear case, is based on the use of nuclear and renewable energy to replace fossil-fuels by 2050. Endogenous learning rates for each technology are modeled using an innovative approach where learning rates are diminishing overtime. It results from the analysis that going fully renewable would cost between -0.4 and 1.5% of the global cumulated GDP over the period 2009-2050 compared to a business as usual strategy. An extensive use of nuclear power can greatly reduce this gap in costs.The Miocene alkali basaltic rocks cover the northeastern part of Jordan, within Harrat Al-Shaam plateau. The volcanic concentrated along the Dead Sea boundary and spread around the north east of Jordan area, and was considered as interplat volcanic field in Jordan. The volcanic basalt is associated with xenoliths fragmental rocks or xenocryst minerals. Nine samples were collected from the study area and analyzed for XRD, XRF and SEM. These samples presented the xenoliths rocks and minerals existing in the study area. This study is focused on the garnet and pyroxene xenoliths minerals in Tulayl Al-Hasna area within Ufayhim Formation. Hand samples are characterized by coarse aggregates of garnets up to (2 cm in diameter) with dark brown to red color, and highly fresh fractures. Also, the pyroxene (<1.5 cm) with gray to dark green color, and the olivine (range 3 4 mm) are pale green to dark green and pale yellowish color. In thin sections, plagioclase phenocryst in the garnet presented corona texture. In addition, garnet surrounded by orthopyroxene refers to kelyphite texture. There are two types of kelyphite texture fibers and radial as shown in Scanning Electron Microscope photomicrograph. The mineralogical analyses of garnet for X-Ray Diffraction are composed of almandine, pyrope and majorite. The existence of minerals reflects the high pressure and temperature of the upper mantle origin. The chemical analysis showed the average composition of garnet as follow (Alm 42.78, Pyro 41.04, Gross 16.18), pyroxene (Wo 16.90, Fs 20.37, En 62.73). This referred to presentation of the following elements Mg, Fe and Ca in the garnet. As a result, the basaltic garnet xenoliths were from shallow lithosphere mantle origin.Context and objectives Fast Sodium Reactor (FSR) is one of the most promis ing nuclear reactor concept (“Generation IV systems”) to be issued in the next decades [1]. Thi s technology is intended to be much safer, to have a significantly better yield and to produce less wa stes with a lower nocivity. Liquid sodium is used as the thermal fluid in direct contact with the nuc lear core. Ideally, the heat extracted should be transferred between sodium and water in steam gener ators. BUT when sodium is brought in contact with liquid water, a highly exothermal chemical rea ction ensues which is believed to be explosive in certain situations [2]. Such a contact may happen i n a number of instances (repairs, decommissioning,..) and not only during major accid ents. This is thus a significant safety issue which may significantly handicap the development of this technology. Unfortunately the reasons for which the mixing of s dium with water may lead to an explosion, generating blast waves like an explosive material, do not seem to have been clarified so far not even deeply studied. The primary objective of this PhD w ork is thus to identify the details of the phenomenology, to isolate the leading mechanisms an d to propose a modelling approach.W examine the implications of increased unconventional crude oil production in North America. This production increase has been made possible by the existence of alternative oil-recovery technologies and persistently elevated oil prices that make these technologies commercially viable. We first discuss the factors that have enabled the United States to expand production so rapidly and the glut of oil inventory that has accumulated in the Midwest as a result of logistical challenges and export restrictions. Next, we assess the extent to which the increase in U.S. domestic production will affect global supply conditions and whether the U.S. experience can be repeated in other countries with unconventional oil sources. The evidence suggests that even in the bestcase scenario, the increase in U.S. oil production is unlikely to have a large effect on the global oil market’s demand–supply balance, so its effect on the price of oil is expected to be limited. Furthermore, the United States enjoys unique infrastructural and technological advantages that make it unlikely that rapid increases in unconventional production can be achieved elsewhere.T reactions of sunflower, rapeseed, corn and cameline oils in supercritical (sc) methanol were studied in a flow tubular reactor over a wide range of methanol (ether)/oil ratio, pressure, temperature, and residence time. Special attention was focused on the studies of the product distribution and how it varies upon variation of the above reaction parameters. Reaction conditions to enable high selectivity and conversion of vegetable oils transesterification were determined. Advantages of the reaction in supercritical alcohols and ethers over similar reaction in the presence homogeneous catalysts were demonstrated. It was found that the oil type produced insignificant effect on the product composition (fatty acid esters) and oil conversion value. The reaction conditions provided the selectivity and high conversion of the oils were selected.ID-215 INFLUENCE OF SILICA NANOPARTICLES ON THE TOUGHNESS OF FUSION BONDED EPOXY Patrícia Saliba, Herman Mansur UFMG, Brazil patalvessaliba@gmail.com, hmansur@demet.ufmg.brT Niger Delta is the hub of oil and gas production in Nigeria, and is one of the world’s most severely oil spill impacted areas. The exploration and exploitation of oil interfere with ecological and biodiversity integrity of ecosystems arising from flaring of associated gases, oil spills, use of drilling chemicals, etc. These processes can release heavy metals into coastal waters. Heavy metals are associated with crude oil in variable concentrations depending on the geologic background. Nigeria’s dominant and internationally preferred crude petroleum, Bonny Light, has associated with it metals, the main metals occurring in the order nickel>vanadium>cadmium>copper, lead. Recent pollution studies have revealed elevated levels of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, and V, in Niger Delta water, sediments and food species, thereby, compromising safety of the user population. Oil spills in the Niger Delta impact tremendously on the region’s flora and fauna which serve as the main livelihood support structures of the inhabitants. A recent UNEP study on a section of the Niger Delta revealed widespread oil contamination of land, groundwater and surface waters. Drinking water from wells in one community had benzene, a known carcinogen, 900 times above WHO permissible limit. The UNEP study concludes that restoration of the investigated area would take minimum of 30 years. This paper discusses the incidents of oil pollution, and prospect and challenges of ecosystem restoration of Niger Delta oil degraded environments.