Biofuels and Sustainable Energy Development in Brazil

Through the assessment of three decades of the Alcohol Program in Brazil, the paper shows that adequate public policies regarding biomass production can deliver direct benefits like energy security improvement, foreign exchange savings, and local employment generation, reduced urban air pollution and avoided CO(2) emissions. Moreover, the paper shows that Brazilian produced ethanol has faced economies of scale, technical progress and productivity gains and is no longer dependent on subsidies to be competitive. The paper also examines the potential in Brazil for fostering other biofuels, namely biodiesel obtained from vegetable oils, as well as their implications on sustainable energy development. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flight Paths of Migrating Golden Eagles and the Risk Associated with Wind Energy Development in the Rocky Mountains

In recent years, the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia have received interest as a site of industrial wind energy development but, simultaneously, have been the subject of concern about wind development coinciding with a known migratory corridor of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). We tracked and quantified eagle flights that crossed or followed ridgelines slated for one such wind development. We found that hourly passage rates during fall migration peaked at midday and increased by 17% with each 1 km/h increase in wind speed and by 11% with each 1°C increase in temperature. The propensity to cross the ridge tops where turbines would be situated differed between age classes, with juvenile eagles almost twice as likely to traverse the ridge-top area as adults or subadults. During fall migration, Golden Eagles were more likely to cross ridges at turbine heights (risk zone, < 150 m above ground) under headwinds or tailwinds, but this likelihood decreased with increasing temperature. Conversely, during spring migration, eagles were more likely to move within the ridge-top area under eastern crosswinds. Identifying Golden Eagle flight routes and altitudes with respect to major weather systems and local topography in the Rockies may help identify scenarios in which the potential for collisions is greatest at this and other installations.

Proposed methodology for aeolian energy development in Latin America

Spanish version available

Application of gas-cooled Accelerator Driven System (ADS) transmutation devices to sustainable nuclear energy development

The conceptual design of a pebble bed gas-cooled transmutation device is shown with the aim to evaluate its potential for its deployment in the context of the sustainable nuclear energy development, which considers high temperature reactors for their operation in cogeneration mode, producing electricity, heat and Hydrogen. As differential characteristics our device operates in subcritical mode, driven by a neutron source activated by an accelerator that adds clear safety advantages and fuel flexibility opening the possibility to reduce the nuclear stockpile producing energy from actual LWR irradiated fuel with an efficiency of 45?46%, either in the form of Hydrogen, electricity, or both.

Potential of the renewable energy development in Jammu and Kashmir, India

The future economic growth for India is likely to result in rapid and accelerated surge in energy demand, with expected shortages in terms of supply. Many of its current policies and strategies are aimed at the improvement and possible maximization of energy production from the renewable sector. It is also clear that while energy conservation and energy efficiency can make an important contribution, renewable energies will be essential to the solution and are likely to play an increasingly important role for providing enhanced energy access, reducing consumption of fossil fuels, and helping India pursue its low-carbon progressive pathway. However, most of the states in India, like the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, have experienced an energy crisis over a sustained period of time and the government both at center and state level has to embark upon with these pressing issues in a more sustainable manner and accordingly initiate various renewable energy projects within these states. This paper will provide a broad-spectrum view about the energy situation within Jammu and Kashmir and will highlight the current policies along with future strategies for the optimal utilization of renewable energy resources.

Renewable energies Driven by Feed-on Tariffs. Photovoltaic vs Wind Energy Development in Spain

Although others regulations regarding feed-in tariffs for photovoltaics (PV) existed in Spain previously, the one that meant a paradigm change was the introduction in 2007 of law R.D.661/2007 which established a feed-in tariff of 41,75 cents/kWh if the installed capacity was greater than 100KWp and 44,04 cents/kWh if it was smaller. The high level of the subsidies together with the lack of a limit for the total installed capacity originates the well-known Spanish photovoltaic boom. In September 2008 the installed PV capacity accounted for 3.2GWp (while the official objective stated in the national renewable roadmap was only 400MWp). To avoid this situation a new law, R.D. 1578/2008, was proclaimed which established a decreasing feed-in tariff of 32 cents/kWh (for ground installations) and 34 cents/kWh (for rooftops) and it limited the annual installed capacity to 500MWp. Although it was successful in limiting the PV subsidies total costs, the successive and sudden changes in regulations resulted very harmful to the local PV industry. In this article, the strong influence of feed-in tariff in the development of PV installed capacity and market evolution in Spain will be analyzed in detail. In addition, a comparison with other subsidized technologies which installed capacity has had a smoother evolution, as wind energy, will be presented.

To establish a Solar Energy Development Bank : hearings before the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy of the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, on H.R. 605 ... May 3 and June 20, 1979.

"Serial no. 96-17."

The role of engineering in nuclear energy development.

"Sponsored by the American Society for Engineering Education."

The natural gas option--new resources and new technologies [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy Development and Applications of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, July 22, 1981.

"No. 28."

The future of the nation's energy utilities [microform] : implications for federal R.D.PD. : hearings before the Subcommittee on Energy Development and Applications of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, June 23, 24, 1981.

"No. 35."

Synthetic fuels environmental research and development [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy Development and Applications and the Subcommittee on Natural Resources, Agriculture Research, and Environment of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, October 1, 1981.

"No. 65."

The socioeconomic impacts of synthetic fuels [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy Development and Applications of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, April 28, 1982.

"No. 125."

The natural gas option--new resources and new technologies [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy Development and Applications of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, July 30, 1982.

CIS Microfiche Accession Numbers: CIS 83 H701-10

U.S. solar and conservation technologies in international markets [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Energy Development and Applications and the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, June 3, 17, 21, 1982.

"No. 132."